Subject:
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Medical Marijuana
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Wed, 25 Sep 2002 12:12:10 GMT
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Viewed:
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275 times
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From the LP newsletter I get, posted in its entireity... poses an
interesting dilemna with respect to states rights and how far a state can go
in deviating, and how far a state can go in resisting encroachment on states
rights
- start -
Libertarians urge California Gov. Gray Davis to protect
medical marijuana patients from federal agents
SACRAMENTO, CA -- Should California Governor Gray Davis call out the
National Guard to defend medical marijuana patients from federal
agents? That's the question Libertarians will be asking today as
thousands of medical marijuana advocates descend on the state Capitol
in Sacramento to send the federal government a message.
"The National Guard is charged with defending lives and property when
disaster strikes - and the federal raids on medical marijuana clinics
have been a complete disaster," said Libertarian Party Political
Director Ron Crickenberger, who is attending the rally.
"These DEA bullies with badges have ransacked clinics, brutalized
helpless, dying people, and trampled state law. Now the only question
is whether Davis will live up to his responsibilities as the state's
chief law enforcement officer or continue to kowtow to the federal
government."
Agents from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration have raided
dozens of marijuana clinics over the past few months, despite the fact
that the possession, use, and cultivation of medical marijuana was
legalized statewide with the passage of Proposition 215 in 1996. But
now Californians are fighting back. Santa Cruz and other localities are
making "medipot" available during public rallies at City Hall as
protesters chant, "DEA, go away!"
Monday's Medical Cannabis Freedom Day rally, which kicks off at noon on
the south steps of the Capitol, was created as a way for medical
marijuana supporters statewide to demand an end to federal
interference.
But will calling out the National Guard be necessary? Libertarians hope
not.
"No such confrontation would be needed if Davis and Attorney General
Bill Lockyer had the backbone to speak out more forcefully against this
unwarranted federal intrusion," Crickenberger said. "Davis has asked
the federal government to stop the raids. And last week, Lockyer sent a
letter to U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft and DEA head Asa
Hutchinson 'questioning the ethical basis' for the raids.
"But meekly asking the DEA to stop hasn't worked. Davis and Lockyer
should publicly and unequivocally demand that the raids stop. They
should remind Ashcroft and Hutchinson that their boss, President George
Bush, pledged during the campaign to 'respect states' rights' on
medical marijuana. And they should inform the federal government that
any future harassment of medical marijuana patients will be treated as
an assault under state law.
"If Davis lacks the courage to stand up to the federal bully when lives
are at stake, he should have the decency to resign."
Other groups participating in the rally include the Marijuana Policy
Project (MPP); the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana
Laws (NORML); Students for a Sensible Drug Policy; and the Drug Policy
Alliance. Organizers are also demanding a federal pardon for Bryan
Epis, a Libertarian Party member who faces 10 years in prison for
cultivating medical marijuana.
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