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Medical Marijuana Crackdown Sparks San Francisco Protest [FEATURE]

Submitted by Phillip Smith on (Issue #728)

Members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and representatives of the city attorney, state legislators, and state officials jointed hundreds of medical marijuana patients and supporters for an energized rally at City Hall Tuesday afternoon before marching to the nearby federal building to demand that US Attorney for Northern California Melinda Haag cease and desist in her attacks on the locally-regulated and -tolerated medical marijuana distribution in the city, the Bay area, and the state of California.

The crowd was large and outraged by Monday morning's federal raid on the movement's iconic Oaksterdam University, associated properties, and the home of Oaksterdam University founder and Proposition 19 funder Richard Lee. But that raid, which drew a heated reaction from activists who gathered in an emergency response to armed DEA, IRS, and US Marshals, went down after Tuesday's rallied had already been scheduled, and was only the latest in a recurring pattern of federal strikes against the movement and the industry going back to last fall.

Since October, when California's four US Attorneys jointly opened their campaign against the dispensaries, five have been forced to close because of federal threats in San Francisco alone, and others are under current threat. Across the state, the number of federally-induced shutdowns is in the dozens, including some of the state's most venerable and most regulated medical marijuana enterprises.

In San Francisco, patients, advocates, dispensary operators, the San Francisco chapter of Americans for Safe Access, and members of the San Francisco Medical Cannabis Task Force are launching a campaign, San Francisco United, to push city officials to take action to protect medical marijuana distribution in the city. It's not that they need a whole lot of pushing, given their recognition of the broad popularity of medical marijuana in the city where the movement was born.

Oaksterdam's Richard Lee made it to the rally after being detained Monday. He heard multiple expressions of support.
"By opposing federal interference, San Francisco officials are taking a stand for patients and for sensible public health policy," said ASA founder and Executive Director Steph Sherer. "The federal government must not be allowed to push patients into the illicit market without consequence."

Looking out at the crowd gathered around the steps of City Hall waving a sea of "Cannabis Is Medicine, Let States Regulate" signs, Sherer told her audience the movement is having an impact. "Haag and Holder are watching you. You're frightening them," she said to wild cheers.

"You're not alone; you have friends in city hall," Supervisor David Campos said as he stepped before the microphone. "This is a social justice issue; this is about safe access for patients," he said. "The voters have spoken, and we understand the importance of this issue. We need to expedite the permitting process so those closed dispensaries can reopen quickly."

Supervisor Christina Olague assailed Haag's campaign against the dispensaries. "This is absurd," she told the crowd, calling for solidarity. "When one of us is attacked, all of us are attacked," she said.

Cardboard cutouts of Haag's face on sticks allowed crowd members to wear "Haag masks" complete with blank speech balloons, on which protestors wrote "Quit vomiting and grow your own," "I love Romney," and similar witticisms.

Supervisor David Campos on the steps of city hall
"Melinda Haag didn't know what she was getting into," said Quintin Mecke, spokesman for drug reformer state Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco). "California is a sanctuary state, and California law is at stake. But this isn't just a San Francisco issue or a California issue, it's a national issue."

Sixteen states and the District of Columbia have medical marijuana laws. In the past year, the DEA and other federal agencies have unleashed offensives against dispensaries in California, Colorado, and Montana, and have attempted to intimidate state officials in other medical marijuana states contemplating state-regulated distribution systems.

Mecke also announced that Ammiano's Assembly Bill 2312, which would set up a statewide system of regulated medical marijuana distribution, will get a first hearing next Tuesday in the Assembly Public Safety Committee.

"I urge the federal government to halt its assault on dispensaries and cease its cruel attacks on patients and caregivers," said a spokesman for state Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), another friend of drug reform in Sacramento. "Those federal dollars are better spent on programs that actually help people, and I'm concerned about this having a deleterious impact on the state's economy."

The "Haag mask"
Medical marijuana's contribution to the state economy is substantial, according to state Board of Equalization representative Allen Defazio. "The federal government needs to back off," he said. "The California system works, despite the federal government. Medical marijuana is generating $100 million a year in taxes."

Passing motorists honked frequently in support as protestors made the brief march down Golden Gate Avenue to the federal building, where US Attorney Haag has offices on the 19th floor. Stone-faced, uniformed federal police looked on as the crowd gathered on the building's plaza to chant and shake its fists at her towering aerie.

"This is an insult to San Francisco and California," fumed Dale Gieringer, longtime leader of California NORML. "The Department of Justice doesn't want patients to have safe, law-abiding access to medical marijuana. They want it to be criminal."

As the federal building action wound down, Americans for Safe Access national director Stephanie Sherer, who emceed the day's events, urged the crowd to chant loud enough for Haag to hear their voices on the 19th floor. There is no sign yet that she is hearing those voices, but the clamor is growing, and as long as she continues to go after dispensaries in Northern California, the racket there is just going to get louder and louder.

Permission to Reprint: This content is licensed under a modified Creative Commons Attribution license. Content of a purely educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of DRCNet Foundation, unless otherwise noted.

Comments

Neal (not verified)

US Attorney for Northern California Melinda Haag... hag is right!

 

People need to harass her as much as she is harassing medical cannabis folks.

Tue, 04/03/2012 - 11:09pm Permalink
menacemotors (not verified)

Time to open your wallets folks....stop bitching and start donating some money to your legalization cause. do something productive. phone, write letters, demostrate ....we all most do our part. Don't wait any longer. Get involved.
Wed, 04/04/2012 - 8:32am Permalink
Anon (not verified)

"The Department of Justice doesn't want patients to have safe, law-abiding access to medical marijuana. They want it to be criminal."  This says it all.  These psychopaths can't be reasonable and see a human side to this issue.  All they see is a marijuana law available to them and a lust to enforce it. This is going to backfire for these prohibitionists.  They are going to be viewed as unreasonable zealots, destroying people's lives because they can.... not because they should.

Thu, 04/05/2012 - 1:07am Permalink
oldgeezer1928@… (not verified)

Mr. Smith; Since you apparently make your living writing articles about the executive and judicial branch of the government of the United States and the manner in which they conduct America's il-legal and un-constitutional "WAR on DRUGS", this letter is tantamount to writing a complaint to the Kentucky Colonel about the way he treats his chickens, however; perhaps you would be kind enough to answer this question for me; "Is a violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 841(a)(1) a 'federal-crime' against 'the laws of the United States', or is it a material breach of a 'VOLUNTARY' real and binding contractual agreement where money changed hands between the registrant and the attorney general of the United States and a Civil Matter of Equity for which the statute 21 U.S.C. 841(b) has a remedy for registrants only"?  Inquiring minds want to know your answer since my elected and appointed public officials (servants) refuse to answer!   

Thu, 04/05/2012 - 2:23pm Permalink
Nedmorlef (not verified)

Apparently she believes that the votes that, put her in office are not the same votes that legalized MM. Or maybe the problem is she doesn't answer to votes.

Fri, 04/06/2012 - 2:02pm Permalink
War Vet (not verified)

The VA will give Veterans medical marijuana in states that have medical marijuana.  If Haag and the DEA will close down dispensaries and seize a college for future growers and health care providers, then what is the vet to do . . . do we not deserve free healthcare for all we've sacrificed.  A small percentage of the dope sold illegally in the U.S. (including weed) comes from Muslim countries and by shutting down legitimate businesses, she is making sure Al Qaeda and the Taliban etc are doing business in the U.S.  Those who buy drugs off the street have no idea that their dealer's dealer's dealer's supplier got their stuff from a Muslim drug distributor, but the cops do, due to the nature of cause and effect of drug prohibition incorporates illegal drug money . . . everybody knows that the leading cause of death and injury to the 9/11 victims was from drugs being illegal . . . historians know that a significant cause of the Soviet collapse came from drug money (Afghanistan).  Mrs. Hack or Haag would also bust a farmer for growing industrial hemp for our war effort, thus she is a main reason why we have such high unemployment and so many dead soldiers . . . one of Osama's main strategies for battling America was to keep us in a war zone for many years, thus draining our economy . . . this tells me that Mrs. Haag is a Muslim Terrorist because she makes sure we fight an enemy who is daily supplied with drug money and so millions of Americans will be unemployed (war of Attrition) due to no jobs in the hemp industry . . . funny how many Muslim Terrorists aren't even Muslim, but if you are aiding and abetting them and playing into their hands, then you are one, especially since actions speak louder than words . . . the DEA attacked the Indian city of Mumbai in 2008 via one of their American informants whom was a part of a militant Islamic militia, so not only does the DEA have their own guys shooting up people and blowing up buildings in India, but they also allow our enemy to be financed and they know it and they know their job creates the cause and effect of terrorist financing.  They make money collapsing American buildings in New York and DC and shooting and blowing up soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan but they also make money keeping people away from medicine and allowing people to abuse booze . . . the DEA are in the business of Death and they get paid well to kill soldiers and destroy families and rob millions of hemp jobs from the fuel, plastics, automotives, food and textile industries.  The DEA and Mrs. Haag hate America so much that they would rob a U.S. soldier of his medicine and rob our nation of Hemp for victory industries . . . their loyalty is to the private sector and not we the people . . . to serve and protect their own interests.

Hay-Hay DEA, How many U.S. soldiers have you killed today.

Fri, 04/06/2012 - 5:28pm Permalink
Giordano (not verified)

No matter how much scientific proof mounts for the non-toxic, medical effectiveness of marijuana, political amateurs and pathological control freaks such as U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag will always fail to take the hint.

One wonders what sort of person is attracted to the job of U.S. Attorney when the job in this case entails criminalizing medical patients and their medical providers.

To destroy that which works, that which helps so many people, is not a public service, but rather a public menace.  How does this public menace persist?  Is it that the evil laws the U.S. Attorneys are expected to enforce attracts those who are intrinsically evil?  Have authoritarian petty tyrants merely found another profession that will tolerate their incompetence?

Full legalization of marijuana on a state by state basis is the best option for creating a buffer zone of defense between the prohibitionist elites and the medical marijuana industry.

Under multi-state legalization and regulation, there will be no longer be a specific target such as the brick-and-mortar medical marijuana establishment that allows the prohibitionists to focus their attacks.  Legalization will also bring a kinder, more civilized atmosphere to the discussion that allows the public to become more familiar with the truth and therefore less afraid of marijuana.

U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag has accomplished little more in her recent attack upon Oaksterdam than to belittle the U.S. Attorney’s office and to force the hand of the legalization movement to emphasize the absolute civil right of American citizens to marijuana’s recreational and medical use.  Congratulations, Melinda.

Giordano

Sun, 04/08/2012 - 12:36pm Permalink

The Feds (a defacto (fake) govt.) are w/o jurisdiction, STANDING, STATUS, AUTHORITY or AGENCY in this matter, as NO CRIME was committed.

W/o a crime being committed NO ONE or their property is harmed or damage there is NOTHING to discuss.

The Feds will try all THEY can to snooker US - which includes using fraud, lies & deceit - which vitiates the most solemn contracts, documents & even judgments.

Remember District Attorneys are to seek justice NOT indictments -                                                                                & since there is NO DAMAGE - there is NO CASE.

Further any alleged LEO is a "Mentally Incompetent Fact Witness" as each is purposefully poorly trained & is UNABLE to read, write, speak or understand "legalese" the "foreign language" the statutes, laws & codes are written & used by the EVILDOERS, WRONGDOERS, NIHILISTS, TRAITORS aka STATE BAR UNION MEMBERS to lie, steal, falsely imprison & extort unlawful funds from US All contrary to the rule, the letter, the intent & the spirit of the law.

IFF you agree that you are a a good person then you are the walking dead, a corpse, a DEAD thing, NOT human, less than a (wo)man. b/c you agreed that you are a corporation, a legal fiction, a fiction in law that needs representation - which are created out of NOTHING.


It is important to note the STATE BAR UNION MEMBERS use spells (misspelling our names) to create liability when there is NO MATTER to discuss.  We are born w/ proper given & family names & THE STATE BAR UNION MEMBERS use Deceptive Trade & Fraudulent Business Services, Dishonest Services, Abuse of the Public Trust to commit Aggravated Identity Theft, Criminal Conversion of a Name, Mail Fraud, so they can engorge themselves on Asset Forfeiture, which violates the doctrine of unjust enrichment & Fruits of the Poison Tree Doctrine, et.al.

Mon, 04/09/2012 - 7:44pm Permalink
Mike Dar (not verified)

people need to figure a way to find each opponent, find their influence/influencer?, boycott that org.. Many of these decisions are being made from the commercial interests that donate to strawmen/politicians. Whom is ADM or Monsanto or Dupont supporting for election... and directing legislation? Hit the commercial interests head on , that actually are causing a great deal of the political anti sentiment towards cannabis to protect their commercial interests/cash flow.

ALL, politicians do what their told. Some of that telling is from the voter, but a great deal is from private companies. Therein is the sway. Therein is the hidden key. Without knowing what is going on in the background of campaign donations and favors to politicians from private enterprise, at least half the battle is being ignored. Why fight when 1/2 your arsenal is moot?

Once these agendas are exposed, then can boycotting both force the politician need to be removed as a tool of self protecting commercial interests, and influence exerted directly on the commercial interests to where it is not in there interest to stand in the way of the proponents and could even take an active interest in becoming a proponent.

The directions from private enterprise are not transparent. The companies do not want exposure. The reason they wish no exposure is to not risk their revenue streams on their product sales from a portion of the population that is not happy with them. Each of these companies have a great deal to lose with 10% reductions in sales on those products. These companies are leveraged, they have relatively small net nets. They have Bond and stock holders to answer to, along with Board of directors, hedge funds, Banking concerns ect..

Why are proponents not in a 'Consumer war' against the commercial interests that help support the 'Drug War'?

Why would any one of the 10% proponents bank with Well Fargo or Bank of America after they were fined for washing drug money? Why wasn't an organized discussion made by proponents.

Expose these ex-DEA directors that have guidance from being the head of 'Carbon cars', who absolutely wishes the drug war to intensify and the need for bullet proof police cars to intensify. (example). 

10% of the population is a proponent but I never hear one iota about proponents doing just what antiMJ companies are doing and that is hitting the opposition in the pocket book. And they(Anti's) have sooooo much to lose. Literally. And the proponents are cooperating with their own opposition by blaming the strawman, as if each and every decesion and action by the politician/strawman is not based greatly on money. People seem to think these Politicians should be doing the moral thing when the decision is a monetary one. Money has no morals, no scruples. Corporate guidance (funders for the strawmen) are not moral, law and regulation and cash flow are all they are concerned about, and cash flow directs EVERYTHING in their actions.

So for pete's sake, organize around the ideal that money is made in prohibition, individuals head up companies that fund the prohibition/drug war and boycott them. Quit thinking that simply complaining about strawmen/politicians will ever make the greatest part of the elimination of the drug war. Cause see, as Hilary Clinton said, there's too much money in prohibition for prohibition to ever stop. And few if any proponents are dealing with or even affecting those special interests.

Tue, 04/10/2012 - 10:42am Permalink
PFCUP (not verified)

Dear Medical Cannabis Patients, & TRUE ADVOCATES,
the article below was CENSORED BY BAYTIMES, a local San Francisco newspaper that is read largely, by the LGBTQ community, as it reports on many important local issues as well as international LGBTQ newsbits. So why would it CENSOR such an important article that would update & inform the Medical Cannabis Patients of their community, that largely in...
cludes the homeless & low income, of the current state of their own "Sanctuary City"'s rights on Medical Cannabis, and be deterred from reading about the Medical Cannabis Advisory Board to San Francisco's equivelent of other city counsels, The Board of Supervisors need for local community support? Unfortunately folks, BAYTIMES has also disappointingly SOLD OUT the San Francisco locals by REPORTING WITH PREJUDICE TO THE LOCAL DISABLED, VETERAN, POOR, DISADVANTAGED, & INDIGENOUS RESIDENTS OF SAN FRANCISCO.
Read for yourself, what THEY did not want YOU to READ.......

SF Medical Cannabis Task Force Seeks Reinstating

The SF Medical Cannabis Task Force is an advisory body created by the Board of Supervisors on May 6, 2010 to help them revise our medical marijuana laws with combined input from local low income patients, growers, city-permitted cooperatives, doctors and neighbors. It will sunset at the end of the year. The body is empowered to hold public meetings, to review medical cannabis laws – and make recommendations for changes – and to resolve conflicts and disputes within the medical cannabis community, or with neighborhood groups. At its last meeting, the 15 member Task Force was one shy of quorum, but Task Force members and the public attending agreed that the reinstating of the organization was a shared goal.

"We were unable to move our amends to law due to federal crackdown," stated Shona Gochenaur, patient advocate with a seat on the Task Force board, presently serving as MCTF chair. "Currently our legal committee is finalizing an impact report regarding our federally displaced compassion-based collectives, with an emphasis of working with the City to restore these collectives and valued patient services." She said their "work for patients in our sanctuary city is far from done."

MCTF member Stewart Rhoads added, "If MCTF is not reinstated, we will only have the business lobby influence in City Hall; so the patients, growers, doctors and neighbors will be a muted influence." The next meeting is Dec. 3, 1pm, room 421.

Story by Dennis McMillan
 
Sun, 12/02/2012 - 4:11am Permalink
PFCUP (not verified)

Dear Medical Cannabis Patients, & TRUE ADVOCATES,
the article below was CENSORED BY BAYTIMES, a local San Francisco newspaper that is read largely, by the LGBTQ community, as it reports on many important local issues as well as international LGBTQ newsbits. So why would it CENSOR such an important article that would update & inform the Medical Cannabis Patients of their community, that largely in...
cludes the homeless & low income, of the current state of their own "Sanctuary City"'s rights on Medical Cannabis, and be deterred from reading about the Medical Cannabis Advisory Board to San Francisco's equivelent of other city counsels, The Board of Supervisors need for local community support? Unfortunately folks, BAYTIMES has also disappointingly SOLD OUT the San Francisco locals by REPORTING WITH PREJUDICE TO THE LOCAL DISABLED, VETERAN, POOR, DISADVANTAGED, & INDIGENOUS RESIDENTS OF SAN FRANCISCO.
Read for yourself, what THEY did not want YOU to READ.......

SF Medical Cannabis Task Force Seeks Reinstating

The SF Medical Cannabis Task Force is an advisory body created by the Board of Supervisors on May 6, 2010 to help them revise our medical marijuana laws with combined input from local low income patients, growers, city-permitted cooperatives, doctors and neighbors. It will sunset at the end of the year. The body is empowered to hold public meetings, to review medical cannabis laws – and make recommendations for changes – and to resolve conflicts and disputes within the medical cannabis community, or with neighborhood groups. At its last meeting, the 15 member Task Force was one shy of quorum, but Task Force members and the public attending agreed that the reinstating of the organization was a shared goal.

"We were unable to move our amends to law due to federal crackdown," stated Shona Gochenaur, patient advocate with a seat on the Task Force board, presently serving as MCTF chair. "Currently our legal committee is finalizing an impact report regarding our federally displaced compassion-based collectives, with an emphasis of working with the City to restore these collectives and valued patient services." She said their "work for patients in our sanctuary city is far from done."

MCTF member Stewart Rhoads added, "If MCTF is not reinstated, we will only have the business lobby influence in City Hall; so the patients, growers, doctors and neighbors will be a muted influence." The next meeting is Dec. 3, 1pm, room 421.

Story by Dennis McMillan
 
Sun, 12/02/2012 - 4:13am Permalink

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