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California

TBAC and CALMca File Complaints Against Desert Hot Springs

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The Take Back America Campaign (TBAC), and Citizens Against Legalizing Marijuana (CALM) have filed formal complaints with the US Attorney, DEA and Attorney General Kamala Harris regarding Desert Hot Springs actions and intentions to become Marijuana Mecca.

“Marijuana is a federally banned substance because it inflicts harms on humans and increases the social and economic costs borne by all Americans,” explains Roger Morgan, Chairman of the Take Back America Campaign.

DesertHotSprings
In a state that constantly faces water shortages, it is absurd to set up marijuana grows in a dry region such as Desert Hot Springs. It would also significantly contribute to crime.

The two organizations took this action to register their concern that the California market for marijuana is already saturated with over 50,000 illegal outdoor cultivation sites growing pot under the guise of medicine. CALM and Take Back America report that currently California illegally serves 60% of the entire US market for pot, according to recent statements by our own state legislators. “The Desert Hot Springs move to participate, places them in the same category as the Mexican cartels this nation has battled for decades,” says Morgan.

Based on the known facts about today’s high-THC pot, Morgan believes, “this is an assault on all Americans.”  Marijuana is an addictive substance which causes permanent brain damage to any user under age 25, can trigger psychosis, mental illness, birth defects, traffic deaths and directly contributes to elevated levels of crime and academic failure.

Scott Chipman of CALM says, “Public health and safety is the most important responsibility of all elected officials. Aside from the fact that marijuana is a dangerous drug in its own right, almost all of the 129 Americans who die every day started their drug journey with pot. Nothing inflicts more death, destruction or economic cost on this nation.”

State and Nation Saturated with Drugs

Carla Lowe of CALM adds, “America’s number one enemy consists of marijuana and other drugs. Driven by the greed of people who care only about money, little or no concern is being shown about the harm the drug inflicts on others. We are devolving rapidly into a Narco Nation.”

The TBAC and CALM are asking state and federal officials to enforce the law. The plan on the drawing board for Desert Hot Springs would eventually allow for 3 million square feet of grow space, which according to Morgan’s calculations is enough to supply the entire country with the drug. Should the next President choose to enforce the law, the entire plan for Desert Hot Springs would be subject to enforcement actions, including forfeiture of land and facilities, according to a letter written by Morgan to Desert Hot Springs Mayor Scott Matas apprising him of the filing of the complaints.

California, Medical Marijuana, News Articles

Judge Mueller Upholds Schedule I Status

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On April 15, 2015, Judge Kimberly Mueller of the US Court in Sacramento upheld the constitutionality of marijuana’s Schedule I designation.   Schedule I drugs are not deemed medically applicable and must have a high potential for abuse.

At the same time the judge decided not to dismiss the case against a dozen defendants of marijuana cultivation charges in a national forest.   It was an unprecedented situation to use criminal charges to try and pull off constitutional changes.  The status on that case is expected to be updated on May 6.

Judge Mueller’s ruling should not have been a surprise. It was a long shot to believe that a judge would single-handedly reverse the separation of powers built into the federal government,  overruling the legislative branch while usurping power from the executive branch.   The marijuana proponents had many testimonies on their behalf, while the federal government needed a single expert witness, Dr. Bertha Madras of Harvard University.

The last time the marijuana activists asked for a rescheduling was in 2012.  On January 22, 2013, a three-panel federal appeals court ruled against rescheduling marijuana. Judge Merrick Garland, now chief judge of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, admitted that it was the court’s responsibility to defer to the scientific expertise of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).  The DEA had reached its conclusions with the input of the Department of Health and Human Services and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

While that earlier case questioned questioned whether the intentions of the DEA were arbitrary and capricious, the recent case questioned the intentions of Congress while setting down the 5-tier classification system back in 1970.

Schedule I drugs must have a high potential for abuse,  and are not deemed safe for medical application even under medical supervision.  The huge difficulty for confirming efficacy and proper dosing in “medical” marijuana substantiates this lack of safety.

Those asking for a rescheduling of marijuana claim that researchers don’t have the ability to study it.  However, there are currently 396 studies listed for clinical trials on derivatives of the marijuana plant, 273 for cannabidiol and 123 for THC.