Kharla Vezzetti

October 11 – In contrasting moves, the city of Oakland has sued the federal government to stop its forfeiture actions against city-regulated dispensaries, while Long Beach has joined the feds to arrest 40 dispensary workers and is threatening to arrest more.

Oakland sues feds over pot dispensary

Excerpt:

The city of Oakland took the unusual step Wednesday of filing a suit in an attempt to stop the federal government from seizing and closing down one of the largest medical marijuana dispensaries in the city.…

In his keynote speech at the 41st annual NORML conference, Keith Stroup, NORML’s founder, called for support for Washington’s pending marijuana legalization ordinance, up for a vote on November 6 and criticized by some for disallowing home cultivation and for its DUI provisions. “Do we really want to see 50,000 more arrests for marijuana in the next four years in Washington?” he asked.

Stroup went further than other speakers who said marijuana could enhance experience like listening to music and eating good food.…

October 2 – After 49,000 Los Angeles voters signed a petition to repeal the city’s ban on medical marijuana collectives, forcing a repeal or a vote, the LA City Council voted 11-2 to repeal the ban.

William McKenzie Smith, a patient with the Cornerstone research collective, has skin cancer he is treating with a topical cannabis oil. He stood to speak on behalf of those currently treating illnesses with marijuana, and those who will be.

Another cancer patient who spoke was Councilman Bill Rosendahl, who is fighting cancer of the urethra he said is a side effect of one of his diabetes medications.…

SANTA ROSA, CA, Sep 27th: Eyewitnesses to Wednesday’s federal-led raid on marijuana growers in Santa Rosa describe a chilling, full-scale paramilitary assault on a Latino residential neighborhood.

Local residents were terrified by the military-style invasion, led by 150 agents from US Homeland Security (!), FBI, DEA, CHP and Sonoma sheriff’s deputies. Invaders wore military garb and were accompanied by an armored military vehicle.

See this photo for an outrageous example of your federal Tax $$ at work making war on pot.…

TELL THE PRESIDENT: FIGHT CRIME, NOT MEDICAL CANNABIS

You are invited to join us in a peaceful protest demonstrating your support for California’s medical marijuana laws when President Obama comes to visit Oakland this Monday, July 23rd.

WHERE: Oakland City Hall Plaza, Broadway & 14th St.
WHEN: July 23rd, Noon – 5 PM
12 – 1 PM Street Theater
(1:45 PM – Press Conference at Oaksterdam University, 1600 Broadway)
3 PM – Gather for President’s Visit
4:30 PM – Obama visits Fox Theater (in the heart of Oaksterdam, target of recent federal actions against medical marijuana)

Bring sunscreen and water, weather forecast is in the 80s

Join us in a peaceful protest of the federal government’s assault on state-approved medical cannabis providers in California and elsewhere.…

OAKLAND, July 13th (Friday) – At a pretrial detention hearing, federal magistrate Donna Ryu ordered medical cannabis activist Jose Gutierrez to find another legal drug than Marinol to treat his chronic back pain. Jose’s doctor, Frank Lucido, testified that he had prescribed Marinol because it was the best legal drug for his condition, but the judge objected that it caused her a “problem” because drug tests cannot differentiate it from marijuana, which would be illegal. In fact, there does exist a test that can discriminate between Marinol and marijuana, but it is not available through the particular lab that has been hired by US Pretrial Services.  …

July 12 – The federal government has filed property forfeiture suits aimed at closing Harborside, the foremost medical cannabis dispensary still operating in Northern California. In addition to its flagship Oakland location, Harborside operates a branch in San Jose. The landlords of both received forfeiture notices from the DOJ. DOJ has previously pretended that it was only targeting dispensaries that were out of compliance with state law or located within 1,000 feet of schools or playgrounds, but in this case no such excuse was offered.…

UPDATE 6/28 – Lake County Board of Supervisors’ efforts to pass an emergency, restrictive cultivation ordinance were stonewalled when 300 people showed up for the meeting and the fire marshall demanded it be rescheduled in a larger venue. The next meeting will be July 9 at 9 am at the Fairground theater.

The proposed ordinance has been amended to allow for 36-plant collective gardens. If enacted by a 4/5 vote, it would be in effect for 45 days.

Two CalNORML legal committee attorneys are representing Lake County patients in suits against the county.…

Cal NORML Release Jun 8,2012

 Yesterday, Attorney General Eric Holder lied to the House Judiciary Committee in testifying that his agency is only going after medical cannabis dispensaries and growers that are going “beyond what states had authorized.”

Just days ago, the DOJ announced  a new round of landlord letters in Los Angeles County.  Targets included the Hope Collective in Whittier,  which had been operating in full accordance with an ordinance approved by the city council in 2006. The collective’s director, Robert Ortiz, says he was careful to operate transparently and in compliance with city rules, applying for an operating permit  in 2009, and only opening in 2010 after receiving a conditional use permit with 49 conditions attached.…

June 6th – Yesterday’s election brought mixed results for medical marijuana proponents in California.

Patient advocates won an important victory in Butte Co, where voters rejected Measure A, which would have sharply restricted patients’ right to cultivate on their own property, by 55%-45. Medical cannabis supporters had sponsored a referendum to repeal the measure, which had been approved by the Board of Supervisors last year.

In Kern County, the opposite result obtained, as 69% of voters approved Measure G, an ordinance sharply limiting the location of dispensaries in the county.…

SACRAMENTO, June 1 – The California Senate roundly rejected Mark Leno’s bill SB 1506 to reduce penalties for simple possession of narcotics and dangerous drugs from a felony to a misdemeanor, by a vote of 11-24. The bill would also have eliminated felony penalties for hashish/concentrated cannabis.

“With California’s prisons overflowing with violent criminals, it’s a sorry state of affairs when our lawmakers won’t adopt commonsense crime-reduction measures,” remarked Cal NORML director Dale Gieringer. “The legislature should be ashamed of kowtowing to law enforcement interests with a vested interest in wasting taxpayer dollars on imprisoning victimless drug users.”…

May 31st – The California Assembly approved the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Control Act, AB 2312 by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, by a vote of 41-30.

The bill would clarify the legality of dispensaries and other medical cannabis business by establishing clear, statewide rules for the industry under a new state Board of Medical Cannabis Enforcement (individual rights of patients and caregivers under Prop. 215 would not be affected).

Medical cannabis advocates, including California NORML, support the bill on the grounds that it would provide the kind of clear, legal framework necessary to protect patient access against federal raids.…

May 25 – Tom Ammiano’s bill to establish a state medical marijuana regulation system cleared a major hurdle today by passing the Assembly Appropriations Committee.  The bill now goes to the Assembly floor for a vote.  CAL NORML urges Californians to call on their Assembly members to support AB 2312.

The bill was helped by a massive lobbying day on Monday, when 300 activists from across the state visited every assembly and senate office in Sacramento. It was also helped by CalNORML director Dale Gieringer’s rebuttal of the appropriations committee report.…

WASHINGTON DC, May 9th. California’s congressional delegation voted 34-18 in favor of House Resolution 4326, to cut off federal funding for DOJ raids on medical marijuana. Special thanks to CA Republicans Dana Rohrabacher (Huntington Beach) and Tom McClintock
(Granite Bay) plus Democrat Sam Farr (Monterey) for co-sponsoring the measure.

Although the measure failed the full house by a vote of 163-262, it picked up substantially more Republican support than the last time around in 2007, when a similar measure was defeated 165-262 in a much more Democratic Congress.…

May 2, 2012 – A new zero-tolerance DUI bill has been introduced to the California legislature by veteran drug warriors state Sen. Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana) and Sam Blakeslee (R – SLO). The bill, SB 50, would make it a crime for a person to have a controlled substance in his or her blood while driving a vehicle. (SB 50 was originally introduced as a political reform bill, but was gutted and amended to become a DUID bill on April 16th).…

April 30 – The California Assembly has approved a bill by Assemblyman Wes Chesbro (D-Eureka) to impose additional civil penalties for cultivating marijuana on public lands, parks and forests.

In addition to assessing civil penalties of $10K-$40K on violators, the bill would authorize a member of the California Highway Patrol or the sheriff or a deputy sheriff to stop a vehicle transporting agricultural irrigation supplies, as defined, that are in plain view within the boundaries of a state park, state forest, or federal forest, or on timberland, and inspect the bills of lading, shipping, or delivery papers,

The bill, AB 2284, has been approved 13-0 by the Committee on Water, Parks and Wildlife.…

April 30 – A very bad court opinion that disallows MMJ sales by collectives has been published by the Second Appellate District, Division Two in Los Angeles: Trutanich v Joseph #B232248. The decision plays havoc with established law recognizing the legality of sales by medical cannabis collectives.

The court ruled that Jeffrey Joseph, owner of the Organica collective, could not legally sell MMJ because he was not a primary caregiver. Hardly ever can collectives legally qualify as primary
caregivers for their members according to the state Supreme Court’s Mentch decision.…

Many thanks to everyone who turned out to make our 4/20 protest of the federal medical marijuana raids at Obama’s campaign headquarters in Oaksterdam a success. Not only did we make our views known colorfully and emphatically, but a sympathetic Obama campaign staffer cordially agreed to convey a message  written by Oaksterdam U Chancellor Dale Sky Jones from us to the President.  We are all awaiting the reply. As usual, our demonstration received enthusiastic support from passing onlookers and motorists.
 
The event was covered by KPFA, the Oakland Tribune, KTVU, Reuters, and others;  ironically, Phil Smith’s eyewitness coverage below was published in the Hawai’i News Daily (below). …