Prominent Columnist Slams Medical Marijuana Busts PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE DrugSense FOCUS Alert #245 Tuesday November 13, 2001 Since the DEA raided the Los Angeles Cannabis Resource Center last month, the action has been universally condemned in newspaper editorials. Now, widely published moderate columnist David Broder has jumped in, asking important questions about why the bust happened, particularly as federal law enforcement officials face real threats from terrorism. Broder's column has been printed in at least 19 newspapers, including prominent ones like the Washington Post. This is an excellent opportunity to let a variety of newspaper editors and readers see that people really care about this story. Please write a letter to some or all of the newspapers below to explain why the DEA crackdown on voter-approved medical marijuana is wrong on so many levels. PLEASE SEND US A COPY OF YOUR LETTER OR TELL US WHAT YOU DID (Letter, Phone, fax etc.) Please post a copy your letter or report your action to the sent letter list () if you are subscribed, or by E-mailing a copy directly to Your letter will then be forwarded to the list with so others can learn from your efforts and be motivated to follow suit. To subscribe to the Sent LTE mailing list see http://www.mapinc.org/lists/index.htm and/or http://www.mapinc.org/lists/index.htm#form This is VERY IMPORTANT as it is one very effective way of gauging our impact and effectiveness. Contact Info: All of the newspapers shown below printed the column, using the titles shown below. All were printed on Sunday, 11 November 2001 unless otherwise noted. Please note: If you wish to send a LTE to more than one, or even all, of the newspapers it is best to send each LTE by itself to each newspaper, with a reference to the title shown below as well as the date of publication. Most newspapers will not even consider publishing a LTE if they suspect that it has been sent to other newspapers. Newspaper: Washington Post (DC) Contact: Title: DEA Marijuana Madness Newspaper: San Jose Mercury News (CA) Contact: Title: Nothing Better To Do Than Tear Up Marijuana Plants Date published: Fri, 09 Nov 2001 Newspaper: Herald-Times, The (IN) Contact: Title: DEA priorities in question Newspaper: Lawrence Journal-World (KS) Contact: http://www.ljworld.com/site/submit_letter Title: Marijuana Raid Is Wrong Priority Date published: Mon, 12 Nov 2001 Newspaper: Wichita Eagle (KS) Contact: Title: Marijuana Raid Raises Questions About DEA's Priorities Newspaper: Boston Globe (MA) Contact: Title: A war of priorities Date published: Mon, 12 Nov 2001 Newspaper: Brainerd Daily Dispatch (MN) Contact: Title: DEA's Odd Priorities Date published: Sat, 10 Nov 2001 Newspaper: Columbia Daily Tribune (MO) Contact: Title: Pinched, DEA Still Goes After Pot Clinic Date published: Sat, 10 Nov 2001 Newspaper: Daily Gazette (NY) Contact: Title: End War Vs Medical Marijuana Newspaper: Post-Star, The (NY) Contact: http://www.poststar.com/comments/elet_form.shtml Title: There Are More Important Battles Than Medical Marijuana Newspaper: Beacon Journal, The (OH) Contact: Title: What are DEA bosses smoking? Newspaper: Columbus Dispatch (OH) Contact: Title: DEA Raid Seems Beyond Reason Newspaper: Oregonian, The (OR) Contact: Title: Raid On Pot Lab Bad Rx In Time Of War Newspaper: Sun News (SC) Contact: Title: Time Wasted On Medicinal Marijuana Newspaper: Oak Ridger (TN) Contact: Title: A misguided drug fight? Date published: Mon, 12 Nov 2001 Newspaper: Austin American-Statesman (TX) Contact: Title: An old battle hardly worthy of attention now Newspaper: Ft. Worth Star-Telegram (TX) Contact: Title: An Unneeded Diversion Of Forces Newspaper: Salt Lake Tribune (UT) Contact: Title: DEA Sets Sights On Odd Target Newspaper: Seattle Times (WA) Contact: Title: Strange bust suggests skewed DEA priorities Additional newspapers most likely have published this column. Hopefully MAP NewsHawks will report more. You may wish to check throughout the week for additional newspapers. To do so simply click this link and look for new newspapers towards the top of the list that appears: http://www.mapinc.org/author/David+Broder ARTICLE URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1897/a05.html Newshawk: http://www.cannabisnews.com/ Pubdate: Sun, 11 Nov 2001 Source: Washington Post (DC) Page: B07 Copyright: 2001 The Washington Post Company Contact: Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491 Author: David S. Broder Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?194 (Hutchinson, Asa) DEA MARIJUANA MADNESS Asa Hutchinson, the former Republican representative from Arkansas now serving as head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, has a reputation as a straight shooter. When he was up for confirmation a few months ago, even Democrats who had strongly opposed his views as a manager of the impeachment proceedings against Bill Clinton testified in support of his nomination. The other morning, Hutchinson was the guest at one of the breakfast interviews arranged by Godfrey Sperling Jr. of the Christian Science Monitor. Asked what the events of Sept. 11 had done to the war on drugs, Hutchinson readily admitted that the diversion of government resources to the anti-terrorism campaign had left his agency stretched thin. A significant number of FBI agents who had been working drug cases have been pulled off to assist in the dragnet for suspected terrorists, he said. Coast Guard vessels that had been patrolling the Caribbean to intercept drug smugglers are now protecting harbors. Customs agents are focusing on bioterrorism. Hutchinson assured reporters that he agreed with the new priorities, but acknowledged that the DEA is struggling to "pick up the slack." All of which makes it very strange, in my view, that on Oct. 25 about 30 DEA agents spent six hours in a raid on the Los Angeles Cannabis Resource Center, a source of marijuana for patients with doctors' prescriptions for its use as a painkiller. There was nothing illegal about the raid. The agents had a search warrant signed by a visiting federal judge from Florida. Scott Imler, the president of the center, told me the agents "were very polite. They did not pull guns or put anyone on the floor or handcuff anyone, or physically or verbally abuse anyone. They just gathered us together and went about collecting stuff." They took marijuana plants, processed marijuana, 3,000 medical records and all the business documents on the site. The next day, Imler said, they seized the organization's bank accounts, effectively shutting down its normal operations. In turn, Imler and his staff did not try to conceal anything; in fact, they opened the safe and allowed the agents to take away the contents. This was no clandestine operation. Five years ago, when California voters overwhelmingly approved a medical marijuana initiative financed by George Soros and two other multimillionaires, the Los Angeles County sheriff, Sherman Block, and officials of West Hollywood encouraged Imler and his associates to set up operations, even finding them a building they could use. John Duran, the center's attorney and a city councilman, said the organization has worked hand-in-glove with local officials, acceding to their requests that patients' status be verified every three months and that they carry identity cards attesting to their eligibility for marijuana possession. "We've had nothing to hide for five years," Duran said. Indeed, DEA agents visited the center on Sept. 17 and were given a tour of the premises and a full explanation of its operations. The authority for the raid rests on a Supreme Court decision last May that the passage of medical marijuana initiatives in California and seven other states does not override federal law classifying marijuana as an illegal drug. The question raised by Imler, Duran, civil liberties attorneys and even some conservative editorial pages is why such a raid would command the resources of the DEA at a time when it is clearly being stretched to the limits. When I asked Hutchinson, he replied that carrying out the federal marijuana ban "is our responsibility, but not a high priority." He acknowledged that he prefers to work with elected officials and local law enforcement, rather than opposing them, as in this case, but said that "when there is a gap" between state and federal law, his job is to enforce the congressional statutes. That answer does not satisfy local officials. At the time of the raid, 960 people -- most of them with AIDS, the rest with cancer, Lou Gehrig's disease and other serious illnesses -- were alleviating pain and nausea with marijuana from Imler's center. No arrest warrants have been issued since the raid, and a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office told me it will be "some time" before any prosecutions are decided. But the center has closed its dispensary because, as Imler said, "we do not want to distribute black market products." Now, Duran added, "we have 960 patients out in the parks, looking for drug dealers to get their marijuana, which is exactly what the city didn't want." No one has alleged -- let alone proved -- that anyone obtained marijuana without a medical prescription. Why in the world is the Bush administration fighting this battle, when there are so many more important wars to be won? SAMPLE LETTER Dear Editor, On behalf of the patients, caregivers, physicians, and voters in California who utilize and support our state's Compassionate Use Act of 1996, I offer thanks for David S. Broder's column questioning the Bush Administration's escalating war on medical marijuana (DEA Marijuana Madness, November 11). Many of us view these actions as little different from the time in our early history when British troops were sent to take control over our Forefathers who chose to exercise their God-given right to self-govern. It is unsettling to see this constitutionally-protected right so blatantly ignored (see Ninth and Tenth Amendments, Bill of Rights). Indeed, it is even more so a shame to see resources wasted on denying the suffering access to beneficial medicine while real threats to our safety are of such compelling concern to the citizenry. Richard L. Root Communications Director American Medical Marijuana Associationwww.drugsense.org/amma contact info IMPORTANT: Always include your address and telephone number Please note: If you choose to use this letter as a model please modify it at least somewhat so that the paper does not receive numerous copies of the same letter and so that the original author receives credit for his/her work. ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing efforts Letter Writers Resources: http://www.mapinc.org/resource/ TO SUBSCRIBE, DONATE, VOLUNTEER TO HELP, OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL SEE http://www.drugsense.org/hurry.htm TO UNSUBSCRIBE SEE http://www.drugsense.org/unsub.htm Prepared by Richard Lake and Stephen Young - http://www.maximizingharm.com Focus Alert Specialists

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