Monday, December 31, 2007

Ok, the news blogs are too long. I'll just summarize them from now on, but trust I won't leave important details out. I refuse to bias my reports. Most of them come from NORML News weekly update, but are cross referenced with google news archives.
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DEA Steps Up Attacks Against California Medi-Pot Patients, Dispensaries

Federal law enforcement officials took unprecedented steps in 2007 to quash California’s medi-pot patient community. DEA officials raided a record number of dispensaries and mailed hundreds of letters to California landlords threatening them with arrest and up to 20 years imprisonment, as well as the forfeiture of their building, if they rented to medicinal cannabis clubs. Since DEA officials began mailing warning letters this summer, numerous high profile clubs across the state have ceased operations. Read the full story at: http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7452.

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Does anybody else think it's a major violation of our rights as Americans to be bullied by the DEA? Here's a toughy: Cannabis grower's spend anywhere from $100 to $10,000 putting together a grow setup. Average grower's are cordial to their neighbors, pay their bills on time, otherwise never break the law, drive street legal cars, and treat people with respect. At least, medical grower's and hobbyists do. Organized crime syndicates are worse, but let's compare. Organized crime also tends to sell harder drugs like heroin, cocaine, ecstacy. They carry firearms and commit violent crimes. They bully people who disagree with them, threaten their lives and livelihood, bribe the right people to get in the places the need to get to push their black market drugs. The DEA breaks into businesses, seizes assets without ever convicting a crime, bribes electric company's and phone companies for customer records which indicate drug activity. Sometimes they do it legally, sometimes illegally. They threaten jail time for landlords who have nothing to do with dispensaries but who might rent to one. Some companies, like At&t and Qwuest have refused to turn over customer records and are recieving pressure via legally compromising their business. (Seattle Times, 16 Dec 2007).

In summation, we see that organized crime syndicates and government law enforcement both use bully tactics, including violence, bribery, and blackmail. They both violate legal rights, one breaks the law with drugs, the other breaks the law by delving into our personal lives with no warrant whatsoever. Tens of millions of citizens across the United States are in physical fear of both of them equally.

Responsible cannabis grower's only break the law in possession of cannabis, a non-violent, no-victim crime. All the while the DEA leaves a derelict heap of victims all in it's wake.

Any thoughts?

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