Dear Friend,
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!
Thanks for your support,
Richard Lee
National Cannabis Industry Association
Six National Drug Policy Organizations Call on President Obama to End Unnecessary Assault on Medical Marijuana Providers
Coalition to President Obama: “It is time for a new approach on marijuana policy.”
Contact: Aaron Smith, NCIA executive director, (707) 291-0076,
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In
the wake of recent attacks on medical marijuana providers and patients
by multiple branches of the federal government, including Monday's raids
on Oaksterdam University in Oakland, CA, a coalition of six national
drug policy reform organizations is appealing to President Obama and his
administration to follow its own previously stated policies respecting
state medical marijuana laws. In the letter, posted in full below, the
organizations call on the Obama administration to bring an end to the
federal government’s ongoing campaign to undermine state efforts to
regulate safe and legal access to medical marijuana for those patients
who rely on it.
Oaksterdam Get Down Slideshow
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Oaksterdam Get Down
Come join the fun!
Last Sunday of every month.
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Every last Sunday of the month means the totally peaceful, completely awesome Oaksterdam Get Down hosted by our friends at OaksterdamNews.Com. Visit 375 15th Street in downtown Oakland between noon and 6 p.m. every last Sunday of the month, for the event that cures racism: namely, a police-sanctioned, marijuana-friendly block party. Any bad bones in your body will be cured by cannabis-infused hamburgers and barbecue sauce, and the good bones will be nothing but magnified. Come early for the live music, and stay late for the love.
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Oakland riots after verdict in police shooting of Oscar Grant
Officer who shot dead unarmed African American cleared of murder but
found guilty of involuntary manslaughter
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Congressmembers, media ridicule FDA cannabis statement |
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Written by Chris Conrad
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Saturday, 10 June 2006 |
In a blatent political maneuver, the US Food and Drug Administration made an out-of-thin-air announcement on April 20 (4/20) that no studies support medical marijuana. The release was timed to coincide with the national NORML conference.
Three weeks later, on May 15 the agency announced that it has approved Cesamet, a second drug containing synthetic THC, the primary active compound in cannabis. Marinol is the other. It seems it is not the THC but the presence of nature itself that the FDA finds offensive.
This raised obvious questions: Why is THC medicine but not cannabis, and what happened to all the studies done over the past century? The answer, apparently, is that the US government doesn’t like to deal with logic or peer-reviewed studies.
The 4/20 Interagency Advisory notice was intended to trump the 1999 National Academy of Science / Institute of Medicine federal report that outlined and analyzed scores of scientific studies and identified specific compounds and benefits. The National Institute on Drug Abuse has catalogued many more, and new studies are being reported in the international press on a regular basis. The New York Times decried the FDA as “disingenuous. The government is actively discouraging relevant research, according to scientists.”
The FDA press release had a threatening political tone. “[The] FDA, as the federal agency responsible for reviewing the safety and efficacy of drugs, DEA as the federal agency charged with enforcing the CSA, and the ONDCP [drug czar’s office], as the federal coordinator of drug control policy, do not support the use of smoked marijuana for medical purposes.”
“Despite the fact that you are responding to a scientific question, your press release failed to provide any scientific expertise.
“Despite the fact that you are responding to a scientific question, your press release failed to provide any scientific expertise. 
We call on you to show us the purported scientific evidence for the basis of this response. There is no evidence that you have new scientific proof or that you oversaw clinical trials,” Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) led a bipartisan group of 24 House members who wrote and signed onto a letter sent April 27 to FDA Acting Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach. “It perplexes us that even though the FDA is responsible for protecting public health, the agency has failed to respond adequately to the IOM’s findings seven years after the study’s publication date.”
“If anyone needs proof that the FDA has become totally politicized, this is it,” said Bruce Mirken of the Marijuana Policy Project, mpp.org. “For shame.”
This is part of a recent US trend to force researchers to produce policy reports instead of research. Prestigious scientists, including 20 Nobel laureates and several science advisers to past Republican presidents, accused the Bush administration on Feb. 18, 2004 of manipulating and censoring science for political purposes. In an open letter and in-depth evaluation, more than 60 top US scientists alleged the administration of misusing research to further its political objectives by “suppressing, distorting or manipulating the work done by scientists at federal agencies.”
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Chris Conrad |
| About the author: |
| Staunch supporter of Oaksterdam News
Chris Conrad has studied cannabis (marijuana) since 1988. He has written two books on the topic and contributed to others. Familiar with numerous books and at least 100 scientific studies, such as federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and National Institute on Drug Abuse data. Reported on cannabis dispensaries for California legislators. Consults with government agencies. Testified at National Academy of Science, Institute of Medicine hearings. Regularly consults with physicians including some of the world’s foremost authorities on cannabis and patients as to their knowledge and experiences regarding cannabis.
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 20 August 2006 )
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The Men's Wearhouse George Zimmer
