420
Founder
The DEA shut down San Diego's remaining medical marijuana clubs today.
Clubs that had remained open after last week's raid were visited without search warrants and told to close. Clubs that opened their doors to the agents had their medicine taken.
California NORML denounced the raids as a reactionary federal attack on Prop. 215:
"Californians support legal access to medical marijuana,' said California NORML coordinator Dale Gieringer. "These raids will only increase marijuana crime by sending patients back to illicit street dealers."
Last week fifteen people were arrested after several raids at San Diego dispensaries. Undercover agents posed as patients and primary caregivers and attempted to obtain medicinal marijuana without a doctor's recommendation. However, it can be extremely difficult for a patient to obtain a doctors' recommendation as feds increasingly threaten to prosecute doctors for writing them.
Medical marijuana patients, caregivers and activists have already started plans to stop the DEA in its tracks before it can shut down any more dispensaries.
A protest led by American's for Safe Access is already organized for Tuesday July 25th. Supporters are to meet at 9:30am in front of the city hall at 220 C Street in San Diego. A meeting has been arranged with the City Council for 10am in the Council Chambers.
Talks of more drastic measures, such as impeachment of the San Diego District Attorney are also circling the medical marijuana community, and it is only the beginning of how far they are willing to go to get their voices heard. They are willing to recall as many officials as need be until they feel their state rights are being protected. Californians have shown recently that they are willing to second-guess themselves. Governor Grey Davis was recalled in 2003 with 55.54 % of voters in favor of it. Only 12% of the previous voters signatures need to be gathered for a recall election, and with more and more support of medical cannabis to ease not only extreme, but also day to day symptoms, a recall may be easy enough to get on the ballot. For the full text with much more detailed information go to: California recall election, 2003 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
John Moran, owner of Chronic Care Co-op in San Diego said, (of today's visit) "DEA officials told me they are shutting down everyone, even delivery, and that the District Attorney of San Diego is responsible. They do not have enough man power to get to everyone but they said they made it to us and this was a courtesy and if we open, we will go to jail."
Mr. Moran claims he was told by a DEA agent "That all coops, dispensaries and deliveries are in violation of federal and state law and that we had to shut down or go to jail. It had nothing to do with verifying patients (which we diligently did). They even took the rest of our meds."
An anonymous shop owner also affected by the DEA visits said: "This was not a DEA raid, this was a DEA courtesy call and warning to shut down and not re-open. There were no guns, there were only 3 DEA agents, they were plain clothed, carrying their DEA badges on their waist. They came in calmly, one had a clipboard. They introduced themselves and before they said anything, we asked them if they were shutting us down. They said yes, they are officially shutting us down and if we should reopen, we would go straight to jail. They had no warrants. They were calm and nice but they did ask us for our meds and took them but gave us a receipt. A patient who just arrived a minute before the DEA, was let go seemingly unnoticed - they only asked for the owner. After taking down our personal information, they repeated to tell us that they are shutting down everyone in San Diego and then moving their way up north through California, and that all of us are in clear violation of state and federal law. They explained that getting a business license and sellers permit is not permission from the city or anyone to have a any type of business that violates any law. They said we could have started a heroin shop and gotten a business license and sellers permit not a problem. These government agencies don't care; they just want to have the taxes. They thanked us for cooperating, they found it unusual that we were so cooperative, which made them even nicer and then they calmly left, repeating one more time not to open or we will be arrested. And that is exactly how it happened. "
It is true that medical marijuana is federally illegal, but as Martin Luther King said from Birmingham Jail: "One has not only a legal, but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws."
Moran also talked about the importance of Californians making a difference:
"We need to inundate the newspapers, television and radios with the truth about cannabis and how it helps people, by mass calling, having rallies in front of their stations, massive complaining to all of them to the point that they have no other choice but to listen.
Like the truth about three patients who have visited CCC who are probably not going to live much longer than a few months to maybe a year and the other hundred or so members that have so much pain they just need a few minutes of relief every day. Patients suffer from: severe anxiety, bipolar disorder, severe depression, ADD, chronic pain caused by accidents or years of physical hard work, chronic nausea, many extreme insomniacs, major skeletal degeneration, damage and pain, severe arthritis right down to a person with rheumatoid arthritis of the heart, a lot of our own military service man that have been wrecked by war, one that got shot two centimeters from his heart during live combat training and now he can not go anywhere without someone next to him because his heart stops and he faints and ends up severely damaging himself when he falls. He can not even be left alone with his kids, or take a shower by himself.
Many patients have to use cannabis to relieve the major side effects of their physician's prescribed medications.
All these people would not be able to do their jobs or live their lives normally. We at CCC learned that if it was not for the many different strains that came through our coop we would not have been able to help that many different people with different illnesses. We have seen miracles from a lady being able to see all the way to a gentleman with severe months-long migraines who found relieve through a specific strain (after going through many and never getting relieve). There is a Headache strain, a muscular and nerve pain strain, a skeletal pain strain, there are strains that lower blood pressure, help with bipolar disorder and ADD. There are strains that help severely depressed people live a normal and happy and productive life.
A patient just told us yesterday that if he did not use cannabis, he would not have been able to get his degree, and have a good job and go to work everyday. He is just one of many with the same story. Cannabis is not addictive, does not cause mouth, head, neck or lung cancer (UCLA study) as a matter of study, it might even decrease cancer tumors or maybe help prevent occurrence of lung cancer. It has been in study for more than 10 thousand years and nobody has ever died of using cannabis. There is even a study that says cannabis encourages growth of new neurons in the brain. Cannabis does not make you lazy, stupid or crazy or make you loose your mental capacity, loose all your memory or motivation to do something. I love cannabis.
We will re-open as soon as we get the official permission to do so. We hope this will be soon.
What are the patients going to do now? They have no place to go. There is no more safe access to medicinal cannabis.
This is about our civil liberties, and patients in other state might have to go through the same tribulations in the near future.
We will continue the fight for our freedom and civil liberties."
ASA Meeting Tuesday July 25th
Gather @ 9:30 a.m. in front of City Hall, 220 C Street, San Diego
Speak to the council @ 10:00 a.m. in the Council Chambers.
CCC - Tell a Patient
Unfortunately closed until further notice
Chronic Care Co-op
6729 Convoy Ct.
San Diego CA 92111
Phone 858 292-5991
Fax 858 292-7109
Email Chroniccarecoop@sbcglobal.net
Source: 420Times.com
Clubs that had remained open after last week's raid were visited without search warrants and told to close. Clubs that opened their doors to the agents had their medicine taken.
California NORML denounced the raids as a reactionary federal attack on Prop. 215:
"Californians support legal access to medical marijuana,' said California NORML coordinator Dale Gieringer. "These raids will only increase marijuana crime by sending patients back to illicit street dealers."
Last week fifteen people were arrested after several raids at San Diego dispensaries. Undercover agents posed as patients and primary caregivers and attempted to obtain medicinal marijuana without a doctor's recommendation. However, it can be extremely difficult for a patient to obtain a doctors' recommendation as feds increasingly threaten to prosecute doctors for writing them.
Medical marijuana patients, caregivers and activists have already started plans to stop the DEA in its tracks before it can shut down any more dispensaries.
A protest led by American's for Safe Access is already organized for Tuesday July 25th. Supporters are to meet at 9:30am in front of the city hall at 220 C Street in San Diego. A meeting has been arranged with the City Council for 10am in the Council Chambers.
Talks of more drastic measures, such as impeachment of the San Diego District Attorney are also circling the medical marijuana community, and it is only the beginning of how far they are willing to go to get their voices heard. They are willing to recall as many officials as need be until they feel their state rights are being protected. Californians have shown recently that they are willing to second-guess themselves. Governor Grey Davis was recalled in 2003 with 55.54 % of voters in favor of it. Only 12% of the previous voters signatures need to be gathered for a recall election, and with more and more support of medical cannabis to ease not only extreme, but also day to day symptoms, a recall may be easy enough to get on the ballot. For the full text with much more detailed information go to: California recall election, 2003 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
John Moran, owner of Chronic Care Co-op in San Diego said, (of today's visit) "DEA officials told me they are shutting down everyone, even delivery, and that the District Attorney of San Diego is responsible. They do not have enough man power to get to everyone but they said they made it to us and this was a courtesy and if we open, we will go to jail."
Mr. Moran claims he was told by a DEA agent "That all coops, dispensaries and deliveries are in violation of federal and state law and that we had to shut down or go to jail. It had nothing to do with verifying patients (which we diligently did). They even took the rest of our meds."
An anonymous shop owner also affected by the DEA visits said: "This was not a DEA raid, this was a DEA courtesy call and warning to shut down and not re-open. There were no guns, there were only 3 DEA agents, they were plain clothed, carrying their DEA badges on their waist. They came in calmly, one had a clipboard. They introduced themselves and before they said anything, we asked them if they were shutting us down. They said yes, they are officially shutting us down and if we should reopen, we would go straight to jail. They had no warrants. They were calm and nice but they did ask us for our meds and took them but gave us a receipt. A patient who just arrived a minute before the DEA, was let go seemingly unnoticed - they only asked for the owner. After taking down our personal information, they repeated to tell us that they are shutting down everyone in San Diego and then moving their way up north through California, and that all of us are in clear violation of state and federal law. They explained that getting a business license and sellers permit is not permission from the city or anyone to have a any type of business that violates any law. They said we could have started a heroin shop and gotten a business license and sellers permit not a problem. These government agencies don't care; they just want to have the taxes. They thanked us for cooperating, they found it unusual that we were so cooperative, which made them even nicer and then they calmly left, repeating one more time not to open or we will be arrested. And that is exactly how it happened. "
It is true that medical marijuana is federally illegal, but as Martin Luther King said from Birmingham Jail: "One has not only a legal, but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws."
Moran also talked about the importance of Californians making a difference:
"We need to inundate the newspapers, television and radios with the truth about cannabis and how it helps people, by mass calling, having rallies in front of their stations, massive complaining to all of them to the point that they have no other choice but to listen.
Like the truth about three patients who have visited CCC who are probably not going to live much longer than a few months to maybe a year and the other hundred or so members that have so much pain they just need a few minutes of relief every day. Patients suffer from: severe anxiety, bipolar disorder, severe depression, ADD, chronic pain caused by accidents or years of physical hard work, chronic nausea, many extreme insomniacs, major skeletal degeneration, damage and pain, severe arthritis right down to a person with rheumatoid arthritis of the heart, a lot of our own military service man that have been wrecked by war, one that got shot two centimeters from his heart during live combat training and now he can not go anywhere without someone next to him because his heart stops and he faints and ends up severely damaging himself when he falls. He can not even be left alone with his kids, or take a shower by himself.
Many patients have to use cannabis to relieve the major side effects of their physician's prescribed medications.
All these people would not be able to do their jobs or live their lives normally. We at CCC learned that if it was not for the many different strains that came through our coop we would not have been able to help that many different people with different illnesses. We have seen miracles from a lady being able to see all the way to a gentleman with severe months-long migraines who found relieve through a specific strain (after going through many and never getting relieve). There is a Headache strain, a muscular and nerve pain strain, a skeletal pain strain, there are strains that lower blood pressure, help with bipolar disorder and ADD. There are strains that help severely depressed people live a normal and happy and productive life.
A patient just told us yesterday that if he did not use cannabis, he would not have been able to get his degree, and have a good job and go to work everyday. He is just one of many with the same story. Cannabis is not addictive, does not cause mouth, head, neck or lung cancer (UCLA study) as a matter of study, it might even decrease cancer tumors or maybe help prevent occurrence of lung cancer. It has been in study for more than 10 thousand years and nobody has ever died of using cannabis. There is even a study that says cannabis encourages growth of new neurons in the brain. Cannabis does not make you lazy, stupid or crazy or make you loose your mental capacity, loose all your memory or motivation to do something. I love cannabis.
We will re-open as soon as we get the official permission to do so. We hope this will be soon.
What are the patients going to do now? They have no place to go. There is no more safe access to medicinal cannabis.
This is about our civil liberties, and patients in other state might have to go through the same tribulations in the near future.
We will continue the fight for our freedom and civil liberties."
ASA Meeting Tuesday July 25th
Gather @ 9:30 a.m. in front of City Hall, 220 C Street, San Diego
Speak to the council @ 10:00 a.m. in the Council Chambers.
CCC - Tell a Patient
Unfortunately closed until further notice
Chronic Care Co-op
6729 Convoy Ct.
San Diego CA 92111
Phone 858 292-5991
Fax 858 292-7109
Email Chroniccarecoop@sbcglobal.net
Source: 420Times.com
I never heard that.
