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Federal raid on California marijuana dispensary has cannabis advocates clamoring for answers

Medical marijuana advocates are up in arms over yesterday's federal raid of a marijuana provider in northern California, claiming that the action is at odds with a policy change announced last week by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.

Wednesday afternoon, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents arrived at Emmalyn's California Cannabis Clinic in San Francisco's South of Market district, confiscating marijuana plants, lights, and other cultivation equipment as about a dozen people protested outside, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Emmalyn's had reportedly been operating under a temporary permit issued by the San Francisco Department of Public Health. A DEA spokesperson told the Associated Press that the clinic may be in violation of federal and state laws, but refused to provide any other details of the case.

The raid comes just one week after Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the Justice Department had no intention of going after marijuana providers that adhere to laws in California and other states where medicinal marijuana use is permitted. Holder's statement signaled a dramatic turn-around from the Bush administration's tough stance against cannabis use -- or so marijuana advocates thought.

According to the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), a Washington D.C. lobbying organization, the raid raises serious questions about the Obama administration's new policy. "It is disturbing that, despite the DEA's vague claims about violations of state and federal laws, they apparently made no effort to contact the local authorities who monitor and license medical marijuana providers," Aaron Smith, MPP's California policy director, said in a statement issued today.

Image © iStockphoto/dave9296

Tags: medical, holder, california, obama, raid, marijuana
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  1. 1. jtuf 09:21 PM 3/26/09

    This is outrageous. The constitution does not give the federal government authority to override state drug policy. It is time to contact Obama and Captial Hill and urge them to legalize marijuana on the federal level.

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  2. 2. Sandbum 10:04 PM 3/26/09

    Not surprising, really. President Obama's reaction to online queries about examining sensible marijuana legislation were scoffed at - even though questions relating to its legalization were the most submitted to his experimental efforts at modern "fireside chats".

    He wanted to know what America thought - they told him - and he laughed.

    Mr. President, please don't scoff at citizens seeking to embrace their inalienable right of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

    Is it too much to ask for sense to eventually prevail?

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  3. 3. josepheuphoric 11:16 PM 3/26/09

    Obama is the president but a politician first and foremost-- take a broad look at what he has said and what "his' government is actually doing. Obama is not the "liberal" anti-war, pro-environment person he fooled many into believing. Don't let your feelings get hurt take action!

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  4. 4. eighthundredpundgorilla 11:41 PM 3/26/09

    I never liked Obama UNTIL TODAY

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  5. 5. ethicspiedpiper 01:31 AM 3/27/09

    !!!POLLYTRICKS!!!

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  6. 6. ethicspiedpiper 02:08 AM 3/27/09

    JUST SAY KNOW
    alcohol is domestic violence - {plus other social etc}
    but there is cash in it

    control of others causes problems
    especially if they want to use herb - :)
    I LIKE TO BE FREE - SO DO all REPUBLICANS - do you
    a drug that desensitizes looks good but is a nightmare for social cohesion
    a herb that has different chemistry to all known drugs of choice
    fundamentally?
    ~that sensitises - and has a duality of components that in an open society
    breeders grow {share like any keen gardner not chased by the law turns into mafia} naturally in different balance for different need etc guidance

    over
    what 'they' will charge you to do in a factory process - less subtle?
    so a man cant in poverty - escape without robbing a liquor store?
    STILL???
    we digress
    ~a drug that sensitises - is not wise to project as evil shame etc
    that is voodo bad placebo science
    ask ben goldarce of the guardian
    DERRRRR - IT IS PSYCHO ACTIVE - tell a sensitive child they are sh*t or shhh or hurt them
    and you are hurting right side of brain
    close to HIM
    adult is an abusive term used in a culture of child sacrifice
    it is used to dehumanize and control children as puppets
    because we ourselves are lost
    this is parallel to memes that the worst pedophile hides in btw

    phychosis - we are all in
    ask Will Self - guardian contributor too

    the most beautiful was the aboriginal
    paradyme
    they do not struggle with psychoactives when in cultural love
    even the children of some tribes take a strong drink nearly every night
    they stay sane in loving tribe - joy happy deep connected
    ~check tribal wives BBC2 television?
    westerners go mad in their own tree of knowlege chopping FEAR
    INSECURITY - then lie and try control the universe
    disater
    ask a buddhist like dali lama - never mind poor Obama - he tried harder
    SHOUT louder
    needs all the peole to agree
    neither dare speak the truth as guest of power position

    in australia herb smoking was not the problem
    alcohol made many many many {aboriginals} go 'crazy'
    {i would say v v v sensitive dreaming}
    when combined with the social conditions -
    their freedom destroyed and put in camps
    [see child here]
    google Rufus May - deep - he agrees

    people need consumption
    or
    the dreaming
    votes please:)

    it a big paradox
    beautiful
    can you like i get christian head round it
    god is love
    ?
    then herb is too
    sensitivity is love
    then herb is too
    alcohol is a dangerous gun/knife illusion

    the people need something or consumption
    but that game is over
    move on
    no fear
    face the ancestors

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  7. 7. Rubblebeam 02:10 AM 3/27/09

    Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. What we need is a million man smoke-a-thon in public. Use fake weed, If your bold enough use the real thing let them arrest you and take your case to court. Be persistant, Obama is a big believer in persistance. Stand up for your rights, no joke.

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  8. 8. ethicspiedpiper 02:13 AM 3/27/09

    i feel you cant force love
    force can think it is love
    that is where the whole thing goes twin tower of babel
    banker pair shaped
    BUT LOVE IS THE STRONGER
    IT WILL GAIN OVER TIME
    EVENTUALLY
    BUT MAN MUST HELP REDUCE LIES SUFFERING ETC

    is is no use to tell i the victim of an abusive cellar of human cultural control
    that there is no better - when i see you with the power to love i
    but you cant see it

    this is slavery
    by definition
    an opposite of love
    love is the giving up of power?
    as oscar wild hints at?

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  9. 9. ethicspiedpiper 02:36 AM 3/27/09

    eighthundredpundgorilla at 11:41 PM on 03/26/09
    I never liked Obama UNTIL TODAY

    QUE

    i love you all???

    hatred is not funny
    useful
    scientific
    logical
    nice
    clever
    or good for the children
    :)
    be happy
    ETC
    B.H.obama is the worst polititian/PERSON ever to run for president
    OR BEST IN LIVING MEMORY?
    hmmm
    relativity surely???
    I KNOW WHO I WOULD LEAVE MY CHILDREN WITH
    VIBES MAN VIBES
    AT LEAST THE MAN KNOWS HERB AINT BAD
    BUSH??? GUNS N OIL N BULLSHIT N CRAZY YOUTH
    :)

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  10. 10. froynlaven 03:24 AM 3/27/09

    Wow, I never believed the old anti-marijuana propaganda myth about going crazy from smoking pot, but it looks like we've got proof right here.

    Sell me what YOU'RE smoking piedpiper!

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  11. 11. Jonah Gruber in reply to jtuf 06:51 AM 3/27/09

    ethicspiedpiper, you might want to put down the pipe.

    jtuf, the Federal government does have the constitutional right to intervene in state laws. Just look what it did with slavery, polygamy and environmental legislation.

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  12. 12. bsjw38 06:53 AM 3/27/09

    Does any one know the deffanition of a terrerist ? It's someone that uses and instills fear to get what he wants. Everything Obama says and what he wants you to believe instills fear in every one. The economy, We have to work fast he says or it will never recover (fear!!!!). The economy will recover if he would stop spending so much money. And now this. He has instilled fear in medical marijuana growers and users. Obama is just a modern day terrorist with power useing political views to instill fear to get what he wants.

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  13. 13. joeldooris 09:40 AM 3/27/09

    Reply to jtuf---
    Umm, I hate to be the bearer of bad new but yes the fed can override states rights, it's what the civil war was fought over. States wanted the right to keep slaves, the fed said no. So the fed wins in this and all cases.

    What I don't think is fair is the people involved with the manufacture of medical pot. There was a case recently where a guy was arrested in a raid JUST like this one except he was contracted by the city government to grow for them. In his court trial his defense attorney was not allowed in court to tell the jurors that he was contracted by the city government. So it looked like this guy was growing all of these plants for his own personal gain. The jurors threw the book at him, afterwards the jury was told about him being contracted and they said with out a doubt they would have not found him guilty.

    How is THAT just?

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  14. 14. joeldooris 09:42 AM 3/27/09

    reply to ethicspiedpiper

    Dude, cut back!

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  15. 15. hotblack 11:34 AM 3/27/09

    Erm, ok, a little reality injection here... Did any of you guys stop to think for a second that perhaps, just perhaps, the order to raid that clinic didn't come directly from the mouth of the President of the country? You've got people making decisions at the DEA who for years have been making the very same decisions. Now a few days ago, Holder announces he's not going to actively prosecute people who are running these legal organizations... that doesn't mean that everyone in the DEA who for years has been militant against ANY amount of non-taxable drug use, suddenly just goes, "oh, well, it's all cool I guess, live and let live". No, they're gonna need to do a major 180, and in reality, when many of them don't or cant, it's probably going to mean some people are going to be losing their jobs. In that sense, this raid is constructive, because it shines a light on these people.

    If the clinic WAS operating illegally (there are plenty of ways to run a bad business), then they're going to come down hard to make sure the previous announcement isn't seen as a sign of weakness, that uncle sam is just rolling over and letting everyone go nuts with it.

    Some of you goofballs need to put the pipe down for a minute and think with your brain, & not your mind, once in a while.

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  16. 16. EvolvingApe 01:46 PM 3/27/09

    ethicspiedpiper: pun intended, right? :-)

    eighthundredpundgorilla: I thought gorillas were more sensible....

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  17. 17. eighthundredpundgorilla 02:25 PM 3/27/09

    nah they aint crazy just distorted on reality, and paranoid. Effects from the DRUG. Next, we will see classic belittling and name calling against anyone who thinks marijuana is for the DOPES. If the FDA thought there was usefull value in this "DRUG" ot would be done . OH WAIT thats what happened in marinol. instead, millions prefer to think that they other 400 unknown chemicals inside marijuana is what helps them. The truth is, the cannabinoids in marijuana have been isolated and used effectively in cancer and aids patients. The medical industry would never reccomend a smoked version of this drug when there are safer more effective ways to deliver this treatment. We developed morphine from poppy because the morphine was the derivitive that was a safe medical treatment. We developed marinol a synthetic THC from marijuana for the same reasons. Anyone using marijuana(other than those terminal) is just a victim to the real problems in their life the same as an alcoholic. We need to stop allowing excuses to self medicate with marijuana the same as any other pharmaceuticals. STOP LOOKING AT THE WORLD THROUGH A ROSE COLORED BONG. YOU NEED TO SEE WHAT EFFECT YOU HAVE ON SOCIETY AND YOUR FAMILY.

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  18. 18. miller0788 in reply to eighthundredpundgorilla 06:25 PM 3/27/09

    you know what all that garbage that people are spewing out of their mouths about marijuana users should stop. someone on here just said that synthetic drugs are better for you than some thing natural. FUCK THAT you are DUMB. you know our society got more fucked up when all these "doctors" started making these synthetic or man made drugs. honestly how many people do you hear about that use marijuana that have overdosed. i have not heard about one. but how many people do you hear about using what "doctors" use for medicine overdosing. i hear about it all the time. and frankly if you are going to argue that synthetic THC is better than the real thing you need a reality check. you are so much more likely to overdose on a THC pill than if you were to just smoke weed. so if you dont smoke weed then you should tend to something else, like doctors prescribing medication to people who are addicts and who keep making it ok for these people to continue their drug use. you are so worried about weed i would rather anyone in this world to smoke weed than drink alcohol. alcohol is way worse but i dont see any one protesting that.

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  19. 19. miller0788 in reply to eighthundredpundgorilla 06:32 PM 3/27/09

    you know what all that garbage that people are spewing out of their mouths about marijuana users should stop. someone on here just said that synthetic drugs are better for you than some thing natural. FUCK THAT you are DUMB. you know our society got more fucked up when all these "doctors" started making these synthetic or man made drugs. honestly how many people do you hear about that use marijuana that have overdosed. i have not heard about one. but how many people do you hear about using what "doctors" use for medicine overdosing. i hear about it all the time. and frankly if you are going to argue that synthetic THC is better than the real thing you need a reality check. you are so much more likely to overdose on a THC pill than if you were to just smoke weed. so if you dont smoke weed then you should tend to something else, like doctors prescribing medication to people who are addicts and who keep making it ok for these people to continue their drug use. you are so worried about weed i would rather anyone in this world to smoke weed than drink alcohol. alcohol is way worse but i dont see any one protesting that.

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  20. 20. bsjw38 in reply to miller0788 07:01 PM 3/27/09

    You tell them Miller. Honestly, I dont smoke the stuff for 2 reasons. One, it's againsed the law, and another, I get pulled randamly for drug testing and I could loose my job. I havent smoked it in 20 years. But I dont see anything wrong with it. Even for personal use. The only reason the government doesnt want people smokeing it is becouse they cant tax it and you have these goody two shoes that think it steers people towards other drug use. Well, I didnt try other drugs when I smoked it and I didnt have any problem quiting after about 10 years of smoking it. Anything natural apposed to synthetic is way better. Yea, that was a dumb answer eighthundredpundgorilla. Be for real man and dont try to be some yuppy and try to use all this scientiffic terminology to say that man made stuff is better then natural stuff. Thats like saying a communist government (that Obama is working on) is better than the one we have for now

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  21. 21. eighthundredpundgorilla 08:06 PM 3/27/09

    First off, Miller just posted the same message twice so who is the dummy here? And our society got screwed up (regarding drugs) because of the supply and demand to use an illegal narcotic transported in form mexico. The government doesnt want people smoking it because they are smart enough to realize the demand on the drug is fueling the drug war and no matter what happens, mexico will always be able to sell it cheaper than what is sold in the U.S. And further, if you think you cannot overdose on marijuana you need the reality check. It has been proven by MEDICAL SCIENCE that marijuana has adverse effects. I am not referring to one of the political pieces put out by NORML, MPP or ASA. When the report is funded by ssomone with an interest in the outcome of the study, a biased opinion is reached. One needs only to scour the web forums of weedtracker, potspace, etc to figure out that the majority (and I will say NOT ALL) of the marijuana users are recreational users, who wish to mainstream this product into society and think that it should be a "right" for them. IT IS NOT. Under the federal constitution, I have the right to be protected. I have a right to be protected from my state's negligence. AND my children have the right to be in drug free zones. WANNA BET? Research title 21 chapt 13 sec 860. Then get back to me. Preferably when you arent "high". Arguing with a marijuana advocate who is high is like arguing with a 5 year old. AND preferably in an educated tone, without the language you have shown. If you havent realized by now, It only lessons the effect of your cause to stoop to that level.

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  22. 22. Uncle Sam 09:26 PM 3/27/09

    O.K. time to cut through all the crap about cannabis.
    It is a plant . period. not a drug, never has been a drug, only mislabeled that by the lieing companies who sought to eliminate their competitors. Oil, newspapers, cotton, chemical, and real drug companies. They now control the resources and our world has suffered greatly due to their greed.

    IF you believe in the Bible; your GOD made cannabis and said it is good use it. So if you don't trust in GOD, but say you do, guess what, you have been mislead. This one plant is a gift to the creations of GOD, it could be used for almost everything we think we need, at last count over 50,000 uses come from Cannabis. Lets see support the chemical companies polluting our world or trust GOD. it is your choice, your soul, it is his favorite plant, has to be since it only promotes healing, cleans the pollution in the air, cures the sick, feeds the poor, grows everywhere, birds love it, and a small percent of people smoke the sweet sticky buds of goodness.

    Only in Amercia, the self proclaimed land of GOD, in GOD we trust, do we fail to embrace this plant. Don't you people go to school, our government called on farmers to grow hemp in WWII. Our country became great due to its hemp exports.

    If George Washington was alive today, he would be thrown in prison for growing his hemp crops. Ask yourself this; Why did the first president get to grow hemp but not you?

    In fact the only time that cannabis bacame a problem was in 1937 with the first restrictions placed upon it. For thousands of years this one plant has lead civilizations to culitvate crops, become artist, employ free thinking, grow from cavemen to pollutioning sons a bitchs that we are now, who act like deaf and blind sheep, that can't even figure out that killing is wrong.

    My 10 year old son can get pot at his grade school, wouldn't it be better that he has to wait until he is 21? Oh ya if you don't know cannabis use kill zero people, unlike tobbaco use which kill thousands each year, the laws are wrong and are the cause of our problems.

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  23. 23. eighthundredpundgorilla 09:50 PM 3/27/09

    The first president grew hemp not to smoke it but because each and every person was required to do so. As for the BIBLE dont go there. Where in the Bible does it say "God or Jesus" smoked marijuana. You wont find it. you will only find the versions reproduced by advocates. The same propaganda drug activists use when they look to our war veterns or our sick for their reasons to legalize this drug. MARIJUANA may be GOD GIVEN but only fool tries that theory without looking to the fact that so is poppy. AS for hemp, even if we brought it back today, chances are good that we would outsource just as we did after the war when we no longer had a use for it (exit the need for ropes etc).If making marijuana legal would cut down on illegal drug use, then why would we stop at marijuana? why not make all drugs legal? NO, it wont work that way. AS DR BOB DUPONT (NIDA DIRECTOR 1973-1978)stated in a commentary recently, if legal gambling did not solve illegal gambling why would we assume it would work with illegal drugs? And, while one may think that making this legal will keep our children safe, the fact is ONLY WE CAN KEEP THEM SAFE. If one looks to laws, rules or institutions to keep their children safe, then they have failed as a parent.

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  24. 24. owndao 11:26 PM 3/27/09

    When the number 1 internet question to Obama was about using money from legalized sales to provide income and the best Obama can do is to blow it off with a disrespectful comment to internet users and then what appeared to be a 180 degree reversal from campaign comments I begin to wonder.

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  25. 25. EvolvingApe 02:31 AM 3/28/09

    "... STOP LOOKING AT THE WORLD THROUGH A ROSE COLORED BONG. YOU NEED TO SEE WHAT EFFECT YOU HAVE ON SOCIETY AND YOUR FAMILY."
    __________________

    Are you yelling about all the problems we've had with with the religious freaks for the last 8 years? Or is something else making you unhappy...?

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  26. 26. jtuf in reply to eighthundredpundgorilla 08:43 AM 3/28/09

    I agree that marinol doesn't have the risk of lung damage that you face when smoking marijuana. Smoke of any kind brings a risk of lung damage. However, prohibition advocates justify their position by claiming that the neurological effects of marijuana are too dangerous. Once in the brain, marinol and marijuana are bioequivalent. The FDA has declared marinol safe and effective. I still wouldn't recommend taking marijuana or marinol, but I see this as a matter of individual choice. How could you put someone in jail for consuming the bioequivalent of an FDA approved drug?

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  27. 27. jtuf in reply to eighthundredpundgorilla 08:52 AM 3/28/09

    eighthundredpundgorilla, If the constitution gives congress the power to regulate recreational drug use, why did our ancestors pass the 18th ammendment instead of just outlawing alcohol with a federal law?

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  28. 28. miller0788 in reply to eighthundredpundgorilla 05:06 PM 3/28/09

    well to you Mr. gorilla i think you should do a little bit more research before you start trying to spew facts about things you dont know. weed is not a narcotic so there is strike one. strike two if weed was legal that would make the drug war less than it is right now because thats one less thing they have to worry about looking to stop from going over the border. and i never said you cannot overdose i said if you have heard about it then that is very uncommon and of course there are adverse effects its called being high. and before yu start calling people dumb i think you should do a spell check before you post your messages.

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  29. 29. eighthundredpundgorilla 08:58 PM 3/28/09

    Okay, there is NO EVIDENCE that making marijauna illegal will cut down on the use of marijuana. Infact, it will most likely increase its use as it will become socially acceptable for recreational use as well. And, I dont think they(border DEA etc) would stop looking for it coming over the border as most drugs are packaged exactly the same from mexico. And, I can guarantee you I know more than the average person on marijuana and, I will use spell check if you will as your post wasnt perfect. Also, there are other adverse effects than just being high from marijuana. Of course, every article from a non biased report has a counter from pro marijuana advocates so I challenge you to go outside your NORML realm and seek facts from more reliable sources. Do what i did, seek your own answers. I didnt form opinions from those advocates for or against. I compiled my own research wrote my own letters, studied and read, and studied some more. I have seen first hand the war on drugs and its effects and quite frankly do not believe in prison for this crime. I believe fines should be more than 5 times what they are. I know from several doctors (i have spoken with) that the cannabinoids from marijuana is the key to what is helping those TERMINAL. I have written law that dispensaries are federally illegal. I think that most advocates of marijuana are shear phonies cowering behind terminally ill to release a recreational drug. I know our drug war is no failure as it is documented that In the US, illegal drug use has been cut from 14% of Americans aged 12 and older in 1979 to 8% in 2007. Curbing the demand for illegal drugs must be the central goal to fighting the drug war. So, before you guess my education on the subject, I must warn you just as you may think you have guessed that I am a"MR", you will find yourself incorrect. One can only assume as to the nature, sex, and education of the person on the other end of a blog but truthfully speaking, you have passed judgement by your predetermined remarks that I have made it a point (until now) to refrain from entering into the conversation. If you judge everyone this way and think you know so much about them from what you interpret INTOthe conversation, then you have been closed minded and biased, which is why I suggest you look to both sides before you just jump on the "marijuana bandwagon"

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  30. 30. eighthundredpundgorilla 09:28 PM 3/28/09

    another thought on the topic, most marijauna users studied the subject only after they strated using the drug. This type of research only leads to a defense to use the product and they find logical reasons to support their use. I have yet to meet an advocate who researched this drug before they began using it and came to the conclusion "well, I did all my research and it showed this was okay so i invested in it". If we tend to look only for reasons to support our "activity" or support the outcome we favor, then we are always going to believe we are justified in what we do. What we need to do instead, is research, research, research. That goes for ANY DRUG, even those prescribed by doctors reccommended by the FDA. Research first BOTH sides of the issue, and draw our conclusions from that.

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  31. 31. GeoChemist 09:08 AM 3/29/09

    The organizations that think they are ABOVE the DOJ, start at the top, after two or three bullets the rest of these renegades should fall in line.

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  32. 32. Jack2009 01:18 PM 3/29/09

    Yes the constitution doesn't give federal authority to override CA state law. What gives them authority is guns and badges. Federal police have been routinely taking over state police facilities in prearranged week end exercises to prepare for martial law in case of terrorism. The concern with intervention from the federal bureaucracy is that medical marijuana suppliers could be intentionally put out of business, and clinics forced to buy product from a cartel.

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  33. 33. eighthundredpundgorilla 04:03 PM 3/29/09

    BS JACK..Federal police are a seperate entity with seperate duties. Your STATE police, IN CA CHP, do not participate in the closures of medicinal marijuana storefronts that BY THE WAY are illegal under state law.Nor, are they EVER taken over in some sort of prearranged weekend takeover, as you suggest. The thought of this is popostourous at best. The only place you find provisions for medicinal marijuana facilities in CA is under the guidelines set forth by attorney general J Brown (Aug 2008). Which, are just that, GUIDELINES. NO WHERE under prop 215 or SB420 will you find provisions for storefront dispensaries. With that said, storefront dispensaries should be concerned. Most clinics will buy from the cartel you speak of, as it is well known that once the stores are open, the cartel will find them. this is called "the conventionable method".Storefront dispensaries only prey on TRUE termianlly ill people.

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  34. 34. ethicspiedpiper 06:13 PM 4/1/09

    i am trying to work out what we know more than the ancestors - in terms of happiness risk life and love - i think it a mistake to get lost arguing who has the power in the constitution

    but then i am part anthropologist
    we tend to look at truthful timescales

    i note no interest in debating the points i raised - some predictable jibes about herb use and complete loss of any REAL sense of humans and drug use

    i rest my aboriginal case - too much western HATE - mirrored in death from guns like a bad movie in our classrooms

    WAKE UP
    stop being nasty to us all
    hate = self hate???
    respect i give to wise elders can control themselves not i
    go walkabout and connected emotional web

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  35. 35. ethicspiedpiper 12:59 AM 4/4/09

    @eighthundredpundgorilla

    you are selective in your attitude
    you do not account for the relative nature of your view
    you only disscuss what suits your arguement
    you are incorrect on too much to cite

    are you for real???

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  36. 36. ethicspiedpiper 01:02 AM 4/4/09

    @eighthundredpundgorilla

    are you some kind of western aboriginal hating fascist
    btw

    attacks on obama
    with no citation
    attacks upon FELT view
    a bizarre implied view of so much

    you are truely not a scientist - you sound like an engineer?

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  37. 37. PLUSMATIC 03:21 AM 5/29/09

    Wow. JUST LEGAILIZE IT ALREADY . IT IS THE ANSWER TO THE DEFICIT

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  38. 38. Lotus111R 07:57 AM 4/7/10

    I wish that we would have decriminalization in the UK! What we need is proper legislation and taxation of Canabis and Canabis Seeds fast. Education is key. On http://www.Magicdragonseeds.com and other sites you can find over 900 strains of cannabis freely available in the UK. These strains have various amounts of CBD and THC, although illegal to germinate and grow them, these plants could be used for various medicinal reasons, helping the terminal ill, Psychological Stressed people etc... Educating and research about the benefits of legalizing marijuana, safe use and growing(for personal consumption) would reduce the impact on the NHS and generate new revenue for the State...

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  39. 39. bryan3086 in reply to jtuf 01:11 PM 6/11/10

    It's called preemption. When this issue eventually goes to the U.S. supreme court, California's decriminalization will be deemed unconstitutional. If you want to change drug law, you MUST change the federal statutes.

    Until that happens, marijuana will remain illegal in California.

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  40. 40. MiaOregon 04:34 AM 10/12/11

    During the last couple of years, medical cannabis has been essentially legal in some states. The first state to legalize the substance for medical use was California, over 15 years ago. Now, federal lawyers are frightening several shops with legal action if they don't shut down. This is an about-face from prior federal policy of non-interference. Source for this article: <a title="16 California dispensaries facing government shutdown" href="http://www.newsytype.com/12517-feds-shut-down-pot-dispensaries/">16 California dispensaries facing government shutdown</a>

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