At San Francisco's Wharf, a Fight for Medical Marijuana Ensues (San Fran. goes NIMBY)

ABC News: At San Francisco's Wharf, a Fight for Medical Marijuana Ensues

July 25, 2006 — San Francisco has more cannibus clubs — the dispensaries
of marijuana for the medical treatment of the nasty side effects of
chemotherapy, glaucoma or AIDS — than any other city in the nation.

Yet, that doesn't mean cannabis clubs make welcome neighbors, even in
bluest of the blue San Francisco, a city that prides itself on being
tolerant of almost every lifestyle.

(snip)

But the reality of the program is apparently harsher than the notion.
However accepting San Francisco may consider itself to be, the city
may also be showing standard-issue NIMBYism.

(snip)

Ten years ago, 56 percent of Californian voters supported Proposition
215, legalizing medical use of marijuana. But just try to find a
Californian today who wants a marijuana store in his neighborhood.

Your sourceless assertion:

1. the Feds have been known to bust people who grow it in any sort of large scale measure that would drive down prices.

Your bizarre subsequent attempt at a proof:

2. my Department is aware of other recent DEA-initiated raids involving as few as six marijuana plants in which no charges were ever filed

Can you say non sequitur?

Some more of my 'sourceless accusations.'

http://www.ndsn.org/mayjun97/potraid.html

Federal narcotics agents raided Flower Therapy, a San Francisco medical marijuana outlet, on April 21, seizing 331 marijuana plants and growing equipment (Bill Wallace, "Federal Raid On S.F. Grower Of Medical Pot," San Francisco Chronicle, April 22, 1997, p. A1; Maria L. La Ganga, "DEA Agents Raid Marijuana Club," Los Angeles Times (Washington Edition), April 22, 1997, p. B3).

http://www.safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=670

The DEA arrested Prop 215 patients Gary and Anna Barrett yesterday on a federal grand jury indictment for marijuana cultivation. The Barretts had been involved in a series of marijuana cultivation cases in state court, the most recent of which was dismissed by a San Bernardino County Superior Court judge on May 9th. The court had ruled that the Barretts were "legitimate medical marijuana users under the Compassionate Use Act and entitled to grow the marijuana they were growing." The Barretts' attorney, Daniel Halpern of San Jose, accused county law enforcement officials of conspiring to hand over the Barretts' case to the feds in order to get a conviction. The grand jury charged the Barretts with three different marijuana grows, one in San Luis Obispo County with an alleged 550 plants in 2001, and two subsequent gardens in San Bernardino County (134 plants and 34 plants) in 2002-3.

http://www.420.com/ht/news/content.php?bid=979&aid=10

Investigators raided a sprawling pot farm Wednesday in northwest Lake County, seizing 20,000 marijuana plants grown in open view of passing motorists on Highway 20. The farm, owned by a well-known medical marijuana activist with a penchant for pushing the boundaries of California's drug laws, would have yielded a crop worth more than $80 million when it matured this fall, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman Richard Meyer said.

While your intent is admirable, the price of drugs would plummet as they were legalized which would reduce the amount of tax revenue the government could capture. Crime is a little trickier than you make it out to be. IMO net crime would reduce, however their would be marked increases in certain types of crime probably mostly misdemeanors. I would think that we would trade murder and drug trafficking for DUI, drunk and disorderly, and the like. Especially up front.

This makes me think that the government would mostly lose out on making drugs legal. They've acquired police-state powers and been able to finance small armies to fight the WOT through acquistioning enough taxes from citizens to do so. That's a lot of money. If those forces were suddenly made obsolete by legalization? Doubt we'll see anyone want to give up that power. Gonna be tough to justify said expenditures for jaywalking. Then you have all of the bribery and massive profit of the current black market. I think the legalizers have a bigger battle ahead of them than they realize.

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