Marijuana

The medical marijuana scene is hectic! Bill passing, raids happening, local officials pondering, and California dispensaries dwindling. Let's get to it:

[image:1 align:left]California

On May 21, the Lakeport city council gave first approval to a cultivation ordinance that would require grows be conducted within detached structures on residential properties. The council will hold the second reading of the ordinance at its June 18 meeting. The document before the council on Tuesday night also prohibits outdoor cultivation and requires grows to be contained in accessory outdoor structures. However, it also puts the emphasis on complaint-driven enforcement.

On May 22, the Earth Choice Collective in Fresno closed its doors after a local TV station blew the whistle on the below-the-radar dispensary. Undercover narcotics officers served Earth Choice Collective with a notice to vacate several weeks ago, but it had remained open until the TV station aired its report.

On May 25, Anaheim authorities reported that 10 of 11 dispensaries had complied with orders to close their doors. Anaheim ordered all dispensaries to close in the wake of the California Supreme Court ruling upholding the ability of localities to ban them. One remained open and was facing fines of up to a $1,000 a day.

Last Wednesday, San Bernardino police shut down another dispensary. They, too, were acting in response to the California Supreme Court ruling. More than 100 mason jars filled with marijuana were seized at the SBPC dispensary, and several workers and customers were detained temporarily.

Last Thursday, DEA agents and San Bernardino County deputies raided two dispensaries and five homes associated with them. Targeted were the Green Oasis Collective dispensaries in Yucaipa and San Bernardino. Five people were arrested on a variety of charges, including possession of pyrotechnic explosive devices, possession of meth, and various marijuana offenses.

Last Friday, police in Garden Grove began fining medical marijuana delivery services. The move came after the services sprang up in the wake of the city's ban on dispensaries last month. They are fining the delivery businesses $1,000 a day. One dispensary, OrganaCann Wellness Centers, switched to delivery mode after the ban and reported receiving $3,000 in fines, but is vowing to vigorously defend itself.

Also last Friday, Stockton dispensary operator Matthew Davies pleaded guilty to federal marijuana charges. He had argued that his store in Stockton operated in accordance with California laws, after working extensively with accountants and lawyers before opening the business. He faces a mandatory minimum five-year prison sentence.

Also last Friday, a statewide dispensary regulation bill failed to advance, but its sponsor, Rep. Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) said the bill lives and he is talks with members of the Senate to advance it.

On Monday, the Healdsburg city council voted to form a task force to study cultivation issues. The task force will consider whether outdoor grows will be allowed, or whether they should be confined indoors. Police Chief Kevin Burke had proposed guidelines in response to neighborhood complaints about backyard grows, and the Planning Commission had recommended allowing patients to grow up to 12 mature plants and 24 immature ones, but limited grows to indoors and not within 300 feet of schools, churches, hospitals, child care and youth centers. But after the guidelines were publicized, they met harsh criticism, thus, the task force.

District of Columbia

As of Monday, DC medical marijuana patients were still waiting to get their medicine. Two dispensaries and three grow operations have been approved by District officials, but the District Department of Health has yet to give doctors the authority to recommend marijuana to their patients. A spokeswoman for the Department of Health said marijuana dispensaries would likely open in the middle of June.

Michigan

Last Tuesday, medical marijuana supporters held a press conference in Detroit to publicize the imminent imprisonment of several Michigan patients and caregivers. One, Jerry Duval, a kidney-pancreas transplant patient with coronary artery disease, has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison and must report next week. Three other Michigan cultivators, Dennis Forsberg, 59, his son Lance Forsberg, 32, and Ryan Basore, 36, who were sentenced to 3-4 years in prison surrendered last Thursday. They were all convicted in federal court without being able to present evidence that they were complying with state law.

Montana

Last Wednesday, federal prosecutors appealed the sentence of a medical marijuana provider because they thought it was not stiff enough. They appealed the two-year prison sentence given to former University of Montana quarterback Jason Washington, who was convicted on federal charges for his role in a dispensary operation legal under state law. Prosecutors have also appealed the sentences of three other medical marijuana defendants out of 33 convicted in the wake of the 2011 federal crackdown in the state.

Nevada

On Monday, a medical marijuana dispensary bill passed the state legislature. The Assembly approved it the previous week, and the Senate approved it Monday. It now goes to the governor. If he signs it, up to 66 dispensaries will be allowed in the state, with up to 40 in Las Vegas and 10 in Reno.

New Hampshire

Last Thursday, the Senate approved a medical marijuana bill, but with amendments designed to placate Gov. Margaret Hassan (D) that advocates say will make the bill unworkable. The Assembly had already passed the bill; now a conference committee must try to reconcile the two versions.

New York

Last Thursday, more than 600 New York physicians came out for pending medical marijuana legislation. They signed a statement affirming that doctors should not be punished for recommending the use of marijuana for seriously ill people, and that seriously ill people should not be subject to criminal sanctions for using marijuana if the patients' physicians have told them such use may be beneficial. The bill also has the support of the state’s leading medical organizations, including the New York State Nurses Association, The Hospice and Palliative Care Association, Pharmacist Society of the State of New York, among others.

Last Friday, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg trashed medical marijuana, calling it "one of the greatest hoaxes of all time." The former pot-smoker's comments came as the legislature is considering the medical marijuana bill.

On Monday, the medical marijuana bill passed the Assembly. It now goes to the Senate, where three previous medical marijuana bills approved by the Assembly in recent years have died. But the pressure is on.

Ohio

Last Wednesday, the sponsor of a medical marijuana bill testified on its behalf, but acknowledged that it is going nowhere in the Republican-controlled legislature. Instead, Rep. Bob Hagan (D-Youngstown) is urging support for a constitutional amendment on the issue.

Oregon

Last Thursday, DEA agents and local law enforcement raided four southern Oregon dispensaries. Raiders hit the Greener Side in Eugene and three Medford dispensaries. Several people were arrested.

Also last Thursday, the state legislature approved adding PTSD to the list of ailments for which medical marijuana can be used. The Oregon House passed Senate Bill 281 36-21, following a 19-11 vote in the Senate.  The bill awaits Gov. Kitzhaber's signature.

South Carolina

On May 23, an attempt to legalize medical marijuana in the state failed in the House. Rep. Todd Rutherford (D-Columbia) tried to amend a bill dealing with controlled substances to add marijuana to the list of drugs that doctors could prescribe, but his amendment was ruled out of order.

Washington

On Monday, it was revealed that the DEA has sent threatening letters to 41 Seattle-area dispensaries that have effectively closed some of them. At least one Spokane dispensary has also received a threat letter, but from the US Attorney, not the DEA.

[For extensive information about the medical marijuana debate, presented in a neutral format, visit MedicalMarijuana.ProCon.org.]

The Republican, 05 Jun 2013 - WESTFIELD -- Voters across the commonwealth approved the use of medical marijuana during the November elections, but it is an issue that has remained relatively low-key in Westfield as officials put a moratorium on dispensaries pending further state regulations. Public hearings held by the City Council and Planning Board in May drew no comment from meeting spectators, and Ward 4 City Councilor and Legislative and Ordinance Committee member Mary L. O'Connell said residents have not expressed any opinions on the matter.

Portland Mercury, 05 Jun 2013 - IN PORTLAND, your drug of choice can dictate your movements. Get popped with a marijuana conviction, you might find yourself disallowed from much of Old Town and downtown. Busted with heroin or cocaine? You could be unwelcome in both of those, plus the Lloyd District.

East Bay Express, 05 Jun 2013 - Unfortunately, Cannabis Regulations Went Down in Defeat, but Thankfully, So Did a Bill That Would Have Made It Illegal to Drive Days or Weeks After Getting Stoned. California medical marijuana regulations failed in the state legislature last week, but advocacy groups helped advance a bill to better protect collectives, and helped defeat a bill that would have criminalized driving while sober.

Black Americans are nearly four times more likely to get busted for marijuana possession than white ones, even though both groups smoke pot at roughly comparable rates, the ACLU said in a report released Tuesday. The report, "The War on Marijuana in Black and White: Billions of Dollars Wasted on Racially Biased Arrests," is based on the annual FBI Uniform Crime Report and US Census Bureau Data.

[image:1 align:right caption:true]The disparity in arrest rates is startlingly consistent, the report found. In more than 96% of the counties covered in the report, blacks were arrested at higher rates than whites. Racial disparities in pot busts came in large counties and small, urban and rural, wealthy and poor, with large black populations and with small ones.

In some counties, the disparity rose to 15 times more likely, and in the Upper Midwest states of Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota, blacks were eight times more likely to be arrested for pot possession than whites. Nationwide, blacks were 3.73 times more likely to get arrested for marijuana than whites.

And it's getting worse, not better. The report found that even though the racial disparities in marijuana arrests existed 10 years ago, they have increased in 38 states and the District of Columbia.

"The war on marijuana has disproportionately been a war on people of color," said Ezekiel Edwards, director of the ACLU Criminal Law Reform Project and one of the primary authors of the report. "State and local governments have aggressively enforced marijuana laws selectively against black people and communities, needlessly ensnaring hundreds of thousands of people in the criminal justice system at tremendous human and financial cost."

In budgetary terms, that cost to the states was $3.61 billion in 2010 alone, the report found. During the decade the report studied, despite aggressive enforcement and rising marijuana arrest rates, all those arrests failed to stop or even diminish the use of marijuana, and support for its legalization only increased.

"The aggressive policing of marijuana is time-consuming, costly, racially biased, and doesn't work," said Edwards. "These arrests have a significant detrimental impact on people's lives, as well as on the communities in which they live. When people are arrested for possessing even tiny amounts of marijuana, they can be disqualified from public housing or student financial aid, lose or find it more difficult to obtain employment, lose custody of their child, or be deported."

The report recommends legalizing, taxing, and regulating marijuana, which it said would eliminate racially-targeted selective enforcement of marijuana laws, save the billions of dollars spent on enforcing pot prohibition, and raise badly needed revenues by taxation. If legalization is not doable, then decriminalization, and if not decriminalization, then lowest prioritization.

The ACLU also calls in the report for reforms in policing practices, including not only ending racial profiling, but also constitutionally-suspect stop-and-frisk searches, such as those embraced with such gusto by the NYPD in New York City. It also crucially recommends reforming federal law enforcement funding streams, such as the Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant Program, that encourage police to make low-level drug busts by using performance measures that reward such arrests at the expense of other measures.

A bill that would set up provisions for growing industrial hemp in the Golden State passed the state Senate Tuesday on a unanimous vote. It now heads to the state Assembly.

[image:1 align:left caption:true]Hemp bills have passed out of the legislature in 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2011, only to fall prey to gubernatorial vetoes. Vetoes have come under both Democratic and Republican governors, with Gov. Jerry Brown vetoing the most recent bill because hemp production remains illegal under federal law.

The current bill, Senate Bill 566, was written to assuage the concerns Brown expressed in his 2011 veto message. It will not take effect until hemp production is authorized under federal law.

"The California Industrial Hemp Farming Act will create new jobs and economic opportunities for many farmers and manufacturers across California," said sponsor Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco). "Hundreds of consumer products containing hemp are made in the Golden State, but the manufacturers of these goods are forced to import hemp seed, oil, and fiber from growers in Canada, Europe, and China. This new bill is carefully crafted to eliminate conflicts with federal law and has the support of the California State Sheriffs' Association."

"The prospects for SB 566 are very good. Unlike past industrial hemp bills, this session's version does not go into effect until it is authorized by federal law," said Patrick Goggin, California legal counsel for the industry group Vote Hemp. "We feel confident that California will finally have an industrial hemp law later this year ensuring that California farmers are ready and able to cultivate hemp upon federal approval."

Domestic retail sales of hemp food and body care products reached $156 million last year, and the Hemp Industries Association estimates that all hemp products sales, including clothing, auto parts, and building materials, totaled at least $500 million.

Companies that use hemp in their products, such as Escondido-based Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps, currently have to import it because of the federal ban on hemp production.

"Dr. Bronner's currently purchases twenty tons of hemp oil each year from Canada. We look forward to the day that we can meet our supply needs from hemp produced right here in our home state," said company president David Bronner.

Now, Bronner and other hemp entrepreneurs are one step closer to that day.

Thirteen years after Nevada voters approved medical marijuana, the state legislature has passed legislation that would set up a system of dispensaries so patients have an alternative to growing their own medicine. The legislation passed the state Senate last week and was approved by the Assembly Monday, the last day of the session.

[image:1 align:right]The bill now goes to the desk of Gov. Brian Sandoval (R), who has said he will consider it.

"It's time," said Sen. Tick Segerblom (D-Las Vegas), the measure's primary sponsor. "People that are sick and need it -- they'll be able to buy it, and they don't need to worry about violating the law."

Senate Bill 374 establishes a regulatory framework for dispensaries in the state. It also caps their numbers based on county populations. Counties with fewer than 55,000 residents would have one dispensary; counties with between 55,000 and 100,000 residents would have two; Washoe County (Reno) would have 10, and Clark County (Las Vegas) could have up to 40.

The bill also contains provisions for fees and taxes, and it would eliminate patients' ability to grow their own medicine after 2016.

If the governor signs the bill, Nevada would be the 14th medical marijuana state to allow for its sale through dispensaries. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia currently allow medical marijuana, and a medical marijuana bill has passed in Illinois and awaits the governor's signature.

[For extensive information about the medical marijuana debate, presented in a neutral format, visit MedicalMarijuana.ProCon.org.]

Ypsilanti Courier, 04 Jun 2013 - YPSILANTI - After delaying its initial decision, the Ypsilanti City Council will revisit an emergency ordinance to place a 60-day moratorium on permits and licenses for medical marijuana facilities at Tuesday night's meeting. City attorney John Barr recommended an emergency ordinance after the idea of a moratorium on medical marijuana facilities was proposed in March by Mayor Pro Tem Lois Richardson and Councilmember Ricky Jefferson. The two cited over-saturation of medical marijuana facilities in the city as the reason for the moratorium, and said that they had received complaints from residents.

Arizona Daily Star, 04 Jun 2013 - Marijuana cardholder says deputies forced him to destroy them A 56-year-old man wants Pima County to give him $75,000 after forcing him to destroy the medical marijuana plants he was growing in his garage last December.

Guelph Mercury, 04 Jun 2013 - More Officers in Drug Unit Shine Light on Problem: 'There Is More Drug Work Than We Can Ever Get To' GUELPH - Guelph has a drug problem. And stepped-up drug enforcement appears to be bringing it more into the light of day.

The Tribune, 04 Jun 2013 - INMATE DIES OF OVERDOSE 'Drugs Enter Jail Through All Sorts of Different Sources' WELLAND - It wasn't unusual for Randall Fawcett to sleep late while in custody at Niagara Detention Centre.

The Times, 04 Jun 2013 - "For First Time, Majority in U.S. Supports Public Smoking Ban." That was the headline in July 2011 as cigarette bans swept the country. In 2000, just one major U.S. city banned smoking at work sites, restaurants and bars. As of last year, 60 percent of the 50 largest cities did, including Indianapolis. Last July, Indiana became one of 38 states with smoke-free air laws. "Majority Now Supports Legalizing Marijuana." That headline appeared this spring amidst growing debate over liberalizing marijuana laws. Although marijuana use is still against federal law, 26 states have moved to legalize medical marijuana, decriminalize recreational marijuana or both. Indiana has been flirting with the idea.

The Daily Examiner, 04 Jun 2013 - WHAT started as an attempt to quit cannabis ended with a Clarence Valley mother driving her hysterical daughter to the emergency room. A young life pushed to the brink, a mother desperate and, believe it or not, the drug that caused it is totally legal.

New York Times, 04 Jun 2013 - WASHINGTON - Black Americans were nearly four times as likely than whites to be arrested on charges of marijuana possession in 2010, even though the two groups used the drug at similar rates, according to new federal data. Enlarge This Image This disparity had grown steadily from a decade before, and in some states, including Iowa, Minnesota and Illinois, blacks were around eight times as likely to be arrested.

The Middletown Press, 04 Jun 2013 - Another View Jamen Shively tore a page right out of the Starbucks handbook last week. At a press conference, the former Microsoft manager announced plans to open chain stores offering a uniform, high-end product that satisfies America's craving for a mild buzz. Except not coffee - pot.

Washington Examiner, 04 Jun 2013 - (UPI) - A tiny amount of tetrahydrocannabinol - the active ingredient in marijuana - may protect against some brain damage in mice, an Israeli researcher says. Researchers injected mice with a low dose of THC either before or after exposing them to brain trauma. Similar rodents in a control group were also injured but received no THC, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Daily Herald, 04 Jun 2013 - With Gov. Pat Quinn saying he's "open minded" about signing into law the legalization of marijuana for medical use, Carpentersville leaders are meeting Tuesday to discuss what that could mean for the village. Depending on where the talk goes, trustees might also be in a position to give staff members the direction they needs to regulate it.

A bill to create a tightly-regulated medical marijuana program passed the New York Assembly Monday on a 95-38 vote. The bill now goes to the Senate, where three previous medical marijuana bills approved by the Assembly have died.

[image:1 align:left]Advocates are turning up the heat on the Senate to finally approve the bill this year.

"This is a medication, far safer than many of the medications we already use, that has been proven effective for chronic and neuropathic pain, appetite stimulation, and nausea," said Dr. Howard Grossman, a New York City-based physician and chair of NY Physicians for Compassionate Care. "As doctors, we want to do what's best for our patients and that includes recommending medical marijuana for some patients. We urge the Senate to do the sensible and humane thing and pass the Compassionate Care Act now."

"New Yorkers living with cancer, multiple sclerosis, HIV/AIDS and other serious illnesses have waited long enough," said Gabriel Sayegh, state director of the Drug Policy Alliance New York Policy Office. "This is a simple matter of compassion. This is the fourth time the State Assembly has passed a medical marijuana bill. Now it's long past time for the State Senate to act. The science is clear. The moral and ethical needs are obvious. The only thing holding this up is the Senate. Listen to the science, to healthcare practitioners, and to the vast majority of New Yorkers who support this proposal.  It’s time for the Senate to pass the Compassionate Care Act."

The Compassionate Care Act (Assembly Bill 6357) would allow practitioners to certify patients with serious, debilitating illnesses to be able to use medical marijuana to relieve their symptoms. Patients or their caregivers could possess up to 2 ½ ounces. Medical marijuana would be available through state-registered organizations.

The vote came just days after New York City Mayor (and former pot-smoker) Michael Bloomberg spoke out against medical marijuana, calling it "one of the greatest hoaxes of all time."

That opinion is not shared by New York residents, 82% of whom supported medical marijuana in a recent Siena poll, including 81% of both Republicans and Democrats. Nor is it shared by more than 600 Empire State physicians who agreed with NY Physicians for Compassionate Care that New Yorkers should be able to use medical marijuana. They announced their support for the bill last Thursday, a day before Bloomberg commented.

The bill has the support of hundreds of patients and providers and dozens of organizations across the state, as well as wide support from healthcare providers and organizations, such as the New York State Nurses Association, the Collaborative for Palliative Care, GMHC, New York State Pharmacists Society, NY Physicians for Compassionate Care, and the Hospice and Palliative Care Association of New York.

"We applaud the Assembly for taking this step and passing the Compassionate Care Act. The New York State Nurses Association supports this legislation because it creates a carefully controlled system allowing seriously ill New Yorkers access to the therapeutic and palliative benefits of medical marijuana under the supervision of their healthcare provider," said Jill Furillo, the association's executive director.

Now, all eyes are on the state Senate.

[For extensive information about the medical marijuana debate, presented in a neutral format, visit MedicalMarijuana.ProCon.org.]

Taunton Daily Gazette, 03 Jun 2013 - FREETOWN - By a two-thirds majority vote, Town Meeting approved allowing a registered marijuana dispensary and treatment center within the town's lone Industrial 2 area. A medical marijuana dispensary or treatment center could now be built on Campanelli Drive near Ridge Hill Road. Planning Board Vice Chairman Keven Desmarais stuck to the theory long held by the Planning Board -- it is in an area that protects the town, and is near the highway, with access to a nearby water and sewer line.

The Pocono Record, 03 Jun 2013 - As Manuel, a Colombian farmer, showed me his peppercorn crops ravaged by the defoliant sprayed in a futile effort to kill his neighbor's drug crops, he explained why the Drug War could never be won. No matter how much money or chemicals drug warriors threw at eradication efforts, he told me, the crops always reappeared. After 40 years of failing to stem the drug trade, there's a global conversation about new approaches. That debate is particularly vibrant south of the Rio Grande.