By Ramy Eletreby

DEA Raids Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

Federal agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration raided five medical marijuana dispensaries in West Hollywood Jan. 17, while simultaneously hitting six others in Hollywood, Venice, Sherman Oaks and Woodland Hills. More than 20 people were detained for questioning, but no charges were filed, the Los Angeles Times reported.

DEA agents confiscated more than 100 boxes of evidence, DEA spokesperson Sarah Pullen told the Times, including thousands of pounds of processed marijuana (some in edible form), hundreds of plants, various guns and bags of cash. "Anyone in possession, selling or distributing marijuana is in violation of federal law and subject to prosecution," she said. Pullen said there had been complaints of too many dispensaries and an increase in crime around the areas near the dispensaries.

Protesters booed the masked DEA agents during the midday raid of three dispensaries in the 7800 block of Santa Monica Boulevard of West Hollywood, shouting, “State’s rights!” according to the Times. In 1996, voters approved Prop. 215, the Compassionate Use Act, which allowed the use of marijuana for medical purposes with a prescription. In 2004 an additional law was passed that clarified such legal possession of the drug.

Ironically, the day before the raid both the West Hollywood City Council and the L.A. Police Commission voted to cap the number of dispensaries.

West Hollywood officials were angry that the DEA did not extend the courtesy of notification prior to the raids. “The DEA raids came as a complete surprise to the city. It is regrettable that the federal, state and local governments cannot work together on this issue,” West Hollywood City Councilmember Jeff Prang told IN Los Angeles magazine. “The DEA's enforcement of federal drug laws against the dispensaries is in conflict with Proposition 215, a ballot measure approved by the California voters in 1996 decriminalizing the use of medical marijuana.

“The City of West Hollywood has been a long-standing supporter of the use of marijuana that is prescribed, dispensed and used for medicinal purposes,” Prang continued. “West Hollywood is home to a disproportionately high number of people with HIV and AIDS, for which medicinal marijuana diminishes suffering. Today's actions again demonstrate the skewed priorities of the Bush administration and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. We have worked closely with our community to insure these establishments operate safely and comply with the spirit of Proposition 215 adopted by the voters of California.”

Point Foundation Accepting Applications

The Point Foundation, the nation’s largest nonprofit foundation supporting academic achievement in higher education among LGBT youth, recently announced major changes, including relocating its base of operations to Los Angeles and naming Jorge Valencia as its new executive director.

"Despite gains in civil rights and progress in our culture, a great number of LGBT youth in this country face enormous challenges simply because of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. Due to this fact, and to Point Foundation's increased outreach, we expect a significant increase in applications this year," Valencia told IN. "It's quite inspiring to meet so many outstanding LGBT students who represent this community’s future leaders. To be a part of this process is both a great honor and a great responsibility."

All LGBT students who will be enrolled in undergraduate or graduate programs for the 2007-08 school year are encouraged to apply for the prestigious, multi-year scholarships. Applications are currently being accepted through March 1.

MtvU, MTV’s 24-hour college network, will partner with Point to offer a joint scholarship. There are currently 61 Point Scholars in school and 16 alumni. For more information, see www.thepointfoundation.org.

S.F. Police Slow on Investigating Assault

The San Francisco Police Department is being criticized for its handling of a possible homophobic hate crime on New Year’s Eve that left two members of the all-male Yale singing group Baker’s Dozen injured. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, police at the scene claimed nobody was able to provide a substantiated account of what happened or who was responsible. However, a source contradicted police, telling the Chronicle, “The singers who pointed out the suspects were told, we got it, you can go.”

Black Caucus Calls Attention to HIV/AIDS

The California Legislative Black Caucus introduced a resolution (HR4) on Jan. 11 to proclaim Feb. 7 as National Black HIV/AIDS Day in California. Caucus members will wear T-shirts on the state Assembly floor asking, “Got AIDS? How do you know?”

For seven years, Feb. 7 has marked National Black HIV/AIDS Day, encouraging African Americans to get educated, tested, involved and treated for HIV/AIDS. According to the Centers for Disease Control, blacks account for almost half of the nations’ AIDS cases.

“It is imperative that we garner as much attention as possible on the HIV/AIDS epidemic,” Assembly Majority Leader Karen Bass (D-L.A.), vice-chair of the caucus, says in a press release. “On this day, we will join other caucuses throughout the country to bring awareness to this issue that has become a serious health crisis in the black community.”

On Feb. 6, In the Meantime Men’s Group will hold their fourth annual HIV/AIDS Town Hall Community Forum “Bringing the Village Together” at the Village Health Foundation Community Room. Included will be a panel discussion and readings from “Not in My Family: AIDS in the African American Community.” For more information, see www.inthemeantimemen.org.

DeCrescenzo Honored

Teresa DeCrescenzo, executive director of Gay and Lesbian Adolescent Social Services (GLASS), will be honored in New York City Jan. 29 by the National Child Labor Committee for her more than two decades of work on behalf of LGBT youth, especially those in foster care.

The honor is timely. On Jan. 17, the Children's Advocacy Institute in San Diego released a report critical of California for neglecting foster children who “age out” of the system with nowhere to go. State Sen. Carole Migden (D-San Francisco) is reportedly planning legislation to provide financial aid.

Migden and Leno Headed for a Smackdown?

Politicos in Sacramento have been musing about the possibility of what San Francisco Chronicle reporter Carla Marinucci calls an electoral “smackdown” between openly gay Assemblymember Mark Leno and state Sen. Carole Migden.

At a breakfast honoring Martin Luther King Jr., Marinucci asked Leno if he would challenge Migden for her seat. "Democracy is best served when voters have choices. It's curious: No one presumes the mayor is automatically given a second term or that our local legislators are presumed to have two terms," Marinucci reported on her blog Jan. 16. "So why is it that anyone would question that a state legislator should have competition, resulting in debate—which allows for accountability?''

Leno said he’ll make a “formal, and final decision” in the next few weeks. Midgen, who was also at the breakfast, told Marinucci that in politics, "you don't deal with hypotheticals." - Karen Ocamb

Calls for Cancellation of Show

Black lesbian activist Jasmyne Cannick is calling on her blog for the cancellation of a West Hollywood performance by white drag queen Charles Knipp, who appears in blackface as Ebonics-speaking welfare mother Shirley Q. Liquor, scheduled at The Factory on Feb. 11. She promises a protest if the show isn't cancelled. “I am tired of people using blacks as the punch line of racial jokes and laughing all the way to the bank,” Cannick says.

His “bizarre form of comedy” is intended “to help heal racism,” Knipp said in a statement to IN. “I have pondered the ideas of those people who see what I do as blatantly racist, misogynistic and harmful, and have asked God's guidance to temper my act to best suit.”

Among Knipp's supporters is black gay drag queen RuPaul, with whom Knipp has recorded a CD and shot an upcoming movie.- Karen Ocamb

Rev. King Remembered

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. is best remembered for his “I Have A Dream” speech during the 1963 March on Washington, where he inspired a nation. “[We] will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream,” King said.

The struggle for justice included the LGBT community, his late wife Coretta Scott King often said, noting their friendship with openly gay March organizer Bayard Rustin.

On Jan. 15, the national holiday remembering the assassinated leader, In the Meantime Men’s Group held a celebration at The Village honoring several local leaders. “This is an opportunity for the entire community to celebrate King-consciousness and to affirm and recommit ourselves to the concerns and social ills of today,” In the Meantime Executive Director Jeffrey King told IN.

“Today, as we celebrate the life achievement of a man that meant so much to so many, we need to take some time to reflect on what we are doing in our lives to keep the dream alive and pay it forward, so that those coming behind us have it better than we did,” said activist Jasmyne Cannick. “We are our brother’s and sister’s keepers.” - Karen Ocamb