Earlier this week, agents with the U.S. Marshals Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Internal Revenue Service raided several properties owned by longtime marijuana law reform advocate Richard Lee. Richard has devoted over a million dollars of his own money and countless hours of his life to championing Proposition 19 and marijuana legalization in California, to say nothing of all the time and passion he has poured into helping revitalize his community of Downtown Oakland, can you give him just a minute of your time and sign his petition to President Obama?
Click here to sign
From Richard Lee:
On Monday, April 2, my school — Oaksterdam University in Oakland — was raided by the DEA, IRS, and US Marshals. Oaksterdam provides training to the medical cannabis industry, and is fully compliant with state and local law.
President Obama promised at the beginning of his administration to respect state medical marijuana laws. He has broken this promise time and time again — and the consequences have been devastating.
This was a senseless act of intimidation. But I’ve been an activist far too long to become intimidated — and with the majority of Americans and common sense on our side, I know this is a fight we can win.
With our government trillions in debt, why is our government using taxpayer dollars to come after me, Oaksterdam, and the thousands of patients who need medical marijuana just to get through the day?
Tell President Obama and the DEA: Enough is enough. Keep your campaign promise, and stop the raids on the medical cannabis industry!
Click here to sign!
STATES RIGHTS.
Marijuana legalization is a BASIC freedom.
Mr. President Obama, do the right thing stop the goverments war on weed! We have more important jobs for the fed’s to do, sugesstion: Mexican Cartels?
Too bad Obama and his mafia gang of thugs is never going to listen to reason.
you promised to leave us(med mj patients and providors) alone from federal persecution w/ you ran for office,one of the reasons u got my vote.why did u lie to us and renig on your promise??
This is a sad day in America when the peoples voice is stifled by the feds! This is OUR land and WE vote in the laws! The FEDs are making up new rules every week as they go! First targeting dispensaries that are 1000 feet from schools,& parks, now if you are too big! Are you serious! Too big? Just what defines too big? How big is Pharma??! what will be their new rule next week?
President Obama
Please end the raids on medical marijuana even if someone who needs it and doesn’t have a certificate … i had a very nice friend in MN that was paralyzed in an accident from the waist down, later he got staph infection from frostbite crawling to his house because his motorbike that carried him on a platform overturned at the end of his long driveway, later he got caught in his car that was burning because of some bad wiring and had to have his legs removed, on my birthday this year he fell down with heart failure.not a good birthday gift at all to lose him as i did. but in his life he was raided of his plants that he needed and was arrested for it.I know that many cops use marijuana and they don’t have gas masks on on the news when burning it, so raiders are just taking it for themselves…in so many areas cops will go to a house where there is weed rather than to go out on a call about a missing child sighting. and one cop at the end of a road would go pickup something up and drive off then that person rammed into me with his pickup and drove away from the scene, no license and no insurance …the cop hid his badge and blamed me when that man went 55 mph on a culdasack sp
we were sitting almost still in our car going an inch out of the driveway
Why on earth would Obama listen? No if he had to run against Ron Paul maybe, but Romney…Obama gains nothing by ending the raids. Truthfully he’d have a better chance at re-election if he steps up the raids.
This has got to stop.
Obama has this strange desire to not be re-elected.
Cannabis is medicine Obama!
Mr. President,
I am ashamed that our tax payers money is being used to to continue this prohibition and deprive something that God made for all mankind. It is man that created the most addictive substances that become so addictive and ruin peoples lives, not this plant. It is time that we as Americans look at what is best and end this senseless waste of resources. Resources that could be used to better our healthcare, help the homeless, our infrastructure or apply towards our national debt. When is someone finally going to take this stand and do what is right for our country? You have to lead by example, or at least, that is what my grandpa always told me. Please, I urge you to look at this matter and to do so with a compassionate heart and a sound mind. Do what is right for our citizens, our country… plant the seed that will benefit and bring prosperity back to our great nation.
keep the faith!
Sorry, but being polite to “Mr. Obama” and asking him with “please and thank you’s” isn’t working. This little jerk-off from Chicago is a liar and another puppet of corporate and political corruption. Every time a kid dies from a non cannabis related drug or alcohol incident, let’s all thank our good ol’ POTUSA.
Keep it up Barack, and you will feel the wrath of what the American people really can do if provoked and stripped of their rights. You thought last Summer’s protests were scary??? You ain’t seen nothing yet.
Dear Mr. President,
Are you really just like all the rest – making EMPTY CAMPAGNE PROMISES. Is this where you said you wanted the money to be spent – because I heard your words and you said that the focus of the DEA should be on the more dangerous drugs and not on medical marijuana raids
I signed this thing when there were around 300 people earlier in the day and have been watching it beat it’s goal and set a new one all day long. It’s just about to go over 10 grand now but the sad thing is that I know it won’t even be addressed by the government and there is nothing at all I can do to change that. Land of the free my ass.
Stop wasting tax dollars on attacking innocent people when there are real criminals out there committing REAL crimes!
Herb is a plant. Herb is so good for everything. Why these people who want to do so much good for everyone, who call themselves government and this and that, why them say you must not use the herb?. You see, them say you must not use the herb because it makes you a rebel. Against what?” – Bob Marley
I’m 41 and for the first time in my life I will be voting this hypocrite out of office. I can’t wait till people start to wake up and see what this legal mafia we call the us government.is all about. Wake up flag waving zombies.
Dear president Obama,
I am amazed how you can show us your face after all the lies you have said about medical marijuana. Please dont ask us to vote for you never again.
because obama can and has been bought out with money from lobbyists. he succumbed to the greed.
Cameron says:
April 3, 2012 at 9:41 pm
Too bad Obama and his mafia gang of thugs is never going to listen to reason.
+1 BIG PHARM AND PRISON CORPORATIONS MAKING TO MUCH MONEY FROM “WE THE PEOPLE”
At one time America was the Land of the Free and the people were allowed to pursue happiness. It seems that the current crop of Congressmen and Senators are more interested in their own personal power and wealth than they are about taking care of their fellow Americans. Indeed, the actions taken by some of them regarding marijuana prohibition (like Lamar Smith of TX and Dave Albo of VA) border on downright evil!
They say Obama taught Constitutional Law or is a Constitutional scholar. I dont believe it.
Too many unconstitional things going on for that to be true.
I found out in 2010 how Cannabis became illegal. Researching further I found out how Richard Nixon enhanced the illegality.
Obama as a lawyer should acknowledge at a minimum that Civil Liberties is the backbone of freedom.
Should read: “Too many unconstitutional things going on for that to be true”.
Prohibition did not work with Alcohol. It is one way that needless suffering can be put to rest. I live with chronic pain. I know this works.
I voted for you Obama, what a shame. You’re just a bifg pharma puppett, you’re the worst “deocratic” president in US history.
I voted for you Obama, what a shame. You’re just a bifg pharma puppett, you’re the worst “democratic” president in US history.
Give us our rights back! This country gets worse and worse every year!
Sooo, I’m wondering — How many times do you(as a community) have to be told NO and/or be ignored by the gubber-ment before you realize they aren’t listening….and have no intention of ever doing so?? *Ahem* to quote a popular hippie song; “there is a time for Peace, and also a time for _____(fill in the blank). Perhaps the time is drawing near when we should forget the grass-roots, and proceed to lace up our stomping boots.
Herb is a plant. Herb is so good for everything. Why these people who want to do so much good for everyone, who call themselves government and this and that, why them say you must not use the herb?. You see, them say you must not use the herb because it makes you a rebel. Against what?” – Bob Marley
We are all Oaksterdam!
Taxation without representation. Our government is at war against the people of this once great country. They say history repeats it’s self. So here we are.
If you live in Connecticut and want to end marijuana prohibition in our state, please take a minute to visit http://www.ctprimaryproject.com.
Please pass this on to anyone you know in Connecticut!
Have no illusions about the true nature of the so-called “War on Drugs” and the actions of the DEA. The War on Drugs has always been about protecting the profits of the drug companies which have a long and well-documented history of copying street drugs, repackaging them as “medications” and selling them to children as FDA-approved drugs (see below).
Today, yet another example emerges as the DEA moves to legalize THC in Big Pharma’s pills while simultaneously making it illegal for anyone else to grow, sell or possess THC. The DEA, you see, is working to change the classification of THC from a schedule I substance (like street heroin) to a schedule III drug (pharmaceuticals). So if Big Pharma grows its own marijuana plants, extracts the THC and puts it into a “pot pill,” those pills will be perfectly legal. They’re already FDA approved, actually, when made with the synthetic version of THC.
But if a guy grows the very same chemical in his backyard, then extracts THC from those plants — even for his own personal use — suddenly he’s guilty of committing a federal crime and will likely be subjected to an armed raid by DEA agents.
The DEA answers to its pharma slave masters
Why would the DEA decide to legalize THC only for pharmaceutical companies? Well, because Big Pharma requested it, of course! As the DEA says on the subject:
“The DEA has received four petitions from companies that have products that are currently the subject of ANDAs (abbreviated new drug applications) under review by the FDA. …While the petitioners cite that their generic products are bioequivalent to Marinol, their products do not meet schedule III current definition provided above. Therefore, these firms have requested that 21 CFR 1308.13(g)(1) be expanded to include naturally derived or synthetically produced dronabinol.”
You can read it all at the DEA’s own website: http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/f…
The DEA goes on to say:
“This proposed action expands the schedule III listing to include formulations having naturally-derived dronabinol and products encapsulated in hard gelatin capsules. This would have the effect of transferring the FDA-approved versions of such generic Marinol[supreg] products from schedule I to schedule III.”
Just so you can make total sense of this, the DEA’s loopy logic is that since Marinol (an FDA-approved synthetic THC drug) is already recognized as a pharmaceutical, the DEA is saying that other generic drugs containing natural THC from marijuana plants can also be recognized as a pharmaceutical. What they fail to recognize is that even the synthetic THC is, of course, based on natural THC grown in marijuana plants!
It’s classic Big Government pseudoscientific quackery: Only “synthetic” chemicals are considered authoritative, even when those synthetics were stolen from nature in the first place.
Your doctor is your new dealer
So now, thanks to the DEA and its twisted position on THC, your doctor is now your dealer and Big Pharma steps in to take over the manufacturing and distribution of drugs that have traditionally been handled by street criminals and Mexican drug gangs. That’s what this was always about of course: Big Pharma taking over the drug trade, using its own private gang of armed enforcers known as DEA agents.
It’s a lot like Mexico, in fact: Armed enforcers, drug profits, turf wars… except in the U.S., it’s all “legal” under the monopolistic protection of the FDA — an agency that has always sought to protect Big Pharma’s market monopolies.
What’s astonishing about all this is the DEA’s insanity in saying that the very same chemical can be legal for corporations to sell you but illegal for you to grow yourself using a natural plant. THC is THC, after all, and if this chemical is so “incredibly dangerous” that the DEA must throw people in prison for daring to grow it, possess it or sell it, why is it suddenly okay for corporations to do the exact same thing?
You already know the answer: The DEA’s position on marijuana and hemp has always been based on the king of warped logic you only get if you’re smoking crack.
The DEA becomes armed enforcement branch of Big Pharma
The real job of the DEA, you see, is not to protect people from dangerous drugs, but rather to protect the profits of Big Pharma by shooting, arresting or otherwise destroying anything that competes with Big Pharma. Namely, street dealers of marijuana.
It’s not the first time the DEA has done this, of course. Drugs that used to be sold on the street as “speed” are now FDA-approved pharmaceutical medications for ADHD — and they’re being prescribed to children by the tens of millions!
Every successful drug operation needs henchmen who run around with guns eliminating the competition. In a drug gang, that used to be the job of “Frankie” back in the Sicilian mob days. But today, with Big Pharma, it’s the job of the DEA.
Hilariously, this announcement by the DEA was posted by their “Office of Diversion Control” (http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/f…). For once, they’re honest: It is a diversion! A diversion to prevent people from realizing the truth about the DEA, the War on Drugs and the pharmaceutical industry.
Because the DEA, of course, is the armed enforcement division of Big Pharma. It works hand in hand with the FDA, of course: The FDA legalizes Big Pharma drug dealing, and the DEA targets the competition for elimination. It’s a bang-up job, a real one-two punch to protect the world’s largest drug dealers of all… the drug companies themselves.
I wonder how long it will take before a few DEA agents will wake up and realize they are the armed mercs working for their corporate slave masters known as the pharmaceutical companies?
The real criminals, you see, are not the joint-smoking hippies getting high in their basements but rather the Big Pharma CEOs whose entire careers are dedicated to addicting people to their patented, FDA-approved pharmaceuticals… even when they’re the exact same chemicals the DEA claims are “illegal drugs” on the street.
Mrs. Obama and Holder need to be reminded that A.J. Anslinger, architect of the marijuana laws specifically stated before the US Congress, ‘When a black man smokes marijuana, he thinks he’s just as good as a white man.’
Its obvious why he wont end the raids. He does not want the revenue that this would give the states. His goal is to bankrupt us which he is doing and ruin us as he is doing when he disarmed us and he is giving Russia our secrets for missile defense.
Vote for Change
Vote for Change.
SUCKER
Don’t waste your energy thinking of ways to change obama’s mind..He won’t, he DOES NOT GIVE A SHIT ABOUT YOU! Learn that, remember it and never forget. The government will never care about you, its about money. Money rules all. Just do what you feel is right, govern yourself and resist the government with everything you got. Don’t let them push you around. Rebel and don’t let them label you a terrorist simply because you disagree with them.
My support is in. Signed and sent.
I’m disgusted that my tax dollars are being used to raid people who are following such strict guide lines and regulations. This man is educating people on alternatives to prescription medication so that their quality of life is improved, and they can be self dependent. It’s beyond time to end the war on marijuana, and focus more on uplifting the masses instead of having them live in fear, and pain. My prayers are with Richard Lee, his family, and people who have found themselves in similar situations. More of us need to intelligently, and responsibly advocate this cause, and your unwillingness to be intimidated by our big government bully. Vote Ron Paul.
Anyone who doesn’t vote for Ron Paul is an idiot…and I don’t want to hear the ‘but he can’t win’ argument! If the brainwashed sheeple of this ‘great’ nation wake up and vote for him, he can win! And if not this election, then perhaps he or someone like him can win next the next election.
Yes, it’s time to lace up those stomping boots as an earlier poster said! Much love to those of you who are able to take part in the what is now peaceful protests, and I wish you nothing but the best when you start ramping things up soon!
VOTE FOR RON PAUL 2012
I’ve got mixed emotions for both sides of Democrats & Republicans.
Obama is doing this stuff and allowing it.
Republicans signed and passed right-to-work bill which hurt the unions and most of my family, majority of them are in the unions.
This is only reason why I will not vote for neither of them.
Being screwed either way from how I see it.
Dear President Obama,
These days I know that I do not have to send you this e-mail to the White House. I can talk on the phone with my friends, e-mail, or post my controversial opinions on-line and your crack team of Homeland Security cyber spies secure this info for the fatherland; and there is no doubt Mr. President you should be getting some kind of government report on what is happening in marijuana cyberspace these days. What are you hearing Mr. President? What are people saying about you as a leader; we want you to sober up about marijuana and stop giggling, and start an honest discussion. We want the debate you promised!!!!!!
This is a very serious subject for some people. In fact, it is very serious subject for me.
For me, as a seriously injured patient, marijuana gives much more than pain relief, it gives me back my life, somewhat. I am able to cycle 100s of miles a week because of marijuana; not only does it provide a nice pain barrier for me to do sports activities, but also creates psychological benefit of introspection and focus enhancement. Not only does marijuana act as medicine, but it also acts as a natural supplement against cancers. I have used cannabis oils to cure rashes that could not be cleared up by conventional medicine.
I believe in marijuana more than anything else in my life. I love marijuana. I will always try to use it as medicine. And I will teach others about the benefits of medical marijuana. Stop trying to take this away from the world! I do not want to take your pharmaceutical drugs! I think conventional medicine is dangerous! I will take cannabis, other natural supplements, eat healthy, think healthy, and I will get better. To hell with your forced health care and health care providers! Why can’t people choose their own forms of healing? Stop shoving pills, surgeries, and other unnecessary procedures that are driven by hospital quotas.
End the war against your brothers and sisters Mr. President. We have voted to stop being treated as criminals and society has said yes. Why can’t you?
We are being groomed for slavery folks. Marshall law and dictatorship are right around the corner. How much longer can we stand for these kind of senseless acts? Are we the fatted calf ready for the slaughter? Or will the sleeping giant awaken once more?
Sorry to say; I have to agree with some guy and Dave DeVries. As long ago as the Democratic Convention in New York, in 1991, an insider told our “Brownie” Campaign that President Bush was a major stockholder in the Eli Lilly Corp. before running for office and that is where his VP, Dan Quall, came from…his father was the President of Eli Lilly! Then the same with the Clinton’s, big stocks in big drug companies.
It’s still the Liquor and Drug companies holding back legalization.
Things will only change when we stop fu..ing arond and take over. money is all thay want. buy guns, make ALOT OF NEW FRIENDS. it”s time to fight. SKYRIDER.
Jesus I’m 60 I hope I don’t die before you get your job done.
If we can’t receive our freedom, than we may have to take them like before. Business as usual. I’d rather think that we have moved on to be more grown up than this. Are not their continence up to reality?
They’ve already got Emery. We can’t lose Richard.
A Democratic House will vote on a bill introduced to reduce the schedule of marijuana.
Vote Democrat in 2012 to further our cause.
3 signatures here got my mom and my girlfriend as well as mine
I spread the word as much as I possibly could. Even posted a bunch on CNN boards about it. But we are still short of the 25,000 mark by about 3,000. How can we get the rest?????
He has proven he has no interest in this cause, your petition will fall on deaf ears just like the “We the People” questions were ignored.
We made 25,000. I really hope someone takes our names and makes the best of this petition. Please don’t let it just be ignored after reaching the goal.