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Ever since the San Diego County Board of Supervisors decided it wasgoing to try overturn California's medical marijuana law with alawsuit, San Diego patients have had a lot to deal with.

Theirmedical marijuana dispensaries have been subjected to a series ofraids, and now, with a DEA action last Friday, every last one of themis shut down. A DEA special agent was quoted in the San Diego Union-Tribuneas saying the agents paid "courtesy visits" to the dispensaries. StephSherer of Americans for Safe Access reported that the agents said,"Shut down or we're going to come back and arrest you."

I didn't realize "courtesy" was such a subjective term.

Atany rate, patients are fighting back. They are going to attend a CityCouncil meeting on Tuesday to ask for support. They also wrote an openletter to the San Diego County district attorney after raids that tookplace earlier in July:

An Open Letter to District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis:

Thecitizens of San Diego need your help. Yesterday the DEA, withcooperation from San Diego law enforcement, continued its harassment ofmedical marijuana patients. As many as 13 of the 20 or so dispensariesthat provide needed, legal medicine to patients in the city wereraided, jeopardizing patients' access to the medicine their doctor'shave recommended to them.

Using, growing, possessing anddispensing medical marijuana is legal in San Diego and California, asthe result of both voter initiative passed in 1996 and additionallegislation passed in 2003 by the California Assembly and Senate andsigned by the governor. Legal precedents exist throughout the state andlocally, in which your office has participated and by which your officeis bound.

The thousands of citizen in San Diego whose doctorshave recommended cannabis to them and who strive to follow the law willbenefit from clarification of your position on H&S 111362.5.

We invite all those with concerns to come together in open communication to solve any issues.

Yourprompt research and development into dispensary regulations for theCity of San Diego is critical in mitigating the damage to the patientand dispensary community as a result of federal incursions. Byestablishing regulations, clarification of the city's expectations willprovide less confusion and greater safety for the people of San Diego.

Please join us in that process.

--Citizens of San Diego concerned for the clarification of H&S 111362.5
07-07-06

Posted by Megan Farrington.
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