DEA Has Gone Too Far

*The DEA Has Gone Too Far: Escalating Number of Patients Lack Safe Access*

In another cowardly action by the DEA, local and federal agents stormed
the Green Cross, a medical cannabis collective in Torrance, yesterday.
Reporting "weeks" of investigation, local law enforcement agents claimed
that this was not an act of retaliation on the part of the city, which
had made an aggressive attempt at banishing the collective. The Green
Cross had obtained a retail sales permit, much to the chagrin of the
city council, who thereafter sought to impose a ban on issuing licenses
to business which do not abide by "state and federal law." The Green
Cross would have been forced to close at the end of the year, at which
time their permit would have expired.

In a sloppy attempt to continue the "this is not medical marijuana"
message, law enforcement cited police surveillance of the collective as
substantiating the need for federal intervention. On October 10th,
officers pulled over 25 patients leaving the collective for questions.
One of the patients who was pulled over called the ASA office and
reported the incident. The patient, an older brain cancer survivor, who
did not want to be named for privacy reasons, reported scolding the
officers for pulling her over and inducing a spasm attack. Contrary to
her reports, Special Agent Joseph Bryson wrote in an affidavit used to
acquire the federal search warrant, "Of the 15 customers I observed,
none appeared to be seriously ill or physically impaired."

Now the DEA is coming to San Diego for an anti-medical marijuana
convention. By mocking the continued suffering caused by their
intervention to a community based response to state law implementation,
the DEA has gone too far.

In response to this raid and continued DEA raids, ASA is organizing a
peaceful demonstration on October 31st outside of a DEA convention in
San Diego.

--
Alex Franco
California Campaign Coordinator
Americans for Safe Access
Phone: 510-251-1856 x321
Fax: 510-251-2036
Email: alex [at] SafeAccessNow.org