Cannabis_Cowboy
New member
the sad part is most sheep will vote for obama a 2nd time because jon stewart told them to. even with $4.00+ gas and feds shitting all over states rights
Dozens of federal agents on Monday raided the Oakland businesses and apartment of Richard Lee, the state's most prominent advocate for the legalization and regulation of marijuana, carting away loads of pot and belongings but not revealing the purpose of their investigation.
The agents targeted Oaksterdam University, the internationally famous school that Lee established to train people in the marijuana industry, a medical cannabis dispensary called Coffeeshop Blue Sky, and three properties being rented by Lee, including his apartment near Lake Merritt.
The armed and sometimes masked agents from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and the U.S. Marshals Service came with a battering ram, a sledgehammer, power saws and a locksmith.
They left Oaksterdam University carrying numerous file boxes, a safe and black trash bags. From other downtown properties, agents carried away sacks with dozens of marijuana plants.
"This is really an attack on regulation," said Dale Sky Jones, executive chancellor of Oaksterdam University. Without regulation, she said, "what's going to change is who is selling it, the good guys or the bad guys."
Lee and four employees were temporarily detained, according to Oaksterdam officials.
Federal agents delivered a blow to the heart of the medical cannabis movement early Monday, raiding four Oaksterdam University sites in downtown Oakland and the home of the institution's founder, Richard Lee.
Authorities refused to provide details about the raids carried out by U.S. Marshals and agents with the Drug Enforcement Agency and Internal Revenue Service. Lee was briefly detained in his home, but not arrested, supporters said. Two protesters were arrested as agents seized marijuana plants and other materials from Oaksterdam's downtown Oakland locations, all of which remained closed Monday.
The raid comes six months into a federal crackdown on California's medical marijuana industry. Authorities have forced dozens of dispensaries to close or relocate and threatened to seize the properties of landlords that rent to dispensaries near schools and parks.
Lee, a pioneer in the movement to tax and regulate marijuana and a key figure behind the failed 2010 state ballot measure to legalize the drug, is a leading light in the medical cannabis movement -- and consequently an obvious target for federal authorities, supporters say.
"The federal government is trying to send a message that it's as big a bully as it wants to be, and Richard Lee is a good sacrificial lamb," said Robert Raich, an attorney and instructor at Oaksterdam, which offers courses for people interested in the marijuana industry.
HopeNet, S.F.'s oldest continually operating medical marijuana dispensary at 223 Ninth Street, is not going to take a threat from the federal government lying down. Owners Catherine and Steve Smith are not going to comply with a cease-and-desist order from federal prosecutor Melinda Haag which would have forced them to close on Friday, and they're hoping that a legal puzzle between a federally forced eviction having to play out in a state court where medical marijuana is legal could make for some interesting courtroom theater.
The Smiths faxed Haag 1,200 petitions from their members, and they say that because they're a cooperative, they can't shut down when they've got 1,200 members telling them not to.
As we mentioned before, the federal crackdown on medical marijuana doesn't show any signs of stopping, and all legally endorsed marijuana sales in the city could be doomed if this keeps up, and if no one fights back. The CA Supreme Court is set to weigh in on some of this federal vs. state controversy soon.
It remains to be seen what the owners of the building will do if they get a threat of seizure from the feds, as happened in Marin with the Marin Alliance.
HopeNet was raided by the feds in 2005, and also received a similar threatening letter from Haag's predecessor Joe Russoniello in 2007, so they're just taking this one in stride. But they may not be feeling so swell if they get raided again, as Oaksterdam University in Oakland just was this morning.
"This is really an attack on regulation," said Dale Sky Jones, executive chancellor of Oaksterdam University. Without regulation, she said, "what's going to change is who is selling it, the good guys or the bad guys."
although most of us are peaceful, law-abiding, tax paying citizens...
there are huge marijuana criminal enterprises in California. many of these criminal ventures do export their products out-of-state and even use the U.S Postal Service as their delivery carrier. not all growers are "innocent" and many are purely in the mix for capital gains. some don't even smoke/use it.
Holland has a big problem with "rogue" coffee shops and many northern African smugglers using the lax laws to establish bases in Holland. why do you think the government of Holland has passed laws limiting the use of cannabis to legal residents only. it is mainly enforced in the south of the country, but this or next year most coffee shops are anticipating that Amsterdam is on the horizon. Even well known growers (celebrities for some of us) have been arrested this year (Arjan & Soma).
so... when the DEA, FBI, IRS, or any government agency receives a complaint... or several, they must investigate. it might of been someone in the medical marijuana community that has "snitched." they are doing their "job" after-all. i am not advocating their actions, just stating their role in the govt.
face it, California has become the wild-west for cannabis cultivation and the government is trying to contain it as much as it can. who do you go after? obviously the biggest targets...
when it comes to the cannabis business...
you are not TOO BIG TO FAIL
I hate that the IRS has now become the new DEA for the feds.
The IRS has been the sledge hammer for the feds since Al Capone
and for the DEA for at least the past 30 years. Just sayin'. They are coming for your loot.
If only ron paul was prez