protect freedom of medicine and diet from pharmacratic mercantilism
http://www.tokeofthetown.com/2013/05/berkeley_marijuana_activists_protest_attorney_gene.php#more
While the cannabis communities of Colorado and Washington await a response to recently-passed marijuana laws from Attorney General Eric Holder,
it seems he's busy writing other speeches:
graduation remarks for the
University of California at Berkeley law school commencement, which as
held over the weekend.
Ganja activists took the opportunity to swarm the campus and even
went so far as to fly a custom banner over the outdoor Greek Theater
that read: "Holder: End Rx Cannabis War #peace4patients," according to
the Huffington Post.
The group was with Americans for Safe Access and were protesting the
recent federal action against the Berkeley Patients Group and raising
awareness for their new group, Peace for Patients aimed at stopping the war on medical cannabis users.
"Patients will not stand idly by while Attorney General Holder's
Justice Department continues to attack our community and endanger the
lives of Berkeley residents" said one of the protesters outside the
ceremony, according to an ASA press release.
"We're here today to call attention to the misguided policies of the
Obama Administration and to ensure that his ongoing campaign against
medical marijuana is stopped in its tracks."
As we reported last week,
BPG is the largest dispensary in Berkeley and as such was the target
for a large federal lawsuit filed May 2 that would force the dispensary
to shut down and hand over their assets to the feds. Federal agents have
also targeted BPG's landlord, threatening to seize the property.
This is the second time the BPG has been targeted. In 2011 they moved
locations after receiving a notice from the U.S. Attorney forcing them
to move further than 1,000 feet from any schools.
This time, the owners of BPG have decided to fight back. "Berkeley
Patients Group intends to vigorously defend the rights of its patients
to be able to obtain medical cannabis from a responsible, city-licensed
dispensary," said Sean Luse, Chief Operations Officer for BPG.
Even Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates thinks the feds have overstepped their bounds.
"I think it's time for the federal government, the president and the
attorney general to wake up and stop these kinds of actions. Here is a
group of people who have played by the rules and have had no problems in
the city with the way they or their patients conduct themselves."
Holder didn't respond to the protestors outside (big surprise there).
Interestingly, he did make the final closing point in his speech,
according to the university newspaper, The Daily Cal: "Use your
unique skills, your idealism and the power that your new law degree
affords to better yourselves, to improve your communities and to solve
the complex problems that undoubtedly lie ahead," he said.
We know of an area in our communities that might be a good start for at least a few Berkeley Law grads...
[ and perhaps some adaptive re-use of Covington & Burling's bro bono program ... ]
http://freedomofmedicineanddiet.blogspot.com/2012/05/newsweek-on-covington-burling-eric.html
http://freedomofmedicineanddiet.blogspot.com/2012/04/ex-covington-burling-pharma-attorney.html
http://freedomofmedicineanddiet.blogspot.com/2011/10/usag-holders-criminal-mercantilism.html
http://freedomofmedicineanddiet.blogspot.com/2013/04/breuer-aag-returns-to-covington.html
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