In spite of the President's assurances that things would "change", The DEA continues to target Marijuana Dispensaries throughout California.
Febuary 25, 2009
Reporter: "Shortly after the inauguration there were raids on California medical marijuana dispensaries...do you expect these to continue?", noting that the President had promised to end the raids in the campaign.
A.G.Holder: "No...What the President said during the campaign...is consistent with what we will be doing here in law enforcement. He was my boss in the campaign....He is my boss now. What he said in the campaign is now American policy."
Yesterday, in Co-ordination with the local DA's Office and their Anti-Marijuana Crusader, Bonnie Dumanis, heavily armed DEA agents raided more than a dozen local dispenseries.
From the SD Union-Tribune
District Attorney's Office leads multiagency effort
By Kristina Davis
Union-Tribune Staff Writer
2:00 a.m. September 10, 2009
Update
The San Diego County District Attorney's Office has scheduled a 10 a.m. press conference to discuss the results of Wednesday's raids.
Law enforcement officers raided an unknown number of medical-marijuana dispensaries around the San Diego region yesterday, authorities said.
The District Attorney's Office, which is leading the multiagency operation, declined to give further details, saying more information would be released today.
Word of the raids began spreading about noon with reports of armed officers from the San Diego Police Department, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and other agencies bursting into dispensaries or collectives.
Raids were reported at a handful of dispensaries, including Pacific Beach Collective on Turquoise Street, Green Kross Collective on Mission Boulevard and Hillcrest Compassion Care on University Avenue. Late yesterday, a red sign in front of Pacific Beach Collective read: "This location has been involved in the trafficking of illegal narcotics. Criminal prosecution is pending."
It was unclear how many people were arrested or what charges they faced. Calls to numerous dispensaries were unanswered.
The city continues to do it's best to subvert the intent of Prop 215, which should come as no surprise after the Supreme Court thwarted their attempts to avoid issuing identification cards.
U.S. Supreme Court Rejects San Diego County's Challenge to California's Medical Marijuana Law
By Kenny Goldberg
May 18, 2009
SAN DIEGO — San Diego County's legal challenge to California's medical marijuana law is over. The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear the case. That means next month, county supervisors will consider a plan to issue I.D. cards to medical marijuana patients.
San Diego County first tried to get the courts to overturn California's medical marijuana law three years ago. The County claimed federal law that makes marijuana illegal should trump state law.
Three separate courts rejected that challenge, and the U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear the case.
Of course, the patients that rely on these dispensaries are, unfortunately now shit out of luck.
Thomas Carpentier, 50, of La Jolla, who struggles with arthritis, tried to buy medicinal marijuana from two dispensaries yesterday but found them closed.
"These guys were trying to run a straight shop all the time," Carpentier said while standing in front of Pacific Beach Collective. "They did everything right."
For instance, The Hillcrest Compassion Care serves the largest gay community in San Diego and supports a large number of AIDS patients. I've been there and seen many of the people they help. These aren't just stoners using the law as a loophole. These are seriously ill people whose access to relief has now been taken away from them.
It's not just San Diego...These raids continue across the state.
LA, SF,Bakersfield
Of course the fact that the head of the DEA is still Bush-appointed Michele Leonhart, could have something to do with it.
Although looking at most of his other appointees, I doubt that the new Head would be any better if they did replace her.
Update So, I just swung by and checked out the co-op where I am registered. They were one of the ones shut down, so now I can be pretty much assured that my personal records will be in a DEA database somewhere.