don duncan: la city council grills lapd

Los Angeles City Councilmember Janice Hahn and her colleagues posed pointed questions wednesday about the police department's involvement in last month's DEA raids at medical cannabis facilities to LAPD Commander Donne, who appeared in lieu of Chief Bratton at a City Council hearing today. Representatives from Americans for Safe Access (ASA) and other advocates have complained about the LAPD cooperation with the DEA, especially the appearance of LAPD Detective Dennis Packer in a DEA uniform during the raid at California Patients Group (CPG) in Hollywood. Packer, an asset forfeiture specialist on a LAPD/DEA task force, later signed warrants seizing bank accounts from CPG and affiliated collectives in West Hollywood and Berkeley.

Commander Donne’s assertion that only collectives that were problematic were targeted on July 25 drew an angry outburst from advocates in the audience. Donne’s brief comments caused several verbal outbursts from a crowd of almost 100 advocates, some of who were members or operators of closed collectives. Donne told the City Council that the LAPD works closely with many other law enforcement agencies and has approximately 20 officers who are also deputized as DEA agents. He explained that Detective Packer, who has been present at a majority of DEA raids in the city, worked with the DEA “when asset forfeiture is appropriate.” Donne repeated allegations from yesterday’s Police Commission meeting, saying that targeted collectives were associated with organized crime, gang activity, and profiteering. Councilmember Hahn drew loud applause when she told Donne that it was not his job to decide how much money a collective should be making.

Councilmember William Rosendahl complained that the LAPD report was incomplete and worried that collectives that comply with registration requirements in the city’s newly adopted moratorium may also be targeted. The City Council approved a motion by Councilmember Dennis Zine calling on the LAPD and City Attorney to report back to the Public Safety Commission about the impact of policies refusing non-cooperation with DEA raids in other cities. ASA’ LA County Field Coordinator Chris Fusco is working with City Council staff to develop a resolution of non-cooperation. If adopted, the resolution will set an important precedent for cities statewide and become an important component of ASA’s work to get state officials to stand behind patients and providers in California.

Today’s meeting was a bitter-sweet victory for advocates, who are seeing the results of two years of effective advocacy while feeling the heat of the DEA latest crack down on medical cannabis. Advocates complain that some of the most compassionate and reputable collectives in the city have been closed already. They also mistrust Donne’s claim that the LAPD would not target collectives that comply with the terms of the new moratorium or upcoming regulations. Advocates believe that the LAPD and DEA routinely cooperate and are determined to close all of LA’s collectives.

One silver lining of the DEA attacks in Los Angeles is that it has re-galvanized the community. Medical cannabis advocates with ASA and other groups are vowing to escalate their opposition to DEA tactics like targeting landlords, raiding collectives, and seizing assets. Five protesters were arrested blocking the DEA exit at CPG on July 25. Dozens of others engaged in a stand-off with LAPD officers who repeatedly try to push protester back from the scene – sometimes aggressively. This spirit of defiance was visible at today’s City Council meeting when advocates spoke... and shouted. Afterwards, small groups convened impromptu meetings in the hallways to plan next steps. Two City Council Members even joined us to offer input. LA ASA members are organizing affinity groups for non-violent civil disobedience training right now. It is remarkable to see how active and motivated the community of advocates have become in LA. Two years ago, ASA started training spokespeople, educating the community, and lobbying elected officials. It is so great to see those efforts paying off.

We need the participation of every advocate to fight back in LA. The nest LA ASA meeting will be at 1:00 PM on Saturday, August 18, at the Patients ID Center located at 470 S. San Vicente Blvd., between Wilshire Blvd. and 3rd St. Visit http://www.ASAaction.org

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Don Duncan
Southern California Coordinator
Americans for Safe Access
www.AmericansForSafeAccess.org <http://www.americansforsafeaccess.org/>

Americans for Safe Access (ASA) is the largest national member-based organization of patients, medical professionals, scientists and concerned citizens promoting safe and legal access to cannabis for therapeutic use and research.

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