If you know of an event that you feel should be listed on our calendar, please send details to info@mjdispensaries.com ~Thank You
Monday, May 31, 2010
VIDEO: Orange County Senior Citizens Form Medical Marijuana Collective
LAGUNA WOODS, Calif. -- It's the last place you might expect to find hundreds of people smoking pot: But seniors living at the Laguna Woods Village retirement community -- also known as "Leisure World" -- have formed a non-profit, patient-run medical marijuana collective.
NEWS: Planning board rejects permit for medical marijuana
A medical marijuana dispensary proposed for Lindon Lane in Nipomo won’t be opening its doors anytime soon, if ever.
With a 3-2 vote Thursday, the San Luis Obispo County Planning Commission denied a minor-use permit for the medical marijuana collective proposed by Robert Brody of Los Angeles and Tom Meredith of Long Beach.
A county ordinance allowing establishment of dispensaries in unincorporated areas such as Nipomo and Oceano specifies the facilities must be located 1,000 feet away from public schools, playgrounds, parks, youth or recreation centers and libraries.
Although the proposed dispensary on Lindon Lane was more than 1,000 feet from Nipomo High School, a private gymnastics studio is located within 94 feet of the building where the facility would have been located.
County planning staff recommended the commission deny the permit because of the dispensary’s close proximity to the gymnastics studio.
Project planner Bill Robeson told the commission that the Planning Department took a “conservative stance” by applying the ordinance’s distance requirement to the gymnastics facility.
“That’s our basis for denial,” Robeson said, adding that the distance requirement was meant to protect children.
The majority of the commissioners denied the permit because they felt the facility wouldn’t be a compatible use for the commercial-serving neighborhood, and that the dispensary didn’t meet the requirements of the county’s ordinance.
“I do believe a gym falls into the definition of recreation, and that the 1,000-feet distance (requirement) specifically applies here,” said Commissioner Dan O’Grady, who voted to deny the permit.
Commissioners Carlyn Christianson and Anne Wyatt, who both dissented, said they don’t believe the private facility falls within the parameters of a public youth-serving center.
Wyatt also indicated she feels that not permitting the dispensary in Nipomo would be a loss for county residents that use medical marijuana but don’t have safe access locally to the drug.
“If we don’t allow it in this spot, I don’t think we’ll see one anywhere,” Wyatt said, adding that denying the permit was equal to a “de facto moratorium” on dispensaries. “I think that’s a sad reality for people in chronic pain who need this.”
Robeson told the commission there are very few locations in the unincorporated areas of the county where a dispensary could open.
“It’s really difficult,” he said.
There are between 400 and 500 residents in the county who have medical marijuana identification cards, according to planning staff.
The proposed dispensary met overwhelming opposition from the community, which felt the facility would be a magnet for criminal activity that couldn’t be abated because of a lack of law enforcement in Nipomo.
“I can’t think of one benefit of having this in Nipomo,” said Linda Pruit, who along with her husband own the commercial center where the gymnastics studio is located.
The South County Advisory Council voted unanimously earlier this year to recommend denial of the project.
After the hearing, Brody expressed disappointment with the commission’s decision, and said he didn’t know whether he and Meredith would appeal. They have 14 days to appeal the decision to the Board of Supervisors.
Source: Santa Maria Times
With a 3-2 vote Thursday, the San Luis Obispo County Planning Commission denied a minor-use permit for the medical marijuana collective proposed by Robert Brody of Los Angeles and Tom Meredith of Long Beach.
A county ordinance allowing establishment of dispensaries in unincorporated areas such as Nipomo and Oceano specifies the facilities must be located 1,000 feet away from public schools, playgrounds, parks, youth or recreation centers and libraries.
Although the proposed dispensary on Lindon Lane was more than 1,000 feet from Nipomo High School, a private gymnastics studio is located within 94 feet of the building where the facility would have been located.
County planning staff recommended the commission deny the permit because of the dispensary’s close proximity to the gymnastics studio.
Project planner Bill Robeson told the commission that the Planning Department took a “conservative stance” by applying the ordinance’s distance requirement to the gymnastics facility.
“That’s our basis for denial,” Robeson said, adding that the distance requirement was meant to protect children.
The majority of the commissioners denied the permit because they felt the facility wouldn’t be a compatible use for the commercial-serving neighborhood, and that the dispensary didn’t meet the requirements of the county’s ordinance.
“I do believe a gym falls into the definition of recreation, and that the 1,000-feet distance (requirement) specifically applies here,” said Commissioner Dan O’Grady, who voted to deny the permit.
Commissioners Carlyn Christianson and Anne Wyatt, who both dissented, said they don’t believe the private facility falls within the parameters of a public youth-serving center.
Wyatt also indicated she feels that not permitting the dispensary in Nipomo would be a loss for county residents that use medical marijuana but don’t have safe access locally to the drug.
“If we don’t allow it in this spot, I don’t think we’ll see one anywhere,” Wyatt said, adding that denying the permit was equal to a “de facto moratorium” on dispensaries. “I think that’s a sad reality for people in chronic pain who need this.”
Robeson told the commission there are very few locations in the unincorporated areas of the county where a dispensary could open.
“It’s really difficult,” he said.
There are between 400 and 500 residents in the county who have medical marijuana identification cards, according to planning staff.
The proposed dispensary met overwhelming opposition from the community, which felt the facility would be a magnet for criminal activity that couldn’t be abated because of a lack of law enforcement in Nipomo.
“I can’t think of one benefit of having this in Nipomo,” said Linda Pruit, who along with her husband own the commercial center where the gymnastics studio is located.
The South County Advisory Council voted unanimously earlier this year to recommend denial of the project.
After the hearing, Brody expressed disappointment with the commission’s decision, and said he didn’t know whether he and Meredith would appeal. They have 14 days to appeal the decision to the Board of Supervisors.
Source: Santa Maria Times
Sunday, May 30, 2010
NEWS: California lawmakers face deadline to pass legislation
Friday is the last day for bills to pass their first house. About 360 measures will be up for votes starting Tuesday after lawmakers return from a Memorial Day break.
The list would have been longer had it not been for California's $19 billion budget deficit. Appropriations committees last week derailed dozens of bills for fear the state can't afford the associated cost.
The bills that clear their originating chamber will soon start working their way through committees in the opposite house. Bills must pass both the Senate and Assembly by Aug. 31.
The legislation is a mix, from consumer protections to paparazzi restrictions to gun controls.
Here are some of the bills scheduled for Senate votes this week:
— The secretary of state's official pre-election ballot pamphlet would tell voters which groups are financially backing initiatives under a bill by Sen. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Concord. His SB1202 would require listing the five top contributors to each ballot measure and the amount of their contributions as of 110 days before Election Day.
— Sports agents representing student athletes would have greater scrutiny and more restrictive contracts, under SB1098. The measure by Sen. Ellen Corbett, D-San Leandro, would require agents to register with the Department of Industrial Relations. Student athletes would have 14 days to opt out of contracts, and agents would have to notify the student's school within three days of signing the document.
— It would be tougher for local governments to file for bankruptcy under an Assembly bill that was amended in the Senate. AB155 by Assemblyman Tony Mendoza, D-Artesia, would require governments to go before the California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission before filing for Chapter 9 bankruptcy. The local governments could override the commission's recommendation.
— California could soon set its own comfort standards for airline passengers stuck on the tarmac for more than two hours. SB1264 by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, would require commercial airlines to provide passengers with food and beverages, restrooms, fresh air and lighting. The state Public Utilities Commission could fine airlines up to $27,500 per passenger for violations.
— Customers could redeem gift certificates or gift cards for cash if the remaining value is less than $20 under a bill by Sen. Ellen Corbett, D-San Leandro. Her SB885 also prohibits charging dormancy fees for unused cards. Her bill was prompted by the estimated $6.4 billion worth of gift cards that went unspent nationally in 2008.
— Private employers would have to give employees time off to donate organs or bone marrow under SB1304. The bill by Sen. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Concord, would give employees of private companies the same leave rights that are available to many public employees.
— Consumers could opt out of receiving telephone directories under a bill by Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco. His SB920 would require directory publishers to put information on the cover of their directories telling recipients how they can avoid getting the printed listings in the future.
Here are some of the bills scheduled for Assembly votes this week:
— It would be illegal to openly carry a gun in public, even if it's unloaded, under a bill by Assemblywoman Lori Saldana, D-San Diego. The bill, AB1934, would make it a misdemeanor to carry an exposed handgun on any public street or in a public place. Saldana says unloaded guns pose a threat to public safety, in part because gun owners are allowed to carry ammunition with them. Republicans say the bill would infringe on a person's right to bear arms.
— Individuals convicted of illegally carrying a gun would be banned from owning a firearm for 10 years under AB2186 by Assemblyman Kevin De Leon, D-Los Angeles. De Leon says studies show that criminals convicted of firearm-related offenses are more likely to commit a violent offense. The bill would apply to individuals convicted of illegally carrying a concealed firearm in a motor vehicle, carrying a loaded firearm or permitting firearms in their vehicles.
— A criminal's conviction as a juvenile would no longer count toward the state's Three Strikes law under AB1751 by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco. Ammiano says the current law discriminates against juveniles who often are not given a jury trail. Republicans say the bill would put Californians at risk by allowing the release of convicted criminals who have committed serious crimes in the past.
— Paparazzi could be arrested for loitering outside a celebrity's home or work place under legislation by Assemblywoman Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles. AB2479 also would make it a crime under California's anti-stalking statute for paparazzi to participate in surveillance activities outside schools of a celebrity's child. Bass says her bill is an effort to stem the aggressive tactics of paparazzi vying to get valuable photos and recordings of celebrities.
— Medical marijuana storefronts would be banned within 600 feet of a school under AB2650 by Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan, D-Alamo. Local governments that already have enacted ordinances governing the location of cooperatives and dispensaries would be exempted. Cities would be allowed to impose more stringent regulations under the bill. Medical marijuana advocates say the bill could result in the closure of dispensaries that serve thousands of ill patients.
— Supermarket shoppers would be charged for grocery bags beginning in 2012 under legislation by Assemblywoman Julia Brownley, D-Santa Monica. AB1998 would ban grocery stores, large pharmacies and convenience stores from providing free plastic or paper bags. Only recycled paper bags made of 40 percent post-consumer material could be sold to shoppers who forget to bring their own bags. Brownley has said disposable bags are wasteful, and kill or maim marine wildlife and cost Californians more than $25 million a year to collect and truck to landfills. The California Taxpayers' Association says disposable bags are affordable and convenient.
— The state would have a new Department of Energy led by a cabinet head under legislation by Assemblyman Mike Villines, R-Clovis. The department would replace the California Energy Commission. AB2561 is sponsored by the Schwarzenegger administration as a way to consolidate state energy policy.
— Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger would need to win legislative approval to sell two dozen state office buildings under a bill by Assemblyman Hector De La Torre, D-South Gate. The Republican governor has promoted the sales as a way to help close California's $19 billion budget deficit. AB2605 also would require the administration to perform a 50-year cost-benefit analysis before selling the buildings. Lawmakers have questioned whether selling and then renting back the buildings makes economic sense.
Source: Mercury News
Saturday, May 29, 2010
VIDEO: California Marijuana Workers Vote to Unionize
About 100 workers in Oakland, California's medical marijuana industry voted to join the Retail, Statewide Agriculture, Food Processing and Community Patient Care Union. It's believed to be the first case of cannabis workers unionizing in the country.
Friday, May 28, 2010
NEWS: "Hippie Disneyland" Comes To Red Bluff
The World Hemp Expo Extravaganja sparked up Friday in Red Bluff, transforming an empty field off 99W into a one stop shop for everything marijuana.
The event is a major victory for Red Bluff resident and festival organizer Donna Will, who has been fighting for years to change people's perceptions of pot.
"This is actually just a way to show that we are loving, caring, no problem people and we're just having fun," said Will.
The three day festival is drawing in pot advocates from all over the country. Some festival goers came to shop, others came to smoke and mingle.
Richard Eastman, the self-described founder of the medical marijuana movement, is here to push his political agenda.
"Free the weed, free the weed," yelled Eastman. "This is about freedom, it's not about taxation of marijuana. So I'm asking everyone to vote no on the tax and regulate act."
Chris Jansen is not as interested in the marijuana movement, he set up a booth to find customers for his water distribution business.
"Let's just be honest with each other here, a lot of the people who need water these days are folks that are growing medical marijuana. So you put two and two together, it might be a good fit for me to do a bit of business here," said Jansen.
A lot of work has gone into organizing and now policing the Expo. An onsite security team will be on hand all weekend checking for alcohol, weapons and illegal drugs (everyone smoking marijuana is supposed to have a valid prescription). But just outside the gates are Tehama County Sheriff's deputies, ready to step in if things get out of hand.
"We have a doubled unit, that's going to be working now until it's over, to make sure that we have a response time of a minute or less."
Source: CBS Affiliate KHSL
The event is a major victory for Red Bluff resident and festival organizer Donna Will, who has been fighting for years to change people's perceptions of pot.
"This is actually just a way to show that we are loving, caring, no problem people and we're just having fun," said Will.
The three day festival is drawing in pot advocates from all over the country. Some festival goers came to shop, others came to smoke and mingle.
Richard Eastman, the self-described founder of the medical marijuana movement, is here to push his political agenda.
"Free the weed, free the weed," yelled Eastman. "This is about freedom, it's not about taxation of marijuana. So I'm asking everyone to vote no on the tax and regulate act."
Chris Jansen is not as interested in the marijuana movement, he set up a booth to find customers for his water distribution business.
"Let's just be honest with each other here, a lot of the people who need water these days are folks that are growing medical marijuana. So you put two and two together, it might be a good fit for me to do a bit of business here," said Jansen.
A lot of work has gone into organizing and now policing the Expo. An onsite security team will be on hand all weekend checking for alcohol, weapons and illegal drugs (everyone smoking marijuana is supposed to have a valid prescription). But just outside the gates are Tehama County Sheriff's deputies, ready to step in if things get out of hand.
"We have a doubled unit, that's going to be working now until it's over, to make sure that we have a response time of a minute or less."
Source: CBS Affiliate KHSL
NEWS: Boy can return to Calgary after 2 years in U.S: judge
CALGARY — A U.S. judge has ruled a young Calgary boy can return to Canada after being shuffled through a series of foster homes in Oregon for nearly two years.
Canadian lawyer Tony Merchant said the decision was made late Friday that 12-year-old Noah Kirkman can start a gradual process of moving back home.
"The court has said that he's to come back to Canada, live with his grandparents with a view to living with his mother, essentially, as soon as possible," Merchant said after attending the hearing in Eugene, Ore.
Lisa Kirkman said her son was seized in 2008 during a summer spent visiting his stepfather, who wasn't considered a legal guardian.
The boy, then 10, had been stopped several times by police for riding without a helmet and playing in areas he shouldn't have been, and officials grew concerned when they discovered Noah had social services files in Canada, including in British Columbia.
Kirkman said the files were open to enable the boy to access special mental health programs for his special needs, which include a severe form of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Merchant said Noah's grandparents were present for the Friday hearing and had the chance to have dinner with the boy.
"They're very happy here, the family's very happy. Noah's happy," he said.
Kirkman has said she thought U.S. justice officials might be hung up on the fact she has edited marijuana-related magazines and has a criminal record for growing medical marijuana for her husband, who has chronic fatigue syndrome. Her sentence for her conviction was a short period of community service.
She initially offered up her parents' house as an alternative living arrangement in the hopes it would allow Noah to come home more quickly.
Merchant said Noah will originally stay with his grandparents because their house is familiar to him, while Kirkman has since moved. He said Lisa Kirkman will still have custody of Noah, and that the measure is simply to ensure a smooth transition.
"This is a good boy, he's been doing well in school here, he's an A student here (in Oregon), he was an A student in Canada," Merchant said. "But he still has to adjust, he has to be told he's going back."
Noah is expected to start the process of moving back home in about three weeks.
Source: CTV News
Canadian lawyer Tony Merchant said the decision was made late Friday that 12-year-old Noah Kirkman can start a gradual process of moving back home.
"The court has said that he's to come back to Canada, live with his grandparents with a view to living with his mother, essentially, as soon as possible," Merchant said after attending the hearing in Eugene, Ore.
Lisa Kirkman said her son was seized in 2008 during a summer spent visiting his stepfather, who wasn't considered a legal guardian.
The boy, then 10, had been stopped several times by police for riding without a helmet and playing in areas he shouldn't have been, and officials grew concerned when they discovered Noah had social services files in Canada, including in British Columbia.
Kirkman said the files were open to enable the boy to access special mental health programs for his special needs, which include a severe form of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Merchant said Noah's grandparents were present for the Friday hearing and had the chance to have dinner with the boy.
"They're very happy here, the family's very happy. Noah's happy," he said.
Kirkman has said she thought U.S. justice officials might be hung up on the fact she has edited marijuana-related magazines and has a criminal record for growing medical marijuana for her husband, who has chronic fatigue syndrome. Her sentence for her conviction was a short period of community service.
She initially offered up her parents' house as an alternative living arrangement in the hopes it would allow Noah to come home more quickly.
Merchant said Noah will originally stay with his grandparents because their house is familiar to him, while Kirkman has since moved. He said Lisa Kirkman will still have custody of Noah, and that the measure is simply to ensure a smooth transition.
"This is a good boy, he's been doing well in school here, he's an A student here (in Oregon), he was an A student in Canada," Merchant said. "But he still has to adjust, he has to be told he's going back."
Noah is expected to start the process of moving back home in about three weeks.
Source: CTV News
NEWS: Medical Marijuana Shops vs. The City of Los Angeles: The Fight Continues
Less than two weeks from the day Los Angeles’ medical marijuana ordinance will close over 400 unregistered dispensaries, court orders against the law are making their way to the courtroom — so far, without any luck.
The Los Angeles Times reports (via Reason.com) that four dispensaries’ temporary restraining orders against the law were denied. Without a court order allowing businesses to temporarily stop the city from shutting them down, shop owners could face daily fines and arrest. The four shops are part of 44 medical marijuana dispensaries that have filed two lawsuits against the city. In early May, nearly 450 medical marijuana dispensaries were notified they would have to close June 7, the day the ordinance takes effect.
Los Angeles has struggled for years to regulate the city’s medical marijuana industry — much like Sacramento, Colorado Springs, several Montana cities and many others. But more so than any other city, Los Angeles has been a hot spot for the sale of medical marijuana, largely because businesses have remained fairly unregulated. At one point, according to an AP article, the city had more medical marijuana shops than Starbucks. Then, complaints started pouring in from residents concerned with their neighborhoods and city officials began to worry.
Under the new ordinance, which the city been working on in January,
only shops that registered with the city before a November 2007 moratorium will be allowed to operate. But Brian Doherty at Reason points out that a judge declared the moratorium legally void in 2009. Owners that do not close their businesses June 7 could face a misdemeanor charge, six months in jail or a $1,000 fine. They could also face civil penalties of $2,500 a day. City officials have estimated that close to 130 stores will be allowed to stay open. Those businesses will have to adhere to a number of other regulations under the ordinance and then apply to operate legally.
Though city officials believed authorizing the court orders might encourage other dispensaries to take similar actions, Wednesday’s failure could have gone much different, had another judge — someone who’s been critical of the way the city handled medical marijuana shops — taken the case. Instead, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge David P. Yaffe denied the temporary restraining orders. “The temporary restraining order is denied, again, and for the last time,” Yaffe said.
According to the LA Times, dispensaries aren’t the only ones filing lawsuits. Attorney Stewart Richlin filed nine lawsuits this week to seek court orders to halt enforcement of the ordinance; Eric Shevin, another attorney, plans to file a lawsuit on behalf of medical marijuana patients and pursue an order to bar Los Angeles from enforcing the ordinance. In the coming months, the city of Los Angeles will face a tough, and costly, legal battle to protect its law.
Source: CampusProgress.org
The Los Angeles Times reports (via Reason.com) that four dispensaries’ temporary restraining orders against the law were denied. Without a court order allowing businesses to temporarily stop the city from shutting them down, shop owners could face daily fines and arrest. The four shops are part of 44 medical marijuana dispensaries that have filed two lawsuits against the city. In early May, nearly 450 medical marijuana dispensaries were notified they would have to close June 7, the day the ordinance takes effect.
Los Angeles has struggled for years to regulate the city’s medical marijuana industry — much like Sacramento, Colorado Springs, several Montana cities and many others. But more so than any other city, Los Angeles has been a hot spot for the sale of medical marijuana, largely because businesses have remained fairly unregulated. At one point, according to an AP article, the city had more medical marijuana shops than Starbucks. Then, complaints started pouring in from residents concerned with their neighborhoods and city officials began to worry.
Under the new ordinance, which the city been working on in January,
only shops that registered with the city before a November 2007 moratorium will be allowed to operate. But Brian Doherty at Reason points out that a judge declared the moratorium legally void in 2009. Owners that do not close their businesses June 7 could face a misdemeanor charge, six months in jail or a $1,000 fine. They could also face civil penalties of $2,500 a day. City officials have estimated that close to 130 stores will be allowed to stay open. Those businesses will have to adhere to a number of other regulations under the ordinance and then apply to operate legally.
Though city officials believed authorizing the court orders might encourage other dispensaries to take similar actions, Wednesday’s failure could have gone much different, had another judge — someone who’s been critical of the way the city handled medical marijuana shops — taken the case. Instead, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge David P. Yaffe denied the temporary restraining orders. “The temporary restraining order is denied, again, and for the last time,” Yaffe said.
According to the LA Times, dispensaries aren’t the only ones filing lawsuits. Attorney Stewart Richlin filed nine lawsuits this week to seek court orders to halt enforcement of the ordinance; Eric Shevin, another attorney, plans to file a lawsuit on behalf of medical marijuana patients and pursue an order to bar Los Angeles from enforcing the ordinance. In the coming months, the city of Los Angeles will face a tough, and costly, legal battle to protect its law.
Source: CampusProgress.org
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Medical marijuana furor raises many questions
While things are in a big uproar over the medical marijuana issue, what if:
1. The person pursuing that option has been in a horrible accident and does not want to be addicted to morphine?
2. The person might have serious liver or kidney issues, is in pain and cannot tolerate and large number of OTC or prescription medications?
3. They are afraid to try taking the great new designer drugs on the market that the FDA has approved and that are killing people left and right?
4. They have been in chronic pain for years and been through a long list of physicians who refuse to take the time or incentive to deal with that issue, just tell you to just go home and take a lot of Motrin?
5. They are at wit’s end with all of it and feel that they need to be pro-active about their own health and explore things such as acupuncture, etc. to find out what might help them?
Seriously, I don’t think that anyone can expect a licensed medical doctor to approve of anything that is not FDA approved and was not part of their medical school training. So, it becomes a liability issue and a human rights issue combined.
I don’t hear anyone mentioning these things because I think that they are afraid to!
Diane Skillestad
Source: Billings Gazette
1. The person pursuing that option has been in a horrible accident and does not want to be addicted to morphine?
2. The person might have serious liver or kidney issues, is in pain and cannot tolerate and large number of OTC or prescription medications?
3. They are afraid to try taking the great new designer drugs on the market that the FDA has approved and that are killing people left and right?
4. They have been in chronic pain for years and been through a long list of physicians who refuse to take the time or incentive to deal with that issue, just tell you to just go home and take a lot of Motrin?
5. They are at wit’s end with all of it and feel that they need to be pro-active about their own health and explore things such as acupuncture, etc. to find out what might help them?
Seriously, I don’t think that anyone can expect a licensed medical doctor to approve of anything that is not FDA approved and was not part of their medical school training. So, it becomes a liability issue and a human rights issue combined.
I don’t hear anyone mentioning these things because I think that they are afraid to!
Diane Skillestad
Source: Billings Gazette
NEWS: San Diego medical marijuana clinics receive a break
SAN DIEGO — San Diego’s 100-plus medical marijuana dispensaries moved a step closer to gaining legitimacy Wednesday, when a City Council committee passed a set of rules governing how the storefronts could operate.
During the emotionally charged meeting, 30 citizens appealed to council members. Opponents argued that the storefronts attract crime and expose children to the drugs. Advocates countered that marijuana is legal for medical use and patients need safe access.
“Don’t force me to deal with drug dealers,” pleaded Vey Linville, a retired college professor from Spring Valley who used an oxygen tank and suffers from emphysema. “I have a choice of using this medicine or suffocating.”
The committee voted 4-0 to direct the City Attorney’s Office to craft an ordinance that can be considered by the full council this summer, along with a separate set of land-use rules.
For the past year, the city has struggled with the politically charged issue, debating whether and how they want to regulate the dispensaries.
California voters legalized the medical use of the drug in 1996, but state legislation and guidelines have been vague and subject to varying interpretations on how the drug ought to be regulated.
More than 100 cities in the state have banned dispensaries, while dozens of others have passed ordinances regulating them.
In recent months, a sharp increase in community complaints triggered San Diego city code enforcers to crack down on dispensaries. Inspectors are dealing with complaints filed against 117 dispensaries, citing each dispensary they visit for not operating in an appropriate zone.
The move has outraged dispensary operators, who note that because the city has not yet passed an ordinance, no zone has been established for them.
Council member Todd Gloria said the establishment of an ordinance will help prevent more conflicts.
“We’re trying to get something done … so that neighborhoods currently living in an unregulated environment can have fair rules of the road to operate,” Gloria said.
The proposed ordinance will face some opposition. Council member Tony Young said that he voted in favor of moving the issue forward, but has concerns about the regulations.
“I think there are some opportunities for more restrictions, not less,” Young said.
Several dispensary operators also raised concerns about specific issues, including the permitting fees they would have to pay to operate in the city.
A preliminary estimate by the city shows it could cost between $25,000 and $35,000 for city staff to process each permit application.
That full cost would have to be covered by the dispensaries under the proposed regulation. Other recommended rules would require storefronts to operate as nonprofits and make background checks mandatory for dispensary employees.
Source: San Diego Union-Tribune
During the emotionally charged meeting, 30 citizens appealed to council members. Opponents argued that the storefronts attract crime and expose children to the drugs. Advocates countered that marijuana is legal for medical use and patients need safe access.
“Don’t force me to deal with drug dealers,” pleaded Vey Linville, a retired college professor from Spring Valley who used an oxygen tank and suffers from emphysema. “I have a choice of using this medicine or suffocating.”
The committee voted 4-0 to direct the City Attorney’s Office to craft an ordinance that can be considered by the full council this summer, along with a separate set of land-use rules.
For the past year, the city has struggled with the politically charged issue, debating whether and how they want to regulate the dispensaries.
California voters legalized the medical use of the drug in 1996, but state legislation and guidelines have been vague and subject to varying interpretations on how the drug ought to be regulated.
More than 100 cities in the state have banned dispensaries, while dozens of others have passed ordinances regulating them.
In recent months, a sharp increase in community complaints triggered San Diego city code enforcers to crack down on dispensaries. Inspectors are dealing with complaints filed against 117 dispensaries, citing each dispensary they visit for not operating in an appropriate zone.
The move has outraged dispensary operators, who note that because the city has not yet passed an ordinance, no zone has been established for them.
Council member Todd Gloria said the establishment of an ordinance will help prevent more conflicts.
“We’re trying to get something done … so that neighborhoods currently living in an unregulated environment can have fair rules of the road to operate,” Gloria said.
The proposed ordinance will face some opposition. Council member Tony Young said that he voted in favor of moving the issue forward, but has concerns about the regulations.
“I think there are some opportunities for more restrictions, not less,” Young said.
Several dispensary operators also raised concerns about specific issues, including the permitting fees they would have to pay to operate in the city.
A preliminary estimate by the city shows it could cost between $25,000 and $35,000 for city staff to process each permit application.
That full cost would have to be covered by the dispensaries under the proposed regulation. Other recommended rules would require storefronts to operate as nonprofits and make background checks mandatory for dispensary employees.
Source: San Diego Union-Tribune
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
VIDEO: Medical Marijuana Patient Story - Victoria Zavala
Victoria Zavala sits down with Medical Marijuana 411 to disc how she medicates with medical cannabis to relieve the symptoms associated with lupus and degenerative disc disease.
NEWS: Local cannabis stores caught in the no-zone
San Diego, CA - San Diego city and county code enforcers have ordered more than a dozen medical marijuana dispensaries to close their doors in the past few months, even as local elected leaders are working on ordinances that would provide a clear set of rules for the dispensaries to run legitimately.
City officials said the crackdown is prompted by a recent spike in community complaints lodged against 117 marijuana storefronts.
The city has no zoning category for cannabis dispensaries, so inspectors are systematically visiting stores and issuing orders to cease and desist business operations, said Robert Vacchi, a deputy director for San Diego’s Development Services Department.
“They can’t legally locate anywhere, at least until the city comes up with an ordinance,” Vacchi said. “It’s the business owner’s responsibility to make sure they can operate in the place they’ve chosen to operate. It’s got nothing to do with medical marijuana.”
So far, 31 storefronts have been inspected and 14 violation notices have been issued. Six have shut their doors, including four that closed before the citations were issued.
San Diego County code enforcers have taken similar steps. Since February, four dispensaries have been cited for not complying with county land-use rules and violating the county’s moratorium on dispensaries.
Medicinal pot advocates are crying foul, saying the citations are the latest effort to shut down operations that are permitted under state law. They said the crackdown is solidifying San Diego’s reputation for having one of the toughest stances in the state against dispensaries.
“It’s ridiculous,” said Essie Rahbari, president of the Pacific Beach Collective, which was visited by city inspectors about a month ago. “On the one hand, they have a group that’s supposed to be putting together rules, and on the other hand, they’re shutting us down. They’re trying to enforce something that hasn’t passed yet.”
The development is the latest pitfall local agencies have encountered as they grapple with California voters’ decision in 1996 to legalize medical use of the drug.
Subsequent state legislation and guidelines issued by the California Attorney General’s Office have attempted to provide cities and counties with guidance on how to regulate the use of the drug. But public officials in San Diego have struggled with the issue for the past year.
More than 100 dispensaries have opened in San Diego as a city-appointed task force has studied and proposed regulatory options. County officials issued a moratorium against dispensaries operating in the unincorporated areas in July. Both entities are in the process of formulating ordinances to regulate such operations.
A committee of City Council members will meet today to act on a second and final set of recommendations for its ordinance. Council members will be presented new reports showing that it could cost $25,000 to $35,000 for city staffers to process each dispensary permit. Recommendations being considered include requiring dispensaries to pay for permits and fees that cover the full cost of regulating them, and making it mandatory for stores to conduct employee background checks.
A first set of recommendations for land-use and zoning regulations was approved by a separate council committee in March, and the council is to consider the two sets of rules this summer.
Councilman Todd Gloria, who has supported recommendations presented to both committees, said the development “highlights the need for regulations.”
The chairman of the city-appointed task force that compiled the recommendations called the timing and nature of the crackdown unfortunate.
“I’m concerned about it,” said Alex Kreit, an assistant professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law. “Whatever one’s stance on this is, it makes sense to wait until an ordinance is in place and then enforce the ordinance.”
But for residents such as Marcie Beckett, the code-enforcement actions are welcome and overdue. Beckett, a mother of two from Pacific Beach, filed a complaint against 94 dispensaries in April after noticing a proliferation of storefronts.
“I have two teenagers, and I think the stores send them a message that marijuana is OK and mainstream,” Beckett said. “But it’s not OK, and it’s not safe.”
Beckett and others opposed to the dispensaries said the timing is a nonissue because it would be best to shut down all storefronts and have them reapply for permits once an ordinance is approved.
“Everyone who opened illegally knew they were taking a risk when they opened and have been benefiting from lax enforcement,” said Scott Chipman, a longtime critic of the dispensaries. “They should all be closed and then go through the full review process.”
Some dispensary operators said they have been doing everything possible to operate legally, and feel the code citations are a scare tactic.
“I’ve been trying to work with the city and the community,” said Adela Falk, the director of Wisdom Organics, a dispensary in Linda Vista. Falk said she has paid city business tax certificate fees for the past year and filed state paperwork to operate as a nonprofit. She said orders to shut down will only make it harder for patients to get medicine.
The city citations focused on compliance with zoning rules, Vacchi said. No fines have been levied, but they could be if dispensaries don’t comply within a certain period, typically 30 days. Two staffers have been conducting the inspections, and the process is taking some time because it isn’t considered as high a priority as public safety and health violations, Vacchi said.
Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune
City officials said the crackdown is prompted by a recent spike in community complaints lodged against 117 marijuana storefronts.
The city has no zoning category for cannabis dispensaries, so inspectors are systematically visiting stores and issuing orders to cease and desist business operations, said Robert Vacchi, a deputy director for San Diego’s Development Services Department.
“They can’t legally locate anywhere, at least until the city comes up with an ordinance,” Vacchi said. “It’s the business owner’s responsibility to make sure they can operate in the place they’ve chosen to operate. It’s got nothing to do with medical marijuana.”
So far, 31 storefronts have been inspected and 14 violation notices have been issued. Six have shut their doors, including four that closed before the citations were issued.
San Diego County code enforcers have taken similar steps. Since February, four dispensaries have been cited for not complying with county land-use rules and violating the county’s moratorium on dispensaries.
Medicinal pot advocates are crying foul, saying the citations are the latest effort to shut down operations that are permitted under state law. They said the crackdown is solidifying San Diego’s reputation for having one of the toughest stances in the state against dispensaries.
“It’s ridiculous,” said Essie Rahbari, president of the Pacific Beach Collective, which was visited by city inspectors about a month ago. “On the one hand, they have a group that’s supposed to be putting together rules, and on the other hand, they’re shutting us down. They’re trying to enforce something that hasn’t passed yet.”
The development is the latest pitfall local agencies have encountered as they grapple with California voters’ decision in 1996 to legalize medical use of the drug.
Subsequent state legislation and guidelines issued by the California Attorney General’s Office have attempted to provide cities and counties with guidance on how to regulate the use of the drug. But public officials in San Diego have struggled with the issue for the past year.
More than 100 dispensaries have opened in San Diego as a city-appointed task force has studied and proposed regulatory options. County officials issued a moratorium against dispensaries operating in the unincorporated areas in July. Both entities are in the process of formulating ordinances to regulate such operations.
A committee of City Council members will meet today to act on a second and final set of recommendations for its ordinance. Council members will be presented new reports showing that it could cost $25,000 to $35,000 for city staffers to process each dispensary permit. Recommendations being considered include requiring dispensaries to pay for permits and fees that cover the full cost of regulating them, and making it mandatory for stores to conduct employee background checks.
A first set of recommendations for land-use and zoning regulations was approved by a separate council committee in March, and the council is to consider the two sets of rules this summer.
Councilman Todd Gloria, who has supported recommendations presented to both committees, said the development “highlights the need for regulations.”
The chairman of the city-appointed task force that compiled the recommendations called the timing and nature of the crackdown unfortunate.
“I’m concerned about it,” said Alex Kreit, an assistant professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law. “Whatever one’s stance on this is, it makes sense to wait until an ordinance is in place and then enforce the ordinance.”
But for residents such as Marcie Beckett, the code-enforcement actions are welcome and overdue. Beckett, a mother of two from Pacific Beach, filed a complaint against 94 dispensaries in April after noticing a proliferation of storefronts.
“I have two teenagers, and I think the stores send them a message that marijuana is OK and mainstream,” Beckett said. “But it’s not OK, and it’s not safe.”
Beckett and others opposed to the dispensaries said the timing is a nonissue because it would be best to shut down all storefronts and have them reapply for permits once an ordinance is approved.
“Everyone who opened illegally knew they were taking a risk when they opened and have been benefiting from lax enforcement,” said Scott Chipman, a longtime critic of the dispensaries. “They should all be closed and then go through the full review process.”
Some dispensary operators said they have been doing everything possible to operate legally, and feel the code citations are a scare tactic.
“I’ve been trying to work with the city and the community,” said Adela Falk, the director of Wisdom Organics, a dispensary in Linda Vista. Falk said she has paid city business tax certificate fees for the past year and filed state paperwork to operate as a nonprofit. She said orders to shut down will only make it harder for patients to get medicine.
The city citations focused on compliance with zoning rules, Vacchi said. No fines have been levied, but they could be if dispensaries don’t comply within a certain period, typically 30 days. Two staffers have been conducting the inspections, and the process is taking some time because it isn’t considered as high a priority as public safety and health violations, Vacchi said.
Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune
NEWS: Armed men steal from medical marijuana provider
YUCCA VALLEY — A local man who provides marijuana to people who say they need it for medical reasons has vowed to continue his business after armed robbers assaulted him in his home and stole his inventory.
The Rev. Dennis Mattson was asleep in his house in the 4800 block of Old Woman Springs Road around midnight when three assailants wearing ski masks and wielding firearms entered his residence yelling they were police.
Two were armed with handguns and one had a shotgun, “Pointed at my head after he hit me with it,” Mattson related. “They dragged me off the bed and onto the floor. I’m half asleep.”
In addition to the head wound, Mattson’s hand and ankle were hurt during the assault.
The burglars took an orange Ridgid brand tool box containing about four pounds of marijuana, with an estimated value of $15,000. Also stolen was $5,000 in cash and a crossbow.
“They were like professionals,” Mattson said of the way the robbers operated, and he quickly came to the conclusion they were not the law enforcement officials they had claimed to be.
After the robbery, Mattson called out asking if the intruders were still inside his home. When they didn’t answer, he ran outside but they had gone. Mattson’s first call was to his attorney, John Cogorno, in Orange County. The lawyer assured his client his business was legal and he must call law enforcement.
Mattson heaped praise on all aspects of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department’s handling of the incident, beginning with a rapid response. Deputy Tim Preston led an investigation that included fingerprinting, photographs of tracks outside and a thorough interview with the victim.
“They made me feel safer,” Mattson said. “I don’t know what I would’ve done without them. Once I showed them my paperwork I was really impressed. I felt like they were really trying to help me. They were concerned about my protection.”
Mattson was reluctant to speculate about his assailants.
“I work with some dark energies, in some dark realms,” the minister said. “I don’t want to do any accusing.”
Despite the traumatic experience and financial setback, the minister said he still wants to open a wellness center here to provide mental, emotional and spiritual services to patients.
Mattson has observed an anti-marijuana sentiment here but says there are sick people who need medical marijuana.
“I’m against kids smoking pot,” Mattson said. “It’s harmful. But there are people who really need it. Because there’s such a resistance, there’s a black market. That’s what creates the crime.”
Mattson said he believes dispensaries are the best way to cut down on violence like his recent experience.
“I’m doing the best I can to conform to state laws,” the businessman said. “I thought I was safe. How do we protect ourselves? What can we do?”
The chief executive officer of Independent Growers and Patients Co-op said that as a result of the loss of his inventory he is out of business for a while. He has since moved from the location of the robbery because he didn’t feel safe there.
Source: Hi-Desert Star
The Rev. Dennis Mattson was asleep in his house in the 4800 block of Old Woman Springs Road around midnight when three assailants wearing ski masks and wielding firearms entered his residence yelling they were police.
Two were armed with handguns and one had a shotgun, “Pointed at my head after he hit me with it,” Mattson related. “They dragged me off the bed and onto the floor. I’m half asleep.”
In addition to the head wound, Mattson’s hand and ankle were hurt during the assault.
The burglars took an orange Ridgid brand tool box containing about four pounds of marijuana, with an estimated value of $15,000. Also stolen was $5,000 in cash and a crossbow.
“They were like professionals,” Mattson said of the way the robbers operated, and he quickly came to the conclusion they were not the law enforcement officials they had claimed to be.
After the robbery, Mattson called out asking if the intruders were still inside his home. When they didn’t answer, he ran outside but they had gone. Mattson’s first call was to his attorney, John Cogorno, in Orange County. The lawyer assured his client his business was legal and he must call law enforcement.
Mattson heaped praise on all aspects of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department’s handling of the incident, beginning with a rapid response. Deputy Tim Preston led an investigation that included fingerprinting, photographs of tracks outside and a thorough interview with the victim.
“They made me feel safer,” Mattson said. “I don’t know what I would’ve done without them. Once I showed them my paperwork I was really impressed. I felt like they were really trying to help me. They were concerned about my protection.”
Mattson was reluctant to speculate about his assailants.
“I work with some dark energies, in some dark realms,” the minister said. “I don’t want to do any accusing.”
Despite the traumatic experience and financial setback, the minister said he still wants to open a wellness center here to provide mental, emotional and spiritual services to patients.
Mattson has observed an anti-marijuana sentiment here but says there are sick people who need medical marijuana.
“I’m against kids smoking pot,” Mattson said. “It’s harmful. But there are people who really need it. Because there’s such a resistance, there’s a black market. That’s what creates the crime.”
Mattson said he believes dispensaries are the best way to cut down on violence like his recent experience.
“I’m doing the best I can to conform to state laws,” the businessman said. “I thought I was safe. How do we protect ourselves? What can we do?”
The chief executive officer of Independent Growers and Patients Co-op said that as a result of the loss of his inventory he is out of business for a while. He has since moved from the location of the robbery because he didn’t feel safe there.
Source: Hi-Desert Star
NEWS: "CannaHelp" to Reopen Today
Palm Springs, CA - A legal medical marijuana dispensary will open up in Palm Springs today.
The owner of "Canna Help" tells KPSP he plans to open his doors at 10 o'clock in the morning. It's located on East Industrial Place.
Tf you want to register, you must have your California ID and a doctor's recommendation.
Meantime, another dispensary called "Desert Organic Solutions" plans to open up by the end of May.
Both shops were given permits by the city of Palm Springs to operate legally.
Source: CBS Affiliate
The owner of "Canna Help" tells KPSP he plans to open his doors at 10 o'clock in the morning. It's located on East Industrial Place.
Tf you want to register, you must have your California ID and a doctor's recommendation.
Meantime, another dispensary called "Desert Organic Solutions" plans to open up by the end of May.
Both shops were given permits by the city of Palm Springs to operate legally.
Source: CBS Affiliate
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
NEWS: Medical marijuana dispensary raided in Fountain Valley
FOUNTAIN VALLEY – A medical marijuana dispensary and two homes connected to the business were raided last week, police announced Tuesday.
Search warrants were served on OCMS Healing Leaves in the 11500 block of Slater Avenue and two homes in Garden Grove, Fountain Valley police said.
No arrests have been made yet, Sgt. Eric Orahood of the Fountain Valley police said.
Police reported seizing more than three pounds of marijuana, three pounds of hashish, one ounce of methamphetamine, more than 50 marijuana plants, three firearms and a sizable amount of cash during the searches May 19.
The District Attorney's office is reviewing the evidence, Orahood said.
In March, the Fountain Valley City Council imposed a moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries, declaring the shops an immediate threat to the public's health, safety and welfare.
Orahood said that he did not know how long OCMS had been in operation.
"We started getting complaints on it a few weeks ago," he said.
No one answered the phone at OCMS on Tuesday.
Source: OC Register
Search warrants were served on OCMS Healing Leaves in the 11500 block of Slater Avenue and two homes in Garden Grove, Fountain Valley police said.
No arrests have been made yet, Sgt. Eric Orahood of the Fountain Valley police said.
Police reported seizing more than three pounds of marijuana, three pounds of hashish, one ounce of methamphetamine, more than 50 marijuana plants, three firearms and a sizable amount of cash during the searches May 19.
The District Attorney's office is reviewing the evidence, Orahood said.
In March, the Fountain Valley City Council imposed a moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries, declaring the shops an immediate threat to the public's health, safety and welfare.
Orahood said that he did not know how long OCMS had been in operation.
"We started getting complaints on it a few weeks ago," he said.
No one answered the phone at OCMS on Tuesday.
Source: OC Register
NEWS: Defendant visited home prior to crime
A man on trial for a home-invasion robbery and subsequent attempted murder of a Vancouver police sergeant had visited the home weeks before the crime, a witness testified Monday.
Summer Sterrett, the mother of defendant Jeffery S. Reed’s son, told jurors she used to live at the Delaware Lane home with her three children, including Reed’s 10-year-old son.
She said she was visiting from California and staying with a resident there — a friend — in March 2009, when Reed came by to give her a ride to the airport. It was then that Reed discovered the resident’s new roommate, Albert Watts, had a medical marijuana card for a back disability, she said.
Reed, 27, and co-defendant Daylan E. Berg, 23, both of Portland, are on trial in Clark County Superior Court for allegedly robbing the home on April 15, 2009, and then shooting a Vancouver police sergeant who followed and stopped their car. The prosecution alleges Berg was the shooter and Reed was the driver.
The two also are alleged to have held Watts to the ground at gunpoint while stealing his cell phone, wallet, flat-screen TV and marijuana plants.
Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Denny Hunter has identified the medical marijuana as the motive for the robbery.
“Was the growing of the marijuana noticeable?” Hunter asked Sterrett in court Monday.
“Very,” the 28-year-old said, noting the plants, kept in the garage, gave off a strong odor.
Sterrett also told jurors that because she used to live with the resident and his dogs, they knew Reed and didn’t bark when he would come by.
In opening statements last week, attorneys had noted the dogs weren’t heard barking during the robbery.
When cross-examined by Berg’s attorney, Jeff Sowder, Sterrett clarified her testimony:
“They bark at every knock or doorbell,” she said. “They have to be told to stop barking.”
Several other witnesses testified for the prosecution Monday, including several Portland police officers who came across a white Kia Spectra the night of the shooting. Reed and Berg are alleged to have driven the car from the home in Vancouver to Southeast Portland, where they allegedly ditched it.
The trial in Judge Robert Lewis’ courtroom started May 14 with jury selection. It is expected to last at least until Thursday.
Source: The Columbian
Summer Sterrett, the mother of defendant Jeffery S. Reed’s son, told jurors she used to live at the Delaware Lane home with her three children, including Reed’s 10-year-old son.
She said she was visiting from California and staying with a resident there — a friend — in March 2009, when Reed came by to give her a ride to the airport. It was then that Reed discovered the resident’s new roommate, Albert Watts, had a medical marijuana card for a back disability, she said.
Reed, 27, and co-defendant Daylan E. Berg, 23, both of Portland, are on trial in Clark County Superior Court for allegedly robbing the home on April 15, 2009, and then shooting a Vancouver police sergeant who followed and stopped their car. The prosecution alleges Berg was the shooter and Reed was the driver.
The two also are alleged to have held Watts to the ground at gunpoint while stealing his cell phone, wallet, flat-screen TV and marijuana plants.
Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Denny Hunter has identified the medical marijuana as the motive for the robbery.
“Was the growing of the marijuana noticeable?” Hunter asked Sterrett in court Monday.
“Very,” the 28-year-old said, noting the plants, kept in the garage, gave off a strong odor.
Sterrett also told jurors that because she used to live with the resident and his dogs, they knew Reed and didn’t bark when he would come by.
In opening statements last week, attorneys had noted the dogs weren’t heard barking during the robbery.
When cross-examined by Berg’s attorney, Jeff Sowder, Sterrett clarified her testimony:
“They bark at every knock or doorbell,” she said. “They have to be told to stop barking.”
Several other witnesses testified for the prosecution Monday, including several Portland police officers who came across a white Kia Spectra the night of the shooting. Reed and Berg are alleged to have driven the car from the home in Vancouver to Southeast Portland, where they allegedly ditched it.
The trial in Judge Robert Lewis’ courtroom started May 14 with jury selection. It is expected to last at least until Thursday.
Source: The Columbian
Monday, May 24, 2010
NEWS: Cannabinoid Treatment for Pain Control Still Marked by Dearth of Research, Legal Constraints
Can cannabis overcome the controversy that surrounds it and enter the mainstream in both research and clinical practice for pain control?
The answer is a qualified yes—because federal policy remains equivocal toward the legality of any use of cannabis, even as more and more states authorize its use for management of pain and many other medical conditions.
In a review published in late 2009 in the Journal of Opioid Management, Minnesota researchers presented a comprehensive case for the analgesic potential of cannabinoids (2009;5-6:341-356). Starting with an overview of the mechanism of action of the compounds, the trio—Kalpna Gupta, MD, her husband Pankaj Gupta, MD, and Jaseena Elikottil, MBBS, of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis—cite study after study supporting the ability of cannabinoids to combat pain from conditions ranging from cancer to sickle cell disease.
A recent editorial in American Family Physician by James MacDonald, MD, summarized the push toward wider authorization of marijuana for medical use (2009;80:779). Dr. MacDonald noted that the American Academy of Family Physicians supports the use of marijuana under medical supervision and control for specific medical indications. This is farther than other organizations, including the American Pain Society, have been willing to go, he said.
What Does the Evidence Say?
Neither Dr. MacDonald nor Dr. Kalpna Gupta said marijuana and cannabinoids are a panacea for all forms of pain. Nor do they deny there are significant potential side effects from the drugs, including the well-known effects on motor activity and cognition.
They do assert, however, that these agents show great promise for alleviating suffering and can help fill the gaps in treatment, such as situations in which medications like opioids are not effective or cause overwhelming side effects.
In their review, the researchers list the animal-based evidence for the efficacy of cannabinoids in treating neuropathic pain, inflammatory pain and cancer pain. A few small clinical studies have examined the use of cannabinoids to treat various types of pain, some with promising results and others with equivocal findings. However, equivocal results should not be a reason to discontinue this important area of research, the researchers said.
“Currently, there is intriguing evidence from animal studies showing the efficacy of cannabinoids as antinociceptive agents,” they wrote. “However, data from human studies is still emerging. Cannabinoids may form a useful adjunct to current analgesic drugs in many conditions.”
What Are Legislatures Saying?
Dr. MacDonald noted that during the administration of George W. Bush, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) raided dispensaries for medical marijuana and threatened physicians who prescribed it with revocation of their DEA licensure. He observed that the Obama administration has a more “hands-off” attitude toward the issue. Despite this, marijuana remains a Schedule I controlled substance under the federal Controlled Substances Act, whereas 13 states to date have authorized the use of medical marijuana. The indications approved in most states for medical marijuana include cancer, chronic pain, epilepsy and multiple sclerosis—conditions for which other treatments often fail to be an all-encompassing solution.
California was the first out of the gate, and hence, medical marijuana prescription is well established there. Dr. MacDonald said that most physicians in California have written only a handful of recommendations to patients for the use of medical marijuana. However, a small number have made it their business to focus on selling these recommendations, rather than on maintaining an overall high standard of care for their patients, said Dr. MacDonald. This is what spurred him to write his editorial.
“I believe that if more physicians understood the matter, and understood that it [marijuana/cannabinoids] is a valid treatment for many conditions, then in turn more patients would feel comfortable discussing the issue and receiving the recommendation from their own doctors—rather than from these ‘cannabis specialists.’”
What Should Happen Next?
Dr. MacDonald pointed out how “Orwellian” the situation has become, thanks to the past emphasis on criminalizing drug use, and how easily it could be made congruent with reality.
“It is indeed strange for a physician to participate in something that, though legal in the state of California, for instance, is still officially prohibited by the federal government,” Dr. MacDonald wrote in an e-mail from New Zealand, where he is working temporarily at the Otago Health Centre, in Dunedin. “I believe marijuana should be reclassified as a Schedule II substance, allowing open research to take place. And states should be empowered to allow experimentation with the medical marijuana issue.”
Dr. Gupta agreed with the need to conduct carefully designed clinical studies, and to uniformly legalize the medical use of selected cannabinoid medications throughout the country.
“These initiatives should be moved forward quickly because, other than opioids, cannabinoids are the only drugs that are effective for treating severe pain,” she said. “They may be invaluable in cases where opioids stop working, which happens quite frequently due to the induction of tolerance.”
Source: Anesthesiology News
The answer is a qualified yes—because federal policy remains equivocal toward the legality of any use of cannabis, even as more and more states authorize its use for management of pain and many other medical conditions.
In a review published in late 2009 in the Journal of Opioid Management, Minnesota researchers presented a comprehensive case for the analgesic potential of cannabinoids (2009;5-6:341-356). Starting with an overview of the mechanism of action of the compounds, the trio—Kalpna Gupta, MD, her husband Pankaj Gupta, MD, and Jaseena Elikottil, MBBS, of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis—cite study after study supporting the ability of cannabinoids to combat pain from conditions ranging from cancer to sickle cell disease.
A recent editorial in American Family Physician by James MacDonald, MD, summarized the push toward wider authorization of marijuana for medical use (2009;80:779). Dr. MacDonald noted that the American Academy of Family Physicians supports the use of marijuana under medical supervision and control for specific medical indications. This is farther than other organizations, including the American Pain Society, have been willing to go, he said.
What Does the Evidence Say?
Neither Dr. MacDonald nor Dr. Kalpna Gupta said marijuana and cannabinoids are a panacea for all forms of pain. Nor do they deny there are significant potential side effects from the drugs, including the well-known effects on motor activity and cognition.
They do assert, however, that these agents show great promise for alleviating suffering and can help fill the gaps in treatment, such as situations in which medications like opioids are not effective or cause overwhelming side effects.
In their review, the researchers list the animal-based evidence for the efficacy of cannabinoids in treating neuropathic pain, inflammatory pain and cancer pain. A few small clinical studies have examined the use of cannabinoids to treat various types of pain, some with promising results and others with equivocal findings. However, equivocal results should not be a reason to discontinue this important area of research, the researchers said.
“Currently, there is intriguing evidence from animal studies showing the efficacy of cannabinoids as antinociceptive agents,” they wrote. “However, data from human studies is still emerging. Cannabinoids may form a useful adjunct to current analgesic drugs in many conditions.”
What Are Legislatures Saying?
Dr. MacDonald noted that during the administration of George W. Bush, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) raided dispensaries for medical marijuana and threatened physicians who prescribed it with revocation of their DEA licensure. He observed that the Obama administration has a more “hands-off” attitude toward the issue. Despite this, marijuana remains a Schedule I controlled substance under the federal Controlled Substances Act, whereas 13 states to date have authorized the use of medical marijuana. The indications approved in most states for medical marijuana include cancer, chronic pain, epilepsy and multiple sclerosis—conditions for which other treatments often fail to be an all-encompassing solution.
California was the first out of the gate, and hence, medical marijuana prescription is well established there. Dr. MacDonald said that most physicians in California have written only a handful of recommendations to patients for the use of medical marijuana. However, a small number have made it their business to focus on selling these recommendations, rather than on maintaining an overall high standard of care for their patients, said Dr. MacDonald. This is what spurred him to write his editorial.
“I believe that if more physicians understood the matter, and understood that it [marijuana/cannabinoids] is a valid treatment for many conditions, then in turn more patients would feel comfortable discussing the issue and receiving the recommendation from their own doctors—rather than from these ‘cannabis specialists.’”
What Should Happen Next?
Dr. MacDonald pointed out how “Orwellian” the situation has become, thanks to the past emphasis on criminalizing drug use, and how easily it could be made congruent with reality.
“It is indeed strange for a physician to participate in something that, though legal in the state of California, for instance, is still officially prohibited by the federal government,” Dr. MacDonald wrote in an e-mail from New Zealand, where he is working temporarily at the Otago Health Centre, in Dunedin. “I believe marijuana should be reclassified as a Schedule II substance, allowing open research to take place. And states should be empowered to allow experimentation with the medical marijuana issue.”
Dr. Gupta agreed with the need to conduct carefully designed clinical studies, and to uniformly legalize the medical use of selected cannabinoid medications throughout the country.
“These initiatives should be moved forward quickly because, other than opioids, cannabinoids are the only drugs that are effective for treating severe pain,” she said. “They may be invaluable in cases where opioids stop working, which happens quite frequently due to the induction of tolerance.”
Source: Anesthesiology News
NEWS: Slow multiple sclerosis progression with cannabinoids
Sierra Blankenship, who suffers from MS and lives in Lima, Ohio, says this is a new angle she's never heard of before. "I mean, we've all heard of Montel Williams and others using medical marijuana for pain, but I never thought there was more to it than that."
It is all part of calming the immune system, and since MS causes such a high level of immune system in a person that it attacks the central nervous system, something is needed to calm it down. Current medications such as steroids and chemotherapy turn off the immune system and it leaves the patients vulnerable to infections and germs.
“A marijuana plant has about 96 different chemicals in it and you might immediately think about those that cause psychological effects,” says researcher Ron F. Tuma, Stewart professor of physiology and associate professor of neurosurgery. “Instead, we’re focusing on a chemical that doesn’t cause psychoactive effects but does affect the immune system.”
The key link between the marijuana plant and the human body is they both produce cannabinoids which act with specific receptors in the immune system that regulate the immune system and Tuma and Ganea believe they can make a chemical compound, O-1996, to act as a cannabinoid and control the activation of the proper immune cells.
“MS is a terrible disease and the more rapidly it progresses, the sooner it disables its victims,” says co-researcher Doina Ganea, Earle H. Spaulding chair and professor of microbiology and immunology. “So, if you can slow that down for 10 or 20 years, you can make a significant impact on the patients’ lives.”
The O-1996 was made by scientists at the Medical College of Virginia and the company Organix and Tuma and Ganea have already performed animal studies with it. Studies show it affected cannabinoid receptors that are seen primarily on immune cells and it was published in the Journal Neuroimmune Pharmacology.
They also had the help of fellow researchers in the Center for Substance Abuse and Research (CSAR), including Mary Abood, Ph.D., and Martin Adler, Ph.D., who had already been studying cannabinoids. “This is a totally new approach to treating this disease, “says Dr. Adler, director emeritus and senior advisor for CSAR and Laura H. Carnell professor of pharmacology research. “These cannabinoids hold enormous potential, and that’s encouraging since we’re limited in options when it comes to preventing or reversing MS.”
On a side note, Dr. Adler has family members that suffer from MS and has this personal knowledge armed with being a neuropharmacologist to help aid a win in this battle.
It is currently unknown if others are studying this angle marijuana plays in MS and all the researchers are excited about this study. They have a four-year NIH grant that begins July 1, the study was funded by a $50,000 seed grant from Temple’s Office of the Provost and a $50,000 bridge grant from the Office for Research and Strategic Initiatives.
Ganea is enthusiastic about this, he says, "I know of no other universities in this country that have several principal investigators coming from different directions interested in studying cannabinoids. That different expertise is our strength."
Source: Los Angeles Examiner
NEWS: Hemp permit decision could come Tuesday
Planner II Bob Halpin said Robson has scheduled a meeting for Monday with the heads of key county departments, who were asked to turn in an assessment of the hemp festival by Friday, including potential traffic or law enforcement problems, and how festival organizers might offset them in exchange for a festival permit.
Organizer Donna Will, a medical marijuana patient who has advocated against the county's recently implemented medical marijuana regulations, has said she is determined to hold her three-day festival over Memorial Day weekend on Riverside Avenue whether the county issues her a permit or not.
At one time threatening a peaceful protest if the county denies her permit, Will recently said would get around the permit, which kicks in at 500 people or more, by holding smaller, simultaneous festivals capped at 499 people each a strategy some officials said would still be in violation of the ordinance.
Her initial estimates put attendance around 1,800 people, per day.
The lack of a permit has not stopped Will from advertising her event at whee2010.com, preparing parking spaces for 1,000 cars or booking bands and vendors.
She has also enlisted the backing of Steve Hager, Creative Director for High Times magazine, who founded the original World Hemp Expo Extravaganja.
Shutting down the festival would be impractical, Undersheriff Dennis Garton said Saturday. Jailing everyone who shows up would be impossible, so the police strategy is likely to emphasize protecting the surrounding neighborhood.
Sheriff Clay Parker, meanwhile, has scaled back his initial recommendation for 24-hour-a-day law enforcement presence at the event, asking instead for a 10-hour-a-day presence.
Will had announced her intentions months in advance, making repeated announcements at Board of Supervisors meetings.
But when talks with the Tehama District Fairground fell through and she opted to hold her event on Riverside Avenue, she stumbled across a 1970 festival ordinance the county could have used to deny her a permit, but one officials said could be considered unconstitutional by modern standards.
An updated ordinance, which bars officials from stopping an event based on its message alone, was passed by the board in April, and a requirement which would have set the festival back by 90 days was waived.
Source: Red Bluff Daily News
NEWS: Geithner Urged by Congress for Bank Rules on Medical Marijuana
May 24 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Representative Barney Frank is among 15 members of Congress pushing the Treasury Department to set rules that would help banks provide financial services to medical marijuana dispensaries.
“Legitimate state-legal businesses are being denied access to banking services, which does not serve the public interest,” the lawmakers said in a May 20 letter to Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner that was distributed today by Americans for Safe Access, a patient-advocacy group.
The letter was written by Representative Jared Polis, a Colorado Democrat whose state is one of at least 14 that have legalized marijuana for medical use. It asks the Treasury to issue “formal written guidance” assuring banks they won’t be targeted for doing businesses with companies that distribute medical marijuana.
Wells Fargo & Co. and Bank of America Corp. are among U.S. lenders that have stopped opening new accounts for companies that provide medical marijuana because cannabis consumption and distribution are illegal under federal law. Treasury spokesman Andrew Williams didn’t have an immediate comment.
“If states want to make it legal or not, it should be a state matter,” Frank said in a telephone interview today. “It’s wrong for the banks to be told by Treasury they can’t service them the way they would service any other business.”
‘No Choice’
Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat and chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, signed the letter with 12 Democrats and two Republicans, including Representatives Ron Paul of Texas and Dana Rohrabacher of California, where voters in November will decide whether to legalize marijuana for recreational use.
Democrats signing the letter include Sam Farr, Pete Stark, Lois Capps, Brad Sherman, Linda Sanchez and Zoe Lofgren, all of California; Steven Cohen of Tennessee; Jose Serrano of New York; Raul Grijalva of Arizona; Donald Payne of New Jersey; and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin.
“We really have no choice as long as it’s illegal, especially illegal and unlawful activity as far as money- laundering is concerned,” Shirley Norton, a spokeswoman for Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America, said in an interview last month. “We’re not making a moral decision here. We’re really basing it on the law.”
Source: Bloomberg BusinessWeek
“Legitimate state-legal businesses are being denied access to banking services, which does not serve the public interest,” the lawmakers said in a May 20 letter to Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner that was distributed today by Americans for Safe Access, a patient-advocacy group.
The letter was written by Representative Jared Polis, a Colorado Democrat whose state is one of at least 14 that have legalized marijuana for medical use. It asks the Treasury to issue “formal written guidance” assuring banks they won’t be targeted for doing businesses with companies that distribute medical marijuana.
Wells Fargo & Co. and Bank of America Corp. are among U.S. lenders that have stopped opening new accounts for companies that provide medical marijuana because cannabis consumption and distribution are illegal under federal law. Treasury spokesman Andrew Williams didn’t have an immediate comment.
“If states want to make it legal or not, it should be a state matter,” Frank said in a telephone interview today. “It’s wrong for the banks to be told by Treasury they can’t service them the way they would service any other business.”
‘No Choice’
Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat and chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, signed the letter with 12 Democrats and two Republicans, including Representatives Ron Paul of Texas and Dana Rohrabacher of California, where voters in November will decide whether to legalize marijuana for recreational use.
Democrats signing the letter include Sam Farr, Pete Stark, Lois Capps, Brad Sherman, Linda Sanchez and Zoe Lofgren, all of California; Steven Cohen of Tennessee; Jose Serrano of New York; Raul Grijalva of Arizona; Donald Payne of New Jersey; and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin.
“We really have no choice as long as it’s illegal, especially illegal and unlawful activity as far as money- laundering is concerned,” Shirley Norton, a spokeswoman for Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America, said in an interview last month. “We’re not making a moral decision here. We’re really basing it on the law.”
Source: Bloomberg BusinessWeek
Sunday, May 23, 2010
NEWS: San Diego Medical Marijuana Provider First to be Tried Under New DOJ Policy
San Diego, CA -- A North San Diego County medical marijuana provider, James Stacy, whose Vista dispensary was raided on September 9, 2009, by a multi-agency narcotics task force, will be the first such case to go to trial after the Justice Department issued its enforcement policy in October 2009, a month after the raid.
Stacy's trial date will be scheduled Wednesday during a hearing at which Stacy will argue he's entitled to admit evidence of state law compliance, something routinely denied federal defendants.
Stacy's dispensary, Movement in Action, was raided along with more than a dozen other San Diego County dispensaries as part of local-federal enforcement actions called, "Operation Endless Summer," which resulted in more than 30 arrests. Only Stacy, and one other medical marijuana dispensary operator Joseph Nunes, were charged federally as a result of the raids. Nunes has since pleaded guilty and was recently sentenced to a year in prison.
What: Federal hearing on whether dispensary operator James Stacy can use medical marijuana and state law as a defense at trial
When: Wednesday, May 19, 2010 at 10:30am
Where: Courtroom 15, U.S. District Court, 940 Front Street, San Diego, CA
"With a new enforcement policy on medical marijuana, the federal government should not be trying this case at all," said Joe Elford, Chief Counsel with Americans for Safe Access, the country's largest medical marijuana advocacy organization. "At the very least, Mr. Stacy's case should be tried in state court where he's guaranteed a defense against his charges." Because of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on medical marijuana, defendants are prevented from entering evidence of medical use or state law compliance in federal court.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder testified before Congress last week and reaffirmed that the Obama Administration was not interested in using the Justice Department's "limited resources" to prosecute people who are in compliance with their state's medical marijuana laws. Stacy argues that he was in full compliance with state law, nevertheless he was federally charged with cultivation of marijuana, conspiracy to cultivate and sell marijuana, and possession of a firearm, which could result in more than 20 years in prison. The federal government has so far failed to show any evidence of state law violations and has blocked repeated attempts by Stacy's lawyer Kasha Kastillo to try the case in state court.
Another San Diego dispensary operator, Jovan Jackson, was arrested as a result of the raids in September and prosecuted by San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis in state court. Jackson was acquitted by a jury after a November 2009 trial on similar charges. More recently, the San Diego Board of Supervisors has taken note of the county's failure to gain convictions and has decided to regulate medical marijuana distribution in the unincorporated areas of the county. The City of San Diego City Council is similarly debating a dispensary ordinance. "The move to regulate local medical marijuana distribution is certainly a positive step for San Diego," continued Elford. "However, it begs the question of why Mr. Stacy is still being prosecuted in federal court."
Because of the government's continued efforts to prosecute medical marijuana patients despite a new Justice department enforcement policy, advocates are urging Members of Congress to pass HR 3939, the Truth in Trials Act, which would allow defendants to use a medical or state law defense in federal court. The Truth in Trials Act currently has more than 30 Congressional cosponsors.
Further Information:
• U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder's recent statements before Congress: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMCHmU-nFAM
• Truth in Trials Act: http://www.safeaccessnow.org/downloads/TruthinTrials.pdf
Stacy's trial date will be scheduled Wednesday during a hearing at which Stacy will argue he's entitled to admit evidence of state law compliance, something routinely denied federal defendants.
Stacy's dispensary, Movement in Action, was raided along with more than a dozen other San Diego County dispensaries as part of local-federal enforcement actions called, "Operation Endless Summer," which resulted in more than 30 arrests. Only Stacy, and one other medical marijuana dispensary operator Joseph Nunes, were charged federally as a result of the raids. Nunes has since pleaded guilty and was recently sentenced to a year in prison.
What: Federal hearing on whether dispensary operator James Stacy can use medical marijuana and state law as a defense at trial
When: Wednesday, May 19, 2010 at 10:30am
Where: Courtroom 15, U.S. District Court, 940 Front Street, San Diego, CA
"With a new enforcement policy on medical marijuana, the federal government should not be trying this case at all," said Joe Elford, Chief Counsel with Americans for Safe Access, the country's largest medical marijuana advocacy organization. "At the very least, Mr. Stacy's case should be tried in state court where he's guaranteed a defense against his charges." Because of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on medical marijuana, defendants are prevented from entering evidence of medical use or state law compliance in federal court.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder testified before Congress last week and reaffirmed that the Obama Administration was not interested in using the Justice Department's "limited resources" to prosecute people who are in compliance with their state's medical marijuana laws. Stacy argues that he was in full compliance with state law, nevertheless he was federally charged with cultivation of marijuana, conspiracy to cultivate and sell marijuana, and possession of a firearm, which could result in more than 20 years in prison. The federal government has so far failed to show any evidence of state law violations and has blocked repeated attempts by Stacy's lawyer Kasha Kastillo to try the case in state court.
Another San Diego dispensary operator, Jovan Jackson, was arrested as a result of the raids in September and prosecuted by San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis in state court. Jackson was acquitted by a jury after a November 2009 trial on similar charges. More recently, the San Diego Board of Supervisors has taken note of the county's failure to gain convictions and has decided to regulate medical marijuana distribution in the unincorporated areas of the county. The City of San Diego City Council is similarly debating a dispensary ordinance. "The move to regulate local medical marijuana distribution is certainly a positive step for San Diego," continued Elford. "However, it begs the question of why Mr. Stacy is still being prosecuted in federal court."
Because of the government's continued efforts to prosecute medical marijuana patients despite a new Justice department enforcement policy, advocates are urging Members of Congress to pass HR 3939, the Truth in Trials Act, which would allow defendants to use a medical or state law defense in federal court. The Truth in Trials Act currently has more than 30 Congressional cosponsors.
Further Information:
• U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder's recent statements before Congress: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMCHmU-nFAM
• Truth in Trials Act: http://www.safeaccessnow.org/downloads/TruthinTrials.pdf
NEWS: Hemp backers try to escape shadow of marijuana
Hemp is not marijuana, but its resemblance to its cannabis cousin has kept the plant banned in the United States for decades despite many uses for textiles, food, cosmetics and other purposes.
Now, hemp is getting support from US lawmakers and others who argue legalization of industrial hemp would have broad economic benefits.
The plant provides seeds rich in protein and nutritious Omega-3 fats. Its oils are useful for cosmetics and cleaning products, and its fibers are used for rope, clothing, auto body panels and building materials. Hemp also has potential as a biofuel to replace petroleum.
But hemp's future has been clouded by the movement to legalize marijuana for medical purposes, which has succeeded in several states, even though hemp advocates argue that the two issues are unrelated.
Some say the marijuana effort has hurt the movement to legalize industrial hemp, which is a member of the cannabis sativa family but without the active narcotic ingredient that characterizes marijuana.
"The biggest misconception is that if you allow hemp farming you are allowing marijuana farming," said Adam Eidinger, a spokesman for Vote Hemp, the lobbying arm for the US hemp industry, and owner of a store in the US capital selling hemp products.
"This is an agricultural issue ... We think there is a billion-dollar crop being kept out of the hands of farmers by the government."
In Congress, some two dozen lawmakers are sponsoring a bill to reverse the ban on industrial hemp. The measure was introduced by Representative Barney Frank, the powerful head of the financial services committee, and Ron Paul, a libertarian on the other end of the political spectrum.
Paul said recently that US policy mistakenly lumps hemp with marijuana even though the former contains less than 0.3 percent THC, the psychoactive chemical found in marijuana.
"Nobody can be psychologically affected by consuming industrial hemp," he said.
"Unfortunately, because of a federal policy that does not distinguish between growing industrial hemp and growing marijuana, all hemp products and materials must be imported. The result is high prices, outsourced jobs, and lost opportunities for American manufacturing."
The Hemp Industries Association, a trade group involving US retailers and makers of hemp products, estimates that hemp food, vitamin and body care product sales to be in the range of 113-129 million dollars for 2009.
Adding in other uses, the total hemp industry may be worth as much as 400 million dollars in the United States, the group says.
Because hemp products can be sold legally but hemp plants cannot be grown in the US, most of the plant materials are imported from Canada, France, China and other countries, the association says.
The industry group, which won a lawsuit in 2005 against the government on the legality of hemp products, now wants the administration of President Barack Obama to clarify that hemp plants are legal as well.
The group declared the week of May 17-23 Hemp History Week, to draw attention to historical uses of hemp over thousands of years as well as its future potential.
Members point out that the plant has been cultivated for 10,000 years and among its early uses was canvas -- a word derived from cannabis -- for fabric and sails.
The Declaration of Independence was printed on hemp paper, and the first American flag was made with hemp fiber. American founding fathers George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew hemp.
During World War II, the US government ended the ban and encouraged farmers to produce hemp for the war effort, before effectively outlawing it again under the 1970 Controlled Substances Act.
It is possible to grow hemp with a permit from the US Drug Enforcement Administration, but in practice the government rarely grants these, say hemp advocates.
David Monson, a farmer in North Dakota who is also speaker of that state's House of Representatives, filed an appeal in US court alleging that the DEA delayed the approval an application for more than three years. DEA declined to comment on the case, citing ongoing litigation.
"We want to them to clarify that growing hemp is not a crime," said Eidinger. "Right now medical marijuana is more legal than non-drug hemp."
But Eidinger said hemp backers are optimistic about getting support from Congress and possibly from Obama, who backed hemp when he was a state lawmaker in Illinois.
"Legalizing industrial hemp is a no-brainer," he said. "This is a sustainable crop. It's an environmentally minded, healthy industry. It's not a drug industry. I'm betting that this is the year.
Source: The Raw Story
Now, hemp is getting support from US lawmakers and others who argue legalization of industrial hemp would have broad economic benefits.
The plant provides seeds rich in protein and nutritious Omega-3 fats. Its oils are useful for cosmetics and cleaning products, and its fibers are used for rope, clothing, auto body panels and building materials. Hemp also has potential as a biofuel to replace petroleum.
But hemp's future has been clouded by the movement to legalize marijuana for medical purposes, which has succeeded in several states, even though hemp advocates argue that the two issues are unrelated.
Some say the marijuana effort has hurt the movement to legalize industrial hemp, which is a member of the cannabis sativa family but without the active narcotic ingredient that characterizes marijuana.
"The biggest misconception is that if you allow hemp farming you are allowing marijuana farming," said Adam Eidinger, a spokesman for Vote Hemp, the lobbying arm for the US hemp industry, and owner of a store in the US capital selling hemp products.
"This is an agricultural issue ... We think there is a billion-dollar crop being kept out of the hands of farmers by the government."
In Congress, some two dozen lawmakers are sponsoring a bill to reverse the ban on industrial hemp. The measure was introduced by Representative Barney Frank, the powerful head of the financial services committee, and Ron Paul, a libertarian on the other end of the political spectrum.
Paul said recently that US policy mistakenly lumps hemp with marijuana even though the former contains less than 0.3 percent THC, the psychoactive chemical found in marijuana.
"Nobody can be psychologically affected by consuming industrial hemp," he said.
"Unfortunately, because of a federal policy that does not distinguish between growing industrial hemp and growing marijuana, all hemp products and materials must be imported. The result is high prices, outsourced jobs, and lost opportunities for American manufacturing."
The Hemp Industries Association, a trade group involving US retailers and makers of hemp products, estimates that hemp food, vitamin and body care product sales to be in the range of 113-129 million dollars for 2009.
Adding in other uses, the total hemp industry may be worth as much as 400 million dollars in the United States, the group says.
Because hemp products can be sold legally but hemp plants cannot be grown in the US, most of the plant materials are imported from Canada, France, China and other countries, the association says.
The industry group, which won a lawsuit in 2005 against the government on the legality of hemp products, now wants the administration of President Barack Obama to clarify that hemp plants are legal as well.
The group declared the week of May 17-23 Hemp History Week, to draw attention to historical uses of hemp over thousands of years as well as its future potential.
Members point out that the plant has been cultivated for 10,000 years and among its early uses was canvas -- a word derived from cannabis -- for fabric and sails.
The Declaration of Independence was printed on hemp paper, and the first American flag was made with hemp fiber. American founding fathers George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew hemp.
During World War II, the US government ended the ban and encouraged farmers to produce hemp for the war effort, before effectively outlawing it again under the 1970 Controlled Substances Act.
It is possible to grow hemp with a permit from the US Drug Enforcement Administration, but in practice the government rarely grants these, say hemp advocates.
David Monson, a farmer in North Dakota who is also speaker of that state's House of Representatives, filed an appeal in US court alleging that the DEA delayed the approval an application for more than three years. DEA declined to comment on the case, citing ongoing litigation.
"We want to them to clarify that growing hemp is not a crime," said Eidinger. "Right now medical marijuana is more legal than non-drug hemp."
But Eidinger said hemp backers are optimistic about getting support from Congress and possibly from Obama, who backed hemp when he was a state lawmaker in Illinois.
"Legalizing industrial hemp is a no-brainer," he said. "This is a sustainable crop. It's an environmentally minded, healthy industry. It's not a drug industry. I'm betting that this is the year.
Source: The Raw Story
NEWS: Inland medical marijuana users run afoul of code enforcement laws
Local law enforcement agencies, similar to many across the state, are treading a more careful path with medical marijuana users since an appellate court decision this year struck down a state law that set specific limits on the amount of marijuana patients can possess.
This month, Murrieta code enforcement and police officers shut down what they described as an illegal medical marijuana dispensary and warehouse growing facility. They did not arrest the operator or seize any marijuana. Instead, they cited him for code enforcement violations.
In Lake Elsinore last week, code enforcement officers cited two storefront medical marijuana dispensaries, one of which was preparing to open and another that was in full swing selling marijuana and a variety of cannabis-containing "edibles."
Both cities have banned dispensaries.
Similar cases involving medical marijuana grows and dispensaries have been playing out in recent months in the Inland area, law enforcement officials and medical marijuana advocates say.
The law regarding medical marijuana already is conflicting and confusing, in no small part because there is no medicinal exception under federal law. If California voters approve a ballot initiative in November legalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana for recreational use, the situation stands to get even more complicated, police said.
Chief Deputy Jerry Williams said the Riverside County Sheriff's Department is waiting till the end of the year to re-evaluate its policy on medical marijuana.
In the meantime, code enforcement has become one of the most effective tools against those suspected of abusing the medical marijuana law, he said.
"We're just being kind of cautious," he said. "We're still enforcing the obvious."
LAW STRUCK DOWN
In 1996, California voters approved Prop. 215, the Compassionate Use Act, which allows a patient to possess or grow marijuana for personal medical purposes with a recommendation from a doctor. About seven years ago, the state Legislature passed a law capping the amount at 8 ounces of dried marijuana and six mature or 12 immature plants, unless a patient has a doctor's recommendation for more.
The appellate court ruled in January that the state did not have the authority to amend the Compassionate Use Act without approval from voters.
"It's a convoluted mess," said Murrieta police Lt. Dennis Vrooman. "It's kind of opened the door for people that are not just in it for medical purposes."
Murrieta police Sgt. Julie Hoxmeier said authorities now are more reluctant to seize marijuana from people claiming to be medicinal users, for fear they could be on the hook for damages if a judge orders the return of perishable marijuana and plants months later.
Temecula resident Martin Victor, a medicinal user who was growing marijuana in his backyard for his co-op, ran afoul of the law in 2008 for having too much marijuana. Sheriff's deputies seized both dried marijuana and plants.
In December, a judge threw out criminal charges against Victor.
Earlier this month, Victor's marijuana was returned -- what was left of it. The dried marijuana was too old to use, Victor said, and the plants, boxed up for more than a year and a half, were a mass of mildew.
Victor and his fellow collective members have sued the Sheriff's Department in connection with the seizure.
Sheriff's Capt. Andre O'Harra, who serves as Temecula police chief, said he could not comment on the Victor case because of the litigation.
SHUT DOWN
In the Murrieta operation targeted this month, an unidentified informant had reported to authorities that the occupants of a business park warehouse were growing marijuana to start a dispensary, Hoxmeier said.
Soon after, police were called out to the Adams Avenue property because of a disturbance involving a former business partner trying to retrieve his belongings, court documents said.
Thomas Wiggins Jr., who leases the space, told officers the building housed a medical marijuana growing operation but declined to allow them to inspect it, court records say.
Officials obtained an inspection warrant from a judge and returned May 6. There was little marijuana to be found, but the space was equipped to grow a large number of plants. Police said unsafe modifications had been made to the ventilation and electrical wiring.
Code enforcement had the electricity to the building shut down, effectively shuttering the operation.
Wiggins was cited for operating a medical marijuana dispensary, operating a business other than what he is licensed for and violating several building, fire and construction codes, court documents say. The fines totaled about $12,000.
Hoxmeier said Wiggins was licensed for retail sale of hydroponic gardening supplies and operating an organic gardening education center.
Reached by phone, Wiggins said city officials' characterization of his operation was inaccurate. Wiggins, a medical marijuana advocate who has lobbied Temecula officials to allow dispensaries, said he was growing marijuana for a licensed dispensary in Palm Springs.
Wiggins said he was surprised to face such costly fines, considering the marijuana plants had been removed by the time officers inspected. Wiggins said he was closing down because of the falling out with his business partner.
Source: The Press-Enterprise
This month, Murrieta code enforcement and police officers shut down what they described as an illegal medical marijuana dispensary and warehouse growing facility. They did not arrest the operator or seize any marijuana. Instead, they cited him for code enforcement violations.
In Lake Elsinore last week, code enforcement officers cited two storefront medical marijuana dispensaries, one of which was preparing to open and another that was in full swing selling marijuana and a variety of cannabis-containing "edibles."
Both cities have banned dispensaries.
Similar cases involving medical marijuana grows and dispensaries have been playing out in recent months in the Inland area, law enforcement officials and medical marijuana advocates say.
The law regarding medical marijuana already is conflicting and confusing, in no small part because there is no medicinal exception under federal law. If California voters approve a ballot initiative in November legalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana for recreational use, the situation stands to get even more complicated, police said.
Chief Deputy Jerry Williams said the Riverside County Sheriff's Department is waiting till the end of the year to re-evaluate its policy on medical marijuana.
In the meantime, code enforcement has become one of the most effective tools against those suspected of abusing the medical marijuana law, he said.
"We're just being kind of cautious," he said. "We're still enforcing the obvious."
LAW STRUCK DOWN
In 1996, California voters approved Prop. 215, the Compassionate Use Act, which allows a patient to possess or grow marijuana for personal medical purposes with a recommendation from a doctor. About seven years ago, the state Legislature passed a law capping the amount at 8 ounces of dried marijuana and six mature or 12 immature plants, unless a patient has a doctor's recommendation for more.
The appellate court ruled in January that the state did not have the authority to amend the Compassionate Use Act without approval from voters.
"It's a convoluted mess," said Murrieta police Lt. Dennis Vrooman. "It's kind of opened the door for people that are not just in it for medical purposes."
Murrieta police Sgt. Julie Hoxmeier said authorities now are more reluctant to seize marijuana from people claiming to be medicinal users, for fear they could be on the hook for damages if a judge orders the return of perishable marijuana and plants months later.
Temecula resident Martin Victor, a medicinal user who was growing marijuana in his backyard for his co-op, ran afoul of the law in 2008 for having too much marijuana. Sheriff's deputies seized both dried marijuana and plants.
In December, a judge threw out criminal charges against Victor.
Earlier this month, Victor's marijuana was returned -- what was left of it. The dried marijuana was too old to use, Victor said, and the plants, boxed up for more than a year and a half, were a mass of mildew.
Victor and his fellow collective members have sued the Sheriff's Department in connection with the seizure.
Sheriff's Capt. Andre O'Harra, who serves as Temecula police chief, said he could not comment on the Victor case because of the litigation.
SHUT DOWN
In the Murrieta operation targeted this month, an unidentified informant had reported to authorities that the occupants of a business park warehouse were growing marijuana to start a dispensary, Hoxmeier said.
Soon after, police were called out to the Adams Avenue property because of a disturbance involving a former business partner trying to retrieve his belongings, court documents said.
Thomas Wiggins Jr., who leases the space, told officers the building housed a medical marijuana growing operation but declined to allow them to inspect it, court records say.
Officials obtained an inspection warrant from a judge and returned May 6. There was little marijuana to be found, but the space was equipped to grow a large number of plants. Police said unsafe modifications had been made to the ventilation and electrical wiring.
Code enforcement had the electricity to the building shut down, effectively shuttering the operation.
Wiggins was cited for operating a medical marijuana dispensary, operating a business other than what he is licensed for and violating several building, fire and construction codes, court documents say. The fines totaled about $12,000.
Hoxmeier said Wiggins was licensed for retail sale of hydroponic gardening supplies and operating an organic gardening education center.
Reached by phone, Wiggins said city officials' characterization of his operation was inaccurate. Wiggins, a medical marijuana advocate who has lobbied Temecula officials to allow dispensaries, said he was growing marijuana for a licensed dispensary in Palm Springs.
Wiggins said he was surprised to face such costly fines, considering the marijuana plants had been removed by the time officers inspected. Wiggins said he was closing down because of the falling out with his business partner.
Source: The Press-Enterprise
Saturday, May 22, 2010
NEWS: Fairfax may allow medical marijuana club to deliver
Members of the Fairfax Planning Commission appear willing to relax some of the conditions under which the county's oldest medical marijuana dispensary operates.
Thursday's straw polls suggest a majority of commissioners may be willing to allow the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana to deliver marijuana to patients' homes and to allow underage patients to enter the dispensary if accompanied by a parent, guardian or medical professional.
But the commission has tabled a request by dispensary director Lynette Shaw to allow the School Street Plaza club to grow its own product, since the alliance has not yet identified where the growing would take place.
"This is a very conscientious commission doing what they can to accommodate the dispensary's wishes to reduce the restrictions placed on it in light of the evolution of the topic matter," said Fairfax Planning Director Jim Moore.
Shaw asked the commission in February to relax some of the 84 conditions imposed upon the Marin Alliance in 1997, when it became California's first legally sanctioned medical marijuana dispensary.
Commissioners could make a final ruling on the club's conditions at their June 17 meeting.
Source: Contra Costa Times
Thursday's straw polls suggest a majority of commissioners may be willing to allow the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana to deliver marijuana to patients' homes and to allow underage patients to enter the dispensary if accompanied by a parent, guardian or medical professional.
But the commission has tabled a request by dispensary director Lynette Shaw to allow the School Street Plaza club to grow its own product, since the alliance has not yet identified where the growing would take place.
"This is a very conscientious commission doing what they can to accommodate the dispensary's wishes to reduce the restrictions placed on it in light of the evolution of the topic matter," said Fairfax Planning Director Jim Moore.
Shaw asked the commission in February to relax some of the 84 conditions imposed upon the Marin Alliance in 1997, when it became California's first legally sanctioned medical marijuana dispensary.
Commissioners could make a final ruling on the club's conditions at their June 17 meeting.
Source: Contra Costa Times
Friday, May 21, 2010
NEWS: Medical marijuana dispensary set to open Tuesday
The first of two medical pot dispensaries approved under a Palm Springs ordinance aims to open its doors to local patients early next week, the owners report.
CannaHelp owner Stacy Hochanadel said his dispensary storefront, at 505 Industrial Place, will open at 10 a.m. Tuesday to local medical marijuana patients, after the space received its final city inspection approvals Thursday.
The dispensary has 4,000 patients signed up for its services, Hochanadel said.
“I hope 4,000 people don't show up in one day,” he said, adding that CannaHelp will have 12 staff members on hand for the opening. “It's going to be a madhouse — you can guarantee it. If there are long lines, people will have to be patient and wait.”
Representatives of Palm Springs' other city-approved dispensary, Desert Organic Solutions, at 19486 Newhall St. in north Palm Springs, say it aims to open May 29.
Palm Springs is the only valley city to pass an ordinance allowing a limited number of medical marijuana facilities. It allows for two dispensaries to operate as collectives or cooperatives. City officials are taking steps to allow a third under the ordinance.
In March, at least four unlicensed dispensaries were open in Palm Springs. The city is suing them to close their doors.
Hochanadel's facility also ran into problems. Police, fire and code officials locked down and red-tagged CannaHelp's building on March 4 — days before the dispensary originally was to open, after they found health and safety hazards, and hundreds of marijuana plants already growing.
The inspectors encountered what Hochanadel described as an ambitious, nearly 9,000-square-foot indoor growing operation already under way. It involved more than 100 lights, meant to simulate sunlight, about 46 tons of air-conditioning equipment, a system for 3,600 gallons of water per week and electrical changes.
CannaHelp is still working to obtain final approval on the giant on-site cultivation area and estimates it will be ready in about 60 days, Hochanadel said Thursday.
“It was really new to (city officials), too. We had to work side-by-side to figure a lot of this out. They did their best to fast track it,” he said.
In the meantime, CannaHelp will provide medical pot from its supplies stored at a collective in Lake Elsinore ever since CannaHelp's space was red-tagged, Hochanadel said. It also will draw on covenants with that collective, he said.
Voters will decide in November whether to make California the first state to legalize marijuana for recreational use. Recent polls show voters almost evenly divided on the proposal.
Source: The Desert Sun
CannaHelp owner Stacy Hochanadel said his dispensary storefront, at 505 Industrial Place, will open at 10 a.m. Tuesday to local medical marijuana patients, after the space received its final city inspection approvals Thursday.
The dispensary has 4,000 patients signed up for its services, Hochanadel said.
“I hope 4,000 people don't show up in one day,” he said, adding that CannaHelp will have 12 staff members on hand for the opening. “It's going to be a madhouse — you can guarantee it. If there are long lines, people will have to be patient and wait.”
Representatives of Palm Springs' other city-approved dispensary, Desert Organic Solutions, at 19486 Newhall St. in north Palm Springs, say it aims to open May 29.
Palm Springs is the only valley city to pass an ordinance allowing a limited number of medical marijuana facilities. It allows for two dispensaries to operate as collectives or cooperatives. City officials are taking steps to allow a third under the ordinance.
In March, at least four unlicensed dispensaries were open in Palm Springs. The city is suing them to close their doors.
Hochanadel's facility also ran into problems. Police, fire and code officials locked down and red-tagged CannaHelp's building on March 4 — days before the dispensary originally was to open, after they found health and safety hazards, and hundreds of marijuana plants already growing.
The inspectors encountered what Hochanadel described as an ambitious, nearly 9,000-square-foot indoor growing operation already under way. It involved more than 100 lights, meant to simulate sunlight, about 46 tons of air-conditioning equipment, a system for 3,600 gallons of water per week and electrical changes.
CannaHelp is still working to obtain final approval on the giant on-site cultivation area and estimates it will be ready in about 60 days, Hochanadel said Thursday.
“It was really new to (city officials), too. We had to work side-by-side to figure a lot of this out. They did their best to fast track it,” he said.
In the meantime, CannaHelp will provide medical pot from its supplies stored at a collective in Lake Elsinore ever since CannaHelp's space was red-tagged, Hochanadel said. It also will draw on covenants with that collective, he said.
Voters will decide in November whether to make California the first state to legalize marijuana for recreational use. Recent polls show voters almost evenly divided on the proposal.
Source: The Desert Sun
Thursday, May 20, 2010
NEWS: Council approves non-refundable application fees for Long Beach's medical marijuana dispensaries
LONG BEACH -- For Long Beach's medical marijuana collectives, the city's new lottery system is going to cost them, win or lose.
The losers, however, will really lose.
Under a fee schedule approved Tuesday by the City Council, collectives will have to pay a non-refundable application fee of $14,742. After that, all of the collectives that comply with the new medical marijuana regulations that the council approved in March will be put into a lottery to determine which ones can actually open or continue to exist.
The lottery is necessary because the new law doesn't allow collectives to be within 1,000 feet of each other. The lottery would determine which of the collectives that are too close to each other get to remain open.
That means that collectives could meet all of the stringent requirements of the ordinance and pay the application fee, yet still wouldn't be allowed to operate in Long Beach if they lose the lottery.
On top of the application fee, collectives would have to pay annual regulatory permit fees based on the number of patients or caregivers served by the collective. The permit fee would be paid after the lottery.
Collectives with four to 500 patients or caregivers would have to pay $10,000 annually; those with 501 to 1,000 members would pay $20,000; collectives with 1,001 to 1,500 members would pay $25,000; and those with 1,501 or more members would pay $30,000 per year.
About two dozen medical marijuana advocates, patients and collective operators lined up at Tuesday's meeting to protest either the costly permit fees, the lottery system or both.
"The way this fee structure is currently set out is tantamount to a shake-down," said David Sharpe, who operates Ballast Collective, 501 E. Broadway. "For small collectives like my own, these fees are exorbitant, and we're creating a situation where it's cost prohibitive."
Katherine Aldrich, who operates 562 Collective, 3970 Atlantic Ave., said the fees are much higher than those in other cities, such as Los Angeles, which charges a $1,200 application fee.
"These fees are only going to result in extra expenses for people who do not have money to spend," Aldrich said.
Director of Financial Management Lori Ann Farrell explained that the fees were established to cover city costs in the application process.
City officials have estimated that there are 75 to 85 medical marijuana collectives in Long Beach, but many are expected to close under the new law. In addition to creating 1,000-foot buffers between collectives, the law prohibits them in residential zones and from being within 1,500 feet of high schools and 1,000 feet of middle schools or elementary schools.
Three council members agreed with at least some of the medical marijuana crowd's concerns.
Council members Tonia Reyes Uranga, Rae Gabelich and Val Lerch voted against the fees and permitting process, but lost the vote 5-3. Councilman Robert Garcia was absent.
Before that, Uranga, Gabelich and Lerch were the only council members to support a motion that combined suggestions by Gabelich and Lerch to waive fees for collectives with 10 members or fewer and to divide the application fee so that part of it could be paid after the lottery.
The proposal would have saved lottery losers at least part of the fee cost. Farrell told the council that the fee could be separated into a $12,530 pre-lottery cost and a $2,212 post-lottery cost.
"They don't have the right to have their application fee refunded," Gabelich said. "That's just wrong to me."
Source: Long Beach Press-Telegram
The losers, however, will really lose.
Under a fee schedule approved Tuesday by the City Council, collectives will have to pay a non-refundable application fee of $14,742. After that, all of the collectives that comply with the new medical marijuana regulations that the council approved in March will be put into a lottery to determine which ones can actually open or continue to exist.
The lottery is necessary because the new law doesn't allow collectives to be within 1,000 feet of each other. The lottery would determine which of the collectives that are too close to each other get to remain open.
That means that collectives could meet all of the stringent requirements of the ordinance and pay the application fee, yet still wouldn't be allowed to operate in Long Beach if they lose the lottery.
On top of the application fee, collectives would have to pay annual regulatory permit fees based on the number of patients or caregivers served by the collective. The permit fee would be paid after the lottery.
Collectives with four to 500 patients or caregivers would have to pay $10,000 annually; those with 501 to 1,000 members would pay $20,000; collectives with 1,001 to 1,500 members would pay $25,000; and those with 1,501 or more members would pay $30,000 per year.
About two dozen medical marijuana advocates, patients and collective operators lined up at Tuesday's meeting to protest either the costly permit fees, the lottery system or both.
"The way this fee structure is currently set out is tantamount to a shake-down," said David Sharpe, who operates Ballast Collective, 501 E. Broadway. "For small collectives like my own, these fees are exorbitant, and we're creating a situation where it's cost prohibitive."
Katherine Aldrich, who operates 562 Collective, 3970 Atlantic Ave., said the fees are much higher than those in other cities, such as Los Angeles, which charges a $1,200 application fee.
"These fees are only going to result in extra expenses for people who do not have money to spend," Aldrich said.
Director of Financial Management Lori Ann Farrell explained that the fees were established to cover city costs in the application process.
City officials have estimated that there are 75 to 85 medical marijuana collectives in Long Beach, but many are expected to close under the new law. In addition to creating 1,000-foot buffers between collectives, the law prohibits them in residential zones and from being within 1,500 feet of high schools and 1,000 feet of middle schools or elementary schools.
Three council members agreed with at least some of the medical marijuana crowd's concerns.
Council members Tonia Reyes Uranga, Rae Gabelich and Val Lerch voted against the fees and permitting process, but lost the vote 5-3. Councilman Robert Garcia was absent.
Before that, Uranga, Gabelich and Lerch were the only council members to support a motion that combined suggestions by Gabelich and Lerch to waive fees for collectives with 10 members or fewer and to divide the application fee so that part of it could be paid after the lottery.
The proposal would have saved lottery losers at least part of the fee cost. Farrell told the council that the fee could be separated into a $12,530 pre-lottery cost and a $2,212 post-lottery cost.
"They don't have the right to have their application fee refunded," Gabelich said. "That's just wrong to me."
Source: Long Beach Press-Telegram
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
NEWS: Blind woman sues to keep medical marijuana dispensary open
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) -- A blind woman with cerebral palsy, epilepsy and osteoporosis has filed a lawsuit in an attempt to stop Dana Point officials from closing a medical marijuana collective where she gets pot to cope with her maladies.
Attorney Jeffrey Schwartz says 29-year-old Malinda Traudt needs marijuana to manage pain that couldn't be controlled with other drugs without serious side effects.
The Orange County Superior Court lawsuit, filed Tuesday on behalf of Traudt and her mother, says Traudt gets marijuana from the Beach Cities Collective in Dana Point. The city has targeted medical pot dispensaries for closure.
Judges have ruled cities can use zoning laws to shut them down because federal law classifies marijuana as an illegal narcotic.
Source: San Diego Source
Attorney Jeffrey Schwartz says 29-year-old Malinda Traudt needs marijuana to manage pain that couldn't be controlled with other drugs without serious side effects.
The Orange County Superior Court lawsuit, filed Tuesday on behalf of Traudt and her mother, says Traudt gets marijuana from the Beach Cities Collective in Dana Point. The city has targeted medical pot dispensaries for closure.
Judges have ruled cities can use zoning laws to shut them down because federal law classifies marijuana as an illegal narcotic.
Source: San Diego Source
NEWS: Medical marijuana case moves forward
A visiting judge ruled in a preliminary hearing May 10 that a man facing several marijuana-related charges will be held to answer on all counts.
San Andreas resident Jay Smith, 37, faces charges of sales, cultivation and possession of marijuana, according to Deputy District Attorney Seth Matthews.
Matthews said that in preliminaries, all the judge needs to determine is whether there is probable cause.
Judge James Cadle, a retired judge from San Joaquin County, found there was cause to move forward with the charges against Smith.
A sting operation resulted in the arrest of Smith Jan. 4 in the Valley Oaks Center parking lot in Valley Springs.
Smith claims he was legally operating a medical marijuana collective in compliance with California state law.
He said that he spent months in legal preparation before starting the medical marijuana collective, K Care Alternative Collective, in order to make sure it was operating legally.
The Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office did not agree with the legality of the operation and after a lengthy period of communication between Smith and an undercover detective who was posing as a legal patient with a valid doctor’s recommendation, the Sheriff’s Office executed the sting operation.
Before being arrested, Smith had the undercover deputy sign an agreement, which made him a member of K Care Collective and then the deputy paid Smith $270 for 1 ounce of marijuana.
“My plan is to go to trial and continue to educate Calaveras County on the law,” Smith said. “Am I going to quit? Hell no.”
Smith will return at 9 a.m. June 7 in Department 1 for arraignment on information.
Source: Calavera Enterprise
San Andreas resident Jay Smith, 37, faces charges of sales, cultivation and possession of marijuana, according to Deputy District Attorney Seth Matthews.
Matthews said that in preliminaries, all the judge needs to determine is whether there is probable cause.
Judge James Cadle, a retired judge from San Joaquin County, found there was cause to move forward with the charges against Smith.
A sting operation resulted in the arrest of Smith Jan. 4 in the Valley Oaks Center parking lot in Valley Springs.
Smith claims he was legally operating a medical marijuana collective in compliance with California state law.
He said that he spent months in legal preparation before starting the medical marijuana collective, K Care Alternative Collective, in order to make sure it was operating legally.
The Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office did not agree with the legality of the operation and after a lengthy period of communication between Smith and an undercover detective who was posing as a legal patient with a valid doctor’s recommendation, the Sheriff’s Office executed the sting operation.
Before being arrested, Smith had the undercover deputy sign an agreement, which made him a member of K Care Collective and then the deputy paid Smith $270 for 1 ounce of marijuana.
“My plan is to go to trial and continue to educate Calaveras County on the law,” Smith said. “Am I going to quit? Hell no.”
Smith will return at 9 a.m. June 7 in Department 1 for arraignment on information.
Source: Calavera Enterprise
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
NEWS: Medical marijuana group goes to court vs. Irvine
IRVINE – A medical marijuana collective has turned to the courts to try to force Irvine to allow it to operate within the city, alleging that its business permit was improperly denied.
Irvine has become the latest Orange County city drawn into a legal battle with medical marijuana advocates, with The Power of Trinity Inc. this month challenging the city's denial of their proposed dispensary.
According to court records, Power of Trinity in November applied for a business license, hoping to run a medical marijuana dispensary in the 13400 block of Alton Parkway.
The license called for a warehouse where medicinal marijuana would be distributed to licensed wholesalers and prescribed patients, according to court filings. The medical marijuana would be ordered through the internet or by telephone and shipped to customers, with the occasional in-person pick-up of orders from patients who live nearby.
City officials denied the request, writing that they were unable to issue a business license to any operation that is illegal under federal, state or local law.
Power of Trinity this month filed a petition in Orange County Superior Court for a "writ of mandate" against the city, essentially asking for a court order directing public officials to approve their business license.
Attorneys for Power of Trinity in a recent court filing argued that since California voters have backed the medical use of marijuana, the city's decision to carry out federal laws against medical marijuana dispensaries is illegal.
Power of Trinity alleged in that same court filing that denial of its business license has cost $250,000 in damages.
“All they said is ‘you don’t comply with federal law,’ which we freely admit. But the city of Irvine doesn’t get to enforce federal law," said Herbert Papenfuss, an attorney representing Power of Trinity.
City officials declined to comment on the legal filing.
Irvine has received about a dozen general inquiries from medical marijuana dispensaries hoping to move into the city during the past 18 months, Spokesman Craig Reem said.
Reem would not comment on whether police or code enforcement has shut down any dispensaries operating within the city illegally.
Irvine Police in recent months located at least one dispensary they believed to be operating illegally, after the business reported than an armed robber had stolen $200 in cash and $150 in marijuana.
Several other Orange County cities, including Lake Forest, Costa Mesa and Dana Point, are already embroiled in legal battles to close marijuana dispensaries they claim are operating illegally within their cities.
Source: OC Register
Irvine has become the latest Orange County city drawn into a legal battle with medical marijuana advocates, with The Power of Trinity Inc. this month challenging the city's denial of their proposed dispensary.
According to court records, Power of Trinity in November applied for a business license, hoping to run a medical marijuana dispensary in the 13400 block of Alton Parkway.
The license called for a warehouse where medicinal marijuana would be distributed to licensed wholesalers and prescribed patients, according to court filings. The medical marijuana would be ordered through the internet or by telephone and shipped to customers, with the occasional in-person pick-up of orders from patients who live nearby.
City officials denied the request, writing that they were unable to issue a business license to any operation that is illegal under federal, state or local law.
Power of Trinity this month filed a petition in Orange County Superior Court for a "writ of mandate" against the city, essentially asking for a court order directing public officials to approve their business license.
Attorneys for Power of Trinity in a recent court filing argued that since California voters have backed the medical use of marijuana, the city's decision to carry out federal laws against medical marijuana dispensaries is illegal.
Power of Trinity alleged in that same court filing that denial of its business license has cost $250,000 in damages.
“All they said is ‘you don’t comply with federal law,’ which we freely admit. But the city of Irvine doesn’t get to enforce federal law," said Herbert Papenfuss, an attorney representing Power of Trinity.
City officials declined to comment on the legal filing.
Irvine has received about a dozen general inquiries from medical marijuana dispensaries hoping to move into the city during the past 18 months, Spokesman Craig Reem said.
Reem would not comment on whether police or code enforcement has shut down any dispensaries operating within the city illegally.
Irvine Police in recent months located at least one dispensary they believed to be operating illegally, after the business reported than an armed robber had stolen $200 in cash and $150 in marijuana.
Several other Orange County cities, including Lake Forest, Costa Mesa and Dana Point, are already embroiled in legal battles to close marijuana dispensaries they claim are operating illegally within their cities.
Source: OC Register
NEWS: Dispensary fees to go before Long Beach City Council
The City Council is being asked to approve the proposed fee schedule for medical marijuana collectives Tuesday.
The proposed fees include a $14,742 initial application fee to cover inspections and other city costs. Collectives that have a separate marijuana cultivation site in the city would pay another $11,584.
On top of that, collectives with four to 500 members would have to pay $10,000 annually; those with 501 to 1,000 members would pay $20,000; collectives with 1,001 to 1,500 members would pay $25,000; and those with 1,501 members or more would have to pay $30,000 per year.
If a permit for a collective is denied, the applicant can appeal the decision to the council, which would cost $3,304 under the proposed fee schedule. The city would fine collectives that don't comply with the new regulations $1,000 per member.
The council approved the new medical marijuana rules in March following months of debate because council members were concerned about the growing number of collectives. Long Beach has an estimated 75 to 85 collectives.
Medical marijuana advocates and collective operators at the time called the law a virtual "ban" because of its strict rules.
The new ordinance prohibits Long Beach collectives from bringing in marijuana from outside of the city, requiring them instead to grow their marijuana on-site or at a separate cultivation location within the city limits. The rule also creates buffer zones around schools, prohibits collectives in certain areas such as residential zones, and prohibits collectives from being within 1,000 feet of each other.
Carl Kemp, a lobbyist who represents Belmont Shore Natural Care collective on Second Street and who has become a spokesman of sorts for other collectives as well, said last week that the permit fees seem reasonable.
"We're going to pay them," Kemp said. "We're going to do what we have to do to continue providing medical marijuana to patients at our collectives."
Asked whether the fees might be too high for some collectives to operate, Kemp said he expected those that survive the permitting process in the first place — those that aren't forced to close because of where they are located — to be able to pay.
"It's not going to be prohibitive," Kemp said. "It's not going to be easy as pie, but these collectives are committed to staying in operation to provide for their patients."
The medical marijuana law went into effect May 2, but collectives have 120 days from that date to comply with the ordinance, pay their fees and get their paperwork in order. After that, the collectives have another 120 days before they must stop importing marijuana and can provide their patients with only the marijuana they grow in-house.
Source: Long Beach Press-Telegram
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