Musical Cheek-Swabbing Festival Saturday Seeks Marrow Donors

Lyndsey Harhay, 23, of Laguna Niguel is fighting leukemia and needs a bone-marrow transplant. A fundraising festival Saturday in San Clemente aims to recruit people for the National Bone Marrow Registry.

COURTESY PHOTO

Lyndsey Harhay is battling leukemia, needs a bone-marrow transplant and hopes to be the guest of honor Saturday at a public “Save Lyndsey!” cheek-swabbing festival in the parking lot outside the Rib Trader restaurant and Ralphs at 911 S. El Camino Real, San Clemente.

Whether she can be there will depend on the ups and downs of her health, her family says, but she has had a good week so far and plans to attend.

There will be live music, face painting, a dunk tank, prize drawings and more. Food and beverages will be available, along with a chance to register as a potential marrow donor.

“We are asking the community to come and get a simple cheek swab to see if they are that special, special person who will become a hero in our family and save our beloved Lyndsey,” said Harhay’s cousin Julia Boone. “We really hope this event brings attention to the importance of being registered in the National Bone Marrow Registry and the impact you (or) anyone can have on someone and their loved ones.”

Harhay, 23, of Laguna Niguel, is the daughter of Tom Harhay, a San Clemente businessman and former fire captain in San Clemente.

The event is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, with free snow cones and popcorn. A $2 donation is requested for hot dogs and hamburgers, $1 for soft drinks and bottled water and $5 for beer at a designated beer garden.

Proceeds will benefit the Be the Match Foundation.

BAND LINEUP

10 a.m.: Adams Attic

10:45 a.m.: All Night Pressure

11:30 a.m.: Shining Citizen

12:15 p.m.: Sailors of Neptunet

1 p.m.: Einstein and the Atoms

2:30 p.m.: Sixstep

Contact the writer: fswegles@ocregister.com or 949-492-5127

CT Senator Claims Cali Kids Openly Smoking Marijuana In Class

Photo: Jesse Pearson

Dude! I knew it!

Connecticut state Senator Toni Boucher doesn’t like medical marijuana, and she seems proud of herself for trying to stop it in her state, according to a press release her office sent out on Thursday.

According to the breathless (and almost entirely brainless) release, Sen. Boucher “valiantly tried to stop a medical marijuana bill from getting out of the Finance Revenue and Bonding Committee.” See there? Trying to stop seriously ill patients from getting the only medicine that helps is “valiant” now, get it?

Toni tried to stop and/or sabotage Connecticut’s medical marijuana bill any way she could, including by slapping a tax on medicinal cannabis.

Photo: CT4th Hotsheet

Connecticut State Senator Toni Boucher: Clueless or lying? My money’s on both.

​ “Senator Boucher offered a number of amendments including one that would expand a current state law that taxes marijuana seized by local authorities during drug busts,” her office trumpets. “The amendment included medical marijuana grow by those granted the right to do so by the state.”

But Toni’s little plan to treat medical marijuana the same as black market pot was voted down, 19 in favor, 21 against. Predictably, she was fuming.

“You can tax over the counter pain medication, cigarettes, alcohol and gas in our new state budget signed by Governor Daniel Malloy yet we fail to pass a tax on medical marijuana?” Boucher sputtered. “That doesn’t make sense.”

“We are in a financial crisis and are raising taxes at an historic level on everything from income, sales, real estate, inheritance, yoga to dog grooming, yet when we are being forced to approve a cash crop, legislators don’t have the will to tax it,” Boucher bitched.

Toni’s tax would have levied $5 on each ounce of marijuana and $2 on every cannabis plant. She wanted the revenue from the tax to go toward anti-drug education programs.

SB 1015 would allow people with cancer, glaucoma, HIV, AIDS, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis damage to the spinal cord, epilepsy, cachexia (emaciation often caused by cancer or cardiac diseases), or wasting syndrome to grow up to four plants, each (oddly) having a maximum height of four feet.

Photo: Anthony Buzzeo/The Daily Wilton

“And then I’ll tell them that passing a medical marijuana law means kids get to smoke in class! Yeah, that’s it.

​ Boucher claims those four plants, each limited by law to four feet tall, would produce five pounds of marijuana apiece. Perhaps Toni would care to share her cultivation methods with the rest of us.

She also claims that the once ounce of usable marijuana which would be allowed by the proposed Connecticut medical cannabis law would yield up to 120 joints — so remind me not to put Toni in charge of rolling at my next pot party. (I hate pin joints!)

Boucher isn’t above quoting some bogus “research” which resurrects the tired old claim that “In fact, smoking one cannabis joint is as harmful to a person’s lungs as having up to five cigarettes,” in fact claiming that the research was “published on Tuesday” by the British Lung Foundation.

Toni apparently isn’t very attached to the truth, because the study to which she refers was published nine years ago, in 2002, and has been largely discredited by subsequent research.

“We are not showing compassion for the terminally ill,” Senator Boucher claimed, without bothering to check with the terminally ill first. “We are opening up a myriad of problems by passing this bill out of committee.”

The bill requires patients and their caregivers to register with the Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) and authorizes a $25 registration fee and other fees. Registry information is available for law enforcement purposes, but is otherwise confidential and not subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.

The bill says physicians, patients, and caregivers should not be arrested, prosecuted or punished for certifying, using, or possessing medical marijuana and requires law enforcement agencies to return the pot and other property seized during any investigation.

Boucher pulled out all the stops in her hysteria-mongering attempt to stop medical marijuana in Connecticut, darkly mentioning to fellow committee members that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) “recently announced in a letter to the Governor of Washington STate that it will be prosecuting those who possess, manufacture and traffic controlled substances.”

Toni even mentioned rising marijuana use among teenagers as a supposed reason to not support medical marijuana — even though research shows that rates of teen cannabis use drops in medical marijuana states.

Boucher, after telling fibs throughout her tawdry little press release, apparently got bored with the little fibs and decided to end with a great big lie:

According to officials from the Grossmont Union High School district in California, students have been seen “openly smoking medical marijuana” in class under the protection of California’s medical marijuana laws.

There are no students “openly smoking medical marijuana in class,” in California or elsewhere. And if they did so, it definitely wouldn’t be “under the protection” of “medical marijuana laws,” NONE of which allow such activity.

The fact that Senator Toni Boucher would stupidly repeat such asinine misinformation is a good indicator of how seriously we should take anything coming out of her lying, mean-spirited little Republican mouth.

Editor’s note: If you’d like to read the actual Connecticut medical marijuana bill, rather than Senator Toni Boucher’s insane spewing, you can find the complete text of the bill, as well as analysis, testimony and other documents associated with the bill here.

Man Says He Was Fired For Smoking Medical Marijuana

DENVER – Paul Curry says his seven years at MillerCoors came to an abrupt end with one simple conversation.

“They just told me to pack my bags. They brought in security, I emptied out my locker and they told me to go home,” he said.

While MillerCoors cannot comment on the decision to let Curry go, Curry says he was told he was being fired because he had just tested positive for marijuana. Not a surprise, says Curry.

“I’ve been on the [medical marijuana registry] for about a year,” he said.

“All he had was one single positive UA for THC which means that he had used marijuana in that last 30 days. That’s all it means,” Curry’s attorney Rob Corry said.

Corry has made a living advocating on behalf of medical marijuana users over the last few years.

“He’s a medical marijuana patient. He’s trying to follow his doctor’s orders, and he’s trying to do everything he can to manage his [pain],” Corry said.

Corry and Curry insist that the one-time MillerCoors maintenance mechanic was not “high” in any way at the time of the test. They also say his usage was never a factor in his job performance.

As of Tuesday afternoon, MillerCoors had yet to respond to numerous inquiries from 9NEWS, but because the issue falls into the realm of “personnel matters,” it was unlikely to say much about its decision to let Curry go regardless.

On Tuesday, Corry and Curry came to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment in an effort to secure Curry unemployment benefits. Curry has previously been denied the benefits because of the nature of his dismissal.

Curry and Corry met with a hearing officer for the department. Corry says a decision should come in a few weeks.

A decision made last year by the Colorado Industrial Claim Appeals Office (ICAO) indicates they will likely have a difficult time succeeding in obtaining the benefits. The ICAO is part of the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment and last year issued an opinion that denied unemployment benefits to an unnamed person who was fired after testing positive for marijuana.

“When the Department of Labor issued that opinion, it decided to take a position on that issue,” Holland and Hart employment attorney Emily Hobbs-Wright said.

9NEWS spoke with Hobbs-Wright and fellow Holland and Hart attorney Alyssa Yatsko on Tuesday about the ramifications of the ICAO opinion. Both agreed the decision should not be taken lightly by employees who currently use medical marijuana.

“It’s definitely a risk if you choose to use medical marijuana. It could impact your job,” Hobbs-Wright said.

Amendment 20 (the amendment to the Colorado Constitution that allows the use of medical marijuana on the state level) does include language that offers at least some insight here. It reads, in part, “Nothing in this section shall require any employer to accommodate the medical use of marijuana in any work place.”

That section, based upon the ICAO opinion, has now been interpreted by some to indicate that employees will be at risk for termination should they test positive for marijuana while in the workplace, even when it’s not even presumed that they’re under the influence of marijuana at the time of the test.

As of its last report in late March, the state indicated there were 123,890 people on the Colorado Medical Marijuana Registry.

9NEWS Legal Analyst Scott Robinson says there appears to be plenty of grey area here.

“The number of individuals alone who are using medical marijuana guarantees that this issue will be a hotbed of litigation for years to come,” he said. “The marijuana issue is unique. It’s the only substance in the entire country which is legal locally but illegal everywhere,” he added, pointing to federal law which still outlaws the use and distribution of marijuana.

Weedtracker’s Ganjapalooza

WEEDTRACKER GANJAPALOOZA

Date: Saturday, May 21st, 2011
Time: 9:30pm to 2:00am
Place: Burgundy House, Hollywood CAMMJ Friendly Tickets are FREE
Full Bar Available-(Not Free)
Hash Bar Available-(Free)
Potluck: None
Age: 21 & Over (Club Rules)
Valet Parking Also Available
Tickets will be available soon. You must have a ticket to enter party.
This is a Private Weedtracker Party.
Only 300 Tickets will be available through Collectives.

So, who’s going to be there? We’ll be making a little appearance! Make sure to sign up at your local collectives that have tickets!

10 things to do when you get high.

10 Things to do When You Get High… This Weekend

The Weekend is coming up. For all stoners especially those who work and don’t smoke during the week, the weekend is a time of extreme relaxation. Here are some easy things you can do this weekend to have fun, while high.

1. Go To a Cafe:
Cafe’s are a great places to relax. Each table is a secure pod where you can retreat into your mind, lose yourself in a simple activity (reading the newspaper, texting, playing chess) , or simply soak up the atmosphere. The scent of brewing coffee, friendly conversation, and mellow cafe tunes, make cafes the perfect mini getaway. Not to mention coffee is great high. It adds an extra boost to your body and mind.
Yelp.com

2. Go To a Show
Live music is one of the wonders of the world. If you need something to really take you out of your element this weekend, find a show to go to. Look for your old favorite bands or pick something new and random. Make sure to take some joints, for before, maybe during, and definitely after.
Jambase.com

3. Clean Your House
Cleaning your house might not sound fun to you, depending of what type of person you are. But if you smoke a bowl, turn up the tunes, and get right into, you’ll definitely see how it can be relaxing. Engaging in the simplest types of productivity can really help the mind feel at peace.

4. Play Minigolf
Minigolf is the perfect way to spend time with friends doing something fun, relatively cheap, and easy. There’s no way not to have fun, if you get a few buddies really stoned and go mess around in the arcade and on the minigolf course.

5. Play Your Wii
The Wii is the greatest piece of entertainment hardware for stoners. They have a large number of active games that are very simple and loads of fun. Try out Wii Music or Wii Sports.

6. Go Into the Wild
Take a hike. Literally. The outdoors is a great place to be stoned and get stoned. Find a nice secluded place at a park, at a lake, on a mountain, or any other piece of nature around you. Take some joints or a pipe with you and have an outdoor smoke session with your friends. Commune with nature.

7. Be Artistic
Play an instrument, draw a picture, write a poem, do anything artistic. It is a special thing to connect with art while high. It allows us new perspectives. If creating art seems to hard, then just look for ways to appreciate art; museum, indie movies or music, etc.

8. Don’t Go on the Internet
The internet is addictive. The last thing you want to do if you need a weekend to relax is waste it all on the internet. Your weekend will be over before you know it and you won’t be satisfied. This weekend, leave the internet alone. Or at least only visit Facebook once and Baked Life a few times.

9. Catch up on the News
Watching or reading the news while smoking pot is a lot of fun. Even if you get aggravated or disgusted at times, the act of participating in the world around you is relaxing. Try expanding the your news sources to newspapers and magazines too.

10. Get Together With Friends and Just Talk
Get some friends together but don’t plan any activities. Just sit with them, smoke pot, and talk. Old fashion smoke sessions are incredibly relaxing. Whether you smoke inside, on the porch or in your car, just have good time laughing and discussing your lives.

The Top 5 Worst States To Get Busted With Pot

The 5 Worst States to Get Busted With Pot

Even a minor pot bust can be life-altering for people unlucky enough to be arrested in one of these five states.

Police prosecute over 800,000 Americans annually for violating state marijuana laws. The penalties for those busted and convicted vary greatly, ranging from the imposition of small fines to license revocation to potential incarceration. But for the citizens arrested in these five states, the ramifications of even a minor pot bust are likely to be exceptionally severe.

1. Oklahoma. Lawmakers in the Sooner State made headlines this spring when legislators voted 119 to 20 in favor of House Bill 1798, which enhances the state sentencing guidelines for hash manufacturing to a minimum of two years in jail and a maximum penalty of life in prison. (Mary Fallin, the state’s first-ever female governor, signed the measure into law in April; it takes effect on November 1, 2011.) But longtime Oklahoma observers were hardly surprised at lawmakers’ latest “life for pot” plan. After all, state law already allows judges to hand out life sentences for those convicted of cannabis cultivation or for the sale of a single dime-bag.

Patricia Marilyn Spottedcow, 25, learned the truth about Oklahoma’s excessive pot penalties the hard way in February when a judge sentenced the mother of four to 12 years in prison for her role in the sale of $39 worth of herb to an undercover informant. Spottedcow’s sentence sparked national media attention – and public outrage – but neither result has led the judge in the case to reconsider the terms of her confinement.

Similarly harsh sentences for pot are par for the course in the Sooner State. Paraplegic Jimmy Montgomery was sentenced to life in prison – later reduced to 10 years – after being caught with two ounces of medical pot in his wheelchair. After considerable public outcry, Montgomery was eventually granted early release on medical parole – though he later lost a leg from an ulcerated bed sore he developed while in prison. Rheumatoid arthritis patient Will Foster – convicted of marijuana cultivation in 1997 – received a similarly draconian 93-year sentence, later reduced to 20 years on appeal. Foster was eventually paroled and moved to California, where he quickly registered as a legal medi-pot patient. However, in 2009 he was extradited back to Oklahoma to serve additional time behind bars.

Overall, some 13,000 Oklahomans are busted for pot annually. Only 12 other states arrest a greater percentage of their population for weed, and arguably no state sentences those convicted more harshly.

2. Texas. On an annual basis, no state arrests and criminally prosecutes more of its citizens for pot than does Texas. Marijuana arrests comprise over half of all annual arrests in the Lone Star State. It is easy to see why. In 2009, more than 97 percent of all Texas marijuana arrests — over 77,000 people — were for possession only. Those convicted face up to 180 days in jail and a $2,000 fine, even upon a first conviction.

Despite Texas’ dubious distinction as the #1 pot prosecuting state in America, police and lawmakers have little interest in exploring alternatives. In 2007, Gov. Rick Perry signed legislation (HB 2391) into law granting police the option of issuing a summons in lieu of an arrest in minor marijuana possession cases. Yet aside from police in Austin, long considered to be the state’s lone bastion of liberalism, law enforcement have continued to fervently make arrests in even the most trivial of pot cases.

In 2011, Houston Democrat Harold Dutton introduced House Bill 458, which sought to reduce penalties for the adult possession of one ounce or less of marijuana to a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not exceeding $500 and no criminal record. Within weeks, over 2,500 Texans contacted their House members in support of the measure. Nonetheless, House lawmakers refused to even consider bringing the measure to a vote.

3. Florida. According to a 2009 state-by-state analysis by researcher and former NORML Director Jon Gettman, no other state routinely punishes minor marijuana more severely than does the Sunshine State. Under Florida law, marijuana possession of 20 grams or less (about two-thirds of an ounce) is a criminal misdemeanor punishable by up to one-year imprisonment and a $1,000 fine. Marijuana possession over 20 grams, as well as the cultivation of even a single pot plant, are defined by law as felony offenses – punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. In recent years, state lawmakers have revisited the state’s marijuana penalties – in each case electing to enhanceFlorida’s already toughest-in-the-nation criminal punishments.

Ironically, despite the Sunshine State’s long history as one of the nation’s stiffest pot prosecutors, law enforcement have steadfastly refused to report their annual marijuana arrest data to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Illinois is the only other state that elects to withhold this information from federal statisticians.

4. Louisiana. On May 6 the Associated Press reported on the case of Cornell Hood II, who received a life sentence for possessing two pounds of pot. Hood received the maximum sentence under Louisiana’s habitual drug offender law because he had three prior marijuana convictions, although none of them were significant enough to result in even a single day of jail time.

Multi-decade sentences for repeat pot offenders are hardly a rare occurrence. Under Louisiana law, a second pot possession conviction is classified as a felony offense, punishable by up to five years in prison. Three-time offenders face up to 20 years in prison. According to a 2008 expose published in the New Orleans City Business online, district attorneys are not hesitant to “target small-time marijuana users, sometimes caught with less than a gram of pot, and threaten them with lengthy prison sentences.”

Each year, cops make nearly 19,000 pot busts in the Bayou State – some 91 percent for simple possession – and according to Gettman, only three other states routinely punish minor offenders so severely.

5. Arizona. Forty years ago virtually every state in the nation defined marijuana possession as a felony offense. Today, only one state, Arizona, treats first-time pot possession in such an archaic and punitive manner.

Under Arizona law, even minor marijuana possession offenses may be prosecuted as felony crimes, punishable by up to 18 months in jail and a $150,000 fine. According to Jon Gettman’s 2009 analysis only Florida consistently treats minor marijuana possession cases more severely.

Annually, some 22,000 Arizonans are busted for pot and 92 percent of those arrested are charged with possession only. Citing the rising costs of these prosecutions at a time of shrinking state budgets, first-term GOP House lawmaker John Fillmore (Apache Junction) recently introduced legislation, HB 2228, to reduce pot possession to a non-criminal petty offense, punishable by no more than a $100 fine. So how did his supposedly “small government, no nanny state” colleagues respond to his proposal? With “a lot of smiles and laughs,” Fillmore told the Phoenix New Times. Predictably, HB 2228 failed to even receive a legislative hearing from his fellow lawmakers.

DEA Pot Raids Continue

DEA pot raids go on; Obama opposes

DEA Acting Administrator Michele Leonhart

By The Washington Times

5:45 a.m., Thursday, February 5, 2009

Drug Enforcement Administration agents this week raided four medical marijuana shops in California, contrary to President Obama’s campaign promises to stop the raids.

The White House said it expects those kinds of raids to end once Mr. Obama nominates someone to take charge of DEA, which is still run by Bush administration holdovers.

“The president believes that federal resources should not be used to circumvent state laws, and as he continues to appoint senior leadership to fill out the ranks of the federal government, he expects them to review their policies with that in mind,” White House spokesman Nick Shapiro said.

Medical use of marijuana is legal under the law in California and a dozen other states, but the federal government under President Bush, bolstered by a 2005 Supreme Court ruling, argued that federal interests trumped state law.

Dogged by marijuana advocates throughout the campaign, Mr. Obama repeatedly said he was opposed to using the federal government to raid medical marijuana shops, particularly because it was an infringement on states’ decisions.

“I’m not going to be using Justice Department resources to try to circumvent state laws on this issue,” Mr. Obama told the Mail Tribune newspaper in Oregon in March, during the Democratic primary campaign.

He told the newspaper the “basic concept of using medical marijuana for the same purposes and with the same controls as other drugs prescribed by doctors, I think that’s entirely appropriate.”

Mr. Obama is still filling key law enforcement posts. For now, DEA is run by acting Administrator Michele Leonhart, a Bush appointee.

Special Agent Sarah Pullen of the DEA’s Los Angeles office said agents raided four marijuana dispensaries about noon Tuesday. Two were in Venice and one each was in Marina Del Rey and Playa Del Ray — all in the Los Angeles area.

A man who answered the phone at Marina Caregivers in Marina Del Rey said his shop was the target of a raid but declined to elaborate, saying the shop was just trying to get back to operating.

Agent Pullen said the four raids seized $10,000 in cash and 224 kilograms of marijuana and marijuana-laced food, such as cookies. No one was arrested, she said, but the raid is part of an ongoing investigation seeking to trace the marijuana back to its suppliers or source.

She said agents have conducted 30 or 40 similar raids in the past several years, many of which resulted in prosecutions.

“It’s clear that the DEA is showing no respect for President Obama’s campaign promises,” said Dan Bernath, a spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, which advocates for medical marijuana and for decriminalizing the drug.

California allows patients whose doctors prescribe marijuana to use the drug. The state has set up a registry to allow patients to obtain cards allowing them to possess, grow, transport and use marijuana.

Kris Hermes of Americans for Safe Access, a medical marijuana advocacy group in California, called the raids an attempt to undermine state law and said they were apparently conducted without the knowledge of Los Angeles city or police officials.

He said the DEA has raided five medical marijuana dispensaries in the state since Mr. Obama was inaugurated and that the first took place on Jan. 22 in South Lake Tahoe.

“President Obama needs to keep a promise he made, not just in one campaign stop, but in multiple speeches that he would not be spending Justice Department funds on these kinds of raids,” Mr. Hermes said. “We do want to give him a little bit of leeway, but at the same time we’re expecting him to stop this egregious enforcement policy that is continuing into his presidency.”

He said he is aware that Mr. Obama has not installed his own DEA chief but that new Attorney General “Eric Holder can still suspend these types of operations.”

The Justice Department referred questions to the White House.

Top 10 Marijuana Quotes

10. “Even if one takes every reefer madness allegation of the prohibitionists at face value, marijuana prohibition has done far more harm to far more people than marijuana ever could.”- William F. Buckley Jr.

9. “Forty million Americans smoked marijuana; the only ones who didn’t like it were Judge Ginsberg, Clarence Thomas and Bill Clinton.” – Jay Leno

8. “I now have absolute proof that smoking even one marijuana cigarette is equal in brain damage to being on Bikini Island during an H-bomb blast” – Ronald Reagan

7. “The drug is really quite a remarkably safe one for humans, although it is really quite a dangerous one for mice and they should not use it.” – J.W.D Henderson Director of the Bureau of Human Drugs, Health and Welfare, Canada

6. “Casual drug users should be taken out and shot” – Darryl Gates Head of Los Angeles Police Department United States Senate Judiciary Committee

5. “When I was in England, I experimented with marijuana a time or two, and I didn’t like it. I didn’t inhale and never tried it again.” –Bill Clinton

4. “When I was a kid I inhaled frequently. That was the point.” – Barack Obama

3. “Now, like, I’m President. It would be pretty hard for some drug guy to come into the White House and start offering it up, you know? … I bet if they did, I hope I would say, ‘Hey, get lost. We don’t want any of that.’” – George W. Bush

2. “I think pot should be legal. I don’t smoke it, but I like the smell of it.” – Andy Warhol

1. “I used to smoke marijuana. But I’ll tell you something: I would only smoke it in the late evening. Oh, occasionally the early evening, but usually the late evening – or the mid-evening. Just the early evening, midevening and late evening. Occasionally, early afternoon, early midafternoon, or perhaps the late-midafternoon. Oh, sometimes the early-mid-late-early morning. . . . But never at dusk.” – Steve Martin

Marijuana Activists Hold Sit-In At San Diego Council Meeting

Photo: G. Creighton/10 News

Five medical marijuana activists including San Diego ASA’s Eugene Davidovich (closest to camera) were arrested at Tuesday’s City Council meeting

​Five medical marijuana activists staged a 45-minute sit-in Tuesday in the San Diego City Council chambers, protesting the final passage of a local medicinal cannabis ordinance which advocates say imposes a citywide de facto ban on collectives.

The set of strict zoning and public safety regulations for the dispensaries was passed on second reading by the Council, with no changes to what was approved the first time around, reports 10 News.

Passage came on a pair of 5-2 votes, despite vocal opposition among audience members who opposed the stringent regulations.

During the hearing, members of the “Stop the Ban Campaign” — a coalition of more than 20 local, state and national groups spearheaded by Canvass for a Cause and the San Diego chapter of Americans for Safe Access (ASA) — repeatedly chanted “We demand safe access,” disrupting the session, forcing the council to clear the chambers, and postponing a critical vote on the ordinance.

The five advocates remained in the council chamber for at least 45 minutes after the votes were taken, chanting slogans and singing “We Shall Overcome,” despite being threatened with arrest. They left after the meeting ended and were not arrested.

The Stop the Ban Campaign has demanded that the City Council amend its ordinance to a compliance period that will avoid the immediate closure of more than 100 facilities currently serving thousands of area patients, and to open up available space so that collectives can actually relocate.

Unfortunately, despite years of study, thoughtful recommendations from a city-appointed task force, countless letters received from constituents, hundreds of supporters at the last public hearing, the City Council has so far refused to acknowledge the recommendations of experts and the will of the people.

The council members refused to go forward with changes requested by the medical marijuana advocates, including an expansion of allowable zones in which to operate, a reduction in the distance of setbacks and allowing current dispensaries to keep operating while owners apply for a conditional use permit.

Photo: Peter Holslin

Eugene Davidovich, San Diego ASA: “One way or another San Diego patients will gain safe access to their medication”

“The patient community in San Diego will not be deterred despite the efforts of the City Council,” said Eugene Davidovich, chair of ASA San Diego. Davidovich was one of the protest organizers, and one of the five people in the sit-in Tuesday.

“One way or another San Diego patients will gain safe access to their medication, but it would be much more effective for the city to work with us instead of fighting us at every step of the way,” Davidovich said.

Prior to the bill’s first reading on March 28, the Stop the Ban Campaign organized the largest letter-writing campaign in the city’s history, during which San Diego residents wrote in opposition to the ordinance, requesting the passage of specific amendments. The ordinance was also opposed by the chair and vice-chair of the city’s Medical Marijuana Task Force.

Left with few options, activists chose nonviolent civil disobedience to protest the council’s decision to ignore years of citizen and expert input into the development of sensible medical marijuana regulations.

Advocates are now urging San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders to reject the bill and tell the City Council to come back with a version that reflects the community’s input.

While litigation is likely to result from the passage of the ordinance in its current form, there is another move afoot. The San Diego chapter of ASA, in collaboration with the Stop the Ban Campaign, submitted a ballot proposal to the city clerk on Monday in an attempt to put the issue before the voters.

A little-used process involving the city’s Rules Committee could prompt a public hearing on the proposed measure, and if approved by the committee it would be sent to the council to be put on the next election’s ballot.

Medical Marijuana May Be Easier To Get In Canada Soon

The Canadian government was reviewing its options on Wednesday after a judge said it may have to rewrite the country’s medical marijuana laws to make it easier for patients to obtain the drug.

Marijuana growing, possession and distribution are illegal in Canada, but the government was ordered by the courts a decade ago to allow its use for medical purposes by people who have a doctor’s approval.

An Ontario judge sided this week with a man who wants the drug for medical purposes, and argued his rights were violated because he was forced to raise it illegally when he was unable to find a doctor willing to prescribe it.

The government appears to be using a shortage of doctors willing to support the drug for medical purposes as a way to limit patient access to it, Ontario Superior Court justice Donald Taliano ruled on Monday.

“Rather than promote health, the regulations have the opposite effect. Rather than promote effective drug control the regulations drive the critically ill to the black market,” Taliano wrote in the 109-page ruling.

read more: http://www.thcfinder.com/marijuana-blog/legalization/2011/04/medical-marijuana-may-soon-be-easier-to-get-in-canada#ixzz1JdDjyKYK