Almost 18 years after California voters legalized medical marijuana, yet police terrorize thousands of patient-cultivators each growing season with warrantless, no-knock raids. Defense attorneys say California officers are willfully ignoring established law, and it’s hard not to believe them when you see incidents like this.

Advocacy group Reform California posted pictures Oct. 24 of San Diego area officers raiding patients while wearing T-shirts that read: ‘FUCK THE GROWERS … MARIJUANA’S STILL ILLEGAL”.

Members of the San Diego’s Narcotics Task Force wore the shirts during a Wednesday raid in Imperial Beach.

Cannabis is illegal under federal law, but state officers are supposed to respect patient rights. Californians with a doctor’s note can possess or grow any amount of cannabis that is deemed medically necessary. Attorney General’s guidelines call for less than eight ounces of dried buds, or six mature, flowering plants per patient.

The California Narcotic Officers Association states that marijuana is not medicine, and publishes methods to help imprison qualified patients.

About 20,000 Californians were arrested on pot-related charges in 2013.

UPDATED Tuesday 10-28-14 at 9:33 a.m.

ABC10 got an apology statement from law enforcement: