Subject: U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration

• Messing Around with Salvia

  August 6, 2007

• America and Marijuana: “Medicinal” My Ass

  August 13, 2007

• Stoners Release Collective Sigh: Gimmicky Pot-Enhanced Snack Company Busted

  October 2, 2007

• Stoners Release Collective Sigh: Gimmicky Pot-Enhanced Snack Company Busted

  October 2, 2007

• Dude, the City of Berkeley Is My Pot Dealer!

  February 1, 2008

• Medical Marijuana Still Under Fire

  February 18, 2008

• Dog Bites

  July 5, 1995

• Acid House

  August 30, 1995

• Acid House

  August 30, 1995

• Laboratory Rats

  September 27, 1995

• Marijuana Advocate 'Flabbergasted' at DEA Raid of S.F. Dispensary

  BummerLast week, Attorney General Eric Holder announced a policy shift away from the Drug Enforcement Agency raiding marijuana dispensaries in states that have approved medical marijuana. So, it came as something of a shock that DEA agents today raided Emmalyn's California Cannabis Clinic at 1597 Howard Street. Calls to the dispensary did not go through; for whatever reason the phone did not ring. Aaron Smith, the California Policy Director for the Marijuana Policy Project, was beside himself. "

  March 25, 2009

• US Attorney Spars with Hastings Law Students Over Pot Laws

  The most compelling question from the Hastings panel on pot: How could two guys with such different opinions on marijuana think so similarly about fashion? Was this planned?Hastings law students with the munchies and a keen interest in how changes in federal priorities on marijuana enforcement would affect them the average Californian in these times of change filled a classroom Wednesday to spar with Northern California's top drug warrior. Hastings student Elizabeth Leeper grabbe

  April 8, 2009

• An Inconvenient Plant

  One of the world's rarest plants grows in the Presidio. Plans are under way to save it — and ax thousands of trees in the process.

  April 16, 2008

• The Bizarro Endorsement

  Liberal candidate may get a boost from the police organization that condemns him

  April 18, 2007

• Drive-by Reporting

  January 10, 2007

• Trip Fantastic

  December 27, 2006

• Untouchable

  Half of U.S. Attorney Kevin Ryan's lawyers have quit. But as he remains bunkered against criticism, who's minding the shop?

  October 4, 2006

• Undercover of the Night

  Violent shootouts and dangerous love in Mann's visceral cop series update

  July 26, 2006

• Feelin' Their Thizzle

  How the culture of Ecstasy has changed as the drug moved from raves to hip hop

  March 15, 2006

• Straight to Video

  Dog Bites turns into a film critic to help us understand the Bayview police video scandal

  December 14, 2005

• Bait and Snitch

  Lying under oath, threatening witnesses, revealing the names of federal agents -- it's just another day on the job for one of the DEA's paid drug informants

  November 23, 2005

• Blind Eye Unto the Holy See

  Pope Benedict XVI named him Roman Catholicism's top doctrinal watchdog -- even though, as San Francisco archbishop, William J. Levada resolutely looked away from sex-abuse complaints against a renowned priest and legal scholar

  July 13, 2005

• Hey, Man, Got Any ID?

  Why the Legislature shouldn't extend the city's medical marijuana identification system statewide

  June 11, 2003

• Letters to the Editor

  Week of January 22, 2002

  January 22, 2003

• Letters to the Editor

  Week of August 21, 2002

  August 21, 2002

• Too Close for Comfort

  The weird coincidences between last week's terrorist attacks and David Hagberg's novels have been keeping the author up at night

  September 19, 2001

• American High

  With Traffic, Steven Soderbergh takes on the unwinnable war

  January 3, 2001

• In Heaven There Is No Beer

  Polkacide is San Francisco's longest-running musical in-joke

  October 7, 1998

• The Fairfield Wives

  Dr. John Parkinson, a civic and religious leader in the perfectly suburban town of Fairfield, told women they needed pelvic exams. Long exams. Several times a week. For years. And they believed him.

  August 5, 1998

• The Housing Authority's Dirty Dozen

  Twelve convicted drug dealers and other major felons have recently been employed by the San Francisco Housing Authority. But are there even more criminals on the public payroll?

  July 22, 1998

• Tragic Bus

  Dope(s), guns, and urine on the Brian Jonestown Massacre's summer tour

  July 30, 1997

• Portrait of the Soul-Jacker

  Police call Bernard Temple the meanest hit man ever to roam the gang-infested streets of Bayview-Hunters Point. Temple calls himself a soul-jacker -- someone who kills to steal the spiritual power of his victims.

  March 26, 1997

• The Grid

  November 20, 1996

• The Electric Clearlight Acid Mess

  The bust of LSD bagman Waldron Vorhees, aka Captain Clearlight, opens a windowpane on the city -- and on the narco-cop nincompoops

  August 21, 1996

• Ghetto Blasting

  August 7, 1996

• Dog Bites

  August 7, 1996

• Dog Bites

  May 15, 1996

• Down by Law

  January 31, 1996

• Drug Story (Part I)

  November 29, 1995

• Supes Condemn Raid on San Francisco Pot Club, Call For DEA to Mellow Out

  Fair enough, it was somewhat lost in the glare of our governor -- once caught on film wearing a shirt emblazoned with the sentence "Arnold Is Numero Uno" while smoking a joint and eating a massive piece of cake -- said he's open to debate on marijuana legalization. But, yesterday, a resolution passed by our very own board of supervisors fired another shot in favor of the herb. By a 9-2 vote (Carmen Chu and Sean Elsbernd were very un-Dude here), the supes blasted the March DEA raid of Emmalyn's C

  May 6, 2009

• Chronic City: An End To The War On Drugs -- Impossible Dream? Political Ploy? Or Inevitable?

  Gil KerlikowskeNew White House Drug Czar and former Seattle police chief Gil Kerlikowske didn't wait long before making big waves as the top drug enforcement officer in the country.  In his first public appearance since being confirmed on May 7, Kerlikowske, in a new interview with the Wall Street Journal, said he wants to end the "War On Drugs" and said he favors policies that emphasize making treatment available to drug users rather than putting them behind bars. Kerlikowske spoke with u

  May 14, 2009

• Chronic City: Dispensary Operator Charlie Lynch Gets 366 Days In Federal Prison

  Reason.tvCharles Lynch In a courtroom crowded with spectators and supporters, Morro Bay medical marijuana dispensary owner Charles Lynch was sentenced today in federal court to one year and one day in prison.Lynch, 47, appeared this morning in the Los Angeles federal courtroom of U.S. District Judge George Wu.Lynch was convicted of five offenses last year for running Central Coast Compassionate Caregivers, a medical marijuana store in San Luis Obispo County. (See: "Chronic City: The Sad Case of

  June 11, 2009

• Chronic City: Oh, Noes! Fewer Narcs! Budget Crisis Could Mean Fewer Drug Busts.

  Is it game over for the state's narcotics officers? California's budget crunch could cut almost a third of the agents from the Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement, according to Attorney General Jerry Brown.Budget negotiators, facing the financial meltdown of the state treasury, have proposed lopping $20 million from the bureau, on top of $12 million in previous cuts. Brown called it a "terrible budgetary decision" that would lead to layoffs for nearly a third of the BNE's agents.The agency, part of

  June 29, 2009

• Chronic City: To Tax Pot, Or Not? Oakland Votes Tuesday

  Photo: chron.ronThe color of moneyMail-in voting closes Tuesday on Measure F, a new ordinance in Oakland which would impose a special tax on sales of medical marijuana in the city's dispensaries. The measure would make Oakland the first city in the United States to have a business tax category for marijuana merchants.Dispensaries have already been paying a rate of $1.20 per $1,000 of gross receipts. Measure F would create a separate category for marijuana sellers, at a rate of $18 per $1,000 of

  July 20, 2009

• Chronic City: Aptly Named 'Joint Resolution' Succeeds; California Senate Urges Change in Federal Medical Marijuana Rules

  ​By a 23-15 vote, the California State Senate yesterday approved a "joint resolution" urging the federal government to stop Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) raids on medical marijuana patients and providers. The Sen. Mark Leno-authored resolution additionally calls for the nation to "create a comprehensive federal medical marijuana policy that ensures safe and legal access to any patient that would benefit from it."Marijuana advocates say recent enforcement activity, including DEA arrests followi

  August 25, 2009

• Chronic City: Fresno's Freakin' -- But Marijuana Dispensary To Stay Open

  Medmar ClinicMedmar Clinic is under legal attack from the City of Fresno.​You've gotta pity the poor, put-upon city officials of Fresno. After all, they've only had 13 years to suss out Proposition 215, this newfangled medical marijuana law that's being forced upon their fair city by more progressive Californians. And, heck, it's only been a little over half a decade since the legislature amplified and clarified the intent of the law with SB 420, opening the door for medical marijuana dispensa

  August 28, 2009

• Chronic City: Feds Lighten Up On Medical Marijuana Just As L.A. Tightens The Screws

  Photo by Rotbuche, Wikimedia CommonsLet my people grow.​In a stunning bit of role reversal, law enforcement officials in dispensary-heavy Los Angeles County are gearing up for a massive mobilization against hundreds of pot shops even while the Obama administration backs away from the federal government's traditional role as marijuana enforcer in the states where medical pot is legal.Today, the administration sent new, more relaxed medical marijuana guidelines to federal prosecutors in the 14 s

  October 19, 2009

• Awesome Biking Checklist: Pump, Gloves, and $40,000 in Drug-Tainted Cash

  D'oh!​When it comes to navigating the streets of San Francisco, life isn't fair for avid bicyclists.Take the case of a Wisconsin cyclist who apparently had the ride of the century planned when, in May, he sent a FedEx package through the San Francisco airport en route to a friend's place in Eureka, where he planned to move.

  October 23, 2009

• Chronic City: Poll Reveals San Diegans Want To Regulate Marijuana Dispensaries, Not Eliminate Them

  Photo: Coaster420, Wikimedia CommonsMedical marijuana: Legal as long as you don't actually buy it anywhere?​It's a classic case of disconnect between public policy and public opinion. As District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis continues with her medical marijuana dispensary crackdown in San Diego, a new poll indicates that a hefty majority of city residents favor leaving the pot shops open and regulating them.About 77 percent of San Diego's adult residents agree that the city has an obligation t

  October 29, 2009

• Chronic City: N. California's Top Federal Prosecutor -- 'Really Not A Change At All' In Medical Pot Enforcement

  ​Ah, "guidelines." They're a little more lax than "rules," which are a little looser than "laws." When it comes to guidelines, that's their strength -- and that's their weakness. Whereas laws and rules are "broken," guidelines can simply be "ignored."That truism is abundantly illustrated by this week's statements from George W. Bush appointee Joseph Russoniello, federal prosecutor for the northern district of California. "I think it's unfortunate that people have for some reason picked up on t

  November 3, 2009