By: Eugene Davidovich
Tuesday is an historic day for medical marijuana patients in San Diego. After years of heartfelt pleas by patients for aid in clarification of the law and numerous citizen requests for the re-establishment of a task force — in the face of public objections by San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, Mayor Jerry Sanders, Police Chief William Lansdowne and the County Board of Supervisors — the newly formed and long awaited San Diego Medical Marijuana Task Force will be appointed by the San Diego City Council Tuesday morning as a part of agenda Item-125 “Appointments to the Medical Marijuana Task Force. ”
It would have been next to impossible if not for the compassion and courage of Councilmember Marti Emerald in response to pleas by her constituents concerned about lawful access to medical marijuana.
On behalf of San Diego Chapter of Americans for Safe Access (San Diego ASA) as well as many medical cannabis patients around the city, I would like to extend a warm welcome to the new medical marijuana task force and my sincere thanks to each and every one of the members of the task force for volunteering their time to participate in this very important citizens’ committee. Their participation is history in the making and they should be very proud of their work which will create a safer environment for medical marijuana patients.
While the City Council attempts to make progress with the medical marijuana issue and find the solution, Dumanis has made it very clear to all that not only will she refuse to participate in the establishment of the task force, but she plans to undermine its legitimacy by influencing Sanders and Lansdowne away from participation. Dumanis’ hate of medical marijuana and her misrepresentation of the facts is an embarrassment to San Diego. Our district attorney goes on the news to say, like most San Diegans, she supports medical marijuana while her office at the same time is hanging up the phone and turning away patients who are calling and asking for help and clarification.
Instead of rationally sitting down with patients in a professional manner like the citizen’s committee is doing, Dumanis has rashly declared war on compassionate use. In fact, she plans to send a large portion of our narcotics officers to the upcoming “Medical Marijuana Eradication Luncheon.” The event is hosted by the notoriously uneducated California Narcotics Officers Association (CNOA), an organization commonly known to spread lies about medical marijuana, as proven in their now infamous “Marijuana is not Medicine” handout that San Diego narcotics officers receive as a part of their ‘medical’ training.
It is an absolute truth that patients deserve safe access to the medicine that helps them. They do not want their ailments and conditions questioned by the police or an overzealous district attorney. They do not want to be harassed, raided, humiliated, and prosecuted as a part of Operation Green Rx and Dumanis’ thirst for a higher conviction rate, political posturing and fierce fight against medical marijuana in San Diego.
Concerned citizens of San Diego will not tolerate this continued abuse of power. This Thursday, at 9 a.m. at the Federal Courthouse, patients, supporters and concerned citizens alike will gather and walk from the Federal Courthouse to Dumanis’ office to peacefully protest her continued bias driven fight against medical cannabis patients and her most recent round of raids on Sept. 9 of legitimate medical cannabis collectives. This latest round of Operation Green Rx included the arrest and federal indictment of James Stacy, a medical cannabis patient and member of Movement in Action Collective in Vista.
If you believe in the cause, come out and support James on Thursday as he faces Federal indictment and let your voices be heard. We as a community must unite in this struggle for safe access. San Diego is the front lines in the national fight to overturn Proposition 215 and the will of the people. The time is critical and the time is now. Take a day off from work, call in sick, do what you must to make it.
Read more: http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2009-10-06/news/eugene-davidovich-proving-my-medical-marijuana-case-11#ixzz0TBoAxMS9
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