Marijuananews.com Special Report
By Richard Cowan
June 11, 1998Tuesday night, in a brazen extension of the
DEA’s war on hemp, a DEA agent and six Massachusetts and Provincetown police
officers, acting under a Federal Court search warrant, raided stores owned by long time
hemp activist and clothing entrepreneur, Ronny Hazel.
xtc@tiac.net
Hazel’s line of Freak Street Hempware is marketed nationally and has a hemp
leaf symbol on either the garment or on a hang tag. The police took
everything with a hemp leaf, but not clothing that was only labeled as being made of hemp
and had no leaf symbol.
The raid took place under the color of a warrant for "paraphernalia." The
police took smoking accessories patented and/or designed for tobacco use, but this is not
an uncommon practice. Hazel, however, was surprised when they told him that they were
seizing everything with the hemp leaf.
NORML Legal Committee member, Michael D. Cutler, has reviewed the warrant
and reports that it says nothing about hemp leaves, but the police claimed to have a
"seizure list" that authorized them to seize everything with the leaf. No one
has seen this list, as yet.
Seizing items simply because they have a hemp leaf is a clear violation of the First
Amendment, but this fact does not get Hazel his inventory back. For that he will have to
go to court.
This action is obviously economic warfare in an attempt to suppress the sale of hemp
clothing in any store with smoking accessories. This is an important part of the market
for many small hemp clothing manufacturers, as well as the accessory stores. Such stores
are a source of information on cannabis, so closing them would harm both the hemp and
marijuana reform movements.
See
Hemp Issue Now
Ready for the Big Time; New Law Suits and Political Support;
The DEA Is In a No-Win Position
Similar actions have been undertaken by Canadian police in violation of the Canadian
constitution.
See
Canadian Police
Violate Supreme Court Ruling Again In Raid On Hemp Store
-- Even Seize Government Publications
It is obvious why the hemp industry wants to separate itself from the "marijuana
issue," but it is equally obvious that the prohibitionists are not going to allow
this to happen.
See
The Drug Czar’s Position On
Industrial Hemp – It’s Just Marijuana and Besides The Farmers Don’t Need It
and
Is The Hemp Leaf
Just A Fig Leaf For Marijuana? Uneasy Relationships in the Cannabis Movements
NORML has said that it will be closely monitoring this case.
The Hemp Page of Marijuananews.com is edited
by John E. Dvorak, Hempologist &
Managing Editor, Hemp Magazine.
John was born in Fort Worth, Texas, but is an eight year resident
of Allston/Brighton, MA, where he is the proprietor of the Boston Hemp Co-op and Managing
Editor of Hemp Magazine. He is a member of the Hemp Industries Association, the
International Hemp Association, and Mass/Cann NORML.
=-=-=-=-=-
Hemp Magazine
Advertising & subscription info:
Richard Tomcala, Publisher
hempmag@lconn.com
713-523-3199
Hemp news & writers wanted!
Contact John E. Dvorak, Managing Editor
boston.hemp@pobox.com
617-254-HEMP
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