California Pharmacy Shutdown Hoax Revealed

By Steve Elliott
Tuesday, July 31, 2012


AAHA Trends Today


It was a hoax -- but it was hoax to make a point.

The San Diego chapter of Americans for Safe Access (ASA), a nationwide cannabis advocacy group, working with LGBT activism group Canvass for a Cause and as part of the The Yes Men's "Yes Labs" project, released a series of satirical press releases on Tuesday which indicated that U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy would begin targeting pharmacies for closure using asset forfeiture proceedings.

The purpose of the action was to draw attention to the U.S. Attorney's harmful efforts to deny patients access to doctor-recommended medical cannabis.

"Just as the closure of retail pharmacies, like CVS or Walgreens, is poor public health policy, so is the federal government's crackdown on medical cannabis dispensaries," said Eugene Davidovich of San Diego ASA. "Pharmacies, like medical cannabis dispensaries, play an essential role in our communities as they help the sick and dying treat and manage various medical conditions."



San Diego ASA

Eugene Davidovich, San Diego ASA: "Laura Duffy and the Obama Administration have no place interfering in the implementation of state law by shutting down dispensaries that thousands of patients rely on"

The real Laura Duffy isn't joking. In October 2011, Duffy and her fellow U.S. Attorneys in California began an escalated attack on medical cannabis businesses.

"The California marijuana industry is not about providing medicine to the sick," said Duffy at the time. "It's a pervasive for-profit industry that violates federal law."

Since October, Duffy has used threats of criminal prosecution and asset forfeiture to close more than200 medical cannabis facilities in her district.

Despite claims from Attorney General Eric Holder that his Justice Department was only targeting dispensaries operating "out of conformity with state law," Duffy and the other U.S. Attorneys have indiscriminately targeted these facilities, regardless of "conformity," shutting down all but a few in San Diego County.



wn.com

Rachel Scoma, Canvass for a Cause: "Today's press release may have been a hoax, but for the thousands of patients adversely impacted by Duffy's attacks on medical cannabis, it's no joke"

Most recently Duffy attempted to shut down the only collective in her district that is operating under a permit from the Sheriff's Department.

For many patients who cannot sustain the regular consumption of pharmaceutical medication, cannabis isn't simply an alternative; it's their only option. From reducing nausea and increasing appetite for people living with cancer or HIV/AIDS to stabilizing chronic pain, the vast majority of California's medical cannabis patients rely on dispensaries.

Advocates argue that by closing dispensaries, Duffy and other U.S. Attorneys are pushing thousands of patients into the illicit market and complicating the job of law enforcement.

"Today's press releases may have been a hoax, but for the thousands of patients adversely impacted by Duffy's attacks on medical cannabis, it's no joke," said Rachel Scoma of Canvass for a Cause. "The LGBT community fought hard to legalize HIV/AIDS medicine for their family and we carry on that tradition today. Patients need safe and legal access to their medication, not prosecution from the federal government."

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Shutdown Of Pharmacies A Hoax; Group Takes Responsibility

By Steve Elliott
Tuesday, July 31, 2012



FAC

U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy has made it her personal mission to shut down safe access to medical marijuana in Southern California

The "Cease and Desist" orders and "official" press release announcing the federal closure of pharmacies in San Diego -- purportedly originating from the office of U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy -- are indeed fake.

"This hoax was conducted in retaliation against U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy for her insubordination against the Obama Administration and Government of the United States of America," said Dexter Haight of the Federal Accountability Coalition (FAC), which took responsibility for the hoax.

According to the FAC, Duffy's superiors, President Obama and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, have both pledged that Federal resources would not be used to shut down medical marijuana dispensaries operating in compliance with state law. Despite this pledge to the American public, U.S. Attorney Duffy has used Federal power to target medical marijuana dispensaries with asset forfeiture.

"Her office has made it clear that she is willing to push her agenda regardless of state laws, personal liberties and the free-market," Haight sasid.

Recently, Laura Duffy's office has pursued the closure of San Diego County's only permitted medical marijuana dispensary, in direct violation of official policy.

"I'm not a pot smoker or an Obama supporter, but I am a concerned citizen and property owner." Haight said. "Duffy's a Benedict Arnold. She's not following orders. And what's more, if she shuts down a proper medical marijuana facility, how long until she goes after the pharmacies?

"Duffy's actions are emblematic of erosions of our personal liberty and property rights that have become so commonplace in our post-9/11 world," Haight said." What will she confiscate next, my home, my guns, the local farmer's market?"

Benedict Arnold was an American General during the Revolutionary War whose name became synonymous with treason once it was discovered that he attempted to sell West Point to the British. After American victory in the war, Arnold was exiled to Britain where he lived out the rest of his life shamed and banished.

"Benedict Arnold betrayed America because he wasn't liked by citizens or his peers," Haight said. "It's a well known fact that Duffy is the least well regarded of the four U.S. Attorneys in California. Bitterness festered into insubordination in Arnorld's case and led to treason. Duffy is already insubordinate, what's next?"

Letters distributed by the U.S. Attorney's office and signed by Duffy have stated, regarding property seizure: "Real and personal property involved in such [illegal] operations are subject to seizure by and forfeiture to the United States ... regardless of the purported purpose..." In another press release from her office she boasts of collecting "$29,725,382" in asset forfeitures in 2011 from the Southern District alone.

"I can't believe how proud she is of taking Americans' property; maybe it's because she was appointed, not elected," Haight said. "Maybe it's bitterness over her low reputation. Either way, it's time she is held accountable by President Obama and Eric Holder for her flagrant insubordination."

"Our founding fathers grew hemp for paper and ropes," Haight said. "Nobody was taking their property. Today, if someone threw a pot seed into my yard, they'd come and take my house. It's criminal."

So, who is this shadowy and mysterious "Federal Accountability Coalition"?

A source in San Diego speculates that The Yes Men -- an artist/activist group which just visited San Diego -- might have something to do with it.

"The Yes Men were in town over the weekend for a thing at the Museum of Art," my source told me. "They also did a training seminar with the MMJ activist community.

"So, considering the Yes Men's forte is impersonating spokespeople... this seems right in their line of work," my source said.


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