The Compassionate Coalition

San Francisco Pot Raid a Warning to Assemblymember Ammiano?

Examiner.com
March 26, 9:16 AM
By: Shawn E. Hamilton, Sacramento Statehouse Examiner

Agents from the federal government Wednesday raided a medical cannabis dispensary in San Francisco called Emmalyn’s California Cannabis Clinic. Agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) emptied the dispensary of its product, loading up several trucks with marijuana, cannabis plants, grow lights, and other equipment. The DEA would not cite the specific reason for the raid, saying the warrant is under court seal, but suggested the dispensary is suspected of violating state and federal law. Emmalyn’s, which had been operating with a temporary permit issued by the Department of Public Health, had been providing free marijuana to the poor on Wednesdays.

Quintin Mecke, Communications Director for Assemblymember Ammiano, said in an interview Wednesday that Ammiano believed the Obama Administration would be less antagonistic towards marijuana legalization and cited Obama’s personal experience with his mother who used it in treating her cancer. The interview was conducted shortly prior to the raid.

“If you see Attorney General Holder’s comments and the federal government with a clear shift about their approach—first to medical marijuana—that certainly leaves the door open for consideration about marijuana in general,” Mecke said, reasonably certain that the feds were adjusting priorities. “It would not be enforced unless both state and federal law were being violated.”

Mecke emphasized that Ammiano does not advocate criminal or otherwise illicit uses under the guise of medical marijuana. Still, it’s coincidental that the feds raided a dispensary in San Francisco, the city Ammiano represents, so soon after his announcing plans to legalize marijuana in the state. Questions regarding the fed’s motives are likely to surface.

Stay tuned for further developments.

Source: http://www.examiner.com/x-4172-Sacramento-Statehouse-Examiner~y2009m3d26-San-Francisco-Pot-Raid-a-Warning-to-Assemblymember-Ammiano