Pubdate: Wed, 28 Mar 2012 Source: Billings Gazette, The (MT) Copyright: 2012 The Billings Gazette Contact: http://billingsgazette.com/app/contact/?contact=letter Website: http://www.billingsgazette.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/515 Author: Josh Daniels LINDER TAKES UNNECESSARY ACTION AGAINST POT PROVIDERS Sheriff Linder did a grave injustice to few thousand Billings voters who will be looking to vote against him in his upcoming election in 2014. He allowed or encouraged the feds to raid medical marijuana providers. They were fully in compliance with the new laws. Hundreds of medical marijuana patients were affected. There are multiple-sclerosis patients who have found strains to help them, now worried. There are cancer patients who have lost tinctures which were helping them deal with chemotherapy. The sheriff is the chief elected law enforcement officer of our county, but did not defend state authorized businesses. He's looking for a slice of the asset forfeiture pie to buy new laptops. There is a clear Supreme Court ruling, Printz v. United States. This says for local sheriffs "the Federal Government may not compel the States to enact or administer a federal regulatory program." So standing behind the Controlled Substances Act is preposterous. Josh Daniels Billings - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom