Oakland is the most medical marijuana friendly city in California. For some time the cops and collectives have been at a respectful impasse; Oakland is the only Sanctuary City in California, i.e., there is some form of minimal support provided by the city which allows the collectives to operate without fear of prosecution nor the same odd sanctions and irregular law-enforcement practices that go on further south. Also in the news, in recent weeks it was decided that Oakland’s medical marijuana dispensary owners would pay an extra tax to operate within the sanctuary city. As opposed to the 9.25% they’d been paying, it was bumped up to 10.25%, which, though only one percent, when added up, amounts to many extra tax dollars that can be put back into the treasury.Regarding this new tax, a supposition could be made that the owners were probably furious, up-in-arms about the raise, however, the reaction from the aforementioned was just the opposite: they were fine with it, happy to pay a little higher tax. Indeed, the tax-raise was unanimously backed by the owners, and why: because they’ll happily pay their taxes — even higher taxes — if the city council who represents their better interests legitimately support them.I mention Oakland because it can be seen as the paradigm of what could be, if lawmakers, police, lawyers and city-councilmen in Los Angeles would follow the city’s lead. Los Angeles could be a sanctuary city; owners here would happily pay more taxes if it yielded the same results it does in Oakland: protection.Question: why is the Los Angeles city council refusing to follow the same standards: taxation for representation, the basis of our economic model. I have no doubt LA collective owners would be ecstatic to pay a considerably higher tax if it yielded the same results as up North. The tax base in LA is massive, much larger than Oakland. If applied, the revenues generated could have a tremendously positive stimulus effect on the the state’s broken budget.

“New American policy.” “An end to the raids.” “A stop to the war on medical cannabis.” All these phrases, in the months since president Obama was elected, have proven to be nothing more than political rhetoric.  To date, there has been no enforcement of any new American Policy–indeed, nothing has changed … nothing at all.  To date, there has been no stop, nor indication, that an end to the raids is near: since he was elected there have been at least six raids.  As for the war on illegal prosecution of innocent shop owner and patients? — Recently, crystal clean Morro Bay collective owner Robert Lynch has scene no clemency in court, and appears to be facing five years; Eddy Lepp is being sentenced on May 18th with predictably similar results.   This shift towards non-clemency (the opposite of Obama and AG statements) is now being enforced as official policy in California courts– and why the negative sentencing results, you might ask?  Because when a California judge presiding over a Pre-Obama court case asked for a response from the Federal Government as to “how they should proceed with sentencing,” (taking into consideration the Attorney General’s ambiguous policy statements) the Department of Justice head, H. Marshall Jarrett, immediately fired back a memo (See Above) which effectively sealed the fates of owners and patients in California court.For a brief summation on how the President and his administration has failed the medical cannabis community thus far, let me provide you with a timeline of all the events. To begin, the raids have not stopped, as recent as May 6th and illegal raid was conducted on a club in Pomona, California, resulting in the shutting down of the club, imprisonment and charges being faced by three of the club’s volunteers.  This latest raid is just one, of six, which have taken place since Obama took office (ironically, a raid took place on November 4th, the day of his swearing in).  The Pomona incident was the paradigm of local sheriff and DEA breaking the law, and doing flagrantly so– walking around with their hats backwards, chest puffed out while threatening legal patients with comments like: “Prop 215: We don’t believe in that,” or “Fuck it, I’m old school,” or my favorite to date: “your on our turf.”  These comments are not exaggerated, and they do not represented a street dialogue between two battling gangs, but are the common verbal intimidation tactics employed by DEA agents in California as they continue the raiding.Furthermore, the President and the AG’s declaration to not prosecute legal patients or clinics, citing over and over: “It would not be a good use of the justice department’s resources at this time,” has become a hollowed out phrase.  Whether it would be, or would not; whether President Obama honestly approves, or disapproves of medical marijuana, in reality, makes no difference: regardless of the language he uses, the U.S. Justice Department is still sinking millions of dollars into their futile war on medical marijuana.The bedrock truth on the issue is this: Obama and Attorney General Eric Holden do not have time for medical cannabis and their shared rhetoric, though hopeful, contradicts all legal actions taking place in California.  Positive rhetoric carefully crafted is simply not enough: Action is the only course our president can take if California patients will ever be truly emancipated. Unfortunately, his current course (status quo) will probably not shift too quickly.  When put beside other uphill battles Obama is currently facing: a devastated economy, a depleted health care structure, failing education systems, and a war in Iraq, the California-Collective-conundrum doesn’t really hold enough water to warrant his undivided attention.Nonetheless, it is a difficult pill to swallow, that was is happening in California today is no different from the conditions pro-marijuana faced under the dreaded Bush Administration.  The DEA still sporadically raids, innocent growers and legal shop owners are still going to jail, weed is still a non-topic for the elected President.   Until it is, hope…. Is a long ways away.