DEA Must End Raids on Medical Marijuana Providers

By National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws ,

There may be a new president, but in DEA-land, it’s still business as usual — at least for the time being. On Thursday, just two days after President Barack Obama was sworn into office, DEA officials raided the office of a California medical marijuana provider, as well as two medical grow houses in Colorado.

Is this behavior the final gasp of a dying regime, or an unfortunate harbinger of things to come? That could be up to you.

Several marijuana law reform groups, including Americans for Safe Access and MPP — as well as national media outlets — are urging concerned citizens to contact the new administration in opposition to the DEA’s actions.

Call or e-mail the White House and tell Obama’s staff that our new President must honor his campaign pledge not to use Justice Department resources to circumvent state medical marijuana laws.

In the coming months, President Obama and his team will be appointing new DEA administrators. Congress will also be holding additional hearings regarding Obama’s pick for U.S. Attorney General, Eric Holder. Let’s make it clear to the President, now, that the DEA’s behavior is unacceptable and must not continue under an Obama administration.

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An example of the atrocities afflicted upon the Gazan children with white phosphorous...[very graphic video]

The pale blue 155mm rounds are clearly marked with thedesignation M825A1,

an American-made white phosphorus munition

Gaza victims' burns increase concern over phosphorous

Michael Evans, Defence Editor and Sheera Frenkel in Jerusalem
Photographic evidence has emerged that proves that Israel has been using controversial white phosphorus shells during its offensive in Gaza, despite official denials by the Israel Defence Forces.
There is also evidence that the rounds have injured Palestinian civilians, causing severe burns. The use of white phosphorus against civilians is prohibited under international law.
The Times has identified stockpiles of white phosphorus (WP) shells from high-resolution images taken of Israel Defence Forces (IDF) artillery units on the Israeli-Gaza border this week. The pale blue 155mm rounds are clearly marked with the designation M825A1, an American-made WP munition. The shell is an improved version with a more limited dispersion of the phosphorus, which ignites on contact with oxygen, and is being used by the Israeli gunners to create a smoke screen on the ground.
The rounds, which explode into a shower of burning white streaks, were first identified by The Times at the weekend when they were fired over Gaza at the start of Israel's ground offensive. Artillery experts said that the Israeli troops would be in trouble if they were banned from using WP because it is the simplest way of creating smoke to protect them from enemy fire.
There were indications last night that Palestinian civilians have been injured by the bombs, which burn intensely. Hassan Khalass, a doctor at al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, told The Times that he had been dealing with patients who he suspected had been burnt by white phosphorus. Muhammad Azayzeh, 28, an emergency medical technician in the city, said: “The burns are very unusual. They don't look like burns we have normally seen. They are third-level burns that we can't seem to control.”
Victims with embedded WP particles in their flesh have to have the affected areas flushed with water. Particles that cannot be removed with tweezers are covered with a saline-soaked dressing.
Nafez Abu Shaban, the head of the burns unit at al-Shifa hospital, said: “I am not familiar with phosphorus but many of the patients wounded in the past weeks have strange burns. They are very deep and not like burns we used to see.”
When The Times reported on Monday that the Israeli troops appeared to be firing WP shells to create a thick smoke camouflage for units advancing into Gaza, an IDF spokesman denied the use of phosphorus and said that Israel was using only the weapons that were allowed under international law.




The graphic video of a Gazanz crying over the charred corpse
of a young child.

TV station defends plan to show man's suicide

Mr Ewert explains his decision to visit the assisted suicide clinic earlier in the documentary, The Suicide Tourist

LONDON - A British television channel said Wednesday it was planning to broadcast the death of an American man at a Swiss euthanasia clinic.The death of 59-year-old Craig Ewert in 2006 is due to be shown Wednesday during a documentary on the Sky Real Lives channel. Ewert had degenerative motor neuron disease and died at a clinic in Zurich...

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Why I want people to watch my husband's death

The harrowing moment a retired university professor dies in an 'assisted suicide' will be shown on television tonight. Craig Ewert, 59, is filmed turning off his ventilator and taking a lethal dose of drugs washed down with apple juice. Just minutes before his death, Mary, his wife of 37 years asks him: 'Can I give you a big kiss?'

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