by the El Reportero staff
A group of patients, cooperatives and property owners have filed suit against the federal government, looking to stop the apparent statewide crackdown on medical marijuana.
The lawyers who represent the coalition, have introduced the law suit simultaneously in three federal districts of California; San Francisco, Sacramento and Los Angeles. This action, they allege, is a response to threats of forfeiture of property and criminal prosecution that U.S. Attorney Eric Holder and other four government attorneys have made to tenants and landlords of buildings where cannabis cooperatives work legally.
Briana Bilbray, a cancer survivor from the San Diego area, said “Not only is the U.S. Attorney infringing on my right as a California resident to obtain the medicine I need, but she is punishing me by making it more difficult to get the one thing I really need as a patient.” “It is one of the worst feelings imaginable.”
Speaking at a press conference Monday, Matthew Kumin, one of the attorneys suing the U.S. Government, said the people of California are going to fight back. “This is multipronged, organized effort to get into court and to send a message to the federal government that we need to stop the aggression and sit down and talk reasonably about these issues,” Kumin said.
Oakland police says the are the 99%
The Oakland Police Officer’s Association, an institution that represents 645 officers, posted an open letter on their website on November 1st, stating, that as the people camping at the Frank Ogawa plaza, they are also the 99%. “We are fighting for better working conditions, fair treatment and the ability to provide a living for our children and families” the letter says.
The group also shares its confusion for the decisions taken by Mayor Jean Quan regarding the Occupy Oakland movement, that camps in the Frank Ogawa Plaza since last September.
The statement says “on Tuesday, October 25th, we were ordered by Mayor Quan to clear out the encampments at Frank Ogawa Plaza and to keep protesters out of the Plaza … then, on Wednesday, October 26th, the Mayor allowed protesters back in – to camp out at the very place they were evacuated from the day before.”
For the Officer’s Association, this is not only confusing, but also a sign of bad decision making and a waste of resources. “Last week’s events (Oct. 25 raid) alone cost Oakland taxpayers over $1 million.”
The open letter also says no officers were allowed to take the day off on November 2nd, the day of the general strike. That decision, the statement notices, is “costing hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars – at a time when the Mayor is also asking Oakland residents to vote on an $80 parcel tax to bail out the City’s failing finances.”
