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Federal agents raid Calif. marijuana university

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villian

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Aug 28, 2003
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Federal agents on Monday raided a San Francisco Bay area medical marijuana training school at the heart of California's pot legalization movement.

The doors to Oaksterdam University in downtown Oakland were cordoned off by yellow tape and blocked by U.S. marshals. Agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration carted trash bags of unknown materials out of the school to a waiting van.

Arlette Lee, an IRS spokeswoman, told reporters that agents were serving a federal search warrant but said she could not otherwise comment on the purpose of the raid.

"What we are doing here today is under seal," Lee said.

About a dozen protesters upset over the raid gathered out front of the multistory building adorned with a large mural that makes the school one of the neighborhood's most visible landmarks. Some of them smoked marijuana openly.

The demonstrators held signs demanding an end to federal crackdowns on medical marijuana.

Ryan Hooper, 26, of Oakland, wearing an Oaksterdam hat and sweatshirt, said he had finished taking courses at the school in February.

"This is not in the best interest of the city," Hooper said. "If they close the dispensaries, all of this stuff is going to go back underground."

Oaksterdam University was founded by Richard Lee, the main backer of the California ballot measure defeated in 2010 that would have legalized marijuana in the state for recreational use. The neighborhood has also been home to several medical marijuana dispensaries, including one founded by Lee.

Lee did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

The city of Oakland has long allowed four medical marijuana dispensaries to legally operate under city ordinances and recently awarded permits that would allow four more to open.

At the same time, federal prosecutors across California have been working for months to shut down dispensaries by threatening to seize landlords' property if they did not evict marijuana retailers.
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source
 
For the last several hours, agents from the U.S. Marshalls, DEA, and IRS have been conducting a raid on Oaksterdam University and other businesses associated with Proposition 19 proponent Richard Lee. Lee was the primary financial supporter of the attempt to make marijuana legal in California in 2010, and his marijuana businesses in Oakland helped revitalize that area of the city.

Reports are still coming in, but it seems that several people have been arrested in the raids and more are being detained at the scenes.

Supporters of medical marijuana patients and the marijuana reform community were quick to respond in defense of Oaksterdam, which is an industry leader in cannabis science education. Protesters have flooded the area, and there are unconfirmed reports that several have been arrested as well.

While law enforcement has been busy knocking over a pillar of the community, a shooting was taking place at the exact same time at a nearby Christian university. At least eight people have been injured, and as of a few minutes ago, the suspect is still at large.

This is a tragic day for the residents of Oakland. Their public servants need to be using every resource at hand to deal with real problems, not persecuting legitimate, peaceful businesses and medical marijuana patients.
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source: http://blog.mpp.org/medical-marijuana/oaksterdam-university-raided/04022012/


So yeah...they totally went after the dispensary and forgot about the COLLEGE SHOOTING. Good job, boys in blue. Go after the dangerous marijuana plant and not the harmless gunman.
 
^ lmfao completly agree they hit these people over the head on taxes and they want all the money up front so when they come raid they've already got their money.. shits a damn shame at least at a place thats regulated its controlled they aint selling to kids and they follow the guidelines.. they act like taking out these places of business is gonna get rid of marijuana when in fact that plant has been around far longer than anybody and it aint nowhere and its never going to go anywhere its here to stay and their best bet would be to figure out ways to co-exist and since all they care about is money anyways it shouldn be an issue
 
Medical marijuana isn't going anywhere.

%)

There are only four dispensaries in Oakland?! Jesus. There are at least a thousand in Los Angeles alone.
 
shimazu said:
Govt must not have been getting paid
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Actually they are. That dude has paid millions in taxes, although he is disputing millions more of retroactively levied taxes.

The issue is that he has funded legalization campaigns and been successful. The last Prop bill he sponsored garnered 46% of the vote in favour of making weed legal for adults medicinal or not.

Ultimately he is just a businessman with millions in revenues trying to increase his market size and make more money.
But he is fighting the Beer, LEO/Prison and Pharma Corps with Billions in revenues and established national lobbyist.
 
I signed the petition.
I shared it on FB.
I don't know what else to do. This is an outrage.
 
LogicSoDeveloped said:
So yeah...they totally went after the dispensary and forgot about the COLLEGE SHOOTING. Good job, boys in blue. Go after the dangerous marijuana plant and not the harmless gunman.
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Excellent point.
It makes me wonder if Chomsky is right, and the college shooting helps the gov. control people through fear, while the weed helps people move away from being controlled, and that is the real problem here.
 
Have these types of online petitions accomplished anything? Where are the petitioners on election day?
 
i think some drugs more than others open peoples minds and makes them look at things in a different way... most people back down from the gov't and dont even enforce their own rights.. even tho this sounds fucked up i bet it was more of right thing to do petition or just a good thought.. somebody should nut up and take that thing the whole way cuz even if it was federal agents they would have still responded to the shooting at a school.. ppl just believe everything the gov't feeds em no matter how ridiculous, theres to many examples but Reefer Madness has to top the list
 
"Ron Paul discussed his trademark blend of policy positions that includes something for both sides of the political spectrum to love...and hate. He decried the wars America has recently been involved in (check, go the liberals) as well as the increase in federal spending meant to solve the effects of the financial crisis and recession (check go the conservatives).

Paul also addressed federal drug policy, a topic near and dear to some Bay Area hearts. The crowd cheered Paul's statement that the federal war on drugs is wasteful and disproportionately punishes people of color, reports Andrew Stelzer for KQED. He also defended California's medical marijuana law. "If you had states rights in California, you wouldn't have the feds bugging you and telling you what you could do with your own body."

Paul criticized what he described as infringements on individual liberty like the Patriot Act and called for the Federal Reserve to be abolished."

Link:
http://blogs.kqed.org/newsfix/2012/04/06/audio-full-ron-paul-speech-at-uc-berkeley/

Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9kV2rfwmCM&feature=player_embedded
 
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