Kharla Vezzetti 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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …