Medical marijuana advocates take their battle to the courts

They are the public face of a litigious battle to redefine federal authority on medical marijuana.
With emotion and printed placards – "Marijuana is medicine, Let states regulate!" – about 200 people protested at the U.S. courthouse in Sacramento Wednesday against a federal crackdown on California dispensaries and property owners leasing to medical cannabis businesses.

But the real action may result from five lawsuits filed in recent days against U.S. government officials, including Attorney General Eric Holder, California's four U.S. attorneys and President Barack Obama's director of national drug control policy.

The suits assert that federal prosecutors are violating equal protection laws and states' rights, and constitutional protections for in-state commerce. The ultimate goal may be to force the government to negotiate a settlement that spells out what it will tolerate in California and other states permitting medical marijuana use.

"We would like to get a rational dialogue going with the federal government about how to handle medical cannabis in California," said Matt Kumin, a lead attorney in lawsuits filed in each of the state's federal judicial districts. The suits seek injunctions to stop the seizure of properties of landlords leasing to medical marijuana operations.

A fifth suit, by the advocacy group Americans for Safe Access, seeks to bar federal actions "to dismantle the laws of the state of California."

Don Heller, a former Sacramento federal prosecutor, said the suits could force a definitive answer by the U.S. Supreme Court on the issue of federal "supremacy and states rights and who shall prevail with respect to marijuana."

"It has been nibbled at and now it really should be decided," he said.

In an announcement last month, U.S. prosecutors broadly asserted that dispensaries in California are profiteering in violation of both federal and state law. They've brought charges that some bad actors have trafficked medical marijuana out of state or pocketed millions of dollars from cultivation operations for marijuana stores.

U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner in Sacramento said in a statement Wednesday that California prosecutors "will continue to enforce federal narcotics laws, unless and until ordered to do otherwise."

In contrast, marijuana advocates are suing on behalf of people such as Ryan Landers of Sacramento, who uses medical marijuana for symptoms of AIDS, or Briana Bilbray, a cancer patient who uses cannabis and the daughter of San Diego Republican Rep. Brian Bilbray.

The suits also challenge threats to seize properties of landlords who rent to dispensaries, including the El Camino Wellness Center, one of Sacramento's leading medical marijuana outlets, or the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana, California's longest operating medicinal cannabis provider.

Kumin said plaintiffs want to know why the federal government has taken little action in Colorado, which permits a heavily regulated, for-profit medical marijuana industry, while launching aggressive actions in California.

The government's stance is that all marijuana – medical or otherwise – is illegal under federal law. But Kumin said the Colorado model suggests California may be able to negotiate standards for medical marijuana distribution that would ward off federal intervention.

Santa Clara Clara University law professor Gerald Uelmen said a U.S. Supreme Court battle is unlikely to produce positive results for the medical marijuana movement.

Uelmen unsuccessfully argued a 2001 case for the Oakland Cannabis Buyers Club, in which the Supreme Court ruled no "medical necessity" exempts marijuana from federal law. In 2004, the court rejected California medical user Angel Raich's claim that federal marijuana laws intruded on constitutionally protected state commerce.

But Uelman said legal actions may force the government to negotiate with the advocates.

Uelmen represented the Santa Cruz Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana (WAMM) in an eight-year battle against federal authorities after a 2002 raid on the pot garden of a colony of severely or terminally ill patients. It resulted in a 2004 ruling permitting the group to grow marijuana and a 2010 agreement to drop the suit on the condition the government would no longer raid the garden.

Uelmen said authorities may be less accommodating for dispensaries the government views "as a ploy to run commercial operations to sell marijuana."

In a parallel effort to the lawsuits, advocates are drafting a ballot initiative for statewide regulation of California's medical marijuana industry, hoping it may diminish incentives for federal intervention.

California Board of Equalization member Betty Yee joined courthouse protesters Wednesday, decrying federal actions against dispensaries that she described as "responsible corporate citizens who pay state sales taxes."

Kumin said he hopes the lawsuits can "enshrine" support for medical marijuana in California into federal law or policy. "We believe there are judges out there who are brave and ready to look at the utter contradictions," he said.

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Cannabis genome being mapped

Two Canadian researchers hope their work - mapping the cannabis sativa genome - will get rid of the stigma which they say surrounds the cultivation of hemp and marijuana in Canada.

University of Saskatchewan's Jon Page and University of Toronto's Tim Hughes hope other scientists will use their work to develop marijuana as a legitimate medical ingredient, and hemp as a highquality, fast-growing crop.

"It's a useful plant," Page told Postmedia News on the phone from Saskatoon. "You can eat it, you can build with it, you can use it as medicine . . . but, because of its reputation, it's hard to get funding to work with it."

Using genome sequencing technology, Page and Hughes found that, through years of cultivating cannabis for these two distinct uses, farmers changed the molecular makeup of the plant itself.

As with bulldogs and basset hounds, marijuana and hemp are different breeds of the same species (cannabis sativa), but marijuana contains much more THC (the medicinal ingredient) than does hemp, the fibres of which can be used to make everything from bricks and strong rope, to fibreglass and plastic-like material used to build cars, like the Canadian-made Kestrel.

In short, the THCA synthase gene - or the stuff that gets you high - is turned on in marijuana, but switched off in hemp.

Page and Hughes are the first researchers to map the cannabis genome, making it the 22nd plant and the first medicinal plant to be mapped. But the plant biochemist and the molecular biologist say research into best practices for farming the fast-growing, multi-purpose plant has lagged behind other cash crops, such as corn, rice and wheat, because of sticky laws and an unfair reputation.

"There's just a stigma against it, so it's not being utilized," said Hughes, speaking from a conference in Barcelona, Spain.

However, the research, which will be published Thursday in the open access journal, Genome Biology, could be used by hemp enthusiasts to push for fewer restrictions on its growth.

Page says Health Canada - which is responsible for regulating hemp cultivation in this country - seems to have struck a good balance by allowing licensed farmers to grow the crop since 1998, lifting a 60-year ban.

In terms of its medicinal use, Health Canada grants access to marijuana to those "who are suffering from grave and debilitating illnesses," such as epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, arthritis, HIV/AIDS, spinal cord injury or various forms of cancer.

Today, government-grown medicinal marijuana in Canada contains as much as 13 per cent THC, whereas hemp plants contain less than 0.3 per cent, rendering it virtually useless for "recreational purposes," said Page.

Hemp was raised for its fibre in the United States until legislation outlawed all cannabis plants because they contain THC. Some states have since pushed to allow farmers to grow hemp, but Page says the legal climate south of the border makes a Canadian-like system unlikely in the near future.

According to the Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance, about 25,000 acres of the crop were sown in Canada in 2010 - mostly in Manitoba

(Source)

When the police and judges say war on drugs failed... ask for legalization

Hundreds of law enforcement professionals including Denver’s U.S. District Judge John Kane have come together on a curious quest: Saying the drug war (specifically marijuana) has failed, they want to legalize drugs. Some are very nuts and bolts, saying the war on drugs has cost trillions of dollars while only making the problem worse. Others like Kane, while agreeing on that point, are more philosophical. “Our national drug policy is inconsistent with the nature of justice, abusive of the nature of authority, and ignorant of the compelling force of forgiveness,” he says on the web site of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.

What the some police are saying:
Tony Ryan, who was a Denver police officer for more than 35 years, told The Colorado Independent that not only has the drug war been utterly ineffective but that it has also been counterproductive in many important ways. He says the war on drugs is the number one reason cops become corrupt. “It’s the money. These drug cartels don’t care who they kill. Even a good cop, faced with the choice of ‘take this money or we’ll kill you’ will often take the money. And it is getting worse. Drugs are a vicious business,” he said. Ryan, now retired, says he never worked in narcotics but that illegal drug trafficking puts every cop’s life at risk and puts every cop in the position of potentially being offered the take a bribe or die proposition.

Source

CannaCenters is proud to introduce the Attorney Protection Program and further our reputation as the most responsible choice in the industry. Never before has a more comprehensive program been implemented by a doctor's office to protect their patients. In the event you should have a run in with law enforcement relative to your medical marijuana recommendation, CannaCenters has arranged for you to have a conference with an Attorney who specializes in medical marijuana laws.

Long Beach MMJ Collectives Under Attack By DA Cooley

The attack continues against medical cannabis dispensaries in California, as L.A.DA Cooley refuses to drop charges against humanitarian and MMJ patient crusader Joe Grumbine.  Mr. Grumbine has rejected a felony deal that would force him to sign a paper agreeing that he is a criminal for operating a medical marijuana collective as allowed under sb420, California’s medical marijuana program act. Joe Byron offered to accept a plea if the government hacks would drop charges against Grumbine and allow them to operate legally as allowed under prop 215 and sb420


In a show of defiance against the will of California medical marijuana patients and the general voters, the Long Beach prosecutors refused to drop the bogus charges.    They have set arguments about what the jury will be allowed to hear for September 15 and placed the trial date for September 26.  

On September 15, it is expected that the prosecutor will try to prevent as much of the legitimate information regarding a medical defense as to proof that the defense has that this collective was operating under state law.  Many people don’t know that medical marijuana is an “affirmative defense” similar to a self defense charge, the defendant actually has to prove they are innocent.  This is different than almost all other types of criminal charges where the prosecutors always have to prove that the defendant is guilty.  The judges then have the power to influence the outcome of the trial if they refuse to allow the defendant to show that he was operating under state law.  Politics plays out in the courtooms as District Attorneys commonly can influence judges or work in collusion with them to undermine the will of the people as they voted to legalize medical marijuana 15 years ago.

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Israeli government Says "yes" to therapeutic use of Marijuana!

The Israeli government this week formally acknowledged the therapeutic utility of cannabis and announced newly amended guidelines governing the state-sponsored production and distribution of medical cannabis to Israeli patients.

A prepared statement posted Monday on the website of office of the Israeli Prime Minister states: “The Cabinet today approved arrangements and supervision regarding the supply of cannabis for medical and research uses. This is in recognition that the medical use of cannabis is necessary in certain cases. The Health Ministry will – in coordination with the Israel Police and the Israel Anti-Drug Authority – oversee the foregoing and will also be responsible for supplies from imports and local cultivation.”
According to Israeli news reports, approximately 6,000 Israeli patients are supplied with locally grown cannabis as part of a limited government program. This week’s announcement indicates that government officials intend to expand the program to more patients and centralize the drug’s cultivation. “[T]here are predictions that doctor and patient satisfaction is so high that the number could reach 40,000 in 2016,” The Jerusalem Post reported.

The Israeli Ministry of Health is expected to oversee the production of marijuana in January 2012.
Similar government-sponsored medical marijuana programs are also active in Canada and the Netherlands.
By contrast, in July the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) formally denied a nine-year-old petition calling on the agency to initiate hearings to reassess the present classification of marijuana as a schedule I controlled substance, stating in the July 8, 2011 edition of the Federal Register that cannabis has “a high potential for abuse; … no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States; … [and] lacks accepted safety for use under medical supervision.”

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Carl Sagan's Wife Ann Druyan President of NORML

This is excerpt from a set of question sent to Mrs. Druyan on Reddit by the "Trees" community for which she was more than happy to respond.  

When do you believe the federal laws against marijuana will be repealed?I am probably the wrong person to ask this question, having foolishly believed for decades that sane national drug policy was just around the corner. You know when Pat Robertson starts asking "Why are we locking people up for having a couple of joints?" that national drug policy is way behind the curve.

What is the best thing an individual activist can do to help your cause other than writing congressional leaders?Join and support NORML working tirelessly for you for forty years.

Many feel that the idea of starting with medicinal marijuana is not the way to go about legalization. Some people want to see marijuana treated as a recreational drug, similar to alcohol, as procuring a prescription drug without a prescription is a crime; What are your thoughts on the matter of legal medicinal versus legal recreational?Our most immediate concern must be with those who are suffering from illnesses and treatments (chemotherapy, radiation) that marijuana has demonstrated efficacy to relieve. Beyond that, I do not believe that the government has the right, nor is it in society's longterm interest to punish people for victimless crimes.

Given the stigma surrounding marijuana, How do you begin to re-shape the general public's view?It would be good for people to be generally more honest about their usage. If you only discover someone's use of marijuana in the context of an arrest, the negative association for people who have no experience with marijuana is a natural one. Lying and hypocrisy are what's shameful. I thought Lady Gaga handled the question recently on "60 Minutes" with exemplary candor.

Do you support the legalization and/or decriminalization of any other drugs besides marijuana? If not, what makes marijuana unique? If so, what drugs and why?If governments and schools would disseminate information that scrupulously reflected scientific understanding rather than half-truths and scare tactics, more people, including the young, would take what they have to say seriously. Not everyone, of course, but a much higher percentage. We have failed at teaching people which drugs should truly be avoided and which drugs are least harmful, nor anything regarding the sacramental nature of healthy drug usage along the lines of our ancestors' practices for perhaps the last couple of hundred thousand years. Drug use is bound up with lying, secrecy, fear, hypocrisy, shame--all the things that eat away at human relationships. Just as in the days of alcohol prohibition there has been a parting of the ways between public conduct and government policy. Solid citizens are criminalized and respect for law is systematically undermined. Right now I think the abuse of legal prescription drugs poses a far greater threat to our society, and especially our kids, than those which are forbidden.
Until next time. . .

Wow... What an incredible lady! 

S.C. Labs and WeedMaps: Test your flower with a liquid chromatography and mass spectrometer

Progressively more Collectives Are Lab-Testing Their Medical Marijuana.  But do you understand what the results in point of fact mean? …and are they to be trusted?

Stroll into just about any medicinal marijuana collective and the shelves will be well stocked with branded containers of medical cannabis.  For the most part the labels on these containers list some more rudimentary info: the strain’s designation, whether it’s sativa or indica dominant, perhaps if it was cultivated indoors or outdoors.

As more and more California medical marijuana collectives are including the THC and cannabidiol percentage of their buds.  Several dispensaries, including many on WeedMaps, even promote THC levels in their ads.