tagged w/ DEA
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During his run for the presidency, Barack Obama instilled hope in medical marijuana supporters by pledging to respect state laws on the matter. And for the first two years of his term, he was generally faithful to his promise. Yet suddenly, and with no logical explanation, over the past eight months he has become arguably the worst president in U.S. history regarding medical marijuana.During his run for the presidency, Barack Obama instilled hope in medical marijuana... more
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Eighty-eight-year-old retired metallurgist Bob Wallace is a self-described tinkerer, but he hardly thinks of himself as the Thomas Edison of the illegal drug world.
He has nothing to hide. His product is packaged by hand in a cluttered Saratoga garage. It's stored in a garden shed in the backyard. The whole operation is guarded by an aged, congenial dog named Buddy.
But federal and state drug enforcement agents are coming down hard on Wallace's humble homemade solution, which he concocted to help backpackers purify water.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and state regulators say druggies can use the single ingredient in his "Polar Pure" water purifier -- iodine -- to make crystal meth.
Wallace says federal and state agents have effectively put him out of business, because authorities won't clear the way for him to buy or sell the iodine he needs for his purification bottles. He has been rejected for a state permit by the Department of Justice and is scheduled to appeal his case before an administrative judge in Sacramento next month.
Meanwhile, the exasperated Stanford University-educated engineer and his 85-year-old girlfriend said the government -- in its zeal to clamp down on meth labs -- has instead stopped hikers, flood victims and others from protecting themselves against a bad case of the runs.
Collateral damage
"This old couple, barely surviving old farts, and we're supposed
to be meth dealers? This is just plain stupid," Wallace said, as he sat in the nerve center of his not-so-clandestine compound surrounded by contoured hiking maps, periodic tables and the prototypes of metal snowshoes he invented a few years ago. "These are the same knotheads that make you take your shoes off in the airport."
When asked about Wallace, the DEA -- which, in all fairness, does not provide security in airports -- responded in an email that some investigations revealed that methamphetamine labs were using Polar Pure.
"Methamphetamine is an insidious drug that causes enormous collateral damage," wrote Barbara Carreno, a DEA spokeswoman. "If Mr. Wallace is no longer in business he has perhaps become part of that collateral damage, for it was not a result of DEA regulations, but rather the selfish actions of criminal opportunists. Individuals that readily sacrifice human lives for money."
Wallace and his partner, Marjorie Ottenberg, came up with the idea about 30 years ago as they planned to scale the Popocatépetl volcano in Mexico.
Hoping to avoid Montezuma's revenge, Ottenberg, a chemist by trade, read an article in Backpacker magazine about two doctors who had been infected with Giardia and recommended treating water with crystalline iodine.
"We knew the water was questionable down there, so we stole their idea," Wallace said with an unapologetic grin.
So in 1983, the couple began selling their brown bottles with a small sprinkling of iodine crystals -- about a quarter of an ounce -- in the bottom.
Polar Pure was an instant, if modest, hit among backpackers and world travelers. It was effective, light and never expired, unlike many other products. One bottle can disinfect about 2,000 quarts of water.
But about four years ago, the DEA began to look closely at the product, even citing it in a position paper, and suggested that it was being used by cranksters as well as campers.
In 2007, federal regulations were passed strictly regulating the chemical. Wallace said the new rules mandated that he had to pay a $1,200 regulatory fee, get federal and state permits, keep track of exactly who was buying his product and report anyone suspicious.
Wallace ignored the fee. And if they wanted a list of his customers, he fumed, all they would get would be camping equipment store managers and wholesalers.
There have been two major spikes in demand for Polar Pure: One in 1999 on the eve of Y2K fears and another soon after the Japanese tsunami, when people were afraid that a radiation cloud would float across the Pacific and poison water. Wallace said he sold close to 24,000 bottles in his last few months of business at $6.50 a pop.
Special Agent Richard Camps, a San Jose-based state narcotics task force commander, said he received reports of suspicious buyers.
"Weird-looking people, 'Beavis and Butt-Head'-types, were coming into camping stores and buying everything they had on the shelves," Camps said. "Then they would take off into the mountains and try to cook meth with it." The DEA reported agents found Polar Pure at a meth lab they dismantled in Tennessee two years ago.
Seeking changes
At its height, Polar Pure was bringing in about $100,000 a year, Wallace said during an interview.
"We do?" Ottenberg said in surprise. "Why don't we go on more vacations?"
"Because we're too old to do anything any more," Wallace replied.
In May, his Oklahoma distributor -- warned by the DEA -- said he could no longer send Wallace iodine.
For Wallace to comply, the state Department of Justice fingerprinted the couple and told Wallace he needed to show them such things as a solid security system for his product. Wallace sent a photograph of Buddy sitting on the front porch.
"These guys don't go for my humor," Wallace said. "Cops are the most humorless knotheads on the planet." Even so, Marco Campagna, Wallace's lawyer, promised to strengthen security and make other improvements to allay the government's concerns.
Wallace is not against regulation per se, although he thinks the demand for a customer list is an invasion of privacy and a waste of time. He just feels that the feds should tweak the law to allow distributors to pay a reasonable fee: $10, for example.
Wallace does not live a Pablo Escobar-like life. He putters, invents and drives his 1978 Mercedes-Benz that runs on cooking oil to the De Anza College track, where he jogs a few times a week, barefoot. His "bling" consists of a tumbled collection of obsidian, limestone and mica in the backyard.
"Do I look like a mafia agent?" he said.
It's not so much the financial hardship, Wallace said. It's the irritation of being prevented by what he calls an over-restrictive government to do whatever his restless mind wants to do.
"What the (expletive) else am I going to do? I'm 88!" he said. "We have to do something."
Contact Sean Webby at 408-920-5003.
WHAT IS POLAR PURE?
Polar Pure contains a small sprinkling of iodine crystals, which disinfects water tainted with bacteria.
WHY DO DRUG AGENTS CARE ABOUT IT?
Federal drug agents suspected methamphetamine-makers were using the iodine to make drugs, and strict regulations on the chemical were approved.
WHAT does it all mean for WALLACE?
Wallace said the new rules ordered him to pay a fee, get permits, and keep track of buyers. But his iodine distributor -- warned by the DEA -- won't sell to him.
http://www.mercurynews.com/saratoga/ci_19385037Eighty-eight-year-old retired metallurgist Bob Wallace is a self-described tinkerer,... more
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Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Shampoo sold in the U.S. contains two hazardous ingredients—1,4-dioxane and quaternium-15—which are not found in the product sold to certain other countries. J&J’s “Naturals” brand also does not contain these ingredients, yet the company still claims they’re working on reformulating their Baby Shampoo “as quickly as we can safely and responsibly do so.”Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Shampoo sold in the U.S. contains two hazardous... more
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Washington, DC - A Congressional panel that’s searching for ways to save the crumbling US Postal Service has recommended that the agency increase its profits by becoming the nation’s narcotics distribution network.
With the Internet and e-mail devastating its lucrative first-class mail business, the post office needs to either expand into new areas or shut down entirely.
“We originally were debating whether to allow the Postal Service to deliver wine and beer,” said subcommittee chairman Jack Rackcall (R-Wyoming). “Then we realized, heck, why stop there when we can get higher?”… More…
To gain support for its controversial plan, the subcommittee has formed a political awareness organization called the Benefits Of Narcotics Group (BONG). Under the proposed Congressional plan, the BONG would replace the Drug Enforcement Administration, which has been losing the war on drugs since 1973.
“After spending some quality time with the BONG, we have concluded that it would be a simple task for the Postal Service to take over drug distribution from coast-to-coast,” Rackcall said.
“HBO has already done the research for us. All the Postal Service has to do is deliver. They have the trucks, and we need the bucks.”
But testimony heard later by the subcommittee indicated that the post office could have some trouble executing its narcotics distribution plan.
“I don’t know if youse gentlemen and ladies understand the idea of territory,” testified Vincent Gonaduce, president of the Genco Pura Olive Oil Company. “Think of it as a congressional district, only with cars that blow-up when you try to start them.”
Undeterred, Rackcall and his subcommittee are scrambling to find immediate solutions. It’s projected that USP will need to layoff 200,000 carriers or do away with Saturday mail delivery, unless additional revenue sources are discovered by the end of the year. Reportedly, 11 million vicious dogs have begun investigating new ways to spend their weekends.Washington, DC - A Congressional panel that’s searching for ways to save the... more
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A state-level criminal concealment by Colorado has left us in shambles. Our family was harassed 3-4 times a week by local snoops practicing on us and training on us with thermal and other high tech gear. On July 1st 1993 we were overrun by a mob that stayed for 3-days and nights and left us in a near coma for years and years, The never-ending story continues.A state-level criminal concealment by Colorado has left us in shambles. Our family was... more
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Remember when we were told that “legalization isn’t in the president’s vocabulary?”
Remember when Mr. Obama laughed off a suggestion that marijuana legalization could help the economy?
Remember when he emphatically stated he would not pursue a strategy of decriminalization of marijuana?
Yeah, we do, too.
So imagine our surprise at NORML to find an ad for President Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign nestled in the prime ad spot on our YouTube channel: NORMLtv
What’s the campaign strategy for the marijuana smoker vote, Mr. Obama? Keeping at the head of the DEA one of Mr. Bush’s administrators? Maintaining the Bush-era policy of raiding medical marijuana providers? Escalating numbers of marijuana arrests on your watch?
Or will it just be, “Look, you think I’m bad, imagine what happens if (fill in GOP nominee) wins! I just want to force pot smokers into costly rehab they don’t need on the threat of prison. (Fill in GOP nominee) wants to (fill in terrible threat we’re already experiencing now)!”
You want the absolute guaranteed votes of 90% of the 25 million American adults who use cannabis annually in America?
Convince Congress to pass and then you sign Barney Frank and Ron Paul’s Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act.
It doesn’t cost you anything. Marijuana is still illegal in all fifty states and 99% of all marijuana arrests take place at the state and local level. It just means marijuana is no longer a federal issue; states are free to set up any marijuana regulations they choose. The people in marijuana friendly states will support you more and the ones who hate pot still think you’re a secret Muslim agent from Kenya anyway.
Well, I take that back. Your contributors from Big Pharma might not like you endorsing the competition.Remember when we were told that “legalization isn’t in the... more
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A new twist on addiction. Make the addicts unable to get high from the natural stuff: opium based substances. But make sure they can still get high from the man made opiates -- oxycodone and friends.
Make sure the factory gets it's cut. It's good business.A new twist on addiction. Make the addicts unable to get high from the natural stuff:... more
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The State of Colorado permitted residents to open storefront dispensaries in order to supply patients with marijuana. Residents were permitted to operate growing operations and storefront dispensaries, which should be two separate entities. Many residents and non-residents flocked to open these businesses and invested many thousands of dollars and hours of hard labor. Some of us were involved prior to the explosion of the industry after the statement made by the President requesting the FDA back off of licensed medical marijuana operations.
Industry should be free to everyone, and this is part of what made America a great place to come and start a new life. We should be able to open as many businesses of the same type as possible. Eventually, the herd will be thinned out by competition and demand, not because the government decides they want to force certain small 'mom and pop' operations out of business.
August 1, 2010 was the deadline for applications to be submitted to the Department of Revenue. They charged outrageous fees, up to $18,000 for a license and then decided to change the regulations which permitted local governments to decide if they wanted to allow these type of businesses. This is my problem.... They take our money then allow local governments to change the laws and shut us down. Most of us, out of work construction workers, plumbers, electricians, etc.. are the people affected by these changes. We need to put the average hard-working person back to work. Afterall, we are/were the backbone of America.
These regulations also forced two independent businesses to merge. They forced the growing operations to partner with a single storefront. The storefront dispensary owners became the real owners of both businesses, which in my opinion is wrong. My grow operation was forced to close and I am now out of business. The dispensary however, is allowed to find a new grow location and remain in business. Why am I out of business while they remain? When a person is permitted to open a business by the State, they should not be forced to close because of personal opinions of local city council members.
The Colorado Department of Revenue Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division is a major contributor to the regulations made in Colorado. Other states are trying to recruit some of their directors in order to help with their regulations. We can not let this happen! Their regulations are corrupt and wrong for this industry. We need common sense laws for this industry; I am prepared to provide a full plan on how we should regulate this industry properly so that it is fair for every American. We should not offer the opportunity to enter this business to the highest bidder, which Pennsylvania is proposing. This will only allow for more corruption.The State of Colorado permitted residents to open storefront dispensaries in order to... more
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Shocking news: The Feds have raided more than two dozen medical marijuana dispensaries across California and Montana. Armed agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, and ATF swept through 28 stores and greenhouses, detaining the workers there and seizing computers, plants, and other items. Where will the Feds go next? More than 20 states, including Ohio, have decriminalized marijuana or legalized its use for medical purposes.
Will you urge Obama to put an end to these raids? Just click here.
According to one worker, "They came in, guns drawn, got us down on the ground and in cuffs as fast as they could."
The raids represent a swift change in law enforcement policy: When Obama took office, Attorney General Eric Holder promised to end the Bush-era attacks on sellers of medicinal marijuana and the patients who use it. Obama made the same promise on the campaign trail:
"I would not have the Justice Department prosecuting and raiding medical marijuana users. It's not a good use of our resources." (August 21, 2007, event in Nashua, New Hampshire)
Now the Feds are even refusing to say why they conducted these raids, and if and when they'll be pressing any charges. This shift in policy puts medical marijuana sellers and patients across America in jeopardy: There's no telling what state will be next.
Will you click here to tell Obama and Holder to keep their promises and end the raids right away?
( links to petition at source from Demand Progress if you support the decriminalization and Medical Marijuana movement please sign this petition at site thank you!)Shocking news: The Feds have raided more than two dozen medical marijuana dispensaries... more
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Two Lansing-area men face federal marijuana charges in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids, yet the lawyer for one of the defendants says the men were in compliance with the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act.
The lawyer, Bob Baldori, said that the number of plants that were seized was within state law because of the number of caregivers who were growing at the location.
Randall Lloyd Darling, 24, and Joseph David Johnson each face counts of growing more than 100 marijuana plants, according to court documents. Johnson is in his 20s, Baldori said.
The charges come with a five-year minimum prison sentence. Warrants were issued for Darling and Johnson on Jan. 20. Both are awaiting pretrial hearings.
Baldori, who represents Johnson, believes both defendants were within the state’s medical marijuana law. While Baldori said the DEA confiscated more than 200 plants from a grow operation in Mason, he added that Johnson and Darling are both patients and caregivers with the maximum-allowed five patients. Under state law, each can grow up to 72 plants and possess 15 ounces of usable product. It is also Baldori’s understanding that other caregivers were using the house as a growing site.
“These kids have not broken any Michigan laws,” Baldori said. “There were enough patients and caregivers to justify the plants.”
Attempts to reach Darling’s attorney, Jack Vogl, were unsuccessful.
Special Agent Rich Isaacson, a spokesman from the DEA’s Detroit offices, confirmed that the DEA is involved with the investigation, but he declined to give details.
U.S. District Attorney Rene Shekmer did not return calls for comment.
In a separate incident, the DEA raided a growing facility at 2630 Jolly Oak Road in Okemos on Nov. 30, seizing more than 400 plants. No charges have surfaced from that incident.
Growing just one cannabis plant is in violation of federal law, regardless of state law.
An Oct. 19, 2009, memo from U.S. Deputy Attorney General David Ogden offers guidance for federal prosecutors in medical marijuana states. It says a “core priority” for the U.S. Justice Department is targeting “significant traffickers of illegal drugs, including marijuana. … “
As a general matter, pursuit of these priorities should not focus federal resources in your States on individuals whose actions are in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state laws,” the memo reads.
Matt Newburg, who is representing one of the growers involved with the Okemos raid, said while Johnson and Darling violated federal law, a marijuana debate will likely ensue.
“The merits (of the indictment) will be argued later on,” Newburg said. “Clearly, they (the DEA) are active.”
http://www.lansingcitypulse.com/lansing/article-5436-dea-strikes-again.htmlTwo Lansing-area men face federal marijuana charges in U.S. District Court in Grand... more
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Undercover DEA agent Lee Paige learned the hard, painful way that whatever happens on video… immediately goes on YouTube. Paige is currently attempting to sue the U.S. government for releasing a video of him shooting himself in the foot with a Glock during a presentation about drug education at a Florida community center in 2004.
In April of 2006, Paige filed a complaint alleging that the video’s release harmed his reputation after it appeared online and was broadcast on several television news shows. According to Paige, the DEA possessed sole footage from the talk and, therefore, someone within the department must have put it online or released it to the media. In fact, his lawyers claimed someone within the DEA “with animosity for Paige” had released the video on purpose and with malicious intent. At the time, lawyers for the government felt Paige did not provide evidence to back up his claims, and the identity of the person responsible for circulating the video remains unknown. A mystery is afoot, one might say.
Earlier this week, Lee was able to successfully get the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to overturn a December ruling terminating his original lawsuit.
http://www.mediaite.com/online/dea-agent-is-suing-government-for-allegedly-releasing-video-of-him-shooting-himself-in-the-foot/Undercover DEA agent Lee Paige learned the hard, painful way that whatever happens on... more
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Chris Bartkowicz, a Colorado man who ran a medical marijuana growing operation from the basement of his home, was sentenced Friday morning to five years in federal prison.
Bartkowicz pleaded guilty in October to federal drug charges, which vengeful Drug Enforcement Administration agents raided within hours after Chris showed the grow operation to a TV news team.
Under his plea agreement, Bartkowicz and federal prosecutors settled on a prison term of five years, and federal District Court Judge Philip Brimmer chose to accept that deal, reports John Ingold at The Denver Post. His release will be followed by eight years of supervised probation. Under federal sentencing rules, Chris must serve at least 85 percent of his sentence, which means, like the case of Marc Emery, a minimum of 51 months in prison.
"Five years is a long time," Assistant U.S. Attorney M.J. Menendez said during the hearing. "It's going to allow him time to get treatment and it's going to give him time to reflect on what brought him here today."
"Get treatment" for what, Attorney Menendez? Medical marijuana was his treatment. "Reflect on" what, Menendez? That the federal government can send you away for five years -- for attempting to help sick people? That's something worthy of reflection, for damn sure.
Chris will be forced to take part in mandatory "drug abuse" and "mental health" programs while he's in federal prison, reports William Breathes at Denver Westword.
Bartkowicz will be the first person in Colorado to serve federal prison time for actions he says were legal under the state's medical marijuana law.
Agents confiscated more than 100 plants from Bartkowicz's house. According to Chris, he was a medical marijuana caregiver to several patients and sold the rest to legal dispensaries.
"This all seems like a script written by Lewis Carroll," said Bartkowicz's attorney, Joseph Saint-Veltri, during the hearing, referring to the Alice In Wonderland author.
"Hundreds of [marijuana] plants are being cultivated within a mile radius of this building as we speak, and they will continue to be cultivated... because the people of Colorado want that to happen," Saint-Veltri added later.
Federal agents claim they targeted Bartkowicz because they claim he was growing more plants than Colorado's medical marijuana law allowed, because he had prior state-legal drug convictions, and because his operation was about two blocks from a school. Judge Brimmer, handing down the sentence, echoed those concerns.
The judge said Bartkowicz "miserably failed" to follow Colorado law because of the number of plants he had and because he never met many of the patients who used his cannabis. That, Judge Brimmer claimed, means the case is not an example of the federal government oppressively interfering with state law, but rather fits with Bartkowicz's previous marijuana convictions.
"He's choosing to violate state law again, and he's cultivating marijuana," the self-righteous Judge Brimmer said.
Bartkowicz's bid to use a medical defense in his federal court case was denied. Because marijuana is illegal for any purpose under state law, Chris had few options but a strike a deal with prosecutors. Because of his prior convictions, Bartkowicz could have gotten 40 years under the charges he faced.
"It's the best that Mr. Bartkowicz can hope to achieve under these circumstances," Saint-Veltri said of the plea deal.
About 20 medical marijuana activists gathered outside the federal courthouse to protest the sentencing before the hearing began. They held signs bearing messages including "Cannabis Is Not Criminal." According to the activists, the DEA wanted to make an example of Bartkowicz in retaliation for the TV interview, which was conducted by local station 9News.
The protest was organized by Lannette Johnson, leader of the Denver chapter of Moms For Marijuana, who said she befriended Bartkowicz after his arrest.
"I think what happened to Chris is a huge injusitce," Johnson said. "Chris is a DEA scapegoat."
When he was given the chance, Bartkowicz did not try to sway Judge Brimmer during the sentencing hearing.
"I would actually decline to make any comments to the court," Chris said.
At the end of the hearing, Chris, wearing a yellow prisoner's jumpsuit, put his hands behind his back to be handcuffed.
He looked into the audience for a moment, where a number of friends and activists had gathered to support him.
Chris gave them a sad half-smile, then the U.S. Marshal took hold his arm and he disappeared behind a door.
http://www.tokeofthetown.com/2011/01/colorado_medical_grower_bartkowicz_gets_5_years_in.php#moreChris Bartkowicz, a Colorado man who ran a medical marijuana growing operation from... more
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Drug smugglers in Mexico have been caught on video using a device to catapult drugs over the border and into the USDrug smugglers in Mexico have been caught on video using a device to catapult drugs... more
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For people from Niagara Falls, today is a big day. This guy has been out of control prescribing anything people want, and he has finally been taken into custody.
Arresting Dr Feel GoodFor people from Niagara Falls, today is a big day. This guy has been out of control... more
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Another police raid and yet another innocent family caught up in a failed war that sends heavily armed, masked and hyped up cops in search of largely nonviolent offenders. This time the raid happened in Spring Valley, New York, and left a 13-year-old child vomiting and gasping for air in an asthma attack triggered by the over-the-top and misdirected actions of police and DEA agents.
Several agencies executed numerous search warrants before dawn early in January. But when the SWAT team, complete with guns drawn, forced their way into the home at 36 Sharon Drive, they didn’t find the “Michael” they kept screaming for. It wasn’t because Michael was hiding or even out for the night -- it was because Michael lived down the street at 46 Sharon Drive.
The McKay family, including husband David, wife, 13-year-old daughter, and brother-in-law, were all roused from their sleep and rounded up by masked law enforcement agents. The child was pulled from her bed and “drug” down the stairs. She would later be taken to the emergency room for the resulting asthma attack, vomiting, and fainting episode. The entire family was led outside while officers searched inside for Michael, with the father in his underwear on the front lawn desperately trying to explain that no such person lived there.
Unfortunately, these cases of mistaken addresses and over the top raids are all too common these days. Whether you keep a close eye on this Change.org blog or even read major national newspapers, you’ve likely noticed it too. But the frequency in which we hear about such cases shouldn’t desensitize us to the gravity of the situation.
“This isn’t how you treat citizens with rights. This is how you treat enemy combatants in a war zone,” writes Radley Balko of Reason magazine. And Balko is right -- the militaristic actions of police have only grown worse with the war on drugs, and while we may not be able to bring attention to every single case of police raids gone wrong, the ones we do catch should be thrust into the spotlight to ensure Americans realize what we are allowing the police to get away with in the name of drug control.
Soon after the raid on the McKay home, the local DA admitted their agency assisted with the raids but directed any and all questions to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), which led the collaborative effort. Several days later, the DEA issued a statement. They didn’t call the family or afford them the decency of a face to face apology -- they released ... a statement to the press, in which they didn’t exactly apologize for their pretty basic blunder either. Rather, they “regretted” the fact that the McKay’s were “inadvertently affected by this enforcement operation.”
During those early morning hours as David McKay watched the armed SWAT team storm his house, he saw several local police officers in the mix -- officers he recognized from his work in the community. You see, Mr. McKay works for the nearby town of Rockland. He is listed as property owner on the deed to the house at 36 Sharon Drive, is a foster parent and is active in the community. But despite his reputation and knowing several of the officers, he met with defensive egotism when he asked why the officers had entered his house in the first place. “You’ll read about it in the paper tomorrow,” was their response.
While local law enforcement seems content to cast blame on the DEA, their role can’t be minimized. When officials offer up Spring Valley officers to assist in raids, they put their reputation on the line and must be held responsible for the results. Call on Spring Valley Mayor Noramie F. Jasmin and Police Chief Paul Modica to take responsibility for their officer’s role in the raid and issue a formal apology directly to the McKay family.Another police raid and yet another innocent family caught up in a failed war that... more
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The Drug Enforcement Administration has been transformed into a global intelligence organization with a reach that extends far beyond narcoticThe Drug Enforcement Administration has been transformed into a global intelligence... more
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The DEA ban on 5 indoles that mimic the effects of THC on the cannibinoid receptor will take effect Dec.24 , 2010. These indoles were found to be as harmless as marijuana and are currently in lab studies for PTSD among other ailments just like marijuana.
Executive Order 12291 ( http:bit.ly/eo12291 ) Clearly states that the DEA shall not place emergency bans on any products that would adversely effect the US economy by more than $100 million per year.
K-2 is the most commonly reported brand, however there are at least 6 big brands and a dozen small local manufacturers. K-2 alone posted $80 million in sales.
1 Lexington KY shop did $250,000 in retail sales for March 2010, KY banned herbals in April.This shop sold herbal incense to responsible adults, and for the 14 months they were allowed by their state gov. to do so hired 12 new employees, and purchased another mom and pop shop that would have closed.
We all agree your children should not have these products, that is why the credible manufacturers put "not for sale to minors" right on the package.
And finding a treated herbal incense in a pipe or rolled into a cigarette would be covered by the inhalents laws already in place.The DEA ban on 5 indoles that mimic the effects of THC on the cannibinoid receptor... more
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A top Afghan drug lord jailed in the United States since 2008 has been a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) informant for years, The New York Times reports.
Juma Khan was paid large sums of money to provide information about the Taliban, Afghan government corruption and other drug traffickers, the report added.
In 2008, Khan, described as the most dangerous drug lord and the Taliban supporter, was arrested and transported to New York to face charges under a new American narco-terrorism law.
The newspaper quotes unnamed American officials as saying that he was also a longtime American informer, who provided information to CIA officers and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents.
Khan has been a valued source of information for years, even as he was growing strength to be one of Afghanistan's biggest drug traffickers after the US-led invasion of the country in 2001.
Informed American officials say Khan had been paid large amounts of cash by the United States.
According to the report, he was even secretly transported to the United States in 2006 for a series of meetings with CIA and DEA officials.
Even then, Washington knew that he was becoming Afghanistan's most important narcotics trafficker by taking over the drug operations of his rivals and paying off Taliban leaders and corrupt politicians in President Hamid Karzai's government.
Videotapes from his meetings in Washington indicate that Khan offered tantalizing information to US officials in return for what he hoped would be protected status as an 'American asset.'
He is now in the United States negotiating a plea bargain with American authorities, a deal that may keep secret many of the details about his relationship to the United States.
The CIA and DEA have refused to comment on Khan's case.
more at link...
The CIA is making billions running heroin and opium out of Afghanistan, just like the British East India Company did a few centuries ago. It's the tie that binds the Committee of 300, Skull & Bones, CIA, RIIA, the Crown and the military industrial complex in general.A top Afghan drug lord jailed in the United States since 2008 has been a Central... more
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In "Marijuana Wars, Part 2," Vanguard executive producer and correspondent Adam Yamaguchi joins an elite task force as they survey and eradicate multi-million dollar marijuana fields run by Mexican drug trafficking organizations.
In this clip, Adam learns how undercover operatives prepare to go inside a Mexican drug trafficking organization, posing as land owners whose property could become a marijuana grow site.
"Vanguard," airing weekly on Current TV Mondays at 9/8c, is a no-limits documentary series whose award-winning correspondents put themselves in extraordinary situations to immerse viewers in global issues that have a large social significance. Unlike sound-bite driven reporting, the show's correspondents, Adam Yamaguchi, Kaj Larsen, Christof Putzel and Mariana van Zeller, serve as trusted guides who take viewers on in-depth real life adventures in pursuit of some of the world's most important stories.
For more, go to http://current.com/vanguard.In "Marijuana Wars, Part 2," Vanguard executive producer and correspondent... more
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