NEWS: Medical Marijuana Lawsuit Dismissed By Federal Judge In Sacramento

SAN FRANCISCO -- Medical marijuana advocates faced another setback Tuesday, when a federal judge in Sacramento dismissed a lawsuit claiming that the Obama administration broke its promise to leave the pot industry alone when it began an aggressive crackdown against California dispensaries last fall.

Proponents of the suit cited President Obama's 2009 Ogden Memo, which told federal prosecutors to concentrate their efforts on large drug trafficking networks and "not focus federal resources" on medical marijuana operations in states that have legalized cannabis for medicinal purposes.

But in a sharp reversal of the memo, federal authorities announced a renewed effort to target pot dispensaries throughout California last October, claiming the industry had ballooned to unprecedented proportions.

In the four months since the reinstated crackdown, a number of medical cannabis clubs across the state have been forced to shut down, including five in San Francisco and the legendary Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana in Marin County, California's oldest. The District Attorney's office has begun investigating 12 more stores in San Francisco this year.

The U.S. attorneys going after such dispensaries have justified their actions mainly by claiming the shops operate too close to parks and schools.

Pot activists have fought back, arguing the federal government should focus its energy elsewhere and not interfere with states abiding by their own laws.

"It's a total waste of resources," Stephanie Tucker, spokeswoman for the San Francisco Medical Cannabis Task Force, told The Huffington Post. "They're attacking a peaceful, regulated community and it's wasting money. Shame on them."

The Sacramento lawsuit was one of a handful filed in November by cannabis suppliers and patients, who cited the Ogden Memo as the basis for their action. U.S. District Judge Garland Burrell, who reviewed the case in the capitol, justified his dismissal by claiming the memo was not a "binding commitment," simply a statement of priorities.

Burrell's ruling will allow for prosecutors to continue to take action against dispensaries operating throughout the state.

Matthew Kumin, a lawyer representing one of the dispensaries in the Sacramento case, told SF Weekly that the dismissal of the cases without allowing a fair trial is bogus. "The government's blocking of us is irrational at this point," Kumin said to SF Weekly. "It's clear there's medical use; circumstances have changed."

Kumin pointed to federally-backed clinical trials of cannabis-based drugs such as Sativex as proof that scientists believe marijuana has a medical benefit. Despite that, he said he expects similar lawsuits in Oakland and Los Angeles to be dismissed this week.

"The judges know we're in the right," he said. "They just don't want to admit it."

Source: The Huffington Post

NEWS: Is Prohibition Over? California Medical Marijuana Laws vs. Federal Prohibition Come to a Head

The California Supreme Court announced today that it will hear two important cases from two separate appellate districts in California regarding city’s abilities to regulate and ban medical marijuana dispensaries.

The court granted the City of Long Beach’s petition for review in the Pack case, which has caused cities statewide to question their ability to regulate medical marijuana collectives. The Second Appellate District, Div. 3, ruled several months ago that parts of the Long Beach 5.87 ordinance, regulating medical marijuana collectives within the city, were federally prohibited.

Pack’s attorney, Matthew Pappas also filed an emergency application for a temporary order prohibiting the City of Long Beach from banning collectives while the case is pending with the California Supreme Court. The court denied this request, which leaves the city of Long Beach in flux as the Pack case is being determined. According to Joe Elford, Chief Counsel for Americans for Safe Access, the Pack ruling contradicts three other Appellate Court decisions that have rejected Federal Preemption. The California Supreme Court’s determination can take months and sometimes up to a year before a decision is rendered.

According to Bob Selan, Esq., CEO of Kush Magazine, the California Supreme Court has recognized that these states’ rights issues are at the forefront of the safe access provisions that were inherent in Proposition 215 voted into law by Californians in 1996. The laws which were further codified in SB420 in 2003 by the California Legislature, have been the subject of several controversial lawsuits pitting California medical marijuana laws against Federal Prohibition.

The ACLU has also filed an amicus curie brief requesting that the opinion of the Second Appellate District be depublished.

Last night the Long Beach City Council postponed voting on a ban until its February 14^th meeting (see video). Long Beach City Attorney Robert Shannon is urging the City Council to enact a ban while the case is pending since the city currently has no law to regulate the collectives in the city.

The California Supreme Court also agreed to hear the Riverside case involving G3 Holistic in Upland, California. This case involved shutting down G3 due to the City of Upland’s outright ban on medical marijuana dispensaries through their zoning code. G3 was shut down, sued the city and the Superior Court upheld the city’s zoning code. On Appeal, the Appellate court granted G3 an injunction to remain open. When the city prevailed on appeal in November, 2011, G3 was again shut down. In December, G3 appealed to the California Supreme Court which was granted a review today.

This comes at a time when cities and counties are scrambling to push forward bans of any medical cannabis related businesses in their jurisdictions.

The medical marijuana community applauded the Supreme Court’s decision to hear both cases, and hopefully, this will finally give cities in California the right to regulate medical marijuana in their communities, since many cities have chosen to ban or refuse to regulate medical marijuana because it’s federally illegal.

Source: KUSH Magazine

NEWS: Long Beach judge recuses himself from medical marijuana case before sentencing

LONG BEACH -- A local judge recused himself from a medical marijuana case at the 11th hour Wednesday, admitting he made a serious error when he sent a complimentary letter to the prosecutor prior to sentencing.

Long Beach Superior Court Judge Charles Sheldon voluntarily removed himself from the case of Joe Grumbine and Joe Byron, the owners and operators of a trio of medical marijuana collectives who were convicted of illegal drug sales last month.

In a stunning revelation that drew exclamations from many in the courtroom, Sheldon admitted he sent a "complimentary letter" to Deputy District Attorney Jodi Castano before the matter was finished.


"I don't know what I was thinking," Sheldon said, adding that he meant what he said in the missive, which was dated Jan. 5, but it was inappropriate to send while the case was still active.

His recusal drew raucous applause, cheers and shouts from a courtroom brimming with about 50 medical marijuana advocates who have rallied inside and outside the Long Beach courthouse throughout Grumbine and Byron's trial.

Defense Attorney Christopher Glew said outside court that the letter congratulated the prosecutor on a job well done and showed the judge's clear bias in case.

"I've never seen anything like it," Glew said. "But it was obvious from the start that Judge Sheldon was biased ... he said from the very beginning there are no legal sales of marijuana of any kind."

Grumbine and Byron were convicted Dec. 21 -- on 13 felony counts including illegal sales of narcotics, grand theft, and filing false tax returns -- following a roughly three week trial.

Supporters of the defendants insist the charges are nothing more than an attack by zealous police and prosecutors in violation of the state's medical marijuana law and have accused authorities of fabricating evidence.

Castano insisted in her opening statements to the jury the case was about two men using the sick and infirm as a shield for illegal drug deals.

"This case is not about whether people have the right to medical marijuana," Castano told the jury at the start of the trial last month. "This case is about two wolves in sheeps' clothing. It's about two men who were out to line their pockets ... with millions of dollars."

Grumbine and Byron were arrested in December of 2009 after police raided the three locations, two in Long Beach and one in Garden Grove.

The legal wrangling began long before the trial, with numerous motions heard as both sides sought to block some witnesses and evidence.

The district attorney and defendants' attorneys disagreed from the start over whether a medical marijuana defense could be presented. Initially, Sheldon ruled no such a defense would be allowed, said supporter Cheri Sicard.

Glew and co-defense Attorney Allison Margolin challenged Sheldon's ruling in a higher court and was awarded a judgement that required the lower court to allow the medical marijuana defense, Sicard said.

Nonetheless, police and prosecutors insisted the defendants used the collectives as profit-driven drug dealing operations run like stores with frequent flier cards, specials and discounts offered inside the businesses.

The defendants, Castano said, tried to hide the businesses by using fictitious business names. She also said the accused stole electricity from neighboring businesses to hide the large amount of power needed to grow the plants.

Bills were paid by money order to eliminate paper trials, the prosecutor noted. The defendants, she said, under-reported their sales tax for two years, pocketing more than $2 million.

Though Sheldon has recused himself from the case, the convictions still stand. However Glew and Margolin said they are preparing motions for a new trial, which will be heard in a new court, by Judge Joan Comparet-Cassani, on April 3.

The motions will include arguments that Sheldon's bias denied their clients a chance at a fair trial and will also cite juror misconduct, Glew said, referring to one jurors revelation post conviction that the group used the Internet to look up the definition of marijuana collectives even though they were instructed by the court that they could not use any outside source of information while deliberating the case.

Even the appointment of the new judge looked as though it was going to be a tough fight Wednesday morning, as Glew and Margolin told Long Beach Superior Court Supervising Judge James Otto they opposed the case being transferred to Comparet-Cassani.

Moments later, however, they withdrew their challenge of the venue.

Outside the courtroom, Glew explained that though he is concerned about Comparet-Cassani's strict ruling record the only other options left at the Long Beach Court would prove even more unfavorable to the defense's case.

"We don't have a lot of options for a fair trial in Long Beach," Glew said.

Source: Press-Telegram

VIDEO: Long Beach City Council Postpones Medical Marijuana Dispensary Ban

COOKIN' WITH CAKE: Dry Ice Extraction

By: YellowJuanaCake

Dry ice kief extraction is a great way to obtain cooking material to get you started with some high quality canna-cooking. Kief, also sometimes referred to as ‘pollen’, is the fine crystal/grainy/sugary coating you see on the green material of the flowers. It is where much of the medicine in the plant resides and can be easily extracted.

You can obtain dry ice at most grocery stores, if you can’t find it, go to the local ice distributor, they’re bound to have some.

The silkscreen material took a bit of looking into on my part. I’m just on too tight a budget to afford a set of water extraction bags. Not even the inexpensive ones, so I had to find an alternative to fit my purse’s capacity. I searched for silkscreen and was able to find many resources. This is the one I settled on: Ryonet Silkscreen Supplies

First though, I had to decide what size mesh I would purchase. USA mesh and European micron sizes are different. Of course, we are familiar with micron size in the cannabis community and finding silkscreen measured by micron in the US is near to impossible. At any rate, I used this chart to help me decide what size to get: Mesh to Micron Conversion Chart I ordered the 74 mesh (which puts my micron size somewhere between 210 and 177) for $9.76 and with shipping, the total was less than $20. I have enough to make at least a dozen squares like you see in these pictures from the one piece of material I bought.

I will likely also purchase another sheet in the next smaller size as not all strains have the same size trichomes and eventually, I’ll have a way to grade the material and refine this process based on the strain I’m working with and the size of those specific trichomes.

These are my tools, along with some dry ice

Cannabis and dry ice in the plastic Folger's can

This is where I’ll go ahead and put that lid back on the can and just shake it for a few minutes. I am gentle, so as not to break up the dry cannabis material too much, but also, because I don’t want to get worn out from working too hard. LOL Okay, so anyway, you’re gonna just shake the bucket for a few minutes, until you feel like all the cannabis has had a chance to come in contact with the dry ice and the trichomes are ready to jump off the plant and out of the bucket. As you’re doing this, you can just know that the dry ice will be melting back into it’s gaseous form and you may need to release pressure or the lid will pop off your bucket and scare the cat. And also, the first time it happened to me I spilled a bunch of weed when I jumped. So, as you’re gently shaking, just go ahead and hold the edge of the lid open every few shakes to let the gas escape. I have decided I’ll just pop a few holes in the lid to prevent this from happening in the future.

One other word of caution, if you haven’t already burned yourself on accident, you should be wearing gloves while handling the dry ice, and even while shaking the container. Dry ice is -200 degrees and will burn you with severe cold. Believe it . . . take care!

Folger's can with silkscreen material affixed

Turn the can over and shake out the frozen kief

Stop shaking if you see green in your kief.

Collect your kief!

For more great cannabis recipes visit Cookin' With Cake! where you'll also be able to order a copy of her latest book.

You can order your copy of YellowJuana Cake’s Cookbook today for $14.95 and shipping is free! The 48 page b&w book includes instructional information on infusion and extraction methods used in cannabis cooking, recipes, dosing guidelines and tips and tricks for DIY easy to prepare store meals.

NEWS: Joe Byron and Joe Grumbine Trial: It's a Kangaroo Courtroom

There's a reason why the marijuana-selling trial of Joe Byron and Joe Grumbine, the former owners of a pair of Long Beach cannabis collectives, is unfolding in Long Beach Superior Court's Department K. The letter, as Judge Judith Meyer (who last month referred the case to Judge Charles Sheldon) once drew laughs for explaining, stands for that lovable bouncy rodent from Down Under: the kangaroo.

As jokes go, it's not that funny, though: As the first week in Byron and Grumbine's trial in Sheldon's courtroom draws to a close today, it's becoming rapidly clear the robe-wearing octogenarian isn't exactly worried about appearing overwhelmingly biased against the two defendants.

First of all, Sheldon denied the two Joes their right to mention medical marijuana in their defense. This prevented their attorneys from sending subpoenas to witnesses who could testify they were following state law, which, in California, allows patients to smoke marijuana for medical reasons and to establish collectives to grow the plants. But thanks to a ruling last week by the California Court of Appeal, Sheldon was left with no choice but to allow such witnesses to testify.

On Monday, when confronted with this ruling, however, Sheldon refused a follow-up motion by the defense to delay the trial for a week so defense lawyers Alison Margolin and Christopher Glew could get ahold of those previously off-limits witnesses. No dice, ruled Sheldon, who insisted the trial start right away. It's been all downhill from there. According to court observers and the blog of the activist group The Human Solution, Sheldon has ruled against almost every defense objection, including ones in which prosecution witnesses were rambling onstage without answering any pending question, in which cases Sheldon simply instructs prosecutors to pose a question so that the witness can keep going.

Today, Sheldon went so far as to order a screen erected between the jury and the audience to prevent jurors (some of whom observers have already been noticed rolling their eyes at Sheldon) from seeing audience members, most of whom support the two defendants.

Supporters have been protesting the trial for weeks now, gathering every morning at 8 on the courthouse steps. The protests--and the trial itself--are scheduled to resume Monday morning.

Source: OC Weekly

Studio City Dispensaries, Collectives and Co-ops

Buds and Roses Collective
13235 Ventura Blvd [map]
Studio City, CA 91604
Hours: Mon–Sat 11am to 7pm, Sun 11am to 5pm
Email: info@budsandrosesla.com
Website: http://budsandrosesla.com/
Phone: 818-907-8852
Fax: 888-315-9194

Cloneville
12457 Ventura Blvd. Suite 207
Studio City, CA 91604
Hours: Mon-Sat 11am to 7pm
Website: http://www.cloneville.org/
Phone: 818-627-6874

Compassionate Caregivers of Studio City
12457 Ventura Blvd. Suite 208
Studio City, CA 91604
Website: http://www.ccscity.com
Phone: 818-506-7773

Secret Garden Cannameds
4346 Laurel Canyon Blvd., Studio City CA 91604 [map]
Hours: Mon-Thu 10am-9pm, Fri-Sat 10am-10pm, Sun 12pm-6pm
Phone: 818-985-HELP


Covers the following zip codes in Studio City, California: 91604, 91614

NEWS: Feds describe crackdown on pot dispensaries

Large-scale, commercial marijuana cultivation and sales were never allowed under state or federal law and will no longer be tolerated, California's top federal prosecutors said Friday in announcing a crackdown on medical marijuana dispensaries across the state.

The state's medical marijuana law has been "hijacked by people who are in this to get rich," U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag of San Francisco said at a news conference. California's Compassionate Use Act of 1996, she said, was intended "to allow marijuana to be supplied to seriously ill people on a nonprofit basis."

Haag and California's other three U.S. attorneys said they each have sent dozens of letters to dispensary owners, as well as residential, commercial and agricultural property owners involved in activity deemed to be drug trafficking, warning them to cease such operations within 45 days or face the consequences.

Those consequences include property and bank account seizures and civil forfeiture lawsuits as well as criminal prosecutions, all of which have been pursued in various cases filed across the state in recent weeks. So far, there's been no word of any East Bay or South Bay dispensaries receiving the letters.

"If (large-scale dispensaries) shut the operations down, there will be no forfeiture. If they continue, there will be forfeiture," Haag pledged, saying prosecutors in her Northern District -- which includes the Bay Area -- will focus on dispensaries near schools, parks and other places at which children gather.

"There's no ambiguity about this, there's no surprise about this -- the commercial sale of marijuana has been illegal for decades," said U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner, of Sacramento. "We're not after people who are sick, or their primary caregivers. ... Those people are not a focus of our operations."

Marijuana advocates reacted with angry dismay, given President Barack Obama's campaign pledge that he would not "be using Justice Department resources to try to circumvent state (medical marijuana) laws," a stance he has reiterated since taking office.

"Aggressive tactics like these are a completely inappropriate use of prosecutorial discretion by the Obama Administration," said Joe Elford, chief counsel with Oakland-based Americans for Safe Access. "President Obama must answer for his contradictory policy on medical marijuana."

Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, blasted the action as being "driven by overzealous prosecutors and the anti-marijuana ideologues who dominated policymaking in past administrations."

"Instead of encouraging state and local authorities to regulate medical marijuana distribution in the interests of public safety and health, his administration seems determined to re-criminalize as much as possible," he added.

However, the prosecutors insisted this isn't a reversal, noting that neither state nor federal law has ever allowed for-profit commercial marijuana sales, a stance underscored by Justice Department memos issued in October 2009 and in June.

"These actions should surprise no one. The Department of Justice is simply making good on threats they've been issuing for years," said Kevin Sabet, who from 2009 through last month was senior policy adviser to White House Office of National Drug Control Policy Director R. Gil Kerlikowske. "Given the flagrant violation of both federal and state laws these dispensaries were engaged in -- they certainly don't resemble what California voters intended in 1996 -- it makes sense that the Department of Justice is taking action now."

U.S. Attorney André Birotte Jr., of Los Angeles, said Friday that state law allows collective cultivation under limited circumstances by legitimate caregivers, not the "brick-and-mortar, Walmart-Costco type model," which has become a "new California gold rush."
"That is not what the California voters intended or authorized, and it is illegal," he said.

Wagner said California has become the nation's pre-eminent source of illegal marijuana. Birotte, who said his district has more "marijuana stores" than any other in the nation, said he hasn't found a single one of them that's able to prove it's a not-for-profit operation.
A state appeals court on Thursday struck down a Long Beach law regulating medical marijuana dispensaries, finding it conflicts with federal law's ban on the drug. Haag said Friday that many California cities and counties need to re-examine their own ordinances in light of this ruling.

San Jose City Attorney Rick Doyle said he's doing so, but thinks the city's law would satisfy the courts because it doesn't officially license any pot clubs, offering only an "affirmative defense" under California's medical marijuana law to prosecution. "We're not making this a permitted use, just allowing collectives to use it as an affirmative defense," he said. "It parallels state law."

San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed said the city is struggling to sort out conflicting federal and state laws on medical marijuana.
"The federal government has not been very clear about what they're intending to do," he said. "We're just trying to cope with California law that allows medical marijuana. We're trying to be reasonable."

Former state Sen. John Vasconcellos, a San Jose Democrat who co-authored a 2003 bill clarifying the state medical marijuana law's scope and application, called the crackdown "bad policy, bad politics and bad faith. It's just nonsense. I'm just so deeply offended and angered."
The federal crackdown will "drive patients over to the illegal side," predicted a man who spoke on condition of anonymity Friday outside Oakland's Harborside Health Center; he had a patient ID card and said he uses cannabis to treat pain in his legs and feet from arthritis and plantar fasciitis. "The war on drugs failed a long time ago. It's time for the country to wake up. This is a simple personal drug that doesn't affect society."

Harborside disclosed this week that the Internal Revenue Service is demanding it pay $2.4 million in back taxes after an audit determined dispensaries can't claim the same deductions as other businesses.

A customer at Oakland's Bulldog Coffee Shop, owned by Oaksterdam University founder and Proposition 19 bankroller Richard Lee, was defiant. "Just let them try," said the man, who identified himself only as "Herby G." He said the federal authorities are "bluffing."

"The Justice Department doesn't have a clue about what's going on," he said, adding that the marijuana industry -- unlike many Fortune 500 companies -- are willing to pay taxes and be good community citizens. "This is the biggest industry in the state."

Source: Mercury News