cannabisnews.com: Warrant Served After Drug Bought Without Paperwork





Warrant Served After Drug Bought Without Paperwork
Posted by CN Staff on December 13, 2005 at 07:34:19 PT
By Jeff McDonald
Source: SignOnSanDiego.com
San Diego, CA -- Federal agents fanned out across San Diego County yesterday, executing simultaneous search warrants on 13 medical marijuana dispensaries.  A task force headed by the San Diego office of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration seized approximately 50 pounds of high-grade marijuana along with equipment, computers, patient records and other materials.
No one was arrested on suspicion of drug-dealing, officials said, but three people were arrested on unrelated charges. The agents arrived at most of the dispensaries unannounced with guns drawn, witnesses said. They handcuffed employees and ran background checks on both workers and patients. Drug-sniffing dogs searched for pot and pot-laced products, such as brownies, ice cream and butter. The raids were conducted on dispensaries in San Diego and San Marcos but quickly made news across California. Activists were worried that other dispensaries around the state would be targeted next. Law enforcement officials said the warrants were signed by a federal judge after undercover agents purchased marijuana without the paperwork required under state law, said Jack Hook, the DEA's acting special agent in charge. "The bottom line is the prices that these people are charging is three to four times higher than you buy from a seedy drug dealer in a back alley," Hook said. "These people are not helping the medically infirm. They're out to make money." Hook said the task force had identified 29 dispensaries operating across San Diego County in recent months. Of those, 16 went out of business during the investigation. According to Hook, the dispensaries pose a serious risk to public safety. Several storefronts have been targeted by thieves because there are large amounts of drugs and money inside, he said. Even though investigators plan to scrutinize the patient records seized yesterday, the DEA said medical marijuana users are not targets of the ongoing investigation. "Those that are violating federal narcotics laws are subject to this investigation," spokesman Misha Piastro said. "We're talking about drug dealers – people who are trafficking in illegal substances." The afternoon raids incensed dispensary operators and medical marijuana activists, who say the federal government has no business interfering in a state issue. "These actions fly in the face of voters," said Laurie Kallonakis, president of San Diego NORML, a group dedicated to reforming laws prohibiting marijuana use and cultivation. "Politicians and law enforcement officers are not doctors," she said. "Patients' records have been taken in violation of privacy rights." Although California voters passed an initiative in 1996 allowing the medicinal use of marijuana, it remains illegal under federal law. In June the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the federal government's authority to arrest anyone using or possessing marijuana in the 11 states that have passed medical marijuana laws. The city of San Diego adopted guidelines regulating the medical use of marijuana in 2003, seven years after California voters approved the statewide initiative permitting sick and dying patients to use the drug with a doctor's recommendation. Dispensaries began opening across San Diego last year, after another state law spelling out terms of medical marijuana use went into effect. For more than a year, local police investigated the storefront operators, visited the dispensaries and kept records, but generally left them alone. After the high court's decision in June, some dispensaries shut down temporarily, but most of them quietly reopened in recent months. Jon Sullivan, who runs two San Diego dispensaries targeted in yesterday's crackdown, said the raid only strengthened his resolve to keep dispensing marijuana. "There are very sick people out there that need this medicine desperately," he said. "What the feds are doing is against the law I voted for." News of the raids traveled quickly, both by telephone and on the Internet. Medical marijuana advocates from San Diego to Northern California blasted the operation as an assault on sick people using the only medicine that works to relieve symptoms associated with cancer, AIDS and other diseases. "We're pretty disturbed by what we're hearing," said Hilary McQuie of Americans for Safe Access, an Oakland organization that promotes safe and legal access to marijuana for qualified patients. "It seems like a large operation designed to intimidate the medical cannabis community in San Diego," McQuie said. "Given the timing with the board of supervisors' threat to sue the state over Proposition 215, we're concerned there's collusion between state and federal officials." Last month, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 to challenge in court the state law requiring counties to issue identification to qualified medical marijuana patients. Three supervisors – Bill Horn, Dianne Jacob and Pam Slater-Price – said San Diego County should not be forced to support activities that are illegal under federal drug laws. Despite the widely publicized vote, no lawsuit has yet been filed. The county counsel's office has said San Diego County is almost certain to lose such a case. At the Native Sun dispensary on Rosecrans Avenue yesterday, agents asked anyone entering the storefront to step inside for an interrogation. A reporter was told to leave, and not allowed to interview any staff, patients or police. Another team of agents converged on the Legal Ease Inc. dispensary offices in North Park a little after noon. No drugs are stored on site, but agents took equipment and files. "They came in with guns . . . lined us up outside and handcuffed us," said one employee, who did not want to give his name because he fears getting arrested. "We're closed now, I guess." Legal Ease serves some 2,500 patients countywide, employees said. The warrants were served by a task force made up of a number of San Diego County law enforcement agencies, including the San Diego Police Department. Three years ago, when San Diego Police Chief William Lansdowne ran the San Jose Police Department, he pulled his officers from a similar task force after federal agents raided a collective marijuana garden outside Santa Cruz. Yesterday, Asst. Chief Cheryl Meyers said Lansdowne agreed to participate in this investigation because it targeted dispensaries within county lines. One dispensary on El Cajon Boulevard apparently was overlooked by the federal agents. Inside, the operator was visibly shaken by news of the raids. So was medical marijuana patient Charles Dunn, who was there to fill an order. "I haven't had to take prescription drugs in four years," said Dunn, who said his degenerative back and neck condition for years required him to take powerful and expensive narcotics such as morphine and Vicodin to reduce his pain. Dunn, an insurance broker from Chula Vista, worried that he may have to go back to buying marijuana on the street. In those cases, "you never know what you're going to get," he said. Source: SignOnSanDiego.com (CA)Author: Jeff McDonaldPublished: December 13, 2005Copyright: 2005 SignOnSanDiego.comContact: joe.cantlupe copleydc.com Website: http://www.signonsandiego.com/Related Articles:U.S. Drug Agents Raid 13 Medical Marijuana Siteshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21376.shtmlCounty To Sue over Prop. 215 in Federal Courthttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21364.shtmlCounty To Sue To Overturn Marijuana Lawhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21363.shtml
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Comment #33 posted by global_warming on December 23, 2005 at 13:29:17 PT
re:Fear
That Eternal NightHovers on our broadsides,That Night,Is ForeverWe watch as our sisers ahd brothers,Are forced into 'deathIt is this judgment,\That hurriedlyHurtlesOur Eternal Souls,Into our facesWhile 'we standAs witness and judge,
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Comment #32 posted by schmeff on December 14, 2005 at 11:22:38 PT
It's all about fear and control
In many of these types of press releases, you'll notice that the "authorities" will often cite the fact that because there is an "ongoing investigation", they can't answer any questions. This usually happens AFTER they've already answered several other questions, but have just been lobbed a question that they realize would make an ass of themselves if they answered truthfully.Notice that in this story, even though the DEA has characterized these raids as an ongoing investigation..."Even though investigators plan to scrutinize the patient records seized yesterday, the DEA said medical marijuana users are not targets of the ongoing investigation."...the DEA is happy...eager, even...to comment. In fact, they've got at least two spokespersons mentioned in the article: Jack Hook (no doubt the descendent of a famous nautical criminal) and Misha Piastro. While the DEA had at least two flaks managing the news, they actively prevented the media from getting an opposing viewpoint:"At the Native Sun dispensary on Rosecrans Avenue yesterday, agents asked anyone entering the storefront to step inside for an interrogation. A reporter was told to leave, and not allowed to interview any staff, patients or police."This is a very carefully orchestrated program designed to intimidate and harass the public and put us in our place. Fear is the desired response, and the fascists know that fear is their only hole-card.(You've gotta laugh when the DEA goon makes a comment about protecting the public from high prices while deriding the "seedy drug dealer in a back alley." After all, it's the DEA who authorizes the production of seedy schwag at some alley behind the U. of Miss.)
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Comment #31 posted by joegames on December 14, 2005 at 07:51:12 PT:
DEA Protecting Their Jobs and Mexican Drug Cartel 
It's a shame that many people will now be forced to the black market to obtain their medicine. (where the money goes south of the border, prospectively funding terrorist motives) Any person with any amount of intelligence can see this is merely a pursuit to protect interests of the pharmaceutical, tobacco, and alcohol industries, all of which directly and in-directly keep the DEA and their ill conceived agenda afloat.What goes on here? Does the DEA think their actions serve as a deterrent? Thousands of bona-fide MD's are recommending smokeless medical cannabis to kids and adults all across America, both above and below ground.The DEA are a bunch of pussy kooks. Period. Rather than going after tweakers and other more threatening characters in the drug trade, they target easy law abiding citizens who are taking advantages of true democracy and liberties afforded by voter approved legislation and state mandated guidelines.Meanwhile, terrorists are making dirty bombs all throughout SD County and the DEA and their collective cronies are honing in on the easy kill, harmless medical cannabis patients.I really cannot see how any member of the DEA can look themselves in the mirror in the morning. Oh, that's right, they're mostly (not all) comprised of pathetic drunks so they can live the life of denial collectively.Professor Lyle Cracker has something coming for you DEA retards.The drug epidemic is a health issue and not a criminal enterprise as our government would like us all to believe via their propaganda machine, the ONDCP. Ask a doctor. They know a thing or two more about health than the DEA.John Fernandes, you are truly a bought and paid for pathetic puke. Happy Hangovers Barney. 
Objectivity, Science, and Democracy Over Fascism
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Comment #30 posted by ekim on December 14, 2005 at 07:46:35 PT
Dec 14 05 Darian O'Toole interviews Jack Cole 10am
December 2005 
Dec 14 05 Darian O'Toole interviews Jack Cole 10:00 AM Jack Cole San Francisco CA USA 
 "Red Hot and Steamy" Darian shares the mic with LEAP Executive Director Jack Cole on the O'Toole Show, 106.9FM from San Francisco in what promises to be an hour on the wild side. whig-- Bob Dylan said to be hosting a half hour show on XM raido.
http://www.leap.cc/events
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Comment #29 posted by siege on December 14, 2005 at 07:12:22 PT
ot No California Attorney Would Help
Him Fight Judicial CorruptionSummary: Gene Forte is not a lawyer, and most observers expected him to fall flat on his face, but he is gaining success and making legal history. This "average guy" is fighting what he says are corrupt officials at all levels, and doing it alone because lawyers are too intimidated to get involved. By David M. Bresnahan www.AttorneyBusters.com.
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Comment #28 posted by kaptinemo on December 14, 2005 at 04:56:55 PT:
Why were local LEO's helping the Feds?
Take a look at that video from the link; a cop with the word "SHERIFF" printed on the back of his T-shirt is loading equipment into a van. What role did local police, who are enjoined NOT to aid the Feds take in this raid?(Since this is supposedly a Fed show, and the action is against California State law when it comes in conflict with Fed law?) If I were a taxpayer there, I think I'd like to know why local manpower, resources and money are being spent assisting the Feds, who already have got the lion's share of our taxes.
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Comment #27 posted by whig on December 14, 2005 at 04:53:30 PT
OT: Stanley "Tookie" Williams
A couple days ago, California executed Stanley "Tookie" Williams. Governor Schwarzenegger denied his petition for clemency on grounds that he (Williams) had not apologized for crimes he has consistently maintained his innocence of.If Williams was innocent, he was therefore placed in a double-bind. Either confess and apologize for something he didn't do, or be executed. If he was truly guilty, he had a real choice, and he might have been spared. Here is a petition that evidences the fact that Williams may very likely have been innocent of the charges.Another reason Schwarzenegger cited in his denial of clemency was that Williams dedicated a book (Life in Prison) to a group of people including George Jackson. According to Schwarzenegger, "the inclusion of George Jackson on the list defies reason and is a significant indicator that Williams is not reformed." Well, maybe he should just fry Bob Dylan too, then.
	
I woke up this mornin',There were tears in my bed.They killed a man I really lovedShot him through the head.Lord, Lord,They cut George Jackson down.Lord, Lord,They laid him in the ground.Sent him off to prisonFor a seventy-dollar robbery.Closed the door behind himAnd they threw away the key.Lord, Lord, They cut George Jackson down.Lord, Lord,They laid him in the ground.He wouldn't take shit from no oneHe wouldn't bow down or kneel.Authorities, they hated himBecause he was just too real.Lord, Lord,They cut George Jackson down.Lord, Lord,They laid him in the ground.Prison guards, they cursed himAs they watched him from aboveBut they were frightened of his powerThey were scared of his love.Lord, Lord,So they cut George Jackson down.Lord, Lord,They laid him in the ground.Sometimes I think this whole worldIs one big prison yard.Some of us are prisonersThe rest of us are guards.Lord, Lord,They cut George Jackson down.Lord, Lord,They laid him in the ground.("George Jackson," by Bob Dylan, 1971)
Stanley "Tookie" Williams, Emergency Stay Petition
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Comment #26 posted by runruff on December 14, 2005 at 00:29:51 PT:
Pyramiding man!
That's what I'm all about these days. I'm trying to connect with people on blog sites and chat rooms who will go to 10 other blogs or chat rooms and spread the word. This is serious, man. We are like cyber warriors. the pen is mightier than the sword. In this case of course, it is the key board. We know what to say. I am about the ergency of it now. Those bloody anti-American straw soldiers need to go post hast. Pyramid like Ponsi. Sell it like it is your freedom you are fighting for. If I have to go it alone I will. I cannot do otherwise. It is in my soul to be free.
I have a sword I yeild it with my fingertips. I vow not to quit untill I am free! I want my country back!
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Comment #25 posted by siege on December 13, 2005 at 21:15:22 PT
Rev Jim
I'm just layperson, IF one tacks the time to read the CSA it has so much contradiction and Inconsistency in it, I do not see how the incompadent people in the government passed it to law. they could not have read it at all... The professor that wrote it, left it so that a lawsuit could be brough against it, and won by the people...
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Comment #24 posted by John Tyler on December 13, 2005 at 20:41:20 PT
A little off topic, but interesting
There was a strange article in the newspaper today. In Appalachia, it seems that quite a number of the elderly, in order to make end meet, have taken to selling part of their prescription pain meds for profit. This is really quite sad, since they don’t have enough to live on, and no other way of generating an income, they are practically forced by economic circumstance to do this.  Then the weird Drug War part comes in. The cops are now arresting these old people and throwing them in jail. I mean, how fast is someone with a walker going to be able to move. But, on the upside they can now be provided them food, shelter, and medical care (pain meds again) at government expense while in jail, a much bigger government expense by the way, than there would be if they could receive adequate care in the first place. Isn’t that something, jail as an assisted living facility? I wonder if anyone will figure that out. No, probably not.  
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Comment #23 posted by Sam Adams on December 13, 2005 at 20:00:49 PT
DEA
nice sound bites - are they saying they bought cannabis without documentation at all 13 dispensaries? If so, why didn't they arrest the individuals? 'cause it's looking an awful lot like they just went in and looted and harassed a bunch of people. How long will it be till they're at CVS, interrogating the sick people that come in for pain killers? They're already harassing the doctors behind the scenes. I guess it's no surprise.  Pain is a critical tool of totalitarian governments. Through state, local and federal taxes they've got us working for them over 50% of the time. Through ecomonic imperialism, they've taken wage slaves in countries around the world. But it's still not enough, is it? They need a full Inquisition to satisfy their need for hate and lust for control and power.
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Comment #22 posted by Hope on December 13, 2005 at 19:37:06 PT
Oh no
Oh no...These raids are so sad.
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Comment #21 posted by FoM on December 13, 2005 at 19:14:23 PT
Video from 10News.com
Protestors Rally Over Medical Marijuana Crackdown***DEA Raids Spark Rally In Front Of Courthouse  December 13, 2005Video: DEA Raid Prompts Protestors To Rally:
http://www.10news.com/news/5529325/detail.htmlSAN DIEGO -- Protestors rallied to stop the crackdown on medical marijuana.The Drug Enforcement Agency and local police raided 13 dispensaries of medical marijuana Monday, including the Purple Coconut, on El Cajon Boulevard.Tuesday, there was a demonstration of solidarity by some of those targeted.Several dozen people gathered at the street corner of Broadway and Midway between the federal and county courthouses at noon so they would have a chance to get their voices heard. 
 "We want our rights. State law says Prop 215 passed -- we're voters and we want medical cannabis," said San Diego Norml President Laurie Kallonakis.The DEA-led raid in San Diego and San Marcos closed down more than a dozen dispensaries where patients and caregivers picked up marijuana for medical purposes. But the DEA said undercover operatives bought it, too, without prescriptions, violating both the spirit and letter of the law."You have a high percentage of healthy 18-to 25-year-olds walking into locations, smoking joints around community. We received complaints (so) we took action," said John Fernandes with the DEA.One caregiver, who also works at a dispensary talked about what he called the darker side -- places that he said shouldn't be tolerated because they sell to people without a medical need."Our stare policy is real strict. If you don't have paperwork, there's no way to get in," said Tim Janson, with Legal Ease Inc.There have been no arrests for the sale or purchase of marijuana in these raids.Three people were taken into custody on unrelated warrants. Copyright 2004 by 10News.com
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Comment #20 posted by Patrick on December 13, 2005 at 18:35:48 PT
Comment # 13 & 15
runfuff very cool way to express your experiences. I really related to your post. I wasn’t drafted as a soldier. Instead in my youthful urge for freedom and adventure I volunteered to do it. Fortunately and thankfully I never killed anyone or ever had to shoot at anyone in self defense. Your poem reminded me of my life experiences in much the same sort of way. So, I say thanks and well done too! Sam I have to agree with you on the struggle of good over evil within ourselves 100%. I often wonder why the good news is not the order of the day instead of the bad. Perhaps mankind will grow wiser this new century and perhaps not? Seems our history has been one of violence. Perhaps the nature of mankind is uniquely tuned towards violence in much the same way the earth, nature, and the universe are all violent collisions occurring over and over. And with all this natural violence going on around us, life seems to begin anew at the same moment. It’s really frustrating that it comes down to guns drawn against someone medicating themselves with something other than an FDA approved substance. Drug addicts are certainly a small puzzling minority of society. However, cannabis consumers are not drug addicts and really don’t need any policing other than police protection from the substance abuse police force known as the DEA. Some screwed up stuff this system can be with all its laws over our death and our life and our choices. Make the wrong choice and the substance abuse people get a “go” to kick your door in with guns drawn. Freedoms bah humbug. Yep, it takes a soldier's mentality to continue to fight for what you believe is right. And then again, I can understand that one mans right may be another mans wrong and the whole freaking cycle starts all over…
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Comment #19 posted by siege on December 13, 2005 at 17:59:18 PT
 antidepressant drug increases
2.New antidepressant drug increases 'brain's own cannabis'http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-12/mu-nad121305.php
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Comment #18 posted by siege on December 13, 2005 at 17:57:13 PT
Medicinal cannabis review
1. RCP: Medicinal cannabis review points to potential benefits and need for further studyhttp://tinyurl.com/a9f38A report of a Royal College of Physicians (RCP) working party states that the active ingredient of cannabis, ?9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), appears to provide some benefit in the treatment of certain illnesses but recommends further clinical trials. The group studied the evidence around the medicinal uses of cannabis and reviewed the benefits and risks associated with its u2.http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-12/mu-nad121305.phpHemp-based medicines may be legalised in Czech RepublicPRAGUE, Dec 12 (CTK) - Czech patients may soon start using hemp (cannabis)-based medicines as the government plans to include them among legal medical products in an amendment to the law on addictive substances, the daily Lidove noviny (LN) reports today.3. 
This story copyright 2005 CTK Czech News Agency.
The Prague Daily Monitor and Monitor CE are not responsible for its content.
	 
http://tinyurl.com/chacq
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Comment #17 posted by runruff on December 13, 2005 at 17:31:46 PT:
Thank you Sam.
This is a poetic rendition of some my personal experiences. I have done alot and been to many places. Rambunctious my mom calls me. Always thinking about what I want to do next even before I finish what I am doing. I was always trying to stay ahead of my own heal dust. Thanks for the compliment. I enjoy reading your post very much also. 
Happy trails.
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Comment #16 posted by Toker00 on December 13, 2005 at 17:20:13 PT
Hey Sam,samAdams
I noticed your name posts with a capital SamAdams sometimes and as samAdams. Are you registered as both? It's none of my business, really, just got curious when I caught it.Wage peace on war. END CANNABIS PROHIBITION NOW!
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Comment #15 posted by sam Adams on December 13, 2005 at 16:44:45 PT
runruff
that's great - did you just make it up now? good job.It makes me think of the great things and horrible things mankind is capable of doing. Today in the US people are programmed to see things as Democrat or Republican - everyone is compelled to choose a side. Partisanship, polarization, even nationalism, whatever you want to call it. Karl Rove is the spin-master of this brainwashing, divide & conquer technique.If we'd open our eyes and took a look at history, we'd see that the most important struggle is against the inherent flaws in all of us. Mankind is locked in an eternal struggle of our good side vs. our propensity for evil. Each one of us is capable of doing good or terrible harm. Imagine if we spent our money on teaching people to eat right & exercise to feel better, instead of demonizing cannabis users to make non-users feel better (superior)We're spending $500+ billion a year on war while Europe, and even China, crank out thousands of well-educated scientists & engineers.Did the Great Depression happen because too many people were using cannabis? Did Hitler kill & destroy Europe because the Nazis were "soft on drugs"? No. Those disasters happened because too many people succumbed to greed and hatred.
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Comment #14 posted by FoM on December 13, 2005 at 14:52:15 PT
WEEDS: A Little Good News!
Showtime Fires Up Weeds Season 2 ***Anthony Crupi December 13, 2005 Showtime is rolling up a second season of Weeds, ordering a 12-episode slate of the original comedy series.The series stars actress Mary-Louise Parker as a suburban widow who deals marijuana in order to help make ends meet after her husband's sudden demise.Weeds notched three Golden Globe nominations Tuesday morning, with Parker getting a nod for best comedy actress, putting the gifted thespian up against all four principals from ABC's Desperate Housewives. Parker's co-star Elizabeth Perkins was nominated for best supporting actress, while the program itself was short-listed for best television series, musical or comedy.In a nod to the series' subject matter, Robert Greenblatt, president of Showtime Entertainment, said that his team was "addicted the minute we saw the pilot."Production on the second season will begin this spring, in the hopes of a summer premiere date. Overall, cable snared 28 of the 57 TV nominations, with HBO in the running to take home the most hardware, with 17 nominations.Cable continues to dominate the original-film categories, as all six nominees for best miniseries/motion picture originally debuted on pay TV channels. HBO earned a number of nominations for Empire Falls, Lackawanna Blues and Warm Springs, while corporate sib Showtime was recognized for Sleeper Cell. BBC America is in the running with its Viva Blackpool, as is TNT, which got a nod for the Steven Spielberg-produced mini Into the West.Other cable nets getting recognition from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association were FX, which got a best actress (drama) nod for Glenn Close's work on the Shield, and Lifetime, which saw Mira Sorvino and Donald Sutherland win nods for their work in the net's Human Trafficking mini. Copyright: 2005 VNU eMedia Inc.Link: http://tinyurl.com/bu7fe
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Comment #13 posted by runruff on December 13, 2005 at 12:49:07 PT:
A vision.
I've seen the sunrise over the Rocky Mountians from the 
Great Salt Lake below. While standing amoung the the great marble and granite fountians.
I've seen the majestic redwoods standing before they were chopped kown and sent to Japan.
I've seen the torn and broken children in the American Shah's Iran.
I've seen the beautiful and vast painted desert.
The oh so awesome Grand Canyon.
I hid from the U.S. tyrtants in Aravaka Arizona.
Stood over the grave of ol' Gamblin' Bill Banyon.
I've touched Plymouth Rock behind a steel gate on the Atlantic shores.I've been kicked and beaten by peace officers behind closed doors.
I was forced to serve my country in my budding youth.
I was made to kill and maime .
Robbed of my identity for God country and corporate gain.
I stood on the battle field at Little Big Horn Creek.
I counted each and every grave.
I determined no free man would want to die this way.
I was a soldier once and every soldier is a slave.
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Comment #12 posted by siege on December 13, 2005 at 12:40:40 PT
To fix
The people of Calif. have to have a lawsuit to the state, to implement Proposition 215 to it's fullest degree, and untill they do it, it is just bad service, any way you look at it. once the stste has been sued, then they [state] have to go for the Fed. The way it is wrote up. so as all long as the state is sleep on it, the Fed. can play all there games and hurt the medical marijuana people!!! and they all know it, the State's Attorney General the lawyers, Law enforcement, Federal law. and are making money from it. 
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Comment #11 posted by FoM on December 13, 2005 at 12:02:05 PT
Just a Comment
The more I think about these raids the more I believe this might be what will bring the issue of how to supply the clubs into the forefront and how this must be addressed. Too many people are getting hurt by not getting on with finishing it once and for all. No more burying our heads in the sand on either side. We need this fixed! That's just my 2 cents.
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Comment #10 posted by FoM on December 13, 2005 at 11:40:36 PT
Poll: Please Vote
Should California order counties to establish medical marijuana ID programs even though the use of marijuana is against federal law?Current Results:Yes -- 66%No -- 34%http://www.nbcsandiego.com/health/5520782/detail.html
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Comment #9 posted by runruff on December 13, 2005 at 11:11:06 PT:
The market place.
If herb vendors were left alone the market would balance itself out. Obviously prohibition keeps the prices artifically high. For the DEA to criticize anyone doing something positive for profit is the shark criticizing the
the catfish. They steal and murder for profit for heavens sake!!!! Now about the 50 pounds of high grade Medicinal herbs. If you don't believe they will be sold by officers in the DEA and end up on the streets anyway 
I'm sorry, you just don't understand the nature of the beast.
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Comment #8 posted by FoM on December 13, 2005 at 11:09:56 PT
NORML: Protest At Department of Justice Tomorrow 
December 13, 2005 
  
 Protest At Department of Justice TomorrowThe following is a message from our friend Eric Sterling at the Criminal Justice Policy Foundation about a protest being organized for tomorrow in Washington, DC in response to this week's federal raids on medical marijuana buyers cooperatives in San Diego. We hope you will make an effort to show up.- NORML################################################Friends,US drug agents simultaneously raided thirteen medical marijuana dispensaries in San Diego, CA on Monday, Dec. 12. San Diego is the seventh largest city in the country, and the second largest city in CA with 1.3 million people. They seized patient files, computers, and marijuana destined for patients. http://mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n1949/a06.htmlThis is the latest and largest set of raids by the Federal government designed to block operation of California's nine-year old medical marijuana law, and to frustrate the medical treatment of thousands of desperately ill people.We must not sit by and let persecution of patients and providers become "business as usual."Please join us for a short but important protest at the entrance to the U.S. Department of Justice at NOON, December 14, 2005 at 10th St. and Pennsylvania Ave. NW. We will wind up by 12:20 p.m., so don't be late.We will have signs, and a bull horn. Please bring your outrage, your friends and co-workers. Our goal is to have 50 people at the protest!These raids were staged the same day that DEA's Administrative Law Judge began hearings to force DEA to allow the University of Massachusetts at Amherst to start growing research-quality marijuana to enable impartial research into the medical benefit of marijuana in the U.S. Right now DEA and NIDA use their monopoly on the supply of research quality medical marijuana, due to their control of the University of Mississippi marijuana farm, to distort the nation's research agenda, and block studies designed to find potential medical benefits. http://mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n1945/a07.htmlWe will be joining hundreds of Americans across the nation protesting the Department of Justice and the Drug Enforcement Administration's raids at other noon-time rallies.Please make every effort to come.Eric
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on December 13, 2005 at 10:33:34 PT
Off Topic: More Money Money Money
Pentagon's Use of Media Firm, Company's Performance, Scrutinized: http://tinyurl.com/96hve
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Comment #6 posted by joegames on December 13, 2005 at 09:17:38 PT:
Chief Lansdowne
This police Chief is a total wimp. He was Mr. tough guy in more liberal northern Cali.He comes south where interest groups run the show, and he bows down like a little puppy.He could have easily made a point not to participate.This is a sterling example of bought and paid for gustapo law enforcement. 
Let Nature Live
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Comment #5 posted by runderwo on December 13, 2005 at 09:13:17 PT
wow
This makes me sick. Sam, you are right on the mark. The other thing I thought when I read that statement is that the quality of the product probably corresponds to the price. It's not shocking to pay $400/oz for kind around here, for example. But using his logic, since I can buy schwag for $120/oz, I am being taken advantage of by the other seller simply because his product is priced higher.
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Comment #4 posted by mayan on December 13, 2005 at 08:33:35 PT
Medically Infirm?
You mean the sick? The DEA sure is helping them! How much taxpayer money is being spent keeping all of these dangerous criminals off of the streets?GAG!THE WAY OUT...9/11 Evidence Ignored By Apathetic American Public: 
http://rense.com/general69/apa.htmNIST's 3-Year $20,000,000 Cover-Up of the Crime of the Century: 
http://911research.wtc7.net/essays/nist/index.htmlHigh-Level Officials Warn of Fake Terror: 
http://georgewashington.blogspot.com/2005/12/high-level-officials-warn-of-fake.html
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Comment #3 posted by Sam Adams on December 13, 2005 at 08:20:35 PT
Making money
"These people are not helping the medically infirm. They're out to make money."So making money off medicine is morally wrong? Then why don't they raid the corporate office of the makers of Marinol? Marinol is probably 10 or 20 times more expensive than the cost of cannabis on the street. I though screwing sick people by gouging them was the American Way. With drug prices here at 3 times the price in Canada or Europe or anywhere else on Earth, I thought overcharging the sick and dying was as American as apple pie and hot dogs and baseball.
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Comment #2 posted by Taylor121 on December 13, 2005 at 08:02:45 PT
Wow, good old law enforcement lies
'Even though investigators plan to scrutinize the patient records seized yesterday, the DEA said medical marijuana users are not targets of the ongoing investigation."Those that are violating federal narcotics laws are subject to this investigation," spokesman Misha Piastro said. "We're talking about drug dealers – people who are trafficking in illegal substances." 'Yeah anyone is a drug dealer to law enforcement, even if you just possess small amounts they operate under the assumption you are a drug kingpin. If you are violating federal narcotic laws, you are subject to the investigation. I would leave it at that and ignore what he said afterwards and what the newspaper said before. Medical marijuana patient should be extremely cautious.
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Comment #1 posted by medicinal toker on December 13, 2005 at 07:40:00 PT
lies!
"The bottom line is the prices that these people are charging is three to four times higher than you buy from a seedy drug dealer in a back alley," Hook said. "These people are not helping the medically infirm. They're out to make money."[snip]If this were true, why would they buy at dispensaries in the first place? The DEA has showed over & over they don't give a crap about 215. Any attempt to spin it like this is just so dishonest. But Dishonest is their first name!
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