Hello Freedomphiles! So, the government got a lot of bad press when they raided medical marijuana dispensaries in California, where medical chiba is very popular. So, did they stop harassing the sick and terminal? Of course not. They took the coward's route. The San Francisco Chronicle reports:
In late December, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration sent letters to landlords of buildings that housed medical cannabis dispensaries in the city, telling them they face the loss of their property and possibly prison if the businesses stay open.
Now, less than two months later, seven of the city's 28 dispensaries have closed or are on the verge of closing, according to medical marijuana supporters and activists. They fear more will follow...
...One of the best known dispensaries, the San Francisco Patients' Cooperative on Divisadero Street, will shut its doors at the end of the month after nearly 20 years, according to the Rev. Randi Webster, one of the cooperative's founders.
The owner of the building was "severely frightened" by the DEA letter, and the cooperative founders and the landlord had agreed years ago to part ways in the event of a situation like this, Webster said.
Activists will not disclose the locations of other dispensaries that have or may soon shut their doors.
Man, that's some bullshit. This isn't the first time these goons have acted like this. They also used the RAVE Act to intimidate owners of locations that were used for pro-legalization rallies into shutting down for fear that one joint found on one attendee would lead to the government siezing the entire venue and imposing fines and prison time:
In Billings, Montana, a May 30 rock concert sponsored by two drug policy reform groups was canceled on the day of the show after a local representative of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) told the venue's owners they could be liable under the new law if anyone smoked pot at the event. The RAVE Act prohibits "knowingly opening, maintaining, managing, controlling, renting, leasing, making available for use, or profiting from any place for the purpose of manufacturing, distributing, or using any controlled substance." Violators are subject to $250,000 or more in civil penalties, a criminal fine of up to $500,000, and a prison sentence of up to 20 years.
The manager of the Eagles Lodge in Billings, where the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws and Students for a Sensible Drug Policy planned to hold a fund-raising concert, said a local DEA agent approached her on May 30, waving a copy of the law. "He freaked me out," she told the Drug Reform Coordination Network. "He didn't tell us we couldn't have the event, but he showed me the law and told us what could happen if we did. I talked to our trustees, they talked to our lawyers, and our lawyers said not to risk it, so we canceled."
They have even tried to crush 1st Amendment rights by telling public transit systems they'll lose their funding if they allow pro-legalization ads:
The lawsuit responds to an amendment buried in the 2004 federal spending bill that cuts off more than $3 billion in federal funding from local transit authorities that accept advertisements critical of current marijuana laws and other drug laws. With at least $85 million at stake, the Washington Metro last week rejected an advertisement submitted by a coalition of drug policy reform groups that criticizes marijuana laws for wasting billions of taxpayer dollars and imprisoning non-violent offenders.
Will this nation ever come to its senses?
