The San Francisco chapter of the Democratic Party is demanding that the Democratic administration in Washington immediately “cease all Federal actions in San Francisco, respect State and local laws, and stop the closure of City-permitted medical cannabis facilities.”
The resolution, approved last Wednesday, notes that San Francisco “has been a Safe Harbor City for medical cannabis since 2000 and its citizens have continually supported and voted for regulated safe and ethical access to medical cannabis,” adding that the Party, Senator Nancy Pelosi, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, and Mayor Ed Lee continue to support medical cannabis. This action comes in response to federal closures and intimidation of medical marijuana dispensaries.
In unrelated events, The San Francisco Chronicle reported Friday that two buildings housing cannabis dispensaries in Novato may be seized by federal prosecutors, under the premise that they are dealing in and/or storing controlled substances in violation of federal drug laws. Medical cannabis is legal in California when properly regulated, but possession or use of cannabis in any form is illegal under federal laws.
In an interview in the current issue of Rolling Stone, President Obama says that federal drug laws must be upheld, adding that a broader debate about them would be “important and useful.”
Oakland police confiscated an estimated 2,500 marijuana plants on the same day the Democratic Party resolution was released. Eleven people were arrested April 26 in connection with that raid, on suspicion of running what Asst. Chief of Police Anthony Toribio called “a well-organized marijuana factory.”