Pubdate: Sun, 11 Nov 2001
Source: Daily Gazette (NY)
Copyright: 2001 The Gazette Newspapers
Contact:  http://www.dailygazette.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/105
Author: David Broder
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?194 (Hutchinson, Asa)

END WAR VS. MEDICAL MARIJUANA

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.

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.

Five years ago, when California voters overwhelmingly approved a medical 
marijuana initiative, 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?
- ---
MAP posted-by: Beth