Legalizes Marijuan Essay, Research Paper

Federal Drug Enforcement Agency said it’s been the DEA’s position that large-scale, sophisticated growing operations are a violation of federal law, which prohibits marijuana cultivation.

“Proposition 215 simply did not change federal law, and it did not change the San Francisco DEA’s interest in these types of cases,” spokesman Stan Vegar said.

Medical marijuana advocates, however, say the raid shows contempt for California voters.

“Right now we have a black tar epidemic, a heroin black tar epidemic that’s sweeping the city,” said Dennis Peron, a medical marijuana advocate. “If they want to help, help with the hard drugs. Leave our marijuana and patients alone.”

Flower Therapy co-owner Barbara Sweeney says she smokes marijuana to help tolerate the powerful medicines she’s taking to fight AIDS.

“It helps with the nausea. It keeps up my appetite and keeps me calm,” she said.

Meanwhile, lawmakers in Arizona, which also has a voter- approved measure legalizing medical marijuana, put its law on hold when the governor signed a bill stopping doctors from prescribing marijuana without approval from the federal government.

Still, Monday’s raid on the Flower Therapy Medical Marijuana Club hasn’t put it out of business. No arrests were made and the club remains open, selling marijuana it buys from other growers. They say, as far as they’re concerned, the only thing the marijuana bust did was to guarantee that marijuana prices will remain high.