

Kansas Police shutdown cannabis oil activist’s Facebook - romefort
http://kansasexposed.org/2015/04/17/kansas-police-shutdown-cannabis-oil-activists-facebook-to-prevent-her-from-raising-money-for-her-legal-defense/

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tptacek
Wait, how, exactly, does a local police department have someone's Facebook
page taken down? Is there any source anyone can find that verifies that's what
happened?

Radley Balko did some reporting on this story, after Ben Swann broke it, and
neither of those two reporters said anything about Facebook.

Other reporting I've found actually _points_ to Facebook advocacy pages for
for Banda, who currently does have Facebook pages.

~~~
RexRollman
I don't like Facebook but I am finding it hard to believe that they would take
down someone's page based on a police request. You would think that a Judge's
order would at least be required.

~~~
fnordfnordfnord
I have a little problem believing that Garden City PD was actually able to
make contact with someone at fb who could do that, but I'd at least hope that
fb has a system in place for law enforcement to make contact with a fb staffer
who could expedite proper law enforcement requests. I don't have any problem
believing that fb would take a page offline after some sort of "administrative
subpoena" or other similar sketchiness. I also don't have a problem believing
that a judge could be found in a small Midwestern town who would sign off on
something like that. But I don't see anything to indicate that's what has
happened. If I had to guess, I'd guess that Banda consulted an atty who
promptly told her to 'shut down all the things' lest she make her legal
defense much more difficult and expensive.

~~~
Tomte
At least in Germany, Facebook doesn't even comply with court orders.

The Facebook Germany office just tells courts to talk to the Irish office, in
the knowledge that international judicial assistance is a big obstacle for
smaller cases and likely won't happen.

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zimbatm
> The Garden City Police Department had cannabis oil activist Shona Banda’s
> Facebook account shutdown because she was using her social media network to
> raise money for her legal defense

On what grounds is it illegal to raise funds ?

~~~
brandonmenc
Probably on the grounds that it's hard to push around a defendant who has a
lot of money for lawyers.

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justanother
Nevermind the Facebook page, they took her son into custody and questioned him
without parental consent or legal representation? I truly hope this ends badly
for the 'authorities' responsible, as it sounds to me like kidnapping.

~~~
cmurf
Kansas is what happens economically and socially when Republicans are
completely in charge. No balance. They are throwing the book at this woman,
and punishing her via her kid. That was their first and second course of
action. And this particular batch of social conservatives get vindictive when
they're made to look bad, so I'd expect her mistreatment to get worse before
it gets better.

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aaronbrager
> her next custody hearing is set to take place on April 20.

How… appropriate

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sergiotapia
I wish it were 100% legal like beer already. So many people use it, and it
harms just as much as alcohol. Stop putting normal people in prison with
murderers and rapists.

I've never done drugs before in my life but I know a ton of professional that
do. These are lawyers, doctors, accountants and the occasional taxidermist. Do
these people belong in jail? Fuck that.

~~~
narrowrail
>I've never done drugs before

I can only assume you mean cannabis is a drug, when, in fact, it is a plant.
Keeping with the idea that cannabis is a drug, am I correct to assume you have
never had a Pepsi or a cup of coffee?

~~~
tmerr
If you're going to be pedantic at least do it well. Going by the dictionary
definition of drug: "a medicine or other substance which has a physiological
effect when ingested or otherwise introduced into the body" both caffeine and
cannabis fit the bill.

~~~
narrowrail
Cannabis is a plant that _contains_ cannabinoids that are drugs. As a chemist,
I typically don't refer to unrefined plant material as a drug. Because people
don't typically consume caffeine raw, most people don't consider coffee
consumption "doing drugs"; so, I believe cannabis deserves the same
consideration.

Language matters, and I don't consider it to be pedantic to make this point
(however subtle the distinction is).

Edit: And, for reference (since you missed the definition of cannabis):
Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants that includes three different species,
Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica and Cannabis ruderalis.

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charliefg
This is the best thing that could have happened

~~~
aneeshm
Yep. Let's Streisand her GoFundMe:
[http://www.gofundme.com/rw8p88r](http://www.gofundme.com/rw8p88r)

~~~
userbinator
_$20,500 of $15k Raised by 820 people in 4 days_

That was fast.

Edit: now up to $20,735, an hour later. She's certainly getting lots of
support.

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jjar
> On March 24, cannabis oil activist Shona Banda‘s life was flipped upside-
> down

And I'd like to take a minute Just sit right there I'll tell you how I became
the prince of a town called Bel Air

~~~
snowy
It made me laugh too. I don't know why you are been down voted.

I guess there is no room for humor.

~~~
mrmondo
There is a culture of down voting for no-value-add. I think people use it as
an opportunity to shape the community which may be fair enough.

------
roarkjs
> The Garden City Police Department had cannabis oil activist Shona Banda’s
> Facebook account shutdown

Citation needed

~~~
researcher88
Her profile appears in my friends' list but when you click on it, it goes
nowhere and opens back up my feed.

~~~
joshuapants
Great, but where does that prove the police were involved? The source article
mentioned no evidence for that, and it doesn't strike me as the most reputable
source in any event.

~~~
adekok
She doesn't seem to have taken it down. Facebook doesn't generally take down
random peoples accounts.

The simplest explanation is that it was taken down against her will. Likely by
someone with pseudo-legal authority to do that.

i.e. "legal" authority, even if the application of that authority doesn't
actually follow the law.

~~~
joshuapants
I simply think that when presented a dubious claim with no evidence from a
shady source we should be skeptical.

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goldenkey
Lets hug of death her GoFundMe. They are attempting to destroy her ability to
attain funding for a defense. Thats what the motive here is.

[http://www.gofundme.com/rw8p88r](http://www.gofundme.com/rw8p88r)

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aetch
This article only mentions Facebook in one sentence. No supporting facts or
links...?

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nilved
Is there another source that is neutral?

~~~
markbnj
The Washington Post, at least, independently confirmed the account of the
school's actions on the day of the program.
[http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-
watch/wp/2015/04/17/s...](http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-
watch/wp/2015/04/17/state-seizes-11-year-old-arrests-his-mother-after-he-
defends-medical-marijuana-during-a-school-presentation/)

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eric_h
> her next custody hearing is set to take place on April 20.

Oh, the irony.

