Oaksterdam Marijuana Raid Happened As 7 Were Shot At Nearby School: Critics Rip Feds
Monday's federal marijuana raid on Oaksterdam University in Oakland happened on the same day that a man opened fire at a nearby college campus, killing 7.
Oaksterdam Raid.
That fact hasn't been lost on critics, who are railing against the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Marshals Service and the IRS for taking part in the bust while a mass killing was occurring less than a mile away.
The temporary take down of a pot school that has an L.A. satellite campus could be a historic moment in the effort to decriminalize cannabis:
Oakland City Council member Rebecca Kaplan had this reaction:
We have a serious gun violence problem in Oakland. If there are extra law enforcement resources available, they should be focused on fighting illegal guns and gun violence.
The raid focused on Oaksterdam, a school owned by Richard Lee, the main backer of 2010's nearly successful marijuana legalization initiative in California, Prop. 19.
Some suggested the federal invasion was payback for the ballot measure.
Oaksterdam University
This week Neill Franklin, executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, wrote a scathing critique of the federal action and contrasted it with the need for extra officers nearby as suspect One L. Goh allegedly lined up students inside Oikos University and unloaded his gun:
While federal agents were using a battering ram, a sledgehammer and power saws to break into a business that complies with state and local law and pays taxes, a gunman was murdering seven people at Oikos University, just three-tenths of a mile away.... Am I accusing law enforcement of being responsible for the seven murders just blocks away? No, but what I am saying is that they are misguided and focused upon those things that will not improve public safety. It is their duty and responsibility to prioritize things of public safety first, not politics.
Meanwhile Oaksterdam's Lee has started a petition on Change.org asking you to ...
... Tell President Obama and the DEA: Enough is enough. Keep your campaign promise, and stop the raids on the medical cannabis industry!
[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]
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