Kharla Vezzetti

Cal NORML Backs Proposed Guidelines, Calls on State Legislature to Act

August 29, 2013 – In a long-awaited announcement of federal marijuana enforcement policy, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the Department of Justice won’t “make it a priority” to block marijuana legalization in Colorado or Washington.

Cal NORML welcomed the AG’s announcement, while cautioning that the DOJ failed to follow through on a similar, previous promise to respect state medical marijuana laws in its 2009 Ogden memo. “The new DOJ policy provides sensible guidelines for marijuana enforcement,” said Cal NORML director Dale Gieringer, “We hope that this time they are successfully implemented.”…

SACRAMENTO August 14, 2013 – The California legislature delivered good and bad news for marijuana advocates after activists walked the State Capitol for a medical marijuana lobbying day this Monday.

On the plus side, Sen. Ellen Corbett withdrew a bill (SB 648) that would have banned e-cigarettes and vaporizers in non-smoking areas. After being informed that the bill would adversely impact medical marijuana patients, many of whom must rely on vaporizers in order to consume their medicine, Sen. Corbett agreed to consider amending the bill to address their concerns.…

The California Attorney General has released its 2012 Crime Report.

According to the report, there were 13,434 felony marijuana arrests in California in 2012, continuing a downward trend from 14,082 in 2011. Hispanics were the most-arrested ethnic group, with 4953 felony arrests, followed by whites (4617), blacks (2745) and other races (1119). Juvenile felony arrests remained stable, coming in at 1671, or 12.4% of all felony arrests for marijuana.

Misdemeanor marijuana arrests took a nosedive in 2011 because under an ounce became an infraction that year; infractions are not tallied in the AG’s report.…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: California NORML 415-563-5858

July 16 – California NORML has joined as a plaintiff in a lawsuit filed today on behalf of 19 different groups by the Electronic Frontier Foundation against NSA’s phone surveillance program. California NORML members complain that the surveillance could have a “chilling effect” on their ability to continue working with us.

“Because we are devoted to marijuana reform, many of our members have knowledge of activities that are illegal under federal law,” explains California NORML Director Dale Gieringer.…

July 8 – At a meeting with drug reform advocates in San Francisco, former Mexican President Vicente Fox expressed support for California’s efforts to legally regulate marijuana, medical and otherwise.

Fox said that California has a strong cultural influence on Mexico, and that progress here would help efforts there.

Other speakers included Steve DeAngelo from Harborside Health Center, attorney Henry Wykowski, former Microsoft executive Jamen Shively, Dale Sky Jones for CCPR, Nate Bradley for LEAP and Dale Gieringer for California NORML.…

Jun 13, 2013 – In spite of growing public support for medical marijuana, concern about overreach by the U.S. Department of Justice and other federal agencies, and cutbacks in federal spending, the U.S. government’s war on medical marijuana is raging unabated according to a survey of court records by Cal NORML.

On Tuesday, Michigan medical marijuana grower Jerry Duval, a kidney and pancreas transplant patient with severe medical problems, began serving a ten-year sentence in the same prison as the Boston bomber.…

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SACRAMENTO, May 30. Just in time for Hemp History Week, the California Senate approved Mark Leno’s industrial hemp bill, SB 566, on a 39-0 vote. The bill establishes provisions for the growing of industrial hemp. It would not take effect until authorized by federal law, a strategic condition designed to prevent objections from Gov. Brown, who vetoed a hemp bill last year on the grounds that it conflicted with federal law. This is the first time that the CA senate has passed a cannabis-related bill unanimously.…

UPDATE May 31 – AB473 stalled on the Assembly floor. Rep. Ammiano has vowed to continue the fight.

SACRAMENTO, May 24 – The Assembly Appropriations Committee approved Tom Ammiano’s medical marijuana regulation bill AB 473 with amendments. The amendments include an extensive new declaration of purposes, dubbing the bill the “Medical Marijuana Regulation and Control Act,” and stating among other things that it is intended to fulfill the promise of Prop 215 to “implement a plan for the safe and affordable distribution of medical marijuana to all patients in medical need.”…

May 22 – Medical marijuana dispensaries will remain open in Los Angeles after voters approved Measure D allowing 175 dispensing collectives to remain open in the city. The election came weeks after the California Supreme Court ruled in the Riverside case that cities may ban dispensaries altogether.

In an election with slim turn out, Measure D earned 193,969 votes (63%). Measure F, which would have allowed any dispensary that met city standards, won only 41% of the vote. Measure D does not require laboratory testing at collectives and provides exemptions for grow operations for three or fewer caretakers and/or patients.…

Take Action to Support SB439

SACRAMENTO May 20 – The California Senate approved a bill to clarify the state’s law protecting medical marijuana collectives. The bill, SB 439 by Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (Sacramento), protects collectives and cooperatives that operate in compliance with the Attorney General’s guidelines, and makes it clear that their workers can receive compensation for their labor and expenses.

“SB 439 is a welcome step towards implementing Prop. 215’s mandate for a safe and affordable access system for patients,” said California NORML director Dale Gieringer in support of the bill.…

May 6, 2013 UPDATED 11:15 AM – In a unanimous decision, the California Supreme Court ruled that local governments may ban medical marijuana dispensaries. In the decision, City of Riverside v. Inland Empire Patients Health and Wellness Center, the court ruled that California’s state medical marijuana laws do not preempt the authority of local governments to regulate or bar the distribution of medical marijuana within their borders.

“While several California cities and counties allow medical marijuana facilities, it may not be reasonable to expect every community to do so,” the court wrote.…