Medical Marijuana Raid Preparedness Training In California

Americans for Safe Access is conducting an 11 day – 11 city tour up and down California this month which will end in San Diego on September 1. In light of the recent federal activity against medical cannabis communities across the country, now more than ever, we must join together to prepare our community for the next steps we will take to protect safe access in California.

Learn to protect your rights and the rights of others in the event you are targeted in a raid and participate in creating a strategy that will secure safe access.

Please join ASA Executive Director, Steph Sherer and ASA California Director, Don Duncan for these 2 Free Trainings in San Diego that are open to the community. Attached is a flier. Please feel free to share this with anyone who may be interested in attending.

Thank you and I look forward to seeing you at the training!

Eugene Davidovich
San Diego Area Liaison
Americans for Safe Access – www.safeaccessnow.org

 

ASA’s upcoming Raid Training on Friday, August 19th from 1 pm to 5 pm in Room 416 at San Francisco City Hall (on Van Ness Avenue between Grove and McAllister Streets), and the Activist training on Friday, August 26th from 7 pm to 9 pm at 847 Howard Street  (between 4th and 5th Streets) in San Francisco.  Both events are free of cost and open to the public. Please feel free to share with anyone who may be interested.

Thank you.

Raudel Wilson
Community Liaison Director
Americans For Safe Access
510-967-3572

Marijuana Eradication Effort Under Way Across 6 California Counties

A massive, six county marijuana eradication operation aimed at ridding the Mendocino National Forest of clandestine marijuana cultivation is in full swing, Mendocino County officials have confirmed.

California Department of Justice spokeswoman Michelle Gregory tells the Press Democrat of Santa Rosa that the raids have netted nearly 300,000 marijuana plants and led to 77 arrests as of Monday, according to The Press Democrat.

Citing officer safety concerns, officials declined to give details of the operation, which began early last week but which they initially attempted to keep secret.

The operation includes hundreds of law enforcement officials from local, state and federal agencies. Raids are taking place simultaneously in Mendocino, Lake, Colusa, Glenn, Tehama, and Trinity counties, counties that contain portions of the Mendocino National Forest.

Each summer law enforcement agencies eradicate millions of pot plants from California public lands, which marijuana growers favor for their remote locations and rugged terrain.

The latest raids span Mendocino, Lake, Colusa, Glenn, Tehama and Trinity counties. Hikers and ranchers report more run-ins with armed pot growers in the region.

Patients’ Lawsuit Forces Federal Gov’t to Answer 9-Year-Old Medical Marijuana Rescheduling Petition

Washington, DC — Less than two months after patient advocates filed a lawsuit compelling the federal government to answer a 9-year-old petition to reschedule medical marijuana, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) today made official its denial of the petition in the Federal Register. The Coalition for Rescheduling Cannabis (CRC), which includes patient advocacy group Americans for Safe Access (ASA), filed the petition in 2002 seeking to reclassify marijuana from its current status as a dangerous drug with no medical value, but never heard from the federal government until it received the denial.

In its denial of the CRC petition, the government concluded that “marijuana has a high potential for abuse, has no accepted medical use in the United States, and lacks an acceptable level of safety for use even under medical supervision,” recommending that marijuana remain in Schedule I. “Although this superficially looks like a defeat for the medical marijuana community,” said Joe Elford, ASA Chief Counsel and lead counsel in the recent lawsuit. “It simply maintains the status quo,” Elford continued. “More importantly, however, we have foiled the government’s strategy of delay and we can now go head-to-head on the merits, that marijuana really does have therapeutic value.” ASA intends to appeal the government’s denial of the petition to the D.C. Circuit as soon as possible.

Notably, the petition denial was sent to legal counsel in the pending lawsuit on June 30th, one day after the Justice Department issued a memorandum to U.S. Attorneys upholding federal threats of criminal prosecution against local and state officials for attempting to pass and implement their own medical marijuana laws. “The federal government is making no bones about its aggressive policy to undermine medical marijuana,” said ASA Executive Director Steph Sherer, “And we’re prepared to take the Obama Administration to court over it.”

The denial also comes the same week as the International Cannabinoid Research Society (ICRS) is holding its 21st annual symposium in St. Charles, Illinois, just outside of Chicago. The symposium is sponsored in part by an array of pharmaceutical companies, the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), and ElSohly Laboratories, Inc., the federal government’s only licensed source of research-grade cannabis (marijuana) used in therapeutic studies. Currently, several pharmaceutical companies are asking the government to reschedule organically produced THC, the primary compound found in the marijuana plant, so they can sell a generic version of Marinol®, which is now made synthetically.

“The government cannot have it both ways, marijuana is either a medicine or it’s not.” continued Sherer. “If the government is going to sponsor a conference on medical marijuana, it should show the same deference to the millions of patients across America who simply want access to it.” ASA and its grassroots patient base has been urging President Obama since he took office to develop a comprehensive federal policy that would address medical marijuana as a public health issue.

Over the past few years since the CRC petition was filed, the two largest physician groups in the country — the American Medical Association and the American College of Physicians — both urged the federal government to review marijuana’s status as a Schedule I substance. In addition to new scientific discoveries occurring on a regular basis, numerous polls have shown that medical marijuana has the support of up to 80% of Americans..webmaster@safeaccessnow.org

A Letter From Americans For Safe Access Regarding SB 847 & AB 1300

Dear ASA Members & Friends,

There are two problematic medical cannabis bills in the state legislature right now, and Americans for Safe Access (ASA) needs your help today to stop them. Can you take a minute to send two emails to help protect safe access in California?

Senator Lou Correa’s (D-Santa Ana) SB 847 will require patients’ cooperatives and collectives to be located at least 600 feet from residential zones or uses statewide. This would severely limit – or even eliminate – opportunities for legal access in many cities. Tell your state Assemblymember to vote NO on SB 847.

Assemblymember Bob Blumenfield’s (D-Van Nuys) AB 1300 will authorize cities and counties to ban medical cannabis cooperatives and collectives. This may provoke a rash of new bans on safe access all over the state. Tell your state Senator to vote NO on AB 1300, so that state and local government can cooperate on sensible regulations.

Your participation matters. If lawmakers do not hear from you, they will only be listening to our opponents. ASA’s Online Action Center makes it easy to find your Representative and send messages right now.

ASA is your voice in Sacramento. Our successful advocacy, media, and legal campaigns have resulted in important court precedents, return of confiscated medicine, and more compassionate community guidelines. We need your support to keep fighting. If you make a contribution to support ASA’s work before Friday, July 15, our friends at Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap will match your donation! Take advantage of this generous offer and help support ASA today!

Thank you,

Don Duncan
California Director

P.S. – Download a copy of the July newsletter to read and share.

Police Confiscate HIV Sufferer’s Medical Marijuana

Photo: The Telegram

Richard Oakley of St. John’s, Newfoundland, holds some of the medications he uses to treat HIV. A package of marijuana sent to him from British Columbia was confiscated by the RCMP.

​A Canadian man had $1,500 worth of medical marijuana confiscated when he went to pick up a package at Purolator and was instead met by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Richard Oakley, who tested positive for HIV 25 years ago, moved back to St. John’s, Newfoundland, from British Columbia three months ago to be near his family, reports Barb Sweet at The Telegram.

Oakley said since moving, he already got the first package of marijuana from his designated grower in B.C., with no problem.

But last week, when he kept trying to claim his second delivery of cannabis and medicated chocolate edibles, Purolator told him to come back on Monday. That’s when he was met by at RCMP officer.

Oakley said he was assured there’d be no problem. But then he got a call saying the marijuana was shipped illegally.

“They’re going against my civil rights as a human being,” Oakley said as he sifted through a stack of papers chronicling his diagnosis and access to treatment, including medical cannabis. “They are taking away my quality of life.”

“I don’t want to cause any trouble,” Oakley said. “I just want to live my life.”

Oakley said his understanding was that as long as the package didn’t smell and didn’t advertise its contents, it should have been acceptable.

The medical marijuana eases his nausea from taking a cocktail of HIV medicines, as well as relieving his pain.

He also has neuropathy, which affects the nerves in his feet. The cannabis eases that condition so that he can go for walks and keep his blood flowing.

Since his supply of medical marijuana was confiscated, Oakley said, he hasn’t been able to endure his pills.

“I’m getting sicker by the minute,” said the longtime B.C. AIDS activist, who has a medical marijuana authorization from Health Canada. “I can’t take my medication without throwing up.”

Oakley warned that if the disease takes over, it’s going to cost the Newfoundland government a lot of money to take care of him.

The RCMP is “investigating the matter” involving the confiscation of Oakley’s package, media spokesperson Sgt. Boyd Merrill said on Wednesday.

While the RCMP said it believes Oakley’s medical marijuana license was properly obtained, it is trying to determine if the supplier who sent the package is registered under Health Canada’s guidelines before it considers giving the package to Oakley.

No charges are being considered at this point, according to Merrill.

The courier company doesn’t have access to an approved marijuana grower’s list, and cannot identify whether a package is illegal under Canadian drug laws or legal under medical marijuana regulations, according to Susan Munn, Purolator’s national director of security and loss prevention.

But she said if packages are “suspicious or damaged,” the company is obligated to notify police.

Health Canada has only one company contracted to supply medical marijuana. However, Oakley said he doesn’t deal with that federal supplier, but rather with his designated grower in B.C.

Federal DOJ Memo Sends A Chilling Message To Medical Marijuana Programs

DOJ memo sends a chilling message

By: Don Duncan, Americans for Safe Access

In a move that impacts hundreds of thousands of medical cannabis patients nationwide, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) sent a chilling message tonight to state and local officials who are seeking to implement medical cannabis laws and to those trying to provide legal medicine: You may be prosecuted.  In a memo to US Attorneys nationwide, US Deputy Attorney General James Cole said that

“Persons who are in the business of cultivating, selling or distributing marijuana, and those who knowingly facilitate such activities… are subject to federal enforcement action, including potential prosecution. State laws or local ordinances are not a defense to civil or criminal enforcement of federal law… Those who engage in transactions involving the proceeds of such activity may also be in violation of federal money laundering statutes and other federal financial laws”.

Americans for Safe Access (ASA) is calling on members and supporters to get ready for a large-scale national response to the DOJ threats that could stymie implementation of state and local laws and make getting medicine harder. We have to let President Obama know that federal interference and intimidation hurts patients – and we expect him to do better!

Preventing state and local governments from regulating medical cannabis activity is counterproductive and harmful to legal patients, most of whom cannot or will not grow their own medicine. Without anywhere to obtain their doctor-approved medicine, hundreds of thousands of legal patients are left to fend for themselves and are pushed into the unregulated illicit market. That is not what voters and lawmakers intended when they adopted medical cannabis laws in seventeen states and the District of Columbia.

The threat of using money laundering and other federal financial crimes is particularly onerous in the current political landscape. Under pressured federal pressure, many banks are denying services to medical cannabis providers; and the IRS is auditing providers in California and Colorado using antiquated codes designed to penalize drug cartels. Fanning these flames only makes meaningful regulation harder. Why not let legislation sponsored by US Representatives Jared Polis (D-CO) and Pete Stark (D-CA) address these issues without intimidating lawmakers, regulators, tax collectors, providers, and others?

This long-awaited clarification from the DOJ upholds the recent status quo of aggressive enforcement against state and local medical cannabis laws, in direct contradiction to Obama’s comment on the campaign trail that he was “not going to be using Justice Department resources to try to circumvent state laws.” Until states and localities have the ability to adopt and enforce their own laws regarding the production and distribution of medical cannabis, federal interference and intimidation will continue to undermine the rights of the very patients the DOJ purports to recognize.

We can do better than the same old federal posture. President Obama should end the criminal prosecution of medical cannabis providers who are obeying state law and cooperate with state and local officials trying to implement rational, compassionate policies. A good first step would be to respond to the nine-year old rescheduling petition that seeks to remove medical cannabis from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. The President could also support legislative efforts to harmonize federal law with the laws of the states where medical cannabis is legal. Support for US Representative Barney Frank’s (D-MA) HR 1983 would go a long way towards bridging the federal divide and reassuring state and local officials that it is OK to implement the law. It may also help persuade legal patients and providers that it is OK to obey it.

Medical Marijuana Community In An Uproar Over Latest Round Of Federal Threats

Deputy U.S. Attorney General James Cole issued a controversial memorandum Wednesday in an apparent attempt to clarify federal policy with regard to medical marijuana. Calling marijuana “a dangerous drug,” Cole’s memo threatened enforcement actions against “Persons who are in the business of cultivating, selling or distributing marijuana, and those who knowingly facilitate such activities,” including local and state officials. The memo further underscored that “State laws or local ordinances are not a defense to civil or criminal enforcement of federal law.”

Medical marijuana advocates are decrying this new policy as a retreat from President Obama’s pledge that he was “not going to be using Justice Department resources to try to circumvent state laws,” and from the spirit of a previous memo issued by Deputy Attorney General David Ogden in October 2009. “It is disingenuous of the Obama Administration to say it is not attacking patients while obstructing the implementation of local and state medical marijuana laws,” said Steph Sherer, Executive Director of Americans for Safe Access, the country’s largest medical marijuana advocacy group. “The president is using intimidation tactics to stop elected officials from serving their constituents, thereby pushing patients into the illicit market.”

Despite the wording of the Ogden memo that federal resources should not be used for “individuals whose actions are in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state laws providing for the medical use of marijuana,” Cole claimed that his memo was consistent with that of his predecessor. However, patient advocates are questioning what they call glaring inconsistencies. “How are federal threats against local and state officials who are adopting public health measures warranted at any time, let alone at a time of fiscal constraint?” asked Sherer. The Cole memo rejects attempts by state governments to design laws under which medical marijuana providers could be in “clear and unambiguous compliance.”

Over the past few weeks, U.S. Attorneys have sent letters threatening public officials from at least 10 states with criminal prosecution if they implement laws regulating the production and distribution of medical marijuana. The Cole memo appeared to be an attempt to reinforce those threats. “At the same time the federal government is recognizing the rights of people living with cancer and other debilitating diseases to use medical marijuana, it is also denying them the means to obtain it legally,” continued Sherer.

Unwilling to accept this level of hostility from the federal government, patient advocates are putting energy behind a number of initiatives, including a pending petition to reschedule marijuana from its current status as a drug with no medical value, and a number of Congressional bills that aim to reduce federal restrictions on how states implement their own medical marijuana laws. “Until states and localities have the ability to adopt and enforce their own laws regarding the production and distribution of medical cannabis, federal interference will continue to undermine the rights of the very patients the Justice Department purports to recognize,” emphasized Sherer.

Sixteen states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana for patients with physician approval. Laws regulating dispensaries exist in 10 states — Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Maine, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, Rhode Island, and Vermont — but some states have suspended those laws as a result of federal intimidation. Notably, the states of Vermont and Delaware recently stood up to federal threats and defied such intimidation by passing laws licensing the distribution of medical marijuana.

Further information:
DOJ memorandum from June 29, 2011:http://AmericansForSafeAccess.org/downloads/James_Cole_memo_06_29_2011.pdf
DOJ memorandum from October , 2009: http://blogs.usdoj.gov/blog/archives/192

U.S. Attorney General, Eric Holder, Expected to Make Medical Marijuana Annoucement Any Day!

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Don’t let U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder deny your access to medical marijuana!

Holder is expected to “clarify” the federal government’s enforcement policy on medical marijuana.any day now. Call Holder’s office today at 202-514-2001 to demand that the Justice Department leave state medical marijuana programs alone.

Attorney General Holder—

Most medical cannabis patients rely on local distribution centers for safe and legal access to their medicine.  Unfortunately, recent federal actions have cut off this access, leaving many without the medication they need.  Please don’t let the Justice Department continue to interfere in the development and implementation of state and local medical marijuana laws. President Obama’s pledge of not using Justice Department resources to undermine state medical marijuana laws must be upheld. Please issue a policy that will protect both patients and the distribution centers on which they rely.

Thank you.

Thank you for taking a minute to fight for safe access.

From Americans For Safe Access

-Americans for Safe Access is the nations largest member based medical cannabis organization.  We rely on charitable donations to fuel the fight for safe access. To donate to the movement, click here.

San Diego District Attorney Continues Anti-Marijuana Crusade

By Terrie Best, San Diego Americans for Safe Access

Monday, June 27, 2011 in San Diego Superior Court, the faulty search warrant obtained by a misleading affidavit was upheld in the medical cannabis case of Jason and Sarine Gastrich.

All morning, Deputy DA Ramin Tohidi and attorneys for the defense argued the legitimacy of the warrant which led to felony charges of possession of marijuana for sale, cultivation, and child endangerment (due to the mere presence of marijuana plants in the house).

The mistruths and omissions utilized by law enforcement in the affidavit to convince Judge Whitney to sign the original warrant were evident to everyone in the courtroom; worrisome is they were not evident to the Judge who should have been outraged at what defense arguments labeled as a ‘judicial duping’ by Steve Reed and other law enforcement personnel.

Another issue raised during Monday’s hearing was whether law enforcement had enough probable cause to obtain the search warrant in the first place.

Instead of relying on probable cause, in this case as is typical with most medical cannabis cases in San Diego, law enforcement took advantage of a neighbor’s complaint of cannabis smell as reason enough to invade and destroy the Gastrich residence.

Taking the pieces of the investigation which supported evidence of marijuana and withholding the pieces of evidence which supported that the marijuana was medical and therefore lawful, the cross-sworn officers took their investigation to a California state court in a state were medical cannabis is lawful, and obtained a search warrant based solely on the premise that marijuana was smelled and that marijuana is illegal.

When will patients’ rights be respected by law enforcement? If judges will grant law enforcement the right to break down doors with guns draw simply because of the existence of marijuana in the home, we are all vulnerable to being abused, arrested, and drug through court for exercising our right to choose a medicine that helps us and is lawful by a ballot vote of the people.

In the hearing which lasted just under ten hours over two days, law enforcement investigators vehemently defended their warrant while the defense attempted to tease out just how much evidence pointing to medical cannabis had been kept from the judge and exactly why it was that the Gastrich family caught the attention of the cross jurisdiction Narcotics Task Force, or Team 9 of Operation Green Dope.

Apparently, it all began with a neighbor who became curious and then complained about a greenhouse structure in the Gastrich backyard, specifically a plywood barrier atop the fence between the two yards.

In a letter – which during the hearing caused somewhat of a Perry Mason moment after being whipped out of the lead case agent’s purse and entered into evidence never having been examined even by the prosecution – Gastrich explained the barrier was erected to protect his medical cannabis from the neighboring spot light.

This letter, addressed by Gastrich to neighbor Steve Skinner was subsequently sent to investigators in a series of moves that began with Skinner’s phone call to San Diego City Councilmember Kevin Faulconer a result of which the Narcotics Task Force launched their investigation.

The investigation was fraught with surveillance, K-9 units and a multitude of tactics to determine if marijuana was growing even though the Gastrich letter spoke of the medical cannabis grow and this was a fact neither of the defendants ever hid from.

What was missing from the investigation was even the slightest attempt to substantiate the couple’s garden as a legitimate medical cannabis garden.

Investigators wasted scarce resources to find probable cause for a fact the defendants would have freely admitted but they utterly failed to investigate if the Gastrichs were patients and further, carefully omitted any indication this might be so when they asked a judge if they could violate the 4th Amendment Rights of these citizens.

Special Agent Michelle Sarubbi of the U.S. Forestry lead the eight person swat-style raid including cross-sworn officers Matt Stevens, Steve Reed and a host of other Team Nine members sworn to protect California law but donning DEA hats when it suits them.

The judge was misled and these investigators wasted valuable resources and failed to protect the people or uphold the law.

This is more of the same from San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, her fierce fight against patients and her dedication to overturning state law.

For more information on medical cannabis in San Diego, please visit our website at http://www.SafeAccessSD.org

Further Information:

Operation Green Dope; Bonnie Dumanis’ Medical Marijuana Eradication Effort Takes on New Name – http://www.safeaccesssd.org/2011/06/operation-green-dope-bonnie-dumanis.html

Reps. Frank, Polis to DOJ; Leave Medical Marijuana To States!

Photo: Just Out

According to Reps. Jared Polis (left) and Barney Frank, the Obama Administration should lay off medical marijuana patients and providers in states where medicinal cannabis is legal.

​Two Democratic Congressmen want to know exactly where the federal government stands on medical cannabis. Reps. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and Jared Polis (D-Colo.) are urging the Obama Administration this week to repeat earlier vows to leave the enforcement of medical marijuana laws up to the states.

The Congressmen want Attorney General Eric Holder to renew his commitment to a 2009 Department of Justice (DOJ) memorandum — known as the Ogden Memo — which said the agency wouldn’t target medical marijuana patients and providers who are in compliance with their state laws, reports Mike Lillis at The Hill.

“Recent actions by United States Attorneys across the country have prompted states to deny patients safe and reliable access to their medicine,” Frank and Polis wrote in a June 20 letter to Holder.

The letter was a result of the lawmakers’ concerns that recent communications from the DOJ and from state and local attorneys indicate the agency is backtracking on the Ogden Memo in the face of conservative criticism that the Obama Administration has somehow been “too lenient” in the “War On Drugs” by allowing sick people to use the medicine recommended by their doctors.

For instance, in a February letter to the city attorney of Oakland, California, the DOJ vowed it “will enforce the [Controlled Substances Act] vigorously against individuals and organizations that participate in unlawful manufacturing and distribution activity involving marijuana, even if such activities are permitted under state law.”

Letters from U.S. Attorneys have already resulted in several states killing of delaying implementation of medical marijuana laws

One such letter resulted in the governor of Washington almost entirely vetoing a bill which would have legalized marijuana dispensaries in that state, leaving many patients without safe access. Meanwhile, states including Arizona and Rhode Island reacted to threatening letters from their U.S. Attorneys be delaying implementation of state-licensed medical cannabis dispensaries.

There are two primary reasons why the DOJ should leave the medical marijuana issue to states, according to Frank and Polis: First, the agency has limited resources, which they argue should go toward prosecuting more serious crimes (the same argument the DOJ offered in the Ogden Memo); and second, targeting the medical marijuana industry “harms the people whose major goal is to seek relief from pain wholly caused by illness.”

“There are now hundreds of thousands of medical marijuana patients in states where the medication is legal,” Frank and Polis wrote. “These patients will either purchase medical marijuana safely at state-regulated entities or seek it through unregulated channels: in the criminal market or by growing it themselves.”

Earlier this month, Holder announced that he’ll “soon” be “clarifying” the federal agency’s position on medical marijuana.