Check out this event: Will Spin for Food

Hosted By: Eric Phillips
When: Saturday Sep 27, 2008
at 9:30 PM
Where Premiere Events Center
613 Imperial St
Los Angeles, CA 90021
United States
Description:
Eric Phillips

Click Here To View Event

11:46 PM - 89 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

California Medical Marijuana vs The D.E.A.
Current mood: annoyed
Category: News and Politics

Last Wednesday night I was feeling super-creative after a session at a friend's recording studio. I told Lauren, my sweetheart, that I was going to stay up all night and work on music. She thought that was a fabulous idea because I would be up and awake when she had to get up to go to work the next day so we could go get breakfast before she had to start her day shift at Whole Foods. I stuck to my plan and got a lot but not all of my work done before Lauren's alarm went off at 8:00am. Between her alarm and my kisses she was up and ready to go get breakfast in no time. We shared a cozy meal and both had coffee, her to get going and me to keep going a little longer cuz I still had some work to finish before sleeping. We enjoyed the soft morning light, several hugs and various kisses before I sent her happily to work, myself returning to our home. a modest room upstairs from Cre8tivity which is also my office/music studio to finish bouncing down audio tracks to be be mixed and mastered later back at my friend's place.

I got into bed around 9:00am after finishing all the work I'd set out to do and was probably snoring loudly when at around 12:00 noon the D.E.A. began their raid at Organica, the medical marijuana dispensary which occupies the same building as an architectural firm, a doctor's office, Cre8tivity and several private residences. At first I thought I was dreaming and then I thought that someone was arguing and that was what woke me up from my much deserved rest, but pretty quickly I realized what was happening and that there were agents from the D.E.A outside my room!! The agents were wearing full tactical gear and sporting some pretty impressive fire-power as I gingerly moved out into the hallway. I've seen enough television to know how to show them my empty hands and move immediately into a face-down position with my arms behind my back. My wrists were then zip-tied together and I was assisted to my feet and lead into one of the upstairs bathrooms where another D.E.A. agent was already there holding one of my roomates and a guest who'd spent the night. The two of them were similarly cuffed. When the radio squawked that the upstairs and downstairs were both clear, we were lead down the stairs to more agents from the D.E.A and several Culver City detectives who were holding the people who were working at the dispensary that day and some patients who were there for medicine. The agents and the cops enjoyed themselves as they were coming out with more and more of the medicinal marijuana which they dumped into big black garbage bags. I counted 4 big garbage bags which were piled up in front of the detainees. The agents had arranged for a privately contracted security expert to be on hand to open the two money safes that were on the premises . The D.E.A. took all the money in both safes, all the money in the cash drawer at Organica, two brand new flat-screen tv monitors which were used to list the prices and availabilities of the various strains of marijuana from day to day and all the medicine.

Individual agents pulled each of the detainees aside one at a time to question them to determine identities and digital photos were taken. The photos and the drivers license information which they obtained was immediately run through the federal database the same way a cop pulling you over for a speeding ticket would run your info. Two warrants for failure to appear turned up for me related to traffic tickets that I've received for riding my bicycle on the sidewalk but none of the agents were very concerned and only suggested that I take care of the warrants soon. What they were most interested in was the cash and the cannabis. No one was arrested and not one charge was filed. The federal government still views marijuana as a dangerous drug. They do not recognize it as medicine and they do not recognize the states rights regarding medical marijuana. The people of the state of California who like those in many other states have voted to allow patients under the care of a doctor to use marijuana in treating ailments ranging from ADD to Cancer. California voters passed Prop 215, and The California Legislature voted SB 420 into the books, setting state regulations regarding the possession and distribution of marijuana when used for medicine. The federal government continues to bully those who work in this newly formed medical marijuana industry.

The D.E.A. will use the money from this raid and other smash and grabs like this to fill their coffers and to finance other operations. Although no charges were filed in the raid on Organica and no arrests were made, the psychological effects on all who were present during the raid and those whose personal property was left in disarray are all dealing with similar shock and outrage. The financial loss to Organica was enormous but not entirely devastating. The demand for freely available medical marijuana is very high so after a little tidying up, Organica was able to open it's doors for business the very next day. Noticeable changes were that there were less strains available and there was now a dry-erase board were one of the flat-screen monitors had previously been.

To wrap up.... The raid occurred at Organico around 12:00 noon on Thursday, July 31st. No arrests were made and no charges were filed but several pounds of high quality organic medicine were taken as was some cash.

Please write to your congressional representatives and tell them that you are tired of the federal govenment messing with your rights as a citizen of California. If you use marijuana for medicine, write to these same people and say that you are tired of the government of these United States messing with your medicine. Tell your representatives that you're sick of all of this nonsense and that if they don't act now to federally decriminalize the use of medicinal marijuana that you will VOTE SOMEONE IN WHO WILL

5:35 PM - 89 Comments - 1 Kudos - Add Comment