OpenYourEyes
New Member
Remember the recent report about a medicinal marijuana vending machine opening in Los Angeles? If not, read MSNBC's article here. Well, I live around the block from the cannabis dispensary that was home to that beautiful machine. The HNC is clean, quiet, and everyone who works there is really nice. This evening, as I was taking my Friday night constitutional down to the 7-11 for beer, a horrible sight sprang into view:
Guess who came calling? The DEA. The dispensary’s manager, who was walking around outside when I strolled by, told me that a group of federal thugs agents smashed not only the ten-foot window you see above, but also over twenty glass display cases inside. They then proceeded to steal all the medicine. This isn’t the first raid, either. The HNC was smashed to pieces last year by the DEA, on suspicion of carrying too much medicine, but were quickly cleared of any wrongdoing. The Feds just wanted to rattle them up a bit. However, the first DEA raid led the HNC owner to install that headline-grabbing vending machine in lieu of another break-in. He figured they would just take the machine and leave the interior of the dispensary intact. Nope!
Remember, this is a state certified business. It is legally entitled to operate in every way under California law and was doing absolutely nothing wrong. Don’t think we’re living under the thumb of soft fascism? Even if you don’t use cannabis, or for some reason have a problem with others using it, you should be disturbed by your federal government’s continued abuse of state’s rights.
UPDATE:
Thank you for taking the time to read and comment. I feel the need to explain the situation a little bit further, so as to clear up any misconceptions. This was a Federal DEA raid. They were not robbers, or robbers dressed up like DEA (that comment made chocolate milk shoot out my nose!). From time to time, the DEA does conduct raids like this in California. They are not polite because they don’t have to be- they’re sending a message, or fulfilling a quota, or whatever the precursor to the raid was. It’s true, marijuana is still a Federally recognized contraband. However, I feel the heavy-handed approach (breaking of glass, destruction of property) is not warranted. If the HNC was truly under suspicion, a simple search of the premises would have sufficed. Don’t miss the big picture because this was a cannabis dispensary. The particular article was not about the pros and cons of cannabis use (although I’ll be glad to extol the virtues of hemp anytime you want!).
Cheers!
Geoff
April 25, 2008 By: G.M. Gardner Category: Democrazy, Power to the People
Zoinks! The Pot Vending Machine Has Been Stolen by the Feds!
Guess who came calling? The DEA. The dispensary’s manager, who was walking around outside when I strolled by, told me that a group of federal thugs agents smashed not only the ten-foot window you see above, but also over twenty glass display cases inside. They then proceeded to steal all the medicine. This isn’t the first raid, either. The HNC was smashed to pieces last year by the DEA, on suspicion of carrying too much medicine, but were quickly cleared of any wrongdoing. The Feds just wanted to rattle them up a bit. However, the first DEA raid led the HNC owner to install that headline-grabbing vending machine in lieu of another break-in. He figured they would just take the machine and leave the interior of the dispensary intact. Nope!
Remember, this is a state certified business. It is legally entitled to operate in every way under California law and was doing absolutely nothing wrong. Don’t think we’re living under the thumb of soft fascism? Even if you don’t use cannabis, or for some reason have a problem with others using it, you should be disturbed by your federal government’s continued abuse of state’s rights.
UPDATE:
Thank you for taking the time to read and comment. I feel the need to explain the situation a little bit further, so as to clear up any misconceptions. This was a Federal DEA raid. They were not robbers, or robbers dressed up like DEA (that comment made chocolate milk shoot out my nose!). From time to time, the DEA does conduct raids like this in California. They are not polite because they don’t have to be- they’re sending a message, or fulfilling a quota, or whatever the precursor to the raid was. It’s true, marijuana is still a Federally recognized contraband. However, I feel the heavy-handed approach (breaking of glass, destruction of property) is not warranted. If the HNC was truly under suspicion, a simple search of the premises would have sufficed. Don’t miss the big picture because this was a cannabis dispensary. The particular article was not about the pros and cons of cannabis use (although I’ll be glad to extol the virtues of hemp anytime you want!).
Cheers!
Geoff
April 25, 2008 By: G.M. Gardner Category: Democrazy, Power to the People
Zoinks! The Pot Vending Machine Has Been Stolen by the Feds!