WOW Herrsticks, you are absolutely ignorant of the Law, The Federal Constitution and the State Constitution. Did you go through the police academy, because it sounds like that is where you got your wrong information from.
Marijuana and Cannabis News
 |
| Photo: Mike Brookbank/Detroit Free Press |
| DEA agents, assisted by Oakland County Sheriff's Department officers, raided Caregivers of America, a medical marijuana dispensary in Walled Lake Michigan, early Tuesday morning. |
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents searched Caregivers of America, a medical marijuana dispensary in Walled Lake, a home in Commerce Township and an office building in Novi, at about 7 a.m., reports Elisa Anderson and Mike Brookbank at the Detroit Free Press.
Sealed federal search warrants were executed at all three locations, according to DEA Group Supervisor Andrew Eiseman. Few other details were released.
Eiseman would not say why the warrants were issued, whether any arrests were made, or whether the raids were connected.
 |
| Photo: The Macomb Daily |
The raided home is owned by Romel and Ban Casab, according to the Oakland County Assessor's Office.
A neighbor across the street from the home said she first saw agents at the home just after 7 a.m. on Tuesday. Two cars were seized and taken away, according to Annette Winberg, 66.
About 10 agents were at the home Tuesday morning, with four or five cars, with a Free Press reporter arrived.
The medical marijuana dispensary at Walled Lake, located at 1020 Decker Road, is owned by a company called 1020 Decker LLC, according to assessor records. The tax assessor's office said it sends the company's tax bills to a suite at 45700 West 12 Mile Road in Novi. The DEA confirmed agents were also at the location on 12 Mile on Tuesday morning, executing a search warrant.
Bystanders at the Walled Lake location watched the raid, reports Karen Workman at the Oakland County Daily Tribune.
"We just saw somebody banging on the building trying to get it," said Tom West of Fastdecks, a concrete company across the street from the Walled Lake dispensary. West said people dressed in black wearing SWAT-type vests were at the building at 7:25 a.m.
"When I came in, [law enforcement officials] were standing shoulder-to-shoulder across the entire front of the building," said Joe, an employee of a nearby business who asked that his last name not be used. Joe said the officials were wearing bullet-proof vests.
The Oakland County Sheriff's office, led by notorious marijuana foe Michael Bouchard, who infamously said last year "This is Michigan, not some Cheech and Chong movie" in defending his harassment of medical marijuana providers, assisted the DEA in the raids.
Michigan voters overwhelmingly approved the legalization of marijuana for medicinal uses in 2008, but some dispensaries and growing operations have been raided. Law enforcement officials, reluctant to accept marijuana's new legal status, claim the law is poorly written. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is suing some Michigan cities over their anti-marijuana policies.
More links from around the web!
39 comments
It's obvious that there is no way to enforce Prohibition and regulate use. It's time to make a stronger stand. repealtoday.org is beginning to organize people to Repeal Marijuana Prohibition, go and get involved.
They have a good cause in putting up their organization. However,they should be regulated by the government to avoid drug abuse.
IT'S SPRING TIME MAN.......!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LET'S JUST FILL THE WOODS FULL ...WHO CARES THEY WILL NEVER GET IT ALL...MAKE THE ALREADY BROKE COUNTIES SPEND THAT MONEY FLYING CHOPPERS...AND WE WILL STILL HAVE PLENTY!!!!! THE GOV WHAT A JOKE...NOW GO GROW...LMAO...
As a Michigan MMJ Patient I have seen Caregivers of America's ads in local papers. They proclaim in the ad to have over 4,000 plants of site. Thats in their ads. They were renting "Rooms" to those who are able to grown under the law. It was mentioned in one of the stories by the local Detroit papers that also raided a second operation in Wayne County where they were doing the same thing as far as renting sites go. I have no idea to how many caregivers were growing in those places but I'm thinking they don't have the numbers to have that many plants. Besides isn't that what got Eddie Lepp out in California? It's sad that those who really get hurt in all of this is the patients. Those who were renting those spaces now have nothing.
"legal" weed is only legal at a state level. The federal gov. can raid any marijuana dispensary they want because they are technically 'illegal' because the federal gov. didnt legalize it
dispensaries are not mentioned in the law. obama stated, those in compliance with state laws and guidelines would not be bothered by the DEA. without dispensaries and collective grows being mentioned in the state law, they are viewed upon as not being compliant. if our state government would get off their back sides and give some clarification on the "gray areas" it is going to be a trial and error until these cases get pushed to the fore front. unfortunately it will take deep pockets and time for this to get addressed by the powers that be!
I thought that dispensaries that were complying with State laws were not suppose to be trifled with, according to Obama.
the problem is, dispensaries are not mentioned in the michigan law. if i were to guess, i would say they are pushing the patient to patient transfer piece. but who knows. like i mentioned before, the law is pretty simple to get if you are not looking for a angle!
has anyone thought, maybe this guy was doing something wrong and was not following the law? every one wants to bash the 5-0 but honestly, if the guy was not following the law, he is subject to the feds, leo and anyone else who wants a piece of him. the law is pretty straight forward to me! patient, caregiver, 5 patients per caregiver, 12 plants per patient, 2.5 oz. usable marijuana per patient, don't drive or operate a motorized whatever and don't smoke in public places or somewhere it isn't accepted! stop assuming and listen to the facts that come out. I will take all bets that this guy doesn't come out squeaking clean. the over under on convictions is 2 and one will be a felony that will stick!
Ive actually done my best to research this.I have read the local newspapers and talked to some friends i have living in Oakland county.
According to the local reports and my friends living there(taken with a grain of salt)The dispensary in question was not violating state laws.While that gives them protection from the State Leos and local leos, it does not protect them from the DEA (who conducted this raid)
The only protection patients, caregivers, growers, and dispensaries have from the DEA is a the flimsy and oft ignored statement/ promise by president Obama that and i quote "As long as the MMJ industry abides by their respective state laws they should not be pursued by the DEA"
Obviously his statement and promise was nothing more than hot air, as the DEA continues to raid state sanctioned and law abiding (state law) dispensaries and patients.
dispensaries are not mentioned in the law. and i also have been following the story and every news program i have seen specifically said, the DEA are going after large scale operations. I personally believe there was some shady stuff going on with this operations. don't get me wrong, i believe the leo and DEA are sticking there noses where it doesn't belong and as a patient myself, i understand the looks and opinions of others get push on us law abiding citizens who have opted for this type of treatment for whatever issues one has. but, if the laws are not being followed, you should be held accountable for your actions! you ready to take that bet from my previous note? lol I really find it funny that the DEA seized a pontoon boat filled with marijuana in ann arbor a couple of weeks ago, the hash bash was last week, and now they go after this operation. just seems funny to me! maybe just looking into this to far!
oh look another promise by Obama broken.
what happened to "The federal government will no longer pursue marijuana offenses as long as the offenders are abiding by their states laws" Mr.Obama? you said that, yes you did. Every time something like this happens you just look like a liar and a douche.
Honestly its hilarious. Obama really figured out the american way. Say one thing, do another.
THESE PIGS NEED TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THERE ACTIONS AGAINST THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN! SOMEONE NEEDS TO STEP UP AND SUE!
How about we simply fire the federal government and take the country back from those who think they "RUN" the people?
Sad that so many thought that Obama and Democrats were the answer to the bullying we've gotten from the Repubs over this issue. What an eye-opener it's been seeing that BOTH political parties are only interested in their own power trips and NOT in our liberties. We should all be looking for truly patriotic, liberty-loving candidates in 2012 to lead us out of this mess. We need to find people who will support our right to pursue happiness without forcing their morality on us. We need to find candidates who will allow businesses to flourish but not collude with them and engage in illegal market-fixing like the Dems and Repubs have done with pharmaceutical companies and health insurance companies. P.S. I'd LOVE to be one who runs for office on the above-mentioned principles but I'm a felon convicted of possessing 82 grams of mj!
just wondering why did you have just under 3 pounds of marijuana on you.I fully support legalization. However the way you phrased your comment leads me to believe that you saw nothing wrong with possessing 3lbs?
You realize in order to ever get this legalized we need to show them pot is okay and those who use it wont be dicks about it. IE control your smoke, dont smoke in public, dont possess 3lbs.
to the average John and Jane Smith in suburbia who have kids when they hear 3lbs they think "drug dealer" regardless of the actual circumstance. Once you have been branded a drug dealer and the substance you peddle a drug it becomes very very hard to change that perception.
I want marijuana to be legalized, will it ever be fully legal? No, alcohol is not fully legal.Even if and when it becomes legalized or decriminalized i can guarantee you in our life time possessing 3lbs of marijuana will not be legal. Unless you are a dispensary or a caregiver with multiple patients.
Why would you care? I can buy 100 bottles of jack daniels in one night just for myself. Why do you care so much what substance someone uses and how much they want to have of it. I smoke 1/2 pound a month to myself, and the other guy drinks 10 cases of beer + 5 fifths a month, and with marijuana decriminalized more families stay together, less addicts of hard drugs, cuts out 1/2 the market and prices/crime all go down. Big brother is just mad they cant make money off every single user like alcohol. You need alot raw material and room to mass produce alcohol. I can support myself with just couple plants in a closet in my house and just need light/water..you do the math.
Thank you Plant down Babylon!! That's right, it was less than 3 ounces. @ Herrsticks: I DID control my smoke, I DIDN'T smoke in public (I was arrested in my house), and I WASN'T a dick about it as you so eloquently put it (I went quietly when they broke down my front door). Further, I DON'T see anything wrong with possessing three ounces, three pounds or three tons for that matter. It doesn't matter how much I have, it won't kill me or you or anyone. There were no scales, no cash, no baggies, no ledger books, no buyers, no sellers and not one FUCKING SHRED OF EVIDENCE pointing to the idea that I was dealing. This was about politics and the sheriffs, d.a. and judge working to maintain their jobs by showing as many felony convictions as they can and continuing the perception of themselves as hard-asses on crime. I'm not alone in this. Look at the prison population in this country and realize the U.S. has the highest rate of incarceration of any civilized country. We've been told it's for our own good but we ruin the lives of otherwise productive citizens with this inane war on drugs. Maybe if you stop acting like a pussy and get pissed off about the situation things will start to change. Otherwise keep thinking there's nothing that can be done, lay down and take it. I for one choose to stand up and fight. If I die doing so at least I will die with my boots on!! This is about liberty. Maximum freedom to do as we please coupled with maximum responsibility for our actions. John and Jane Smith have been made to believe that the gov't should be allowed to run their lives (medicaid/medicare/socialised medicine, food stamps, social security etc etc etc) and they should give up their liberties in exchange (high taxes, TSA groping us, police invading our homes trampling on the 4th amendment). The sad truth is this country has veered off course from the way it was intended to be. I'm going to push to change it and re-secure those freedoms. My point in my statement is that the fools we are guilty of electing are destroying this country from the inside out. My goal is to raise awareness among my fellow Americans so that we can return this country to a true land of liberty. Care to join the cause?
Also, alcohol may be distilled, beer may be brewed and wine may be fermented in the privacy of your home for the consumption of yourself and family and friends without a license. It shouldn't matter if I have one beer in my fridge or an entire brewery in my back yard.
wow, now that is a real waste of federal money. How about cutting the funding for that bullshit, everybody would be a lot better off, and happier.
while i agree the law should be changed, the amount of money seized and property forfeited and such covers literary <10% of the cost of these raids
sorry my computer had a "brain" fart and your comment was loaded as a repsonse to an other comment.
While yes it does depend on the raid for how much money is gained.However if you actually do some research before you make comments,The average cost to raid and subsequently prosecute something of this nature averages over 500k.you have dozens of agents making the arrests.the cost to house any defendantsthe cost to dispose of the marijuana after trialthe cost to pay for the trial (judge, jury, officials)
Fpr an idea of the cost of these raids look here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...
this statement makes no sense. Of course each raid is different, and each raid is entirely subjective.
However if you actually research this story the dispensary in question HAS NOT been citied or charged with any STATE level crimes. Its all federal.Which is EXACTLY what Obama said he did not want happening anymore.
I guess it all depends on each individual raid, now doesn't it?
What is there to prosecute when the FED's rarely bring charges in the majority of these types of raids? These are smash and grab jobs, plain and simple.
I hope Mr. Casab sues any local, county, or state Law Enforcement agencies that participated in this execution of Federal Law.
It is not the job of local, county, or state law enforcement to uphold Federal Law. Any agency that participates in such raids is opening itself up to some serious litigation.
Technically no they are not.Any local LEO(law enforcement officer) adhering to SOP(standard operating procedure) and participating a federally led raid by precedent are acting on the will and graces of the federal government and therefore not culpable for violating their states laws.
If this raid was led by the Sheriffs office or the Novi PD then there would be grounds for a lawsuit.
The federal government may not compel state law enforcement agents to enforce federal regulations. "[T]he Federal Government may neither issue directives requiring the States to address particular problems, nor command the State's officers, or those of their political subdivisions, to administer or enforce a federal regulatory program." In Printz v. United States, 521 U.S. 898, 935 (1997), a Montana Sheriff Jay Printz challenged the constitutionality of a federal handgun control scheme that required him and other local law enforcement officers to conduct background checks on prospective handgun buyers, ensuring that no handguns were illegally purchased. In invalidating the law, the Supreme Court stated that Congress cannot require state officers to enforce federal laws. Asserting that it was discovered early on by the framers of the Constitution that "using the states as the instruments of federal governance was both ineffectual and provocative of federal-state conflict," the Court said that "the Constitution [] contemplates that a State's government will represent and remain accountable to its own citizens."
State (and local) governments also have the right to be free from unwanted regulation imposed at the federal level. In New York v. United States, 505 U.S. 144, 166 (1992), the Court noted "we have always understood that even where Congress has the authority under the Constitution to pass laws requiring or prohibiting certain acts, it lacks the power directly to compel the States to require or prohibit those acts."
bust out your case law all you want. When a local police agency is "contracted" by the federal agency those local agents fall under the "federal umbrella" and are not subject to prosecution as long as they abide by the laws that apply to their federal handlers.Now does a federal angency HAVE to contract and have local leos present? No they do not. Its common courtesy and done as a cost spreading measure. This way your agents are not being funded by one sole source.
Feds do it all the time with state agencies, State agencies do it all the time with municipal agencies. Its common practice duder.
case law has no bearing on president Obamas clear directive to the DEA that was "stop pursuing MMJ users and dispensaries that abide by their respective state laws"
Please do bother. If you were "to bother" then your statement might actually be more than just a statement.At least i can back up my opinions and thoughts with quotes and information.You on the other hand say nothing of any substance.
PETH 73, YOU SIR ARE A RETARD. this war on MMJ industry has nothing to do with undocumented immigrants. If you know anything about the industry,you would know that this is about the Federal goverment not being able to control and make money from cannabis.
next time please do a little homework before you comment on something you have no idea about.
thx
I dosnt matter if the sheriffs department feels the law is poorly written, it is still a law and they must abide by it. He should be helping to enforce state law not violate it himself.
No matter how much he disagrees with the law, as sheriff he should have stood in the doorway blocking the feds, instead of helping them out.
well they had search warrents he cant technically block them.
Guys its S.O.P(standard operating procedure) to being local LEO's(law enforcement officers) with you a site. 8 times of 10 local leos are present, 9 out of 10 times they are informed of the bust.
The sheriff while a douche, did not help nor could he have hindered the busts.The DEA had a warrant, they were going inside no matter what.The Sheriff cannot stop a federal raid, nor would participating in it make any difference as to its outcome.Stop being ignorant!
Why are you guys getting so caught up in the sheriff being present when its technically his job and he had little choice(some one from the sheriffs dept needed to be present).Stop being ignorant!
The real issue here is that our president, the CEO of the US Gov. clearly stated "Federal agencies will not pursue marijuana offenses solely on the federal level. Federal agencies will only pursue marijuana offenses that also violate their states law"
why don't they get illegal mexican immigrants off the streets and from bringing gangs and narcotics to our community and leave the legal pot growers alone. dick heads.
