Press Releases
Mar 262009
Medical Marijuana Advocates Decry DEA Raid in San Francisco - Americans for Safe Access
San Francisco, CA -- Advocates are protesting a federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) raid yesterday on a San Francisco medical marijuana dispensary, and are urging the Obama Administration to implement its policy change aimed at ending the previous Administrations' tactics of conducting such raids. Yesterday afternoon federal agents stormed Emmalyn's, a medical marijuana facility licensed by the City of San Francisco, seizing an unknown amount of marijuana, money and other property, but made no arrests. The DEA raid comes only one week after U.S. Mar 202009
Medical Marijuana Provider to be Federally Sentenced in LA April 30th - Americans for Safe Access
Los Angeles, CA -- Morro Bay medical marijuana provider, Charles C. Lynch, 46, who operated a city and state-sanctioned dispensary for qualified patients and their primary caregivers will be sentenced in federal court Thursday, April 30th. Lynch was convicted in August of 2008, without the benefit of a medical marijuana defense, becoming a cause celebre as he stands between the aggressive enforcement actions of the Bush Administration and the change in federal policy that the Obama Administration has repeatedly promised.
Mar 032009
Medical Marijuana Advocates Force Change to California DMV Policy - Americans for Safe Access
Oakland, CA -- The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) issued a new policy yesterday with regard to how it treats qualified medical marijuana patients. The DMV Driver Safety Procedure Manual was revised to include reference to medical marijuana, stating that "use of medicinal marijuana approved by a physician should be handled in the same manner as any other prescription medication which may affect safe driving." The manual states that the existence of medical marijuana use "does not, in itself, constitute grounds for a license withdrawal action. Feb 262009
Medical Marijuana Patients React to New 'American Policy' - Americans for Safe Access
Washington, D.C. - Speaking at a press conference on Feb 25 with Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator Michele Leonhart, and reiterating a position made by the White House following DEA raids in California on February 4, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder told reporters that ending federal raids on medical marijuana dispensaries "is now American policy.
Feb 162009
Congresswoman Pushes Back Against DEA Attacks on Medical Marijuana - Americans for Safe Access
Washington, DC -- Congresswoman Lois Capps (D-CA) sent a letter Friday to incoming U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder decrying threats by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the U.S. Attorney's Office against property owners that lease to state-sanctioned medical marijuana providers. Since the summer of 2007, the DEA has issued letters to at least 300 landlords in California threatening federal criminal prosecution and asset forfeiture if they continue to lease to medical marijuana dispensaries. Feb 062009
Congress to DEA: Reconsider Monopoly on Medical Marijuana Research - Americans for Safe Access
Washington, DC -- Sixteen Members of Congress issued a letter yesterday to newly-seated Attorney General Eric Holder urging the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to act "swiftly to amend or withdraw" an order that significantly curtails medical marijuana research in the United States. For more than forty years, the federal government has held a unique monopoly on the cultivation of marijuana for medical research, significantly impeding studies on the therapeutic qualities of medical marijuana and the ability to bring it to market. Feb 052009
Feb 042009
Medical Marijuana Activists to Protest DEA Raids in Los Angeles - Americans for Safe Access
Los Angeles, CA -- A spirited mass protest at the Los Angeles federal building tomorrow at noon will call on President Barack Obama and his newly seated Attorney General Eric Holder to end federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) raids on medical marijuana patients and providers. Several DEA raids have occurred since President Obama took office, the latest of which occurred yesterday in Los Angeles. Whether or not the raids are being led by Bush Administration officials, medical marijuana activists are urging an immediate end to such policies. Feb 032009
Medical Marijuana Advocates Urge New Attorney General to End DEA Raids - Americans for Safe Access
Washington, DC -- On the day that Eric Holder was sworn in as the next U.S. Attorney General, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) conducted raids on multiple medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles. No arrests were made, but typical of such raids, money and medical marijuana were seized from the facility. Advocates are urging the new head of the Department of Justice to respect existing medical marijuana laws and end federal raids in California and other states. Jan 222009
DEA Raids Dispensary, Exploits Transition as President Obama Takes Office - Americans for Safe Access
Oakland, CA -- The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) raided a medical marijuana dispensary today in South Lake Tahoe, California, in the first days of the new Obama Administration. Even though President Barack Obama had made repeated promises during his election campaign to end federal raids in medical marijuana states, many high-ranking Bush Administration officials have yet to leave office.State Advocacy Resources
