Kharla Vezzetti

December 2 – At a hearing this morning in Fresno, county supervisors discussed making proposed changes to their total cultivation ban, including allowing 12-plant gardens, appointing an impartial hearing officer to hear appeals to abatement proceedings and fines, and adjusting the level of fines.

Two locals testified during the hearing: Michael Green of the Fresno Cannabis Assn. and Atty Brenda Linder. Sheriff Mims, whose office had told county counsel a 12-plant exemption would not “hinder their work in the field” rose at the meeting to say she opposed the exemption and also opposed the appointment of a hearing officer.…

UPDATE 12/2 – A Tale of Two Counties: Fresno Balks But El Dorado Listens

December 1, 2014 – At a meeting tomorrow morning, Fresno county—the only county in California that has enacted a total ban on the cultivation of medical marijuana (indoors and out)—is considering allowing a 12-plant exemption to their ban, as well as amending fines and administrative procedures around their ordinance.

Sometime after 9 AM, the Fresno Board of Supervisors will receive a report from County Counsel Daniel Cederborg that recommends including an exemption to administrative fines for the cultivation of 12 or fewer plants per parcel.…

In 2014, CalNORML lobbied for the passage of AB 1894 (Ammiano) and worked on SB1262 (Correa) to regulate medical marijuana in California. In the end, both bills failed after unacceptable compromises were introduced in the Correa bill.

Through sound testimony and by alerting our activist network, we were able to detail yet another bill, AB2500 that sought to make any amount of THC in a driver’s blood an automatic DUI.

We lobbied against AB 1588 (Conway), which would have expanded the minimum distance of dispensaries or collectives from schools to 1,000 feet from the present 600 feet.…

Also see: California Measures Taxing Medical Marijuana Win Big At Ballot Box AP, 11/5/14

November 5, 2014 – California voters at the local level continue to favor taxing marijuana, but aren’t sure the want to see it grown, or sold.

On a night when Washington DC, Oregon and Alaska voted for adult legalization measures, and 57% of Florida voters approved medical marijuana (falling short of the 60% needed in that state), Californians voted by 58.5% to approve Proposition 47, a measure to defelonize drug possession.…

UPDATE 4/15 – Judge Mueller denied the motion.

3/11/2015 – Mueller has given herself until 3/25 to make a decision.

2/11/2015 – Judge Mueller says she will issue her ruling within 30 days.

1/5/2015: Schedule I Hearing Briefs Filed, Next Hearing in February

Depiction of the courtroom scene with Dr. Madras testifying by Ron Mullins.

SACRAMENTO, Oct 29th – The fourth and fifth days of U.S. court hearings before Judge Kimberly Mueller on the constitutionality of marijuana’s schedule one classification was spent in cross-examining the government’s only witness, Dr.…

UPDATE: Prof. Madras Defends US Government Position on Marijuana Scheduling at Court Hearing in Sacramento

October 29 – Dr. Bertha Madras will take the stand today in federal court in Sacramento to defend her 36-page declaration (augmented by footnotes and a lengthy resume), arguing that marijuana should remain in Schedule One (no accepted medical use; high potential for abuse). Read more.

Excerpts from her testimony:

Starting in the 19th century, chemists began to isolate pure chemicals from medicinal plants, study them, and make safer variants: the active drugs morphine from the opium poppy, cocaine from the coca bush, digitalis from the foxglove plant, salicylic acid (converted to aspirin) from willow bark, ephedrine from the Ma Huang plant, and quinine from cinchona bark were isolated (or, at times, further modified).…

Also see: Prof. Madras Defends US Government Position on Marijuana Scheduling at Court Hearing in Sacramento

October 28 – Dr. Carl Hart (right) left the witness stand as unscathed as Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner following his masterful testimony on cross-examination by US Attorney Gregory Broderick yesterday. Read more.

He was followed by Dr. Philip Denney, a retired medical cannabis practitioner who had offices in Sacramento, Redding and Lake Forest from 1999 to 2010. US Attorney Richard Bender opened amicably, noting that he and Dr.…

Also see: Day Two of Scheduling Hearings: Drs. Carl Hart and Philip Denney Take the Stand

Government Witness to Defend Marijuana’s Schedule One Status Today

October 24 – Dr. Gregory Carter was cross-examined by video today in Judge Kimberly J. Mueller’s federal courtroom in Sacramento, after Carter submitted a declaration in support of defendants’ claim in United States v. Pickard, et. al. that there is no rational basis to treat marijuana as a Schedule I controlled substance. Read more.

The government tried four times to vacate the matter.…