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| Cannabis Center Members Try To Carry On |
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Posted by CN Staff on May 15, 2002 at 13:03:17 PT By Malaika Costello-Dougherty Source: Los Angeles Independent 
Scott Imler says he is the loneliest guy in town. He served as the president of the Los Angeles Cannabis Resource Center for years. Now he sits in the old center that is pretty much empty, takes calls from the bank and meets with lawyers.It has been almost seven months since the Oct. 25, 2001, Drug Enforcement Agency raid of the LACRC. The raid illustrated the conflict between state and federal law with cases like the LACRC testing the gray area. California's Proposition 215 -- the Compassionate Use Act -- legalized medical marijuana in 1996. However, in May 2001 the Supreme Court upheld a 1970 law that declared dispensing marijuana was a federal crime and that marijuana did not have medicinal value. The U.S. Attorney's Office is handling the LACRC case. Capt. Lynda Castro, who heads the West Hollywood Sheriff's Station, says that the station will not change its policy or practice of following state law, the Compassionate Use Act, until it is directed otherwise. The center has been officially closed since the day after the raid. The LACRC leaders have been waiting to hear whether they will face criminal charges from the federal government. "The most frustrating thing is that we have had to sit here and bleed to death for the last six months while our lawyers tell us there is nothing we can do," Imler says. "It is clear we lost," he adds. "We don't regret that we tried, but it is clear that the battle for the cannabis center in West Hollywood has been lost." West Hollywood City Councilman John Duran, who provides legal counsel to the LACRC, says that two grand juries have been convened without criminal charges, which is a good sign. Imler says one of the grand juries was impaneled in January and the other in April. These grand juries are presented with the prosecution's evidence and can authorize criminal indictments. The LACRC was allowed to write a submission to the grand jury explaining its situation. In addition, the LACRC has been assigned an U.S. public defender by the federal court, according to Imler. "Another day that goes by is a day of victory for us," Duran says. "At some point there is an unreasonable delay of time and they might just lose interest in the case." U.S. Department of Justice spokesman Thom Mrozek says grand jury proceedings are secret under federal law and that there is no timetable for the investigation. The DEA was investigating the LACRC for years and surveying the center for months before the bust. Court records show that it was under investigation for manufacturing and distribution of a controlled substance, maintaining a drug establishment and related money-laundering offenses. Imler says that at this point they are looking for a settlement. He says the government is trying to forfeit the $55,000 that was frozen in the LACRC's bank accounts. The LACRC would also like to get back some of the property seized during the raid when the DEA confiscated 400 marijuana plants, growing equipment, disbursement records, computers, 3,000 medical records and doctors names. Imler says the center's leaders assessed their resources after the raid and decided that their lives and health took precedence over any crusade. Patient and former staff member Mirron Willis -- who is HIV positive -- says his general well-being is not the same as it was before the raid. He adds ironically that the federal government will pay his unemployment insurance but shut down his work. He says a lot of the members, including himself, have been back on the streets again to buy marijuana. Imler says he is back on pharmaceuticals for his epilepsy caused by a skiing accident. "I feel very angry, very disappointed," Willis says. "We really did everything we could do to comply with the law." The LACRC started as a nonprofit patient collective that grew and distributed marijuana to its 960 members who had doctor's recommendations. It was open for five years and supported by both the city and the sheriff. Duran says the center followed the letter of the state law and filed tax returns, had a city business license and worked with the attorney general. The center's building was purchased with help from the City of West Hollywood. Imler has now found a buyer for the building and they are in a six-month escrow, which he says means they will not have to default on loans to the city or the bank. The buyer has also agreed to lease back part of the space to the LACRC for its continuing political efforts and legal activities. Imler is sometimes upbeat, other times withdrawn, and says he is doing his best to not be bitter in a bittersweet situation. He says he feels a little let down by the city but does not know if that was because his expectations were too high. Imler says the day after the raid a city employee suggested that the city buy the building from the LACRC. Then, in early December, he said it offered to lease the ground floor. However, in January when the LACRC sat down with the city "all offers were off the table." City officials could not be reached for comment by presstime. "It became clear after the first of the year that the city had calculated it was best in their interest not to have us around anymore," Imler says. Imler says he was most disappointed by suggestions that the center open quietly in the shadows. He says there was a pattern among supportive people to ask what they could do to help. He would give two or three reasonable options. They would respond, "Nice talking to you, let me know if I can help." Imler says the conflict between federal and state law must be resolved rather than "playing games that keeps everyone in limbo and all the uncertainty raging." He says he is not afraid of the possibility of facing trial and is more than willing to go to trial on the facts. Complete Title: Cannabis Center Members Try To Carry on With The Rest of Their Lives Source: Los Angeles Independent (CA) Related Articles & Web Site: Cannabis Action Network Americans for Safe Access Pressure Smokes Out Pot Clubs Bush Medical Marijuana Policy Not Compassionate California Cannabis Clubs Organize To Fight Feds Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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| Comment #3 posted by ekim on May 15, 2002 at 18:45:54 PT |
| From Americans for Safe Access Please get involved PUSH BACK THE DEA'S EXPANDING WAR ON AMERICANS KEEP MEDICAL MARIJUANA SAFE AND LEGAL NATIONWIDE DAY OF DIRECT ACTION JUNE 6th PLEASE DISTRIBUTE FAR AND WIDE WHO: YOU! WHAT: DIRECT ACTION TO PUSH BACK THE DEA WHERE: YOUR LOCAL DEA OUTPOST (SEE LIST THAT FOLLOWS) WHEN: NOON ON THURSDAY, JUNE 6th, 2002 WHAT IS IT? It's a nation-wide day of action to push back DEA attempts to re-criminalize medical cannabis! On or after June 6th, 2002 the DEA will attempt to shut down dispensaries now legally providing medical cannabis to patients in California. To respond, activists in cities across the nation will use creative, non-violent tactics to disrupt DEA offices and post their own "cease and desist" orders at DEA outposts. Through this action, we will build an "emergency response" network of committed activists to escalate our resistance to the Federal Government's expanding war on democracy and patients in need of safe access to medical marijuana. WHO ARE WE? Americans for Safe Access (ASA) is an aggressive grassroots campaign designed to push the Bush Administration to grant states the right to choose their own medical marijuana laws. We serve as a catalyst for committed grassroots activists to work effectively with drug policy reform groups and supportive local officials and to unify medical marijuana advocates patients, and caregivers around a focused national strategy. We aim to draw national media attention to our struggle and build a nationwide network of local activists committed to pushing back destructive DEA policies through action. If you are unable to participate in the actions, visit http://www.safeaccessnow.org/ to sign a petition and lobby your government representatives. WHY DO IT? As part of the 73 percent of Americans who support the legalization of medical marijuana, we have taken all of the legal steps available to us. We know that medical marijuana is the most effective treatment available for many with chronic pain and other illness. We passed state laws through popular referendums. We took our cases to court. We sought negotiations with the federal government. And despite all the evidence and overwhelming public support, our democratic will is still pushed aside by the Federal Government. It's time to show that we won't back down. We will escalate our tactics to demand effective policy reform on this important issue. We have zero tolerance for the harassment of medical marijuana patients and dispensaries, and we will put our bodies on the line to prove it. WHAT SHOULD I DO? 1. ORGANIZE YOUR COMMUNITY: Call a meeting of all activists who are committed to human rights, health rights, civil liberties, and democracy to help join your community into the emergency response network. Set up a phone tree and get going! 2. COMMIT YOUR NETWORK: Print out the "Pledge of Resistance" at http://www.safeaccessnow.org and build up your local network. 3. FLEX YOUR BRAINS: Come up with creative, non-violent actions that will disrupt business-as-usual at your local DEA outpost and demand that they "cease and desist" expanding their war on medical marijuana. A citizen's arrest? A people's occupation? A banner hung for the world to see? You decide! We'll provide you with materials, media support, local contacts and all the assistance you need to pull off a great action. 4. CHOOSE YOUR TARGET: Find your nearest DEA office. A list of office locations is pasted at the end of this message. 5. GET YOUR MATERIALS: Download the ASA Organizer's manual from http://www.safeaccessnow.org/. Print out a "cease and desist" order to post at your local DEA outpost. 6. CONNECT YOUR ACTION: Drop an e-mail to pushbackthedea@hotmail.com that includes your name, the address of your local DEA outpost, your phone number, your e-mail address and a brief description of your action (blockade, banner hang, non-violent civil disobedience, rally, march etc.) so we can announce your action to other activists. Next, Join the emergency response listserve with a blank email to asa-subscribe@lists.riseup.net 7. KNOW YOUR RIGHTS: If you need legal support (observers or permits or other questions) contact your local National Lawyers Guild at http://www.nlg.org 8. MAKE YOUR MEDIA: A sample press release will go out shortly. If you need help reaching out to reporters, contact the Mintwood Media Collective at 202.232.8997 or adam@mintwood.com. Also, be sure to contact your local Independent Media Center at http://www.indymedia.org for videographers and independent coverage. 9. MAKE YOUR MOVE: ALL ACTIONS SHOULD HAPPEN ON THURSDAY, JUNE 6TH AT NOON. If we coordinate ourselves well, we'll be able to pull off a nation-wide action to push back the DEA and demand safe access to medical marijuana. 10. KEEP IN TOUCH: This is only the first in a series of direct actions. Through the emergency response listserv, we will notify folks of DEA raids as soon as they happen. To keep the pressure on, we need to respond to these raids FAST. We encourage sustained resistance to these events as they unfold through creative non-violent tactics. From phone calls to sit-ins to spontaneous street theater, we'll work to support your local actions with a national network of assistance and support. E-mail pushbackthedea@hotmail.com, or call 202.986.6186 for anything else you may need to make this a successful action. This action follows an extremely successful nationwide day of action at the DEA last December when activists in 73 cities across the nation confronted the DEA on their ridiculous rule banning hemp foods. Since that action, the DEA has backed off the ban! We've proven our ability to spread creative resistance across the country that tackles the absurdities and injustices of the drug war and we plan to build our momentum until we've stopped it. Please join us. Mintwood Media Collective for Americans for Safe Access. --------------- For a Partial List Of Dea Office Locations see http://www.safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=54 or http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/agency/domestic.htm [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #2 posted by dimebag on May 15, 2002 at 14:13:30 PT |
| Why is it that the War On Drugs is only aimed at Marijuana?
Why dont I see ads on T.V telling Kids, "Dont Smoke, Dont Drink".... I mean... Half of the T.V commercials Are Beer Ads. I see maybe once a month a T.V ad telling Kids not to smoke Ciggaretts. How Come, If they want a Drug Free America they dont Attack The Ciggarett Companies and The Alchol companies.... Its because the Supposed Drug Czars are all fukin hipocrites that Smoke and Drink and get money from these companies to keep fighting Marijuana. These fortune 500 companies would eventually go out of business because they would not be able to compeet with Marijuana. It is the Safest Way To get high... I will be the first Pot Head to admit... It does make me a little slow, and My memory isnt all what it should be... But I am a functional American with Two Jobs supporting My Girlfriend while she goes to Culinary School (who happens to Be a Pot Head). SO whats the big deal....???
Its the biggest Conspiracy in the history of the U.S.
Up with Dope, Down with The U.S Gov. Dime... [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #1 posted by Ethan Russo MD on May 15, 2002 at 14:03:39 PT:
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| Scott was scheduled to speak, but was a no show for the Clinical Cannabis Conference in Portland. History will judge the feds badly over this inquisition against patients and those that attempted to provide for them. [ Post Comment ] |
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