ENFORCEMENT OR HARASSMENT?

Raid On Legal Medical Marijuana Farm Puts Feds At Odds With Prop. 215

The one-acre marijuana farm that Valerie and Michael Corral ran in Santa
Cruz County was exactly what California voters had in mind in 1996, when
they approved Proposition 215 and made it legal to use marijuana to treat
serious medical problems.

The Corrals worked closely with county law enforcement to make sure their
operation followed state law and existed only to serve patients who needed
cannabis to ease the symptoms of AIDS, cancer and other ailments.

The farm was no secret -- in fact, the Corrals have been in the forefront
of the medical marijuana movement for many years. So it came as a nasty
surprise when about a dozen U.S. Drug Enforcement Agents raided the farm
near Davenport Thursday. They hauled off 100 marijuana plants, along with
the Corrals. But the U.S. Attorney's Office declined to file charges
against them. The Corrals are back home -- but not the plants.

The DEA has been cracking down on medical marijuana distributors lately,
bolstered by the U.S. Supreme Court's refusal to allow "medical necessity"
as a defense against federal drug charges. The California Supreme Court
responded by upholding the right of seriously ill Californians to use
marijuana with a doctor's approval. The Corrals became the latest victims
of this conflict between federal law based on outmoded thinking, and state
law bolstered by research supporting the use of marijuana in treating
epilepsy, glaucoma and other diseases.

Federal law generally supersedes state law. But when federal prosecutors
refuse to press charges, it's legitimate to wonder whether "drug
enforcement" has descended to the level of harassment. There are plenty of
meth labs cooking away in the Central Valley if the DEA were truly
concerned about dangerous drugs.

The people have spoken -- not only in California, but in eight other states
that have legalized medical marijuana. The feds haven't listened.