|
Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
|
|
US marijuana clinics raided in crackdown
Oliver Poole in Los Angeles Sunday Telegraph
Sunday 11 Nov 2001 MEDICAL centres in California that distribute marijuana to terminally ill patients are being raided by federal drugs officers. The raids have been ordered by Washington in a move that brings the United States government into conflict with the rights of individual states to create their own laws. California passed a law permitting the sale of marijuana for medical use after a 1996 referendum, but the move conflicts with federal anti- narcotics laws. Officers of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) have in the past month seized cannabis plants, medical records and legal documents from three sites in the state. In a radical shift from the government's previously relaxed approach to the the medical use of marijuana, the Justice Department has also warned nine other states with similar local legislation to take action to prevent lawbreaking or face raids. The crackdown follows a Supreme Court ruling this year that the medical dispensation of marijuana is no protection from federal law. A protest vigil was held last week at the DEA's most recent target, the Los Angeles Cannabis Resource Centre in West Hollywood. Among the crowd were many of its 960 registered patients, most of whom have cancer or Aids. They say they use the drug to suppress some of their worst symptoms. "I don't know what I'll do now," said Lawrence Ornella, 50, who is HIV- positive. "Marijuana gives me an appetite. Otherwise, I can't eat." Capt Lynda Castro, the local sheriff, was present. She had refused to help the DEA with its raid. Scott Imler, the president of the centre, said he had been told to expect criminal charges. "I think it's shameful that the Justice Department would waste money going after medical marijuana when the rest of the world is falling apart," he said. He felt that the government had decided to implement its more controversial social policies at a time when attention was focused on Afghanistan. His patients said the centre's closure left them no choice but to turn to drug dealers. Mr Imler said illegal sellers had taken up position nearby. "A new market has opened up and the gangs are moving back in," he said. The swoop on his centre followed the seizure of a cannabis crop in Ventura County, grown under a supervised medical scheme, and the raiding of a doctor's surgery in Cool, near Sacramento. California's marijuana reform has been dogged by controversy. Some of the cannabis clubs have been less than stringent in ensuring that patients had the required medical documentation. The doctor in Cool was found to be charging $200 (£138) per prescription. The Justice Department said it would be pursuing a long campaign. Susan Dryden, an official, said: "The recent enforcement is indicative that we have not lost our priorities in other areas since September 11. The attorney general and the administration have been very clear: we will be aggressive." In a separate challenge to state laws, the Attorney General, John Ashcroft, said last week that action would be taken against any doctors in Oregon who helped terminally ill patients to die, even though a 1994 state referendum approved the practice.
After you have finished reading this article you can click here to go back.
|
This page was created by the Cannabis Campaigners' Guide.
Feel free to link to this page!