On Tuesday, agents of the Pecos Valley Drug Taskforce in conjunction with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration searched the home of a registered medical marijuana patient who has lost the use of his legs and suffers chronic pain and muscle spasms due to a spinal cord injury. They seized his medicine and are now threatening to prosecute him in federal court where there are no legal protections for medical marijuana patients. This intimidating raid comes at the very time New Mexico officials are debating the best way to develop a state-licensed production and distribution system for medical marijuana.

A press release issued by the Pecos Valley Drug Task Force illustrates the political nature of the raid, reading in part, "Citizens of New Mexico need to be aware that they can still be prosecuted on the federal level even though New Mexico has a law permitting marijuana for medicinal use." The Pecos Valley Drug Task Force is part of the Southwest Border HIDTA, a local, state, and federal law enforcement partnership financed and managed by the drug czar's office.

This cruel misuse of law enforcement resources is only the latest scandal to be connected to regional narcotics taskforces. DPA has been trying to cut off federal funding to these corruption-prone taskforces for years. From the wrongful conviction of dozens of people in Tulia, Texas to the harassment of electronic music lovers in Flint, Michigan, these taskforces are at the center of some of our country's worst civil rights abuses.

Rind out more at the DRUG POLICY ALLIANCE website.