MORE CIVIL ABUSE FROM THE DEA this story from Drug Policy Action Network

The DEA is yet again undermining state medical marijuana laws, this time raiding the house of a paraplegic medical marijuana patient in New Mexico and threatening to prosecute him in federal court. While the patient is protected from prosecution under state law, there are no protections for medical marijuana patients under federal law. To make matters worse, federal agencies are blocking the FDA from even considering marijuana's medical benefits. I urge you to change that.

On August 28th agents of the Pecos Valley Drug Task Force in conjunction with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration searched the home of Leonard French, a paraplegic man who lost the use of both of his legs in a motorcycle accident. Mr. French suffers chronic pain and muscle spasms due to a spinal cord injury, and qualified as a medical marijuana patient under the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act state law that passed earlier this year. Medical marijuana offers him relief with fewer side effects than other pharmaceuticals he's tried. He is licensed by the New Mexico Department of Health to possess and use marijuana to alleviate his conditions.

This is only the DEA's latest attack on the right of states to take care of their citizens in need. It's also only the latest scandal to be connected to federally-funded regional narcotics taskforces. From the wrongful conviction of dozens of people in Tulia, Texas to the harassment of music lovers in Flint, Michigan, these taskforces are at the center of some of our country's worst civil rights abuses.

What You Should Do:

1) Sign Representatives John Olver and Dana Rohrabacher's Congressional Sign-on letter to DEA in support of Professor Lyle Craker's application for a Schedule I license to produce research-grade marijuana for FDA-approved clinical studies at the University of Massachusetts. The deadline for signing on is September 7th.

2) Support legislation that protects medical marijuana patients from arrest, and re-direct federal law enforcement resources towards violent drug cartels.

3) Reform the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program and other federal law enforcement grant programs to reduce civil rights abuses and focus local police on violent crime.

 

If you live in the US i would urge you to click on the Drug Policy Alliance sign  below and let your views be known, you'll find a form you can send to your Senator and Representatives there