Pubdate: Fri, 19 Oct 2012
Source: Daily Californian, The (UC Berkeley, CA Edu)
Copyright: 2012 The Daily Californian
Contact:  http://www.dailycal.org/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/597

WEEDING OUT UNFAIRNESS

CITY AFFAIRS: The Courts Should Side With Oakland in Its Challenge 
Against the Federal Government's Crackdown on Medical Marijuana.

Oakland deserves to win its bold challenge to the federal government 
that authorities should not shut down medical marijuana dispensaries 
operating in full compliance with state law.

Due to a crackdown on medical marijuana initiated by the U.S. 
Department of Justice last year, many California dispensaries face 
the possibility of a raid. But now, Oakland is suing federal 
authorities, including Attorney General Eric Holder, due to "ongoing 
and threatened attempts" by the department to shut down a major 
dispensary, despite the fact that it operates in compliance with city 
and state regulations, according to the lawsuit.

The department's actions place the state and federal governments at 
odds with each other, and the courts now have the opportunity to put 
the issue to rest. If Harborside Health Center, the dispensary named 
in the lawsuit, truly is in full compliance with California law, it 
must not be shut down. The court should side with Oakland and end the 
federal crackdown.

Furthermore, the crackdown reflects a discouraging broken promise 
from President Barack Obama. In 2008, then-candidate Obama said he 
would not be "using Justice Department resources to try to circumvent 
state laws" about medical marijuana. Yet four years later, that's 
exactly what happened.

The crackdown also raises a concern about priorities. Is medical 
marijuana really something the Department of Justice needs to be 
meddling with, given the many other more serious drug-related 
offenses that occur? Many seriously ill people rely on medical 
marijuana - they should not live in fear of their dispensaries 
getting raided. Neither should the dispensaries themselves - like 
other businesses, they support the state economy and will be able to 
do so with more ease if fears of being raided are relieved.

This should be a nonissue, but if nothing else, the lawsuit will 
resonate with other cities and states suffering from the crackdown, 
proving that the medical marijuana industry will not be curtailed 
without a fight.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom