Kharla Vezzetti

This year saw California NORML active on multiple fronts while we undertook preparations for a 2016 legalization initiative with the Coalition for Cannabis Policy Reform (ReformCA.com).

An event to kick off the 2016 campaign will be held on Friday, January 9, 2015 from 12:30-6:30 PM at the Waterfront Hotel at Jack London Square in Oakland. Seating is limited; read more and RSVP by January 5.

You can read more about our year and our plans below. Please join Cal NORML, renew your membership, or make a year-end donation to help us with our work in 2015!…

Dec. 12, 2014 – California reported 13,779 felony and 6,587 misdemeanor arrests for marijuana in 2013, about the same as the year before, according to the latest data from the Criminal Justice Statistics Center. An unknown number of additional persons, probably in the tens of thousands, were cited for possession infractions of an ounce or less, which are no longer counted in the state’s arrest data.

Meanwhile, the number of DUI arrests dropped 7.5% to 162,199, the lowest level in decades, belying concerns that the state might be suffering a crisis in drug DUIs due to increased marijuana use.…

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.…

October 15, 2014 – Federal District Court Judge Thelton Henderson ruled yesterday that medical marijuana patients have demonstrated a strong likelihood of prevailing at trial on their claim that law enforcement raids in Lake County unconstitutionally violate their Fourth Amendment rights. The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed earlier this year in San Francisco federal court, challenging Lake County’s enforcement of Measure N, an ordinance that restricts medical marijuana cultivation in the county.

Judge Henderson ordered that, “Defendant County of Lake, its officers, agents, and employees, and any other persons acting in active concert or participation therewith, are enjoined from enforcing Ordinance No.…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 14, 2014
Contact: Ellen Komp, Deputy Director CaNORML 415-563-5858

Statewide Reform Group Endorses “No on A” in Shasta County

California NORML, the state chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, has endorsed the No on Measure A campaign in Shasta county.

Cal NORML deputy director Ellen Komp, who has been tracking local ordinances across the state, has seen a trend towards cultivation bans. “Everyone agrees the problem lies in large grows that are already noncompliant with state and local zoning laws,” Komp said.…

The California Attorney General’s office has released its 2013 Crime Report.

According to the report, there were 13,779 felony marijuana arrests in California in 2013, up slightly from 13,434 in 2012. Hispanics were the most-arrested ethnic group, with 5,419 felony arrests, followed by whites (4,516) and blacks (2,538).

The largest age group for arrestees was 20-29, which accounted for 5,876 of the felony arrests, in sharp contrast to arrests for “dangerous drugs,” which were up to over 85,000 in 2013 and remained high for all age groups.…

Plans are afoot for a unity initiative to legalize marijuana in California in 2016. A statewide coalition of advocates, including California NORML, has formed the Coalition for Cannabis Policy Reform (CCPR), to help lead the effort under the banner of ReformCA.com. Besides NORML, members of CCPR include the California Cannabis Industry Association, Emerald Growers Association, LEAP, ASA, UFCW, NAACP, GLACA, and William C.…

See video of the press conference, from Harm Reduction Productions

September 8, 2014 – The disastrous legacy of the war on marijuana will be addressed at a press conference to mark the 100th anniversary of the nation’s first “marihuana” raid in LA’s Mexican Sonoratown neighborhood (pictured) on Thursday, Sept 11 at 10 am. at LA City Hall, Spring Street Steps.

The raid was the opening shot in a hundred years’ war that has seen over 2.7 million Californians arrested for victimless marijuana crimes, with a disproportionately great impact on minorities.…

UPDATE August 14 – The bill has been held in the Appropriations committee, meaning it won’t see a floor vote this year. Read more and more.

August 12 – Cal NORML remains opposed to SB1262, pending amendment. See our revised letter to the Appropriations committee.

August 8 – SB1262 is still in play. Police Chiefs met with CCIA, EGA and Small Growers Assn. yesterday, won some concessions (allowing deliveries, removing cultivation cap) in new mock up. Cal NORML is working on suggested changes to protect H&SC 11362.775 and amend transportation codes, felony language etc.…

July 21 – A successful Emerald Unity Coalition event was held on Saturday, July 19 in Lake County to kick off the MMCA (Medical Marijuana Control Act), an initiative that will be on the November ballot to establish better regulations in Lake for marijuana gardens.

About 50 enthusiastic Lake County residents and others attended the party, featuring a delicious BBQ and groovy tunes from the B Side Blues Band. Out-of-area attendees were heard to comment that the largely undiscovered county, nearer to the Bay than the Emerald Triangle, is as beautiful as Tahoe and as hip as Mendocino.…

l to r: Marcia Blount of Sacramento Brownie Mary Club; Prop. 215 Proponent Anna Boyce RN; Lanny Swerdlow RN, founder of the Brownie Mary Democratic Club; & Cheri Sicard of LA NWA at the Democratic Convention.

Thanks to the efforts of the Brownie Mary Democratic Clubs and the NORML Women’s Alliance, the California Democratic Party added to its platform a plank expressing support for “the legalization, regulation and taxation of pot in a manner similar to that of tobacco or alcohol,” at its March 2014 convention in LA.…