Feds Action, Recent Busts Indicate Government Crackdown on Patients
http://www.norml.org
NORML News Release - October 4, 2001
Cool, CA: Federal agents raided the
offices of the California Medical Research Center in El Dorado County Friday,
seizing 32 marijuana plants and thousands of medical records from club
members. Club proprietors Dr. Marion Fry and her husband, attorney Dale
Schafer, were not arrested in the raid. The bust marks the first time federal
agents have targeted a state medical marijuana facility since voters legalized
the possession and cultivation of medicinal cannabis in 1996, and comes
only weeks after newly-appointed DEA Director Asa Hutchinson announced
that any use of marijuana as a medicine "is a violation of federal law
... [and we're] not going to tolerate a violation of the law."
NORML Foundation Legal Director Donna
Shea strongly criticized the raid. "In addition to violating the rights
of Californians to set their own public health policy, the DEA has seized
records that are protected by attorney/client and doctor/patient privilege,"
she said.
In a similar event, DEA agents recently
seized more than 200 plants from a medicinal pot farm outside of Los Angeles,
the L.A. Times reported. No arrests were made. The marijuana was destined
for patients at the Los Angeles Cannabis Resource Cooperative, the paper
said.
In a separate case, the director
of the Salmon Creek Cannabis Cooperative in Humbolt County is facing federal
charges after police seized the club's 200 plants. California NORML Coordinator
Dale Gieringer called the decision to prosecute the case federally "highly
unusual" since the federal government typically involves itself only in
pot cases averaging 1,000 or more plants.
"We can only hope these actions do
not represent a new federal initiative to override the will of the voters
in California," NORML Director Keith Stroup said.
For more information, please contact
Donna Shea, NORML Foundation Legal Director, at (202) 483-8751 or California
NORML Coordinator Dale Gieringer at (415) 563-5858.
1001 Connecticut Ave, NW - Ste 710
- Washington, DC 20036
Tel. 202.483.8751 - Fax 202.483.0057
- E-mail foundation@norml.org - Internet
Cool, CA. DEA agents raided
the office and home of Dr. Marion Fry and her attorney husband, Dale Schafer,
directors of the California Medical Research Center in El Dorado County,
Cal.
The Center provides both medical
and legal consultations for over 5,000 Prop. 215 patients in California.
According to Schafer, all of the center's patient records were seized,
but were sealed by order of a federal magistrate since they contain privileged
attorney-client information.
The agents also destroyed 32 marijuana
plants that were for personal use by Dr. Fry, who is herself a cancer patient.
Dr. Fry and her 14-year old son were forced to the ground and handcuffed
for several hours before being released.
No charges have been filed yet.
This marks the first case in which
federal agents have physically raided a physician or medical cannabis center
in California. Other centers have been investigated covertly or attacked
through court injunctions.
Many observers had been expecting
the raid since the DEA had been investigating a nearby medical marijuana
cultivation case linked to former employees and patients of Dr. Fry.
Schafer says agents had been angered
to find that the Center was conducting a Prop 215 cultivation class, which
was infiltrated by two agents with forged recommendations from Dr. Tod
Mikuriya.
El Dorado County narcotics officers
told Schafer they would not have raided the center except for federal orders.
"We were trying our best to comply
with state law," said Schafer, "if the feds come in, that raises questions
of state's rights."
"This is so much bigger than medical
marijuana," said Dr. Fry, "The voters of California passed this law by
referendum and have every right to expect it would be respected."