Monday, June 9, 2014

Press Release: DEA Targeting Physicians Working with Medical Marijuana Dispensaries in Massachusetts

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 9, 2014
Contact: Darby Beck: darby.beck@leap.cc 415.823.5496

DEA TARGETING PHYSICIANS IN MASSACHUSETTS
Doctors Working with Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Told to Give Up Their Position Or Give Up Their License
Less than two weeks after the House of Representatives passed a measure that would defund Drug Enforcement Administration raids on medical marijuana dispensaries, reports have begun to surface of the DEA intimidating physicians trying to work with state-legal dispensaries in Massachusetts. MassLive and the Boston Globe report that several physicians have been told that if they continue to serve in an advisory capacity for medical marijuana dispensaries, they will lose their DEA license to prescribe certain controlled substances. Already, some doctors have been forced to resign their advisory positions with the dispensaries, which Massachusetts voters agreed to allow in November 2012, possibly delaying the opening of some dispensaries.
“I cannot think of a worse use of law enforcement resources than to undermine a democratically enacted law by intimidating professionals trying to ensure a program designed to help the sick operates as well as it possibly can. This is a gross example of the confused, immoral logic of prohibition gone awry, and frankly, it disgusts me,” said Major Neill Franklin (Ret.), executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, a group of law enforcement officials opposed to the war on drugs.
“Medical marijuana dispensaries are not required to have medical advisors and these actions are likely to have a chilling effect,” Major Franklin added. “They’re not preventing the dispensaries from opening. They’re merely preventing those who run them from doing all they can to ensure they’re as safe and effective for patients as possible.”
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed the right of physicians to recommend medical marijuana to their patients but that decision carries precedential value only in the states under its jurisdiction. Advocates fear this tactic may spread to other places trying to comply with state laws.
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition is a group of law enforcement officials who, after fighting in the front lines of the war on drugs, now advocate for its end.
For interviews, please contact Darby Beck at darby.beck@leap.cc (415.823.5496).

###

2 comments:

  1. Drugs
    By: Hope

    All they wanted was a little fun
    Those bootleggers of old.
    So what, if they carried a gun
    And got a little bold.
    Eventually they won their war
    And liquor was legalized.
    Then thugs like Al Capone and more
    Were practically canonized!


    Now after eighty years or more
    Another war's declared.
    The procedure's repeated just as before
    But this time no one's spared.
    Their determination to win this time is a flaw
    Of the human condition.
    But all it proves to those in awe
    Is: WE LEARNED NOTHING FROM PROHIBITION!

    ReplyDelete
  2. The only regulation Massachusetts needs is for the state to ensure they have cannabis that is mold, pesticide and bug free. Anyone who can open a dispensary and sell a safe product should be able to do so with a reasonable licensing fee of $50 or so. No dispensary limits, no caregiver limits, nothing else. Thanks.
    Adam L.

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...