Kharla Vezzetti

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.…