cannabisnews.com: Landlords Of Medical Cannabis Centers Threatened Landlords Of Medical Cannabis Centers Threatened Posted by CN Staff on January 02, 2008 at 10:21:56 PT By Jacqueline Patterson Source: Coastal Post California -- Many Bay area medical cannabis dispensary operators, including Marin's own lyrical Lynette Shaw, rallied in Downtown San Francisco on December 20th in protest of the Drug Enforcement Administration's recent execution of another attack on medical cannabis dispensaries.In an effort to overcome the obstacles raised in the raid tactics the DEA employed in earlier attempts to circumvent a compassionate community of medical cannabis connoisseurs, the feds have resorted to sending letters to landlords who rent commercial space to medical cannabis providers, first in Southern California back in July and more recently here in the Bay area. Landlords who own space occupied by medical cannabis dispensaries in Marin, San Francisco, and Alameda counties received letters the second week in December. So far, only one landlord has been tried and convicted In May of 2007, 62 year-old Thomas Grossi Sr. was ordered to forfeit nearly $400,000 and sentenced to 30 months in federal prison. When released from prison, Grossi will be required to complete a three-year period of supervised release. Such harsh punishment (in contrast there was a case in this country in which a pedophile was given probation because the judge deemed him too short to go to prison) can only be construed as a deterrent to any property owner who might think to advance the safe legal (under state law) distribution of medical cannabis. Surely productive law-abiding citizens will not risk their liberty or even their personal assets when threatened with such great risk of loss and trauma. It would seem that inspiring landlords to evict tenants who cultivate, process, or distribute medical cannabis might be more cost effective and less labor intensive than the oft employed raids, but this new strategy has not only instigated potential legal defenses of the medical cannabis community, it has also drawn the attention of members of Congress, many of whom already opposed the use of brutal force against patients who were complying with local law. Respectively, in a stroke of legal genius, the Union of Medical Marijuana Providers filed a lawsuit on December 6th that charges the DEA with violation of California Penal Code ¤ 518, "which provides that 'extortion is the obtaining of property from another, with his consent, or the obtaining of an official act of a public officer induced by wrongful use of force or fear or under color of official right." The lawsuit attracted the attention of Michigan Congressman John Conyers who, on December 7, issued the following statement, "I am deeply concerned about recent reports that the Drug Enforcement Administration is threatening private landlords with asset forfeiture and possible imprisonment if they refuse to evict organizations legally dispensing medical marijuana to suffering patients." The House Judiciary Committee Chairman followed the comment by stating that the Committee had already questioned the DEA in regards to the agency's departure from the limitations of federalism with respect to California' Compassionate Use Act. Interestingly, the UMMP lawsuit was prefaced by a letter dated October 19th, 2007 to Timothy Landrum, Special Agent in Charge of the Los Angeles Field Division Office of the Drug Enforcement Administration. The correspondence claims that on October 11, 2007 the DEA retaliated against the Arts District Healing Center, a medical cannabis dispensary that legally operated in Los Angeles for about 18 months, because that particular collective was the solitary seeker of legal protection from the landlord letters that were sent in August. Since its inception in 1973, the Drug Enforcement Administration has adamantly maintained that "marijuana" is a Schedule I drug with no approved medical value, only recently conceding (notably, in Showtime's independent film "In POT We Trust") that "smoked marijuana" has "no medical value" and is rightly confined to its Schedule I status. If that is the case, however, then why are tins of machine rolled "marijuana cigarettes" sent to the five remaining patients who receive freeze-dried marijuana from the federal government under the investigational new drug protocol first implemented by Robert Randall in the mid-seventies? For nearly twenty-five years, the physicians of patients who had happened upon the evidence that cannabis alleviated symptoms of disorders or diseases which conventional pharmatherapies failed to adequately treat were invited to wade through years of paperwork so that they might one day receive, for said patient, shiny tin cans of ten-year-old marijuana. Because the seeds and stems are left in the smokeable plant matter, aging patients, already in pain from rare diseases such as nail patella syndrome and multiple congenital cartilaginous exostoses, must unroll, clean, moisturize, and reroll their medicine into what only the American government refers to as "marijuana cigarettes" because that is the only method of ingestion that our government approved. "The rights of one American belong to all," states George McMahon in his gravelly wizened voice but another George disagreed. McMahon was the last patient to be granted government shwag (which keeps him alive and kickin) before President George Bush Sr. shut the protocol down in response to an overwhelming flood of applications from AIDS victims dealing with the devastating effects of the disease, and the harsh side effects of the chemical cocktails meant to preserve the patients health. For many of those patients marijuana meant the difference between life and death and Former President Bush closed the door on their only avenue of legal access to safe effective medicine at that time but when the MANN closes the Door, the rebels open a window and compassionate Californians built a movement that has inspired a nation (slowly) to follow. In July, a custody hearing was held regarding my seven-year-old son; I didn't have the physical or financial capacity to get to the hearing, nor could I, at that point in time, care for my brave compassionate little boy. So custody was awarded to the petitioning party and as much as that hurts, it happens every day to thousands of medical cannabis patients all over the nation. In this particular instance, the judge reprimanded me for using my children as "props" at a marijuana rally at which I spoke to garner support for the medical cannabis bill for which Missouri patients had secured a committee hearing. My parents smoked marijuana recreationally for years when I was a child and I swore that I would never hide my use of the herb from my own children. On the contrary, I have made every effort to teach my children American values, which include making bad laws better, not that a judge in Iowa would ever understand that. The "Conservative" camp in America's politic circus contends that legalizing medical cannabis would set a bad example for the children but as Patients Out of Time (which is what the POT in "In POT We Trust" really stands for) Director, Mary Lynn Mathre points out, we should be teaching our children that "medicine should only be used when needed and at the appropriate dosage. Medicine should not be used for fun." If the abuse of pharmaceutical drugs prevalent in youth culture today is any indication, I think that message may have gotten lost in the mail. Meanwhile, medical cannabis providers will brace themselves against the raids, from which they now have a bit of a holiday reprieve, and continue the struggle to provide patients with cannabis and edibles because as Mickey Martin of former Tainted fame says, "providing safe effective reliable medicine to people who need it, gives us a purpose.' Complete Title: Landlords Of Medical Cannabis Centers Threatened With Real Estate Forfeiture Source: Coastal Post, The (CA)Author: Jacqueline Patterson Published: January 1, 2008Copyright: 2008 The Coastal PostContact: editor coastalpost.comWebsite: http://www.coastalpost.com/CannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #10 posted by OverwhelmSam on January 04, 2008 at 05:30:02 PT dankhank A lot of people only see the big "R" in front of Ron Paul's name. The truth is, there are no more Democrats or Republicsns, most are all the same if they are career politicians. Ron is more Libertarian, but could just as easily be a Democrat. [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by Dankhank on January 03, 2008 at 17:48:18 PT Ron Paul ... freaks me out ...I wanna like him, but ... he's got a lot o' baggage ...How's this for a scenario?Dems/unregistered/whoever go immediately to the election board and register as Repugs.All will publicly state if asked they will vote for Paul ... and do it.He gets the nodWe liberal types, kinda done with that label, think I'm an active independent, can then vote all other offices as we like Dem mostly, but always for a reasonable candidate no matter what the party.So we get what he promises and the high Democratic majority will go to work ...see how crazy he makes me? [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by mamawillie on January 03, 2008 at 13:22:59 PT Ron Paul on Cnn yesterday said... Yesterday on CNN's Situation Room Wolf Blitzer asked what he would do domestically on his first day as President and Ron Paul said the first thing he would do would be to "stop the Justice Dept. from persecuting people using marijuana for medical reasons..." [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by dongenero on January 03, 2008 at 08:27:07 PT comment 5 That is a great article Nol. Cigarettes are an awful product. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by OverwhelmSam on January 03, 2008 at 06:42:52 PT There's Something In The Air Run through the fields of roses, because there's something in the air,We've got to get together sooner or later, because the rEOVLolution's here, and you know it's right...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yE6-XDtde3Q [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by HempWorld on January 02, 2008 at 21:59:56 PT This is already 'old' information, I wanted to sha re it with you, once again, tobacco killed my father and 4 of his brothers (my uncles) ... they were all smokers but it also kills more than 38,000 Americans, non-smokers, every year! Tobacco kills about 440,000 Americans every year!Why tobacco smoke killsAbout smoking:Tobacco Radioactive, Pot Safer! Space Odyssey Marches in 80 Cities May 5, 2001The following is the text of a pamphlet for an organization at UMASS amherstAn address and some sources are at the end.So, you thought it was the tar that caused cancer... Think again. Cigarette companies will have you believing anything just as long as you continue to buy their products. The fact is, although insoluble tars are a contributing factor to the lung cancer danger present in today's cigarettes, the real danger is radioactivity.According to U.S. Surgeon General C. Everette Koop (on national television, 1990) radioactivity, not tar, accounts for at least 90% of all smoking related lung cancer. Tobacco crops grown in the United States are fertilized by law with phosphates rich in radium 226. In addition, many soils have a natural radium 226 content. Radium 226 breaks down into two long lived 'daughter' elements -- lead 210 and polonium 210. These radioactive particles become airborne, and attach themselves to the fine hairs on tobacco leaves. Studies have shown that lead 210 and polonium 210 deposits accumulate in the bodies of people exposed to cigarette smoke. Data collected in the late 1970's shows that smokers have three times as much of these elements in their lower lungs as non smokers. Smokers also show a greater accumulation of lead 210 and polonium 210 in their skeletons, though no studies have been conducted to link these deposits with bone cancer.Polonium 210 is the only component of cigarette smoke which has produced tumors by itself in inhalation experiments with animals. When a smoker inhales tobacco smoke, the lungs react by forming irritated areas in the bronchi. All smoke produces this effect. However, although these irritated spots are referred to as 'pre-cancerous' lesions, they are a perfectly natural defense system and usually go away with no adverse effects. Insoluble tars in tobacco smoke can slow this healing process by adhering to lesions and causing additional irritation. In addition, tobacco smoke causes the bronchi to constrict for long periods of time, which obstructs the lung's ability to clear itself of these residues. Polonium 210 and lead 210 in tobacco smoke show a tendency to accumulate at lesions in specific spots, called bifurcations, in the bronchi. When smoking is continued for an extended period of time, deposits of radioactivity turn into radioactive 'hot spots' and remain at bifurcations for years.Polonium 210 emits highly localized alpha radiation which has been shown to cause cancer. Since the polonium 210 has a half life of 21.5 years (Due to the presence of lead 210), it can put an ex-smoker at risk for years after he or she quits. Experiments measuring the level of polonium 210 in victims of lung cancer found that the level of 'hot spot' activity was virtually the same in smokers and ex-smokers even though the ex-smokers had quit five years prior to death. Over half of the radioactive materials emitted by a burning cigarette are released into the air, where they can be inhaled by non-smokers. In addition to lead 210 and polonium 210 it has been proven that tobacco smoke can cause airborne radioactive particles to collect in the lungs of both smokers and non-smokers exposed to second hand smoke. Original studies conducted on uranium miners which showed an increased risk of lung cancer due to exposure to radon in smokers have been re-run to evaluate the radioactive lung cancer risk from indoor air radon. It turns out that tobacco smoke works as a kind of 'magnet' for airborne radioactive particles, causing them to deposit in your lungs instead of on furniture. (Smoking indoors increases lung cancer risks greatly.) It has been estimated that the total accumulated alpha radiation exposure of a pack-a-day indoor smoker is 38 to 97 rad by age 60. (Two packs a day yields up to 143 rad, and non-smokers receive no more than 17 rad.) An exposure of 1 rad per year yields a 1% risk of lung cancer (at the lowest estimate.) Don't smoke. Or if you do, smoke lightly, outdoors, and engage frequently in activities which will clear your lungs. Imported India tobacco has less than half the radiation content of that grown in the U.S. Kicking the nicotine habit is not easy, and nobody has the right to expect it of you. Often physical addictions are reinforced by emotional and psychological needs. Filling or coming to terms with those needs can give you the inspiration and added freedom to succeed. Most of all, inform yourself, even if the information is disturbing. You are a lot less likely to be taken in by tobacco advertising once you know the facts. Nicotine, the active ingredient in tobacco smoke, has long been known to be highly addictive. In fact, doctors and pharmacologists are not in consensus as to which is more addictive -- nicotine, or heroin. Physical addiction occurs when a chemical becomes essential for the body or metabolism to function. In other words, a substance is said to be physically addictive if extended use results in a build up of tolerance in the body to the extent that discontinuing use of the substance results in negative side effects. Called "withdrawal symptoms," these consequences can include anxiety, stress, trauma, depression and physical conditions such as shakes or nausea. It is to avoid these consequences that an addict will keep using his or her substance. In addition to being addictive, nicotine is also a toxin (i.e. lethal if ingested in sufficient quantities.) Nicotine has been shown to have a negative effect on the heart and circulatory systems, causing a constriction in veins and arteries which may lead to a stroke or heart attack. In fact, nicotine is so poisonous that smokers who ignore their doctor's advice and continue to smoke while using dermal nicotine patches have managed to overdose and die of heart seizure. Many people think smoking marijuana is just as harmful as smoking tobacco, but this is not true. Those who hold that marijuana is equivalent to tobacco are misinformed. Due to the efforts of various federal agencies to discourage use of marijuana in the 1970's the government, in a fit of "reefer madness," conducted several biased studies designed to return results that would equate marijuana smoking with tobacco smoking, or worse. For example the Berkeley carcinogenic tar studies of the late 1970's concluded that "marijuana is one-and-a-half times as carcinogenic as tobacco." This finding was based solely on the tar content of cannabis leaves compared to that of tobacco, and did not take radioactivity into consideration. (Cannabis tars do not contain radioactive materials.) In addition, it was not considered that: 1) Most marijuana smokers smoke the bud, not the leaf, of the plant. The bud contains only 33% as much tar as tobacco. 2) Marijuana smokers do not smoke anywhere near as much as tobacco smokers, due to the psychoactive effects of cannabis. 3) Not one case of lung cancer has ever been successfully linked to marijuana use. 4) Cannabis, unlike tobacco, does not cause any narrowing of the small air passageways in the lungs. In fact, marijuana has been shown to be an expectorant and actually dilates the air channels it comes in contact with. This is why many asthma sufferers look to marijuana to provide relief. Doctors have postulated that marijuana may, in this respect, be more effective than all of the prescription drugs on the market. Studies even show that due to marijuana's ability to clear the lungs of smog, pollutants, and cigarette smoke, it may actually reduce your risk of emphysema, bronchitis, and lung cancer. Smokers of cannabis have been shown to outlive non- smokers in some areas by up to two years. Medium to heavy tobacco smokers will live seven to ten years longer if they also smoke marijuana. Cannabis is also radically different from tobacco in that it does not contain nicotine and is not addictive. The psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, THC, has been accused of causing brain and genetic damage, but these studies have all been disproven. In fact, the DEA's own Administrative Law Judge Francis Young has declared that "marijuana in its natural form is far safer than many foods we commonly consume." The disturbing thing about all of this information is that the majority of Americans are as yet unaware of the radioactive risk in cigarettes. In fact, many professionals: doctors, scientists and health administrators, either have never heard of polonium 210 or consider it to be just another scare story. Why is this information so hard to come by? When the studies were first released in the late 70's, many magazines were unable to print articles because their main advertisers, cigarette companies, threatened to pull support if they published the facts. Although network news did pick up the story, virtually nothing came out in print. Those who heard were hard pressed to produce collaborating evidence, and were eventually convinced it was nothing to worry about. The power of the cigarette industry to suppress information goes far beyond magazines, however. A well financed tobacco lobby has been very active in the United States Congress for decades procuring subsidies and fighting laws and proposed research which could hurt the American tobacco industry. Tobacco interests practically own Senate and House seats, as many campaign contributions come from cigarette profits. Tobacco pay- offs also go to fund organizations such as the Partnership For A Drug Free America, which adopt a harsh anti-drug agenda yet seem to omit alcohol and tobacco (claiming they are harmless.) As an example, a 1984 law which was intended to require tobacco companies to release to the public a list of additives used in the manufacture of cigarettes was watered down to the extent that the list is now released only to the Department of Health and Human Services on the condition that it not be shown to anyone else. Companies have been known in the past to add chemicals to cigarettes for flavor, and, many assert, for their addictive properties. In Britain such chemicals have included acetone and turpentine, as well as an assortment of known carcinogens. Tobacco companies argue that revealing their 'secret ingredients' would hurt their competitiveness. In fact, when Canada passed legislation forcing additive lists to be released, one large company reformulated its recipe for its Canadian distribution; another took its product out of Canada entirely. Tobacco companies do not have the right to poison the public. Don't trust them. Get the information you need to make your own decisions, and restore government to the people. Another destructive aspect of the Drug War is the unreasonable measures taken as a result of "reefer madness." Because of the long standing anti-pot-smoking paranoia begun in the 1930's, many law enforcement agencies have taken it upon themselves to censor and limit the marijuana culture through whatever channels they can find. This includes the banning of various forms of drug "paraphernalia" (pipes, clips, rolling papers, etc.) Water pipes, or "bongs," are quite often the target of such efforts. Claiming that water pipes are constructed to allow marijuana smokers to inhale "dangerous" marijuana smoke deeper into their lungs, many states and towns have passed laws controlling the sale, manufacture, and possession of these items for "health" reasons. The sad fact is, water pipes have been shown to be extremely effective in removing harmful materials from smoke before it reaches the lungs. They also cool the smoke and prevent injury and irritation to lung passages. In effect, laws against water pipes hurt all smokers, cannabis and tobacco, by preventing the development of safer forms of consumption.Produced as a public service by the University of Massachusetts at Amherst Cannabis Reform Coalition Researched and written by Brian S. Julin Corrections, comments, inquiries should be addressed to:UMASS CANNABIS S.A.O. Box #2 Student Union UMASS Amherst, MA 01003 On a mission from God! [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by ekim on January 02, 2008 at 20:31:15 PT sorry i am talken about ethanol made from cellulose conversion and no i dont have the exact known amount just going of what it has been said about switchgrass getting that much at the national renewable energy lab in golden co on the history ch called renewables [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by ekim on January 02, 2008 at 20:21:48 PT remember ol jimmy brown is in the wings have respected him when he ran for pres and did everything i could think of to help him but ol bill got the noodthis story puts the sixty min show to shame-- tryen to blamewe need a big conference held to show all of the information about jobs and how this plant will help get us off oil100 a barrel---cannabis 1000 gals per acre -do the mathwe can move toward self sustaning a event so large the pres seekers will come tonorml mpp hemp have a expo for starters list the known jobs in just hemp cloths- then jobs in all feilds combinded then taxes being paid ----- http://energyvictory.net [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by RevRayGreen on January 02, 2008 at 16:53:06 PT "The rights of one American belong to all," s George McMahon.........picure of George smoking some Govt 'schwag' last May.http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e25/RevGreen/120-2019_IMGcloseup.jpg BEHIND THE POWER/Craig X [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by HempWorld on January 02, 2008 at 14:14:26 PT This whole thing is played out over the back of landlords in CA. Gov. Arnold S. and the attorney general of CA do not have the balls to settle this with the DEA and or congress. What a bunch of brave and courageous politicians, not. And for CA as a whole, way to go... not.I have never seen such a nation with cowards, good thing I'm from the Netherlands where mari ju ana is available in the pharmacies where it belongs!How long are the politicians going to let this continue? My guess is until we have another governor and even then you cannot be sure. Cannabis is the 3rd rail no politician ever wants to talk about because Billions in pharmaceutical lobbies keep the subject off the table.Congrats big pharma, you won, and we the people we lost, since 70 years and counting... On a mission from God! [ Post Comment ] Post Comment