Great article from The Atlantic:

“…  the DEA, a liberty impinging branch of the federal government, insists against overwhelming evidence that a plant called marijuana “has no accepted medical use in the United States, and lacks an acceptable level of safety for use even under medical supervision.”

That dubious determination is what keeps marijuana classified as a Schedule 1 drug, the only kind that cannot be prescribed by physicians. It is more tightly controlled than raw opium, methadone, and anabolic steroids, among many other drugs far more harmful to the human body, and more prone to abuse than cannabis.

Is that something the DEA can defend in court?

Americans For Safe Access (ASA) intends to find out. The advocacy group has spent years petitioning to change marijuana’s designation so that doctors can prescribe it to patients. Last month, the DEA officially denied their request. In response, the group intends to sue. “The federal government is making no bones about its aggressive policy to undermine medical marijuana,” said ASA Executive Director Steph Sherer. “And we’re prepared to take the Obama administration to court over it…”

Read the entire story with links and videos on The Atlantic’s website.

“GREAT FALLS, Mont. — Federal agencies conducted 26 raids on medical marijuana facilities in 13 Montana cities this week, as agents seized thousands of marijuana plants and froze about $4 million in bank funds.The raids stunned medical marijuana advocates, many of whom believed the Obama administration’s policy was to leave states with medical marijuana laws alone…”

Read the entire story online.

Call the White House at (202) 456-1414 between 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM EST and send an email right now:

I am outraged by the recent federal raids on medical marijuana patients and providers in Montana and California. Medical marijuana patients and providers should not be subject to harassment or arrest, especially when they are obeying state law. I demand the Administration stop the raids, allow states to regulate medical marijuana, and develop a federal policy that protects patients once and for all. Thank you.

Speaking up today is the first step in standing up to federal aggression, but we have much more work to do. Our elected representatives need to hear from an empowered and energized base now more than ever. ASA needs your support so that we can train and mobilize the grassroots base and keep pushing to change federal law. Can you make a special contribution to ASA today, so that we are ready to respond to renewed federal threats?

Thank you for your support and participation! Together, we will stop the raids and secure safe access for every patient who needs medical cannabis!

And… After you call or send your email, forward this message to your friends and loved ones, and don’t forget to share it on Twitter, FaceBook, MySpace, etc.

AHHS (Alternative Herbal Health Services) 7828 Santa Monica (@ Fairfax)

Zen Healing Collective, 8464 Santa Monica Blvd (@ La Cienega Blvd.)

Americans For Safe Access strongly condemns the raids and calls on the Administration to live up to its promise of a more reasonable federal policy. ASA will publish more information about the federal raids and the grassroots response later today. Join the ASA mailing list at http://www.AmericansForSafeAccess.org or follow @ASAdonduncan on Twitter for information.