NEWS: Medical marijuana rules win city panel's approval

OK by full council would help regulate dispensaries

San Diego may soon create a path to legitimacy for the more than 80 medical marijuana dispensaries that currently operate in an unregulated atmosphere that has led to raids, arrests and frustration.

A slew of new land-use regulations that would provide direction to police and code-enforcement officers as they try to regulate the businesses won approval yesterday from a City Council committee.

California voters legalized the use of medical marijuana by seriously ill patients in 1996 with Proposition 215.

The new city rules would prohibit dispensaries from operating within 1,000 feet of schools, playgrounds, libraries, child-care facilities, youth centers, churches and parks. The dispensaries also could not be within 1,000 feet of each other to prevent a cluster of such stores in a particular neighborhood.

The pot shops also would have limited business hours, and a security guard would be mandatory to reduce crime.

Alex Kreit, chairman of the city’s Medical Marijuana Task Force, which recommended many of the changes, said that regardless of one’s opinion on medical marijuana, the city needs to put rules in place.

“More important than any of the specifics of the task force recommendations is the general principle that the city enact some sort of regulatory system that allows patients who have legitimate medical marijuana (needs) to have safe access to their medicine and at the same time ensures that abuses … are protected against,” said Kreit, a Thomas Jefferson School of Law professor.

The city of San Diego has no regulations pertaining to medical marijuana businesses, which has created confusion for owners and public safety officials.

The council committee voted 3-1 to create an ordinance based on the task force’s recommendations, with some slight tweaks. The ordinance is expected to go before the full council within the next two months.

Councilman Tony Young said he couldn’t support the proposal because it didn’t include a cap on the number of dispensaries allowed in the city. Other cities, such as Oakland and Los Angeles, have such caps.

Rudy Reyes, who was seriously burned in the 2003 Cedar fire and uses marijuana to ease his pain, urged the council to move ahead with the regulations.

“There are those of us out there that are sick, dying and hurting. ... We want you to stand up as the hero for us,” Reyes said. “Stop the hysteria ... finalize this.”

The vagueness of state laws allowing the use of medical marijuana and the fact that the drug is still illegal under federal law have prompted cities across the state to take different approaches in regulating use of marijuana. San Diego County and the cities of Escondido and El Cajon have banned dispensaries.

Source: San Diego Union-Tribune

NEWS: Trial Begins For Medical Marijuana Advocate Accused Of Drug Dealing

SAN DIEGO -- A local medical marijuana collective operator accused of being a drug dealer insists he has done nothing wrong as his trial began Thursday.

Surveillance video from a November 2008 undercover drug operation showed what prosecutors called an illegal drug deal between marijuana advocate Eugene Davidovich and an undercover detective.

Deputy District Attorney Theresa Pham said, "In order to be able to facilitate the investigation -- the operation -- it was necessary for him to take on an undercover alias."

In the footage, two men are seen standing on the porch outside a Pacific Beach home. The undercover officer posed as a medical marijuana user under the alias Jamie Conlen. Davidovich admitted he came to the home to sell marijuana.

Defense attorney Michael McCabe said, "He believed, legitimately, that Jamie Conlen was in fact a legitimate patient."

McCabe said Davidovich operates a medical marijuana collective, which allows medical marijuana patients to produce and sell marijuana to each other as long as they are not doing so for profit under Prop. 215.

McCabe said Davidovich made it clear in early phone conversations with his buyer that the purchase was part of the collective.

On Wednesday, the undercover officer told jurors he did not recall Davidovich mentioning the collective and insisted it appeared to simply be an illegal drug deal.

The surveillance footage showed Davidovich asking for the undercover officer's medical marijuana ID card outside the home, and then the actual transaction took place inside the home.

The officer said he never recorded the audio from the phone conversations he had with Davidovich. McCabe said it is evidence that would have proven his client was upfront and innocent.

The undercover drug operation was part of a program called Operation Endless Summer.
The goal of the operation was to wipe out drug trafficking within San Diego's military housing areas.

Source: Channel 10 San Diego

Medical Marijuana Court Challenge. Court Support Needed for Eugene Davidovich

Eugene Davidovich is currently facing a Jury Trial which is scheduled to start on Tuesday March 2nd. The trial is related to the February 2009 (Operation Endless Summer / Green Rx) raids, orchestrated by District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis and her Cross Jurisdictional Narcotics Task Force (NTF).

Come show your court support for Eugene as well as to see for yourself how medical cannabis patients are being treated in court in San Diego.

Date: Tuesday March 2nd, 2010
Time: 9:00am
Location:
San Diego Superior Court [map]
220 W Broadway
San Diego CA 92101-3886

NEWS: Medical marijuana storefront issue goes to committee

A divided San Diego City Council debated medical marijuana storefronts yesterday and ultimately could not agree on whether it will draft an ordinance to regulate the dispensaries.

After about half an hour of discussion, the council voted 7-1 to refer the issue of how and where the businesses should operate to one of its committees.

But several council members said they were concerned that creating an ordinance to regulate the storefronts would only pave the way for more marijuana dispensaries.

When referring the matter to a committee, the council removed language calling for an ordinance to be drafted. The council also called for input from neighborhood planning committees — a coalition of which is seeking a ban on dispensaries.

Councilman Carl DeMaio voted against sending the matter to committee, saying state laws are adequate.

Cities across the state have struggled to regulate medical marijuana since California voters approved its use in 1996. More than 100 cities have banned dispensaries and dozens of others have passed ordinances to regulate the collectives.

A San Diego citizen task force suggested regulations about issues including hours and security. Proponents of such regulations on the council argued it’s important to provide clear local rules to protect patients who have a legitimate right to medical marijuana. Although Californians approved the use of medical marijuana with Proposition 215, the law and subsequent guidelines have been unclear on what is legal, said Councilwoman Donna Frye.

“The idea is to be as specific and simple and understandable as possible so people intending to comply with the law know what is expected of them and it’s not open to someone’s interpretation,”

Frye said, as dozens of members of the audience applauded.

Others on the council raised concerns about the growing number of stores selling marijuana, they believe illegally.

“While some say this tightens the regulation of marijuana, I say this does the opposite,” DeMaio said. “I believe it gives license, waters down regulation and opens the door for more dispensaries throughout our city.”

Other council members who raised concerns with the task force recommendations were Tony Young, Sherri Lightner and Kevin Faulconer — all members of the Land Use and Housing Committee, which will take up the matter next.

The recommendations would require dispensaries to file for city permits, limit which zones they can be located in and force them to be at least 1,000 feet from schools and libraries.

Several medical marijuana advocates said yesterday they were disappointed by the council’s action.

“They gutted it,” said Rudy Reyes, a medical marijuana patient who was burned in the 2003 Cedar fire. “They didn’t adopt the recommendations, and now they want to put them in front of a group that is opposed to medical marijuana. So what they’re going to adopt will not uphold patients’ rights.”

Source: Sign On San Diego

VIDEO: Eugene Davidovich speaks to City Council on MMJ and Green Rx

SAN DIEGO: Very Important Discovery Hearing for Eugene Davidovich Friday January 8th, 2010 - Support Needed!

Court Support for Eugene Davidovich (NORML suports Eugene Davidovich) (http://eugenedavidovich.com/) and all those on trial. Be there to show your support.

Department 11 is an assignment room where Eugene will be sent to an unknown courtroom in front of whatever judge is available that morning. Dept. 11:
DAVID J. DANIELSEN 220 W. Broadway, San Diego 08:30AM CA vs DAVIDOVICH, EUGENE ZHENYA SCD218322-01 DISCOVERY HEARING

Thank You,
Craig Beresh & Rafal Mazur on behalf of Southern California NORML

MEDICAL MARIJUANA: DOES SAN DIEGO HAVE A SHERIFF ARPAIO?

MEDICAL MARIJUANA: DOES SAN DIEGO HAVE A SHERIFF ARPAIO?
By Walter Davis

Eugene Davidovich is a Navy veteran. His service connected health issues resulted in his doctor authorizing medical marijuana. Now, he faces four felony charges and the possibility of a long jail sentence.

According to Americans for Safe Access San Diego, the local District Attorney is aggressively pursuing users of Medical Marijuana in San Diego. Aggressive arrest tactics are reportedly in place despite state laws that make medical marijuana use legal and the recent federal guidelines that indicate federal authorities will not be pursuing charges against medical marijuana users in states where such use is legal.

Marijuana is effective for conditions including glaucoma, cancer, aids, migraine headaches, and people suffering pain from extensive burns. Victims of the recent fires in the county have been authorized by doctors to use medical marijuana.

According to the Drug Policy Alliance and Esquire.com, every 17 seconds someone is arrested on a drug violation and every 38 seconds someone is arrested for a cannabis violation in this country. Felony charges result in a life time of punishment for previously convicted people. They have challenges getting employment even after they stop using and are frequently left with no choice but to return to crime. They are punished over and over again and often cannot qualify for public assistance.

Insurance companies often do not cover addiction treatment; prevention programs are scarce. American tax payers get an annual bill for more than 52 billion dollars, for the war against drugs. With schools closing, Americans lacking health care and San Diego needing fire protection equipment, is this a logical use of resources? Further, the flow of drugs is not being stemmed. 15,000 people lose their lives each year in the current drug war. The number of lives being claimed in Chicago and New Orleans alone exceeds the number of lives lost in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan annually.

President Nixon classified marijuana a schedule 1 drug in the 1970’s. In 1986, President Reagan set the minimum sentencing guidelines. This revoked discretion among local judges forcing them to hand down long prison sentences to drug offenders. Prisoners get drugs in prison easily and treatment is not a viable option; this appears to be a barbaric method of managing this problem with no sign of abatement.

There has been an 80% increase in the prison population since 1986. The average sentence in prison is 56.8 months. The average sentence for violent crimes is 63 months. The average sentence for drug offenses is 76 months.

In the 1960’s Bull Conner ignored federal authorities who ordered him to cease targeting African Americans. Sheriff Arpaio is targeting Latinos in Arizona despite federal guidelines opposed to his actions. Voter’s wishes, civil and human rights are being violated in 2009 in San Diego for political gain. Should valuable tax dollars and police services be expended to go after medical marijuana users consuming legally?

Walter Davis is head of the San Diego Community Coalition, authors a syndicated newspaper column and assists nonprofit and community groups develop media campaigns, including public access television programming.The opinions expressed in this column reflect the views of its author and do not necessarily reflect the views of East County Magazine.

Source: East County Magazine



Visit Eugene Davidovich at his website: www.eugenedavidovich.com

STOP OPERATION GREEN RX DUMANIS - Bonnie Dumanis and her fierce fight against medical marijuana in San Diego continues to raid legitimate patients and abuse her power as the District Attorney for her own political gain.

IN THE NEWS - The Jury is Out; Medical marijuana seller didn't profit

SAN DIEGO, Calif. A San Diego jury has acquitted a medical marijuana collective manager of possessing and selling the drug for profit.

Jovan Jackson cried when he heard the not guilty verdicts read in San Diego Superior Court Tuesday.

The 31-year-old was convicted of possession of Ecstasy and Xanax.

Jackson's case was the first to go to trial following a series of raids that shut down 14 medical marijuana stores in San Diego. The raids resulted in 31 arrests.

Jurors who spoke to reporters say the laws on medical marijuana sales from collectives were vague, prompting them to find the defendant innocent.

Prosecutors argued that the case against Jackson wasn't about medical marijuana, but about making money.

Source: The Associated Press

So-called patients are hijacking medical marijuana

After 25 years of lower back pain, Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez finally decided to take obvious step No. 1: get a physician’s recommendation for medical marijuana. Last week he took obvious step No. 2: write a column about it in the Times.

Lopez got his recommendation from a physician who advertised “superior professionalism” yet never laid a hand on Lopez. He identified himself as a gynecologist who knows nothing about back pain. He nevertheless charged $150 for no good and valuable service except certifying in writing that “Steve Lopez was evaluated in my office for a medical condition, which in my professional opinion, may benefit from the use of medical marijuana.”

What more do you need to know? The unscrupulous have hijacked the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, California’s medical marijuana law [read more]

Source: San Diego News Network

Marijuana Task Force Update: Keeping collectives at a safe distance

Last Friday, the city of San Diego Medical Marijuana Task Force held its second-to-last meeting for the calendar year. The meeting focused on what the permitting process should be for dispensaries and how far collectives and cooperatives should be kept away from schools and each other. [read more]

Source: San Diego Newsroom