Stephanie Bishop |
From left, activists Anthony Martinelli, Cydney Moore, Daniel Erdmann and Steve Phun protest at the Federal Building in Seattle on Wednesday |
About 40 medical marijuana patients were stirred into action on Wednesday, protesting at the Federal Building in Seattle after Tuesday’s raids by the federal government on dispensaries across Western Washington.
“I can’t tell you how wonderful it was to see over 40 committed activists in the cold and rain in front of the Federal Building today,” said activist Don Skakie of legalization effort Yes End Penalties Washington (YEP WA). “Forty might not seem like much to some, but they represent many who could not, weren’t able or were just plain too scared to show up to defend our rights and tell the Feds to back off.”
One of those patients, 28-year-old Juliana Plemitscher, who treats her epilepsy with cannabis, said she wouldn’t normally join a public protest against marijuana laws outside the Federal Building, reports Scott Gutierrez at the Seattle P.I.
“It never really occurred to me to get involved in something like this, but when it was Seattle Cross that got shut down — those were good guys,” Plemitscher said. “It makes it kind of personal.”