Kharla Vezzetti FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE “““““““““““““““` Cal NORML Release – Oct 17, 2009 Mendocino reported a record number of marijuana arrests in 2008, according to data from the Cal DOJ Bureau of Criminal Statistics. Felony arrests soared to an all-time record of 238, up 42% from 167 in 2007. Misdemeanors increased to 169, up from 129 last …
October 19 – While it is certainly encouraging that the Obama administration has committed to writing the AG’s declared policy of respecting state medical marijuana laws, the proof will be in the pudding. Just a week ago, federal prosecutors in San Diego appeared to violate the policy by filing charges against a pair of San …
LA’s District Attorney Steve Cooley is threatening a citywide crackdown on the city’s medical cannabis dispensaries. Speaking on Oct 8th, Cooley told reporters that “about 100%” of the dispensaries are illegal, and that he intends to close them. Cooley and City Attorney Carmen Trutanich have been erroneously claiming that sales of medical marijuana are illegal, …
Two marijuana legalization initiatives are currently collecting signatures for the 2010 ballot in California. (1) The California Cannabis Initiative, sponsored by Joe Rogoway, Omar Figueroa and James J. Clark, (Withdrawn 2/4/2010) and (2) The Tax and Regulate Cannabis California Initiative, sponsored by Richard Lee, Jeff Jones, and Oaksterdam University. (A third initiative, the Common Sense …
September 28 – The 2nd District Court of Appeals upheld an injunction disallowing a medical cannabis dispensary in Claremont. The court ruled that the city could deny a dispensary a business permit on the grounds that no such businesses were authorized under the city’s land use and development code. It left open the possibility of …
September 23, 2009 – PayPal, the online payment company, has told California NORML it has made the decision not to accept payments from our “type of business” over a disagreement about accepting listing payments from cannabis-recommending physicians. After years of offering free listings to physicians and collectives, CaNORML began charging a yearly membership fee to …
UPDATE September 28 Sept. 19 – As late as today, one report from Oregon says California-based hemp activist and author Jack Herer is still in critical condition after he collapsed from a heart attack at an event last weekend.
Fresno is taking legal action against landlords of Medical Marijuana Collectives. Fresno Bee story CBS47 TV news story ABC story The Madera County Board of Supervisors will be meeting next Tuesday to pass an emergency ordinance to ban the 4 dispensaries in the County. The public is asked to attend next BOS meeting on 9/22 …
September 20 – For the first time, officials are casting doubt on the popular myth that Mexican “cartels” are responsible for illegal marijuana grows on public lands in California. A story published today in the Sacramento Bee Mexican marijuana growers boldly operate in California says: U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration special agent Gordon Taylor said authorities …
September 11 – SWAT-style raids on 14 medical marijuana outlets in the San Diego area on September 9 resulted in 31 arrests, including a man in a wheelchair who was wrestled into a police car. The action was the result of a four-month investigation by the San Diego district attorney’s office, which claims the collectives …