Law to Shield Overdose Victims and Those that Assist them Passes California Assembly, Senate

With about 10 deaths a day from substance abuse in the state, California Assemblyman Tom Ammiano introduced legislation to shield the victim and anyone who assists the victim from drug possession and for being under the influence when seeking medical assistance, the L.A. Times reports.

Ammiano is a progressive voice in California's drug policy, and has gone on record for his support of medical marijuana and questioned federal prosecutors for their role in shutting down dispensaries.

"I'd rather have my kid around to yell at than to attend his funeral," Ammiano said.

The bill, Assembly Bill 472, has passed both the California Assembly and Senate. Surprisingly, the measure has drawn support from law-and-order minded Republicans as well.

Stopthedrugwar.org has quoted Republican Assemblyman Donald Wagner as saying, "This is not going soft on crime." He added that he does not approve of drug use, but the bill is necessary to "overlook some indiscretions for the greater good."

The site also has Assemblywoman Kristen Olsen, also a Republican, going on record with this: "It’s critically important to save lives. This bill doesn’t condone drug behavior."

California Supreme Court Dismisses Review of Dispensary Case, Could Throw City Bans into Jeopardy

The California Supreme Court added another contradiction to the state's medical marijuana landscape. What's the best way to describe the new wild, wild West of medicinal cannabis? Confusing, though even that would be understating the current situation.

Though voters approved the medical use of marijuana and though most citizens seem to have no problems with the medical marijuana dispensaries that have sprung up in California's major cities, lawmakers on the local level and law enforcement officials on the federal level are determined to shut down access. Pack v. City of Long Beach is a recent example.

A medical marijuana dispensary defended itself in court by asserting that federal drug laws trumped municipal laws regulating dispensaries because marijuana is still illegal at a national level. The court agreed with the dispensary but cities used the decision to justify wholesale bans on the storefronts.

However, the California Supreme Court dismissed review of the case's appellate court ruling. This means that cities (including Los Angeles) that have used the Pack ruling as justification for wholesale bans on dispensaries face the possibility of their laws being nullified. 

Opposingviews.com reports:

The reasoning used to dismiss the Pack case was that after the California Supreme Court decided to review the appellate decision, the Long Beach City Council repealed and replaced the ordinance with an outright ban on dispensaries thereby making moot the issues before the court. In addition, the petitioners in Pack "have now abandoned their federal preemption argument in favor of unrelated issues not raised or decided at any prior stage of this proceeding," according to the court.

DEA, U.S. Attorney in Seattle Send Letters to Shut Down 23 Dispensaries

Citing its concern for children, the Drug Enforcement Agency and the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington sent letters threatening closure and seizure of 23 dispensaries in the Seattle area today.

The dispensaries, the feds claim, are "within 1,000 feet of a school, playground or other prohibited area." The DEA and U.S. Attorney demands the business owners to halt business operations within 30 days.

Possible consequences for dispensaries that continue to operate include seizure and forfeiture of assets, as well as criminal prosecution. Landlords of the properties the dispensaries operate on couple face the seizure of and monies received from the business and criminal prosecition.

Jenny A. Durkan, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington, stated in a media release: "We all work hard to create a safe zone for kids in school. There is a reason that both federal and state laws prohibit sales of marijuana in school zones. We need to enforce one message for our students: drugs have no place in or near our schools."

Of course, there's nothing mentioned about Washington state approving medical marijuana to begin with.

Pot Chewing Gum to be Introduced in 4 States in October

CanChew BioTechnologies, Netherlands-based company, will introduce a cannabis-based version of the candy in October.

Medical Marijuana,  a U.S. company, now holds half of the company, which will be marketed for health and wellness as well as pain management.

The gum will be be almost THC-free which will relieve pain but not get users high, reports Big Buds, and will have almost total absorption by the body.

Medical Marijuana plans to launch a marijuana chewing gum in the U.S. this October in California, Colorado, Arizona and Washington D.C., also reports Confectionary News.

Dr. George Anastassov, the director of CanChew sees the gum as breakthrough in pain management. "Unfortunately, in the last 30 years, there has been absolutely nothing new in pain killing products," he said. "Current drugs have many dangers…Opioids have been a tremendous social burden, causing thousands of deaths each year."

Los Angeles Dispensaries File Lawsuit to Remain Open

As expected, dispensaries in the Los Angeles area sued to stop the City Council from closing their doors.

Medical marijuana trade group Patient Care Alliance filed a lawsuit against the city on the grounds that it violates the constitutional right to assembly. Under a law passed last month by the City Council, storefront dispensaries will be closed by Sept. 6. Groups of three or fewer patients will be allowed to grow and cultivate their plants. (In spite on the ban, the City Council confusingly passed an additional measure that instructs city staff to keep 180 dispensaries open.)

Marc O'Hara, an attorney for the Alliance, told Pasadena public radio affiliate KPCC, "There may be a misconception among people, maybe from the '60s, that you throw marijuana seeds in the backyard and then there’s all the marijuana. I think there’s a big difference between medical cannabis and backyard homegrown weed."

He also described the ordinance as "heartless," according to the L.A. Times.

Revenue Raised through Washington's I-502 Legalization Proposal Could be Billions — or it Could be Nothing

A study conducted by the Washington Office of Financial Management estimates that the state's I-502 proposal, which sets up mechanisms to legalize and tax marijuana, could raise up to $1<a href="http://seattle-criminaldefense.com" title="Washington Medical Marijuana Defense">.</a>9 billion in additional new revenue over five years<a href="http://seattle-criminaldefense.com" title="Seattle Medical Marijuana Defense">.</a>

Or it could generate no income, the Seattle Times reports.

If I-502 is made law, Washington's Office of Financial Management sees two scenarios: one in which pot shops sanctioned by the state government sell to adults and another where the federal government swoops in and shuts down the businesses<a href="http://seattle-criminaldefense.com" title="Seattle Criminal Defense">.</a>

The report states that there are "significant uncertainties related to federal enforcement of federal criminal laws" regarding pot. Raids on growers and retailers — which would be operating legally under state law if I-502 passes — "may prevent the development of a functioning marijuana market<a href="http://seattle-criminaldefense.com" title="Washington Medical Marijuana Defense">.</a>"

In a situation to parallel to Washington's, the U<a href="http://seattle-criminaldefense.com" title="Seattle Medical Marijuana Defense">.</a>S<a href="http://seattle-criminaldefense.com" title="Seattle Criminal Defense">.</a> Department of Justice promised to enforce drug laws when California considered legalizing marijuana in 2010<a href="http://seattle-criminaldefense.com" title="Washington Medical Marijuana Defense">.</a>

Proponents of I-502 believe that a wide victory may provide a mandate that keeps the federal government away. Alison Holcomb, campaign manager for the initiative, said the government conducted raids on storefronts that were abusing state medical marijuana laws<a href="http://seattle-criminaldefense.com" title="Seattle Medical Marijuana Defense">.</a>

However, many dispensaries in Los Angeles and San Francisco would beg to differ that only abusive stores have been targeted by the feds<a href="http://seattle-criminaldefense.com" title="Seattle Criminal Defense">.</a>

Olympic Anti-Drug Agency Classifies Pot as "Performance Enhancer"

When you think of performance enhancing drugs, the usual suspects of steroids and growth hormones come to mind.

But as fans who just watched the Olympics learned, pot is also considered a performance enhancer according to the powers that be at the Olympics. American competitor Nick Delpopolo was ejected from the games for "doping" with a marijuana-laced brownie.

Questions were raised as to why cannabis is on the World Anti-Doping Agency's list of prohibited drugs. According to WADA, a substance needs to fulfill two of three criteria to be placed on the banned list: be performance enhancing, be a potential health risk or go against the spirit of sport

Popular Science reports marijuana violates all three of those criteria. The drug minimizes anxiety and fear, as well as improves oxygenation and concentration. It also causes a risk to pulmonary functions and decreases cognitive performance. It also meets the final criteria of going against the spirit of the sport by with its near-universal illegality as well as conflicting with the "role model of athletes in modern society," and "negative reactions by the public, sponsors, and the media."

While there's an argument for the first two, the last reason seem suspiciously subjective, and seems to be more for PR and ensure lucrative sponsorships keep on rolling in.

But money has absolutely nothing to do with the Olympics, does it? (Yes it does.)

Strangely, the WADA prohibition also acknowledges there is an actual medicinal use for pot — which the U.S. government refuses to recognize.

As L.A. Bans Dispensaries, Riverside County Judge Denies Similar Shutdown

California's increasingly confusing patchwork of medical marijuana laws and court rulings is still as clear as mud.

On the heels of the Los Angeles City Council decision to shut down all dispensaries in its city limits (though it also voted to leave some of them open) a court has thrown out a similar ban in Riverside County, mydesert.com reports.

Riverside County attempted to shut down its dispensaries on the grounds they are not legal under county and state laws. However, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Ronald Taylor refused to grant Riverside's request for a preliminary injunction to shut the dispensaries down.

"The judge followed state law as it exists. I feel the county would do best to hold off and see how the Supreme Court rules," the attorney representing the dispensaries, David Welsh, said.

Naturally, the county took a different view and cried sour grapes over the ruling.

"In the same courthouse just three weeks ago, Judge (John) Vineyard granted us a preliminary injunction. Judge Vineyard is the judge that handles all marijuana dispensary cases, and Judge Vineyard got it right," Riverside County Deputy Counsel Patti Smith said.

Pro-Pot Travel Writer Rick Steves Talks Amsterdam

With medical access to pot and all-out legalization gathering steam in the U.S., Rick Steves, travel author and TV personality, gives a glimpse as to what the future possibly holds for pro-pot forces through the lens of Amsterdam.

Steves, who also co-sponsored Washington's I-502 initiative, points to the history of the city, which parallels America's situation. Hard drug use by visiting sailors were rampant in some parts of the city. Though the Dutch are not pro-drug by nature, they approved the opening of coffee shops that allowed the sale of pot. By also legalizing prostitution, the Dutch authorities were able to drive out gangs, dealers and pimps out of the city.

The numbers of coffee shops exploded in the '80s and '90s, reaching a high in the 700s and settling to about 200 today. The shops, which cannot openly advertise their botanical wares, that had complaints about noise or flouted the rules in place were shut down.

"They have a 25-year track record of not arresting pot smokers, and have learned that if you want to control a substance, the worst way to do it is to keep it illegal," he writes for The Huffington Post.

The city quarter that was home to the hard drug use that spurred the opening of coffee shops, or Zeedijk, is now a gentrified part of Amsterdam. The Dutch use half the pot as Americans and have fewer hard drug users than other parts of Europe.

But despite their successes, pressure from the provincial villages and towns may roll back the country's drug policies, at least for tourists. Coffee shops will be prohibited from selling marijuana to tourists, though Amsterdam is fighting the law.

"No one would say smoking pot is healthy," he writes. "It's a drug. It's dangerous, and it can be abused. The Dutch are simply a fascinating example of how a society can allow marijuana's responsible adult use as a civil liberty and treat its abuse as a health-care and education challenge rather than a criminal issue."

Sensible Washington Proposes Alternative Legalization to I-502

Pro-pot group Sensible Washington seeks to file an initiative to repeal pot prohibition in the state. Though it sounds like I-502, Sensible Washington hopes to address its shortcomings voiced by other pro-pot groups.

The group's initiative repeals the civil and criminal penalties for adult who posses and use cannabis and removes the drug from Washington's list of controlled substances. It would not change the legal penalties for minors or driving while under the influence.

"Initiative 502 has caused a massive rift in the cannabis reform community and we want to give people a viable alternative," the group told WeedBlog.com.

If I-502 fails, Sensible Washington says their initiative will offer another option for the statewide legalization of cannabis. But even if I-502 passes, Sensible Washington's proposal addresses taking marijuana off the state's Schedule I controlled substances list.

Sensible Washington plans to file the initiative in January 2013. The group will have until July to collect the necessary signatures to appear on the general election ballot in November.

L.A. Councilman Outs Himself as Medical Pot Patient

In the wake of the Los Angeles City Council's wholesale ban on medical marijuana dispensaries, Councilman Bill Rosendahl revealed to the L.A. Times that he has had a prescription for medical cannabis for 10 years.

Rosendahl uses pot to deal with the pain in his feet associated with neuropathy. A long time advocate of legalizing cannabis across the country, Rosendahl is the first member of the L.A. City Council to out himself as using medical marijuana.

"I think the war on drugs is destroying this great nation," Rosendahl is quoted as saying.

The L.A. Times also notes that dispensaries have been contributing to the reelection campaigns of councilmembers who've displayed a pro-pot posture.Rosendahl's reelection campaign in March accepted about $8,900 from the storefronts, which made up about 10 percent of the funds he raised.

Paul Koretz, another councilman who fought the outright dispensary ban, raised about 9 percent of his reelection funds, or $7,300, from the businesses.

"I'm an unabashed supporter of medical marijuana. I think it's a matter of life and death, literally. So they know keeping me in office would be a positive thing for them," he said.

What's Next for Medical Marijuana in L.A.? Advocates Plan to Take it to the People.

Medical marijuana access advocates may have been handed a defeat with their recent battle with the L.A. City Council's blanket ban on dispensaries, but they have their eyes on winning the war.

L.A. officials are crowing about the ban, with Jane Usher from the City Attorney's Office telling NBCnews.com, "We do expect tremendous voluntary cooperation. Nobody likes to be the subject of a criminal prosecution. The harder cases, we'll work with LAPD. We'll be complaint driven. We'll only pursue those dispensaries that are disrupting their neighborhoods."

But after the vote that banned the dispensaries, the city council then voted for 182 of the storefronts to remain open. The process could take months and Americans for Safe Access is also planning on a ballot initiative to overturn the ban.

Don Duncan, California director of Americans for Safe Access states, "The tens of thousands of patients harmed by this vote will not take it sitting down. We will campaign forcefully to overturn this poor decision by the council."

In the meantime, some dispensaries are referring their patients to stores in other, pot-friendly cities outside of the L.A. City Council's reach, such as West Hollywood.

So despite the efforts of some in Los Angeles, a blanket ban still faces an uphill fight — and very well may be thrown out by the voters, while patients are inconvenienced by having to drive further for their medicine.

Medical Marijuana Spurs Reconsideration of Apartment and Condo Smoking Ban in Santa Monica

Santa Monica is referred to as the People's Republic of Santa Monica, sometime jokingly and sometimes seriously, among Angelinos.

In this case it's because of a ban which would have designated the apartments of new tenants as non-smoking, and would have only designated the units as smoking if the tenant informed their landlord. Enforcement of the ban would have been left to neighbors, with fines starting at $100, then $200, then $300.

An existing law prohibiting smoking on private balconies, porches and decks within a 25-foot radius of doors, windows and vents was in effect before the current proposal. While it wouldn't be the first city in southern California to attempt to ban smoking in residences (Calabasas, a little further north on the 101, has a similar ban), its progressive politics hurdled head on into its, well, progressive politics.

Concern that medical marijuana users would have to report their use to their landlords prompted one member of the the Santa Monica City Council reconsider their vote, the L.A. Times reports.

While the measure initially passed 2-4 on its first reading, the ban ultimately failed with a vote of 4-2. The council instructed the city staff to rework the ban, but did not give a date when it could take up the issue again.

BREAKING: L.A. City Council OKs Plan to Close Dispensaries, Drafting Plan to Keep Some Open, Contradicts Itself

In an attempt to clarify medical marijuana laws in Los Angeles, its city council is shuttering all registered dispensaries, but muddied the waters by also approving of a plan instructing the city's staff to allow 170 of the storefronts to remain open, the L.A. Times reports.

Confused? You aren't the only one.

The vote to close the pot shops was unanimous among the 14 city council members. Two or three person collectives which could grow and distribute marijuana amongst themselves are approved under the new measure, but pro-access advocates testified that it took years of training and at least $5,000 to cultivate medical grade cannabis.

The 726 dispensaries that registered with the city will be sent letters instructing them to close their doors. If they don't they'll face legal action. Unless they're one of the 170 that are allowed to remain open.

Councilman Jose Huizar, who called for the total dispensary ban, did not support the vote to leave 170 dispensaries intact. He promised the ban would be enforced — but he also acknowledged the city may not have the resources to shut down every dispensary in the city.

I-502 Gets $1.25 Million Shot in the Arm

Washington's Initiative 502 just got a major boost — a contribution of $1.25 million, the Seattle Times reports.

Prior to the million dollar shot in the arm, supporters of the ballot measure to legalize the purchase and possession of up to an ounce of marijuana raised $1.7 million. I-502 campaign manager Alison Holcomb said $1 million of the new contributions will be used to buy TV ads in August.

The $1.25 million comes from the Drug Policy Alliance and, surprisingly, Progressive Insurance founder Peter Lewis. At least now we know why Flo is so amicable.

Though the measure was initially met with skepticism and support trailed in polls, is now at 55 percent for and 32 percent against, according to a Washington TV station.

Supporters credit voters with becoming educated about the regulations that the measure will put in place, such as prohibitions against sales to anyone under 21, as well as becoming more comfortable with the proposal.

I-502: Tax Revenue at the Expense of Affordable Patient Access

     Supporters of I-502 boast of projected state tax revenues of more than $500 million annually.  During tough economic times, this fiscal boost appears encouraging, but at what cost to medical cannabis patients?

     Patients currently pay sales tax on medical cannabis, despite the fact that “prescribed” medicines, like antibiotics, insulin and oxycodone, are exempt from sales tax.  I-502, unfortunately, goes a step further, and in addition to sales tax, imposes a 25% excise tax (“cannabis tax”) on every transaction involving cannabis.  Thus, tax is imposed on each wholesale purchase and every retail purchase of cannabis. This “pyramiding” of the cannabis tax is unlike sales tax, which is generally imposed only on the final retail transaction.   

     So why is this pyramiding of the tax so significant?  I-502 sets up a licensing structure for the production, processing, and sale of cannabis, resulting in potentially three transactions of cannabis from the grower to the patient: (1) grower à processor; (2) processor à retailer; (3) retailer à patient.  For example, assuming a gram of cannabis is priced at $5/gram by growers; $10/gram by processors; and $15/gram at retail, the total cannabis tax paid is $7.50.[*]  

Sale	Price per Gram	Cannabis Tax	Sales Tax
1stSale: Producer/Grower to à Processor	$5/gram	$1.25
2nd Sale: Processor à Retailer	$10/gram	$2.50
3rd Sale: Retailer à Consumer	$15/gram	$3.75	$1.78
Total Tax		$7.50	$1.78

Total State Tax = $9.28.  This total does not include other applicable state and local taxes, including business and occupation tax.

      Although I-502 moves in the right direction with regard to the decriminalization of cannabis, its taxing scheme is harmful to patients.  The 25% cannabis tax is ultimately passed on to patients by way of higher prices for medicine.  Washington voters passed laws permitting the medical use of cannabis out of compassion for the sick and disabled.  This taxing scheme flies in the face of that compassion.  At the very least, I-502 should have include tax relief for medical cannabis patients.   An open and honest discussion on the impact of this onerous taxing scheme on medical cannabis patients must join the discussion on the implications of I-502.

---

[*] Purchase and resale by an independent processor may be excluded, reducing the total cannabis tax paid to the state.

Forget What You Learned in School — Alcohol is the Real Gateway Drug

As anyone who's been through a DARE speech — and that's pretty much anyone who's gone to school in the United States — one of the first things they tell you about cannabis is that it's a "gateway drug." 

By that they mean one puff from a joint, pipe or vaporizer will condemn you to a life where you are not only at the mercy of mary jane, but harder drugs like heroin, cocaine and toad licking. Think "Reefer Madness," and those of you who've never sat through one of those presentations will understand.

It's taken as gospel among anti-drug crusaders, despite the fact we've have presidents who've admitted to smoking pot (regardless whether or not they actually inhaled), as have a sizable number of active and productive adults in the last 50 years.

A University of Florida study calls that orthodoxy of drug control into question. In fact, it's a legal substance (though not for minors) that they've discovered is more likely to lead them down the path of harder drugs.

Alcohol.

From a University of Florida press release about the study, to be published in the August issue of the Journal of School Health:

"In addition, the drug use documented found that substance use typically begins with the most socially acceptable drugs, such as alcohol and cigarettes, then proceeds to marijuana use and finally to other illegal, harder drugs. Moreover, the study showed that students who used alcohol exhibited a significantly greater likelihood — up to 16 times — of licit and illicit substance use."

Tacoma City Council Pro-Cannabis in Legislation, Newspaper Runs Anti-Pot Editorial

The Tacoma City Council plans to zone areas where marijuana would legally be sold, and it's a bold first step to bring sanity and a mature perspective to medical and recreational marijuana use.

You'd think the media would give credit to legislators who are forward thinking and who have the fortitude to stand up for individual rights. But you haven't read The News Tribune.

A plan to sanction areas where medical pot dispensaries can operate legally is poised to be approved. Additional plans call for collective gardens, where those with a green card (which The News Tribune characterizes as "easy to obtain") can buy marijuana.

Their editorial acknowledges there is a need for police to easily patrol areas where there are dispensaries, stating "there’s much to be said for creating a legal framework that would restrict medical marijuana locations and allow Tacoma police to better monitor them."

But The News Tribune perpetuates the notion that all dispensaries must be illegal. However, they do not recognize in their opinion piece is the money the city of Tacoma will save by effectively legalizing marijuana and giving those who are looking for pot a defined place to look for it.

The article also notes how the collectives and dispensaries will be located in economically depressed areas. However, it also fails to take into account the taxes and revenues that will be generated by cannabis-related businesses and the establishments around them.

This is a rare instance where politicians should be applauded for their foresight — however, The News Tribune's adherence to a status quo that's being increasingly challenged? Not so much.

Dispensaries Back in Business in L.A.? Not so Fast, Says Appeals Court — the Same One that Struck Down Dispensary Ban!

A day after a California appeals court threw out a dispensary ban in unincorporated Los Angeles County, a panel — from the same court — affirmed limits on the number of dispensaries in the city.

The previous decision by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Anthony Mohr overturned the bans on the basis of preemption. Mohr found that the state law medical marijuana allowed dispensaries to operate without criminal prosecution, despite officials charging owners and operators with misdemeanors.

However, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Douglas Sortino, wrote the next day that there was no preemption, based on prior court decisions and laws passed after those cases.

Naturally, the Los Angeles City Attorney was relieved with the decision. Los Angeles Special Assistant City Attorney Jane Usher said: "We're tremendously gratified that the court of appeal understood the state's medical marijuana laws and how they apply to the city's ordinance. The court of appeal reversed the trial court on each and every ground."

But it might not be as clear as the city attorney hopes. Doug Galanter, a lawyer representing one of dispensaries involved in the case, said, "We think the justices got it wrong on the question of privacy rights and due process, because we do think that state law does confer certain rights that afford due process."

In other words, situation normal...you know the rest.

http://www.metnews.com/articles/2012/pot070612.htm 

http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202561993785&slreturn=1

Collective in Israel Develops THC-Free Pot

An Israeli medical pot collective has developed a practically THC-free strain of the plant.

Medical marijuana is legal in Israel, and it's controlled by the country's Ministry of Health. Around 6,000 Israeli citizens are registered medical cannabis users. Tikkun Olam, which translates to Healing the World, grows pot and operates the country's only storefront dispensary.

Users of the Tikkun Olam's new strain of THC-free pot, known as CBD, told Public Radio International's "The World" that it does not have the same intoxicating effects of the drug. It allows patients who are taking pot for infections and nausea to smoke throughout the day without impairing their normal daily activities.

However, not all patients are able to use pot without THC. Pain patients and Parkinson's Disease sufferers, in particular, have noted that CBD does not alleviate their problems.

But even with the minimal amounts of THC in the plants, don't expect to see CBD at a collective or dispensary in the US anytime soon. Despite the fact that the federal government claims that cannabis is illegal because of THC, CDB will still be a banned import.

California Appeals Courts Rule that Dispensary Bans are Illegal

A court decision has again thrown a monkey wrench into the agenda of anti-access groups by deciding the dispensary ban in the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles is a violation of the state law that legalizes medical cannabis.

Arguments against the establishment of dispensaries, such as storefronts and pot sales being in violation of the state medical marijuana laws, were swept away by a California Appeals Court, the Long Beach Post reports. The bans, the court wrote, relied on an "unduly" narrow interpretation of the law.

The ruling concurs with another appeals court in February that decided local governments could not ban dispensaries altogether. Like the recent ruling, it exempts patients and caregivers from criminal prosecution for taking part in legal medical activities and from nuisance abatement hearings — or negative secondary effects, such as supposed increases in crime around the dispensary.

"Thus, the Legislature has determined the activities it authorized at collective or cooperative cultivation sites, including a dispensary function, do not constitute a nuisance," the February ruling read.

These decisions will no doubt force the Los Angeles City Council to reevaluate a proposal to close all the city's dispensaries.

California Supreme Court Declines to Hear Medical Pot Case, Sends Mixed Message

The Los Angeles District Attorney, City Attorney and Police Department are high-fiving each other over the decision of the California Supreme Court not to hear a case involving its prosecution of Organica, a dispensary.

Organica maintained that its operations were legal under the state law that allowed collectives. The city argued that selling pot — even to patients, in the case of Organica — still violated laws against distribution and prevailed.

Los Angeles has since moved to outlaw dispensaries wholesale. Never mind that other pharmaceuticals are sold for a profit, that collectives have been known to discount and sometimes give away cannabis to patients in financial distress, and the author of the state medical marijuana law allowed for sales.

However, Kris Hermes, Americans for Safe Access spokesman, told the L.A. Weekly the issue still isn't settled. Other decisions before the Supreme Court could affirm that Organica was in the right.

Federal Court Ruling May Change Probable Cause in Cannabis Cases

A recent federal district court ruling in Spokane is something every medical cannabis attorney, patient, provider and advocate needs to be aware of—not only in Washington State but throughout the entire Ninth Circuit. The ruling is also something of a victory for Washington's recently changed medical cannabis law, because for the first time a judge has ruled in a way that gives quasi arrest protection under the state medical cannabis law and has likely set an interesting precedent on probable cause and cannabis. And the ruling came from a federal court judge. It was also a bit of a slap to the US Attorney's Office in Eastern Washington.

Last November, Spokane County Sheriff's deputies thought they had sniffed out a large cannabis grow in Spokane based upon a deputy's observation of odor of growing cannabis and so they did what narcotics cops often do: They ran the plates on a car at the home and determined that it was someone who'd been convicted of growing in the past. They examined power bills. They visited the home, smelled cannabis odors and made entry and busted several people and, eventually, seized evidence from both that home and a separate storage facility. Then they turned the case over to federal officials in Spokane who indicted the alleged cannabis growers for manufacturing above 100 plants. If convicted, the alleged growers would each be staring at five years minimum in federal prison.

But, in a filing in May, their attorney Richard Wall argued that all of the evidence seized were the fruits of an illegal search and seizure, a violation of the 4^th Amendment. He argued this based upon the fact that, in his view, that Washington’s medical cannabis law had changed in 2011 from affirmative defense-only to something more akin to complete decriminalization of medical cannabis, even for growing, provided that people stayed within certain limits of possession. Here's the relevant language at RCW 69.51A.040:

The medical use of cannabis in accordance with the terms and conditions of this chapter does not constitute a crime and a qualifying patient or designated provider in compliance with the terms and conditions of this chapter may not be arrested, prosecuted, or subject to other criminal sanctions or civil consequences, for possession, manufacture, or delivery of, or for possession with intent to manufacture or deliver, cannabis under state law, or have real or personal property seized or forfeited for possession, manufacture, or delivery of, or for possession with intent to manufacture or deliver, cannabis under state law.

In his filing, Wall argued that since there was no evidence in the search warrant affidavit that the deputies had attempted to determine how many plants were present at the location and had made no attempt to determine if anyone at the residence was actually in compliance with the state medical cannabis law, then there was no legitimate probable cause for the search and that any evidence seized should be quashed. What's more, since these were local police and they had not been operating as federal officers or claiming violations of federal law in their search warrant affidavit, then again the evidence seized needed to be tossed out of court.

Wall argued:

In order to establish probable cause to believe that a person has committed or is committing the crime of unlawful use, possession, or manufacturing of marijuana under Washington law, it is not enough to merely show that the person used, possessed, or manufactured marijuana. Instead, probable cause can be established only by showing that such use, possession or manufacturing failed to comply with the terms and conditions of RCW 69.51A.

On May 31, a Senior US District Judge named William Nielsen issued an order accepting Wall's argument and quashing the evidence in the case. Judge Nielsen wrote:

Contrary to the Government's assertion, a state crime has not been committed simply by possessing or manufacturing marijuana in Washington. If the person complies with the medical marijuana statute, they have not committed a state crime....The Court find that the statute is clear on its face and that the medical marijuana exception and the general controlled substance statute must be read together in a manner that gives both effect....It is uncontested that while the affidavit supporting the warrant included evidence of a marijuana grow, there was no mention of them edical marijuana statute or an assertion that the grow violated the medical marijuana statute. This omission is fatal to the warrant as the warrant then does not show probable cause of a crime.

The judge invited the feds to file a reconsideration of its evidence, which the US Attorneys Office for Eastern Washington did, but without success.

Judge Nielsen's ruling is remarkable on a number of fronts: It's literally the first time I've ever seen a federal court judge allow and acknowledge the authority of a state medical cannabis statute, especially in pre-trial maneuvers; it's the first time I can remember a federal court judge saying he was bound to give a state medical cannabis law “effect;” it would appear that the common use of odor of cannabis as probable cause is now out the window in states with medical cannabis law, at least up until an officer has determined if someone is a medical cannabis patient in compliance with their state's medical cannabis law; power bills, another common probable cause tool, would be similarly effected.

In late June, the US Attorney's Office for Eastern Washington filed an appeal of Judge Nielsen's order with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and asked for that a stay be placed on the order. While the Court of Appeals has not ruled yet on the case or the stay, the judge's order is on hold. It is quite likely that whatever appeal the feds file will be met with several opposing amicus briefs.

Unless Judge Nielsen's order is overturned by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, it is a ruling that can be employed by medical cannabis patients and defense attorneys most especially in Washington State, but also in other Ninth Circuit states with medical cannabis laws (California, Hawaii, Oregon, Alaska, Nevada, Montana and Arizona).

California Assemblyman Ammiano's Bill to Regulate Medical Pot Stalled Until Next Legislative Session

California Assemblyman Tom Ammiano's attempt to bring order to the often chaotic patchwork of local laws governing marijuana came to a screeching halt.

Ammiano's bill would have required dispensaries to obtain state licenses in addition to local permits, pay a 2 percent tax, set up a state enforcement bureau for collectives, allowed one pot dispensary per 50,000 people and allowed localities to enact their own bans on dispensaries. However, the potential of cities banning dispensaries — which was inserted into the bill after a committee hearing — prompted the pro-medical marijuana group Americans for Safe Access to withdraw its support for the bill.

ASA spokesman Kris Hermes told the SF Weekly that there are more bans than cities with regulations and that the organization is now "reticent to continue supporting it." Dispensary owners also spoke out against the bill. "AB 2312 favors large-scale, wealthy collective operators over the small collectives providing true community benefit. While statewide guidelines need to be codified, AB 2312 in its current form is a bureaucratic monstrosity that creates more problems than it solves," medical pot activist Degé Coutee wrote.

The bill will return to committee hearings in the fall and may be picked up again in the 2013 session.

Motivations for the Postponement of L.A. Medical Marijuana Vote Unclear

Medical marijuana proponents in Los Angeles were granted a temporary reprieve with the postponement of a vote to shutter the city's dispensaries until July 24.

Several key members of the L.A. City Council were not in attendance, pushing the date of the vote back. KCBS/KCAL reports that KNX 1070′s John Brooks said the delay was the result of a deal in the works to keep non-profit, non-cash medical marijuana operations open.

However, the true motivations of the delay may be more sinister. The L.A. Weekly believes that the delay may be a tactic to put the issue out of the spotlight.

"But City Council delays like this are all too common on controversial and heavily opposed items. By constantly putting off a final vote, politicians are able to wear protesters down and whittle the crowd to a devoted (and often loony) few," the L.A. Weekly's Simone Wilson wrote.

Wilson quotes dispensary owner Matt Hammer saying, "I can't tell you how many times since 2006 that something was going to come before the council, and then we find out it's not going to happen."

Support for Legalized Marijuana in Washington State is High at 50 Percent to 32 Percent

A recent poll found support for Washington state's initiative to legalize marijuana, I-502, with an impressive 50 percent for and 37 percent against. The primary proponents of the measure are voters under 30, Republicans who represent party's libertarian wing and male voters, reported SeattlePI.com.

The poll, conducted by Public Policy Polling, supports the hopes of Washington Democrats for a larger than usual youth turnout — which usually votes Democratic.

Supporters of I-502 charge that Asian street and biker gangs from British Columbia as well as Mexican cartels are reaping untaxed profits while the marijuana trade is unregulated. The revenues from legalized pot will go to drug education and health programs.

Though support of the issue at this point is far from fringe, the Republican and Democratic candidates for governor expressed their opposition to the measure. This is despite support coming from former federal and local law enforcement officers.

Research Paper Questions Anti-Pot Assumptions Regarding High Schools Next to Dispensaries

Another study, and another piece of "conventional wisdom" about medical pot goes down the toilet

Two studies, one by think tank RAND Corporation and another by the University of California — Los Angeles found no correlation between increased criminal activity around dispensaries. (The RAND study was retracted by pressure from the L.A. City Council and the researchers in the UCLA study, strangely, seemed unconvinced by their own findings.)

Anti-marijuana forces have taken it for granted that areas where high schools and dispensaries co-exist leads to increased teen use, with anecdotal stories of students being high on medical-grade pot.

However, a new survey found that there is no statistical evidence that dispensaries in the area leads to increased use by teens, reports medicalxpress.com.

The study, titled "Medical Marijuana Laws and Teen Marijuana Use" for Germany's Institute for the Study of Labor, is co-authored by Daniel I. Rees, a professor of economics at the University of Colorado Denver, Benjamin Hansen, assistant professor of economics at the University of Oregon and D. Mark Anderson, assistant professor of economics at Montana State University. (An abstract of the working paper can be found here.)

"This result is important given that the federal government has recently intensified its efforts to close medical marijuana dispensaries," Hansen said.

"In fact, the data often showed a negative relationship between legalization and marijuana use." Anderson added, "We are confident that marijuana use by teenagers does not increase when a state legalizes medical marijuana."

BREAKING: L.A. City Council May Vote on Dispensary Ban Friday

Degé Coutee, executive and program director for the Patient Advocacy Network, passes on an urgent notice to dispensaries and medical marijuana patients that AB 2312, which would shutter all dispensaries in Los Angeles, will likely be taken up by the Los Angeles City Council on Friday, June 22.

He urges interested parties to attend the council's regular meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday to speak when it takes two minute general public comments. If the proposed bill is placed on the agenda for Friday, public comments will not be heard.

Coutee urges patients in L.A. to contact their council members directly if they cannot attend the meetings. La Brea Collective will also be organizing speak outs during the Tuesday and Wednesday meetings.

Dr. Bonner's Magic Soaps Exec Stages Hemp Protest in D.C., Arrested

While you may know Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps as whimsically-labelled castile cleaners, the company imports more than 20 tons of hemp oil a year from Canada. Due to current drug laws, hemp cannot be cultivated domestically for agricultural use — despite the fact that its low THC content renders it unusable for medical or recreational drug purposes.

David Bronner, president of Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps, publicly processed and pressed 10 hemp plants for their oil within view of the White House. Bronner wanted to place a friendly beer bet with President Obama that the plants had as much drug value as poppy seeds on a bagel, theweedblog.com reported.

Bronner, who is affiliated with he pro-pot organization Vote Hemp, was arrested by Washington D.C. police. Vote Hemp sued the DEA in federal court in 2010 to allow domestic production of industrial hemp. They prevailed, but hemp production was never authorized. After seven months, they received the following platitude from the Office of Drug Control Policy:

America’s farmers deserve our Nation’s help and support to ensure rural America’s prosperity and vitality. Federal law prohibits human consumption, distribution, and possession of Schedule I controlled substances. Hemp and marijuana are part of the same species of cannabis plant. While most of the THC in cannabis plants is concentrated in the marijuana, all parts of the plant, including hemp, can contain THC, a Schedule I controlled substance. The administration will continue looking for innovative ways to support farmers across the country while balancing the need to protect public health and safety.

Over a hundred thousand dollars of hemp oil is imported into the US each year because of the laws. As a state senator in Illinois, President Obama voted for hemp cultivation twice.

Federal Judge Throws out Evidence in Medical Pot Case

A federal judge ruled against law enforcement in a Spokane case, prohibiting prosecutors from using evidence gathered sized during a sheriff's raid, The Spokesman-Review reports.

Attorney Richard Wall, who represents a man charged by a federal grand jury on drug charges, moved the evidence against him be suppressed because law enforcement did not take into consideration Washington state's new medical marijuana laws when obtaining the warrant.

Wall said, "In this case they simply just did what they'd always done."

Current medical marijuana laws in Washington allows the cultivation and distribution of marijuana if its in compliance of those laws.

Law enforcement, predictably, claims the ruling will tie their hands when they need to investigate drug cases. An anonymous "drug detective" said the difficulty of establishing whether or not a suspect was following medical marijuana laws would hamper their pot investigations.

Are City, State Employees At-Risk Over Medical Cannabis Laws?

Last year, as the Washington State Legislature pushed a medical cannabis reform bill through both chambers, the US Department of Justice was pushing on another track. The bill, SB 5073, contained provisions legalizing state licensed medical cannabis dispensaries and producers much along the lines of regulations passed in Colorado in 2010.  Apparently, DOJ was alarmed by what it saw in Colorado: state-licensed dispensaries popping up across the state and all under the purview of Colorado's Department of Revenue.  At the same time, loosely-regulated dispensaries were cropping up all over California (some regulated locally, some not).  All while cannabis remained on Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.  The feds had remained silent while Colorado enacted its new medical cannabis law and here was Washington set to go down the same path.

As 5073 cleared both the State Senate and State House, Governor Christine Gregoire wrote to the DOJ in Washington, D.C. seeking guidance as to the effect of the bill's implementation as regards federal law.  Someone—and to this day, no one knows who—put the Governor up to making this query.  Two days later, the two US Attorneys for Washington State responded in a letter and told Gov.Gregoire that the feds remained committed to vigorously enforcing the federal CSA on cannabis regardless of any state laws.  Most of their emphasis was upon potential prosecutions of licensees under the proposed state law.

But then came a new tack in what was about to become a wide-ranging federal push-back on medical cannabis: the feds threatened to prosecute state employees who would implement the program.At least that's how media reports at the time read the letter.  So it is instructive to review what the US Attorneys actually wrote in their joint letter:

State employees who conducted activities mandated by the Washington legislative proposals would not be immune from liability under the CSA.

Soon after, the Governor stated at a press conference that she would veto any portion of the bill that she felt put state employees at-risk.  This was an important statement for her to make, as the bill was already slated for a State Senate concurrence vote on the House version of the bill.  Gov.Gregoire was deluged with phone calls and emails asking her to ignore what many called a bluff by the feds.In the then 15-year history of medical cannabis in the US, not a single state or local official had been prosecuted or found liable for violating the CSA while implementing any provision of a state medical cannabis law.  Both Colorado and New Mexico had some form of state licensing of medical cannabis dispensers or growers at that time—and the feds had not threatened to go after either state or its employees or any local officials in those states.

Most prominently, Gov.Gregoire received a letter from Hugh Spitzer, a Seattle attorney and University of Washington School of Law professor.  Spitzer is also an expert on federal-state conflicts. He told the Governor she could safely ignore the US Attorneys' letter, because:

I am not aware of any situations in the last sixty years, and perhaps not since the Civil War, where state officials were personally prosecuted for carrying out ministerial functions under state law.

Spitzer is correct: since the Civil War, which was in the 1860s, the feds have not prosecuted a single state or local government employee for carrying out their duties under a state law of any kind where there was a conflict with federal law, despite America's deeply-contentious history of federal-state conflicts, especially during the Civil Rights era.

Gov. Gregoire ignored such advice and, on April 29, 2011, she vetoed significant portions of 5073, including sections of the bill creating state-licensed dispensaries and producers. She did leave intact, however, provisions creating collective gardens and allowing for local regulatory control.

Around the same time, US Attorneys in states with medical cannabis laws sent letters to the Governors of these states making similar threats.  In Maine and Vermont, officials there ignored the implied threats of prosecution and implemented state-licensed dispensaries, notably without any federal blow-back.  In Delaware, New Jersey and Rhode Island, Governors in those states put the brakes on state-licensing programs for a time before later allowing full or partial implementation of state-licensing programs (again, notably without federal interference).

Meanwhile, the State of Arizona was on the verge of implementing a voter-approved medical cannabis system that created state-licensed dispensaries.  The US Attorney there sent a letter to Gov. Jan Brewer and made threats similar to the Washington State letter.  Gov. Brewer, a conservative and no fan of medical cannabis, took the unusual step of having Arizona sue the federal government over its inability to begin state licensing of dispensaries (in an even more unusual step, the State claimed standing as both plaintiff and defendant).  The State claimed that it couldn't implement its medical cannabis program due to threats to prosecute state employees or others who worked to put the law into effect.

But that argument did not pass muster with a federal court judge. This past January, US District Court Judge Susan Bolton tossed out Arizona's lawsuit arguing that federal prosecutors had not threatened to prosecute state or local government employees for following state law. Specifically, the judge wrote:

Plaintiffs do not challenge any specific action taken by any defendant....Plaintiffs also do not describe any actions by state employees that were in violation of (the Controlled Substances Act) or any threat of prosecution for any reason by federal officials....These issues, as presented, are not appropriate for judicial review.

The short story of her ruling is that there is no threat to state or local employees from the feds and that Arizona and similar states are free to implement medical cannabis licensing systems.

The State of Arizona has not filed an appeal to this ruling, nor did it file an amended complaint, as the judge offered to allow.  Instead, Arizona has begun issuing licenses for medical cannabis dispensaries. Arizona is the Ninth Circuit of the Federal Courts system along with Washington State, so Judge Bolton's ruling does stand as a precedent in both states as well as other states in the Circuit with medical cannabis laws and state licensing programs.

The ruling also means that Gov. Gregoire was in error when she gave in to threats from Washington State's US Attorneys.

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Philip Dawdy