Federal agents with the Drug Enforcement Agency today raided Mendocino County medical marijuana collective Northstone Organics, whose executive director, Matt Cohen, is featured in this week’s Journal cover story by Zach St. George. Cohen’s collective was operating under a permit issued by the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Dept., and by all indications it was following the county’s pioneering medical marijuana ordinance.
Profiled in many news stories including PBS’ “Frontline” and the above clip from “California Watch,” Northstone Organics has purchased county-issued zip-ties and placed them around the stalks of marijuana plants to identify them as licensed gardens. Over the past week, however, California’s four U.S. Attorneys have unleashed their federal might, sending letters to dispensary owners and landlords threatening asset seizure and criminal prosecution. And in the latest twist, they’ve threatened to go after media outlets that run marijuana ads.
“This is a systematic federal terror campaign,” said Charlie Custer, co-founder of both the Tea House Collective, a medical marijuana cooperative, and the Humboldt Medical Marijuana Advisory Panel, a policy group that has worked closely with the Humboldt County Planning Commission to help develop our own countywide ordinance. The Planning Commission has been looking very closely at Mendocino’s zip-tie licensing system as a potential model for replication. Today’s federal actions will likely change — or at the very least delay — that approach, Custer predicted.
He believes the actions of the U.S. Attorneys are politically motivated. “They absolutely do not want to see any states voting for legalization in 2012. That’s what this is all about.” Well, that and their own political aspirations. “We’ve become an ever-more fearful society, and our U.S. attorneys are ever-more invested in managing public fears as a way of advancing their own careers,” Custer said bitterly.
As noted in a previous post, the recent federal threats — along with today’s raid — run counter to President Obama’s campaign promises and his administration’s stated policies.
Custer said it’s impossible to know whether federal agencies will target dispensaries and collectives here in Humboldt County. On the one hand, he pointed out, the smaller scale of our operations combined with our region’s geographic isolation make local operations less efficient targets. Still, he can’t be certain, which he believes is precisely the idea.
“The purpose of this is to sow fear, and it’s effective,” Custer said. “I’ve said to my wife as we clutch each other in bed, wondering what’s gonna happen, ‘Everything we do in our collective is in accordance with what the feds say is desirable. We’re small-scale, decentralized, nonprofit and environmentally benign. We’re as groovy as can possibly be.'”
Nevertheless, he’s not resting easy. “It’s all just so screwball and unpredictable.”
This article appears in Hitting it Home.
Yep ! Get all legal, let’em know where you are and what you have and WHAM!! down comes the doorand in marches the “Jack Booted Gestapo” Makes me want to vote in some “Gun Control” Legislation, register your weapons…. Hitler tricked the German People into it……see where I’m going with this…….just can’t trust them!!
This is extremely upsetting. If there is a silver lining here, I hope it is that Cally wakes up and realizes that their only hope is to tax and regulate cannabis for all use and then overgrow the government. The fed doesn’t have the resources to police the entire state of CA. If Colorado, Oregon and Washington follow suit the fed will be even more screwed. But It will take people with guts, like Cohen and Custer.
The fed can do what it wants. I do what I want. Until we cross guns, all is good in my book 🙂
he even told them when he was going to harvest… and they show up 2 days early..
We need to legalize completely to overcome this. Just having medical marijuana legal does not give enough clout! Next time full legalization comes up on the ballot, everyone needs to vote for it. Those of you who voted against it because you wanted to keep your medical the way it was were naive, wake up! If the full state has it fully legalized, the feds will not be able to do anything.
Legalize for all!
Mr. Custer, while well meaning, is a wee bit over the “Southern Humboldt” edge with the political analysis.
Legally the Obama Administration is up against states like Alabama and Arizona cutting their own laws on immigration to trump federal law among other states working to also disarm health care, and regulations through the same legal challenges.
To allow California’s brazen marijuana culture to go unchecked would be to leave legal precedent available for these other states to use to help their cases when the feds versus states rights cases comes up.
While Custer’s stand on election engineering may have some merit it is peanuts behind the need for sound legal precedent in the face of a hostile Supreme Court on the states rights issue.
Until yesterday, I’ve avoided commenting on these issues. W/re: immigration, and I support certain efforts to streamline the process, a curious development is occurring. “Waivers” for deported illegal aliens subject to the 5 and 10 year bars to readmission are being granted like handing out candy, where a year ago they were routinely and always denied. I’ve been very surprised by this development several times recently. That makes me suspicious that Custer may have a point.
Legalize @ 8:20 says “Next time full legalization comes up on the ballot, everyone needs to vote for it. Those of you who voted against it because you wanted to keep your medical the way it was were naive, wake up! If the full state has it fully legalized, the feds will not be able to do anything.”
There was nothing even close to full legalization on the ballot, rather a permission slip for a handful of investors to clean house with huge indoor operations in the cities. In fact, per the measure that was on the ballot, cannabis would have been even more consequential to be caught with for many who right now receive a common sense slap on the wrist.
I’m not for or against raiding the dispensary that is in full compliance of the state law. But it makes sense to me for the feds to raid a dispensary that is fully complies with state law. Because the shop fully complied with state mandated laws, it should set up a good battle on State vs Fed law. May the best boxer win!