SF MMJ Raids Update from 12pm on Thursday

Update on SF raids: The US Attorney's office announced indictments for
19 individuals on charges of growing and transporting at least 1000
marijuana plants over a 4 year period. 3 are for conspiracy to possess
ecstasy, 2 for conspiracy of money laundering. It seems that the main
thrust of the raid was on what they consider the shield of medical
marijuana for a non-medical marijuana operation. We have no information
to know whether this is true or not, but in any case, there are 2 fewer
dispensaries open to serve patients, the raid was intimidating to
state-legal patients, and the numbers of plants we've heard described as
being impossibly large seems possibly within reason for a large medical
dispensing enterprise.

ASA is having a press conference starting at noon at SF City Hall. The
SF City Attorney's office will be there to say they support medical
marijuana dispensaries still post-Raich, and that the vast majority of
allegations of dispensaries opening after the moratorium were, in fact,
invalid. Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi will be speaking, and commenting on
hs efforts to license dispensaries, and expressing concern that local
officials were out of the loop on this. The SF District Attorney's
office will also be present to assure SF that they support SF patients,
caregivers, and dispensaries.

ASA continues to be concerned that SFPD was present at a raid on a
medical marijuana facility, that the timing post-Raich is not
coincidental in terms of the intimidation factor, and that we continue
to support all patients, caregivers, and doctors. That said, those that
are caregiving for patients cannot put patients at risk by engaging in
illegal drug activity, if that proves to be true. We're still waiting to
gather more information before doing any media releases, and we assume
that all defendants are innocent until proven otherwise, in a process
that allows all evidence to be presented.

Hilary McQuie
for Americans for Safe Access

Democratic Space Media
510-333-8554
hilary [at] riseup.net

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