cannabisnews.com: Bay Area Cities Battle U.S. To Save Dispensaries
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Bay Area Cities Battle U.S. To Save Dispensaries
Posted by CN Staff on July 03, 2013 at 15:47:33 PT
By Lee Romney
Source: Los Angeles Times
Oakland -- Two Bay Area cities' battle to preserve access to medical marijuana heated up Wednesday, as Berkeley filed suit to block a federal forfeiture action against its oldest and largest dispensary, and Oakland – which filed a similar suit last year – prevailed with an important court ruling.Melinda Haag, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of California, last year moved to seize the Oakland and San Jose properties of Harborside Health Center, the country’s largest dispensary. In May, her office filed a similar action to seize the property of Berkeley Patients Group. Both cities have stepped in to fight the federal moves, asserting that the dispensaries comply with local and state laws and offer safe access to medical cannabis for patients who might otherwise turn to the illegal market.
In Wednesday’s claim, filed on behalf of Berkeley by the Drug Policy Alliance, the city is attempting to intercede in the forfeiture action by saying it stands to lose “substantial revenue” if Berkeley Patients Group is shuttered.The claim also asserts that the forfeiture would undermine the city’s comprehensive efforts to regulate and control medical marijuana, and that closure of the dispensary founded in 1999 would be likely to lead to more unregulated, unpermitted dispensaries and to an increase in illicit marijuana sales on city streets.“It is time for the federal government to wake up and stop these asset forfeiture actions,” Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates said in a statement. “Berkeley Patients Group has complied with the rules and caused no problems in the city. The federal government should not use its scarce resources to harass local law-abiding businesses.”Also Wednesday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Maria-Elena James in San Francisco agreed to place the federal forfeiture action against Harborside’s properties on hold while Oakland appeals in its effort to intercede.James previously ruled that Oakland – which had missed a deadline to weigh in directly on the forfeiture but filed suit on separate legal grounds – did not have the right to sue. Oakland appealed that ruling to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, and Cedric Chao, representing Oakland pro bono, then went back to James to request that the forfeiture action be placed on hold until the appellate court rules.In agreeing to do so Wednesday, James said Oakland had “demonstrated that it has a stake or interest in the action" and had raised “novel legal questions” that constitute “a matter of significant public interest” for the city and its residents.“If this court’s analysis was incorrect, the court’s dismissal will have foreclosed Oakland from protecting its interests. Thus, at the heart of Oakland’s appeal is its right to access the federal court to assert its claims – a right of paramount importance,” James wrote.Attorneys for the federal government had argued that the stay would hinder prosecutors' ability to enforce federal drug laws, but because the U.S. attorney’s office waited six years to file the forfeiture action – knowing Harborside was operating medical cannabis dispensaries at the properties – James concluded that no harm would be caused by a further delay.The U.S. attorney's office could not immediately be reached Wednesday. It has consistently declined to comment on the forfeiture cases in the past.Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)Author:  Lee RomneyPublished: July 3, 2013Copyright: 2013 Los Angeles TimesContact: letters latimes.comWebsite: http://www.latimes.com/URL: http://drugsense.org/url/jULiEO74CannabisNews  Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml 
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Comment #6 posted by museman on July 05, 2013 at 13:22:05 PT
Liars and thieves
Yes that's right. That is the character and description of every politician, judge, lawyer, and cop in America.There may be a precious few cops, and one or two lawyers that still have vestiges of humanity showing through from time to time, but the rest are excrement.The people have been fooled by this government, not 'since 911' not since 'the bushes' not since 'Reagan' not since 'Nixon' -but since 1789 when the wealthy aristocrats pushed the people out of the way, voided the Articles of Confederation -that the literate men and women of the 'revolution' agreed to when they took up arms- and created their constitution based on rights of the wealthy and the hell with the rest... we've been trying to get our rights and liberties promised to our real patriotic ancestors ever since.The "republic" wasn't started in 1789, it was started around 750 BC. After conquering most of the 'known' world and assimilating them into the borglike nations of the Roman Republic (thank you Plato you fracking jerk!), the advent of YSHWH revealed the true corrupt nature of government, and Rome 'fell.' But did it really?No it didn't. The waning power of Rome was transferred quite cleverly (the rulers like to equate 'cleverness' with intelligence and innovative thought.) to the 'Holy Roman Empire" whereupon the sword of the conqueror was taken up once again to continue the agenda of the "New World Order."The American Revolution was another cleverly designed ploy to use the people as cannon fodder for the agenda of the rich and powerful. The "tea party" was a bunch of mercenaries hired by the rich, not 'the people.' The "Tea Party" though relatively benign in comparison is an early example of the rulers of states and nations creating emotionally charged events like 911, Pearl Harbor, and others to rile up the people into movements that they could control.All these facts are coming into the light, yet so many still cling to the false beliefs that have been programmed into them by the Powers That Be (PTBs). We can't reasonably expect any part of this corruption to do justice to anything but their own elite club members.People in America need to seriously wake up, or else the future will indeed be bleak. At least when Rome finally and truly falls. For a long moment. The choice, unlike the joke called 'the vote' is yours people. Make it. Take your freedom back from the thieves and liars. If every one says no to thugs, what are they going to do, shoot us all?Fire away you pieces of crap!LEGALIZE FREEDOM
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Comment #5 posted by HempWorld on July 04, 2013 at 08:25:43 PT
afterburner
From your link, thanks, yes, this is what happened:"The displacement of state power by federal power, in regard to criminal law and the regulation of morals, is essentially complete. The individual states have allocated the powers that accrue to the tenth amendment to central governmental authority. Much of this I believe was that they could abrogate the responsibility for the welfare of their people and pass it unto the feds. They were most happy to line up at the trough - along with their indolent subjects - for federal handouts. In doing so they were bound to servitude to a central government by the prerequisites that were attached to these grants and so-called endowments.Attempts to stem the tide in regard to this bastardization of the laws were sporadic, weak, and futile. Weak-minded citizens and an ignorance of fundamental Constitutional law aided and abetted the dedicated and ever agitating enemies of government by the people.BIG DADDY RULES ALL"
Stop It Rocky! This Is An Order!
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Comment #4 posted by afterburner on July 04, 2013 at 06:57:48 PT
U.S. Law -- check this out
http://www.newswithviews.com/Schwiesow/jim173.htm
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Comment #3 posted by HempWorld on July 03, 2013 at 20:20:36 PT
Swazi-X
As I recently learned, the US or USA is a Republic and not a Democracy.That fact alone answered a lot of my questions...The below is in wikipedia, and it is actually true, go figure...Actually, the US or the USA is still property of the Bank of England. And, this is in wikipedia (see below), but for how long?
Eustace Mullins
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Comment #2 posted by Swazi-X on July 03, 2013 at 19:27:53 PT
Our Lying Government
Harborside is being targeted for the same reason the U.S. Government pressured Canada into extraditing Marc Emery to the U.S. - illegally - to face charges here that aren't even a crime in Canada; selling cannabis seeds. Both of these victims are marked for persecution simply because they're rich enough to challenge this insane cannabis prohibition in court. The criminal diversion by the government of millions of our tax dollars as shown in case after case of malicious, selective prosecution of otherwise state-legal cannabis workers is one of the main reasons we're unable to change the situation, but with a few Harborside Health dispensaries and a few Marc Emery's out there - the pro-cannabis lobby might have the funds to fight the government. These persecutions are pre-emptive strikes against perceived threats. Think Iraq, only cannabis reform actually poses a threat to the government's bottom line.The government is using our money to silence free speech, honest dialogue and especially any substantial change in the cash-cow that is the drug war. The filthy mutt that is the D.E.A. is the primary problem - unaccountable to anyone and with a vast budget, there is no mechanism for change that is not controlled or heavily influenced by them. It would be unfair to single out the D.E.A. as the only problem - they're just the most obvious criminals. NIDA, Dept. of Health and Human Services, ONDCP and many, many more factions of government work to stonewall any change in the legal status of cannabis.This is a civil-rights issue at the heart. There is no valid excuse for treating the millions of cannabis users as criminals other than the baseless laws prohibiting the plant in this country. The whole of cannabis prohibition is founded on lies - as you can clearly see if you look at the Congressional Record for 1937 for those hearings. In the decades since, not only have those lies been uncovered but with current science we've discovered the vast potential for healing that cannabis contains.Fortunately the plant cannot be patented, otherwise we'd have seen Big Pharma or maybe Big Tobacco move in and use their financial power to easily change the laws to their favor. That's why we have Marinol (synthetic THC) available at our corner drug store, but still we're thrown in prison for growing a plant that produces the same substance.This is not Democracy.
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Comment #1 posted by HempWorld on July 03, 2013 at 17:46:21 PT
Senseless...
Please Rocky, give it up!
Marijuana Dispensary
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