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Indybay Feature

San Francisco Narcotics Officers Turn Medical Marijuana Patients Over to the Feds

by Michael Foley
SF medical cannabis patients filing formal complaints against the police department for turning them over to the federal governmnent. This is in direct violation of the SF "medical cannabis sanctuary" resolution. Patients demand accountability from officials.
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San Francisco patients and caregivers have filed a formal complaint with the Office of Citizen Complaints and will be testifying at the weekly Police Commission hearing Wednesday July 23rd. At issue are the activities of San Francisco Police and Narcotics officers who refuse to abide by state laws and local resolutions regarding the cultivation and use of medical marijuana.

In December of 2001, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a resolution declaring the city a “Sanctuary for Medical Cannabis”. The resolution urges the San Francisco Police Department and the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department not to assist in the harassment, arrest or prosecution of patients or their primary caregivers attempting to comply with Proposition 215.

Several defendants currently in federal court are there due to direct action by local officers. Medical marijuana patients Stephanie Landa, Kevin Gage and Tom Kikuchi were indicted in federal court following a local investigation of a grow on Brannan St., which culminated in their detention and subsequent release. The release was per an SFPD department bulletin regarding medical marijuana first issued by former Chief Fred Lau and re-issued by acting Chief Alex Fagan. At the time of the incident, no federal officers were present so the only way for the feds to get the case was to have a local officer point it out to them. Landa, Gage and Kikuchi are in Judge Alsup's courtroom at 450 Golden Gate on July 30th for sentencing. They each face up to seven years.

Michael Foley and Robyn Few had evidence from a local case in which the charges were ultimately dismissed, turned over to the federal government by the SFPD. Federal indictments were issued two years after the original incident occurred. “At the time of the original incident in May 1999, Officer Valdez told me that the way we get around Prop 215 is to take you over to the feds. I guess he meant it,” said Foley.

“Patients and caregivers have come out to work with the local police since 1996 and we expect to be protected in our sanctuary, not to be thrown to the wolves. Perhaps we need a stronger resolution of SFPD non-compliance with the DEA from our Board of Supervisors,” said Robyn Few, spokeswoman for Americans For Safe Access San Francisco.

WHO: San Francisco medical marijuana patients, providers and supporters, Americans For Safe Access
WHAT: Rally and press conference followed with the filing of an official complaint with the Police Commission regarding local law enforcement cooperation with the DEA on issues of medical marijuana.
WHERE: On the steps of the Hall of Justice, 850 Bryant.
WHEN: Wednesday July 23, 2003 at 5:00pm.
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Comments (Hide Comments)
by Anti-Authoritiarian
A lot of energy has been spent by the media to criminalize the SFPD, in the same way the peace movement was criminalized. It makes me curious as to why: Do the Feds want to take over the SFPD so they can REALLY bust people?

Take a look at the way the media trashes Gray Davis. You would think they would go after Bush for destroying the economy of the nation, but NNNOOOO!!
They focus on poor, hapless Gray Davis. What can he do to rectify the national employment crisis? Especially when the Feds cut funding to FEDERALLY MANDATED programs.

Back to the SFPD. I am no fan of law enforcement; however, the SFPD does not seem to be as corrupt as the Federal gov't in regards to actually delivering services to the PEOPLE. The SFPD can be helpful at times, while the Feds are never helpful these days.

It comes down to the lesser of two evils: A local force which at least has some ties to the community as opposed to a Federal force which doesn't give a f*ck about the people of the Bay Area. While the SFPD is not perfect, it sure as sh*t beats the Feds.
by tom the nurse (tom [at] kine2b.com)
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the city is out of control....they busted me and they are gonna bust others http://www.examiner.com/news/default.jsp?story=n.pot.0611w
by Sister Somayah Kambui (sistersomayah [at] yahoo.com)
Is RESTITUTION a Cause Of Action to Sue?

This is what I am living to find out. Whether or not government officials and law enforcement are immune from liability, is inconsequential to the fact that their ACTS under color of authority GRAVELY INJURES medical marijuana patients.

The 5th Amendment of the U.S. CONSTITUTION (if it is still the 'law of the land') guarantees every citizen the RIGHT TO JUST COMPENSATION when a citizen has their personal property taken or seizued for public use, must receive 'JUST COMPENSATION'.

We must find remedies and insist on remedies to be charted out in these new waters of Compassionate Use Act 1996, procedures and guidelines that have YET to be resolved by California State legislatures.

Finally, it is the legislatures, NOT the Courts, who will ultimately have to help keep sick people out of the jails and out of the Courts.

So until this California State legislatures set pragmatic PUBLIC POLICY, let there be a State-Wide MORATORIUM.......walk-away MORATORIUM, on arresting people for possession and cultivation of Cannabis.

by tom the nurse (tom [at] kine2b.com)
These men are pure evil....rick seems to be of a poor hispanic background where mabey a relative used hard drugs and quite possibly took advantage of little ricky....keane on the other hand is nothing more than a punk who didnt like the stoners in his school mocking his looks and his upper middle class background.....to get even he became a narc.Johns 1st question to me was if i ever sold bud in "the haight".Rick just wanted the $$$.Karma is a beautiful thing someday these individuals will receive theirs...
by tom the nurse
I also must inform the good folks who value their right to use marijuana about another dangerous individual... kevin martin(badge #12) who is known as the "deadhead cop" (due to the "steal your face" on his gun and billyclub) He is the only human i know who can smell weed through a baggie ...an envelope.. and tupperware all TOGETHER... The Dept. of Justice need's to train him on how to smell C-4 plastique explosives...and postion his "but" at the airport .Beat cops should be on the frontlines of homeland security! Not arresting a Licensed Nurse delivering medicine!!
by "poor little tommy"
the fact that you want to run a drug ring is of no consequence to any one out side of the addicts or the cops, but your half hearted attempt to spin this into a story of poor little me lacks merit. if you want to live as a drug dealer "fine" but being arrested and spending time in jail is also part of being a drug dealer, so suck it and live with it. "this is your chosen life style" if you don't like being arrested for what you do then go work at the 7-11------ !
by tom the nurse
The fact that your name isnt mentioned leads me to believe that your just another California "shwartzenegger vote" waitin to happen..the SFPD is dangerous!!...its my job to expose these folks ....its difficult to find anyone but the SFPD narcs that didnt like me.. i guess we will find out @ my trial how the PEOPLE of San Fransisco feel about a low-cost bicycle medical marijuana delivery service being de-railed....
by Kevin Gage
.its my job to expose these folks -- tom the nurse

I thought your job was the cleaning and sanitizing of bed pans. at least this is what your employer thinks
but if you were not spending all your time bumming pot you might have to clean bed pans...(duhhhhh..)
And Demjanjuk didn't kill as many Jews as Eichmann. So what? Corrupt is corrupt. The SFPD has been corrupt from its very earliest days, when they strong armed their way into control of the local rackets by deposing the Sydney Ducks. In every other city in America, the Mob owns the cops. In San Francisco, the Mob *is* the cops.
by Tom the Nurse (tom [at] kine2b.com)
For those that are concerned....i refuse to plead guilty to a crime ,,it seems to get worse foe medical mj.
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