6,800 Marijuana Plants Seized In Unprecedented Sweep In WA

[DreamSmoker]

Obama now has raised the stakes with Cannabis this week..
It has spread from California to Washington in just a couple of days..
The Feds have declared themselves as Gods and now are invading all the Medical Cannabis States to try and completely eradicate Cannabis and make any and all access impossible...
California appears to be the the first of the Medical Cannabis States to be invaded by Federal Agents.
Now Washington State is under attack by the Feds..
Totally defying the States, their laws, and the Voters who made Medical Cannabis accessible as well as turning face on all those he promised to not spend Federal resources to persecute..


Dozens of indoor marijuana growing operations were raided in Washington state Thursday in a sweep involving hundreds of agents. Investigators said Clark County is one of the biggest pot-growing regions on the West Coast.
Investigators said they expected to work into the night making more arrests.

Police said suspects would face charges of manufacturing marijuana, and could possibly be looking at federal charges as well.

"Operation Gang Green" began in 2009 as police became aware of a network of indoor marijuana grows, according to Clark and Skamania county deputies.

http://www.tokeofthetown.com/2011/10/6800_marijuana_plants_seized_in_unprecedented_raid.php

[RKP5637]

1. I never cease to be amazed at the priorities in this country. It's always one WTF after

another. All of the problems this country has and pot becomes a major priority. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

[stillwaiting]

42. Pot IS a problem to the people and industries that run our country though.

Pot is a BIG problem and a threat to their profit making abilities. Therefore, it can not be tolerated in "our" country.

We'll have to take this country away from those who control it before our "misplaced priorities" (which, in effect, are not misplaced for those
who are running our country) are directed to areas that the majority of us would like to address.

It is absolutely troublesome to see how those in power direct and prioritize resources, but it fails to amaze me. I completely expect this at this point in time, but I do understand your sentiment.

So sad, but things just might be getting interesting in this here country of ours. Here's hoping!!

[leveymg]

2. Great policy! Raises the profit margins for the Mexican cartels. That'll teach 'em.

Really, has there been anything more absurd since Hunter Thompson spiked the punch with acid at the Law Enforcement Officers Convention in Vegas or Grace Slick and her date Abbie Hoffman tried to dose Richard M. Nixon at the White House?

?ymlYTqADtWqwptdy

[RainDog]

10. this is a cartel that they busted. n/t

[Gregorian]

3. And deadly poisonous alcohol is legal. Go figure. This is not a democracy.

Sickening. Not to mention nicotine. If we can't make this legal, I don't see how we can accomplish the bigger things.

[cbayer]

4. Do you think there might be some significant differences between

what is happening to grow operations that are functioning within the law and this one?

http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2011/10/clark_county_cops_target_vietn.php

Clark County Cops Target Vietnamese Crime Ring With Largest Pot Raid Ever

[Dragonfli]

11. No that is an untenable argument I am afraid given the scope, nature and enthusiasm of the crackdown

There are also far too many instances where the IRS is being used to make even ordinary business expenses taxable in so many of the dispensaries that are in no way doing anything illegal according to state laws.

They are much more obviously looking for excuses (and even oppressing the majority that are completely blemish free in their efforts to conform to state laws while they are at it).

One can only carry so much water when the goals become obvious to even the casual observer, posting an outlier event that has an honorable purpose is like pointing to one grain of black sand in a white sand beach that is being carted off by an unending supply of tandem trucks.

one can carry a bucket of water out of loyalty perhaps, but the weight of hundreds of gallons may drown one in a quixotic attempt to move a lake and only makes one look desperate.

He either lied when campaigning or changed his mind to become a Rambo sized drug warrior somewhere along the way. Occam's razor, the simple explanation for all the Medical marijuana suppression makes far more sense to me.

[cbayer]

21. I don't think this case has anything to do with MMJ.

I have a kid. He is a grower and plays by the rules. I am very proud of him and want him to be able to legally expand his business.

These kinds of grow operations hurt him and hurt the move towards full legalization, imo.

If I am carrying water for anyone, it is him.

[Dragonfli]

25. That is welcome news, towards the end my wife could eat no other way, your kid is a hero

The truth still remains that this administration has become dangerous to medical marijuana users and growers.

I still feel it should be legalized everywhere, I had to make my dying wife and myself into criminals just to get her some relief and the ability to eat some food a few days a week, I live in NY you see. I can't blame anyone outside my state for that, but this attack on a medicinal plant even in legal states is cruel as all hell and it does appear to be a concerted effort on the part of Federal agencies.

[cbayer]

26. I am so sorry about your wife and totally with you on full legalization.

Possibly where we differ is in that I think we have the opportunity to get there by changing the law incrementally. And those that flagrantly break the laws that we have managed to get passed, hurt the overall movement towards the goal.

[RainDog]

31. your situation demonstrates why cannabis should be legal

people should be able to go to a pharmacy and purchase medical-grade cannabis for cancer patients, those with MS, CP, arthritis, etc. This medicine should not be taxed, since others aren't. alternately, people should be allowed to grow cannabis in their homes rather than go to a pharmacy. most people who are already dealing with illness would not choose to do this - or, rather, this would be an alternative but when people are sick, they should have access to the best medicines for them. 81% of the American people know this already.

it is the prohibition against cannabis for personal use, rather than medical use, that causes all these problems, however. if we did not have prohibition in place, people who need cannabis medicine could get it. it's so rational, it makes so much sense - you just have to wonder how stupid this nation will choose to be in order to continue a failed policy rather than admit that failure.

the conservative war on drugs is a failure.

the victims of this war on drugs include any patient that might benefit from medical cannabis.

[Uncle Joe]

5. What a ridiculous waste of time, energy and resources.

Thanks for the thread, Dreamsmoker.

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[SpiralHawk]

7. Your tax dollars at FAIL

[RainDog]

8. 56 residences but one organization

http://news.opb.org/article/least-43-arrested-6800-pot-plants-seized-huge-drug-bust/

according to this news report. just to clarify. the report at this link says all the busts are considered part of one group's business operations.

Washington state law on medical marijuana allows a caregiver to grow for another person. This caregiver is not allowed to consume the cannabis him or herself. Caregivers, or growers, are allowed to grow for only one person at a time.

As I hope is obvious, I support an end to the war on drugs in general and think cannabis should be legal.

These arrests are for a group that is acting beyond the law of the state as well as nation.

Obviously, the law needs to change.

[cbayer]

12. Agree and note that these kinds of grow operations hurt the cause and do not

help it at all.

[RainDog]

15. I don't know if they hurt the cause - the law is too stringent, imo

but this bust in houses was not individuals growing in houses - for themselves or others - and that's what I wanted to note. this is a large-scale, illegal action in the state of Washington, not just b/c of federal law, tho.

I don't think the busts help, honestly. I think they're bad for the Obama administration in many ways - because, imo, what he should be doing at this time is telling Holder to demand a hearing on rescheduling of cannabis. But these busts demonstrate he has no interest in coming down on the right side of this issue - that cannabis has medical value and should be rescheduled to indicate this. I mean, he's not going to follow up something like this with a call for a hearing, it would seem.

Since Obama said he was going to be on the side of science, I don't understand why he has not pressured the DEA to acknowledge the American Medical Asso's call for a rescheduling hearing and for a change in policy, basically, that would make it possible for scientists and doctors here to do much more research on cannabis - and to allow farmers to grow hemp, as well, since it gets tossed in with cannabis for personal or medical use.

This action is on the wrong side of "momentum" as well.

The trend at this time is for the idea of direct democracy to overcome the intransigence of powers-that-be that will not move beyond their actions that benefit the few rather than the many. Cannabis laws benefit the few. They target minorities. They ignore science. They ignore the overwhelming majority that does not view cannabis as the major law enforcement issue that the DEA does - since the majority of arrests are cannabis related.

This is another "low-hanging fruit" situation for law enforcement. By focusing on cannabis, they ignore real problems. Obviously, having an organization growing cannabis goes against the law - but that's because the law is too fucking stupid for words.

[fascisthunter]

9. fucked up dumbass backwards government we have

[tridim]

13. Obama supports legal MMJ, he doesn't support illegal MMJ.

You're blaming the wrong person.

[Warren DeMontague]

47. And what, precisely, constitutes "legal MMJ" on a Federal Level?

Answer: There's no such thing.

[AngkorWot]

14. Was this a medical marijuana grow op? Or an illicit grow op?

[RainDog]

17. illegal. Washington state law allows one person to grow for one person at a time.

it does not allow an organization to operate a grow with more than 50 houses involved.

[cbayer]

18. Unclear, but looking illicit

http://www.columbian.com/news/2011/oct/14/49-people-arrested-massive-drug-raid-appear-court/

Rulli told the judge the arrests were the culmination of a 2-1/2 year investigation of a network of people. A year of the group’s operation netted $10 million, she said.

As for the defendants, Rulli said: “They are pretty transient. Most of the places were not homes, but crash pads ... Most of them do not have legitimate jobs.”

Rulli said most defendants don't have long-standing ties to Clark County and originate from Seattle, Honolulu or California.

Of the 56 locations that investigators searched, most of the houses had between 100 and 300 plants, prosecutors said.

[RainDog]

19. no. I've noted the state law here. one person may grow for one person. that's it.

it is illegal to operate a commercial marijuana operation in the state of Washington.

[AngkorWot]

20. So then I should be upset at Obama over this because...

[cbayer]

23. Because he promised that unfettered cartels could run huge drug

operations in this country before the laws are changed?

:shrug:

[AngkorWot]

24. That son of a bitch!

I'm literally angry with rage!

[joshcryer]

27. $10 million. I know a guy who got $10-20k by growing in his large back yard.

It's the one of the worst rackets ever to exist in this country. The day it becomes illegal is a good day indeed, because all of those growers exploiting the black market situation will lose their massive profits.

[EdMaven]

32. you mean the day it becomes *legal* right?

[joshcryer]

33. OOPS! Yes, you are correct! Or "is no longer illegal." My bad, thanks.

[pintobean]

16. I don't know anything about the laws.

Is there a legal way to commercially produce cannabis in Washington?


Here's a gif I lifted off a blog today. I haven't used the stuff in about 30 years, but I thought some here might like it:

[meow mix]

22. worse than the last guy... more of obamas "change"

fail

[sarcasmo]

28. Did President Obama makes a speech saying he told the DEA to crack down on marijuana?

[RainDog]

30. this is a state action that began in 2009

and it came about b/c people who lived in neighborhoods where the grow houses were located called police to report on the activity.

Toke of the Town created a post that SEVERELY misrepresents what is going on. I'm for legalization - but I am against this sort of agit-prop that doesn't make it clear that this case was about a grow by one organization, not individuals, that the grow violated STATE law, not just federal law, and that the bust came after two years of of a STATE investigation.

when state law enforcement is dealing with an issue like this and the growers, after a two year investigation, are shown to also be operating across state lines - a federal violation - federal law enforcement is a part of that investigation.

[sarcasmo]

34. They are shutting down the medical marijuana places here in Michigan.

We voted for legalization last election 60-40 and now they shut them down. I still think big Pharma is coming out with a THC pill soon.

[RainDog]

35. state legislators have tried to stop implementation of the law in every state

Arizona had to vote 3 times (!!) to get their legislature to stop hindering enactment of the law.

D.C. had to wait 13 years (!!) to get Congress to appropriate funds to enact their mmj laws.

Honestly, you do have to wonder who is paying off legislatures across state lines, who is lobbying to fund the DEA and the WoD (tho we do know the beer lobby has chipped in money against Prop 19 and to make sure alcohol was not included in the DARE crap) and WHY pols spent decades trying to suppress research on cannabis in the U.S.

as far as pharma cannabis - a THC pill already exists. marinol. what's in the works and what's legal now for MS in 4 countries is Sativex - whole plant cannabis as a liquified spray. G.S. Pharmaceuticals wants to sell this in the U.S. - they've stated their plan is to grow the cannabis in Japan.

Another example of corporate offshoring...

[court jester]

37. The US Gov is protecting their patent, they hold a patent on cannabinoids

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=6630507.PN.&OS=PN/6630507&RS=PN/6630507

Cannabinoids as antioxidants and neuroprotectants
United States Patent 6,630,507
Hampson ,et al. October 7, 2003

The Significance of US Govt Cannabinoid Patent 6,630,507

http://stopthedrugwar.org/speakeasy/2008/jul/23/significance_us_govt_cannabinoid

"So, why is this important? Here is a legal document, in the public domain, which flies in the face of the US Government's stated position with regard to the classification of cannabis as a Schedule I substance having no "currently accepted medical use". Believe me, citing this patent stops the "medical marijuana is a myth" advocates dead in their tracks. They simply cannot argue with it. The forces that would keep cannabis illegal are vocal and well funded, but they are not impervious to persistent effort. The lynch pin in the War on Drugs is cannabis. Without the suppression and interdiction of this popular and widely used substance, there simply would not be enough "illegal drug use" going on to justify the huge amount of money and resources spent on "fighting drugs..."

Many people do not seem to understand the significance of this patent...

If there were Real Reporters out there, at the next press conference little Jay Carney would be asked something like this:

"If the US Government maintains that there is no medical use for Marijuana, why does the US Government hold patents on cannabinoids? Hmmmm?"

but there are few of those left...

I'm going to keep posting this in the hopes that the importance of it will start to sink in... But I'm not placing any bets

[RainDog]

40. would a patent by the U.S. govt prevent a patent by a corporation?

or, if the govt wanted to control who could create therapeutic cannabis drugs - would this patent allow them to do so?

I agree with you - this existence of this patent is enough to demand that the U.S. govt. reschedule cannabis IMMEDIATELY - just do it. No need for hearings. The evidence is here that they know this is not a schedule I substance.

[RainDog]

41. btw, here's a direct link to the patent claim

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=6630507.PN.&OS=PN/6630507&RS=PN/6630507

[RainDog]

43. upon reading this, and reading about patents

the patents are made by the U.S. govt. on behalf of various people.

A patent is an intellectual property right granted by the Government of the United States of America to an inventor “to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling the invention throughout the United States or importing the invention into the United States” for a limited time in exchange for public disclosure of the invention when the patent is granted.

This right was established over 200 years ago in Article 1, Section 8 of the United States Constitution: “To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.”

for instance - this one - http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2Fsearch-adv.htm&r=4&f=G&l=50&d=PALL&S1=6630507.UREF.&OS=ref/6630507&RS=REF/6630507

If you look at the patent claim (and others, there are quite a few), they are listed in this way:

United States Patent 7,285,687
Martin , et al.

The inventors, in turn, have the patent assigned to an agency. In this case, it's a university and a company that is part of the research group, most likely.

Inventors: Martin; Billy R. (Richmond, VA), Razdan; Raj K. (Gloucester, MA)
Assignee: Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond, VA)
Organix Inc. (Woburn, MA)

Martin, et al hold the patent, not the govt. The patent is for a method of treatment using cannabinoids that are suspended and transmitted via a pill, spray or lozenge (as noted in the patent) - I'm not versed in the language of patent science and cannot tell if the patent is making the claim that the cannibinoids are synthesized - i.e. something like marinol rather than the naturally occurring plant cannabinoid.

HOWEVER - I can read this and see that the U.S. does not HOLD the patent. The U.S. has GIVEN the patent to a group of people - but, most importantly - it has given them to these people based upon the acceptance of the reality that cannabinoids have therapeutic value - which means that cannabis has therapeutic value.

In other words, yes, this is evidence that the U.S. govt. continues to lie to the American people and claim there is no medical benefit from cannabis - which is what happened in July of this year. A week or so after this announcement, the federal govt also released a statement saying that there is *some* medical value from cannabis - but not whole plant cannabis.

In other words, they lied and then lied again - but the second lie was to make it okay for a pharmaceutical version of cannabis to be sold in the U.S. while the whole-plant could be treated as a threat to society.

in other words, it's what we have known for a long time - cannabis has medical value and the govt is lying about this and WASTING BILLIONS of DOLLARS to fight to make this substance unavailable to anyone who does not obtain it from those who curry favor with the U.S. govt.

This is really disgusting.

There is nothing of value to be had in this nation from this war on drugs. It is a DISGRACE to anyone who participates in its continuation. it's playing politics with people's lives. EVERYONE who is involved in continuing this prohibition on cannabis should be ASHAMED of themselves for putting profit over pain and suffering of the people of this nation. It's a "let them eat cake" moment from the federal govt. - We don't care if people can benefit from a relatively inexpensive herbal medication - we have friends who can make money off this.

[pokerfan]

29. Thanks Obama!

:sarcasm:

[red dog 1]

36. Another Broken Promise!

New York Times...March 18, 2009

"Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. on Wednesday outlined a shift in the enforcement of federal drug laws, saying the administration would effectively end the Bush administration's frequent raids on distributors of medical marijuana.
Speaking with reporters, Mr Holder provided few specifics but said the Justice Department's enforcement policy would now be restricted to traffickers who falsely masqueraded as medical dispensaries and use medical marijuana laws as a shield"
http://www.newyorktimes.com2009/13/09/us/19holder.html/

[pokerfan]

45. Medical Marijuana Policies Now Worse Than Bush

Obama has not only broken his campaign promises about medical marijuana, his policies are now worse than Clinton or Bush.

When originally asked as a candidate his stand on the issue of medical marijuana, President Obama had pledged not to be “using Justice Department resources to try to circumvent state laws on this issue”.

Today, four US Attorneys from the Obama Administration’s Department of Justice announced plans to “outline actions targeting the sale, distribution and cultivation of marijuana.” Sixteen dispensary owners in California have received letters giving them 45 days to shut down before the federal government shuts them down and seizes their assets

The Obama Administration’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has openly declared that the mere act of registering to use medical marijuana in accordance with state law is reason to suspend a citizen’s Second Amendment rights.

Additionally, President Obama has been using the resources of other federal departments to circumvent state laws on medical marijuana.

The Obama Administration’s Internal Revenue Service has ruled that medical marijuana dispensaries cannot deduct common business expenses, a move that cripples the ability of any business to remain viable.

More: http://www.cannabisculture.com/v2/content/2011/10/13/Obama-Administration-s-Medical-Marijuana-Policies-Now-Worse-Bush-and-Clinton-Poli

[Warren DeMontague]

38. WOOO HOOOO!! YIPPPEEEEEE!!!!! HOOOOORAY!!!

:eyes:

[thelordofhell]

39. 6,800 Marijuana Plants Seized in WA

that only works out to .000000002% of the Marijuana plants in WA

[SixthSense]

44. what cannot be done legally

will be done the (now-) old-fashioned way... black market

after 3 generations of this BS it is easier for many people to pick up some pot than it is to get a prescription painkiller

and for kids, easier to get pot than it is to get a beer

[Odin2005]

46. The Obama Administration supports Medical Marijuana.

:sarcasm: