The Ten Millionth Nail in the Coffin of Federalism

In my hometown of Los Angeles, 11 different marijuana dispensaries--legal under state and local law, as if the feds care--were raided yesterday by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration. Details and links from LAist.

Comments

[J sub D]

Hey, the Bush administration is just elimating weapons of mass symptom alleviation. What's the problem?

[Guy Montag]

First it was the tobacco smokers who were hearded away, now the pot smokers.

Are wood burning fireplaces and bbq grills far behind?

[J sub D]

Compassionate consertative - Give me a break.

[Charlie]

I bet those DEA agents are going to get the munchies really bad now. Hide your Dorito's.

[Chuck]

They (the DEA) need to do more of this. We need another 50 or so votes in the House to pass the Rohrbacher bill, and a few more raids like this just may piss off enough people to make it happen.

[biologist]

I'm pretty sure that the pot smokers were being herded away first, not the tobacco smokers, especially since no tobacco smokers have been herded away, particularly not by the federal government.

[sarcasmo]

I wish the 9th Circus would finally get onto a cause they could win & which could actually help sick people, but they'll probably remain stubbornly-silent...
JMR

[tomWright]

OK, so when are the leftists goning to exercise their Second Amendment Rigts: Collective Militia Version here?

If they believe that the 2A was intended for the states to exercise against federal encroachment, this seems like the perfect case.

[tomWright]

Oh, and yes, I do mean it.

Imagine if CA. were to get a spine and use the State Police to actively protect these clinics from federal raids, as they should? Place the DEA and FBI agents under arrest for unlawful assault or illegal use of weapons, etc.

Now THAT would be a can of worms worth opening.

[Warren]

Son Of A Bitch!
Pot smokers? Really!? Pot smokers?

They haven't got anything more important to worry about than sick people getting high.

Christ, I need a drink...
Alright, who polished off the last of the Wild Turkey?!

[I. Self. Divine.]

Screw a drink. I need a joint...

[Ed]

Imagine Columbian paratroopers dropping into North Carolina,( or any tobacco-producing state ) setting up an assault force by bribing local officials, and using chemicals and bombs to destroy thousands of acres of crops, and blowing up warehouses storing tobacco. In S. America, tobacco kills tens of thousands more people than cocaine and marijuana kill in the US. Or imagine: S.American marijuana producers sponsoring NASCAR and putting billboards in poor neighborhoods in the US. Bizarre, huh? Now imagine the opposite...a tobacco barrage upon your family, community, and nation while being too weak economically and militarily to stop it...this is the real drug war

[James]

tomWright: I was thinking just that. At some point, likely in much-maligned San Francisco, the people are going to elect a mayor that will station police in front of the marijuana dispensaries. And then we will truly get our Drug War going.

[XON]

I want to see a Cal. lawmaker proposing impeachment of the Governor for failing to resist an armed encroachment against the citizenry. Not to get overly emotional here, but could someone explain how the F*&^ permitting or not pursuing the DEA raids is consistent with pretty much the most fundamental of his official duties?

"ARTICLE 20 MISCELLANEOUS SUBJECTS

[ Required Oath of Office ]

[ Source: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/.const/.article_20 ]

SEC. 3. Members of the Legislature, and all public officers and employees, executive, legislative, and judicial, except such inferior officers and employees as may be by law exempted, shall, before they enter upon the duties of their respective offices, take and subscribe the following oath or affirmation:

"I, ___________________________, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties upon which I am about to enter. . . "

[Chris]

I would actively support any politician who would have the guts to stand up to the Feds like that. It's outrageous that California continues to accept assaults like this on her sovereignty.

[Senescent]

For context, note that West Hollywood was the seedbed of the California medical marijuana movement, and probably its biggest supporter. The famed gay mecca (technically an independent city which contracts with the LA County Sheriff's department for police services) was understandably moved by the plight of AIDS patients in the early '90s, and its citizens and government are resolutely pro-weed.

This was probably a "because we can" poke in the eye more than anything, 'cause it sure won't inflict any sort of lasting damage on the system; I've seen four dispensaries open within a 10 minute walk of my apartment (Hollywood/Vermont, approximately) in the past four months alone, and they're pretty much an accepted, if not welcomed, part of the civic landscape.

[Larry A]

Imagine if CA. were to get a spine and use the State Police to actively protect these clinics from federal raids, as they should?

Google "george wallace"+"national guard"

[Pepe]

I'm surprised more raids haven't happened in San Francisco where there is a huge concentration of dispensaries. In my SF neighborhood there are 4 cannabis clubs within easy walking distance of my house. One of them has a billboard-sized sign that, until it recently came under new management, had a picture of a giant pot leaf with a medical cross. Open resale has been going on in the parking lots of many of the clubs in the Bay Area with little police interest.

[slacker]

Senescent - I don't know about that...

From the LAtimes article - "The raids came on the heels of separate actions taken Tuesday by the West Hollywood City Council and the Los Angeles Police Commission.

The council Tuesday unanimously approved an ordinance establishing permanent regulations on medicinal marijuana dispensaries, capping the number in the city at four.(emphasis added)

The Police Commission, meanwhile, voted to support a moratorium on new marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles and for tougher regulations of existing enterprises. Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton pledged to work with federal authorities to prosecute businesses found to be violating the law."

West Hollywood has sold out as much as SF