To: CapitalistHogg™ who wrote (7283 ) 7/26/2007 11:09:48 AM From: Gersh Avery Respond to of 10087 taken from usatoday.com Kris Hermes, spokesman for Americans for Safe Access, a pro-marijuana lobby, called the warning an "attempt by DEA to intimidate these operators and force these facilities to close." His group has not opposed the moratorium, reasoning it could be a step toward city regulations recognizing legal pot sales. He said the DEA's timing appeared intended to shut down as many clinics as possible just as a city moratorium takes effect, preventing stores from reopening at another location. L.A. Councilman Dennis Zine, sponsor of the moratorium, wrote DEA Administrator Karen Tandy on Wednesday protesting the focus on landlords. He asked "that you abandon this tactic." "Voters in California and in Los Angeles support the medical use of cannabis and want safe, well-regulated access," he said. Don Duncan, whose California Patients Group distributes medical marijuana from a store in Hollywood, said his landlord had not received a letter but felt threatened nonetheless. He said the store has been operating for a year and a half and sells to as many as 100 patients a day. "It's very disconcerting, frankly," he said. "It'd be a shame to work this hard and be shut down based on intimidation. … Right now we're waiting to see what happens." Less than 24 hours after he spoke, Duncan's dispensary was raided by DEA agents, Pullen said. Duncan did not answer his phone Wednesday. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Hinchey amendment, that was defeated last night, was intended to stop the DEA from it's efforts to shut down medical marijuana in states that have mmj laws in place. The above partial article is about the current California situation. There the DEA has sent letters telling landlords that they will have their property taken from them if they rent to a mmj clinic. The DEA has raided small gardens of people who are registered legal medical users. The DEA does this to protect interstate commerce in the US. Here is a list of congressmen and how they voted on the issue:clerk.house.gov Notice: 80 democrats voted against the amendment.