Badges, We're Da Feds, We don’t need to show any stinkin’ badges

The confusing bust of Joy Greenfield earlier this month in Northern California, has many activists shaking their heads, wondering what’s up.

Ms. Greenfield, 69 years young is on the books as the prospective supplier of Medicinal Marijuana for a dispensary in San Diego. In terms of the paperwork and other bureaucratically-challenged BS, Ms. Greenfield was awaiting a promised okay-dokey from whoever releases the necessary Big Okay from up above in San Diego for the final go-ahead. She had made the required payments for permits and other financial hoops that were asked by the state. So she started a patch of 99 plants for the San Diego dispensary. And as the law allows, Ms. Greenfield also had her 25 plants in another patch. That 25 was her personal stash as per her MM card.  

The local sheriff’s department knew what she was doing.

Now here’s the reason that Joy Greenfield, age 69, may become the Leonard Peltier of the Month. (I mean no disrespect to Leonard Peltier. One of the greatest bullshit tragedies in American history.)

On July 7^th, the Feds went in and confiscated both patches. Now most of the media is reporting how the Feds went in with a total disregard of Ms. Greenfield’s attempt of doing the operation legally. That in a sense, she was only following orders set up by the state. There is a belief that the Feds went in like Tommy Lee Jones taking over a high-profile kidnapping. Local law enforcement, be damned. But I have it on good authority that there were Mendocino County deputies along for the ride. Even so, the Feds has released a statement declaring that they don’t need to check in with the locals for a Marijuana bust.

It has been reported that when told that Greenfield had approval from local law enforcement, the DEA agent in charge of the raid reportedly replied, "I don't care what the sheriff says."

        To me that might be just some bold talk from a one-eyed fatman with a badge, but I don’t know. As long as there was a local presence with the deputies in tow, the disconnect might not be so unconnected.

I spoke to some growers over the past week that are slowing down their operation of coming out to the Man. One person said, “There is a rush up here [in the Emerald Triangle] to get a piece of the action before November, but I think I’m going to wait the summer out and see what happens. See if there are any more busts.” Other growers are reluctant to come out of the shadows, testing the waters of this almost legal market until the process is made clearer.

To be clear, Ms. Greenfield was never busted. Never arrested. In fact, she wasn’t even home when the raid happened. The Feds took all her plants and that is it so far. Well, and that she has become a cause célèbre for us Weedsters.  

But this does beg the question of state right’s versus the Fed.

But it is all changing. With yesterday’s news that the Veteran’s Administration has okay’d Marijuana for treatment is the biggest step next to Legalization. More about that later.

Was what happened to Ms. Greenfield a power play by the Feds to show us activists that whatever we think, they’re still in charge. That when it comes to Big Government, they actually can do whatever they want and when they want to.

My friends up north tell me that Johnny Law like everyone else is moving into the Triangle for the upcoming economical shoot-out. Their presence is being felt. Undercover cops at a local show were almost unheard of. Except at Area 101 in Laytonville, there were four busts earlier this month. One for passing a joint to your neighbor during the show. Shit, locals pass a joint at the Safeway while waiting in the checkout line.

Here’s another small interesting tidbit. There is a Federally funded program that pays the experienced Mendocino police to train Feds, out of state cops and other forms of law enforcement, how to spot POT from helicopters. What to look for when trying to find a still, I mean, a patch or farm. So it’s not like these different departments don’t know each other.

The local cherry tops of Mendo are throwing hands up like a Mexican pulled over for a broken tail-light, feigning, “We have no idea what’s going on with the Feds.” Hmmmm.

I guess what it gets down to is…as long as WEED is illegal, there are no rules. Whatever we think Eric Holder and Obama should be doing for us, it doesn’t matter as long as there is an uptight law official who knows that no matter what the papers say, or how optimistic we are, they hold all the cards.

And now I have a very interesting question. If California passes Prop. 219 and WEED becomes legal, can it be taxed if it is still illegal everywhere in the states?

Joy Greenfield, besides for having the perfect name to be a Marijuana farmer, could very well be the pivotal case for what’s wrong with this picture.

Where do all these dispensaries get their WEED? Somebody is supplying them. Why do some people get busted and others don’t? What happens when you play by the rules that the State has set up and the Feds don’t like it?

Ms. Greenfield, get out your triple-beam, you just might have put the balance in our favor, with even a few grams over.

Thank you.

More Later.