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The hemp industry is fighting the DEA again for its right to sell hemp products, including CBD. The Drug Enforcement Agency and US Attorney Generals have spent considerable resources on hemp farmers, state hemp projects, even attacking, raiding and destroying hemp crops in Native American tribal land. Members of congress have joined in the lawsuit against the DEA. Does the DEA even know what it is doing? Why did Eric Holder say hemp was schedule 1, prosecute hemp growers his entire tenure, only to retire and say that the laws should be changed? In Olsen v Holder 2009, some interesting facts about scheduling were reported: DEA Clarifies Status of Hemp in the Federal Register in 2001. What if you are unable to determine from reading the label and from asking the manufacturer or distributor whether the product contains THC? In such circumstances, if you wish to err on the side of caution, you may freely dispose of the product. As stated in the rules that DEA published on October 9, 2001, anyone who has purchased a food or beverage product that contains THC has 120 days (until February 6, 2002) to dispose of the product without penalty under federal law. Wait, Marijuana is the leaves and flowers and hemp is the stalks and seeds? What? Defining “Industrial Hemp”: A Fact Sheet The federal Congressional Research Service issued a report March 2017. Hemp as an Agricultural Commodity Renée Johnson Specialist in Agricultural Policy March 10, 2017 What about Cannabidiol? Since the DEA has been attacking Cannabidiol hemp products, some states have been claiming CBD is illegal. Department of Public Health Position Statement CBD Product Availability in Iowa Nebraska AG issued a memo on Cannabidiol products. Indiana AG issued an opinion of CBD , while the Indiana Governor said stores will have 60 days to destroy or remove CBD products from its stores. The FDA tested some CBD products and found some products contained no CBD, some contained higher than .3% THC and other products fluctuated with percentages of CBD. Also, the FDA has stated that because CBD is being investigated as a new drug, it cannot be marketed as a dietary supplement. The FDA is ignoring history when it says CBD is a "new drug". CBD was an ingredient of Extract of Cannabis, a formulation in the US Pharmacopia dating back to 1851. The fight against hemp, marijuana, cannabis continues. https://mjbizdaily.com/congress-members-defend-cbd-blast-deas-hemp-decision/ Congress members defend CBD, blast DEA’s hemp decision Published January 12, 2018 | By Kristen Nichols In a bold show of support for the hemp industry and CBD, 28 members of Congress are asking a federal appeals court to reject the Drug Enforcement Administration’s argument that cannabidiol is a Schedule 1 drug. The Congress members filed the brief Thursday in conjunction with a pending lawsuit against the DEA. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals is set to hear arguments in the case Feb. 15. The Congress members – 22 Democrats and six Republicans – argue that the DEA is “blatantly contrary” to the 2014 Farm Bill when it argues that CBD is a marijuana extract and therefore illegal. “The Farm Bill’s definition of industrial hemp includes any part of the plant, including the flower,” the Congress members argue in the brief. The members conclude that the federal agency’s rule about CBD was an “abuse of DEA’s administrative procedure and rulemaking authority.” The lawyer who wrote the brief for the Congress members, Steven Cash, told Marijuana Business Daily that Congress members took the extraordinary step of weighing in on the lawsuit in hopes of seeing the courts resolve the conflict between the Farm Bill and the DEA’s interpretation on the Controlled Substances Act. “Apart from arguing about the relative benefits, flaws and dangers of medical marijuana and hemp, it appears we’re going to solve this (conflict) through traditional avenues, the courts,” Cash said. The DEA said in late 2016 that because CBD cannot be easily extracted from non-flower parts of the cannabis plant, CBD should be considered a controlled substance. The decision brought a hasty lawsuit from the Hemp Industries Association and a CBD business. A lawyer for the hemp companies says the brief will show judges that Congress understood what it was doing when it authorized hemp production, meaning not just the stalks and seeds but the whole plant. “Congress has spoken, yet again,” Bob Hoban said in a statement. “The industrial hemp industry has seen exponential growth … and this case represents the most significant challenge the U.S. hemp industry has seen to date.”

A great article on the history of marijuana in Florida, showing how prohibition has failed.

Warrantless wiretapping is a terrible idea and is unconstitutional. It was created at a time when America was thought to be at WAR with the terrorists. 17 years later, America was always at war with the terrorists. Illegal wiretaps of all communications continue, but are solely focused on Americans, and more specifically focused on the war on drugs, not terrorism. Not to be outdone, the NSA and DEA know that their secret illegal wiretaps are illegal and would not be used as evidence in the courts, so they have created "parallel construction". Parallel construction means to assemble the evidence while hiding the source of the information. This means automatically denying the right of the accused to see the evidence and witnesses presented against him. A long held tradition that any evidence used against you in court must be scrutinized for constitutional issues and be legitimate and truthful. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-dea-sod/exclusive-u-s-directs-agents-to-cover-up-program-used-to-investigate-americans-idUSBRE97409R20130805 https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20140203/11143926078/parallel-construction-revealed-how-dea-is-trained-to-launder-classified-surveillance-info.shtml There are also training materials that discuss how parallel construction works, as well as the fact that in "the new post-9/11" era, a "national consensus" has been formed making it easier for the intelligence community and law enforcement to share information. It even refers to the federal courts as the intelligence community's "nemesis." A lot of the documentation deals with how to deal with having classified information, and the focus seems to be on keeping that information away from anyone involved in the case. There is -- I kid you not -- a special group of prosecutors called "the Taint Review Team" -- to be called in when things get... well... tainted. In one part of the presentation, they talk about all sorts of ways to try to get a judge to avoid revealing classified information to defendants, and then have a plan "if all else fails" which includes redoing the indictment or dropping the case. That same presentation shows that there should be a "see no evil" plan -- which explains why DEA agents are often just told "go to this truck stop and look for this truck" without knowing any more. That way they "saw no evil" with evil being defined as questionably obtained intelligence. It appears that much of the DEA's arguments here rely on the Supreme Court's ruling in 1938 in Scher v. United States, in which a law enforcement agent was told some things by a source, and used that information to find and arrest the defendant handling whiskey (during Prohibition). The court said that how the agent found out about the information doesn't matter, so long as the agent saw illegal acts himself. And thus, the Supreme Court "enabled" the idea of parallel construction. That case pops up repeatedly throughout the documents, basically telling DEA agents: expect information to come from intelligence sources, but do your best to never find out why they know this stuff. Another presentation asks "what is the problem with combining IC (Intelligence Community) collection efforts & LEA (Law Enforcement Agency) investigations in US courtrooms?" and then explains that it presents constitutional problems... and that "Americans don't like it!" The note on that one points out that "even though we seek to protect our citizens, generally, we can only use techniques to achieve that objective, which are acceptable to our citizens." But that's not what they're actually doing or teaching. Instead, they're teaching how to keep doing the constitutionally questionable things that Americans don't like... and then hiding it from the courts, the American public and even the law enforcement folks themselves, in order to create a sort of plausible deniability that launders the fact that potentially illegal and unconstitutional surveillance was used to create the basis of the legal case. There's some more information in the documents, but it all basically points to the same basic thing: the less that law enforcement folks know, the better. If the law enforcement knows too much, call in the "Taint Review Team" to see what they can do to clean up, and see what you can use to get the judge to exclude classified evidence. All in all, it adds up to a nice little plan to allow the NSA to illegally spy on people, tell law enforcement just enough to target people, without ever revealing how they were caught via unconstitutional means. Why are the Democrats voting with the Republicans to give President Trump these powers to illegally spy on everyone ? It makes no sense. Where is the #Resistance ? Probably the secret blackmailing files have already been completed on all of the congress members and now the NSA controls our government and other countries' governments forever. https://www.wired.com/story/fisa-section-702-renewal-congress/ The president was likely steered away from his official position by a Fox News broadcast, during which Libertarian Judge Andrew Napolitano told the president that Section 702 “is not the way to go.” Trump’s tweets appeared moments after the segment. An hour later, Trump reverted to the party line. In a follow up tweet, he said “we need” Section 702. Frankly, the president doesn’t seem to understand how Section 702 works. He’s not alone. FISA Advisor Remember when Trump said Obama had wiretapped Trump Tower? Those were the days Representative Devin Nunes has spent months fudging how the FISA purpose actually works to help take heat off of the Trump administration Here's what you need to know about "unmasking," the part of FISA that gets Trump (wrongly) so worked up It is a strange web that has been cast over the entire world. Other countries have teamed with AT&T and the NSA to spy on internet, phone and email communications of all citizens and data passing through their systems. https://www.npr.org/2013/10/23/240163063/government-changes-policy-on-warrantless-wiretap-defendants http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/16/politics/bush-lets-us-spy-on-callers-without-courts.html

Washington, D.C. -- Reflecting growing national acceptance of cannabis, a bipartisan coalition of House members voted early Friday to restrict the Drug Enforcement Administration from using funds to go after medical marijuana operations that are legal under state laws. An appropriations amendment offered by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) prohibiting the DEA from spending funds to arrest state-licensed medical marijuana patients and providers passed 219-189. The Senate will likely consider its own appropriations bill for the DEA, and the House amendment would have to survive a joint conference before it could go into effect. Read More...

Washington, D.C. -- The Drug Enforcement Administration has been impeding and ignoring the science on marijuana and other drugs for more than four decades, according to a report released this week by the Drug Policy Alliance, a drug policy reform group, and the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, a marijuana research organization. “The DEA is a police and propaganda agency," Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, said Wednesday. “It makes no sense for it to be in charge of federal decisions involving scientific research and medical practice." Read More...

The feds could actually soften their stance a little when it comes to weed. The Food and Drug Administration is reviewing the medical evidence surrounding the safety and effectiveness of marijuana, a process that could lead to the agency downgrading the drug's current status as a Schedule I drug, the most dangerous classification. FDA Press Officer Jeff Ventura described the review process, which is being completed at the request of the Drug Enforcement Agency, to The Huffington Post. "FDA conducts for Health and Human Services a scientific and medical analysis of the drug under consideration, which is currently ongoing," Ventura said. "HHS then recommends to DEA that the drug be placed in a given schedule. DEA considers HHS’ analysis, conducts its own assessment, and makes a final scheduling proposal in the form of a proposed rule." The FDA could not confirm how long the review process would take. The U.S. has five "schedules" for drugs or chemicals that can be used to make drugs. Schedule I is reserved for drugs that the DEA considers to have the highest potential for abuse and no "current accepted medical use." Marijuana has been classified as Schedule I for decades, along with other substances like heroin and LSD. Rescheduling marijuana would not make it legal, but a lower schedule could potentially ease restrictions on research into the drug and make banks less wary of offering financial services to state-legal marijuana businesses. It could also allow those businesses to make some traditional tax deductions. "While DEA is the lead federal agency responsible for regulating controlled substances and enforcing the Controlled Substances Act, FDA, working with NIDA, provides scientific recommendations about the appropriate controls for those substances," FDA Deputy Director Doug Throckmorton said Friday in testimony delivered during the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing. "To make these recommendations, FDA is responsible for preparing what's called an eight-factor analysis, which is a document that is used to assess how likely a drug is to be abused," Throckmorton said. Here are the eight factors the FDA will consider about marijuana when deciding which schedule it should go under, according to the CSA: Its actual or relative potential for abuse Scientific evidence of its pharmacological effect, if known The state of current scientific knowledge regarding the drug or other substance Its history and current pattern of abuse The scope, duration, and significance of abuse What, if any, risk there is to the public health Its psychic or physiological dependence liability Whether the substance is an immediate precursor of a substance already controlled under this subchapter A DEA spokeswoman told HuffPost that the agency was required to order the FDA to review marijuana's scheduling status because of two public citizens' petitions that asked the agency for a review. A change could put marijuana in the company of cocaine and methamphetamine, two other Schedule II drugs. This isn't the first time the DEA has asked the FDA to reconsider marijuana, Throckmorton said Friday. In 2001 and 2006, the DEA requested an analysis of the drug after receiving other public petitions requesting that the agency reschedule it. But both times, federal regulators determined that marijuana should remain a Schedule I substance. At the time, the FDA said there simply wasn't enough research about marijuana's efficacy in treating various ailments. Part of the lack of cannabis science in the U.S. has to do with the federal stranglehold on marijuana research. There's only one federally legal marijuana garden in the U.S., at the University of Mississippi. The National Institute on Drug Abuse oversees the operation, and it's the only source of marijuana for federally sanctioned studies on the drug. To date, NIDA has conducted about 30 studies on the potential benefits of marijuana. Since 2003, it has approved more than 500 grants for marijuana-related studies, with a marked upswing in recent years, according to McClatchy. In 2003, 22 grants totaling $6 million were approved for cannabis research, McClatchy reported. In 2012, that number had risen to 69 approved grants totaling more than $30 million. Federal authorities have long been accused of only funding marijuana research that focuses on the potential negative effects of the substance. The DEA has also been accused of not acting quickly enough when petitioned to reschedule marijuana, and for obstructing science around the drug. Meanwhile, a number of recent studies have added to the growing body of research showing the medical potential of cannabis. Purified forms may attack some forms of aggressive cancer. Studies have tied marijuana use to blood sugar control and slowing the spread of HIV. One study found that legalization of the plant for medical purposes may even lead to lower suicide rates. Currently, 22 states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for medical use, with New York state poised to be the 23rd. About ten other states have also legalized CBD-oil, a non-psychoactive ingredient in marijuana frequently used to treat epilepsy, for research or limited medical purposes. According to a recent CBS News poll, a vast majority of Americans -- over 80 percent -- approve of medical marijuana legalization. While the FDA isn't ready to get on board with legalization, it does seem more interested in the medical benefits of the drug. "The FDA has not approved marijuana as a safe and effective drug for any indication," the FDA stated in its latest guidelines regarding marijuana, posted Friday. "The FDA is aware that there is considerable interest in its use to attempt to treat a number of medical conditions, including, for example, glaucoma, AIDS wasting syndrome, neuropathic pain, cancer, multiple sclerosis, chemotherapy-induced nausea, and certain seizure disorders." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/24/fda-marijuana_n_5526634.html

Washington, D.C. -- Thirty members of Congress, led by Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), H. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.), Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) and Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell on Tuesday demanding an end to the federal monopoly on marijuana research so that more studies can be done by scientists around the nation. "We write to express our support for increasing scientific research on the therapeutic risks and benefits of marijuana," the letter reads. "We ask that you take measures to ensure that any non-National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded researcher who has acquired necessary Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Institutional Review Board (IRB), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and appropriate state and local authority approval be able to access marijuana for research at-cost without further review." Read More...

Washington -- Medical marijuana advocates are on the attack in a new ad against House Republican Conference Chair Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) for her recent vote against an appropriations amendment to block the Drug Enforcement Administration from cracking down on state-legal medical marijuana programs. The appropriations measure, which was introduced at the end of May, prohibits the DEA from spending funds to arrest state-licensed medical marijuana patients and providers. While the amendment passed in the House, reform group Americans for Safe Access has since targeted ads against some of the lawmakers who voted "no" -- including Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) and Democratic National Committee Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) -- and have now set their sights on McMorris Rodgers. Read More...

STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, JUNE 5, 2014…. While the Obama administration has sent some signals to states that it won’t interfere with the implementation of medical marijuana laws, the Drug Enforcement Administration in recent weeks has visited doctors who hold administrative positions with companies seeking dispensary licenses in Massachusetts and told them to resign or risk losing their registration to prescribe controlled medications. Th e DEA officials have gone so far as to show up at the homes of doctors involved with prospective medical marijuana dispensaries, and at least two, but possibly more, physicians have already resigned their positions with medical marijuana organizations as a result, according to multiple sources. "They’re going directly to the doctors, not setting up appointments, and giving them an ultimatum," said Valerio Romano, an attorney in Boston who represents several applicants for dispensary licenses in Massachusetts. Romano founded Massachusetts Marijuana Compliance, a part of the VGR Law Firm. The full impact of the actions by the DEA on the fledgling medical marijuana industry in Massachusetts remains unclear, but those involved in the industry say they worry that it could not only delay the state Department of Public Health’s licensing process even further, but also spook those in the medical community, many of whom are already wary of their role in the implementation of the voter-approved law legalizing medical marijuana. "The main problem that I see with all this is the rollout for the program is already five-plus months behind and if the applicants are amending their applications to remove directors or members of the executive management team, this will just force the DPH to relook at the plans the applicants have," Romano said. Officials at the Department of Public Health said they have met with the DEA on drug diversion prevention issues related to registered marijuana dispensaries, but have not received any formal notification from the federal agency on warnings being given to doctors. "Registered Marijuana Dispensaries are not required to have medical personnel on their management teams, and any doctor leaving the leadership team of an RMD would not cause any delays in the program or have an impact on applications beyond the additional time required to conduct background checks on replacement personnel," the DPH spokesman David Kibbe said in a statement. "When Registered Marijuana Dispensaries experience changes in leadership, they are required to notify DPH. Any new RMD personnel must go through a comprehensive background check as part of the Department’s standard process." Paul Covell, the chief executive officer of the William Noyes Webster Foundation, said Dr. Carl Fulwiler, a Worcester psychiatrist and addiction specialist who was listed on the group’s dispensary license application as its substance abuse specialist, resigned after he was visited by the DEA last week. "They told him you have to give up one or the other," Covell told the News Service. http://malden.wickedlocal.com/article/20140606/NEWS/140607500

Washington, D.C. -- The federal government just ordered all the marijuana it wants -- something it would send most Americans to prison for doing. On Monday, the Drug Enforcement Administration issued a new rule that increases the U.S. government's production quota for medical marijuana from an annual 21 kg to 650 kg. That's about 1,433 pounds of pot in total. The U.S. government grows marijuana for research purposes at the University of Mississippi in the only federally legal marijuana garden in the U.S. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) oversees the cultivation, production and distribution of these crops. "NIDA recently notified the DEA that it required additional supplies of marijuana to be manufactured in 2014 to provide for current and anticipated research efforts involving marijuana," reads a recent Federal Register's statement from the DEA. The statement goes on to specify a production quota of 650,000 grams of pot for the current year. The DEA decided to grant NIDA access to more marijuana "in order to provide a continuous and uninterrupted supply" of cannabis for research, according to the statement, which also says that the federal government was "unaware" of NIDA's need for additional marijuana when the initial production quota of 21 kg was set in 2013. Read More...

Washington, D.C. -- Far from being discouraged by the shifts in public opinion, state laws and even within the Obama administration on the legalization of marijuana, federal drug agents are now driven to "fight harder," Drug Enforcement Administration chief Michele Leonhart said Wednesday. Leonhart, who reportedly criticized President Barack Obama for comparing marijuana to alcohol during a closed-door meeting with a law enforcement organization, suggested during testimony Wednesday before a House Appropriations subcommittee that voters in Washington state and Colorado were duped into legalizing marijuana. Read More...

Though there are currently 18 medical marijuana states, and marijuana possession has been decriminalized in Colorado and Washington, many hurdles still exist when it comes to researching the drug's medicinal benefits. In 1970, under the Nixon administration, Marijuana was classified as a schedule 1 controlled substance, right along with heroine and above cocaine. The schedule 1 label, as determined by the DEA, means that marijuana: (A) has high potential for abuse. (B) The drug or other substance has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States. © There is a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision. Though the country has moved beyond Nixon, the policies that his administration implemented as part of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 were a continuation of drug prohibition policies in the U.S., which started in 1914 with the prohibition of alcohol. Though Doctors and medical officials continue to call for a reclassification of the drug so they may study its therapeutic benefits, the federal supplier of medical grade cannabis, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) isn't so keen to move its supply in this direction. For more information on the obstacles that Doctors who wish to study marijuana's medicinal benefits face, click the links below. http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-04/why-its-so-hard-scientists-study-pot http://www.sacbee.com/2012/07/12/4625608/california-pot-research-backs.html

Here are the Summary of the arguments THE DEA ACTED ARBITRARILY AND CAPRICIOUSLY, AND WITHOUT SUBSTANTIAL EVIDENCE, IN CONCLUDING THAT MARIJUANA DOES NOT HAVE A “CURRENTLY ACCEPTED MEDICA USE IN TREATMENT IN THE UNITED STATES” QUALIFIED EXPERTS RECOGNIZE THAT MARIJUANA HAS MEDICAL USE THE DEA ERRED IN FAILING TO FIND THAT MARIJUANA’S CHEMISTRY IS KNOWN AND REPRODUCIBLE THE DEA AND HHS ERRONEOUSLY FAILED TO COMPARE MARIJUANA TO OTHER SCHEDULED SUBSTANCES THE DEA ERRONEOUSLY EQUATES US OF MARIJUANA WITH A “HIGH” POTENTIAL FOR ABUSE THE DEA AND HHS ERRONEOUSLY FAILED TO COMPARE MARIJUANA TO OTHER SCHEDULED SUBSTANCES QUALIFIED EXPERTS RECOGNIZE THAT THE DEA ERRED IN FAILING TO FIND THAT MARIJUANA’S CHEMISTRY IS KNOWN AND REPRODUCIBLE THE DEA AND HHS ERRONEOUSLY FAILED TO COMPARE MARIJUANA TO OTHER SCHEDULED SUBSTANCES THE DEA ERRONEOUSLY EQUATES US OF MARIJUANA WITH A “HIGH” POTENTIAL FOR ABUSE THE DEA AND HHS ERRONEOUSLY FAILED TO COMPARE MARIJUANA TO OTHER SCHEDULED SUBSTANCES RESPONDENTS ABUSED THEIR DISCRETION IN DENYING PETITIONERS A HEARING AFTER STALLING ON THEIR DENIAL OF T HE RESCHEDULING PETITION FOR NEARLY TEN YEARS http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2012/10/08/appeals-court-to-consider-theraputic-value-of-medical-marijuana/ http://safeaccessnow.org/downloads/ASA_v_DEA_Reply_Brief.pdf Michael A. Komorn Attorney and Counselor Law Office of Michael A. Komorn 3000 Town Center, Suite, 1800 Southfield, MI 48075 800-656-3557 (Toll Free) 248-351-2200 (Office) 248-357-2550 (Phone) 248-351-2211 (Fax) Email: michael@komornlaw.com Website: www.komornlaw.com Check out our Radio show: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/planetgreentrees CALL IN NUMBER: (347) 326-9626 Live Every Thursday 8-10:00p.m. PLANET GREENTREES w/ Attorney Michael Komorn The most relevant radio talk show for the Michigan Medical Marijuana Community. PERIOD.

Kentucky Police Stepping Up Anti-Marijuana Efforts Jul 10, 2012 Kentucky State Troopers are planning to set up their annual marijuana eradication efforts this week. They will be searching for illegal marijuana grows on the ground and via helicopter. Currently, the troopers are being trained to spot marijuana grows from the air as well as how to avoid booby traps at grow sties on the ground. Aside from the state troopers, members of the US DEA, the Kentucky National Guard, and the US Forestry Service will be taking part in the searches. Last year alone, police recovered over $800 million worth of marijuana. 371 arrests were made during the troopers’ marijuana eradication efforts. Kentucky’s state and local law enforcement officials are known for being some of the toughest in the country when it comes to marijuana enforcement. Earlier this week, Louisville Senator Perry Clark unveiled legislation that will legalize medical marijuana in the state of Kentucky, should it be passed. http://news.nuggetry...ijuana-efforts/ Trix

Chicago Cops Unveil Biggest Marijuana Bust In 20 Years Chicago police unveiled the biggest marijuana bust in the city in 20 years the day after the City Council approved marijuana decriminalization for 15 grams or less. Citing safety reasons for officers involved in the investigation, police say they had to wait to announce the bust until today. “We’re talking about an ongoing investigation that it was not appropriate for us to do this two days ago,” [Police Supt. Garry] McCarthy said at a West Side press conference, surrounded by dozens of green plastic bales filled with dope. “We had agents and police on the street and there’s no way Garry and I were going to put them at risk,” added Jack Riley, special agent in charge of the Chicago office of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration. On Tuesday some eight tons of marijuana was found near a Chicago warehouse. Authorities say it was a shipment from Mexico via Texas. McCarthy went on to describe illegal drug sales as the “the lifeblood of gangs that are involved in violence day in and day out.” Which is 100% true. But for every eight tons confiscated, an untold amount of tons hit the streets, filling the pockets of violent people with cash. Cops can smile next to bales of weed for the cameras, but they are not reducing drug use and are making criminals rich. http://the420times.c...st-in-20-years/ Trix

Over the last two days some 35 DEA agents spent their time pulling marijuana plants from a 40-acre area near Warner Springs in northeastern San Diego County. The seizure, which took place at a place called Sunshine Summit, was the biggest marijuana seizure on private property in the county’s history. The DEA was assisted – that’s right, 35 well-trained adults weren’t enough to pull plants – by a multi-agency Narcotics Task Force. There were also two large water tanks, chemicals for fertilizer, and a 30-round magazine for a semiautomatic weapon found on the property. It’s hard to fathom that the combined training of these individuals couldn’t be used toward better purposes. Why couldn’t they be used in investigations involving violent criminals; those who are a danger to society? And how much money was wasted on this plant-pulling operation? Dozens of man hours and resources used to seek out and destroy medicine while many go without proper healthcare and real crime goes unnoticed. When will the madness end? http://the420times.com/2012/07/dea-agents-remove-41000-marijuana-plants-from-40-acre-site-in-san-diego-county/ Trix

The federal Drug Enforcement Administration has flouted Mendocino County, California’s newly enacted medical marijuana ordinance by raiding the first collective that had applied to the sheriff’s cultivation permit program. A multi-agency federal task force descended on the property of Joy Greenfield, the first Mendo patient to pay the $1,050 application fee under the ordinance, which allows collectives to grow up to 99 plants provided they comply with certain regulations. Greenfield had applied in the name of her collective, “Light The Way,” which opened in San Diego earlier this year. Her property had passed a preliminary inspection by the Mendo sheriff’s deputies shortly before the raid, and she had bought the sheriff’s “zip-ties” intended to designate her cannabis plants as legal. In the days before the raid, Greenfield had seen a helicopter hovering over her property; she inquired with the sheriff, who told her the copter belonged to the DEA and wasn’t under his control. The agents invaded her property with guns drawn, tore out the collective’s 99 plants and took Greenfield’s computer and cash. Joy was not at home during the raid, but spoke on the phone to the DEA agent in charge. When she told he she was a legal grower under the sheriff’s program, the agent replied, “I don’t care what the sheriff says.” When she returned to her house she found it in disarray with soda cans strewn on the floor. “It was just a mess,” she said. “No one should be able to tear your house apart like that.” Greenfield called the raid a “slap in the face of Mendocino’s government.” The DEA has been tight-lipped about the raid, but claims it was part of a larger investigation involving other suspects. “Here Mendo is trying to step out in front by passing this ordinance, and what do the Feds do but raid the first applicant,” said Greenfield’s attorney, Bob Boyd of Ukiah. “The DEA is stepping all over local authorities trying to tax and regulate,” Boyd said. Neither Boyd nor other locals believe that the sheriff tipped off the DEA or gave them any information about permit applicants. Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman confirmed Friday that the property owner had the proper paperwork and the marijuana was legal in the eyes of the county. “This was a federal operation and had nothing to do with local law enforcement,” Allman said. “The federal government made a decision to go ahead and eradicate it.” Sheriff Allman has been highly supportive of efforts to bring local growers into the permit program. Nonetheless, observers fear the raid will have a chilling effect on medical cultivators, possibly causing supply problems for local patients. “This raid is clear evidence that the DEA is out of control,” said California NORML director Dale Gieringer. “A change in federal law is long overdue.” “In the meantime, the DEA needs a new director who will enforce Attorney General Holder’s pledge not to interfere in state medical marijuana laws,” Gierigner said. The DEA is currently directed by Michele Leonhart, a Bush Administration holdover who has presided over numerous medical marijuana raids, and has obstructed research efforts to develop marijuana for medicine. President Obama has renominated Leonhart to head the agency — a move strongly opposed by drug reformers, who are calling on the administration to honor its pledge of change. By Steve Elliott, News Junkie Post Posted on July 12, 2010, Printed on July 17, 2010 http://www.alternet.org/story/147506/ © 2010 News Junkie Post All rights reserved. View this story online at: http://www.alternet.org/story/147506/