DEA Raids Legal Weed Dispensaries in Washington Again

[presence]

http://www.vice.com/read/dea-ignores-state-laws-in-washington-raids-dispensaries

Last Wednesday, at least four medical marijuana dispensaries in Washington state—where even recreational use of pot is legal in small amounts—got quite a scare when the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) came calling. The clinics, all of which had been targeted back in 2011, were supposedly not abiding by state law, which is the often cited, albeit quizzical, justification for a federal raid.

In Washington, one dispensary owner initially worried he was being robbed. Other owners throughout the state feared this was the beginning of an official federal crackdown—the Department of Justice had decided to deal with states where recreational weed use is legal by sending in the DEA. But a source told Seattle’s King-5 that the raids took place because those specific marijuana outfits had the same problems they had in 2011, not because of any new federal policy.


In lieu an official federal policy toward states that have legalized medical marijuana, this ad hoc, willy-nilly method of policing has become the norm, and you might not be too off base if you assumed that the DOJ’s unspoken strategy was to kill the industry by a million paper cuts.



According to Americans for Safe Access, the Obama administration has spent $300 million on medical marijuana raids since 2009. Crackdowns have lead to serious jail time for dispensary owners in Michiganand Montana. No arrests were made this week in Washington, but several thousand dollars in marijuana was seized, along with cell phones, papers, and computers. The DEA also started the process of seizing a boat through asset forfeiture. Supposedly these dispensaries were laundering money and providing marijuana to nonpatients, which is possible. It should also have been up to the state to decide if state law was being broken.

 

[Cleaner44]

What I wonder is how the federal DEA makes a case for jurisdiction unless they are claiming the marijuana came from out of state and thus claim it is interstate commerce. How is this not a state matter?

 

[Tod]

What I wonder is how the federal DEA makes a case for jurisdiction unless they are claiming the marijuana came from out of state and thus claim it is interstate commerce. How is this not a state matter?

I'm not sure they feel the need to make a case for jurisdiction. I think the mentality is so far down the path to totalitarianism that they have ceased worrying about it.

 

[JK/SEA]

Follow the money. In this case...tax money allocated to the DEA, which forces these guys to justify their paychecks. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

[Brian4Liberty]

"Well, see, we have all these SWAT teams, and kick-ass military equipment, and big budgets, and we get tired some days of surfing porn and playing Call of Duty, so we need to raid something."

 

[Brian4Liberty]

Follow the money. In this case...tax money allocated to the DEA, which forces these guys to justify their paychecks. Nothing more, nothing less.

Yep.

 

[pcosmar]

Where is the local Sheriff ?













rhetorical question.

 

[JK/SEA]

Where is the local Sheriff ?













rhetorical question.

The Wash. State U.S. Attorney General is on record to not supporting the voter mandated Marijuana issue. Pretty sure she greased the skids for these pointless raids. Its all theater, and gives these idiots a paycheck.

 

[dannno]

Out of all of the dispensaries shut down by the Feds in my town, never ONCE did they prove that any dispensaries were not abiding by state law. All charges have eventually been dropped, nobody has ever been prosecuted.

 

[JK/SEA]

Out of all of the dispensaries shut down by the Feds in my town, never ONCE did they prove that any dispensaries were not abiding by state law. All charges have eventually been dropped, nobody has ever been prosecuted.

yep...pretty much the same in WA State....

 

[HOLLYWOOD]

Follow the money. In this case...tax money allocated to the DEA, which forces these guys to justify their paychecks. Nothing more, nothing less.

YES this is it! High ranking state attorneys, off the record, stated that's exactly the reason for RAIDS, etc.

 

[mczerone]

And here's one yesterday in Michigan against a medical dispensary.

According to an eyewitness report, the raid began between 10:30 and 11 a.m. Two vehicles along with inventory from inside The Shop were confiscated, according to the eyewitness.

The raid was underway by noon and officers were seen questioning several people sitting in front of The Shop. There was an Ypsilanti Police Department SUV and several unmarked police vehicles outside.

A tow truck was on scene and carried away a GMC Yukon. Police also seized property from inside the shop, including boxes, bags of marijuana, and what appeared to be a small electronic device.

During the raid, a man in handcuffs was forced into the Ypsilanti police SUV. After the raid, this man was seen back at The Shop, without handcuffs.

Also afterward, a woman was walking along the sidewalk and exclaimed, "We did nothing wrong!" just before she entered The Shop.

Isaacson said due to the ongoing investigation, he was unable to comment on the execution of the search warrant or release any further details about the case. He said the DEA was assisted by numerous state and police agencies, including many local agencies.

LAWNET (Livingston and Washtenaw Narcotics Enforcement Team) was contacted regarding a raid at The Shop. LAWNET assisted with the federal case, but because of police policy the agency is unable to comment on the DEA's case.

Yeah, see, we're gonna bust into your shop and steal everything that's not nailed down (and probably some things that are), take your personal vehicles, arrest you, and not justify anything. We just can, m'kay?

 

[JK/SEA]

And here's one yesterday in Michigan against a medical dispensary.



Yeah, see, we're gonna bust into your shop and steal everything that's not nailed down (and probably some things that are), take your personal vehicles, arrest you, and not justify anything. We just can, m'kay?

we have now officially entered State endorsed tyranny against the Marijuana Industry. Seems the FEDS would or should be pleased with all the tax money they get from pot sales...but i digress...

 

[LibertyEagle]

These people are interloping on the government's industry and they hate competition.

 

[JK/SEA]

Don't bogart that joint.

http://www.komonews.com/news/offbeat/Record-setting-joint-planned-for-Hempfest-217692321.html

 

[Occam's Banana]

What I wonder is how the federal DEA makes a case for jurisdiction unless they are claiming the marijuana came from out of state and thus claim it is interstate commerce. How is this not a state matter?

Jurisdiction? Jurisdiction? The Feds don' need no steenkin' "jurisdiction" - the whole WORLD is their jurisdiction!
(It's just that some parts of the world haven't got the memo, yet.)

And the states? Pssshhhhht!! The states ain't nuthin' but a bunch of pseudo-autonomous federal administrative districts ...

 

[kcchiefs6465]

Follow the money. In this case...tax money allocated to the DEA, which forces these guys to justify their paychecks. Nothing more, nothing less.

They could give a try to busting their cocaine smuggling buddies, then.

 

[Origanalist]

Jurisdiction? Jurisdiction? The Feds don' need no steenkin' "jurisdiction" - the whole WORLD is their jurisdiction!
(It's just that some parts of the world haven't got the memo, yet.)

And the states? Pssshhhhht!! The states ain't nuthin' but a bunch of pseudo-autonomous federal administrative districts ...

Badges? We don't need no stinking badges....................

 

[Origanalist]