The DEA raided the Cannabis Resource Center, SoCal's best source of medical marijuana. Protest Friday 2PM at West Hollywood City Hall.
Protest today (Friday) at West Hollywood City Hall,
8300 Santa Monica Boulevard, at 2:00 p.m.
On October 25, scores of DEA agents descended upon the L.A. Cannabis
Resource Center in West Hollywood, seizing the center's computers,
files, bank account, plants, and medicine. The DEA cited the May 2001
U.S. Supreme Court decision as justification for its action. No
charges have been filed.
The raid effectively shut down the largest, best organized, and most
respected medical marijuana distribution center in Southern
California. West Hollywood city officials, who have strongly supported
the club, are calling a press conference to protest the action at City
Hall at 2:00 p.m. on October 26.
The federal war on medical marijuana users continues to target
distribution centers, while leaving STATE medical marijuana laws and
individual patients and caregivers unmolested.
Last month, a garden in Ventura, California, that grew marijuana for
the L.A. Cannabis Resource Center was seized by federal agents.
Additional DEA action was recently highlighted in the ongoing case of
a Cool, California, physician and attorney whose medical marijuana
distribution operation was raided, with the DEA seizing thousands of
patient records, in addition to a small number of marijuana plants
that were being grown for personal use.
These heavy-handed DEA actions can only be interpreted as the will of
Asa Hutchinson, the new DEA administrator (and former U.S. House
member) who declared war on medical marijuana during his confirmation
process in the U.S. Senate in July.
MPP's strategy to address the DEA problem is to pass H.R. 2592 in
Congress, which would allow states to determine their own medical
marijuana policies without federal interference. If H.R. 2592 were to
be passed and signed into law by President Bush, then California could
authorize medical marijuana distribution centers, which would
therefore be immune to federal raids and prosecution.
On September 27, MPP sent a mailing to its nationwide membership
asking people to write to their U.S. House members in support of
H.R. 2592. In the next few days, MPP will issue an e-mail alert to its
30,000 members and allies nationwide, asking everyone to visit MPP's
soon-to-be-unveiled Web page that will make it easy for citizens to
fax pre-written letters to their members of Congress.
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