Dispensary Owner on Hunger Strike from Jail
"I want people to open their eyes and realize this is not just about marijuana." 
Like Ghandi and others with unwavering principles before him, 56-year-old medical marijuana patient and dispensary owner, Jerry Laberdee is on a hunger strike.
He has refused to eat since being locked up in a Spokane County Jail over a week ago.
It all started when Laberdee’s dispensary was raided earlier this year. Jessica Nuna, an employee at the dispensary, described agents and police officers as “calmly showing up and methodically going through everything in the store. ” They took away plants, cash, ounces of marijuana, cell phones, laptops, and a host of other dispensary tools.
The dispensary owner was detained, questioned, and charged with possession and intent to distribute. He was released under a host of conditions. Officials said that he must abstain from marijuana until a later court date and submit to random drug tests.
Jessica Vogel, one of Laberdee’s six children, told the Seattle Weekly that her father suffers from “chronic pain” and cannabis medicine has been the only thing to ever offer any relief.
Last week, Laberdee was arrested for violating his conditional release--pot plants had been found in his home and he refused to take a random drug test.
While locked up, Laberdee swore not to eat a crumb until he was granted permission to take medical marijuana and released. Medicinal cannabis is legal under Washington State law.
"I want people to open their eyes and realize this is not just about marijuana, it's about our constitutional rights are being stripped away," said Vogel. "People should be rioting in the streets.”
Supporters are encouraged to join Laberdee's wife and family in Spokane at on-going rallies outside of the Federal Building in Spokane.
Vogel also requests that people send letters of support to Laberdee during his incarceration to the following address:
Jerry Laberdee
1100 W. Mallon St.
Spokane WA 99260
Cell block 4518w
Sources: Seattle Weekly
