Federal War Against The Sick |
Posted by FoM on February 15, 2002 at 08:14:45 PT By Deroy Murdock, Scripps Howard News Service Source: Naples Daily News Last Monday, the FBI warned that "a planned attack may occur in the United States or against U.S. interests on or around Feb. 12," thanks to 12 terrorists led by Fawaz Yahya al-Rabeei, a Saudi-born Yemeni. Suspecting this, federal officials should have deployed as many dedicated, talented agents as possible to protect high-profile targets such as San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman's Wharf or the pyramidal Transamerica Tower. Think again. Washington instead chose Feb. 12 to unleash tough, gun-toting Drug Enforcement Agency officers against AIDS and cancer patients. These federal agents raided a suspected cannabis cultivation center in suburban Petaluma, Calif., and medical marijuana dispensaries in San Francisco and Oakland. They arrested four men who led these operations. This unjust, outrageous and ill-timed misallocation of law-enforcement resources epitomizes the Bush administration's new effort to repackage the War on Drugs within the War on Terror. "If you're buying illegal drugs in America, it is likely that money is going to end up in the hands of terrorist organizations," President Bush declared Feb. 12. His point is not without merit when it comes to cocaine, some of whose proceeds reach Colombia's Marxist FARC guerrillas. Likewise, the Taliban profited from heroin and opium smuggling. Of course, the War on Drugs relegates these products to the black market, where shady characters dwell, rather than the sunshine of free trade. That said, one has to smoke something pretty strong to conclude that someone who uses marijuana to fight life-threatening AIDS wasting syndrome somehow is in cahoots with Al-Qaeda. The Sixth Street Harm Reduction Center, a facility the DEA crushed Feb. 12, served some 200 people enduring AIDS, cancer, Lou Gehrig's disease and other serious illnesses. They now must buy their cannabis through illegal drug dealers, or simply watch themselves deteriorate and die. Three of the center's associates face between five and 40 years in federal prison. Officials say James Halloran, 61, grew more than 1,000 marijuana plants in Oakland. That could cost him 10 years to life behind bars. Compare these staggering potential terms to the actual penalties two men received Jan. 31 for unwittingly helping 9-11 hijackers Abdulaziz Alomari and Ahmed Alghamdi secure bogus Virginia ID cards. Victor Lopez-Flores got 27 months in prison while Herbert Villalobos earned a four-month sentence. His previous 18 weeks in custody earned his immediate release. The Bay Area clampdown recalls the DEA's Oct. 25 closure of the Los Angeles Cannabis Resource Center. It operated with the blessing of West Hollywood officials and the L.A. County sheriff, all elected authorities. That was not enough to keep 30 DEA agents from spending six hours yanking 400 marijuana plants from its premises along with computers, documents and the medical records of its 960 patients. Until the Feds intervened, these outfits operated legally. Fifty-six percent of California voters approved Proposition 215, a medical marijuana measure, in 1996. Initiatives also have legalized medipot in Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Maine, Oregon, Nevada and Washington. While the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last May that therapeutic grass suppliers cannot assert marijuana's "medical necessity" to avoid federal drug laws, it did not address the validity of state statutes permitting clinical cannabis. Federal heavy-handedness has made drug decriminalizers rail against DEA chief and former GOP congressman Asa Hutchinson. As the Drug Policy Alliance's Glenn Backes says: "You have an appointed official, a career politician from Arkansas, who sits in Washington, D.C. and tells the voters of California and the other seven states that have supported medical marijuana: 'It doesn't matter what you vote for. I have your tax dollars and I'm going to spend them going after sick people.'" Of course, drug warriors like Hutchinson target healthy pot smokers, too. The FBI reports that 734,498 Americans were arrested for marijuana violations in 2000. Nearly 88 percent of these individuals — precisely 646,042 — were arrested for mere possession. As the U.S. confronts budget deficits and a growing surplus of enemies dedicated to America's destruction, Washington must rearrange its priorities. Neither cancer patients nor classic rockers who use marijuana will murder another 3,000 innocent civilians in cold blood. Every federal agent who stops pot smokers from lighting up is one less agent who can prevent Americans from blowing up. New York commentator Deroy Murdock is a columnist with the Scripps Howard News Service and a senior fellow with the Atlas Economic Research Foundation in Fairfax, Va. Source: Naples Daily News (FL) Related Articles & Web Sites: DEA Raids Medical Marijuana Club Pot Club Crackdown Continues 3 Nabbed in Pot Bust Post Bail Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
Comment #8 posted by goneposthole on February 15, 2002 at 16:47:25 PT |
"If you are buying illegal drugs, it is likely that money is going to end up in the hands of terrorist organizations." Before all of this terrorist hullabaloo, what hands were receiving the money? Laundered drug money was probably used for investing in the various stock exchanges in New York, London, etc. Maybe, laundered drug money is no longer being invested in such places and therein lies the rub. Don't use those stupid drugs, the 'other' mind altering substances, legal or 'illegal', and smoke cannabis. Feel free to do whatever you want though, I won't stand in your way. It's your life, make the best of it. [ Post Comment ] |
Comment #7 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on February 15, 2002 at 16:24:21 PT |
What if the raids on California Cannabis Clubs spark the second civil war? What if something really huge like that happens? Imagine the catch-up game the major media will have to start playing. Big-time. Having said that, don't forget, Feb 22 on CBS' 48 Hours they're doing a special on the mother of the eight year old in Placer County who fought the state over her medical marijuana muffins. [ Post Comment ] |
Comment #6 posted by The GCW on February 15, 2002 at 14:07:09 PT |
The contact is: letters@naplesnews.com [ Post Comment ] |
Comment #5 posted by Morgan on February 15, 2002 at 10:31:35 PT |
"There should be lots of signs that say "Politicians speak for big business, not the people" and "The Press is the Voice of the People"." Well, the fact of the matter is, is that the "Press" is "Big Business". They are one and the same. They are NOT the voice of the people. (Though they do put on that mask when it suits their goals.) I don't think that after years of spoon feeding the masses what they want them to hear in order to further the agendas of big business (themselves), they'll have any inclination to suddenly switch over to advance the agenda of 'the people". Sorry, but there's really no money in it for them. And making money is the reason they exist at all. "The voice of the people" is the internet... right now. And as Rev0x said, 3/4ths of the people who access the internet go straight to the major media sites to get a more "in-depth' look at a news story. So they still get the 'big business" spin on things. So, how to change this? [ Post Comment ] |
Comment #4 posted by null on February 15, 2002 at 09:42:01 PT |
There needs to be a huge protest march that surrounds CNN headquarters in Atlanta. There should be lots of signs that say "Politicians speak for big business, not the people" and "The Press is the Voice of the People". The trick is to overwhelmingly get their attention with a million people outside their door and at the same time get them on our side. The event needs to be a Drug Reform rally and at the same time carry a strong an unmistakable Pro-Media tone. At that point they will carry our stories. [ Post Comment ] |
Comment #3 posted by Rev0x on February 15, 2002 at 09:36:18 PT |
Well that's all fine and dandy, except I'd have to guess that 3/4ths of the people that turn to the internet for supplemental news still end up at CNN.com or foxnews.com CNN could at least print some of this stuff up on their web site. [ Post Comment ] |
Comment #2 posted by E_Johnson on February 15, 2002 at 09:02:27 PT |
The public is nowadays turning to the Internet to find news that doesn't come up on CNN or the other megacorporate sources. TV watching is declining while Internet watching is increasing. People are looking to the Internet to supplement what they can get on TV. Eventually the big news networks are going to catch on to this and try to do something about it. I think that as people get more used to the depth of news coverage attainable by browsing the Internet, CNN and other TV news outlets will find themselves in big trouble. It's extremely difficult to go into depth on any subject on TV, because people can never talk as fast as they can read. We're in a transition point now, and I think that marijuana news is part of this change, it's one of the kinds of news that people will find they can get on the internet and not on TV, and that will eventually have an impact on CNN and the others. [ Post Comment ] |
Comment #1 posted by greenfox on February 15, 2002 at 08:48:45 PT |
I'll tell you. It has to do with the fact that no matter how much info we have against "THEM", it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter because the media mouthpiece of amerikka will not report this. I have looked. CNN.COM, MSNBC.COM, etc, etc, etc. NO MENTION of this. Only small time papers and "the wire" will pick it up. Will anyone pick the story out of the wire and use it, though? Never! That would undermine our sensitive and irrational views (drug policy) on locking up people for planting a seed. Now we can't have people planting seeds now can we? After all, it's not like it grows on a tree...er....wait...it does. pissed, hateful, and fearful that change will NEVER come, -gf [ Post Comment ] |
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