San Francisco Resists Medical Marijuana Raids

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration touched off a firestorm of protest in San Francisco this week when DEA agents raided a medical marijuana club and arrested three medical marijuana activists. An arrest warrant has been issued for a fourth activist who is currently in Canada and may seek political asylum there if the U.S. attempts to extradite him.

The arrests underscore the ongoing conflict between federal and state laws which regulate medical marijuana in the U.S. The federal Controlled Substances Act prohibits the growing and consumption of marijuana. But California's Compassionate Use Act (Proposition 215) permits seriously ill patients to consume marijuana for medical purposes and allows marijuana plants to be grown for medicinal use. Eight U.S. states have passed medical marijuana laws.

The San Francisco DEA operation took place on Feb. 12, the same day as President George W. Bush unveiled his administration's new anti-drug strategy aimed at cutting use of illegal drugs by 10 percent over two years and 25 percent over five years. Top DEA official Asa Hutchinson was heckled by audience members when he outlined the government's anti-drug agenda during a speech in San Francisco later that evening.

San Francisco has declared itself a sanctuary for patients who use marijuana to treat the symptoms of serious ailments such as glaucoma, AIDS and cancer. Hutchinson was condemned by city officials and San Francisco District Attorney Terence Hallinan, who supports medical cannabis. "The voters should be outraged," Hallinan told a crowd of chanting protesters gathered outside the hall where Hutchinson spoke. "This is the federal government trying to make a point in opposition to the voters of California."

The raided medical marijuana club, known as the "Harm Reduction Center," is one of approximately 30 such clubs in the San Francisco Bay Area, which is the center of the medical marijuana movement in the U.S. A temporary injunction against another Bay Area club, the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative (OCBC), was reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court last year. The court determined that the club could not use a "medical necessity defense," but it chose not to address constitutional issues. Robert Raich, an attorney for the OCBC, has filed a motion in U.S. District Court to dissolve or modify the preliminary injunction against the club based partly on a federalist interpretation of states rights.

San Francisco city supervisor Mark Leno said he spoke with Hutchinson the day after the arrests and expressed his concern about the DEA operation. Leno says he is authoring a resolution to put before the board of supervisors on Feb. 18 urging the DEA to reconsider their action and "refamiliarize" themselves with the city's medical cannabis identification card program. He says the government should focus on the more serious problems of heroin, cocaine and crack instead of targeting medical marijuana.

"I believe this to be a direct assault on the public health of San Francisco as well as a direct assault on the voters of California, who by nearly 70 percent approved Prop. 215 in 1996, allowing for the compassionate use of medical cannabis," said Leno. "Our city, including the board of supervisors, mayor, city attorney, district attorney and law enforcement will continue to support the right of every patient to safe and affordable medical cannabis."

Hutchinson told his San Francisco audience that the DEA is compelled to follow federal drug laws which are set by Congress. Richard Meyer, a spokesperson for the DEA San Francisco Field Division, noted that under the Controlled Substances Act, marijuana is classified as a Schedule One substance with no medicinal value and high potential for abuse. Meyer said the investigation did not initially target the marijuana clubs, but was focused on marijuana trafficking and smuggling.