Obama Betrays Another Promise: The Crackdown on California’s Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

[Better Believe It]

Obama Betrays Another Promise
The Crackdown on California’s Medical Marijuana Dispensaries
by NORM KENT
Norm Kent is a Florida attorney and member of the NORML Board of Directors.
October 12, 2011

In a complete betrayal of his campaign promises and inaugural initiatives, federal prosecutors in the Obama Administration last Friday launched a crackdown on medical cannabis dispensaries in California. Welcome to the new world.

Like the government once did with pornographic video shops, the tenant is not the only party targeted. Landlords are simultaneously admonished that their leases violate federal regulatory guidelines, and they are complicit in the criminal enterprise. They are advised that they must terminate the lease and take steps to evict the tenants, or the government will seize their entire shopping centers for acquiring illegal assets as the fruits of a criminal enterprise.

Four US Attorneys gathered on Black Friday in Sacramento to announce the ultimatums delivered to at least 38 dispensaries throughout the state. Declaring that federal law “took precedence over state law and applies regardless of the particular uses for which a dispensary is selling and distributing marijuana,” they told the proprietors they just don’t give a damn what laws California has enacted and whether their dispensaries are in compliance with local municipal ordinances or not.

Either way, this new legal initiative will send a message not only to the sixteen states that have enacted medical marijuana laws. It will intimidate and warn others not to even try. Threatened municipal officials will see what is happening in California and back off everywhere else. Prohibition has returned, in a big, federal way. Thanks, Mr. President.

Read the full article at:

http://www.counterpunch.org/2011/10/12/the-crackdown-on-californias-medical-marijuana-dispensaries/

[dennis4868]

1. DU Hyperspeculation....

that's what we get here 24/7....we don't know all the facts about this but what the fuck, let's attack Obama because this is a WE HATE THE FUCK OUT OF OBAMA WEBSITE

[EOTE]

8. How, exactly, would you defend this?

This is an absolutely clear reversal of his campaign promises. We're attacking Obama because this proves how full of shit he was. Please explain to all of us why we should NOT attack Obama over this.

[Better Believe It]

9. So the government isn't cracking down on medical pot. It's just all DU hyperspeculation. Right.

Thanks for setting us all straight on this.

Nothing to see here folks .... move along now .... nothing to see.

[Autumn]

22. Of course there is nothing to see, if your eyes are closed

K/R

[FiveGoodMen]

2. "Obama Betrays Another Promise"

The daily headline.

[MineralMan]

3. Unrec. Obama has not spoken on this current

issue at all. This is the DOJ, not the White House. I'll be waiting to see what the President says about it before attacking him.

[mike_c]

4. silence is complicity....

eom

[uponit7771]

6. Obama hasn't spoken on my sore back either so he's complicit with the pain?!!?!?!

[EOTE]

10. When your sore back has a Federal agency assigned to it, maybe that would be a decent comparison.NT

[Better Believe It]

12. Have you tried medical marijuana to lesson the pain? You're joking .... right?

I just don't understand how your post is related to the subject matter at all .... unless you use medical pot to help you handle your sore back and are worried that the feds crackdown will make it impossible for you to obtain medical pot legally.

Is that the problem that worries you?

[Romulox]

26. He speaks through the actions of his agents. This is a non-argument. nt

[frazzled]

5. Crackdown against abuses there

The first-in-the-nation law was supposed to allow "compassionate use" to ease the pain and suffering of people with cancer or AIDS. Instead, it's so easy to get a recommendation for "medical" marijuana that, according to the first statewide study, many patients are using pot to relieve headaches and anxiety, and to sleep and relax.

The law has been so corrupted that the feds are cracking down. On Friday, the four U.S. attorneys in California announced criminal charges against large-scale dispensaries, growers and financiers, declaring that medical marijuana "has been hijacked by profiteers."

Some are accused of drug trafficking by shipping "medical" marijuana to other states for sale. Others are accused of irregular banking practices. And some are charged with marketing to underage customers with products like marijuana cotton candy.

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/10/11/3973656/state-needs-to-clean-up-medical.html#ixzz1aaZtTTvb

The "medical" marijuana trade has boomed to over $1.5 billion in CA. It's hard to believe there is $1.5 billion in business for the oft-cited "little old ladies with glaucoma" or (temporary) chemo patients in CA. The Justice Dept. is not going after dispensaries in Colorado, where the laws are stricter.

[Better Believe It]

13. Isn't that pretty much one of the excuses prohibitionists are using in support of the feds crackdown

[court jester]

16. "according to the first statewide study, many patients are using pot...

to relieve headaches and anxiety, and to sleep and relax."

Like it's a bad thing to use a natural herb one can grow themselves to "sleep and relax".

And the article is pretending that isn't covered to begin with. Prop 215 states the following illnesses covered:“cancer, anorexia, AIDS, chronic pain, spasticity, glaucoma, arthritis, migraine, or any other illness for which marijuana provides relief." That is law, like it or not.

The Military Industrial Pharmaceutical Complex prefers, actually no, they require, on punishment of arrest or worse, that the dumb serfs take the crap that's advertised every 7.5 minutes to everyone including minors on afternoon game and news shows.

Real Serious DRUGS like Luvox, Prozac, Paxil and Zoloft that turn up in shooter after shooter after shooter (maybe the actual warning on the bottle that says mental instability is a possible side effect is too full of big words).

And most people quietly go along with this insanity.

But the Government KNOWS that Medical Marijuana works, because the US GOVERNMENT holds a patent on Marijuana Cannabinoids.

So really, after all the bullshit, it's about protecting their patent. Smart business, no?

US GOVERNMENT PATENT ON MARIJUANA CANNABINOIDS HERE FROM GOV PATENT OFFICE:
US PATENT #6,630,507 Cannabinoids as antioxidants and neuroprotectants
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=6630507.PN.&OS=PN/6630507&RS=PN/6630507


Real Rebels don't roll over for this crap.

[frazzled]

19. Real rebels have better things to do than ...

sit around and worry about marijuana all day.

[Better Believe It]

20. How about people who have cancer and other major illnesses? Screw them! None of your concern!

[frazzled]

33. THey are my concern

And they should not be affected by this. Legitimate patients with legitimate prescriptions will be able to get marijuana in California, as I believe they should.

[Uncle Joe]

28. Real rebels would worry about our exploding world record breaking prison population +

an immoral, corruptive for profit prison industry whose sole goal would be to bribe/lobby the Congress to pass ever more stringent laws and sentencing to create more prisoners + criminalization, disenfranchisement and alienation of the people from our government due to a counterproductive, corruptive, draconian and insane, decades long cannabis drug policy which continually erodes the Bill of Rights + totally displaced priorities in regards to police resources, reducing their ability to fight violent crime + the resultant increased enrichment of organized crime as the cartels take Mexico and turn it into Chicago of the 1920s on steroids.

Real Rebels would also know the so called "War Against Drugs;" is in fact a war against the people's ability to self govern and just another tool to promote corporate supremacy.

[frazzled]

34. That is also a concern of mine, but has nothing to do with medical marijuana laws

It's still illegal in California outside of the medical realm.

Change the laws, don't blame me.

On the other hand, I haven't smoked dope since the late 1960s, and don't intend to. Makes me sick to my stomach. That's just me, it's fine for everyone else.

[Uncle Joe]

36. It has everything to do with the medical marijuana (cannabis) laws.

The threat of crackdown is against the entire industry regardless of guilt (being outside of the California medical realm) and not just from these D.As. but from the IRS as well.

The laws do need changing but there seems to be too little action and rhetoric in that regard from D.C., that disconnect and lack of awareness is a clarion call for "Real Rebels" to be worried, too many in the federal government still don't get it.

Smoking cannabis may have given you a nauseous stomach but from everything that I have ever heard, read or experienced, you're an exception to the rule, that's why it works so well for chemo patients and gives people the munchies.

I've only smoked one or two tobacco cigarettes in my life, but that made me sick to my stomach, I guess people are different but I don't believe cigarette smokers or drinkers of alcohol should be thrown in prison and lose their voting rights because they use those products.

[mike_c]

30. there is NOTHING in Prop 215 that limits "compassionate use" to cancer and AIDS....

Further, marijuana is EFFECTIVE at relieving headaches and anxiety, and as an aid to sleeping and relaxation. Since when are those not legitimate medical uses? Pharmaceutical corporations certainly make billions of dollars annually selling "medicines" to achieve those same outcomes. Their use is considered medically legit-- why isn't marijuana's use for the same purposes medically legitimate as well?

Hmmm, might those billions of dollars in drug company profits be part of the motive for suppressing marijuana, which is easily cultivated and prepared, and fun to use as well?

[SidDithers]

7. Unrec...

Keep trying.

Sid

[inna]

14. rec

[SidDithers]

15. Ain't democracy grand...nt

Sid

[dionysus]

18. hey sid, have a heart i can borrow?

[Upton]

24. Rec..

[mike_c]

31. rec....

Just to piss you off.

[SidDithers]

37. Doesn't piss me off in the least...

rec and unrec are features available to all DU'ers. Why would it piss me off to see DU'ers using them?

Sid

[Bobbie Jo]

35. Unrec.

Cave Dweller.

They're laughing their asses off over how easy this is.

Good grief. :eyes:

[Citizen Worker]

11. Yet the blatant repeated criminal activity of the Cheney/Bush administration and the outright fraud

committed by the banksters goes unpunished. Ahh yes, the rule of law.

[Name removed]

17. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[treestar]

21. They are cracking down on for profit dispensaries

When the legal ones are supposed to be nonprofit.

Fail again.

[mike_c]

32. the dispensaries in my community all operate as not-for-profit...

...yet my community has apparently received threatening letters from U.S. attorneys in California. Municipal licensing of not-for-profit grow operations has also been attacked by U.S. attorneys in Mendocino county. The whole profit excuse is a smoke screen. One of those U.S. attorneys claims she is going after dispensaries because "they endanger children," despite there being absolutely no evidence for any sort of endangerment. Do pharmacies endanger children?

[Upton]

23. Protests over the crackdown are scheduled in LA and Sacramento..

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a major attack on medical cannabis patients’ access to medicine last week. The DOJ says medical cannabis patients’ cooperatives and collectives in California are illegal, and ordered them to close within forty five days. The DOJ also dusted off and old Bush-era tactic, sending letters threatening property owners who rent to medical cannabis tenants with prosecution and asset forfeiture. Most of California’s legal medical cannabis patients rely on cooperatives and collectives for safe access to the medicine they need to treat the symptoms of cancer, HIV/AIDS, Multiple Sclerosis, chronic pain, and other serious conditions. Tell President Obama and the DOJ to stop the federal attack on safe access and to support a change in federal law!

Info:

http://americansforsafeaccess.org/article.php?id=6849

http://americansforsafeaccess.org/article.php?id=6848

[shanti]

25. k&r n/t

[Romulox]

27. "Obama supports MMJ" has become similar to "Thank GAWD it passed!"

A rallying cry for the delusional!

[sarcasmo]

29. All of this makes me think Big Pharma has new Marijuana pill it's ready to roll out

and charge a $100 bucks a pill for.

[Laelth]

38. Vomit. What does he think he's doing? Protecting the alcohol industry? n/t

-Laelth