California

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

Now that Riverside, California had its big victory in the California Supreme Court -- establishing the right to ban storefront medical marijuana dispensaries -- the city has now banned home medicinal cannabis delivery services, as well.

The new ban puts in place a barrier to safe access to medical marijuana for homebound and chronically ill patients. Some delivery services are defying the ban, reports KCAL9's Tom Wait.

"The studies have shown that the increase (in delivery services) has been found to coincide with successful enforcement actions" against storefront dispensaries, Riverside Deputy City Attorney Neil Okazaki told city council members on Tuesday, just before they approved an "emergency" ban on medicinal cannabis deliveries, reports Alicia Robinson at the Riverside Press Enterprise.

"Not everyone can afford prescription medication," said Kalonnie, a marijuana deliverer who asked that his last name not be used. "Not everyone enjoys prescription medication."

Kalonnie said his clients are patients who need the medication. He is concerned for patients who had counted on the delivery service.

"You can meet someone in a gas station parking lot," Kalonnie said. "That might be the riskiest thing you could ever do."

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

California lawmakers on Friday killed a bill which would have created a state agency to tax and regulate the state's medical marijuana industry.

Assembly Bill 473 would have established a Division of Medical Marijuana Regulation and Enforcement under the authority of the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control to set guidelines for the cultivation, sale and taxation of medicinal cannabis, reports The Sacramento Bee. Dispensaries would have been required to register with the agency.

"The answer to many of the problems that many of our communities are having with medical marijuana is this bill, because without this regulation the bad actors will proliferate and the violence will proliferate," said Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco), the bill's author.

Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) pointed out that lawmakers were not being asked to vote on the merits of medical marijuana, nothing that Proposition 215 is already law. Regardless of where legislators stand on the wisdom of that law, Skinner said, it has been applied in an uneven fashion. Some cities have no safe access for patients, while others have hundreds of dispensaries.

"It is necessary for us to have any kind of common-sense ability to deal with dispensaries in all our communities up and down the state," Skinner said.

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

A California medical marijuana dispensary owner on Friday was sentenced to six years in prison on federal drug charges. Bryan Smith of Elk Grove owned and operated the R&R Wellness dispensary in Sacramento, and grew cannabis that was sold there.

Five of Smith's codefendants got prison terms of one to two years, reports Kathy Robertson at the Sacramento Business Journal.

When the Elk Grove Police Department searched Smith's home in February 2011, they discovered an indoor marijuana growing operation and processed cannabis. Raids of his residence, of R&R Wellness and of a warehouse in June 2011 -- after a four-month investigation -- claimed they found equipment for an electrical bypass to steal power for a growing operation, more marijuana, hash, cannabis-infused edibles, cash, a shotgun and a pistol, according to the cops.

The case resulted from an investigation by the Elk Grove Police Department, who, oddly, seem more interested in enforcing federal law rather than the California state law they are sworn to uphold. Perhaps tellingly, they got help from the federally funded Sacramento High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Richard Bender and Olusere Olowoyeye prosecuted the casae.

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

Los Angeles Mayor-Elect Eric Garcetti, who was elected last month on the same day that voters approved capping the number of medical marijuana dispensaries in town, on Sunday said that he would be OK with legalizing cannabis for general use.

During a short interview with Jorge Ramos of Univision on Sunday, Garcetti was asked if he thought marijuana should be legalized, reports Jacob Sullum at Reason.com. He replied that marijuana is important for medical use, "But if in the future, California's voters want it for casual use, for me, it's not a problem."

Garcetti, currently a member of the Los Angeles City Council, went on to suggest that enforcement of the marijuana laws is diverting law enforcement personnel from more important tasks.

"I want to use the police department's resources for more serious crimes, but they are usually tied up in these crimes that aren't as important," Garcetti said. "Still, it would need to be decided by a statewide vote."

Californians rejected legalization measure Proposition 19 by a seven-point margin in 2010. Last year, voters in Colorado and Washington approved legalization by a margin of more than 10 points in both states.

Tom Angell of Marijuana Majority notes that Garcetti made similar comments before winning the mayoral election.

"I'll respect the voters on that," Garcetti said. "If folks wanna do that, it would be fine for recreational use."

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

The citizens of Los Angeles on Tuesday voted to regulate medical marijuana by passing Proposition D, one of three medical marijuana regulation measures on the ballot. The Proposition received 62.57 percent of the vote.

Proposition D caps the number of collectives at those who opened prior to 2007, about 130, raises the gross receipts tax from $50 to $60 per $1000 of gross receipts, and establishes the distances they must keep from schools, parks, one another and residential neighborhoods. It also requires that collectives be closed between 8 p.m. and 10 a.m., prohibits the consumption of marijuana on the premises and requires background checks on managers.

Unfortunately, the Proposition also does not allow for a new collective to receive a permit if one of the pre-2007 collectives closes.

Proposition D was supported by several members of the City Council, the Greater Los Angeles Collective Association (GLACA), the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW), both Los Angeles mayoral candidates and the current city attorney and his challenger. Under the Proposition, organizations consisting of four or more people who cultivate, process, distribute or give away medical marijuana must obtain a license from the city.

Meanwhile, L.A. Voters Weighing In Tuesday On Dispensary Regulations

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

The California Senate on Monday approved a bill that would end all for-profit sales of medical marijuana in the state.

The proposed law would go further than then-Attorney General (now Governor) Jerry Brown's 2008 non-binding guidelines, in that it would make the nonprofit collective model mandatory for dispensaries, reports Stephen C. Webster at The Raw Story. Provisions in the bill, SB 439, would also put extensive records-keeping requirements on dispensary owners.

That would theoretically allow tax agents to look more closely at dispensary finances to ensure no profits are being taken; unfortunately, it would also expedite federal prosecutions if those records were successfully subpoenaed by the federal Department of Justice.

Brown issued the guidelines after law enforcement asked for clarification on who they could bust for medical marijuana. After California voters in 1996 approved medical marijuana, the Legislature in 2004 expanded and clarified the law in 2004 with SB 420, the Medical Marijuana Program Act, a system of voluntary regulations that established a licensing system and put limits on cultivation and sales.

But more than 200 cities around the state have banned medical marijuana dispensaries, actions which the California Supreme Court recently upheld.

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

San Diego Mayor Bob Filner on Monday took on the federal government and its crackdown on medical marijuana. Filner held a press conference in support of medical marijuana patient Ronnie Chang, who was operating state-licensed dispensaries, calling for jury nullification in the case.

Chang's supporters say he was wrongfully arrested and persecuted in federal raids back in 2009, reports Sharon Chen at Fox 5 San Diego.

"Ronnie Chang has been in custody for about five months," said Terrie Best of San Diego Americans for Safe Access. "He has a very infirm mother he had been supporting and taking care of."

Chang's attorney, Michael McCabe, on Monday appeared before a federal magistrate judge to argue a temporary gag order against him be lifted. McCabe was criticized by supporters of the federal crackdown for appearing in a video blasting U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy, who has overseen the crackdown in Southern California.

The persecution of Chang is bias-driven and vindictive, according to McCabe.

Prosecutors wanted all material regarding the case removed from the internet and social networks, which makes one wonder why they are afraid of the truth. A federal judge wouldn't enforce the gag order, but instead McCabe agreed not to "try the case in front of the press."

The prosecutors came to their senses, backing down from their ridiculous request to remove information from the internet.

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

Attorney General Eric Holder encountered an unhappy crowd of dozens of pro-marijuana protesters at the University of California Berkeley's campus on Saturday when he visited to address the graduating law school class.

During Holder's visit to campus, an airplane circled above Berkeley's Greek Theater for more than two hours, pulling a banner reading "Holder: End Rx Cannabis War #Peace4Patients," reports Carly Schwartz at The Huffington Post. As the Attorney General's limo turned toward the graduation ceremony, demonstrators were waving signs reading "Fight Crime, Not Cannabis."

"There's no doubt we got the A.G.'s attention," said California NORML President Dale Gieringer. "He can't come to Berkeley and not be reminded of his department's bad faith with respect to marijuana."

Holder and the Obama Administration have been harshly criticized for the stepped-up federal crackdown on the medical marijuana industry in California and other states which allow the medicinal use of cannabis.

Though medical marijuana was legalized by California's voters through Proposition 215, a 1996 ballot initiative, cannabis remains illegal for any purpose under federal law.

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

More California cities are planning to shut down medical marijuana dispensaries following a state Supreme Court ruling that such citywide bans are legal.

San Bernardino authorities raided a dispensary on Thursday, seizing 30 pounds of marijuana, 80 plants, a 12-gauge shotgun and $9,000 in cash, and citing four dispensary employees, according to City Attorney James Penman, report Richard K. DeAtley and John Asbury at the Riverside Press Enterprise.

The city also sent closure notices to about 30 shops, threatening fines of $1,000 a day. By Wednesday, 17 of the shops had voluntarily shut down.

"Most were very friendly; their lawyers had contacted them and they were in the process of removing their signs, their green crosses," Penman smirked.

"We're treating these businesses as illegal drug houses and drug businesses," Penman bragged. "What we hope to find today and every day is that these stores have closed. Our goal is to shut everyone down." Eleven shops were still operating by the end of thursday, Penman said.

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

Voters in the city of Los Angeles have a decision to make on May 21, with the fate of hundreds of medical marijuana dispensaries at stake. Angelenos will have to choose between three medical marijuana measures on the ballot. Estimates of the number of dispensaries in town range between 850 and 1,600.

Widespread confusion among voters appears to be the norm, reports KPCC, as they prepare to decide which of three measures -- D, E, and F -- should be used to regulate medicinal cannabis dispensaries.

Their decision is slightly simplified by the fact that backers of Measure E have abandoned it and thrown their support behind Measure D.

Measure D would shut down most of L.A.'s hundreds of dispensaries, only allowing about 135 of them -- the ones that first registered with the city six years ago -- to continue operation.

Measures D and F and alike in several key ways. Both require dispensaries to be at least 1,000 feet form schools. Both raise taxes on the shops from $50 to $60 per $1,000 in gross receipts.

The biggest difference is that Measure F would allow an unlimited number of dispensaries. That's more fair than limiting the number to 135, according to political consultant Garry South of the Measure F campaign.

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

Berkeley Patients Group, widely considered a national model for regulated medical marijuana providers and one of the oldest nonprofit medical cannabis collectives in California, on Wednesday announced it will fight a civil asset forfeiture suit served against its landlord in an effort to shutter the licensed business and seize the property from which it operates.

Berkeley city officials stood with representatives of Berkeley Patients Group (BPG) at a Wednesday press conference to defend the non-profit collective and announce a resolution condemning the actions of the Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney.

In response to a similar case filed against Harborside Health Center by U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag in June 2012, city officials in Oakland filed a lawsuit to prevent the closure and stop Haag’s suit from moving forward. This response and the resolution from Berkeley City Council represent a growing demand from state and local officials that the Obama Administration allow states to determine marijuana policy per its stated policy.

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

The California Supreme Court on Monday held that localities may entirely ban medical marijuana dispensaries from operating within their jurisdictions in a closely watched case, City of Riverside vs. Inland Empire Patients Health and Wellness Center.

The result of the Court’s ruling is that tens of thousands of legitimate medical marijuana patients in California will be without safe and legal access to medical marijuana. To date, more than 200 localities have banned dispensaries outright; many more are expected to do so after Monday's ruling.

While there are more than 50 localities in California that have adopted ordinances that comprehensively and successfully regulate medical marijuana and provide meaningful patient access, many others have enacted bans over frustration and hostility at the burden of medical marijuana regulation falling at the local level.

It is likely that the Court’s decision Monday, absent action by the Legislature, will lead to more localities enacting bans.

Eleven other medical marijuana states regulate the production and distribution of medical marijuana at the state level. California is unique in placing the responsibility to regulate entirely at the local level and in its complete absence of statewide oversight.

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

The California Supreme Court on Monday is expected to make a major decision, deciding if cities are allowed to ban medical marijuana dispensaries.

About 200 citywide bans are hanging in the balance; a Supreme Court decision could resolve years of conflicting rulings by lower courts, reports Maura Dolan of The Los Angeles Times.

Several justices indicated during a February hearing that they favor upholding city dispensary bans. Their comments hinted that the court might rule that local governments have the power to ban the shops, despite California's medical marijuana law, Prop 215, approved by voters back in 1996.

If the court rules that dispensary bans are acceptable, many more communities across the state are expected to zone the shops out of existence, ending safe access to medicinal cannabis for hundreds of thousands of patients. Advocates have lamented that many patients would be forced to drive hundreds of miles to get medical marijuana legally.

The case currently before the California Supreme Court stems from a dispensary ban by the city of Riverside. Lower courts have given conflicting rulings over whether such bans are legally permissible.

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

The federal crackdown on medical marijuana continues, with the feds sending landlord threat letters from the U.S. Department of Justice to collectives. A new round of letters went out this week to landlords and collectives throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.

Many California cities have had similar federal interference recently, including Oakland, Berkeley, Fairfax, Long Bach, Santa Ana and others.

Los Angeles has lost more than 80 collectives, and San Francisco has seen more than a dozen permitted medical cannabis dispensaries close due to the federal threats of asset forfeiture, prosecution and imprisonment.

California's Patient Advocacy Network is responding with a Day of Action on Monday, May 6. "Feds Out of California" rallies will be held from noon until 1 p.m. in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Sacramento, with more details to be announced.

• San Francisco: Noon, Federal Building, 90 7th Street, S.F., CA 94103

• Los Angeles: Noon, Edward R. Royal Federal Building, 255 E. Temple St., L.A., CA 90012

• Sacramento: Noon, Federal Building, U.S. District Court, 501 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814

Supporters are encouraged to contact California Attorney General Kamala Harris on Monday, May 6, to demand that she stand up for California and defend Prop 215, the medical marijuana law. Ask that Atty. Gen. Harris work to stop the federal attacks on collectives, patients, property owners and banks.

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

A bill to regulate California's medical marijuana industry by turning it over to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control cleared a hurdle on Tuesday when the Assembly's Public Safety Committee voted to move it forward.

AB 473, sponsored by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco), would require all cannabis-related businesses to follow rules created by Alcohol Beverage Control, reports Carly Schwartz at The Huffington Post.

Ammiano said medical marijuana in California is in a state of "chaos."

"It's never been regulated by the state as any other business," he said. "Cities and counties don't know what to do or what they can do. Police are unsure how to respond, and the federal actions are confusing."

Since California voters made the Golden State the first in the country to legalize medical marijuana back in 1996, the industry has exploded, generating more than $100 million in taxes annually. But the Obama Administration in late 2011 launched an aggressive crackdown on dispensaries, forcing hundreds of them to close and leaving thousands of workers unemployed.

According to former Ammiano spokesman Quentin Mecke, U.S. Attorneys "are using a lack of statewide regulation as justification."