More than one hundred people showed up to protest a training luncheon hosted by the California Narcotics Officers Association (CNOA) at the Montebello Country Club on Wednesday morning. The training is one of a series designed to teach local police and prosecutors how to close medical cannabis collectives. Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley told reporters afterwards that “about 100%” of collectives are illegal and vowed to close them down.

Read more about the significance of Cooley’s comments on the Americans for Safe Access (ASA Blog) – “Speaking Up to Rattling Sabers.”

Sometimes it is hard to tell if you are making a difference at a protest. Wednesday was not one of those days. We scheduled the protest to reach its peak attendance just as officers were arriving for lunch. There was a massive traffic jam entering the Montebello Country Club, so attendees had to creep slowly past our signs before turning right. I have never seen so many scowling faces behind the tinted glass of government-issued sedans.

At one point, a senior staff member from City Attorney Trutanich’s staff got out of his car and approached Yami Bolanos from Purelife Alternative. He recognized Yami from a meeting she attended at his office with ASA Chief Counsel Joe Elford and me in August. He tried to tell Yami that the City Attorney was working to help patients by only targeting the bad collectives. “That’s not what your flyer says,” Yami replied and presented a copy of the invitation reading “Eradicating Medical Cannabis Dispensaries in the City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County.”

Media coverage for the protest was uncharacteristically good. KTLA, FOX, the LA Times, the NY Times, and others covered the protest before cornering District Attorney Cooley outside the restaurant. I was even interviewed by a film crew from National Geographic! We can never know when there may be a chance to use the media to frame the debate about medical cannabis. Every protester should be dressed in a professional manner (or at least be presentable!) and ready with talking points. You could be the one in the paper or on TV telling the patients’ side of the story.

The medical cannabis community has come a long way since 2005, when only a dozen dissidents turned out to protest Drug Enforcement Administration raids in Los Angeles. On Wednesday, more than one hundred came – bringing signs, bullhorns, and drinking water to share. Nicely done!

Protesters gather in Montebello

GLACA members at the protest