cannabisnews.com: Peron: Marijuana Battle Heats Up





Peron: Marijuana Battle Heats Up
Posted by CN Staff on February 17, 2005 at 08:04:32 PT
By John Lindblom - Record-Bee Staff
Source: Record-Bee 
Upper Lake -- Dennis Peron, co-author of the law that made medical marijuana legal in California, said Wednesday he believes Upper Lake medical marijuana grower Eddy Lepp has put his life in jeopardy by openly combating federal and local law enforcement officials. "They're out to get him, obviously," said Peron from his home in the East Bay when told that Lepp had been arrested for a third time early Wednesday morning during a raid by a team of federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) officers and Lake, Sonoma and Mendocino county officials.
Until Wednesday, Lepp was free on bail, pending his trial in federal court for charges stemming from an August 2004 raid of his Upper Lake property."They're going to kill him," Perron said repeatedly of Lepp. "I don't know if he wants to be a martyr, but he has set himself up as one." Peron, who in 1996 joined in writing state Proposition 215, "The Compassionate Use Act" making marijuana (cannabis) legal in California as a treatment for illnesses ranging from cancer to migraine headaches, said he recently pulled back from the battle over legalizing marijuana. The reason he gives is the increased intensity he says federal and local law enforcement officials have added to the fight of keeping marijuana illegal to keep their jobs."Let's get real, the whole war is on marijuana," he said. "It's not a war on drugs heroin and all that. Very few people use that stuff." Peron likened the DEA's war on marijuana to Elliott Ness's Prohibition-era campaigns to eradicate illegal liquor."It's a worldwide global industry to wipe out marijuana, bigger than anyone can dream of," he said. "I don't think the state is involved; it's obviously the feds, because these (DEA) agents ... what do you think they make? They start out at fifty thou and go up from there. "You are threatening somebody's livelihood. They're mad and Eddy is kind of in their face. So, they're hoping to sacrifice him at the altar of marijuana. They'll drive him to suicide, which is killing, or put him in a cell with a thug or a crazy who'll smash his head in."Peron said he has taken a low-profile position because he feels threatened by the increased intensity over the marijuana issue. "I got to pull back," he said. "Otherwise they're going to kill me. I'll be a warrior some other time, but you know there's no such thing as a dead warrior."Source: Lake County Record-Bee (CA)Author: John Lindblom - Record-Bee StaffPublished: Thursday, February 17, 2005 Copyright: 2005 Record-BeeContact: editorial record-bee.comWebsite: http://www.record-bee.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:Marijuana.orghttp://www.marijuana.org/Eddys Medicinal Gardenshttp://www.eddysmedicinalgardens.com/Lepp's Marijuana Crop Seizedhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20079.shtmlEddy Lepp Will Head To Amsterdam for Awardhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19778.shtmlMarijuana Grower Could Face Life in Prisonhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19368.shtml
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Comment #24 posted by Richard Paul Zuckerm on February 20, 2005 at 14:10:28 PT:
THE TWOHEADED SNAKE ABHORS FREEDOM
I voted for Dennis Peron when he ran for California Governor. Other than then, I have since only voted for Ralph Nader, Libertarian Party candidates, and Green Party candidates. Unfortunately, the people do not mind being herded as laboratory animals, especially since the corporation known as MONDEX has made thousands of biochips to put inside your right hand or in your skull...I hope every American who votes for Republicans and Democrats, other than members of the U.S. House of Representative members of the Liberty Caucus, are fitted with this BioChip, forced to ingest Fluoride in their water and foods, Aspartame in their foods, and restricted of their sexual activities, to remind them of who they voted for! Richard Paul Zuckerman, Box 159, Metuchen, New Jersey, 08840-0159, (Cell telephone number)(908) 403-6990, richardzuckerman2002 yahoo.com, Buck Private Paralegal.
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Comment #23 posted by Hope on February 18, 2005 at 17:13:24 PT
Cannaman
I went back and read the article again. "...he recently pulled back from the battle over legalizing marijuana. The reason he gives is the increased intensity he says federal and local law enforcement officials have added to the fight of keeping marijuana illegal to keep their jobs."It's sad that they've bullied and frightened him. They are bullies. Bully and harrass people is what they do best.Eddy Lepp is firebrand brave and bold. There's no doubt about that and I hope and pray he doesn't become a martyr.Has anyone heard how he is holding up? Have they still got him locked in a cage for growing plants? It's completely ludicrous that something like this should still be happening in the world. This "modern" era we are living in has got to be, still, some sort of "Dark Age".
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Comment #22 posted by cannaman on February 18, 2005 at 10:13:56 PT
Peron Loyalists
To all you Peron loyalists, Peron has done alot for the cause and deserves some of the admiration you give him. This does not negate the fact that he sounds like he is deflated and tired. And although he has been in the fight for a long time others have as well, others are sick as well and they don't sound like they have given up like he seems to have. To me courage is staying true to your beliefs not being afraid of what men can do to you, some people back down from the fight like Dennis admits he has and some people continue to fight like Eddy Lepp and Ed Rosenthal do!!!
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Comment #21 posted by Hope on February 18, 2005 at 08:58:12 PT
I'd like to thank Dennis Peron, too.
He stood up bravely against a vicious behemoth. He has wounded the beast. He still stands against it. He gave this interview. Thank you, Mr. Peron.
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Comment #20 posted by mayan on February 18, 2005 at 03:39:56 PT
Thanks, Dennis!
Even if Peron never does anything good for our cause again at least he helped get the ball rolling. He obviously fears for his life as he is one of the main reasons the DEA will eventually lose this war on cannabis and hence,their livelihoods. Before 215 this movement was nowhere. Thank you, Dennis. 
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Comment #19 posted by FoM on February 17, 2005 at 15:22:59 PT
JustGetnBy
I'll second that! Thank you Dennis Peron! You had influence on me and we never even met or talked. Not all things that are important are known.
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Comment #18 posted by JustGetnBy on February 17, 2005 at 15:17:50 PT
Just Worn Out.
Peron id an Icon in the MMJ movement. He is Ill, and has been fighting a long time. Even SuperMan became weak under certain cricumstances. Cut the man some slack, he's earned it. When the Champion drops his sword, the young, strong and courageous should pick it up and attack the the enemy with strength, determination and youthful vigor.  Thank you Dennis Peron for your courage, and the energy you have contributed to this cause.
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Comment #17 posted by siege on February 17, 2005 at 11:53:26 PT
excise Bagage
In the intrust of the U S Gov't. A wise move on there part would be to lose the excise Bagage, of the DEA from the rolls of the pay master. minimum wage of the DEA at 50,000 each a year it is time to rid the people of these lich's / DEA at 6,000 Agents at 50,000 ++ = 24,999,999++ a month. the saving to the citizens would be  (( wow )) If we got rid of the DEA the Gov't. could save 
($$ 300,000,000.plus) Dollars a year,   incarcerate the Sick and disabled and nonviolent. That can be spent in other way's that would help the citizens of the country 
like the schools for our children and the Hope for the future of this Country. THIS is just one out of 50 pulse one Gov't.
In 1976, California enacted the Moscone bill, providing for a summons and a fine for possession of small amounts of marijuana.
According to a detailed study of the entire California justice system, from 1976 to 1985, California saved $ 958,305,499 in direct criminal justice expenditures.(2) That 958 million dollar figure includes only the costs of arrests, courts, state prisons, and parole. The cost saving does not include the amounts saved by reducing expenditures for county jails, prosecutors, public defenders, and probation departments. The savings figure also does not include the revenue raised by the $100 fine. Taking these other factors into account, California saved well over one billion dollars in a 10-year period, or over one hundred million dollars per year.http://www.davekopel.com/CJ/MarijuanaJailTerms.htm
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Comment #16 posted by FoM on February 17, 2005 at 10:54:15 PT
cannaman 
I do know what you mean.
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Comment #15 posted by cannaman on February 17, 2005 at 10:43:15 PT
to Fom
Yes but looked at what happen because of those you mentioned, WAMM now has an injunction barring further DEA raids and Ed Rosenthal received a whopping 1 day sentence and he is going to appeal everything and continue to fight mind you not throw in the towel like "others" I know. By the way I will be attending Ed Rosenthals BBQ at Vasona Lake, in beautiful Los Gatos on April 24 the 2nd annual 4:20 fest is at 12:00 where Ed will be speaking and there will be some good live music hope to see all of you there!
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Comment #14 posted by FoM on February 17, 2005 at 10:28:40 PT
More Reasons To Be Concerned
http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/valc.htmhttp://www.freedomtoexhale.com/eventpics.htmhttp://www.freedomtoexhale.com/trialpics.htm
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Comment #13 posted by FoM on February 17, 2005 at 10:26:23 PT
More That Has Happened Under This Administration
http://freedomtoexhale.com/raid.htmhttp://www.freedomtoexhale.com/rb.htmhttp://www.freedomtoexhale.com/mj.htmhttp://www.freedomtoexhale.com/protestpics.htm
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Comment #12 posted by FoM on February 17, 2005 at 10:21:20 PT
One More Point About Bush
http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/smk.htm
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Comment #11 posted by FoM on February 17, 2005 at 10:13:14 PT
WAMM and Rosenthal
Look what Bush did to WAMM and Ed Rosenthal. Bush is determined to eliminate marijuana issues. I sure don't blame Dennis for how he feels. 
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Comment #10 posted by Hope on February 17, 2005 at 10:09:43 PT
Peron's attitude
Peron's been at it a long time. We all get to feeling hopeless sometimes. Try not to think too harshly of him. I imagine somedays he just wakes up tired and looks in the mirror and thinks "I sure don't want to go to jail today." Obviously, he is too weak to put up much of a fight now. His fire may return and if it doesn't, we have to recognize that the man has done a lot to help people who need medicinal marijuana.
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Comment #9 posted by FoM on February 17, 2005 at 10:03:27 PT
cannaman
This is how I see it all. Back when Prop 215 was passed things were different. We had hope back then. We still have hope but it's tempered now. Every since we got the Bush administration in charge things have gotten harder and made so many really cautious. That is the way to control everyone. They are succeeding in that respect. It's seems to be just a sign of the times to me.
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Comment #8 posted by Hope on February 17, 2005 at 10:01:02 PT
"What kind of a man....?"
A bad, cruel man. A "brute beast...fit for destruction".I think a high percentage of them enjoy treating people badly and love being in the position to be able to do it...on government "orders", no less.They love it...because it's not a "boring" job. They think it’s a fun job. Many of them are adrenaline junkies. They get off on getting to tread personally on those demonized by society. It makes them feel "good". Those that do have enough sense to know it's wrong...do it anyway...for the money. If they don't do it someone else will, right? They strike me as the sort of people who would line up for their turn in a gang rape. 
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Comment #7 posted by cannaman on February 17, 2005 at 09:52:58 PT
I knew Peron when he still had a pair!
Well I did know Peron when he talked a big game and now he is sounding like a person who has a defeatest attitude. I knew him when he had a pair and wasn't in hiding making comments from the bleachers! He did alot for the movement then he stopped...but the work wasn't finished!!! 
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on February 17, 2005 at 09:22:11 PT
cannaman
I don't think that Dennis said what he said in this article to be mean or anything like that but to show we should be afraid. I felt that way when the first article came out when the Rainbow Farm issue started. I said they are going to kill them! They did!PS: I never have had any contact with Dennis Peron but he was the one who stirred my interested in medical marijuana after my son died.
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Comment #5 posted by Sam Adams on February 17, 2005 at 09:17:29 PT
frightening
What kind of a man wants to drive a blacked-out truck, and assault and rob 2 cancer sufferers?  Eddy Lepp & his wife are sick people that have hurt no one! Peron is right, we're paying the salaries of thugs that rob & steal gardening equipment. It's interesting that the one DEA scumbug commented that Eddy is greedy. Well, if the DEA didn't exist, and if the police quit assaulting marijuana growers, the price of Eddy's crop would plummet to virtually nothing. Maybe bucks an ounce, or even less.At least Eddy doesn't work for a huge, cruel federal government that forces everyone to spend half the year working to support a communist-like political class of bureaucrats and petty enforcer thugs. Jim Morrison was right, we are all slaves. 
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Comment #4 posted by observer on February 17, 2005 at 09:15:37 PT
''The Whole War is on Marijuana''
They start out at fifty thou [50,000$US] and go up from there. "You are threatening somebody's livelihood. They're mad and Eddy is kind of in their face. So, they're hoping to sacrifice him at the altar of marijuana. They'll drive him to suicide, which is killing, or put him in a cell with a thug or a crazy who'll smash his head in." ... "I got to pull back," he said. "Otherwise they're going to kill me. I'll be a warrior some other time, but you know there's no such thing as a dead warrior."from _Drug War Propaganda_ 
http://drugwarpropaganda.news-bot.net/ --
Chapter 8. Target: Dissent (Dissent and Hated Groups, Hated dissenters pushing drugs, wealthy dissenters vs poor government, Other hated reformers, Claim Drug War Dissenters are Lying, "Cruel Hoax", Government Says Dissenters are Lying, Reformers: Liars, Liars!, Dissenters Should be Silenced, Dissent Causing Children to Take Drugs, Dissenters Jailed, Dissenters Executed, Summary, Notes)[... Chapter 8 ...]"You do a disservice to your readers by taking up the cause of pot smoking social engineers who call for the legalization of marijuana," another writer screamed. "Little or no research has been done of the effects of smoking pot," the writer complained. "About all we have are the testimonials of pot smokers which in my view would not carry much weight because this group has a vested interest in seeing it legitimized."[15] Oddly, the writer left off discussion of the vested interests of police, prosecutor, jailer and other branches of government. [page 286][...]Dissenters ExecutedAlthough America prides itself on being "the land of the free" -- where dissenting opinions are permitted -- when the subject is 'drugs,' the reality of the situation is quite different. If the dissenters wish to change the drug laws, to change them by making them less harsh, then such talk (say prohibitionists) must not be permitted. If some "druggies" want to change the law, then who would complain if such people are executed? This is the approach that the prohibitionist propagandist must take. Of course, those activists gunned down by government are not killed because they held a particular belief, oh no. They are hurt and even killed for some other reason, we are told. [page 306]
_Drug War Propaganda_ (now in print) 
http://drugwarpropaganda.news-bot.net/ 
http://drugwarpropaganda.news-bot.net/
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on February 17, 2005 at 09:14:24 PT
Related Article from The Press Democrat
http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050217/NEWS/502170336/1033/NEWS01
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Comment #2 posted by cannaman on February 17, 2005 at 09:12:38 PT
Peron's full of it!!!
Eddy's hasn't set himself up for anything Dennis, the DEA has what did you switch sides or what? Last time I looked medical marijuana was "legal" in CA. Ever since you got popped you have been keeping a low profile and making your living man. At least someone has taken over where you left off. I see you occasionally make a comment about someone else but what happened did they take the fight out of you Dennis!!! Get back in the game and don't fight from under the covers. If he does to time he will be embraced by fellow convicts just like Tommy Chong was he'll be fine give a Vietnam Veteran more credit than that! And either your a warrior or your not! Maybe you just ought to tuck that little tail between your legs and let the real men fight now!
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on February 17, 2005 at 08:07:13 PT
Two More Related Articles from The Record Bee
http://www.record-bee.com/Stories/0,1413,255~26901~2716465,00.htmlhttp://www.record-bee.com/Stories/0,1413,255~26901~2716467,00.html
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