Executive Branch
The DEA is Going Rogue!
Posted in In the Trenches by David Guard on Thu, 03/11/2010 - 3:34pmYou Can Make a Difference
Dear friends,
Donate today and help us end DEA abuses.
Even a directive from the president hasn’t stopped the DEA from bullying the medical marijuana community. Help us hold the DEA accountable by donating today.
Last month, DEA agents raided the home of a Colorado medical marijuana supplier who was providing sick people with the medicine they need. The raid came months after President Obama told federal law enforcement to stop arresting people who grow or supply medical marijuana in states where it’s legal.
We’re determined to end the harassment of medical marijuana patients and providers. By making a donation today, you can help hold the DEA responsible for its abuses.
The DEA is defying the president’s directive on medical marijuana under the watchful eye of acting director Michele Leonhart, a Bush administration holdover and drug war zealot. We're mounting a campaign to block her from becoming the permanent head of the DEA.
With your generous support, we can take the power to halt progress out of Michele Leonhart's hands. Donate today and help us demand an appointee who will approach our nation’s drug issues with reason, science and compassion.
Sincerely,
Bill Piper
Director, Office of National Affairs
Drug Policy Alliance Network
Do you agree?
Posted in In the Trenches by David Guard on Tue, 03/09/2010 - 2:46pm
Dear friends,
Following recent DEA medical marijuana raids in Colorado, US Representative Jared Polis (CO-2) made a statement online calling on the DEA to "stop their rogue agents from harassing and raiding our medical marijuana dispensaries."
Rep. Polis also sent a formal letter to US Attorney General Eric Holder, asking about a DEA agent's comments that the DEA will "arrest everybody." Rep. Polis asked whether this is in fact U.S. policy.
Please email U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder today. Tell the Attorney General that you agree with Rep. Polis. Tell the Attorney General that you want him to end all DEA medical marijuana raids, once and for all.
Click here to take action:
http://www.americansforsafeaccess.org/iagree
Thanks -
Sanjeev, ASA Field Director
Americans for Safe Access
On The Web:
ASA's Online Store
For the record: State Department Report, NYC ODs drop, Guatemalan Top Cop & Head Narc Busted, Salvia Banned in Wisconsin
Posted in Chronicle Blog by Phillip Smith on Mon, 03/08/2010 - 12:17amEven though there was no Chronicle last week--due to your editor's death-battle with a vicious Mexican bug; I only returned to the land of the living on Friday--things continued to happen anyway. Here are a handful of items that would have been in the Chronicle had there been one last week:
On Monday, the State Department released its annual state on the world on drugs report. The report, called the 2010 International Narcotics Control Strategy, was going to be the subject of a feature story last week before I got sick. I may still go with it this coming week.
Also on Monday, the New York City Health Department reported overdose deaths fell in 2008 to the lowest level since 1999. OD fatalities fell from 874 in 2006 to 666 in 2008. Increased use of naloxane, an opioid agonist used to undo overdoses may get some of the credit.
On Tuesday, Guatemala's national police chief and its head narc were arrested for links to drug traffickers and for the murders of five policemen. Police Chief Batlazar Gomez and anti-drug head Nelly Bonilla were arrested during an "investigation into a drug robbery (in April 2009) in Amatitlan, which those detained today are believed to have participated in", said Attorney General Amilcar Velasquez. Five police officers were killed during the robbery. The pair currently face charges of conspiracy, breaking and entering, abuse of power, making illegal arrests, drug trafficking, obstruction of justice, illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.
On Thursday, Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle signed into law a bill banning salvia divinorum. That makes Wisconsin the 19th state to move against Sally D. A few states have limited its sale to adults, but most of those states have simply banned salvia. The Wisconsin bill, AB 186, bans the manufacture, distribution, or sales of salvia—although not its possession—and backs it up with a $10,000 fine.
I'm back at it now, and that means the Chronicle will be back on Friday. In the meantime, I'll most likely post a story or two in the blog just to see if you're paying attention.
DEA Marijuana Seizures Nearly Double As Marijuana Production in Mexico Grows by 35%
Posted in In the Trenches by David Guard on Fri, 03/05/2010 - 6:22pm
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 3, 2010
DEA Marijuana Seizures Nearly Double As Marijuana Production in Mexico Grows by 35%
Officials continue to waste money on futile attempts to stem production and violence, ignoring the only solution: a regulated marijuana market
CONTACT: Aaron Houston, MPP director of government relations …… 202-905-2009 or ahouston@mpp.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The total amount of marijuana seized by the Drug Enforcement Administration nearly doubled from 1,539 metric tons in 2008 to 2,980 metric tons in 2009, according to numbers disclosed by the DEA as part of their budget request for 2011.
Meanwhile, the cultivation of marijuana in Mexico rose 35% in 2009 to nearly 30,000 acres, according to a report released by the U.S. State Department. The report also revealed that between $8 and $25 billion in drug profits were laundered by Mexican drug lords during the same period.
“When is the United States government going to realize that they will never eliminate the demand for marijuana, but they can regulate its production?” said Aaron Houston, MPP director of government relations. “These latest numbers confirm that the only thing an increase in the amount of marijuana seizures by the DEA will do is force more marijuana to be grown by gangs in Mexico, lining the pockets of drug cartels, and further fueling the bloodshed along our border and in our respective countries. The only real solution to this crisis is to tax and regulate marijuana.”
These latest figures come just days after high-ranking officials from the U.S. and Mexico concluded a three-day conference meant to outline ways the two nations could reduce the illicit drug-trade-associated violence that continues to plague the U.S.-Mexican border. Unfortunately, the obvious and sensible strategy of taxing and regulating marijuana was not mentioned. The Obama administration instead opted to throw more money at the problem in the form of a $1.4 billion aid package to combat Mexican drug cartels. The Obama administration is also seeking $310 million in its 2011 budget for drug enforcement aid to Mexico.
With more than 124,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit mpp.org.
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Medical Marijuana: US Congressman Protests Colorado DEA Raids in Letter to Holder, Obama
(Commentary on this late-breaking important news item is reprinted from our blog in order to include it in this week's issue.
Medical Marijuana: Bryan Epis Returned to Federal Prison, Must Serve Out 10-Year Sentence for Growing Pot for the Sick
Bryan Epis, the first California medical marijuana provider to be prosecuted and convicted for growing marijuana for patients, was sent back to federal prison Monday by a federal judge in Sacrament
Legalization: So Say They Now -- US and Mexican Officials Say No to Debating It
Representatives of the US and Mexican governments meeting at the US-Mexico Bi-national Drug Demand Reduction Policy Meeting
Feature: Federal Medical Marijuana Raids in Colorado -- Is the Denver DEA Going Rogue?
Colorado's burgeoning medical marijuana community is up in arms after a series of DEA raids in recent weeks.
Tainted Supply: Cocaine Laced With Levamisole Keeps Turning Up
Back in September, we reported on the appearance of cocaine cut with levamisole, a ve
Feature: Chronicle of an Offensive Foretold -- The Occupation of Marja, Afghanistan
America's twin wars without end -- the war on drugs and the war on terror -- continue to play out in the heart of Southwest Asia as the Obama administration beefs up US troop levels, but tries new
Action #3: Stop the DEA raids!
Posted in In the Trenches by David Guard on Thu, 02/18/2010 - 4:17pm
Dear friends,
Last month, President Obama nominated Acting DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart to formally head the DEA. Previously, Leonhart was the DEA's Deputy Administrator during a time of more than 200 federal medical marijuana raids in California.
In the two weeks following Leonhart's promotion, the DEA just raided two Colorado medical marijuana laboratories that tested the quality of medical marijuana sold in the state. Meanwhile, local and federal officials were complaining that medical marijuana needed to be better tested. On February 12th, the DEA raided a Colorado medical marijuana cultivator.
Four months ago, the US Department of Justice issued a new directive ending the Bush Administration policy of aggressively raiding distribution sites. The new policy discouraged the arrest and prosecution of state-law compliant dispensaries.
Is the DEA ignoring this Obama Administration directive? Please urge U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and the DEA to end arrests and prosecutions in medical marijuana states.
Click here to take action:
http://www.americansforsafeaccess.org/dea
Thanks -
The ASA Team
Americans for Safe Access
On The Web:
ASA's Online Store
Medical Marijuana Patients and Supporters Rally
Medical Marijuana Patients and Supporters to Rally at Obama Event
DEA Backs Down After Threatening Colorado Dispensaries
Posted in Chronicle Blog by Scott Morgan on Tue, 02/16/2010 - 9:53pmJeffrey Sweetin of the DEA's Denver office on Saturday:
"Technically, every dispensary in the state is in blatant violation of federal law," he said. "The time is coming when we go into a dispensary, we find out what their profit is, we seize the building and we arrest everybody. They're violating federal law; they're at risk of arrest and imprisonment." [Denver Post]
Jeff Sweetin today:
"We are not declaring war on dispensaries," he says -- though he adds with a laugh, "If we were declaring war on dispensaries, they would not be hard to find. You can't swing a dead cat around here without hitting thirty of them."Sweetin makes note of the fact that the DEA hasn't ever shut down a Colorado dispensary, and the agency doesn't plan on doing so unless there are aggravating factors involved -- like violence, ties to drug cartels or distribution to children. [Westword]
It sounds an awful lot like Sweetin's comments over the weekend may have resulted in somebody important telling him to calm the hell down. What goes on behind the scenes with this stuff is a mystery to me, but I doubt Sweetin figured out on his own that those nasty comments about raiding dispensaries weren't playing well in the press. I'd prefer to think maybe he got a quick phone call from Washington.
The DOJ's "official" policy of respecting state medical marijuana laws is hardly written in stone, leaving more than enough room for a nut like Sweetin to make a big mess provided that nobody yanks his leash. But if one thing is clear about medical marijuana policy under Obama, it's that they have no interest in doing battle with the 80% of Americans who support it. This latest episode isn't the first time one of the President's drug warriors has back-pedaled after making a stupid public comment about medical marijuana. There are new rules in place, and while they still leave much to be desired, it's important to appreciate the extent to which the old smash and grab medical marijuana policy has been put in check.
The point here isn’t that Obama loves medical marijuana, or that the DEA can now be counted on to behave itself. Politicians and drug war soldiers don't change overnight, but the mere expectation that the raids have ended can easily become a self-fulfilling prophecy when the media and the public generally believe such activity is now illegal in addition to being unpopular. Imagine trying to convict a medical marijuana defendant in federal court in the current political climate. If you lose, the Dept. of Justice will look impotent during a period of surging marijuana entrepreneurship, and if you win, Obama will get skewered in the press.
So if rogue DEA officials still feel compelled to go around making angry threats in the newspaper, I say bring it on. The war on medical marijuana gets less popular every time they open their mouths.
DEA Raids Legal Grower in Colorado, Threatens to Target Dispensaries
Posted in Chronicle Blog by Phillip Smith on Mon, 02/15/2010 - 8:52pmFor the second time in as many weeks, DEA agents in Colorado raided a medical marijuana operation last Thursday. Highland Park medical marijuana patient and provider Chris Bartkowiscz had been seen showing off his basement garden Tuesday night in a blurb for an upcoming local news report. On Thursday, the DEA raided him, seizing his plants and growing equipment.
Bartkowiscz has been jailed pending a decision from the US Attorney's Office on whether to charge him. That decision could come tomorrow.
This despite last October's Department of Justice memorandum instructing federal agencies to lay off medical marijuana in states where it is legal—unless the provider is violating both state and federal law. DEA Denver Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Jeffrey Sweetin apparently didn't get the memo. Either that, or he is blatantly thumbing his nose at his bosses, the American attorney general and president.
In a Saturday interview with local TV 9 News, Sweetin said that even though state law allows for medical marijuana, federal law does not. "We will continue to enforce the federal law. That's what we are paid to do," he said.
Sweetin said the Justice Department guidelines give him discretion. "Discretion is: I can't send my DEA agents out on 10-plant grows. I'm not interested in that, it's not what we do. We work criminal organizations that are enterprises generating funds by distributing illegal substances," Sweetin said.
Sweetin left open the door to go after medical marijuana dispensaries. "Technically, every dispensary in the state is in blatant violation of federal law. The time is coming when we go into a dispensary, we find out what their profit is, we seize the building and we arrest everybody. They're violating federal law; they're at risk of arrest and imprisonment," he told the Denver Post. "Technically, every dispensary in the state is in blatant violation of federal law."
The October Justice Department memo said the feds should not go after people in "clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state laws providing for the medical use of marijuana." The memo said nothing about "large grows" or dispensaries not be included.
Denver medical marijuana attorney Robert Corry is waiting to see whether the feds will charge Bartkowiscz. On Saturday, he filed a complaint with the Justice Department against Sweetin and the DEA, saying the raid on Bartkowiscz violated the agency's policy on enforcing drug laws in states that allow medical marijuana.
Has Sweetin gone rogue? Or is the Obama administration retreating from the position staked out in the October memo? Stay tuned.
Why Do We Even Have a Drug Czar?
Posted in Chronicle Blog by Scott Morgan on Mon, 02/08/2010 - 7:31pmTim Lynch at the Cato Institute has a nice piece in The Washington Times calling for the total elimination of the drug czar's office. It costs American taxpayers $400 million a year just to have these guys walk around cheerleading for the drug war, and they're not even good at it.
If drug czar Gil Kerlikoswke is serious about ending the war mentality that has long defined our nation's anti-drug crusade, he should begin by firing himself Michael Douglas-style, and walking off into the sunset. I'm sure Cato could find a desk for him.
Feature: Obama Seeks Increase in Drug War Spending in a Drug Budget on Autopilot
Feature: CIA Misled Congress, Dragged Feet on Disciplining Employees in Killings of US Citizens in Peru Drug War Plane Shootdown
Nearly nine years ago, a Peruvian air force fighter guided by CIA employees in a spotter plane blew a civilian aircraft out of the sky over the Amazon, thinking it was shooting down drug smugglers.
Obama's Drug War Budget Destroys the Myth of Change
Posted in Chronicle Blog by Scott Morgan on Thu, 02/04/2010 - 1:14amFor a whole year now, the new administration has been proudly insisting over and over again that they're taking drug policy in a new direction, abandoning the "drug war" approach and prioritizing treatment instead of more arrests and incarceration. Apparently, someone forgot they'd have to release a budget for all this, which would kinda blatantly expose the illusion that anything's changed:
Anyone can just plainly see the two towers of "Domestic Law Enforcement" and "Interdiction," that together dwarf the resources to be spent on treatment. What the drug czar's office is calling a "Balanced Approach to Drug Control" is so obscenely imbalanced that anybody who knows how to read a bar graph could see it without having to put their contacts in.
We're still spending twice as much on the war as we are on treatment for the actual people our drug policy is supposed to help. The urge to describe this as "balanced" is just the trademark dishonesty we've come to expect from the drug czar's office anytime they're required to sum up their agenda in one sentence.
The whole situation is even more appalling when you consider the phenomenal lengths this administration has taken to convince everyone that their drug policy priorities aren't like this. I suppose it's a measure of success for our movement that we've at least made it unacceptably controversial for the White House to take any pride in its drug war spending, but that's still an early stage in the long battle to take interdiction off the table and leave enforcement to the states.
If Obama hopes to placate the public's growing disgust with the drug war status quo, he'll have to pay much more than lip service to the reform of our drug policy. Everything people hate about the war on drugs must be changed; the swelling prison population, the persecution of the sick, the subsidization of widespread violence, the vast corruption and the perpetual recycling of so many ridiculous lies all must come to an end or else the people refusing to end it will be blamed hard for the damage it keeps causing.
The public relations holiday that followed Obama's improved policy on medical marijuana is officially over and the reluctant support he enjoyed from so many reformers in 2008 will be hard to come by if the drug war is uglier in 2012 than it is today.
Feature: Obama Nominates Drug Warrior Michele Leonhart to Head DEA -- Reformers Gird for Battle
The Obama administration announced this week that it is nominating acting
Obama Chooses Terrible Nominee to Head the DEA
Posted in Chronicle Blog by Scott Morgan on Wed, 01/27/2010 - 12:05amAfter stalling for a whole year, the White House has finally announced Obama's choice to head the DEA. And there isn’t anything good to be said about it:
For those hoping that Barack Obama would wage the war on drugs less aggressively than his predecessor, this is not a good sign: Yesterday he announced that the new head of the Drug Enforcement Administration will be Michele Leonhart, a career DEA agent who has been the agency's deputy administrator since March 2004 and its acting administrator since November 2007. [Reason]
For all the recent rhetoric about changing the focus of our drug policy and moving beyond the war mentality that's gripped this issue for decades, the White House now plans to promote a Bush Administration holdover who couldn’t more perfectly embody the ugly history we're all working so hard to put behind us.
It was Leonhart who gave marching orders in the federal war on medical marijuana, right up to and even after the Obama Administration pledged to respect state laws. She celebrated the inauguration with a cleverly-timed, though transparently dishonest move to continue blocking medical marijuana research despite the ruling of a DEA administrative law judge. She's been closely tied to the sketchiest career informant in DEA history, even making light of his reputation for perjury. And she even managed to get her name in the press by wasting $123,000 in taxpayer money on a private flight to Colombia, even though the DEA owns 106 airplanes.
Leonhart's nomination is an affront to the Obama Administration's promises of a more enlightened drug policy approach. It's also a clear statement that they don't think we're paying attention to the faces behind the drug war's rich and recent history of arrogance, ignorance and injustice. Let's prove them wrong by opposing this embarrassing nomination as loudly as we can.
Please contact the White House today to tell them that Michele Leonhart's DEA career has already gone on far too long.
