Digital News Report- Last February Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the Justice Department would no longer raid medical marijuana dispensaries that are established legally under state law. However, with the recent one year sentence handed down to a Morro Bay dispensary owner, many have sought clarification over the Obama administration’s official stance on the matter.
There are currently over a dozen similar cases pending, including that of San Diegan Eugene Davidovich, whose home was raided in February under “Operation Endless Summer.” Davidovich was one of dozens of individuals arrested during the operation.
“An undercover detective from the San Diego Police… lied to his doctor about his identity and condition,” Davidovich said. “He joined the majority of the medical collectives and coops listed on the San Diego section of the CA NORML list with the intent of shutting them down.” After verifying the detectives’ recommendation with his doctor, Davidovich says that he delivered ¼ ounce to the undercover officer. He now faces four felony charges, $65,000 bail, and what he describes as, “permanent profoundly traumatic damage to my professional and personal life. “
The raid was supposedly aimed towards cracking down on drug deals near military housing. Some of those who were arrested were in possession of harder and non-medicinal drugs such as Ecstasy and Meth. However, of the 33 arrested in the initial operation, fourteen were medical marijuana patients including Davidovich.
“Every attempt made to date by collectives and coops to follow the law in San Diego has resulted in long investigations [and] prosecutions,” said Davidovich. “Collectives [have] to operate so deeply underground and under such intense daily fear and pressure, that the potential public benefit they could be bringing to the community and to patients is stifled by this environment of fear.”
Davidovich’s hearing is scheduled for July 15th at the San Diego Superior Court. More information on his case can be found at his website.
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Ugh, i hope this goes away. The federal government needs to let the states legislate these issues and stop the raids for good.