NEWS: Feds Demand Medical Marijuana Records in Michigan

Medical marijuana advocates in Michigan are crying foul in the wake of recent demands by the federal government that the state health department turn over the records of seven legal medical marijuana patients.

According to the Associated Press, the U.S. attorney's office has asked a judge to order the Department of Community Health to comply with an earlier subpoena for the records of seven people with Michigan user and caregiver cards.

The request was made on behalf of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which would not comment on the case; there is no additional information available on whose records are being targeted. According to the report, the DEA first asked for the records in June. So far, the health department has declined because of a privacy provision in the Michigan law, according to the AP.

Michigan's medical marijuana law, one of 15 in the U.S. today (Arizona voters were the latest to approve one this past November) has been in effect since 2009. Voters there passed the new law by referendum with 63 percent of the vote in 2008.

This is the second time in a month that the DEA in Michigan has made headlines: earlier, DEA agents raided a warehouse outside Lansing, netting all of 40 plants (keep in mind, while the DEA would not comment Tuesday on the disputed subpoena request, a DEA spokesman said its agents only target "large scale drug trafficking organizations"). One report from Phillip Smith at the Drug War Chronicle said that in order to get at the cache of 40 plants, "heavily armed state and federal lawmen" raided a space caregivers had leased from the owner of Capital City Care Givers on Nov. 30, "breaking windows, throwing smoke grenades, and seizing thousands of dollars worth of equipment."

The proprietor, Ryan Basore, said his operation was completely legitimate, indicating that there were two legal, licensed caregivers operating within the leased facility. In Michigan, each caregiver can grow up to 12 plants for five patients and another 12 plants for themselves if they are a legal patient.

Critics say the state and federal cops went over a local judge's purview and instead got a federal warrant in Grand Rapids to conduct the raid. The DEA did not comment further at the time, citing the "ongoing investigation."

"These tactics and the continued attempts to undermine local and state medical marijuana laws must be stopped," charged Kris Hermes, a spokesman for Americans for Safe Access, in an email to Change.org. "The Obama Administration should stop trying to enforce federal marijuana laws when medical use is clearly evident or, more importantly, President Obama should change federal law to reflect the scientific evidence of marijuana's medical efficacy."

Michigan activists like Charmie Gholson, editor of The Midwest Cultivator, complain that Michigan will someday "be like California," in that local and county prosecutors and law enforcement agencies that do not agree with the state's medical marijuana laws will continue to raid, arrest and prosecute legal users, growers and caregivers, putting the medical marijuana community on the defense.

"We're building coalitions. We're doing what we can, on a local and national level, to say, 'hey, we need help here,'" Gholson told Change.org, insisting that the Obama administration has the last word. It can take marijuana off the list of Schedule I controlled substances, Gholson said; in other words, legalize it federally.

"Who is is going to hold the Obama administration accountable and finally reschedule marijuana on a federal level? That is what we need to do."

Activists often refer to U.S Attorney General Eric Holder's 2009 memo telling federal authorities to stand down on raids and the prosecution of growers and users operating within state law in California. The raids have not stopped, however, nor have the prosecutions. And Obama has not made further pronouncements where medical marijuana is concerned. The attorney general's office did, however, say it would continue to prosecute what it considered illegal use and possession under federal law if California voters had decided to legalize marijuana on the November ballot. The legalization initiative ultimately failed, with 53 percent of Californians voting "no" and 46 percent voting "yes."

Gholson said the two year old Holder memo has no teeth, and until the administration steps in, activists feel as though they are facing a Goliath.

"We're working on educating and informing and gathering up the funds to fight this on a legal level, but it's the DEA for godsakes, why would they listen to us? They answer to the Obama Administration," Gholson said. Ultimately, they take orders from Attorney General Eric Holder.

Meanwhile, Hermes said there were similar raids in Saginaw County around the same time as the disputed subpoenas were issued. "No one has been prosecuted as a result of those raids, but the rationale for the raids was clear: intimidate the patient community and undermine efforts to implement state law."

Source: Change.org

NEWS: With law hazy, defiant LA pot clinics open again

LOS ANGELES -- Months after Los Angeles got serious about running a majority of medical marijuana dispensaries out of town by passing strict regulations, the ubiquitous shops are cropping up again.

A judge recently scratched key portions of the ordinance city officials spent years crafting, noting in his Dec. 10 ruling granting a preliminary injunction that a large number of shuttered collectives could reopen. Attorney David Welch, who represents clinics that sued the city when they were forced to close, said nearly 60 collectives have planned to open, and 10 have done so since the judge's decision.

"The injunction removes the fear my clients have of being prosecuted and arrested during litigation," Welch said. "My clients are reopening."

Los Angeles has been lost in a legal haze on the medical marijuana front over the past year, partly because it was faced with closing more than 430 clinics during the summer and having proponents challenging city officials at every turn.

Despite passing the ordinance in January, Los Angeles appears to be no closer to figuring out how to regulate the clinics. About 180 collectives applied to remain open, but only about 40 met all the ordinance's criteria, which included being located at least 1,000 feet from schools, parks and other gathering sites.

City Attorney Carmen Trutanich recently said the judge's ruling doesn't mean dispensaries can start cropping up once again.

His office will "enforce existing laws in order to prevent the proliferation of pot shops and the unlawful sale and distribution of marijuana to recreational users and others for profit," said Trutanich, whose office said the injunction wouldn't take effect until next month.

Eric Matuschek, owner of Starbudz, is willing to take his chances. He closed his storefront in May after receiving a letter from the city ordering him to do so. But Matuschek, who is part of the lawsuit before Superior Court Judge Anthony Mohr, reopened about a month later and was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor.

Undeterred, Matuschek opened again and has welcomed patients back over the past two months, although some of his clientele have gone elsewhere or have joined home delivery services that emerged in Los Angeles after dispensaries closed.

He said the ordinance unfairly targets some clinics that operate legally under state law, and city officials should focus their efforts elsewhere.

"It obviously has to be controlled and regulated," he said. "Go after the illegal clubs. That would keep them extremely busy."

Determining which clinics should be allowed to operate has been a major challenge for city officials. The shops that registered before a 2007 moratorium and meet the ordinance's requirements are sanctioned, authorities said.

However, Mohr disagreed with the city's approach, saying the new local law was unconstitutional on several grounds. He said the ban on new dispensaries hadn't been extended properly and actually lapsed before the clinics' registration deadline in November 2007.

Mohr also said the due process rights of operators of shuttered dispensaries were violated because they weren't provided a hearing to argue against the closure. The ordinance invades patients' privacy rights, he said, because police can access personal information without a warrant or subpoena.

He suggested in his ruling that the City Council could amend the ordinance to possibly avoid further litigation.

City Councilman Ed Reyes said the council will likely ask the city attorney's office in January to draft new ordinance language that addresses the judge's concerns.

"The legal shifting of the sands is difficult for us to draft a policy that has some consistency," Reyes said. "Our ordinance is trying to protect our communities while trying to provide medicine to those who need it most."

Observers said Los Angeles has struggled where other California cities haven't based on its sheer size. Los Angeles is one of about 35 cities in California that opted to create laws setting local rules for pot clinics.

"Los Angeles has tried to take a more aggressive stance against collectives, but collectives have also done the same with the city," said Rory Little, a professor at the University of California Hastings College of Law. "I don't think the judge's ruling is a clear victory for anybody. It's one step in an ongoing cultural battle."

Source: The Washington Post

NEWS: Video footage of medical marijuana dispensary robbery released by LAPD

Los Angeles police released security video footage Thursday of three men who shot and wounded two employees during a robbery earlier this month at a Northridge marijuana dispensary.

Det. Joel Price from the West Valley station said police want help in identifying the men, who entered the medical marijuana cooperative in the 8200 block of White Oak Avenue about 9:25 p.m. Dec. 15. Two of the men fired multiple times and wounded two men before fleeing.

One of the victims took out a handgun and returned fire but was shot by the robbers, police said.

One of the victims was critically injured, having been shot several times in the head, arm and legs, police said. The other man was wounded in the back and legs.

The robbers took out what they believed was a video recorder, a small amount of marijuana and an undetermined amount of cash before leaving in a late-model Nissan Titan pickup truck.

The robbers are described as three male Latinos. Police describe one of them as between 5 feet 1 and 5 feet 10, weighing 170 pounds, with a thick mustache. He was wearing a blue and white knit ski cap with ear covers, police said.

Another was 5 feet 7 to 5 feet 10 and weighed about 170 pounds, with short brown hair, a mustache and heavy eyebrows. He was wearing a dark, hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans and also had a handgun, police said.

The third robber was described wearing dark pants, a zip-up jacket and a black New York Mets baseball cap.

Source: Los Angeles Times

VIDEO: Adela Falk speaks on medical marijuana at San Diego City Council Meeting

Adela Falk's public comment regarding the San Diego medical marijuana ordinance. From San Diego City Council Meeting on Tuesday December 7, 2010.

NEWS: Pot Collectives Vow To Fight Further City Restrictions

The medical marijuana collectives facing elimination in Long Beach have vowed to keep fighting for their right to exist — in the face of a second reading to finalize the law this January.

During its Dec. 14 meeting, the City Council passed a first reading for the medical marijuana ordinance that will eliminate as many as a dozen more collectives. Many of those collective owners have come out publicly, or through an attorney, pleading with the council to allow for relocation.

Some collective owners said they are trying to remain optimistic they will get an opportunity to relocate.

The original ordinance was enacted in the late summer, eliminating many of an estimated 90-plus collectives through an application and lottery process. After the lottery, the number of potential collectives was reduced to 32.

Then in early November, Third District Councilman Gary DeLong, Fifth District Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske and Fourth District Councilman Patrick O’Donnell introduced an agenda item for further restrictions. The council decided to enact park buffers. It was believed then that an additional nine collectives would be eliminated with the newer restrictions added.

Vance Watson, president of One Source Discount Caregivers, 5115 Atlantic Ave., said he believes his operation has legal grounds to stop the city from shutting it down. His dispensary was a winner in the lottery earlier this year, but would be shut down by the new ordinance restrictions not allowing collectives near a park.

“They pulled the rug right out from under us,” he said.

Watson said he has been working with three different lawyers in regards to what types of action his dispensary can take, depending on whether the council passes a second reading with no changes from the Dec. 14 vote.

To some owners, the process has been discredited with the latest round of restrictions, which appear to single out certain collectives — including Herbal Solutions Naples, 5746 E. Second St.

In a statement released by ownership, Herbal Solutions accused the council of “trying to exercise their legislative powers in an unabashed attempt to change the outcome of the lottery.”

“This is not a minor issue and all citizens of the city should be concerned with the precedent that this amendment sets,” the statement says.

Watson said the City Council removing beaches from the definition of parks also has raised some eyebrows.

“Who benefits from them not including beaches?” he said. “Aren’t kids still at beaches? What kind of politicking is really going on behind the scenes?”

Ninth District Councilman Steven Neal initially brought up striking beaches from the definition during the council meeting. He said his intent has been to move forward with rules that follow the original ordinance as closely as possible.

“The city has been levied with several lawsuits to date, and any changes would add further lawsuits,” he said.

The removal of beaches from the parks definition is likely to spare one or two collectives, according to initial estimates.

DeLong said his intent with further restrictions were motivated by his constituents.

“My goal is to significantly reduce the amount of dispensaries and we accomplished that goal on Tuesday (Dec. 14),” he said. “It’s hard to predict the future, but I don’t expect any additional changes going forward. However, I do expect changes a year from now (when the moratorium on accepting applications ends).”

There is still some optimism that relocation will be allowed for the nine-plus collectives that are scheduled for displacement, Watson said.

“Everyone in my situation believes the city will allow for relocation,” he said.

Herbal Solutions also is holding out hope.

“Herbal Solutions Naples has publically offered to relocate its collective out of Naples in a good faith effort to address community concerns,” the statement said. “The city’s refusal to provide relocation is baffling and amounts to nothing more than a penalty and spot zoning. Herbal Solutions Naples remains hopeful that the council will vote to allow impacted collectives to relocate when the ordinance is considered again in January, but is prepared to take legal action to protect its rights in the event that the council insists on adopting an unjust and unlawful amendment.”

Watson said his lawyers are looking at the law in regards to vested rights issues and potential impact studies they feel the council should have authorized before voting on the law.

The City Council does have the right to revisit the issue in January (Jan. 4 is the next scheduled council meeting) before passing a second reading, assistant city attorney Mike Mais said. He said the city’s attorney’s office is confident the law will stand up in court regardless.

“We feel like we’re on legally solid ground,” he said. “We’ll do our best to defend it.”

Source: Gazettes

VIDEO: Adela Falk speaks on medical marijuana at San Diego City Council Meeting

Adela Falk's public comment regarding the San Diego medical marijuana ordinance. From San Diego City Council Meeting on Tuesday December 7, 2010.

NEWS: Medical marijuana in Southwest Riverside County appears ‘up in smoke’ with recent decisions.

On Monday, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Mark Johnson ordered the Wildomar Patients Compassionate Group to close.

Stoking embers of controversy, SouthwestRivCo cities and Riverside County continue to fight against marijuana dispensaries.

Wildomar became the latest city to ban dispensaries, after a Riverside County judge ruled in its favor.

On Monday, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Mark Johnson ordered the Wildomar Patients Compassionate Group to close. A week earlier, Lake Elsinore City Council members voted to continue a moratorium on the businesses. Riverside County also reversed plans to allow dispensaries in certain areas and kept in place a county ordinance banning the dispensaries.

Wildomar Decision

Wildomar Patients Compassionate Group opened a dispensary in early December after filing a suit against the city. The group contends that the city’s ban on dispensaries contradicts state law granted safe accessing to medical marijuana.

The two sides were in court on Monday. Judge Johnson upheld the city’s ban and immediately ordered the existing Wildomar dispensary to close. The group’s attorney has stated he will file an appeal with the appellate court.

The city voted in 2008 to ban the dispensaries.


Lake Elsinore Decision

On December 14, Lake Elsinore council members continued a moratorium on dispensaries. The temporary ban dates back to Dec. 2009.

The city postponed a decision to wait and see the outcomes of legal proceedings and court ruling from other cities. At the time, the city wanted to see what leeway cities could have in limiting dispensaries.

The staff report for Tuesday’s meeting states the issue is still too undefined to take action on from a legal standpoint.

Riverside County

On the same day, that Lake Elsinore continued its ban, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors reversed plans to create zones where medical marijuana dispensaries could operate. Instead, supervisors decided to stick with an existing ban on marijuana shops.

The county had been working on zoning ordinances that would have allowed dispensaries in certain areas. The supervisors decided to stick with the current ban after watching neighboring counties enact bans.

Source: Southwest Riverside News Network

NEWS: Medicinal Marijuana on Trial

There is a precedent setting case about medicinal marijuana and a state's right to allow it now playing out in California with surprisingly little media attention....Here's the scoop.

Theresa and Steele Smith

In November 2007 Steele Smith and his wife Theresa were arrested by federal DEA agents in Orange County, California for cultivating and selling marijuana. But the Smith's aren't your run of the mill drug dealers and the federal government has left them in legal limbo ever since.

The backstory: In the summer of 2001 Steele was a successful self-employed marketing man who was felled by a gut-wrenching mystery illness. He couldn't eat and quickly dropped forty pounds from his already thin 6 foot 7 inch frame. His doctors were stymied about what caused the debilitating condition. After four excruciating months a rare-disease specialist diagnosed a condition called Zollinger-Ellison syndrome which pockmarks a victim's upper gastrointestinal tract with multiple, painful ulcers. Morphine was prescribed for Steele's constant pain and he lived in that legally induced drug dependent state for the next three years eventually becoming an opiate addict.

In the summer of 2004 his devoted wife guided him on a journey toward detox. "It was either going to kill him or me," Theresa told me. "I was black and blue from his outbursts. He couldn't help it, of course, but something had to be done!"

It was an agonizing time but Steele finally found the strength to wean off morphine. But Z-E is a lifelong affliction and he was still hobbled by the lack of nourishment and the incapacitating pain. The Smith's desperate search for alternatives brought them to information about the benefits of medicinal marijuana, made legal in California in 1996. The Smith's sought and got a medical "recommendation" for Steele to try marijuana. (Under federal law an actual prescription isn't allowed for a so-called schedule 1 drug like heroin and, yes, marijuana.) They were directed to dispensaries in Los Angeles, an hour drive away. "All we found were drug dealer types. They were all long haired, tattooed ... basically drug dealers who got a store front - intimidating, like your typical head-shop," Theresa explained.

But miraculously the medicinal marijuana worked! For the first time in years Steele was able to eat and manage his pain. His marketing ideas flowed again and the couple decided to fill the void in Orange County and open their own medicinal marijuana dispensaries to bring relief to others. Their lawyer says they did everything right under California law.

"Mr. Smith set up a legitimate 501 non-profit corporation and he paid all applicable taxes," a legal brief written by Smith's attorney Eric Shevin asserts. "He issued patient ID cards, followed pharmacy labeling requirements. He even provided free medical equipment to his customers, like wheelchairs, walkers, porta-potties and wheelchair racks for cars. Mr. Smith allowed the Fullerton Police to document his grow operation thoroughly... and the lead officer even complimented him on the cleanliness and legitimacy of the operation." By 2006 more than 1000 patients were registered in the Smith's data base.

So why were the Smiths arrested and threatened with 10 years in prison? Because back then the U.S. Justice Department decided that the federal law against cultivating marijuana should trump the California law. The Smith's were caught up in a classic battle of a state's right to pass its own laws. Theresa spent 2 months behind bars. The ailing Steele was held in a maximum security jail for 10 months. Upon release he was 20 pounds lighter and again hooked on narcotics given to him for pain. The Smiths lost everything including their home, cars, their savings and they had to borrow money from Theresa's widowed mother who died a short time later. They've lived under a terrible cloud of legal uncertainty for three years, all the while still grappling with Steele's disease.

Today's Justice Department looks at the state's rights issue differently and the Smith's trial will surely be a landmark case closely watched by the 15 states that currently allow cultivation and sale of medicinal marijuana. It will be a milestone verdict because federal Judge Cormac J. Carney has made the unprecedented decision to allow a federal jury -- for the first time ever - to hear affirmative testimony about California's medicinal marijuana law. This won't just be about someone having been caught growing pot. The Smiths will be allowed to give groundbreaking testimony about why their interpretation of the state's law led them to believe they were acting legally.

In 2008 candidate Barack Obama told an interviewer, "I think the basic concept (of) using medical marijuana in the same way, with the same controls as other drugs, prescribed by doctors (is) entirely appropriate." Fourteen months ago President Obama's Justice Department instructed all federal prosecutors not to arrest medical marijuana users and suppliers as long as they followed state laws.

So, now, the feds are left squarely between a rock and a hard place with their three year old case against the Smiths.

Perhaps because Judge Carney has a track record of ruling against prosecutors who he sees as overstepping their authority the feds decided late last week to ask for yet another delay in the December 21st trial, postponing it until late March 2011.

"It's the eleventh or twelfth delay," Theresa Smith said in a weary voice. She sees the fight as a state's rights issue but also, she says, "As a patient's issue. If it was meth or heroin or some opiate I wouldn't say that. But this is a plant that God put here for a reason. It helps people - so many people."

Source: The Huffington Post

NEWS: Armed robbers hit marijuana clinic in Northridge

NORTHRIDGE - Three armed robbers stormed a newly opened medical marijuana dispensary, wounding two men and killing a guard dog at the business, police said Thursday.

The three males made off with an undetermined amount of cash during the violent robbery Wednesday at about 9:25 p.m., said Officer Gary Shanahan of the Los Angeles Police Department's West Valley Station.

He said the trio then fled into a gold sport utility vehicle.

Two men at the business were taken to Northridge Hospital Medical Center, where one was in critical condition with several shots to the head, arm and legs, police said. The other man was in stable condition with multiple gunshot wounds in the back and legs.

The dispensary, at 8244 White Oak Ave., appeared to be operating illegally. There was no business sign at the location and nobody answered doors on Thursday.

Employees from neighboring businesses said the dispensary had been operating there for only a few months - apparently set up after the city's new law regulating dispensaries went into effect this summer.

No business at that address was among those listed at the City Clerk's Office as giving "notice of intent to register" as a medical marijuana dispensary.

"These kinds of bandit dispensaries don't comply with any of the requirements set out by the city, and they usually have terrible security, which is probably why this happened," said Marc Kent, a Woodland Hills medical marijuana consultant who helps businesses become legitimate under the city ordinance.

City officials attempting to enforce a crackdown against so-called "rogue" dispensaries acknowledge that an unknown number of clinics that have been told to close remain open.

"This was not the first violent crime associated with marijuana distribution sites in Los Angeles," Councilman Greig Smith said in a statement. The dispensary was located in Smith's council district.

"Drugs, whether legalized or not, attract a seedy crowd and the amount of cash and allure of drugs associated with these locations historically breed crime."

Last summer, a robbery at a dispensary in Hollywood resulted in the shooting death of one employee.

Last Friday a Los Angeles County Superior Court issued a ruling invalidating large portions of a medical marijuana ordinance adopted by the City Council last January.

The Los Angeles City Council heard a motion Tuesday requesting the City Attorney to prepare and present to the council an "interim control ordinance" aimed at regulating medical marijuana dispensaries in the city.

Anyone with information about the robbery was urged to call the West Valley Station at 818-374-7611.

Source: Contra Cost Times

NEWS: 2 Shot During Medical Marijuana Dispensary Robbery

LOS ANGELES—Police say two people have been shot during a robbery of a medical marijuana dispensary in the Northridge area of Los Angeles.

Los Angeles police Officer Gary Shanahan tells City News Service three gunmen entered the business at about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday. He says shots were fired, two people were hit and the suspects fled with an unknown amount of cash.

Shanahan says the two wounded people were hospitalized. The conditions are not known.

Source: San Jose Mercury News

NEWS: Two-month probe into marijuana sales in Winchester nets five arrests

The illegal business was operating in the 28000 block of Winchester Road and investigators began looking into the matter after receiving reports from nearby residents.

Five people whom authorities contend operated an illegal marijuana selling business in Winchester have been arrested following a two-month investigation, said Sgt. Joe Borja.

The illegal business was operating in the 28000 block of Winchester Road and investigators began looking into the matter after receiving reports from nearby residents who were concerned because the business was located close to an elementary school and a church, Borja said in a news release.

Members of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department and Riverside County Code Enforcement conducted a two-month investigation due to the complaints.

The investigation revealed that the operators of the business were selling marijuana and operating outside of the medical marijuana laws due to the business operating for profit, Borja said. Over ten pounds of marijuana and 96 marijuana plants were confiscated during the operation as evidence.

The operators of the business were identified as Ryan Jacobson, 26, Scott Buffington, 25, both of Lake Elsinore; Gary Riddle, 28, of Temecula, Isaac Morton, 25, of Winchester and David Juliano, 25, of Menifee.

All five of the suspects were booked on suspicion of possessing marijuana for sale. Investigators are will also request an additional charge of cultivation of marijuana be filed against Juliano and Jacobson.

Anyone having information regarding the investigation can contact Investigator K. Thurm at 951-955-1700.

Source: Southwest Riverside News Network

NEWS: Whittier City Council extends medical marijuana moratorium

The City Council has voted to extend a moratorium on new medical marijuana dispensaries for another year.

The council in December 2009 approved the first moratorium because of fears that more such businesses would flood into the city.

A permit for one such business, Whittier Hope Collective, was approved in October 2009. It opened in July.

More time is needed to look at other cities which have placed a cap on the maximum number of such businesses, stated Jeff Collier, director of community development.

The council also increased parking fines by $3, citing an increase in the surcharge it must pay to the state.

Source: Whittier Daily News

NEWS: Ex-San Diego medical marijuana seller sentenced

SAN DIEGO—The ex-manager of a medical marijuana dispensary in San Diego has been sentenced to six months in jail and fined $5,000 for drug crimes.

City News Service says Jovan Jackson was sentenced Wednesday on three felony counts of illegal possession and sale of marijuana. His attorney, Joe Elford, says he believes the judge made several errors and he will appeal.

The judge had ruled that Jackson couldn't use the state's medical marijuana law as defense.

Prosecutors argued that he exceeded the bounds of the law and sold the drug for profit.

Jackson, himself a medical user, was arrested after he sold pot to undercover police officers last year at the now-defunct Answerdam Alternative Care dispensary in Kearny Mesa.

Source: Mercury News

NEWS: Restrictions That Will Close 12 Marijuana Dispensaries Approved

The City Council extensively debated the current restrictions and ordinances governing medical marijuana dispensaries in the city of Long Beach last night, ultimately deciding to close any dispensaries operating within 1,000 feet of parks (but not including beaches).

Councilmembers Dee Andrews, James Johnson and Rae Gabelich dissented in the 6-3 vote.

The move is expected to close 12 currently operating dispensaries, according to the Press-Telegram today. The Council also approved a 60-day relocation provision, and decided that site inspection hours will coincide with the dispensary's operating hours.

An earlier motion by James Johnson to restrict medical marijuana dispensaries to two per Council district was not approved (2-7, with Johnson and O'Donnell in approval).

Source: Long Beach Post

NEWS: Council extends ban on marijuana businesses

Lake Elsinore council members voted Tuesday to extend for a final year the city's moratorium on businesses that can legally grow, package and distribute marijuana.

In supporting the extension, Councilman Bob Magee said the Nov. 2 rejection of Prop.19, which sought to legalize marijuana for adults statewide, and the inability of a local group to get an initiative on the ballot to legalize medical marijuana dispensaries in the city show where residents stand.

"The voters in this valley are really clear" on this, Magee said.

Mayor Melissa Melendez agreed, adding that residents from other cities and not local residents led the fight to legalize marijuana.

"Our job is to listen to the residents," Melendez said.

The moratorium was enacted in December 2009 after Robert Riedel, who co-founded a cooperative in Fallbrook, applied for a business license to operate a marijuana-growing business near Skylark Airport.

The moratorium, which had been scheduled to run out Monday, was extended until Dec. 20, 2011.

City Attorney Barbara Leibold said that once this extension runs out the staff will have to make a recommendation on an ordinance.

City staff has been working since the moratorium first was put in place to determine how the city could regulate such operations.

Leibold wrote it is uncertain regarding the effect of federal and state law with respect to marijuana-growing businesses, along with a ruling on a suit filed in Orange County against the city of Anaheim over its 2007 ban on medical marijuana dispensaries.

Source: The Press-Enterprise

NEWS: Council Tweaks Medical Marijuana Law Again

The number of possible medical marijuana collectives in Long Beach continues to shrink.

The City Council passed a first reading Tuesday of the medical marijuana ordinance that will eliminate about a dozen more collectives by adding a buffer zone for parks after several different substitutes and amendments were turned away.

The council passed the following rules:

• Collectives will not be allowed to exist within 1,000 feet of parks (in addition to the 1,000-foot restriction to elementary and middle schools, 1,500 feet from high schools and 1,000 feet from other collectives). However, beaches were stricken from the definition of parks for the purposes of this ordinance.

• There will be a 45-day public comment period regarding the propriety of issuing a permit for a particular location. There will be a City Council hearing within 60 days after the 45-public hearing period.

• Each approved collective will need to install and maintain video surveillance equipment that will allow the police department to monitor the exterior grounds for the purpose of looking into criminal and nuisance activity.

• Collectives will be allowed to operate only between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m.

• Each collective will be required to submit an annual audited report prepared by a CPA that will detail statements including revenue, operational costs and expenditures.

• There will be a one-year moratorium on accepting any new applications starting immediately.

The original law had been enacted in the late summer, eliminating many of an estimated 90-plus existing collectives through an application and lottery process. After the lottery, the number of potential collectives was reduced to 32.

Then in early November, Third District Councilman Gary DeLong, Fifth District Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske and Fourth District Councilman Patrick O’Donnell introduced an agenda item for further restrictions. The council decided to enact the park buffers. It was believed at the time that an additional nine collectives would be eliminated with the newer restrictions added.

For much of the meeting, the debate centered on three issues: Whether patients’ rights were violated with further security camera measures, if collectives eliminated by newer restrictions should receive a 60-day relocation period and whether the council should go further and enact rules that would restrict the number of collectives to two per district.

Eighth District Councilwoman Rae Gabelich said she was concerned with requiring collectives to have a “live tape” setup for the Long Beach Police Department to use at all times. Several people in the public comment portion of the item echoed her sentiments.

“Is it (this kind of measure) going to be at a CVS or Walgreens?” asked Christina Roberts, a First District resident and U.S. Army veteran.

Seventh District Councilman James Johnson remained adamant that the council vote to cap the number of collectives to a maximum of two per district. He pointed out that as the buffer zones stand right now, that his and other districts in north Long Beach have a much larger number of collectives. He said he wanted a “more equitable distribution” so that no district was overburdened, and that patients would have equal access all over the city.

Ninth District Councilman Steven Neal made a motion to adopt the further restrictions, but to allow those displaced a relocation period of 60 days — and to remove beaches from the parks definition for this specific ordinance. That motion passed 5-4.

However, during the council’s vote to impose the one-year moratorium, it appeared as though Schipske had a change of heart. She asked the council to reconsider the vote that had passed 5-4. She then changed her vote and the measure failed 5-4 (Schipske, O’Donnell, Johnson, DeLong and Second District Councilwoman Suja Lowenthal voted against).

Earlier, the council voted 7-2 (Johnson, O’Donnell dissenting) against Johnson’s request for a maximum collective cap of two.

The council passed its final ordinance 6-3 (Johnson, Gabelich and Sixth District Councilman Dee Andrews dissenting).

The new restrictions could open the city up to more lawsuits from collectives. Attorney Richard Brizendine warned the council that nine collectives already had approached him about potential litigation against the city.

Lobbyist Carl Kemp, who said he was representing four collectives, pleaded with the council to at least allow for the 60-day relocation amendment to pass.

“You have to let people relocate if you change the rules (further),” he said.

The council still must pass the ordinance change on a second reading before it goes into effect.

Source: Gazettes

NEWS: Manager Who Sold Medical Marijuana To Undercover Officers To Be Sentenced

Mr. Jovan Jackson

SAN DIEGO -- Sentencing is scheduled Wednesday for the former manager of a now-defunct medical marijuana dispensary convicted of selling the drug for profit to undercover officers.

Jovan Jackson -- himself a medical marijuana patient -- was found guilty in September of three felony counts, including possession for sale of marijuana.

Jackson faces more than six years behind bars, but Deputy District Attorney Chris Lindberg said he wouldn't expect Jackson to do any time in prison.

A jury found that Jackson twice last year sold marijuana to undercover officers from Answerdam Alternative Care in Kearny Mesa.

Judge Howard Shore ruled before trial that Jackson could not use the state's medical marijuana law as a defense.

Lindberg said Jackson's actions exceeded the bounds of the medical marijuana law in opening up a retail medical marijuana store.

Defense attorney Lance Rogers is expected to bring a motion for a new trial before sentencing.
During trial, Lindberg said an undercover officer was able to get a medical marijuana card after complaining to a doctor about back pain.

The officer went to Answerdam on July 16, 2009, and bought 1/4-ounce of marijuana for $130, the prosecutor said.

Jackson, 32, appeared to be in charge of the business when the officer was there buying drugs, according to Lindberg.

He said officers seized drugs and other business records during a raid at the business, but Jackson was not there. According to some of the records seized, drug sales totaled $14,000 for the months of June and July 2009, Lindberg said.

Rogers said that part of the problem is the vagueness of the state law, which allows medical marijuana patients to grow the drug for medicinal purposes.

The California Attorney General's Office issued guidelines in 2008 on how medical marijuana could be grown and distributed, but those guidelines are intepreted differently in different counties, Rogers said.

Another problem is "cross-sworn officers" who are charged with enforcing both state and federal law, because all marijuana possession is illegal under federal law, he said.

Jackson was acquitted last year of similar charges stemming from a raid at the Kearny Mesa collective in which an undercover detective bought marijuana in the summer of 2008.

Source: 10News.com (CNN)

NEWS: Scientists Grapple Over Marijuana’s Effect on Immune System

USC Researcher, Medical Marijuana Movement At Odds

Don’t Bogart that joint, my friend — particularly if you’re susceptible to certain cancers, have a compromised immune system and are a mouse.

At first blush, that seems to be the takeaway from a study conducted by Prakash Nagarkatti, a professor of pathology and microbiology at the USC School of Medicine who has been injecting mice with THC (the main psychoactive substance in the cannabis plant) and studying the cannabinoid’s effects on their immune systems for the past two years.

The results of Nagarkatti’s study, which was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), appear in the December issue of The European Journal of Immunology and have recently generated something of a buzz — both among the medical marijuana community and the mainstream media.

According to Nagarkatti, marijuana cannabinoids affect the body through two types of receptors. The first, called CB1 receptors, are found in the brain. It is through these that marijuana users experience the psychotropic effects associated with smoking pot. CB2 receptors, however, are present only in our immune systems. It is these receptors that fascinate Nagarkatti and his colleagues.

“We were interested in finding out, basically, what are these receptors doing on the immune cells and what happens to these cells if they are exposed to these cannabinoids,” Nagarkatti explains.

Previously, Nagarkatti had conducted research suggesting that cannabinoids might be effective for fighting cancers of the immune system such as leukemia and lymphoma. He says he was therefore “surprised” to discover that when those same cannabinoids are injected into mice they also trigger the production of immunosuppressive cells of the same type typically triggered by cancer growth and metastasis.

These cells — called myeloid-derived suppressive cells, or MDSCs — are normally produced by the body in very small numbers as a way of regulating the far greater number of infection-fighting immune cells present in a healthy individual, but a sudden flood of such cells could potentially overwhelm the immune systems of cancer patients or of people susceptible to certain cancers. That means cancer patients receiving medical marijuana or marijuana users genetically susceptible to certain cancers could be at an elevated risk, according to Nagarkatti.

Still, Nagarkatti is not completely dismissive of medical marijuana, calling his recent THC findings “a double-edge sword” and noting that there is often a therapeutic benefit to suppressing the immune system.

“There are about 18 different autoimmune diseases like arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis, certain types of diabetes, in which our immune system goes haywire and starts killing our own cells and our own tissues,” Nagarkatti says. “In such cases, the only way you can treat those diseases is to suppress the immune system.”

“So, now we have discovered a new method where the cannabinoids might be able to suppress the immune system by inducing these MDSCs,” he continues.

Despite having demonstrated potential therapeutic benefits of THC alongside its possible drawbacks, Nagarkatti has generated some criticism among advocates of medical marijuana, including Donald I. Abrams, president of the Society for Integrative Oncology.

Abrams, who is also chief of Hematology/Oncology at San Francisco General Hospital and a professor of medicine at UCSF, is familiar with Nagarkatti’s study but skeptical of its findings because it was conducted on mice rather than humans, and because it used only THC, which is just one of many chemicals found in marijuana.

“Out of 400 compounds, some are going to be immune-suppressing, some are going to be immune-enhancing,” Abrams contended. “But the overall effect, I think, is that cannabis in people is not immune-suppressive. These things work together in concert. That’s why nature gave it to us this way.”

Abrams went on to cite a number of studies, including a highly publicized, large-scale study conducted in 2006 by Donald Tashkin, a doctor of pulmonary medicine at UCLA, which demonstrated that smoking marijuana, even habitually, does not seem to heighten the risk of developing lung cancer. Abrams also cited his own study on the effects of marijuana on HIV-AIDS patients, the results of which were published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

“We measured a huge amount of immune parameters in patients with HIV … and we were not able to find that any damage to the immune system had occurred with exposure to cannabis three times a day over the 21 days of our experiment. In fact, if anything, it boosted the immune function in these patients who were immune-compromised.”

“I take issue with mouse studies,” Abrams added. “I think there’s always a risk when doing studies on animals when you’re trying to find out what the impact is on man.”

Abrams is also suspicious of Nagarkatti’s study because it was funded by NIDA, which he says has a “mandate … only to study substances of abuse only as substances of abuse … you can’t get their funds or their marijuana unless you’re trying to prove harm.”

Nagarkatti freely admits that studying mice and isolating THC cannot generate a complete picture. Still, he says his study is an important first step, not leastwise because pure THC is already being prescribed.

“In fact, that’s what we’re saying — that this clearly warrants human studies because THC is used in cancer patients and HIV-AIDS patients and certain glaucoma patients to do different things,” Nagarkatti explains. “How it impacts the immune system is critical to find out.”

Source: Columbia Free Times

NEWS: Cannabis Science Signs Lease for New 6,600 sq. ft. Corporate Headquarters and Laboratory Facility

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Dec. 14, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Cannabis Science, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: CBIS) a pioneering U.S. biotech company developing pharmaceutical cannabis products, is pleased to announce it has signed a lease for a new corporate headquarters as its new base of operations in Denver, Colorado. The 6,600 sq. ft. core facility at 2422 S. Trenton Way, Unit H will be dedicated to housing executive offices, administrative personnel, as well as the Lab Division core of operations for its cannabis formulations testing and FDA initiatives.

"Needless to say we are very happy that with the support and patience of our investors we have achieved this milestone. This facility will be the Cannabis Science core and is an instrumental step in accomplishing our short and long-term goals of carrying out the basic and applied research needed to provide the best Cannabis Science products to patients. Uniquely, Cannabis Science will serve both the dispensary market, through licensing our technologies and analytical capabilities, and the pharmaceutical market, by working through the FDA approval process," stated Dr. Robert Melamede, CEO.

The company has executed a five-year lease on the facility in order to provide stable growth during our development phase. In our new corporate headquarters, the Company will facilitate customer communications while we mature our operations. Up till now, the Company has focused on developing out corporate structure and preliminary financial base. We now have the facility to centralize and expand our staff. As we expand our infrastructure, we will be more responsive to the overwhelming number of inquiries that we receive from patients, investors and the media.

The new laboratory facility will include analytical chemistry and genetic instrumentation, extraction equipment, as well as genetic and cell culture facilities. Our intent is to meet or exceed all federal, state, and local regulatory requirements particularly with respect to meeting FDA standards. Cannabis Science is currently working diligently to proceed down the FDA regulatory path. Our new facility will expedite this process.

Cannabis Science previously announced, on 8 July 2010, the execution of a lease on a 9,500 square foot facility in Denver that is now solely housing the grow operation of its licensed partner Rockbrook, Inc., in compliance with the current licensing requirements of the State of Colorado for a horticulture facility, infused products facility, and medical cannabis dispensary.

About Cannabis Science, Inc.
Cannabis Science, Inc. is at the forefront of pharmaceutical grade medical marijuana research and development. The Company works with world authorities on phytocannabinoid science targeting critical illnesses, and adheres to scientific methodologies to develop, produce and commercialize phytocannabinoid-based pharmaceutical products. In sum, we are dedicated to the creation of cannabis-based medicines, both with and without psychoactive properties, to treat disease and the symptoms of disease, as well as for general health maintenance.

Source: PR Newswire

NEWS: Rising marijuana use leaves tobacco in a cloud of smoke

After nearly a decade in decline, marijuana is making a strong comeback among high school students, with growing use and softening attitudes about the risk of smoking pot starting in eighth grade. For the first time since 1981, high school seniors reporting they had smoked marijuana in the last 30 days outnumbered those who said they smoked cigarettes.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse on Tuesday issued its 2010 "Monitoring the Future" survey--a yearly look at kids' drug and tobacco use patterns and attitudes. The remarkable crossover of the lines for marijuana use and tobacco use is a victory for public-health campaigns aimed at stamping out cigarette smoking among teens. But the federal office that tracks illicit drug use said it is driven by an uptick in youth marijuana use that is broad-based and likely to continue.

In 2010, 21.4% of high school seniors said they had smoked pot in the month before, while 19.2% reported they were cigarette smokers. Twelfth graders who acknowledged the daily use of marijuana reached its highest point since the early 1980s, 6.1%, and the numbers of eighth- and 10th-graders smoking pot daily (1% and 3%, respectively) also rose in 2010 over the previous year. Those students' attitudes about the risks of marijuana use have shown steady softening in recent years, suggesting to researchers that as eighth- and 10th-graders advance toward graduation, rates of pot-smoking will continue to climb.

Dr. Nora Volkow, director of NIDA, called the rise in daily use of marijuana particularly troubling, given that more frequent use, and by teens whose brains are still developing, has been shown to be more damaging to learning and memory than less frequent use. Daily users are also at far higher risk of developing dependency on marijuana and other drugs, she said. She said "one can only speculate at this point" about the cause of pot's reversal, which began roughly three years ago after a decade of declining use.

The Obama administration's drug czar, R. Gil Kerlikowske, was not so reticent. Citing California's Prop. 19 and other states' consideration of medical marijuana measures, Kerliowske said that public debate has made marijuana appear less dangerous to younger Americans. "Calling marijuana smoked medicine is absolutely incorrect," Kerlikowske said in a press conference to present the findings. Young people, he said, have taken the "wrong message" from the debate.

Attitudes toward the use of the club-drug Ecstasy also softened among eighth- and 10th-graders, as did use. Researchers called the increase an example of "generational forgetting," in which a lull in use is followed by an uptick in use by younger people who were not exposed to anti-drug messages.

Seniors were a little less likely this year than last to report they had abused the prescription pain medication Vicodin (8% had done so in the previous year, vs. 9.7% in 2009), although illicit use of the opioid painkiller OxyContin held steady, and was up among 10th-graders. Twelfth-graders continued the nonmedical use of drugs prescribed for attention deficit disorder--about 6.5% acknowledged taking them in the last year, and roughly the same number used amphetamines.

Pot, however, outpaced all of those, with roughly 1 in 3 high school seniors reporting they have smoked marijuana in the last year. One in four 10th-graders smoked pot in the last year.

Source: Los Angeles Times

NEWS: Marijuana debate back before supervisors

Riverside County supervisors John Benoit and Jeff Stone will ask their colleagues today to rescind the board's order to draft a law regulating medical-marijuana dispensaries.

The two supervisors first asked for the medical-marijuana law in September. Two weeks ago, Benoit changed his position and called for a renewed ban.

An ordinance regulating how and where dispensaries could locate in unincorporated areas would have ended the county's four-year prohibition on the businesses.

Benoit and Stone in their proposal wrote that they are concerned that the "number of these dispensaries will increase exponentially" after county supervisors in Los Angeles and Orange counties banned them last month.

"As bans are created and maintained in surrounding jurisdictions, dispensary operators will flock to the county and the county will disproportionately bear the cost and burden of regulation," the two supervisors said.

They said the cash-strapped county would be better off enforcing the existing ban rather than "drafting, implementing and enforcing a new ordinance."

The county is likely to face vocal opposition to a continued ban from medical-marijuana users and activists. Many turned out at last week's board meeting to protest comments Benoit made Nov. 30 about keeping the ban.

But only two people spoke, since the public comment portion of the board's 9:30 a.m. meeting did not take place until after 3 p.m. Some activists yelled at supervisors when they decided to break for lunch and a closed session before taking public comment.

Terry Lynn Mortensen, of Riverside, told supervisors they should not ban dispensaries.

"Regulate us. License us. Send the health department in," she said.

Prohibiting dispensaries will force medical-marijuana patients to the streets to buy the drug, she said.

"We are not people that run around the streets getting high. We are people that are using the medical marijuana as directed by our doctors," she said. "I ask for some understanding and sympathy and ask that you represent the people who voted for Proposition 215."

Source: The Press-Enterprise

Canoga Park Medical Marijuana Dispensaries, Collectives and Cooperatives

Herbal Pain-Relief Center
21521 Sherman Way [map]
Canoga Park, CA 91303
Phone: (818) 716-1860
Hours: Mon-Sun 10am to 8pm

Holistic Alternatives, Inc.
21001 Sherman Way Unit #12 [map]
Canoga Park, CA 91303
Phone: (818) 703-1190
Fax: (818) 703-1187
Hours: Mon-Sat 10am to 8pm, Sun 11am to 6pm


Covers the following zip codes in Canoga Park, California: 91303, 91304, 91305, 91306, 91307, 91308, 91309, 91396

NEWS: Break-in uncovers marijuana growing operation

Photo by Edward Sifuentes

Thieves took about 260 marijuana plants from a secret indoor growing operation at an Escondido industrial complex off Harmony Grove Road, police said Monday.

Police were called to the complex when someone reported a break-in at about 7 a.m., Lt. Craig Carter said. Officers found broken glass outside one of the units of the complex at 1291 Pacific Oaks Place in western Escondido.

"I guess there is no honor among marijuana dealers," the lieutenant said.

Along with the broken glass, police found bits of marijuana plants and leaves on the ground outside the building. Inside, they found an operation estimated to have housed more than 300 plants, including about 260 mature plants that apparently were uprooted and taken, Carter said.

An additional 70 smaller plants were left behind. The marijuana was estimated to be worth nearly $800,000.

Mike Morris, who runs a decorative stone business next door, said he and others in the complex were not surprised.

"The place smelled like weed," Morris said.

Morris, who has been in the complex for about six months, said the operators were generally good neighbors.

"They didn't cause any disturbances," Morris said.

Authorities were trying to determine who rented the suite, Carter said. He said he did not know whether the operation was a medical marijuana establishment.

The case was turned over to the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, Carter said.

Authorities have seized nearly 380,000 marijuana plants so far this year from illegal indoor and outdoor grows in San Diego County, law enforcement officials said two weeks ago.

More than 84,000 plants were seized from private land and more than 120,000 plants were taken from U.S. Forestry Service land, according to the San Diego County Integrated Narcotics Task Force.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Escondido Police Department's tip line at 760-743-8477.

Source: North County Times

NEWS: San Jose council rejects plan to ban pot clubs

The San Jose City Manager's Office wants to take a hard line on medical marijuana, arguing that the city council should ban all 100 or so cannabis clubs in town and start from scratch with new regulations.

But on Monday, council members said: "Not so fast." In an 8-2 vote, they adopted a new 7 percent tax on dispensaries, as city voters approved last month.

The council put off for another day the burning questions of bans, caps on the number of cannabis clubs and even their basic legality.

Council members Pete Constant and Rose Herrera voted against the motion, saying the legality and regulation of the pot clubs needed to be resolved before taxation. Councilmember Kansen Chu was not present.

"We need the money, pure and simple,'' said Mayor Chuck Reed in support of the vote. He later added that he, too, was concerned that current city regulations seem to hold that all pot sales are illegal.

The vote came at the end of an impassioned special meeting. The council chambers were crowded with people arguing against any ban or heavy restrictions on what they insisted is legal medicine.

While relieved there was no ban, dispensary owners and medical marijuana movement leaders reacted with some dismay to the new tax, which will take effect early next year.

"Most people would be against taxing something that the city refuses to recognize as legal," said marijuana activist Lauren Vasquez, despite the overwhelming voter support for Measure U on last month's ballot.

Nearly 80 percent of city residents who weighed in on the question -- some 184,000 people -- blessed the measure, which proposed a tax of up to 10 percent of pot sales to help pay for city services like police, street maintenance, parks and libraries.

Still, the legal right to medical marijuana has become hugely contentious throughout the state over the last year. Dispensaries have proliferated since the Obama administration indicated it would take a softer stance on medicinal marijuana laws.

Without regulations, San Jose has gone from a handful of clubs to a hundred, even though they remain technically illegal under city zoning codes.

Even with the state coming up with legal guidelines, local jurisdictions have crafted a patchwork of ordinances to handle the issue. Several major California cities allow and regulate their marijuana dispensaries, including San Francisco, Oakland and Los Angeles. Some local towns, such as Gilroy and Los Altos, have banned them all together. Others, like San Jose, are still struggling with some sort of unified policy.

And to complicate an already complex issue, a local narcotics task force has begun a series of raids on the dispensaries, under the theory that they are profit-making and therefore illegal under California law. State guidelines and some legal precedent suggest that medical marijuana distribution should be non-profit, but what exactly constitutes a "profit" remains highly debatable.

During Monday's council meeting, Santa Clara County Supervising Deputy District Attorney Frank Carrubba -- who helped develop the city manager's plan to ban the clubs -- said he thought it was possible all the marijuana dispensaries in the state are illegal. Many in the audience responded with amazed laughter.

State voters in 1993 passed Prop. 215, decriminalizing marijuana for the treatment of medical conditions with a doctor's recommendation. But pot advocates and foes alike say the law is the most vague of any medicinal marijuana statute in the country.

It was from this legal foundation that many of the city administration's recommendations sprang. City Manager Debra Figone suggested the council ban the existing dispensaries, then hold a lottery and select up to 10 collectives to legalize and heavily regulate.

Each chosen collective would have to pay $104,645 registration fee. That money, Figone proposed, would pay for five additional city staff -- including three police officers -- to monitor and regulate the new collectives.

Under her plan, the collective also could not sell marijuana; instead, they could create pot sharing operations, with each member performing a duty.

But there was some cynicism toward the manager's proposal, especially in light of Measure U's seeming mandate. Councilman Sam Liccardo archly asked city lawyers how the collectives could pay for required security if they could not make any money from their operations.

Perhaps the most resistant to Figone's proposal was Councilman Pierluigi Oliverio, who has long championed regulating the cannabis clubs. He scoffed that he did not see how a bartering system for marijuana would work.

Oliverio had proposed his own plan to reduce the number of dispensaries to about 30 and create an ad hoc committee to bring forth a proposed ordinance.

The council rejected his plan for now. Instead, broader regulatory and legal issues were referred to the council's Rules Committee, which will take them up at an unspecified point in the future.

In the meantime, Oliverio said the passage of Measure U -- and the council's Monday vote -- will help winnow the number of local pot clubs. He predicted some dispensaries won't allow themselves to be audited and others won't pay the tax, so they'll be shut down.

"It's going to thin out the herd," he said.

Source: Mercury News

NEWS: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Should be Qualifying Ailment for Medical Marijuana, Says Local Doctor

A local doctor of psychiatry and internal medicine plans to petition the state to allow post-traumatic stress disorder as a qualifying ailment for marijuana under Proposition 203.

In a draft petition, (see below), Dr. Sue Sisley of St. Joseph's Hospital points out that some research shows pot is incredibly beneficial for people suffering from the condition, commonly known by its acronym, PTSD. Her paper implies that marijuana could reduce the number of suicides across the United States -- estimated to be hundreds each month -- believed to be related to PTSD.

Sisley tells us she's worried that an upcoming study she has planned on the PTSD and pot might languish because there's no legal way to continue treatment once the main study is finished.

The voter-approved Proposition 203 specifies numerous maladies that could qualify a person for legal pot use, including "chronic and severe pain."

But PTSD isn't covered.

Here's an excerpt from the draft petition, which Sisley is still working on:

To deny those with PTSD suffering from psychological trauma and terrifying flashbacks access to a natural herb that is scientifically proven to provide them with relief is simply outrageous.

By allowing PTSD to be treated with medical marijuana, physicians can help patients treat their condition with cannabis and assist the patient in using cannabis in a manner that is safe and most effective for the particular patient.

Physicians can be re-assured that there is an ample body of medical literature that supports the beneficial use of cannabinoids. Studies teach us that we have our own cannabinoid receptors in our internal cannabinoids, and these should be modulated as they are proven to reverse effects of stress and help with retention of aversive memories, promote neurogenesis, and can reduce nightmares, fear, anxiety, mood disorders and other PTSD symptoms.

In September, a similar petition in Colorado to allow the legal use of pot for PTSD patients was rejected by that state's department of health.

Dr. Sisley says she plans on submitting the petition to the Arizona Department of Health today. If DHS doesn't approve the idea soon, she'll lobby the State Legislature to pass a law to the same effect, she says.

Allowing bona fide PTSD patients to use marijuana without being thrown in jail seems well within the spirit of Prop 203.

Hmm... Doctors versus politicians and state bureaucrats. It'll be interesting to see who wins out on petitions like these (you just know there will be others coming down the pike that make suggestions for even more qualifying ailments).

Source: Phoenix New Times Blog

NEWS: Los Angeles medical marijuana clinic law hit w/injunction

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Efforts to regulate medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles were dealt a setback.

A judge issued a preliminary injunction that blocks key parts of the city's law designed to regulate marijuana dispensaries.

The Friday decision by Superior Court Judge Anthony Mohr could mean a large number of dispensaries could reopen.

It also could lead to new pot dispensaries popping up as the legal wrangling continues.

The judge ruled that Los Angeles improperly extended its moratorium, creating confusion over the deadline for dispensaries to register.

After the L.A. City Council approved the ordinance earlier in 2010, 180 of the dispensaries applied to remain open, but only about 40 met all the criteria.

The ordinance's requirements included having dispensaries be 1,000 feet from schools, parks and other gathering sites and its owners also undergoing a background check.

In granting the ordinance, Mohr said the due process rights of operators of shuttered dispensaries were violated because they weren't provided a hearing to argue against the closure.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: ABC News

NEWS: Medical marijuana dispensary can stay open through December 20, 2010

A Riverside medical marijuana collective can remain open through Dec. 20 while it awaits a decision by an appeals court, a judge decided Thursday.

The city of Riverside sought an injunction to close the Inland Empire Patients Health and Wellness Center on North Main Street, arguing that the city zoning code prohibits marijuana dispensaries.

At a hearing Thursday, Riverside County Superior Court Judge John D. Molloy continued to support the city's authority to ban dispensaries through zoning, and he refused to grant a permanent stay of the injunction. But he allowed the health and wellness center to remain open while its attorney, J. David Nick, asks the California Fourth District Court of Appeal to stay the injunction.

Whether the appeals court lets the dispensary remain open or not, the larger issue of using land use ordinances to ban dispensaries -- a step several Southern California cities and counties have taken -- is not likely to be decided for some time.

"We all know that this is headed for appeal, and it's probably going to go all the way up (to the California Supreme Court) unless higher courts reject it," Molloy said.

The city is taking legal action against five dispensaries in all, City Attorney Greg Priamos said earlier this week. Seven others have closed since the city began its enforcement strategy a few months ago, he said.

Medical marijuana supporters have argued that under state law, cities can regulate dispensaries but not ban them outright.

Marijuana use remains prohibited by federal law.

Later Thursday, Nick estimated it could take about 18 months for the issue to be resolved.

Similar cases are also being litigated, including a challenge to Anaheim's dispensary ban that the Fourth District appeals court recently sent back to an Orange County judge, and Los Angeles County's suit against a patients' collective in Covina, a group Nick also represents.

Source: Press Enterprise

NEWS: Appeal likely in LA medical pot ruling

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- A lawyer for 60 Los Angeles marijuana dispensaries says he expects the city to appeal a ruling blocking enforcement of new regulations on the pot shops.

Attorney David Welch told the Los Angeles Times the ruling would allow his clients to remain open pending further litigation on his lawsuit against the ordinance.

"It means they can't use strong-arm tactics such as arresting my clients and raids of the dispensaries to prevent my clients from going through the legal process," Welch said.

The Times said Saturday that the city attorney's office declined comment on the ruling, which was issued in Los Angeles Superior Court Friday.

The ruling involves a recent ordinance approved by the City Council that would only allow medical marijuana dispensaries that were registered with the city prior in 2007 to remain open. Scores of other such businesses would have to close.

The Times said Judge Anthony Mohr agreed the ordinance violated state and federal provisions for equal protection under the law.

Mohr also wrote in his 40-page ruling that grandfathering in the existing dispensaries was, in his opinion, a viable compromise. The city, however, has been trying to get a handle on a sudden boom in pot dispensaries around town.

Source: United Press International