DEA CSA enforcement in states with legal marijuana use

To Whom It May Concern:

This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records:

All training modules, policy guides and operational memos regarding enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act in states that have legalized marijuana use.

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

In the event that fees cannot be waived, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Shawn Musgrave

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Feb. 9, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #14-00247-F.

Thank you for your help.

Hello,

A copy of the appeal below has been sent to OIP. Please let me know if I can provide any further clarification of my request, and I would be happy to withdraw the appeal.

Best,
Shawn Musgrave

--------

Director, Office of Information Policy
United States Department of Justice
Suite 11050
1425 New York Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001

March 31, 2014

To Whom It May Concern:

This is an appeal for FOIA request 14-00247-F. I appeal the adequacy of the DEA's search as it processed my request, and ask that this FOIA be remanded back to the DEA for a good faith review.

On February 9, 2014, I submitted a FOIA request to the Drug Enforcement Agency for "All training modules, policy guides and operational memos regarding enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act in states that have legalized marijuana use."

In a March 18, 2014 letter (attached), the DEA indicated that it had found no documents responsive to my request "due to the lack of detailed guidance, reports, or investigation reference numbers."

I more than adequately described the circumstances that would lead to the creation of documents that I requested. In particular, given the tension between many states' laws and the federal Controlled Substances Act, I presume that the DEA has had occasion to review these tensions and disseminate guidance to its field agents in relevant states.

Beyond this entirely reasonably presumption, the DEA has already released documents that would fall within my request. In response to FOIA request 13-00541-F, the DEA released a number of slide presentations that touched on such tensions between the CSA and state law. I've attached excerpts from one such presentation. This presentation, which was approved for dissemination by the DEA in 2011, touched tangentially on the issue, but articulated positions in such a way as to suggest that the DEA has issued more detailed guidance on the subject.

For this and any other reasons deemed applicable by the appeals authority, I request that this FOIA be remanded back to the DEA for a good faith review and release of responsive documents.

Respectfully,

Shawn Musgrave
MuckRock

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Feb. 9, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #14-00247-F ; AP-2014-02468.

Thank you for your help.

Hello,

Per the attached, I have been classified as an "all other" requester for the purposes of FOIA fees. Please let me know if DEA FOIA will require me to submit a subsequent appeal (in addition to the initial appeal of the DEA's failure to locate documents) in order to revise my classification to the more appropriate media requester category.

To support my classification as a member of the media, please see my numerous published articles on a range of issues pertaining to law enforcement, including a number regarding the DEA itself:

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/the-san-jose-pd-says-its-sorry-for-misleading-the-public-about-its-drone

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/do-the-fbis-drones-invade-your-privacy-sorry-thats-private

https://www.muckrock.com/news/archives/2014/feb/03/dea-parallel-construction-guides/

https://www.muckrock.com/news/archives/2014/feb/04/method-so-acceptable-dea-cant-even-tell-you-its-na/

Please confirm right away whether I ought to submit a subsequent appeal of this fee category determination, or whether the DEA FOIA office is able to amend my categorization and proceed with searching for responsive documents for this request.

Thank you,
Shawn

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Feb. 9, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #14-00247-F ; AP-2014-02468 ; 14-00091-AP.

Thank you for your help.

Hello,

As you will see in the email chain below, on August 8, 2014 I sent a request for clarification as to my errant classification as an "all other" requester rather than as a clear member of the press. Please advise whether the DEA will require me to submit yet another appeal regarding its handling of this FOIA request.

Given the considerable delays that DEA has prompted by failing to read previous correspondence and by failing to appropriately classify me in the first place, I would appreciate a response immediately upon receipt of this email.

Respectfully,

Shawn Musgrave
MuckRock

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Feb. 9, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #14-00247-F ; AP-2014-02468 ; 14-00091-AP.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Feb. 9, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #14-00247-F ; AP-2014-02468 ; 14-00091-AP.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Feb. 9, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #14-00247-F ; AP-2014-02468 ; 14-00091-AP.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Feb. 9, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #14-00247-F ; AP-2014-02468 ; 14-00091-AP.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Feb. 9, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #14-00247-F ; AP-2014-02468 ; 14-00091-AP.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Feb. 9, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #14-00247-F ; AP-2014-02468 ; 14-00091-AP.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Feb. 9, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #14-00247-F ; AP-2014-02468 ; 14-00091-AP.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Feb. 9, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #14-00247-F ; AP-2014-02468 ; 14-00091-AP.

Thank you for your help.