June 9, 2011 Here are some things we can all do right now: 1. Write to President Obama and your Congressperson protesting the incarceration of Mollie Fry and Dale Schafer. Both are serving 5-year federal sentences for growing over 100 plants over three years’ time. (That’s right: they only grew 30 plants at a time). …
SACRAMENTO, May 2nd: Dr. Mollie Fry and Dale Schafer spoke eloquently at their federal surrender in Sacramento to an emotional crowd of supporters, who shouted, “We love you,” as the couple turned themselves in to serve a five year sentence for growing 106 marijuana plants over a period of three years. “If I’m going to …
April 18 – On April 26th, the California Assembly Public Safety Committee will be hearing Assemblymember Tom Ammiano’s bill AB 1017 to downgrade marijuana cultivation from a mandatory felony to a wobbler (that is, optional misdemeanor). AB 1017 is sponsored by the new District Attorney from Mendocino County, David Eyster, with support from other north …
April 13, 2011 – A bill to allow local regulation of medical marijuana collectives and cooperatives has been introduced by Assemblyman Blumenfield (AB 1300). The bill expands on the SB 420 definition of “cooperative” and “collective” as follows: (b) “Cooperative or collective,” for purposes of this article, means a location where qualified patients, persons with …
PRESS RELEASE Americans for Safe Access For Immediate Release: April 5, 2011 California Medical Marijuana Employment Rights Bill Approved by Senate Committee Legislation would prevent discrimination, continue to guard against impairment at the workplace Sacramento, CA — The State Senate Judiciary Committee voted 3-2 today, approving a bill that would protect medical marijuana patients from …
UPDATE 10/17: NIH’s Cancer.gov website now states: “Cannabinoids may have benefits in the treatment of cancer-related side effects.” It had said: “The potential benefits of medicinal Cannabis for people living with cancer include antiemetic effects, appetite stimulation, pain relief, and improved sleep.” Also see: Government-Run Cancer Institute Quietly Acknowledges That Cannabis Kills Cancer Cells August …
SACRAMENTO, March 29 – The California Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings today on Mark Leno’s bill to protect employment rights for medical marijuana users, SB 129, but the vote was delayed for another week due to illness of a committee member. The committee heard powerful testimony from Peter O’Neill, who was fired as an assistant …
UPDATE: May 30, 2011 – SAN DIEGO’s BOTCHED CANNABIS ORDINANCE SUSPENDED BY REFERENDUM Congratulations to the California Cannabis Coalition and Citizens for Patients Rights for collecting over 46,000 signatures to suspend San Diego’s ill-considered medical cannabis ordinance severely restricting collectives. The ordinance was officially suspended as of 4:20 PM, Friday May 27th, when the signatures …
The conference was held on March 19, 2011 at the Ricardo Montalban Theatre in Hollywood. Congressional candidate Marcy Winogrand and Assemblymember Jim Beall spoke on the Public Perspectives panel. West Hollywood Mayor Pro Tempore John Duran with conference co-sponsor Dale Gieringer of California NORML. UCLA School of Public Policy professor Mark Kleiman said attending the …
Cal NORML Reports March, 2011 SACRAMENTO. Several important cannabis reform bills have been introduced to the California legislature. They include protecting Prop 215 patients from workplace discrimination, reducing cultivation penalties, legalizing industrial hemp, and establishing full-scale medical marijuana licensing schemes. In the State Senate, Mark Leno (D-SF), has re-introduced a bill to protect medical marijuana …