T
The420Guy
Guest
Note: In this time of national emergency, federal law enforcement agents
are pulling out all the stops to nail suspected hijackers, anthrax-mailers
... and medical marijuana clubs.
Each day, as he has since 1996, Mirron Willis swallows an assortment of
prescription HIV-treatment drugs -- drugs that keep his viral load down,
but also make it hard to keep a meal down. The only effective antidote
Willis has found for this drug-induced nausea is another drug -- marijuana.
At first, Willis, 36, bought his marijuana from dealers on the street, a
system he was familiar with from his earlier recreational use. Then, in
early 1997, he joined the newly-formed Los Angeles Cannabis Resource Center
in hope of finding a stable marijuana supply to combat his nausea. For
almost five years, the West Hollywood club provided him with reliable
access to the drug and a comforting community.
"Going to the club affords people the opportunity to be safe," Willis says.
"Plus, it's about being around people who are doing something proactive
about their health."
Now, Willis is back to buying his marijuana on the street, as are many of
the club's 960 other members. On Oct. 25, 30 federal agents raided the
facility, seizing the center's computers, patient records, and about 400
marijuana plants. President Scott Imler says the effects on club members --
who suffer from ailments such as AIDS, epilepsy, cancer and chronic pain --
have been pronounced.
"People are already hurting," he says. "They can't eat, they can't sleep,
they can't take their medication."
The West Hollywood raid was just the latest move in a new federal campaign
against medical marijuana clubs and growers in California. California
voters in 1996 passed a ballot initiative making it legal for people
suffering from specific maladies to grow or consume marijuna if the
treatment was recommended by a doctor. Still, marijuana use of any sort
remains illegal under federal law, and a May Supreme Court ruling cleared
the way for federal agents to begin their crackdown on medical marijuana
clubs operating under the California provision, formally known as
Proposition 215.
On Sept. 28, Drug Enforcement Agency agents raided a medical marijuana
clinic run by Dr. Marion Fry near Sacramento. Agents reportedly destroyed
32 marijuana plants that belonged to Dr. Fry, a cancer patient, and left
with some 6,000 patient records. The same day, DEA agents in southern
California raided a rural garden that supplies plants to the Los Angeles
Cannabis Resource Center, seizing 273 plants -- a crop which growers Judy
and Lynn Osburn estimate to be about a third of the center's annual supply.
While nobody has been arrested during any of the raids, advocates for
medical use of marijuana say the timing of the raids is particularly
questionable, as federal law enforcement agents supposedly have their hands
full trying to catch terrorists.
"The feds need to worry about things that are actually dangerous, like
anthrax," says Dale Gieringer, coordinator for the California chapter of
the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. "With all the
other national security issues, it's depressing that they should focus on
this," says Richard Schmitz, of the Washington-based Marijuana Policy Project.
Attorney General John Ashcroft recently announced a "wartime
reorganization" of the Justice Department, and DEA head Asa Hutchinson said
last week that his agency is busier than ever "picking up the slack" for
FBI agents reassigned to terrorism duties. Still, drug enforcement
officials say they have no plans to ease up on clubs that distribute
medical marijuana.
"The Supreme Court has made it very clear that there is no accepted medical
use for marijuana," says Justice Department spokesperson Susan Dryden. "The
administration has made it a priority to prevent illegal drug use, and
where there is illegal drug use, we will enforce the federal law."
In the May high court ruling which cleared the way for the crackdown,
justices rejected an argument, presented by lawyers for the Oakland
Cannabis Buyer's Cooperative, that medical necessity should override
federal anti-drug laws. As US Attorney John Gordon explained in a statement
released on the day of the West Hollywood raid: "The United States Supreme
Court recently held that, under federal law, marijuana is an illegal drug
which Congress has determined has no currently accepted medical use.
Proposition 215 is a California state law that has no bearing on the
applicability of federal criminal laws."
Although no arrests have been made, the US Attorney's office says that they
are "conducting a criminal investigation at this time" of Imler and other
Los Angeles Cannabis Resource Center staff members. Which has put the
medical marijuana community on alert. A few clubs have closed. Others are
taking precautions such as moving patient records to a separate location,
or placing a hold on any new applicants. Many clubs are encouraging members
to grow their own marijuana at home.
Staff members at the clubs which remain open say most of their energy has
been focused on their patients -- reassuring them that they will still get
the medicine they need, and that their medical records will remain private
information.
"I see a lot of anxiety among our patients," says Don Duncan, director of
the Berkeley Patient's Group. "They're very concerned about going to the
black market." Michael Bellefontaine of the ACT UP San Francisco
dispensary, which provides marijuana to those with doctor's approval, says
he is trying to calm his patients, many of whom have AIDS.
"We don't really want people to panic," he says. "That creates a lot of
stress that isn't healthy, especially in people who are immuno-suppressed."
With polls indicating that more than 70 percent of Americans support
allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana, many advocates believe that the
courts or Congress -- not the Justice Department -- will ultimately decide
medical marijuana's fate.
"The DEA and the Feds are at a completely different point than the public,"
the Marijuana Policy Project's Richard Schmitz says. "It would be very
difficult for (federal officials) to win a jury trial" if someone like
Imler were to be prosecuted as a drug dealer, Schmitz says. In Congress,
Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) has introduced a bill to reclassify marijuana
as a drug which doctors could prescribe.
"The courts have ruled, and the executive branch has clearly acted," Frank
says. "Only Congress can stop the harassment of medical marijuana patients
now."
Still, critically ill patients say they can't wait for the courts or for
Congress.
"I have to live every day, regardless of what the Feds do," Mirron Willis
says. "It's about the quickest way to relieve suffering. This is not about
a plant. This is about human beings." What do you think?
Newshawk: Cannabis News - marijuana, hemp, and cannabis news
Pubdate: Fri, 16 Nov 2001
Source: Mother Jones (US)
Copyright: 2001 Foundation for National Progress
Contact: backtalk@motherjones.com
Website: Mother Jones Magazine
Details: Overload Warning
Author: Emily Huber, Editorial Fellow at MotherJones.com.
Bookmark: Overload Warning (Cannabis - California)
Bookmark: Overload Warning (Cannabis - Medicinal)
Note: Web exclusive.
are pulling out all the stops to nail suspected hijackers, anthrax-mailers
... and medical marijuana clubs.
Each day, as he has since 1996, Mirron Willis swallows an assortment of
prescription HIV-treatment drugs -- drugs that keep his viral load down,
but also make it hard to keep a meal down. The only effective antidote
Willis has found for this drug-induced nausea is another drug -- marijuana.
At first, Willis, 36, bought his marijuana from dealers on the street, a
system he was familiar with from his earlier recreational use. Then, in
early 1997, he joined the newly-formed Los Angeles Cannabis Resource Center
in hope of finding a stable marijuana supply to combat his nausea. For
almost five years, the West Hollywood club provided him with reliable
access to the drug and a comforting community.
"Going to the club affords people the opportunity to be safe," Willis says.
"Plus, it's about being around people who are doing something proactive
about their health."
Now, Willis is back to buying his marijuana on the street, as are many of
the club's 960 other members. On Oct. 25, 30 federal agents raided the
facility, seizing the center's computers, patient records, and about 400
marijuana plants. President Scott Imler says the effects on club members --
who suffer from ailments such as AIDS, epilepsy, cancer and chronic pain --
have been pronounced.
"People are already hurting," he says. "They can't eat, they can't sleep,
they can't take their medication."
The West Hollywood raid was just the latest move in a new federal campaign
against medical marijuana clubs and growers in California. California
voters in 1996 passed a ballot initiative making it legal for people
suffering from specific maladies to grow or consume marijuna if the
treatment was recommended by a doctor. Still, marijuana use of any sort
remains illegal under federal law, and a May Supreme Court ruling cleared
the way for federal agents to begin their crackdown on medical marijuana
clubs operating under the California provision, formally known as
Proposition 215.
On Sept. 28, Drug Enforcement Agency agents raided a medical marijuana
clinic run by Dr. Marion Fry near Sacramento. Agents reportedly destroyed
32 marijuana plants that belonged to Dr. Fry, a cancer patient, and left
with some 6,000 patient records. The same day, DEA agents in southern
California raided a rural garden that supplies plants to the Los Angeles
Cannabis Resource Center, seizing 273 plants -- a crop which growers Judy
and Lynn Osburn estimate to be about a third of the center's annual supply.
While nobody has been arrested during any of the raids, advocates for
medical use of marijuana say the timing of the raids is particularly
questionable, as federal law enforcement agents supposedly have their hands
full trying to catch terrorists.
"The feds need to worry about things that are actually dangerous, like
anthrax," says Dale Gieringer, coordinator for the California chapter of
the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. "With all the
other national security issues, it's depressing that they should focus on
this," says Richard Schmitz, of the Washington-based Marijuana Policy Project.
Attorney General John Ashcroft recently announced a "wartime
reorganization" of the Justice Department, and DEA head Asa Hutchinson said
last week that his agency is busier than ever "picking up the slack" for
FBI agents reassigned to terrorism duties. Still, drug enforcement
officials say they have no plans to ease up on clubs that distribute
medical marijuana.
"The Supreme Court has made it very clear that there is no accepted medical
use for marijuana," says Justice Department spokesperson Susan Dryden. "The
administration has made it a priority to prevent illegal drug use, and
where there is illegal drug use, we will enforce the federal law."
In the May high court ruling which cleared the way for the crackdown,
justices rejected an argument, presented by lawyers for the Oakland
Cannabis Buyer's Cooperative, that medical necessity should override
federal anti-drug laws. As US Attorney John Gordon explained in a statement
released on the day of the West Hollywood raid: "The United States Supreme
Court recently held that, under federal law, marijuana is an illegal drug
which Congress has determined has no currently accepted medical use.
Proposition 215 is a California state law that has no bearing on the
applicability of federal criminal laws."
Although no arrests have been made, the US Attorney's office says that they
are "conducting a criminal investigation at this time" of Imler and other
Los Angeles Cannabis Resource Center staff members. Which has put the
medical marijuana community on alert. A few clubs have closed. Others are
taking precautions such as moving patient records to a separate location,
or placing a hold on any new applicants. Many clubs are encouraging members
to grow their own marijuana at home.
Staff members at the clubs which remain open say most of their energy has
been focused on their patients -- reassuring them that they will still get
the medicine they need, and that their medical records will remain private
information.
"I see a lot of anxiety among our patients," says Don Duncan, director of
the Berkeley Patient's Group. "They're very concerned about going to the
black market." Michael Bellefontaine of the ACT UP San Francisco
dispensary, which provides marijuana to those with doctor's approval, says
he is trying to calm his patients, many of whom have AIDS.
"We don't really want people to panic," he says. "That creates a lot of
stress that isn't healthy, especially in people who are immuno-suppressed."
With polls indicating that more than 70 percent of Americans support
allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana, many advocates believe that the
courts or Congress -- not the Justice Department -- will ultimately decide
medical marijuana's fate.
"The DEA and the Feds are at a completely different point than the public,"
the Marijuana Policy Project's Richard Schmitz says. "It would be very
difficult for (federal officials) to win a jury trial" if someone like
Imler were to be prosecuted as a drug dealer, Schmitz says. In Congress,
Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) has introduced a bill to reclassify marijuana
as a drug which doctors could prescribe.
"The courts have ruled, and the executive branch has clearly acted," Frank
says. "Only Congress can stop the harassment of medical marijuana patients
now."
Still, critically ill patients say they can't wait for the courts or for
Congress.
"I have to live every day, regardless of what the Feds do," Mirron Willis
says. "It's about the quickest way to relieve suffering. This is not about
a plant. This is about human beings." What do you think?
Newshawk: Cannabis News - marijuana, hemp, and cannabis news
Pubdate: Fri, 16 Nov 2001
Source: Mother Jones (US)
Copyright: 2001 Foundation for National Progress
Contact: backtalk@motherjones.com
Website: Mother Jones Magazine
Details: Overload Warning
Author: Emily Huber, Editorial Fellow at MotherJones.com.
Bookmark: Overload Warning (Cannabis - California)
Bookmark: Overload Warning (Cannabis - Medicinal)
Note: Web exclusive.
