– California NORML Press Release 10/20/11
Statement by Dale Gieringer:
It is now 15 years since Californians approved Prop 215. It is a disgrace that the federal government has not done one thing to recognize American’s right to use marijuana as medicine in this time. Instead, it has reacted with harassment, threats, arrests, raids, and prosecutions in defense of a bankrupt federal policy.
The latest threat is to use property forfeiture to force landlords to close dispensaries that are deemed to be too close to “sensitive areas” such as schools and playgrounds. It is a grotesque abuse of federal law to use such tactics to interfere in what should be local land use decisions.
The dispensaries that have been targeted- Divinity Tree and Medithrive in San Francisco, the Marin Alliance in Fairfax – have been operating in full compliance with local and state law without complaint from the community.
The problem isn’t here in San Francisco or Marin, it’s in Washington DC. This is a blatant misuse of DOJ enforcement resources.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the only example:
(1) The DEA has raided a model collective, Northstone Organics in Mendocino County, which was spearheading the county’s efforts to pioneer a cultivation licensing system.
(2) US Attorneys have threatened public officials – in Oakland, Chico, Washington State, and elsewhere – with arrest for trying to enact legislation to regulate and license medical cannabis.
(3) The IRS has been assessing backbreaking penalties on tax-paying dispensaries, denying them standard business deductions.
(4) The Dept of Treasury has pressured banks into withdrawing financial services from collectives.
(5) The BATF has declared that medical marijuana patients are unfit to enjoy the right of other Americans to bear firearms
(6) The DEA has denied a petition to reschedule marijuana for medical use, totally ignoring scores of scientific studies, including those of California’s own Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research.
It’s time for the federal government to recognize the truth: Marijuana is medicine. Current federal policy is bankrupt and counterproductive. It’s time for DOJ policy to change and recognize Californians’ right to medical marijuana.
LA Weekly: Medical Marijuana Crackdown in California by Feds Blasted by Golden State Lawmakers Leno, Ammiano
By Dennis Romero Wed., Oct. 19 2011 at 12:48 PM
Leno blasts crackdown on pot dispensaries
By DEREK MOORE
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Wednesday, October 19, 2011 at 1:42 p.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, October 19, 2011 at 1:42 p.m.