cannabisnews.com: In The Dark





In The Dark
Posted by CN Staff on December 27, 2005 at 18:14:16 PT
By Ann Harrison
Source: San Francisco Bay Guardian
San Francisco, CA -- Days before new regulations for San Francisco's medical marijuana dispensaries were due to take effect, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration targeted a popular cannabis club and found itself in an unexpected showdown with angry locals. A dozen DEA agents swept into the city Dec. 20, raiding the home of Cathy and Steve Smith, operators of the HopeNet medical cannabis dispensary, and two of their cannabis grow sites.
The DEA team arrived at dawn, marched Steve Smith outside in his underwear, handcuffed him, and searched the house. Smith said the feds didn't realize he and his wife ran a dispensary until the feds discovered a business card during the search. Two truckloads of DEA agents shadowed Cathy Smith's son William Curran as he prepared to open the dispensary later that morning. But when the agents weren't able to produce a search warrant, they returned to their trucks and sat grim faced as about 50 medical cannabis supporters arrived and surrounded their vehicles. Protestors held up signs announcing that a raid was taking place, and passing cars honked in support of the dispensary. "The outrage that we see here will grow in San Francisco if they don't butt out of medical cannabis," Sup. Chris Daly said in front of HopeNet, which provided free or low-cost cannabis to 1,000 patients. "HopeNet, by all accounts, is a model facility, and one of the most prominent, most sensitive, and, most importantly, one of the most compassion-oriented medical cannabis facilities in San Francisco." After a four-hour standoff, which drew a San Francisco Police Department tactical unit for crowd control, local police officers left the scene. DEA agents also retreated, and activists declared victory and went home. But the DEA returned to the dispensary after dark and broke down the door. According to DEA spokeswoman Casey McEnry, agents had federal warrants for all the searches. The following evening, thieves apparently breached the dispensary's damaged security gate and carted off a computer, a stereo, and presents gathered for children who had been orphaned by AIDS. Standing in his ransacked dispensary last week, Steve Smith showed how DEA agents meticulously bent the prongs of the electrical plug that connected his holiday lights. "There was nothing here, no patient records," Smith said. "They just kicked the door down and unplugged Christmas." McEnry said the raids were a result of a two-year investigation sparked by an anonymous tip. The information led to a home in the Sonoma County town of Penngrove, where the DEA seized 217 marijuana plants. That investigation led agents to the Smiths' home and adjacent grow room, on the 200 block of Cara Street, where they seized 122 marijuana plants, as well as an unknown amount of processed cannabis. Marijuana brownies and butter were confiscated from the HopeNet dispensary at 223 Ninth Street. Agents also raided a warehouse on Cara Street and said they seized another 500 plants. Steve Smith said only 140 of the plants had roots, and the rest were cuttings. "It is a clear violation of federal law to cultivate, possess, and distribute marijuana," McEnry said when asked why federal agents would raid a medical cannabis cooperative operating under California law. "Today, as the DEA, we enforced federal drug laws and conducted a lawful search of these four locations, and we seized marijuana." Earlier in December, DEA agents shut down 13 medical cannabis dispensaries in San Diego. "I think they will target others," said Steve Smith. "This is a test to see if the community will stand up to them." Two days after the raid, Cathy Smith and a dozen supporters visited Mayor Gavin Newsom's office to ask for his support. But the mayor, who has not commented on the raids, was not there. "I think city officials need to provide some answers and ask why this is happening," Kris Hermes, legal campaign director for the medical marijuana patients group Americans for Safe Access, said. "Why was one of the most cherished dispensaries in the city raided when they just spent half a year developing regulations which were ostensibly put in place to avoid that?" Sup. Ross Mirkarimi – who authored the legislation setting guidelines for medical cannabis facilities and patients in San Francisco – told the Bay Guardian he wants to know if the DEA is persecuting San Francisco for having dispensaries or some other reason. "It seems like information is scant from the DEA to the police or the mayor – or they are just not sharing it," Mirkarimi said, calling on Rep. Nancy Pelosi to step in if the feds won't talk to city officials. "The elected family of San Francisco needs to be more vocal about our insistence that this is a Prop. 215 state, and this is a law we passed, and to respect that law." District Attorney Kamala Harris reemphasized her support for medical cannabis. A spokesperson for Harris said that neither her office nor the police were involved in the raid. No arrests have been made in connection with any of the raids. But McEnry says the DEA is working with the San Francisco U.S. Attorney's Office to review the evidence and arrests are possible. Steve Smith says he hopes to have HopeNet open again by New Year's Day and that he and his wife will ask the city for permission to give away free cannabis to registered patients on the steps of City Hall on Christmas. But he says the $20,000 confiscated by the DEA was his life's savings and the dispensary's operating funds. "If there are charges filed, we'll be under hundreds of thousands of dollars of bail that we can't possibly come up with. Bail me out or at least feed my dog," Smith said. "And if there are any brave souls out there who would like to help a couple hundred people with compassion [free medical cannabis], please take my place." Note: Crowds repelled a raid on a popular cannabis club, but the feds returned that night, busted down the door, and left the place open to thieves. Source: San Francisco Bay Guardian, The (CA)Author: Ann HarrisonPublished: Dec. 28, 2005 - Jan. 3, 2006 • Vol. 40, No. 13 Copyright: 2005 San Francisco Bay GuardianContact: letters sfbg.comWebsite: http://www.sfbg.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Americans For Safe Accesshttp://www.safeaccessnow.org/DEA Returns and Raids SF Marijuana Clubhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21398.shtmlMedical Marijuana Provider Raided http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21397.shtmlPot Club Owners' Home Raided in SoMahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21396.shtml
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Comment #23 posted by FoM on December 28, 2005 at 18:37:22 PT
Mayan
I love purple as long as it isn't a real loud purple more like mauve I suppose. Indigo is my other favorite color. It was a good show. If it is repeated hopefully you and others will see it. 
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Comment #22 posted by mayan on December 28, 2005 at 18:29:12 PT
FoM
I didn't catch it but I still say this country is purple!
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Comment #21 posted by FoM on December 28, 2005 at 17:51:08 PT
Mayan
You're welcome. Did you see the show on the Discovery Times Channel last night called Red and Blue? It was really good. The man that was from Louisiana that was a Bush supporter seemed to get what Liberal (Democrats) people think. He seemed to learn and that's good.http://www.realitytvmagazine.com/blog/2005/11/red_blue_premie.html
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Comment #20 posted by mayan on December 28, 2005 at 17:42:20 PT
Toker,FoM,Whig
I appreciate the appreciation! The republicans stand a very real chance of losing control of congress in 2006. If they do it means their "war on terror" is threatened and even more importantly, INVESTIGATIONS initiated by the dems. The neo-cons can't afford to lose and would probably rather face death than lives in prison cells. The only thing that can save the republicans is another "terror attack". We must be vigilant. We must never forget the crimes of 9/11. 
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Comment #19 posted by Had Enough on December 28, 2005 at 17:29:33 PT
Toker00
I do not feel condemned, my skin is thicker than that, but maybe I should clarify part of my last post. “Most of the comments following the article show how hatred breeds even more hatred. Those with hearts of hatred will only read hate. Those with compassion will read about an atrocity.”  The comments I mentioned here are about the comments that came from the bloggers at the end of the article from American Renaissance. Not the comments made by you or ron after my post. I can see some confusion as to the way I formatted the post. No flaming was intended here.Toker, I saw your comment and I felt the same way you did while reading it and knew you were trying to clarify, which you did, and the response from ron was perceptive and he seems to have a good eye for propaganda. He was just making the effort to point out sources that may have little or no credit at all, which I perceive as constructive criticism and healthy discussion. The piece is right-winged based, it can be viewed with suspicion, but that should not automatically disqualify it.  Propaganda can come in all forms and not just from one place as many here well know.I sat on this piece for a while before posting it. I almost didn’t knowing some might take it the wrong way, and second it was really, I mean really off topic. But I thought it might be of interest to some. In the end nobody should have to be Raped and Tortured, for any reason.Thank You for My Space in Time, Keep on Truckin, and Let it Roll Baby RollHad Enough
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Comment #18 posted by Toker00 on December 28, 2005 at 15:01:46 PT
Had Enough
Well, I thought I was taking up for you, Had Enough. I haven't seen you post anything racist before, so I figured you were just trying to let us know about something you, and we do, too, find disturbing. There is a parallel truth to this article. Rape can be used as a weapon of war. It always has been. It can be used as a weapon of intimidation and humiliation for both sexes and both sides. ron was simply pointing out the author to be known for stirring racist hatred. No one condemned you, but the article was self-defeating. We are still compassionate and we will choose peace and love over hatred and war, every time.Peace.Wage peace on war. END CANNABIS PROHIBITION NOW! 
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Comment #17 posted by Had Enough on December 28, 2005 at 11:52:24 PT
Comment 7
Seems some have taken the post I made, as a racist maneuver to spread ill will. People, who have more hatred than compassion in their hearts and soul can only see, feel, speak, and reflect more hatred than compassion.  That post was made to share information. Not racism. If there are gangs (regardless of race or creed) of people systematically raping and torturing others, how can society turn a blind eye to it and chalk it up, or excuse its exposure as racism?Most of the comments following the article show how hatred breeds even more hatred. Those with hearts of hatred will only read hate. Those with compassion will read about an atrocity.Hate is a powerful four-lettered word not to be used recklessly.
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Comment #16 posted by runruff on December 28, 2005 at 09:08:48 PT:
One again if you don't mind?
The bitter root. 
Going back to my church going days I want to say I think I might have picked up a few grains of wisdom here and there. For example, I remember Yeshoa teaching about the bitter root that produces bitter fruit. That is how I view the CSA. Without this "bitter root" the DEA has no authority. It is the corruption of our constitution and our bill of rights that gives the Feds the police powers they now have. That is why the CSA [The Controlled Substance Act] was created by Nixon. He even said so. He said he wanted to be remembered as the law and order president and was frustrated to see so much rebellion taking place in America during his time as president. At that time Fed law severely limited police authority in the various states. One of his advisors remarked to him at the time, "if you could pass a federal ban on narcotics, that would solve your problem. You could then create a federal narco-police and place a police presence in evey precinct across the country." Thus spoken the DEA was born. The CSA was introduced to congress and was passed without it even being read. Government has never met a law they didn't like. It's only a matter of whether or not they can pass it without starting an uprising. Now-a-days you can't build a fire under people for any reason. I call it the Bread and Games Syndrome. It worked for Rome number one why not for Rome number two. Anyway, my point is: kill the root or pull up the root and the fruit will die on the vine. We need an all-out assault on the CSA. It is poorly written, unconstitutional, and has been a cancer to our bill of rights since it's inception. It is the legacy of Chief Justice Reinquist who was a sell-out to the American people. He wrote the damn thing while serving as a young lawyer in Nixon's administration. So long as he lived he never let the vile thing die. He saw it as his legacy. Now that he is gone perhaps we can drive a stake through the heart of this vampire that is sucking dry our rights and freedoms.
Are you "Fed up" yet? 
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Comment #15 posted by FoM on December 28, 2005 at 08:46:09 PT
Whig
I don't disagree with any religion but I don't follow any religion. Religion to me is made by man and is full of errors. I believe that God doesn't make mistakes so I leave the judging and putting it in the right order to Him. That way I don't get bogged down trying to figure out the mind of God. Who am I to even try? It's very humbling.
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Comment #14 posted by Toker00 on December 28, 2005 at 08:45:01 PT
Whig
I must admit, I read the entire article. I was seething, not from racist hatred, but the violence done so nonchalantly by men to women. I have hatred for any man who abuses his priviledge of dominion over God's creation, but ESPECIALLY when it comes to men demeaning and killing women through violence and/or sexual attacks. When I was a teenager, and slipped into bars with my brothers-in-law, I had to be restrained by them from defending women who I saw being abused by their alcohol-crazed spouses. I've never calmed down on that issue. It doesn't have to be alcohol related, either. Some teetotalers treat their women like hell. I hate them, too. But I think the time for hate is appropriate in this issue. Violence toward ANYONE is a hatable offense. Propaganda hate articles are slickly packaged sometimes. I think Had Enough was posting out of compassion for the women, and not trying to promote race-ism?Wage peace on war. END CANNABIS PROHIBITION NOW!
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Comment #13 posted by whig on December 28, 2005 at 08:36:13 PT
Religion and Violence
Twisted religion often leads to violence, because people justify their actions in the name of an unthinking "belief" they have been given but which they have no personal experience of. Such unthinking belief is not faith, though the two are often confused (and deliberately so by those who use "religion" as a tool of control).Why is cannabis prohibited? Because it brings the individual into direct communion, with God and with one another, and (notwithstanding the need to overcome the self-deceiver) ultimately gives each of us the direct personal knowledge of who and what we are. We are one, and to injure one another is to injure ourself.I do disagree with the premise of Islam, by the way. I could talk more on it, but it would require an explanation of the nature of the self-deceiver (an aspect of God/self, and a challenge to be overcome, not to be submitted to). But it is a mistake made as often by self-described Christians as well, and by Jews, and by members of every organized religion.All my words by themselves are without persuasive effect, and anyone who would believe me without knowledge of the truth is a fool. Those who eat and overcome will know. Shall a blind man believe in a rainbow? But only open your eyes and see.
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Comment #12 posted by FoM on December 28, 2005 at 08:11:34 PT
Whig 
I only briefly looked at the link by Had Enough. I don't hate any group of people. Every group of people has a few bad people but each group has many more good people. Hate breeds hate. Hate makes war. War kills everyone.
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Comment #11 posted by whig on December 28, 2005 at 08:06:28 PT
FoM, Toker00
Whew. For a second there I thought you were giving kudos to Had Enough. I won't truck with those who foment hatred and violence.Mayan's posts are excellent, I agree. Wage peace on war.
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Comment #10 posted by FoM on December 28, 2005 at 07:48:16 PT
Toker00
I sure agree with you. Go Mayan!
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Comment #9 posted by Toker00 on December 28, 2005 at 07:45:58 PT
Mayan
The links you provide here have been telling a story. An incredible, sinister, deceitful, traitorous, satanic story. And what makes it so sensational? It's the Truth. Please don't think you are wasting your time leaving these links. Indeed, they are vital. Thank you.Wage peace on war. END CANNABIS PROHIBITION NOW! 
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Comment #8 posted by whig on December 28, 2005 at 07:36:04 PT
Had Enough
Hello. You seem to have found the wrong website?
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Comment #7 posted by Had Enough on December 28, 2005 at 06:52:32 PT
Comment 5
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=The+Epidemic+of+Ethnic+Rape&btnG=Google+Search
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Comment #6 posted by ron on December 28, 2005 at 06:04:42 PT
Careful, Had Enough
Consider the source of your story. American Renaissance is a blog put out by Jared Taylor.For a profile of him, check this out:http://www.amren.com/mtnews/archives/2005/12/the_epidemic_of_ethnic_rape.phpHere's a comment on Sharon Lapkin, the author of the article you linked us to:A crap article by an anti-muslim racist
by G Tuesday December 20, 2005 at 08:00 AMThis piece of sophistry from Sharon Lapkin of David Horowitz's Frontpagemag.com is nothing more than an excuse for anti-Arab and anti-Muslim racism. Clearly intended to be read by a US audience, this article glosses over and distorts the truth of what happened in Sydney in a number of ways. The racist outburst in Sydney was most specifically directed against Lebanese people, though obviously anyone of "middle eastern appearance" was a target for the mob. In the week preceding it, shock jocks continuely repeated their thinly veiled racist mantras against this particular group. By posing the question as being about "Muslim" values, she is cynically trying to exploit the event for her own rotten purposes. Basically she wants to attack the supposed cultural relativism of the left while sticking another boot into Muslims as a whole. She misleadingly says the causes of the race riot were, first, the conviction of a Pakistani (not Lebanese) rapist and, secondly, the bashing of two "Aussie" life guards. In her argument, she brands the convicted rapist "Islamic" as if he is a typical representative of the faith who was merely acting within the tenets of the religion, which is absolute tosh. Rape and abuse of woman is not particular to the Muslim world and should be confronted wherever it happens. Instead of honestly looking at the underlying reasons why some young men of Lebanese background might lash out occasionally, she pins the blame on a an oh-so-scary Islamic culture. It might be more productive to look at the way Australian Arabs (both Muslims and Christian) have been marginalised, rejected and suspected as terrorists at every turn. She points out the presence of neo-nazi elements at the rally but seems to pardon the very real and dangerous racism of the anglo mob. If a racist scumbag wants to feel reassured about their irrational hatred, this article would probably help to ease their twisted minds. If you're interested in confronting racism so we don't see more disgusting pogrom-like activity, this article is little more than a racism-excusing non sequitur.http://www.melbourne.indymedia.org/news/2005/12/102106_comment.php
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Comment #5 posted by Had Enough on December 28, 2005 at 05:10:26 PT
Ethnic Rape
Really Really off topic, this is a good, but shocking read. How come we don't hear about this in our mainstream media? This issue needs to be addressed.The Epidemic of Ethnic Rapehttp://www.amren.com/mtnews/archives/2005/12/the_epidemic_of_ethnic_rape.php
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Comment #4 posted by mayan on December 28, 2005 at 02:35:08 PT
Off Topic
Pro-pot group seeks state vote: SAFER will pursue ballot initiative for November: http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_3348830
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Comment #3 posted by mayan on December 27, 2005 at 23:12:48 PT
Obsolete DEAth
Two truckloads of DEA agents shadowed Cathy Smith's son William Curran as he prepared to open the dispensary later that morning. But when the agents weren't able to produce a search warrant, they returned to their trucks and sat grim faced as about 50 medical cannabis supporters arrived and surrounded their vehicles.I would've paid top-dollar to have seen that! The DEA is an outdated agency left-over from a darker,less enlightened time. These heavy handed power-trippers would've had no trouble finding work in nazi Germany. Don't they realize that they are merely regarded as useful idiots by their masters and simply as idiots by the rest of society? I hope they can find real jobs when their precious little drug war soon comes screeching to a halt!THE WAY OUT IS THE WAY IN...In Your Face and Hidden in Plain Sight - Submission from Michael Wolsey:
http://www.911blogger.com/2005/12/in-your-face-and-hidden-in-plain-sight.htmlThe Reichstag Burns:
http://www.livejournal.com/users/question911/5870.htmlNY 9/11 Truth Events: http://www.ny911truth.org/Synthetic terror alert red for NYC, DC subways:
http://www.total411.info/2005/12/synthetic-terror-alert-red-for-nyc-dc.html
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Comment #2 posted by PainWithNoInsurance on December 27, 2005 at 23:09:34 PT
Meds from the Feds
Putting a gun to a sick person's face, is this supposed to be helping citizens or forcing them to choose pharmaceutical medications at inflated prices due to years of political bribes and favors. What makes this good for our society?
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Comment #1 posted by ekim on December 27, 2005 at 19:51:00 PT
ask all lawmakers to go on record about 215.
"It seems like information is scant from the DEA to the police or the mayor – or they are just not sharing it," Mirkarimi said, calling on Rep. Nancy Pelosi to step in if the feds won't talk to city officials. "The elected family of San Francisco needs to be more vocal about our insistence that this is a Prop. 215 state, and this is a law we passed, and to respect that law." Come on Jerry Brown mayor of Oakland. What would you do if you were AG of CA.Please Mr Brown log on here and tell us what you will be doing for the people. Will the real representatives of the People stand up. 
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