First Obama DEA Raids: Change?
SAN FRANCISCO, CA — The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) raided a medical marijuana dispensary today in South Lake Tahoe, California, in the first days of the new Obama Administration. Even though President Barack Obama had made repeated promises during his election campaign to end federal raids in medical marijuana states, a California medical cannabis dispensary, complying with state law, was robbed at gunpoint by DEA officers.
Medical marijuana and an unknown amount of cash was seized during the raid today from Holistic Solutions, but no arrests were made. This first DEA raid under the new Obama Administration is another example of more than 100 raids on medical marijuana providers that have occurred in California over the past two years. While the greatest federal enforcement has occurred in California, the DEA has been active in other states as well. Federal agents raided the Washington State offices of a medical marijuana advocacy group that was supplying starter plants to hundreds of authorized patients. In Oregon, a federal grand jury was used by the DEA to obtain the medical records of several patients, an effort that was later rejected by a federal court. The DEA also went as far as to threaten New Mexico officials for planning to implement that states medical marijuana distribution program.
“I would not have the Justice Department prosecuting and raiding medical marijuana users,” Senator Obama said in an August 2007 statement. “It’s not a good use of our resources,” he continued. This statement was followed up by Obama in other public events in the run up to the election.
Steve Kubby, Director of the American Medical Marijuana Association said he believes the raid shows the rogue nature of the DEA and called for President Obama to “do the right thing for medical marijuana patients and their providers.”
“Just as Gitmo prisoners have been held without charge and then ‘tried’ in courts where they’re not allowed full rights of the accused, in medical marijuana cases, well-intentioned people are charged with activities that aren’t crimes in California, and denied the chance to present a defense. President Obama did the right thing with closing Guantanamo Bay, let’s hope he will provide similar protection to medical marijuana patients and their providers,” said Kubby.
January 26th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
You can’t expect everything to change the second he becomes President… Give him a few weeks at the very least!
January 30th, 2009 at 10:42 am
Cannabis is very safe and effective for the treatment of a variety of medical conditions. It is non-toxic, not lethal, and not physically addictive. There is no logical reason for the DEA to classify it in schedule 1, nor any valid reason to attack and persecute sick people who use it for treatment. It is a waste of our tax dollars and precious resources. It sends a bad message to our children who see cowardly DEA agents dressed and acting like the Nazi Gestapo assaulting, intimidating and attacking sick people and their providers with automatic weapons for using such a benign substance.
January 30th, 2009 at 10:50 am
I have a question. The cannabis dispensaries are legal as is cannabis usage for medical purposes in California. We the people voted for this! Why is it that our politicians and police do everything in their power to ignore our laws and disrespect the will of the people who pay their salaries? Aren’t they all sworn to uphold the Laws of the State of California? Yes! Therefore, is it not reasonable that they should all be fired for dereliction of duty? If they do not uphold and enforce our laws, shouldn’t they be fired immediately! Otherwise taking a salary from we California taxpayers is no different than corruption and theft, isn’t it?