Action: Stop the DEA from Raiding/Harassing the Sick and Dying

Yesterday, DEA aliens agents yet again conducted a paramilitary-style raid on Nature’s Medicinal dispensing collective, leaving scores of sick patients without safe access in conservative Bakersfield, CA.

Next week, the House is scheduled to vote on the Hinchey-Rohrabacher Medical Marijuana Amendment to the FY08 Commerce-Justice-State Appropriations bill.  This amendment specifically prohibits the Department of Justice from using Congressionally-appropriated funds to conduct raids or otherwise prevent the various states from implementing laws that authorize the therapeutic use of marijuana.  Right now, more than ever, we need you to call your Members of Congress and tell them to vote YES on the Hinchey-Rohrabacher Medical Marijuana Amendment.  After you call, please submit a comment so that we can keep track of what these member offices are saying.

Why is this so important now?  Come over to the flip side

In California, where medical marijuana has been legal for ten years, many medical marijuana patients get their medicine from dispensing collectives that are legal under state law .  For the last several years, the DEA has continued to raid these dispensing collectives, denying access to many sick and dying patients who are unable to cultivate their own medicine for whatever reason.  Recently, the DEA has reached into their bag of tricks, and pulled out their most vicious yet.  DEA has sent threat letters to the landlords of 50-100 dispensing collectives in the City of Los Angeles, threatening to prosecute or use civil asset forfeiture proceedings against landlords who rent properties to medical marijuana collectives.  Unbelievably, the DEA is willing to use a tool designed to target crack houses or drug cartels against legal medical marijuana patients and their caregivers.  Today’s article in the L.A. Times (free subscription required)  

Unless we pass the Hinchey-Rohrabacher Medical Marijuana Amendment, the Department of Justice (and the DEA) will have wide latitude to enforce these threats over the next fiscal year.  Patients should have the right to safe access to their medicine in states where medical marijuana is legal.  So, please act today and Call your Member of Congress and urge support for the amendment. Then, call a friend or family member in another state, and encourage them to take action too!  Every call, every email makes a difference.  And again, please submit a comment so that we can keep track of what these Congressional offices are saying.

When you call, tell your Member that if adopted this amendment will:

   (1) Conserve taxpayers' money by blocking funding for DEA raids in legal medical marijuana states against state-certified medical marijuana patients and caregivers.

   (2) Protect legal medical marijuana patients from having their homes and workspaces unnecessarily raided by the DEA.

For phone numbers of your Congressman/woman, or call the congressional switchboard at [phone]. Give the operator your zip code and ask to be connected to your U.S. Representative.  To see how your Member voted previously before calling.

For more information, please see this page  at Americans for Safe Access.  Americans for Safe Access is a member-based non-profit organization whose exclusive goal is to promote safe and legal access to marijuana for medical use, and is fighting this fight for the patients in California and across this country.  I also urge you to Join ASA to fund this most important work while access to thousands of patients is being threatened.

Thank you for your support and please recommend to get this information out there