Medical Marijuana News, Videos, Cannabis Photos and Recipes - MJDispensaries.com

VIDEO: Medical Cannabis and the California Crisis (Ahimsa International)

noreply@blogger.com (Doc Herbalist) — Tue, 08 May 2012 19:05:00 +0000

AHIMSA INTERNATIONAL Presents: Medical Cannabis and the California Crisis. A medical marijuana documentary from Northern California.

Ahimsa International: http://ahimsainternational.org/

Proposal for a Medical Cannabis Safety Program: http://ahimsainternational.org/programs/mcsp/about/index.php

NEWS: Lawmaker's Daughter Battling Melanoma Recurrence with Medical Marijuana

noreply@blogger.com (Doc Herbalist) — Tue, 08 May 2012 18:52:00 +0000

SAN DIEGO -- A local congressman's daughter is battling a recurrence of the deadly skin cancer melanoma.

Briana Bilbray wants to get the word out during Melanoma/Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention month. Bilbray is just 25 years old but has already endured a lifetime of cancer treatments. Her latest surgery was about three weeks ago.

"Anything to where the melanoma could be hiding, they went in there and took it all out," she said.

That comes after the melanoma returned twice since early last year when she noticed a changing freckle on her leg. Intensive, debilitating chemo followed.
"The nausea is just completely unbearable… all you want to do is go take care of it, but you can't," said Bilbray.

After seeing her unable to sleep or eat and losing weight, her friends suggested medical marijuana.

"I kind of brushed it off at first being like that's just how they're trying to legitimize the dispensaries out here," she said.

However, she finally tried it.

"The medicinal marijuana worked instantly," she said. "Not only was the nausea gone, I was hungry."

Thus, an advocate was born. Bilbray wants bans on dispensaries lifted -- as she told the Imperial Beach City Council last July -- saying they were "punishing" the people who need it by keeping the ban in place.

Her father, Rep. Brian Bilbray, a Republican, opposes medical marijuana. In November 2011, Bilbray was quoted as saying, "Dad will come around."

"He was intrigued and wanted to look into it," she said. "He recognizes that there could be some benefit for chemo patients."

While Rep. Bilbray is not fully convinced, his youngest daughter says her experience has made him more open to it.

"It's good when politicians have family to keep them in check," she said with a laugh.

She said her father is about to introduce a bill that would tax tanning beds with the money going toward melanoma research.

Bilbray will begin 12 weeks of immune therapy next month. Her goal is to keep the melanoma from coming back.

Source: 10News.com

NEWS: NJWeedman goes to trial

noreply@blogger.com (Doc Herbalist) — Tue, 08 May 2012 18:39:00 +0000

Twenty-five months after he was arrested with a pound of high-grade pot in his car, his doctor will testify today that marijuana is the right presecription to alleviate the pain and shrink the bone tumors in NJWeedman’s right leg.

Robert Forchion’s highly publicized trial began May 1 and could lead to sweeping changes in Jersey’s medicinal marijuana laws, or, he could be convicted and face serious prison time stemming from his arrest near Willingboro on April 1, 2010, about four months after Jon Corzine signed the state’s Compassionate Use Act into law as one of his final acts as governor. But the law did not go into effect until July of 2010, and implementation continues to lag during Gov. Chris Christie’s administration, so in the eyes of the state NJWeedman was, and still is, a dope fiend who had a pound of Cali bud in his car.

NJWeedman will appear on Trentonian TV at 7:30 this morning before he drives his Weedmobile back down to Burlington County Superior Court in Mount Holly. Watch the live interview HERE.

“One of the reasons I came to Los Angeles was because when I’m in Los Angeles I’m treated like a medical marijuana patient, not a criminal like I am in New Jersey,” NJWeedman says in one of his many YouTube videos that hit the air in the weeks leading up to his trial in Mount Holly. He held up a medicinal marijuana card issued by Kaisser-Permanente and then held up X-rays of his right leg that he says show the C-cell bone tumors low on his right femur near the knee.

The Burlington County native with dredlocks is acting as his own attorney and argues that he should be found innocent because of jury nullification, meaning he believes Jersey’s marijuana laws are unjust, not his actions. Yesterday he told The Trentonian that Judge Charles Delehey barred him from telling the jury of 7 women and 5 men — 11 whites, one black — that the state’s Compassionate Use Act was signed before his arrest but didn’t go into effect until a few months after. Two of the jurors are nurses.

The judge ruled in January that determining the state’s pot laws is “not the jury’s function.”

But NJWeedman still tells The Trentonian that “the law is wrong, not me.”

For months NJWeedman has said he needs just one juror to understand his pain, his plight, his need to smoke pot as a viable treatment against the bone tumors that Dr. Steven Fenichel is set to talk about today. NJWeedman said he thinks he’s struck a nerve in at least a few “sympathetic” jurors. He said he would appeal a guilty verdict.

“I’ve had this happen to me before when I was in New Jersey, in prison,” NJWeedman said in a video. “It took eight months to get taken care of, under horrible conditions. In California, I not only use medical marijuana, but it’s been shown time and time again to shrink the size of my tumors, reduce the size of their growth, and doctors here have no issues with me using medical marijuana.”

New Jersey’s Compassionate Care Act does not list tumors as one of the reasons to be eligible for medicinal pot. “There is a listing for cancer,” NJWeedman said, “but my condition, luckily for me, has been benign. Each time I’ve been tested (the tumors) have been benign, but they have to be removed, and medical marijuana does work.”

During the trial, NJWeedman said the prosecution has called him “a charlatain” whose use of bone tumor X-rays are part of his “gimmick.”

But the defendant said the part that hurts most is exposing his kids to the cancer Dr. Fenichel will say continues to ravage his right leg.

“At the end of the day I’m Ed Forchion,” he said. “I talk to my kids as Ed Forchion, and I’m in this trial as Ed Forchion. ... It’s tough to bring my kids to court to hear I have cancer. They’ve heard me refer to them as tumors and lumps.”

Source: The Trentonian

NEWS: California Appeals Courts Rule on Dispensaries

noreply@blogger.com (Doc Herbalist) — Sun, 06 May 2012 02:01:00 +0000

Recent federal raids have drawn official rebuke from local and state officials across the country. Those raids—including one on Oaksterdam University, a professional training center for medical cannabis providers and patients in California—have brought condemnation from lawmakers in five states and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, as well as San Francisco's mayor and the Democratic Party Committees in San Francisco and Alameda counties.

The state lawmakers representing California, Colorado, Maine, New Mexico and Washington sent a bipartisan letter to the White House urging President Obama to respect state laws.

"States with medical marijuana laws have chosen to embrace an approach that is based on science, reason, and compassion," say the state officials in their letter. "Our state medical marijuana laws differ from one another in their details... Each of our laws, however, is motivated by a desire to protect seriously ill patients from criminal penalties under state law."

The letter states the Department of Justice’s new aggressive policy "makes no sense" and is "not a good use of our resources," echoing what President Obama said as a candidate, Eric Holder has said as Attorney General, and the DOJ 2009 memo on medical cannabis enforcement.

The five-state letter was signed by Assemblymembers Tom Ammiano (D-Calif.) and Chris Norby (R-Calif.), Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D-Wash.), Rep. Antonio Maestas (D-N.M.), Sen. Cisco McSorley (D-N.M.), Rep. Deborah Sanderson (R-Maine) and Sen. Pat Steadman (D-Colo.).

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) issued a statement May 2 condemning federal interference with the state-sanctioned medical cannabis distribution she says she strongly supports. Speaker Pelosi says she will continue to "advocate federal policies that recognize the scientific evidence and clinical research demonstrating the medical benefits of medicinal marijuana, that respects the wishes of the states in providing relief to ill individuals, and that prevents the federal government from acting to harm the safe access of medicinal marijuana provided under state law."

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee issued a statement in early April denouncing "recent federal actions targeting duly permitted Medicinal Cannabis Dispensaries...that aim to limit our citizens’ ability to have safe access to the medicine they need." That statement followed a rally of more than 500 patient advocates and a press conference in which several San Francisco supervisors and California state officials denounced the Obama Administration's aggressive tactics.

The Democratic Party Committees of both San Francisco and Alameda counties have also adopted resolutions asking federal agencies to cease interference.

Since the beginning of the year, five San Francisco dispensaries have been forced to shut down due to threats from federal prosecutors, and in early April federal agents raided city-compliant medical cannabis businesses in Oakland, including one of the state's oldest distribution facilities and Oaksterdam University.

Source: Americans for Safe Access

VIDEO: The Obama Administration’s New Drug Control Strategy

noreply@blogger.com (Doc Herbalist) — Wed, 02 May 2012 15:47:00 +0000

Forty years after President Richard Nixon first declared that drug abuse was "public enemy number one," the Obama administration has announced an end to the so-called "war on drugs" approach to drug policy. Recognizing that America will never be able to arrest its way out of the drug problem, the administration's newly announced drug policy strategy shifts away from a law enforcement only approach to a drug policy recognizing that America's drug problem is a public health issue—not just a criminal one. It outlines significant reforms aimed at treating drug addiction as a chronic disease instead of a “moral” failure.

Even though overall drug use is down, and the U.S. prison population declined for the first time in 40 years, more than 7 million people remain under the supervision of the criminal justice system. Of these, more than 2 million are behind bars. Making matters worse, drug-induced deaths now claim more lives than gun violence, and prescription drug abuse has been declared an epidemic. Will these reforms really break the vicious cycle of drug use, crime, incarceration, and rearrest in America?

Source: Center for American Progress

NEWS: Following Culver City Case, Court Of Appeal Clarifies Laws Over Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

noreply@blogger.com (Doc Herbalist) — Tue, 01 May 2012 20:33:00 +0000

Jeffery K. Joseph was convicted of illegally operating Organica on the Culver City/Los Angeles border.

Following the case regarding Jeffrey K. Joseph, the Court of Appeal recently issued an opinion that clarifies the operational parameters of medical marijuana collectives, cooperatives and dispensaries.

The move came following Jeffrey K. Joseph’s conviction, after he established Organica in 2007 - a storefront business that straddled the Culver City/Los Angeles border.

Between 2009 and 2011, undercover law enforcement officers purchased marijuana from Organica in 13 separate transactions and also saw Joseph selling to other customers. He also openly listed the varieties of marijuana for sale and their prices.

After obtaining warrants to search the premises, officers undertook three separate searches. Among them was one by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, assisted by the Culver City Police Department, which uncovered 48 kilograms of marijuana, hashish, hash oil, numerous beverages and edible products that contained marijuana, and $16,379 in cash.

Customer records recovered by the DEA document 1,772 Organica “patients,” but only 601 of those patients gave addresses that were in the vicinity of Organica, according to a release by KMTG Legal.

Both Los Angeles and Culver City filed an action against Joseph for violations of the Narcotics Abatement Law, the Public Nuisance Law, and the Unfair Competition Law. The trial court found that Joseph and Organica had no defense under either the Compassion Use Act (“CUA”) or the Medical Marijuana Program Act (“MMPA) and the court granted a permanent injunction and entered judgment against Joseph for civil penalties, attorney fees, investigative costs, and court fees.

According to KMTG, the Fourth District Court of Appeal recently determined that in order for a medical marijuana dispensary to be lawful under the MMPA, the operators must cultivate the marijuana on-site.

The court also clarified that any “reasonable compensation” under Health and Safety Code section 11362.765 to be paid for services by a qualified patient or other person authorized to use marijuana “may only be given to a ‘primary caregiver.’” Joseph, however, did not meet the statutory definition of a primary caregiver because there is no evidence the patrons of Organica designated him as their primary caregiver or that he assumed responsibility for the patrons’ “housing, health, or safety.” Also, Organica was not a licensed health care or residential care facility, clinic or hospice.

Source: Culver City Patch

Medical Cannabis Fragrance Wheel

noreply@blogger.com (Doc Herbalist) — Tue, 01 May 2012 20:20:00 +0000

Learn how the smell of
medical cannabis affects your high.

NEWS: 11 charged in raid on huge Oakland marijuana grow

noreply@blogger.com (Doc Herbalist) — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 16:46:00 +0000

Oakland, Calif. (AP) - Alameda County prosecutors have filed charges against 11 people in connection with what police said was one of the largest marijuana grows in Oakland's history.

The Oakland Tribune reports ( http://bit.ly/KlOKTX) that each suspect was charged on Friday with felony possession of marijuana for sale and cultivating marijuana.

The operation's owner, 35-year-old Adrian Orion Papajohn, is also being charged with six counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm and other charges.

Oakland police raided a warehouse on Wednesday night and found about 2,500 pot plants, $40,000 in cash and guns, ammunition and body armor.

The warehouse was also outfitted with a video surveillance system and its doors bolstered with reinforced steel.

Police said the warehouse was not permitted as a medical marijuana operation.

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

VIDEO: John Grace public comment regarding medical marijuana in Long Beach

noreply@blogger.com (Doc Herbalist) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 20:22:00 +0000

John Grace public comment regarding medical marijuana in Long Beach. From Long Beach City Council Meeting April 17, 2012.

NEWS: San Francisco Democratic Party Calls On Obama To End Medical Marijuana Attacks

noreply@blogger.com (Doc Herbalist) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 20:18:00 +0000

San Francisco, CA--(ENEWSPF)--April 27, 2012. The San Francisco Democratic Party adopted a resolution yesterday demanding that President Obama, Attorney General Eric Holder, and U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag "cease all Federal actions in San Francisco immediately, respect State and local laws, and stop the closure of City-permitted medical cannabis facilities." The resolution was co-sponsored by 21 members of the party's Central Committee (DCCC) including: its author Gabriel Haaland, Assembly member Tom Ammiano, State Senator Leland Yee, Supervisor David Campos, Supervisor David Chiu, former State Senator Carole Migden, and former Supervisor Aaron Peskin.

At least 5 permitted San Francisco dispensaries have been forced to close in the last few months as a result of the Obama administration's heightened attack in California. The operators and landlords of these and several more dispensaries were threatened with federal criminal prosecution and asset forfeiture in an effort to shut down access points for the city's tens of thousands of qualified patients. San Francisco has been especially hard hit since October, when California's four U.S. Attorneys escalated an already vigorous federal campaign against medical marijuana.

The DCCC argues that, "the U. S. Attorneys in California are not targeting individuals and organizations that are operating outside of the law, but instead are aggressively persecuting a peaceful and regulated community, wasting Federal resources in using a series of threatening tactics to shut down regulated access to medical cannabis across the state of California." The DCCC also accuses the federal government of "depriving...the State of California [of] much needed tax revenue."

The DCCC resolution comes as President Obama deflects concern and anger over his aggressive enforcement practices in today's issue of Rolling Stone. Backpedaling, President Obama is claiming that "there haven't been any prosecutions" of medical marijuana patients, but he has ignored the broader negative effects of his campaign and the need to treat medical marijuana as a public health issue. "With a highly contentious bid for the White House, Obama should think twice about being out of step with his party and the 80 percent of Americans who support safe and legal access to medical marijuana," said Steph Sherer, Executive Director of Americans for Safe Access, which is part of the SF United campaign.

The passage of yesterday's resolution also comes on the heels of a rally held earlier this month, attended by hundreds of medical marijuana patients and supporters. Since then, the coalition San Francisco United for Safe Access has lobbied legislators to stand up to federal intimidation and coercion. In response to this effort, the DCCC is coming to the aid of city dispensaries by seeking to "establish an emergency plan to expedite the re-permitting of any [shuttered] medical cannabis dispensaries."

The DCCC also endorsed Assembly Bill 2312, a statewide regulatory framework for the medical marijuana industry in California, and called on their fellow Democrats to do the same. Last week, the Assembly Public Safety Committee passed AB 2312, which is now set to be heard by Assembly Appropriations within the next two weeks. "It's irresponsible for the federal government to dismantle established and responsible regulations in California," said the resolution's author and DCCC member Gabriel Haaland. "Hundreds of thousands of patients will be forced into the illicit market, creating unnecessary public safety issues that will affect us all."

Source: http://www.safeaccessnow.org

NEWS: Robbers attack man, flee with marijuana worth $500

noreply@blogger.com (Doc Herbalist) — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 19:56:00 +0000

Whittier, California

WHITTIER, CA - A man who tried to sell marijuana valued at $500 to a medical marijuana dispensary was later assaulted and robbed of his wares by two men Friday night.

Whittier police Lt. Steve Dean said the 10:02 p.m. attack in the 13300 block of Slauson Avenue left the 26-year-old Los Angeles man with a cut above the eye and a broken finger.

Dean said the man earlier went to a Santa Fe Springs dispensary to sell marijuana he grew but was turned down.

Later, he was on Slauson Avenue in Whittier when two men accosted him and demanded the marijuana which was in a backpack.

"It sounds like they fought over the bag," Dean said.

One of the robbers pulled a knife, he added.

"They took the marijuana, cut him over (the eye), broke his finger in several places," Dean said.

The injured man was taken to a local hospital.

Source: San Gabriel Valley Tribune

VIDEO: Cheri Sicard's public comments on marijuana raids in Long Beach

noreply@blogger.com (Doc Herbalist) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 20:38:00 +0000

Cheri Sicard's public comments on medical marijuana dispensary raids at the Long Beach City Council Meeting on April 17, 2012.

NEWS: Court of Appeal Upholds Shutdown of Local Marijuana Clinic

noreply@blogger.com (Doc Herbalist) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 20:16:00 +0000

Justices Say Facility Operator Implicated in Multiple Incidents of Illegal Activity Not a ‘Primary Caregiver’

The Court of Appeal for this district has upheld an order shutting down a medical marijuana dispensary that straddles the Los Angeles/Culver City boundary.

Div. Two yesterday ordered publication of a March 26 opinion by Justice Victoria Chavez. The panel said Jeffrey K. Joseph, who represented himself, presented no evidence that would have entitled him to a trial in the nuisance abatement action brought by the city attorneys of both cities, so summary judgment and a permanent injunction were properly granted.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Johnson, who issued the injunction, that Joseph had no defense under Proposition 215 or the Medical Marijuana Program Act. The injunctions prohibits Joseph and Organica from unlawfully selling, serving, storing, keeping, manufacturing, or giving away controlled substances, including marijuana, anywhere in Culver City or the City of Los Angeles, and from using Organica, Inc.’s business license and tax registration certificate to engage in such activities anywhere in Culver City or the City of Los Angeles.

Johnson also granted judgment for $325,829.75, consisting of $130,000 in civil penalties, $88,165 in attorney fees, $106,549.75 in investigative costs, and $1,115 in court fees.

Multiple Incidents

Chavez, writing for the Court of Appeal, noted that Joseph and the clinic, called Organica, had a history of involvement with illegal drugs. She cited 13 incidents that occurred between 2008 and 2010, including purchases of marijuana by undercover officers; the discovery of marijuana, along with other illegal drugs, in searches by the Drug Enforcement Administration; several police stops of vehicles near the clinic, resulting in seizure of illegal drugs, which the occupants said they obtained at Organica; and a traffic stop in Riverside in which Joseph was found in possession of psilocybin, hashish, and brownies believed to contain marijuana, and a passenger was found in possession of cocaine.

The MMPA, Chavez wrote, protects the cultivation of marijuana for medical purposes. “It does not cover dispensing or selling marijuana,” nor does it permit a clinic to operate for purposes of profit.

‘Primary Caregiver’

A “primary caregiver,” the jurist acknowledged, may collect reasonable expenses incurred in providing marijuana to qualified medical marijuana patients. But Joseph failed to qualify, she said, because he presented no evidence that any patron had designated him their caregiver, that he had assumed responsibility for the wellbeing of any of them, or that Organica had a license to operate as any kind of health or care facility.

The vast majority of patients, the justice further noted, came from outside the area in which it operated.

It was also clear from the evidence, Chavez wrote, that Organica was being used by Joseph to conduct illegal activities.

The jurist explained:
“On multiple occasions, undercover law enforcement officers purchased marijuana at Organica’s premises. Menus listing the varieties and prices of marijuana available for sale were prominently displayed at the premises. An officer observed Joseph assisting an Organica customer with a purchase. In three separate warranted searches of Organica’s premises, law enforcement officers recovered 155.1 kilograms of marijuana, 698 marijuana plants, 488.9 gross grams of marijuana seeds, 43.9 gross grams of marijuana cigarettes, 22.8 kilograms of various edible products containing marijuana, and large amounts of cash.”

Attorneys for the plaintiffs on appeal included Los Angeles Assistant City Attorney Asha Greenberg, Los Angeles Deputy City Attorney Anh Truong, Culver City City Attorney Carol A. Schwab, and Culver City Deputy City Attorney Lisa A. Vidra.
The case is People ex rel. Trutanich v. Joseph, B232248.

Source: Metropolitan News

VIDEO: Marla James' Public Comment on Marijuana Raids in Long Beach (Council Meeting 4-17-12)

noreply@blogger.com (Doc Herbalist) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 02:18:00 +0000

Marla James, at the Long Beach City Council Meeting on April 17, 2012, comments on illegal medical marijuana dispensary raids in Long Beach.

NEWS: California legislative panel passes bill to create oversight for marijuana businesses

noreply@blogger.com (Doc Herbalist) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 16:26:00 +0000

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A California Assembly committee Tuesday passed a bill to create state oversight for pot businesses, as its chairman implored the Legislature to act to stave off federal raids on medical marijuana providers.

"The worst public policy choice for California is to sit idly by, doing nothing, and let this failed war on medical cannabis continue unchecked," said Democrat Tom Ammiano as his Public Safety Committee voted 4-2 along party lines to create a state bureau to police the California medical cannabis industry.

Despite clearing his committee, Ammiano's Assembly Bill 2312 faces long odds of reaching the desk of Gov. Jerry Brown because of strong opposition from police.

John Lovell, a lobbyist for California narcotics officers and police chiefs, blasted the bill as failing to come close to stricter rules passed in Colorado. "This is not regulation," Lovell said. "This is open-ended permissiveness."

AB 2312 would charge fees to dispensaries and other medical cannabis businesses to create a policing agency - the Bureau of Medical Marijuana Enforcement - in the state Department of Consumer Affairs. The board would approve licenses for businesses selling, growing or transporting marijuana for use by people with physicians' recommendations.

The Ammiano bill doesn't include many of the rules in place in Colorado, such as requiring every pot industry worker to be state licensed, mandating video surveillance of marijuana stores and requiring state pre-approval of transportation of medical cannabis.

While some Colorado dispensaries have been targeted for operating near schools, that state hasn't been hit with a broad federal crackdown against cannabis outlets that's unfolding in California.

The Ammiano bill would require cities and counties to allow at least one marijuana dispensary for every 50,000 residents unless local voters approve a ban or tighter restrictions. It would leave it up to a nine-member state board to set rules for the industry.

Don Duncan, California director for Americans for Safe Access, said the bill is a key step for allowing people permitted to use medical marijuana under California's 1996 Compassionate Use Act to obtain it at regulated dispensaries in their communities.

"There is strong support by voters in the state of California to finish this compassionate endeavor," Duncan said. "Confusion has led to bans and moratoriums against dispensaries, and that's bad for patients."

But Cory Salzillo, director of legislation for the California District Attorneys Association, said the bill would require local governments to "comply with activity that is still illegal under federal law."

Source: Bellingham Herald

NEWS: Greenhouse Cannabis sues Murrieta for $3 million

noreply@blogger.com (Doc Herbalist) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 16:15:00 +0000

Greenhouse Cannabis Club Director Eric McNeil filed a $3 million civil lawsuit against Murrieta on Tuesday, alleging the city and its Police Department are violating medical privacy laws and are threatening patients with violence, arrest and detention.

The lawsuit, filed by McNeil's attorney Richard Ackerman in Riverside Superior Court, alleges the city is discriminating against a group of people based on "perceived characteristics about their health or medical condition."

The suit calls into question Murrieta Police Department practices of targeting patients as they left the Jefferson Avenue medical marijuana collective. Those practices were detailed in a federal search warrant served on the club in mid-March.

According to the lawsuit, officers found reasons to pull over patients who left the collective and then questioned their possession of prescribed marijuana. In at least one instance, according to the suit, a police officer followed a patient from the collective into a grocery store and "grilled" her about her medical condition.

"There is no probable cause for invading the sacrosanct privacy rights of the dozens of members of the (collective) who have been pulled over and forced to disclose private medical information for fear of arrest or other mistreatment at the hands of the sworn law enforcement officers of the city," the suit states. "Each and every collective member ... has a right to be free of harassment and unreasonable violations of medical privacy."

Greenhouse Cannabis Club opened in early January and the city quickly asked a judge to order the collective to close. The judge, however, said the city could not deny medical marijuana patients the right to gather. A short time later, the judge approved a city-written injunction that states the collective can serve "no more than two" people. Since that time, the club has remained open and continued to serve patients, just no more than two at a time, McNeil said.

In June, McNeil is scheduled to stand trial on a charge of contempt of court for allegedly violating the order that he not dispense marijuana to more than two people. McNeil's attorney has interpreted that order to mean that no more than two people can be served at a time.

The Drug Enforcement Administration raided the club in mid-March, and earlier this month a judge evicted the club from its premises.

With the lawsuit, McNeil is seeking an injunction against the city and Police Department that would prohibit them from targeting patients. The lawsuit also requests an order striking down the city's existing moratorium on dispensaries and punitive damages in the amount of $3 million.

"The city is trying to prove a point ---- it's become a personal issue for them," McNeil said in a recent interview. "It's personal for me now, too, because every time I'm in here (at the club), patients are so thankful that we're doing what we're doing. The (residents) don't deserve this."

By 5 p.m. Tuesday, the city had not received a copy of the suit, said Deputy City Attorney Bob Mahlowitz.

"It hasn't been served on the city yet," he said. "We haven't seen it, so obviously I can't comment on it."

Source: North County Times

Encino Dispensaries, Collectives and Cooperatives

noreply@blogger.com (Doc Herbalist) — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 22:33:00 +0000

« Back

We encourage you to call the collectives prior to making the trip, in case the hours have changed or the facility has been closed.

Ventura OG Corner
17550 Ventura Blvd. [map]
Encino, CA 91316
Hours: Mon-Sun 10am to 12am
Phone: 818-292-7296
Email: VOGCCaregivers@yahoo.com

Covers the following zip codes in Encino, California: 91316, 91335, 91416, 91426, 91436

NEWS: In Long Beach City, Frustration Leads to Desperation in Solving Medical Marijuana Issue

noreply@blogger.com (Doc Herbalist) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 20:00:00 +0000

LONG BEACH, Calif. - On March 21 at 4:41pm, plain clothes officers not providing identification of the Long Beach Police Department, along with Long Beach Department of Finance workers, initiated an illegal raid against NatureCann Non-Profit Patient Group. Acting without a warrant or court order, the officer incursion involved forcefully breaking into the patient collective where three (3) patient volunteers were assisting fellow patients. An observer recording the event outside of the collective was knocked down by an officer who told him the police "can do whatever they want." Scores of businesses along the Atlantic Avenue Corridor were disrupted by the police presence and activity.

Although no warrant was obtained by the department, and no resistance was offered by NatureCann, specialized assault equipment and armed tactics were utilized to force entry into the property. In an attempt to avoid being filmed and prior to making entry, an electronic video surveillance system designed to assist law enforcement was instead destroyed and disabled by the officers. Three (3) volunteers were abducted by the officers on-site while other officers arrested the collective's security guard at a nearby restaurant where he was on break.

When asked about the reason for the incursion and arrest, one of the female NatureCann patient volunteers who declined to be named for fear of reprisal said, "I was in fear for my life, looking at the end of a loaded firearm pointed at my head, by an unidentified intruder twice my size. They broke in and started attacking us. We follow all State laws and provide for seriously ill patients." It was later determined that the volunteers had been arrested under a city ordinance recently rendered invalid by a higher court.

In February, 2012, the Long Beach City Council enacted a ban of all medical cannabis patient dispensaries after its permitting ordinance requiring "substantial" and non-refundable fees was deemed unconstitutional by a California appellate court. Although the ban states it applies to all medical marijuana dispensaries in the city, dispensaries that had paid the substantial fee are not being targeted by authorities. The city announced it would enforce the ban only against patient groups that had not paid the fees. Days after Long Beach passed its ordinance banning all collectives, another California appellate court deemed similar bans illegal.

In June, 2011, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge found that an earlier warrantless raid by Long Beach police officers and officials was improper. Patients involved in that case have filed a suit against the city seeking damages. In addition to being arrested, the volunteer said the police had taken all of the patient group's medication as well as electronic equipment without inventorying or reporting the seizures.

For more information contact Sergio Sandoval,Director of Public Relations, Pappas Law Group,Phone #949-382-1485Email – sergio.sandoval@pappaslawgroup.com

Source: NatureCann

NEWS: Medical marijuana delivery man reports he was robbed by ninjas in West Covina

noreply@blogger.com (Doc Herbalist) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 03:28:00 +0000

WEST COVINA - Police are looking into a bizarre report of a medical marijuana robbery involving two attackers dressed as ninjas, officials said.

Police received the strange report shortly before 10 p.m. Friday from a medical marijuana delivery man who said he had been robbed in the 800 block of South Sunset Avenue, near Cameron Avenue, after making a delivery to a patient West Covina police Lt. Alan Henley said.

The delivery man, who was in his 40s, told police that, "As he was going back to his vehicle, he was approached by two subjects in ninja costumes who chased him with batons," the lieutenant said.

"The victim said he was scared and he dropped a bag with some marijuana and money. The suspects took it," Henley added.

It was not clear how much cash or pot was taken, police added.

The incident remained under investigation. Police were not aware of any other recent crimes involving suspects dressed as ninjas.

Source: San Gabriel Valley Tribune

NEWS: LA marijuana dispensary workers join labor union

noreply@blogger.com (Doc Herbalist) — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 22:44:00 +0000

LA marijuana dispensary workers join labor union

LOS ANGELES -- Marijuana dispensary workers in Los Angeles have joined a labor union to fight for their jobs in an industry that the federal government considers illegal.

Workers at 14 pot shops have formed the "medical cannabis and hemp division" of the United Food and Commercial Workers, Local 770. The 35,000-member union also represents grocery clerks, pharmacists and health care workers.
"This is the next step in professionalizing and stabilizing this new sector of the health care industry," Local 770 President Rick Icaza said at a news conference Thursday. "This is a positive step towards successfully integrating compassionate care into our system of health care."

Los Angeles currently caps the number of medical marijuana dispensaries, but the City Council is considering a full ban in light of a court decision that limits its ability to regulate them.

Icaza said the union would use its considerable political weight to pressure officials to find an alternative to a total ban.

That help will be welcome, said Yamileth Bolanos, president of the Greater Los Angeles Collectives Alliance, which represents dispensaries.

"It's time to bring in some big guns," she told the Los Angeles Times ( http://lat.ms/GQqPfS). "Not only are they threatening access for patients, they're also trying to take jobs away from our employees."

Pot clinics flourished in California after voters in 1996 voted to permit people to cultivate and possess marijuana for what became nearly any medical reason. As hundreds of dispensaries opened, cities and counties struggled to interpret the state law, which was light on specifics.

Some communities sought to outlaw the pot clinics under existing zoning and other ordinances, while others tried to regulate them.

Court rulings have further muddied the waters. Last month, a state appellate court ruled that cities cannot use nuisance ordinances to ban medical marijuana dispensaries.

A Los Angeles-based appellate court last year struck down Long Beach's attempt to license marijuana stores, ruling the local ordinance conflicted with federal law. And another appellate court upheld Riverside's right to close and prohibit dispensaries despite the state's medical marijuana law.

Early on in the Obama administration, the U.S. Justice Department said prosecutors wouldn't focus on pot dispensaries that were following state medical marijuana laws even though the entire industry was considered illegal under federal statutes.

But that attitude has changed, with federal prosecutors arguing that many ostensibly nonprofit clinics are raking in money by supplying marijuana to people without a medical need.

Since last year, federal prosecutors have warned California clinics that they are illegal, filed criminal and civil charges against some owners, and threatened to seize properties that are leased to pot growers. About 140 dispensaries in more than 20 Southern California cities have been told to shut down since October when federal authorities began their statewide effort.

The crackdown hasn't dissuaded some communities from welcoming pot shops. Earlier this month, Oakland officials granted approval for four new medical marijuana dispensaries in the city, bringing the total to eight. Officials said the four dispensaries would generate $1.7 million in annual tax revenue for the city.

Source: The Sacramento Bee

VIDEO: Willie Nelson Endorses Oregon Cannabis Tax Act 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Doc Herbalist) — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 20:25:00 +0000

NEWS: Vallejo medical marijuana dispensary certification on hold, city manager says

noreply@blogger.com (Doc Herbalist) — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 17:31:00 +0000

Vallejo medical marijuana dispensaries anticipating a business license in the mail may have to wait a while.

City Manager Dan Keen said that he has suspended the city's plan to begin issuing business certificates to those dispensaries that have paid a $500 city business fee. The fee was authorized under a ballot measure voters overwhelmingly approved in the November election. The measure's passage has also led to the city approving a 10 percent tax on medical marijuana sales.

City Finance Director Deborah Lauchner said in a recent interview that several dispensaries have paid the fee, although she could not confirm how many. Calls to Lauchner this week were not returned.

Keen's business fee decision follows a maelstrom of questions and confusion about the legality of the city's estimated 20 or more dispensaries. Police began an enforcement effort on Feb. 21, and have raided several dispensaries just before the city began taxing them.

On Tuesday morning, Keen released a five-page memo to the Vallejo City Council. In it, he addressed concerns about the mixed message the city was sending in taxing dispensaries, while at the same time raiding them. Keen's memo acknowledged confusion and suggested that the council may wish to seek legal advice about not enforcing the tax collection "until the situation regarding the regulation of medical marijuana establishments becomes clearer."

The memo, given to council members on Friday, highlights several references in past city staff reports to plans for "vigorous prosecution of illegal medical marijuana operations."
Councilman Robert McConnell, among those who last week called for answers relating to the police crackdown's timing, said Tuesday that he had only glanced at Keen's memo so far.

"I think there's an awful lot more questions ... that need to be addressed," McConnell said. "I think we all have concerns, because it's an evolving saga. I think we have enough problems to worry about on our own in the police department area without getting into MMDs (medical marijuana dispensaries) and whether they comply with federal law.

"The area is about as clear as mud right now."

McConnell said he was unsure if he would continue to call for a public meeting about the issue, because it may require closed-door confidential talks with the city attorney.

Councilwoman Erin Hannigan said she was not surprised by Keen's memo. She added, however, that she understood the public's confusion over the timing of the raids. She also expressed concern over some allegations that police used unnecessary force during the raids against dispensary employees and clients.

Hannigan added that despite any confusion, dispensaries should not consider that a city business license tax makes medical marijuana sales legal in Vallejo.

"It wasn't a mystery to me," Hannigan said of the police raids. "We very clearly had a briefing by staff a couple of months ago as to what our plan was going to be."

Hannigan also shared frustration that the council's direction to its staff to draft regulatory measures to locally legalize dispensary operations had been put on hold because of ongoing legal action elsewhere. She said other cities have continued to move forward in regulating dispensaries while Vallejo has not.

Source: Vallejo Times-Herald

NEWS: Owner reopens G3 Holistic Marijuana Clinic

noreply@blogger.com (Doc Herbalist) — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 17:14:00 +0000

The medical-marijuana cooperative has survived two Drug Enforcement Administration raids - including one last week - and continues to provide medication to its 2,900 members.

"I've been first in line, and I've been in early every day, so I would continue to be the first in line to solve this issue," said Aaron Sandusky, the president of G3.

Federal law prohibits marijuana, but California voters approved the use of the drug for medical purposes in 1996.

The cooperative has a case pending in the state Supreme Court against the city, which has been fighting to close down G3 Holistic since it opened in 2009.
Councilman Ken Willis, who has been vocal against medical marijuana, said the situation is now between G3 and the federal government.

"But I would caution them," Willis said. "I don't think it's a good idea to flaunt yourself in front of the federal authorities. They have jurisdiction."
The co-op was recuperating from its first raid in November when it was raided again March 12.

Federal agents last week confiscated at least 25 pounds of marijuana and 89 pounds of edible products that contained marijuana.

But, G3 members got together and restocked the co-op so they could reopen.

"We're under duress from the previous raid," Sandusky said. "I'm trying to recover as much as I can. I'm asking everyone to work for medications right now and volunteer as much time as they can. Everybody's obviously very willing to help out."

Brian Muehlen of Ontario, who has been a member of G3 since it opened, was in the cooperative during the first raid.

"It's ridiculous that they're wasting all this federal tax money to come steal everything that's legal in our state," said Muehlen, who has been volunteering at the co-op.

"There's nothing I like more than listening to a patient tell me they've cut five or six pills out of their life that makes them loopy and hurts their liver.
"They cut them out of their life because of this medicine, and we should be able to provide that medicine for those people."

The November raid left G3 Holistic without any medical marijuana, $22,000 in unfunded payroll liability and a $44,000 bill with Southern California Edison. Sandusky's 50 employees lost their health insurance and were forced to apply for unemployment.

G3 Holistic cooperatives in Colton and Moreno Valley, a warehouse in Ontario, Sandusky's home in Rancho Cucamonga and the Rialto home of his partner John Nuckolls were also all raided in November.

As a result of the raid, the co-ops closed.

Sandusky re-opened the Upland location, at 1710 W. Foothill Blvd., on Dec. 30.

Sandusky is suing the landlord of the Ontario warehouse, alleging that the landlord stole some assets not taken during the raid, and is involved in litigation with Colton and Moreno Valley.

The city of Upland was granted an injunction in August 2010 by a West Valley Superior Court judge in Rancho Cucamonga. The city's zoning laws prohibit marijuana dispensaries.

The case has since been heard in the 4th District Appellate Court in Riverside, which ruled in favor of the city, but attorneys for G3 have taken the fight to the state's top court.

Upland has reached out to the federal government regarding their fight against cooperatives in the city. The city has spent more than $400,000 fighting medical marijuana.

However, Willis said he first learned of the raid a couple hours later while at the dentist.

"The feds don't go around telling people they plan to raid some place," he said. "The DEA or the FBI don't have a list of friends that they call before they raid."

Source: Contra Costa Times

NEWS: Political Activist Filmmaker Kevin Booth Retained by Cannabis Science to Film Specialty Documentary

noreply@blogger.com (Doc Herbalist) — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 21:31:00 +0000

Doc Herbalist with Kevin Booth (right)

Cannabis Science, Inc. a pioneering U.S. biotech company developing pharmaceutical cannabis (marijuana) products, is thrilled to announce that the company has retained filmmaker Kevin Booth to collaborate on a documentary researching cannabis as a medicine and the truth behind the science of marijuana.

Many people know Kevin Booth’s work with the late comedian, Bill Hicks. Kevin produced most of Bill’s CDs and videos that led to the comedian’s own HBO specials and multiple appearances on David Letterman. The story of Kevin’s seventeen-year friendship and working partnership with Bill Hicks was recently explored in a feature length BBC documentary that just ended a year long run of festivals and theatrical screenings. After Bill’s death from pancreatic cancer in 1994, Kevin’s filmmaking took on a political turn and he produced documentaries with talk show host Alex Jones about the incident in Waco, Texas, the American two-party political system, and 9/11. In 2005, Kevin traveled to the UK in order to promote his book titled “Agent of Evolution” about his friendship with Bill Hicks - published by Harper Collins.

Several of Kevin’s family members died as a result of alcohol, tobacco, and pharmaceutical use. In 2003 Kevin began investigating the drug war in the United States and produced the documentary “American Drug War: The Last White Hope.” In his investigations, he discovered the United States government considers marijuana more dangerous than crack cocaine or crystal meth. Kevin sought to separate fact from fiction by traveling across the United States, documenting the “fallout” from the War on Drugs and seeking possible solutions and alternatives that have worked elsewhere. Kevin has toured the country, showing his film and lecturing at universities in hope of sparking a meaningful debate. “American Drug War” won best feature documentary at several film festivals from coast to coast and aired continuously on the Showtime network between 2008-2010. During this same time the film was also broadcasted on major networks in Canada, Australia, Poland, Lebanon and South Africa. Kevin recently returned from filming in Juarez Mexico for the follow up to “American Drug War" and is aiming for the sequel’s release later this year.

Kevin Booth’s body of work also include “How Weed Won the West" (a light hearted and humorous look into the California Cannabis culture) “Bill Hicks - Sane Man”, multiple music videos, feature length comedy concerts of Bill Hicks, Fear Factor’s Joe Rogan and groundbreaking comic Doug Stanhope. Kevin’s production of the Hick’s CD “Rant in E Minor” was recently awarded the 11th best comedy album of all time by Spin magazine competing against Bill Cosby, Chris Rock, Lenny Bruce, Rodney Dangerfield, Eddie Murphy, Sam Kinison, Woody Allen, George Carlin and Richard Pryor just to mention a few. Kevin’s audio productions “Rant in E Minor”, “Arizona Bay” and “Marble Head Johnson” all contain music written and performed by Kevin Booth and Bill Hick who first started playing music together in a high school punk-rock band named STRESS.

Today Kevin runs Sacred Cow Productions dba SCP Enterprises and self distributes through his own sites including SacredCow.com, AmericanDrugWar.com and Amazon. Several of his titles can be found distributed through Warner Brothers and Gravitas VOD that has now broken Booth’s work into the Latin market on both Netflix and ITUNES.

As previously announced, Cannabis Science has begun pre-production of its documentary, in which prohibition of marijuana, medicinal benefits of the plant, and international medical marijuana programs will be explored. Booth’s interests and demonstrated experience will be a true asset to Cannabis Science’s endeavors. The documentary will expose audience members to the subject of medical marijuana so that they may gain a better understanding of the research, science, and planning that goes into running Cannabis Science, one of the top marijuana research companies. The documentary will teach viewers about the medicinal benefits for a wide variety of conditions and show them that prohibition is unnecessary. This is clearly a topic for which Kevin Booth will provide great assistance, and Cannabis Science is excited to begin this project.

Source: MarketWatch.com

NEWS: Long Beach Police searching for suspects in shooting of medical marijuana patient

noreply@blogger.com (Doc Herbalist) — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 04:30:00 +0000

LONG BEACH -- Homicide detectives will be canvassing the Hellman neighborhood on Saturday in the search for three suspects wanted in connection with a brazen midday shooting that left a 32-year-old Long Beach man paralyzed.

The Oct. 4 shooting might have been the result of a botched robbery after the victim left a local medical marijuana dispensary, said Nancy Pratt, a Long Beach Police Department spokeswoman.

Though the victim is not a gang member, the shooter and the other suspects are believed to be in a gang or affiliated with a gang, police said.

The shooting occurred on Rose Avenue, just north of Seventh Street, at about 1:45 p.m. when the gunman got out of a small red car and opened fire on the victim, who was sitting in a blue car, police said.

A passenger in the victim's car was able to avoid being hit by gunfire when he bailed out of the victim's vehicle.

The victim, however, was struck in the upper body. Though he survived the shooting he was left paralyzed, Pratt said.

Long Beach Gang detectives have been investigating the shooting since last October and have exhausted all leads, prompting police to turn to the community for help, Pratt explained.

"They've run with everything they could, but they're kind of at a dead end now," Pratt said.

To help in the investigation, Homicide detectives and Police Explorers will canvass the neighborhood Friday afternoon, searching for possible witnesses and passing out fliers with descriptions of the suspects and their vehicle and a stock photo of a car similar to the car used in the crime.
The shooter is described as a male black, 25 to 29 years old. The driver of the suspects' vehicle was a female black, 19 to 21 years old. A third suspect who got into the suspects' vehicle as the victim walked out of the marijuana dispensary was described as a male black in his 20s, Pratt said.

"The descriptions are a little vague, but we're hoping that someone who was in the area at the time might have information that could aid in the investigation," Pratt said. "They might not know that they saw something significant or this could jog their memory and they might recall seeing the car or the suspects."
Anyone with information is urged to call the Gang Enforcement Detail at 562-570-7370.

Anonymous tips can be sent via text or e-mail at www.tipsoft.com.

Source: Long Beach Press-Telegram