Kharla Vezzetti

Cal NORML News Feb 14, 2014

The Dept of Justice has announced new federal guidelines for providing financial services to marijuana-related businesses under the Bank Secrecy Act : “BSA Expectations Regarding Marijuana-Related Businesses.”

The guidelines repeatedly call on financial institutions to check for state licensing. Because California doesn’t have a state licensing system, only local ordinances regulating medical marijuana collectives, it’s questionable whether these guidelines apply in California. (Note that a bill to establish a state MMJ licensing system, AB 604 by Tom Ammiano, is pending in the State Senate).…

UPDATE March 20 – San Francisco supes voted in the e-cig regulations. Read more.

March 7 – SAN FRANCISCO, Mar. 6th – We were heavily outgunned at the SF Supes’ hearings on the e-cig ban, but won some concessions for medical marijuana.

The bill’s sponsor, Eric Mar, invited a slew of witnesses to give lengthy presentations, including two members of the Dept of Public Health, Stanton Glantz and fellow UCSF researchers, the head of the SF Board of Eucation, and the Tobacco-Free Coalition.…

by Ellen Komp, CalNORML Deputy Director

UPDATE 3/22/2015 – This article is speculative, and meant to start a conversation, which certainly has happened. I wrote it after encountering someone buying lighter fluid in bulk to make concentrates, and some quick research uncovered it was a growing trend that obviously wasn’t going away.

Manufacturers in legal medical marijuana states are getting more serious about safety precautions for solvent extractions, and some are investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in equipment to make solvent-less, high-pressure carbon dioxide extractions.…

Cal NORML News Alert Jan 24, 2014

Cal NORML comment: The question remains whether California’s cannabis collectives will be recognized by the US Dept of Treasury as “state-sanctioned” for banking purposes. The DOJ has previously dismissed such claims when prosecuting cannabis providers in California. The surest way to guarantee federal recognition for CA’s medical cannabis providers would be to enact a state regulatory system for MMJ similar to that in Colorado.

A bill to accomplish this, AB 604 by Assemblyman Ammiano, will soon be heard in the State Senate.…

UPDATE 1/15/2014: In an unpublished opinion, a three-judge panel of the Court upheld the lower court ruling. It may be appealed to the full panel of judges.

UPDATE 1/6/2014: The 9th Circuit has cancelled its Jan 13th oral arguments on whether citizens have a fundamental right to use medical marijuana. The case will be settled on the basis of submitted briefs.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, sitting in San Francisco, will decide on whether citizens in the nine Western states which make up the Ninth Circuit have a fundamental right to possess, use, and distribute cannabis for medical purposes as allowed by state law.…

UPDATE January 19 – Fresno County activists are organizing a referendum to repeal the county’s new ordinance banning cultivation. They have until Feb 7th to submit signatures to the county. For information, see FresnoCannabis.org or call 559-270-1411

January 7, 2014 – The Fresno County Board of Supervisors Supervisors has voted 5-0 to ban ALL medical marijuana cultivation as a public nuisance.

The County is also banning dispensaries and collectives, leaving patients no legal access to medicine.

Fresno is the first county in California to ban medical marijuana cultivation entirely, even by the severely ill patients that Prop 215 is intended to help.…

UPDATE 12/17 – BOTH HEARINGS HAVE BEEN POSTPONED UNTIL JANUARY. STAY TUNED FOR FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS.

December 12, 2013 – The Alameda County Board of Supervisors will be considering an ordinance regarding restrictions to electronic smoking devices (vaporizers) in unincorporated Alameda County at its meeting on Tuesday, December 17.

The Los Angeles City Council will also be voting on a bill to ban e-cigs and vaporizers in non-smoking areas next Wednesday Dec. 18th at 10 am.

E-cigs are broadly defined in the bill so as to include vaporizers used for marijuana and other medicinal herbs.…

UPDATE March 2014 – The CA Supreme Court denied review of the Maral v Live Oak appellate decision.

UPDATE January 3, 2014 – A brief was filed today.

December 11, 2013 – In an action supported by California NORML, medical marijuana patient James Maral will file a petition with the California Supreme Court to review the recent Third District Appellate Court decision upholding the city of Live Oak’s ban on medical marijuana cultivation.

San Francisco Attorney Joe Elford will draft and file the petition.…

UPDATE November 6: Both Beverly Hills and San Diego County have decided to study the matter further. Neither implemented a ban at their meetings on Nov. 5.

TUESDAY NOV 5th
San Diego Board of Supes 9AM – Beverly Hills City Council 7 PM

Prohibitionists are on the warpath to deny consumers access to smokeless e-cigarettes. E-cigarettes are broadly defined to include devices that can vaporize nicotine or any other substance, including medical marijuana!. These proposals are a slap in the face to countless medical marijuana patients, who are already prevented from smoking their medicine by current anti-smoking laws and have no recourse than to use smokeless vaporizers to inhale their medicine.…

September 17, 2013 – After two hours of testimony and discussion, preceded by three years of back-and-forth, San Leandro city council voted last night 5-2 to direct staff to come up with zoning code amendments allowing two dispensaries in the city. The council didn’t vote on the ordinance itself, despite staff asking (rather late) that they do so, but the ball is rolling.

Councilmember Ursula Reed, who’s admittedly flip-flopped on the issue, went to see Harborside Health Center in Oakland that day and was “very impressed” with the security, the verification of doctors’ notes, the database keeping track of patients’ usage, and the holistic calendar of services.…

UPDATE 9/13 – Last-minute efforts to pass a medical marijuana regulation bill fell short as the California legislature wound up its session yesterday. Legislation proposed by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (AB 604) and Sen. Darrell Steinberg ran into opposition from local governments and law enforcement. Similar legislation can be expected to be re-introduced next year. In the meantime, California will remain vulnerable to federal raids and prosecutions under the new DOJ policy, which requires that states enact “strong and effective” regulation of marijuana.…

September 4, 2013

Dear Sen. Feinstein:

Here are some questions for Attorney General Holder which we hope you will ask at the upcoming Judiciary Committee hearings on federal policy with regards to state marijuana laws. Cal NORML welcomes the A.G.’s announcement that DOJ will not seek to overturn state marijuana laws. We strongly support his proposed guidelines for federal enforcement and hope the state legislature will act expeditiously to enact a “strong and effective” regulation system in California, as called for by the A.G.…