Pictures From Eddy Lepp Benefit

After a marked lull in activity, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft's Department of Justice is back in the swing of things, teaming with the Drug Enforcement Administration to continue their high-profile busts of California medical marijuana growers. In mid-August, federal law-enforcers busted two more California growers – Eddy Lepp's Medicinal Gardens and Multi-Denominational Church of Cannabis and Rastafari, and the Capitol Compassion Care dispensary outside Sacramento – even though both groups say they were operating in compliance with state law. Nonetheless, on Sept. 8 the DOJ moved forward with a plan to seize the CCC's assets. Agents seized 30,000 marijuana plants from Lepp's garden, which provided marijuana to hundreds of medi-pot patients, Lepp told the Drug Reform Coordination Network. Lepp is facing the possibility of two life sentences for his medi-mari growing enterprise.

In 1996, California voters approved the state's compassionate use act, which legalized medical marijuana in the state. The law has been upheld by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals – a ruling that the DOJ has appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which is scheduled to consider the case this fall. Still, San Francisco DEA agent Richard Meyer scoffed at the notion of legal medi-pot. "There is no such thing as medical marijuana. ... That's a label invented by the marijuana lobby to further their agenda," he said. "They want to legalize it for all purposes, but since they know there is no support for that, they came up with the idea of so-called compassionate use."

In other drug-related news, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee is set to consider a bill reauthorizing the Office of National Drug Control Policy – a bill that would also renew the nasty Higher Education Act. Since 1998, drug reformers have been actively seeking to repeal the HEA, which denies federal aid – including loans, grants, and work-study jobs – to students with any sort of drug conviction on their record.

Drug reformers decry the law, pointing out that it unfairly punishes a person twice for the same crime and disproportionately affects low-income students. Fortunately – or not, perhaps – HEA foes in Texas have someone to complain to about the discriminatory law: committee member Sen. John Cornyn. For more info on the HEA, go to http://www.raiseyourvoice.com; to voice opposition – or support – for the HEA, contact Cornyn by phone at 202/224-5251 or by fax at 202/228-2856.

http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2004-09-17/pols_naked9.html

UPPER LAKE, Calif./EWORLDWIRE/Sep. 10, 2004 --- On Wednesday, August 18, special agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, with the assistance of the Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement, the Lake County Sheriff's Office, and the Wolf Team of the California National Guard, conducted a historical, $130 million raid, according to DEA formula. The raid was on Eddy Lepp's medicinal garden, ministry, and home, known as Eddy's Medicinal Gardens, or EMG. The Ministry was growing 32,524 clinical cannabis plants on 25 acres of land located in Upper Lake for the patients that it is helping. All of the patients have valid medical conditions and legal recommendations from their physicians to use clinical cannabis to ease their pain, increase their appetites, or any of the numerous reasons this plant can help them to cope with their conditions.

In the raid, Government Officials took personal computers, souvenirs, and other artifacts that had nothing to do with EMG, and had no real significance to be considered evidence. A total of $2,300 from members of EMG was taken, but never admitted it into evidence. Also missing from the home was all of Lepp's files and paper work for his civil case against the DEA for an illegal raid they conducted two years prior. "We have heard numerous reports that the DEA has pressured all local and national news not to cover the story," Lepp said, "and we have reason to believe that the DEA shut down our e-mail accounts for a period of time, affecting our ability to conduct our business properly."

Probably the most disturbing information received by EMG and their sources was, while moving the load off the premises, the government officials involved spilled hundreds of pounds of cannabis all over highway 20's roadside. When people began to stop to gather the cannabis, not one single officer even attempted to stop them. Some of the citizens gathering up the cannabis were small children. As these children continued to gather the cannabis there seemed to be little or no concern from the officers, who just drove by.

http://newsroom.eworldwire.com/view_release.php?id=10588