NEWS: Marijuana Legalization: A States' Rights Showdown?

Paul Starobin's cover story in the latest issue of National Journal poses California's ballot initiative to legalize marijuana as emblematic of a trend that's happening across the country -- states' rights libertarianism is on the rise--and a serious (and seriously interesting) campaign.

The campaign to legalize marijuana in California, as I've noted before, is real. It's a campaign that's being run by pros, and it has a legitimate shot at winning...though there is one significant challenge, one that Starobin focuses on: the federal government would have to go along with it.

The Obama administration has signaled that it will back off the "Drug War," not just in mentality, but in actual law-enforcement priorities; Eric Holder told federal attorneys to stop prosecuting medical-marijuana users, after Obama promised as much on the campaign trail, and drug czar Gil Kerlikowske has declared the so-called "drug war" to be over (though that's not the first time such a declaration has been made.)

But legalization of marijuana, Kerlikowske has made it clear, is a "non-starter" in an official statement issued in October. Here's an excerpt:

Legalization is being sold as being a cure to ending violence in Mexico, as a cure to state budget problems, as a cure to health problems. The American public should be skeptical of anyone selling one solution as a cure for every single problem. Legalized, regulated drugs are not a panacea--pharmaceutical drugs in this country are tightly regulated and government controlled, yet we know they cause untold damage to those who abuse them.

To test the idea of legalizing and taxing marijuana, we only need to look at already legal drugs--alcohol and tobacco. We know that the taxes collected on these substances pale in comparison to the social and health care costs related to their widespread use.

Bottom-line: the federal government will not go along with legalization. In an interview with Starobin for the National Journal piece, that stance doesn't seem to have changed.

In an interview, Gil Kerlikowske, the drug czar tapped by Obama to direct the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, declined to speculate on the federal response if the California initiative wins approval. But he pointedly noted that "the Department of Justice still enforces the Controlled Substances Act," with its marijuana penalties. The California effort is built on "an incredible foundation of sand" and could pose a nightmare for law enforcement. The notion that marijuana causes "no harm" among users is "propaganda" peddled by the "well-funded" pro-legalization forces, Kerlikowske added.

Still, it is not as though the Obama White House is echoing Nixon's clarion call to wage a war on drugs. Asked whether he considered that war a success, Kerlikowske, a former Seattle police chief, replied that for ordinary Americans, for the folks with whom he meets in his travels across the country, "they don't see the war as successful." As for the administration, "We want to move away from the war" toward a policy stressing prevention of drug abuse and the treatment of users, he said.

Presumably, however, the decision of what to do if California legalizes is above Kerlikowske's pay-grade. The drug czar would likely make a recommendation, Holder would weigh in, and Obama would likely make the final call. As a matter of law enforcement, Obama could let Holder handle it; but, as a matter of policy, marijuana possibly being legal in an entire state is too big to let anyone other than the president handle the executive judgment.

It's unclear what would happen if California did legalize marijuana. The ballot measure doesn't legalize the substance completely throughout the state: it allows for counties to legalize on their own, creating what the ballot initiatives backers hope would mirror "wet" and "dry" counties elsewhere, in which alcohol is legal or illegal.

At the end of the day, it could come down to manpower. If the measure passes, county cops can enforce the laws of their counties, while federal law enforcers could come in to enforce the Controlled Substances Act. If many counties legalize, it could come down to whether the DEA and FBI have enough officers and the inclination to enforce marijuana's illegality in California while there's a drug war raging in Mexico that's already demanding drug-enforcement resources.

In their previous state-legislature and ballot-initiative campaigns, marijuana reformers have long been plagued by a lack of confidence that any state-level law will be meaningful, given the federal government's supercedence, as a gross disincentive to vote for reform. That was a problem for medical-marijuana campaigns, although now that the administration has decided not to enforce its anti-medical-marijuana laws, it's not anymore, as medical marijuana has proliferated to a handful of states and the District of Columbia, with more laws being pushed in others.

But even though the Tax Cannabis campaign in California is well organized and well timed, that same issue looms over all the political and strategic advantages its proponents do enjoy.

Source: The Atlantic

NEWS: Legalized Marijuana and the Crime Question

It's an argument you hear frequently from marijuana advocates: 'Legalize the drug, take the profit away, squeeze out the drug dealers and lower crime.' To be sure, the drug cartels would be impacted as would the entire drug underworld.

But while some see major improvements, others predict higher usage rates and even more problems associated with the drug. One thing we know is that the drug trade in Mexico has gotten much more violent. Officials say 15,000 murders have been tied to the Mexican drug wars since 2006.

Norm Stamper, the former Seattle police chief who supports legalization says, "50-70 percent of Mexican drug cartel money represent marijuana sales. That (legalization) would deal a huge blow to them." But most of law enforcement has serious reservations.

Drug Czars past and present oppose the California ballot initiative that would legalize small amounts of marijuana. John Walters, who served in that capacity under President Bush, says "The danger here is, when we don't take this seriously we encourage consumption and consumption drives up the cost and provides more money for these criminal groups to expand their capacity to do harm."

Walters calls medical marijuana a fraud which has led to more pot smoking. California was the first to test those waters in 1996 and since then 13 states have followed suit.

And violence still surrounds the drug even where it is considered "medicine." Just last night there were two murders at a medical marijuana dispensary in Los Angeles.

Critics also point to the Netherlands which legalized marijuana long ago. As the country got known as a place to use drugs, there was an explosion of so-called coffee shops which are really just places to purchase and smoke marijuana.

They have become such a nuisance and attracted so much crime that officials have shut down thousands over the last few years.

Another debate surrounding legalization is over the clash that would exist between state and federal drug laws. Only an act of Congress could make marijuana legal under federal law.

The D.E.A., F.B.I. and other federal agencies have continued to enforce national drug laws even in states with medical marijuana. Although, while the Bush Administration took a hard line approach to the issue, President Obama has sent slightly different signals. Last year his attorney general Eric Holder instructed agents to stop pot dispensary raids if the outlets were operating within state law.

But Obama opposes outright legalization. His drug czar Gil Kerlikowski says, "We will have more criminal justice costs, more social costs, and the taxes, whatever taxes may be collected, and that's a very vague number, wouldn't begin to pay for all those costs."

Legalization would lead to a host of other sticky issues. Among them, drugs in the workplace. Courts have upheld the right of employers to require a drug-free work environment in states that allow medical marijuana. Would that change at all if pot were legal.

And what about custody cases? Judges, when deciding which home is more suitable for raising children can factor in drug use even when that drug use is allowed under state law.

So as Californians get ready to vote on the issue in November, people around the country are watching.

Source: Fox News

NEWS: Mobile marijuana operation sidelined

CLAREMONT - Until recently, Ronald Chavez would drive his vehicle to homes and apartments in the Inland Valley and drop off orders of marijuana.

The owner of Claremont- based Tasty Licks would make deliveries to anyone with a valid medical marijuana identification card.

But the operations of the mobile medical marijuana company were curtailed earlier this month when the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced it would prosecute anyone who performed such a delivery service.

"I stopped delivering because I heard things about that, actually," said Chavez, a Pomona resident.

District Attorney Steve Cooley said delivery of medical marijuana and selling the drug online are illegal. Cooley said those who do so could face felony charges.

The statement released June7 by Cooley, who is running for state attorney general, was in response to claims that medical marijuana providers in Los Angeles had found a loophole by making house calls to those seeking pot.

Chavez said he was advised by his attorneys to revamp the business.

"So I'll be on hold for a little while," he said. "I have to make sure everything's good to go."

Tasty Licks could be back as soon as early July, Chavez said.

The company was about to make a profit prior to its shutdown thanks in part to a solid reputation among customers who praised its delivery speed and quality of marijuana, Chavez claims.

The customers would call Tasty Licks and either put in an order for medical marijuana or ask to view samples at their homes.

Deliveries were typically made for free after 10 p.m. in Los Angeles and Orange counties, as long as the customer was a member of the nonprofit and had a reservation.

"We provide the highest quality indica, sativa and hybrid medical strains," boasted the company's Web site, www.tasty licks.org.

Chavez said he printed business cards and paid for advertisements in magazines.

Tasty Licks had fewer than 100 customers, and they ran the gamut from young adults to seniors, Chavez said.

Chavez said business really started to take off in October when U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said pot-smoking patients or their sanctioned suppliers should not be targeted for federal prosecution in states that allow medical marijuana. The Justice Department statement said federal prosecutors are being told it is not a good use of their time to arrest people who use or provide medical marijuana in strict compliance with state law.

Chavez now directs his customers to magazines that advertise mobile medical marijuana companies.

There have been numerous mobile medical marijuana clinics in the Inland Empire, and they "help people get their medicine they can't get through collectives and storefronts," said Lanny Swerdlow, president of the Inland Empire chapter of the Marijuana Anti-Prohibition Project.

The clinics are illegal in Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

"Steve Cooley says everything is illegal. Here (in Riverside and San Bernardino counties) it's illegal not because that's illegal, but because it violates zoning ordinances," Swerdlow said.

Chavez received a business license in Pomona for a Tasty Licks shaved ice company in 1996. It was not renewed in 2009. He declined to comment on the status of his business license.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Source: San Gabriel Valley Tribune

NEWS: 2 dead in L.A. medical marijuana shop robbery attempts

LOS ANGELES - Two Los Angeles pot clinic workers were killed Thursday in separate robbery attempts just hours apart, Los Angeles police said.

An employee of the Hollywood Holistic store was found by his supervisor around 9:15 p.m. Pacific (12:15am E.T.) after an apparent robbery attempt, NBC News reported.



Police would not say how the worker was killed, only that it was a homicide. The worker was pronounced dead at the scene, just north of the Hollywood Palladium, said City News Service.

Around 4:15 p.m. (7:15 p.m. ET), an unknown number of suspects burst into the Higher Patch Holistic Care store in Echo Park and opened fire, killing one employee and wounding another, NBC News said.

NBC News quoted police saying one male victim was shot in the upper torso and a second was also hit, but police were not able to declare which victim died.

The Los Angeles Times reported that the shootings came as city officials try to regulate hundreds of marijuana stores that have popped up amid California's dispensary boom.

It was not immediately known if the two incidents were related.

Source: MSNBC

NEWS: Police say man killed in LA medical marijuana dispensary

LOS ANGELES — Police in Los Angeles say a man has been killed and another wounded in a shooting at a medical marijuana dispensary.

The police department said Thursday that an unknown number of suspects burst into the Sunset Boulevard store in the Echo Park neighborhood around 4:15 p.m. and opened fire.

Police set up a perimeter as they searched for suspects.

No other information was immediately available.

Source: The Associated Press

NEWS: San Diego County picks 16 medical marijuana spots

A new policy approved by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors Tuesday limits medical marijuana dispensaries to 16 areas in the unincorporated county.

Under the regulations, medical marijuana dispensaries must be located 1,000 feet from homes, churches, schools, parks and other dispensaries.

The sheriff’s department will permit the facilities and make sure their operators follow a range of rules.

Three of the 16 sites are in Lakeside and three more are in Ramona. Two each are in San Dieguito, Alpine and El Cajon. The rest are in Borrego, Campo, Julian and Spring Valley. It’s possible that some locations could hold multiple dispensaries if each complied with the distance requirements.

Critics said that the policy is too restrictive, that the sites are not practical, and that the regulations amount to an invasion of each patient’s privacy. Opponents far outnumbered supporters at the morning meeting.

As Supervisor Dianne Jacob noted, “I didn’t hear a lot of unqualified support for what’s before us today.”

In the end, the supervisors voted 4-1 to adopt the policy, which requires another formal vote next Tuesday. Supervisor Ron Roberts said he opposed the policy because he thought it reduced the locations where dispensaries could open to “next to none.”

Medical marijuana has been legal in California under state law for 14 years, but the drug is illegal under federal law, leading to frequent clashes between authorities and dispensary supporters.

Source: San Diego Union-Tribune

NEWS: More than 170 medical marijuana dispensaries notify Los Angeles of intent to stay open

Representatives of 174 medical marijuana dispensaries have filed notices with the Los Angeles city clerk, indicating that they intend to remain open. City officials now face the daunting task of determining whether those stores qualify to operate under the new ordinance.

The stores are among 187 that registered in 2007 to continue to operate when the City Council adopted a moratorium. (City officials have long said the number of registered dispensaries is 186 but recently concluded one was inadvertently left off the list.)

All other dispensaries in the city were required to stop selling marijuana June 7, when the ordinance became effective.

City officials estimate there are about 400 illegal dispensaries. Many, however, have sued the city to challenge the ordinance and some have remained open in defiance of the law.

Los Angeles officials are reviewing the documentation to ensure that the stores still have their original owners, have operated continuously and have moved no more than once. In their initial check, city officials determined that 79 met those requirements and planned to scrutinize the others. Control of seven dispensaries is in dispute, with competing groups claiming to operate them.

It’s unclear when the city clerk will complete its review. “We had a new hiccup,” said Holly L. Wolcott, the executive officer for the city clerk. City officials realized that they failed to collect information on the current management of the dispensaries, as required by the city’s ordinance, and now have to contact the dispensaries to collect that information.

Source: Los Angeles Times

NEWS: Pot brownies supposedly pose a risk of ‘agonizing, painful death’

The display counter at Best Buds, a mom-and-pop medical-marijuana collective tucked away among the ship-building yards on Harbor Drive, contains a wide selection of weed-laced edible products. There are brownies, Rice Krispies treats and gluten-free, vegan and sugar-free alternatives for those with dietary restrictions. They even have marijuana-infused olive oil and bagel chips for patients who aren’t into junk food.

But before a patient can take away a dose, the staff will force him to read a one-page warning copied from recommendations issued by the city of San Diego’s Medical Marijuana Task Force. The “Cannabis Patient Advisory” explains that edible marijuana products can cause “severe extreme anxiety” lasting up to four hours and that a patient shouldn’t drive within seven hours of consumption.

More alarming, however, is this line:

“That fact that most edible [sic] are produced in kitchens which have not been certified by the health Department [sic] creates a risk of serious illness and/or an agonizing painful death.”

Pro-pot activists say if anyone is going to die from a pot brownie, it won’t be because of the cannabis but, rather, as a result of food poisoning. The San Diego County Department of Environmental Health is responsible for inspecting and grading retail food facilities throughout the county. So far, it’s not holding marijuana kitchens to the same standards.

“Clearly, the City is warning people about eating food prepared in ANY kitchen not regularly inspected by the County,” county spokesperson Michael Workman says in a prepared statement. “It is in no way intended to imply there are commercial kitchens preparing marijuana foodstuffs that [the] County is knowingly ignoring.”

Representatives from the Southern California branch of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws disagree, arguing that the county has authority to inspect these facilities but hasn’t done so.

“I definitely think the county has a responsibility to do this now,” SoCal NORML Director Craig Beresh says. “Even though it has medicine in it, it does have food in it as well. The worst thing would be for someone to get sick, or worse, die, because of an edible they received.”

A product tainted with salmonella, for example, would be especially dangerous for patients with weak immune systems, many of whom are more likely to ingest marijuana because it’s safer than smoking.

Initially, Workman said that food with marijuana in it is no longer food—it’s a drug, and the kitchens are therefore exempt from food-safety regulations. He later retracted that claim.

“There is no state law that directly regulates marijuana in food,” Workman now says. Counties “have to address dispensing of marijuana, among other issues in their local ordinances.”

This week, the county will vote on an ordinance that would prohibit marijuana foods in unincorporated areas. It doesn’t deal with the issue of regulating marijuana kitchens countywide, but advocates for inspections, such as David Speckman, a San Diego attorney who represents a dozen local collectives, say a new ordinance is unnecessary.

“Any time any food item is being prepared for a… commercial transaction, even within the context of a medical-marijuana donation, it is still subject to health and safety regulations,” Speckman says. “It doesn’t make sense that adding one ingredient means the kitchen is no longer subject to regulations.”

State and county health and safety codes define food as a “raw, cooked or processed edible substance, ice beverage, an ingredient used or intended for use or for sale in whole or in part for human consumption, and chewing gum.”

According to a later statement from Workman: “If we were to find a retail restaurant or bakery preparing marijuana brownies, Rice Krispies, etc… then we would work with the appropriate law enforcement agency and take the necessary enforcement action.”

That, however, has not yet happened, and the fact that the county and state are not inspecting marijuana kitchens—or shutting down those that don’t meet health standards—presents a dilemma for collectives. Many have begun purchasing edibles from licensed commercial kitchens outside the county.

“The legal problem that some of these collectives might run into is that the baker or manufacturer of the edibles may not be a ‘member’ of the collective in the true sense of the term,” Speckman says.

Best Buds, for example, offers patients two kinds of edibles: Those made in unlicensed home kitchens of its members (which is consistent with the California Attorney General’s guidelines for “closed circuit” collectives) and those purchased from a bakery in Los Angeles County (which may not be allowed under the guidelines) that has provided proof that it has passed health inspections.

The bakery did not tell health inspectors that it was making marijuana edibles during the inspection, according to the facility’s proprietor, who asked not to be identified. San Francisco is the only major California jurisdiction that has crafted formal guidelines for marijuana food production.

Collectives are also renting space in certified kitchens to produce their own products. One collective CityBeat contacted prepares the food in the kitchen of a member’s restaurant; that member is also a food-safety manager and the collective’s staff are certified food handlers.

Mother Earth Co-op, a collective managed by city task force member Kim Twolan, has an on-site kitchen that’s not been inspected by the Health Department. “We just follow health and safety guidelines in our kitchen, and we just make sure our products have high quality control,” says Twolan, who’s written a marijuana cookbook. “But I have seen people come in, trying to sell edibles out of dirty coolers.”

Source: San Diego CITYBEAT