A year-old moratorium on the opening of new medical marijuana dispensaries within the Los Angeles city limits will be extended for at least another six months.

After being roundly chastised by more than a hundred medical marijuana patients and activists at an angry Monday meeting, the Washington state Health Department has extended the deadline for commen

After more than a decade of roiling confusion over what California's groundbreaking medical marijuana law and subsequent enabling legislation do and do not allow, state Attorney General Jerry Brown

MEDIA RELEASE
Americans for Safe Access
For Immediate Release: August 25, 2008

CA Attorney General Directs Law Enforcement on Medical Marijuana / Comprehensive recommendations include protection of dispensaries

Sacramento, CA -- California Attorney General Jerry Brown issued long-awaited guidelines on medical marijuana today with support from advocates and law enforcement alike. The guidelines direct law enforcement on how to approach encounters with medical marijuana patients and establish a road map for local police policies. However, more significantly, the guidelines provide recommendations for operating medical marijuana dispensaries in accordance with state law. Specifically, the Attorney General states that, "a properly organized and operated collective or cooperative that dispenses medical marijuana through a storefront may be lawful under California law."

The guidelines are the culmination of years of work by Americans for Safe Access (ASA) and other advocates to educate and urge action from the Attorney General and other state officials. "Today we stand beside the Attorney General of California in his effort to fully implement the state's medical marijuana law," said ASA Chief Counsel Joe Elford. "We welcome this leadership and expect that compliance with these guidelines will result in fewer unnecessary arrests, citations and seizures of medicine from qualified patients and their primary caregivers." The guidelines not only provide direction for patients and police, but also for lawyers, judges and public officials to better understand their rights, responsibilities, and obligations under state law.

The guidelines firmly establish that as long as patients and caregivers are abiding by local and state laws, they "should be released" from police custody and "the marijuana should not be seized." In the event that medical marijuana is wrongfully seized from a patient or caregiver, and the court orders its return, the guidelines state that police "must return the property." Affirming that California's medical marijuana law is not preempted by federal law, the Attorney General further directs "state and local law enforcement officers [to] not arrest individuals or seize marijuana under federal law" when an individual's conduct is legal under state law.

Contained within the guidelines is a controversial provision requiring medical marijuana dispensaries to operate on a not-for-profit basis. This interpretation of the law comes from California's Medical Marijuana Program Act (SB 420), passed by the legislature in 2003. However, while the voter-approved initiative Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act, references the need for a distribution system, no mention is made of for-profit status. In prior discussions with the Attorney General's office, ASA had strenuously objected to this provision of the guidelines.

The guidelines come at a time of escalating interference by the federal government. The federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Department of Justice continue in their attempts to undermine state law through ongoing investigations, raids, seizures, prosecutions, and imprisonment of medical marijuana patients and providers. In response, several California mayors, including Gavin Newsom and Ron Dellums, have voiced their opposition to House Judiciary Chair John Conyers (D-MI) and have called for oversight hearings. "It is now up to Congress and the new President to align federal policy with California and other medical cannabis states," said ASA spokesperson Kris Hermes. "It is time to resolve the federal-state conflict that serves only to undermine California and other states' sovereignty and inflict harm on seriously ill patients and their care providers."

For further information:

Guidelines issued today by the California Attorney General: http://www.AmericansForSafeAccess.org/downloads/AG_Guidelines.pdf
Attorney General bulletin issued to all law enforcement after the 2005 U.S. Supreme Court decision in /Gonzales v. Raich/: http://www.AmericansForSafeAccess.org/downloads/AG_Raich_Bulletin2.pdf

The California Supreme Court agreed Wednesday to revisit the question of how many plants and how much marijuana medical marijuana patients may legally possess.

Kenneth Rau, the Bismarck, North Dakota, man with the dubious distinction of being the first person to be charged with a salvia divinorum possession offense in the US, got some good news last week.

In its 2000 decision in Indianapolis v.

David Borden, Executive Director

For Immediate Release: August 20, 2008

Denver Mayor's Panel Calls on Police to Halt Marijuana Enforcement During 2008 Democratic National Convention

Mayor's Panel recommendation rebuffs police who said they would ignore the will of Denver voters, who approved measures making adult marijuana possession legal in 2005 and the city's lowest law enforcement priority in 2007

Official memo from panel will be delivered to Denver mayor and police chief following press conference TOMORROW (Thursday) at 12 p.m. in front of the Denver City and County Building (1437 Bannock St.)

DENVER -- A city panel appointed by Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper has officially recommended that the Denver Police Dept. "refrain from arresting, detaining, or issuing a citation" to any adult for the possession of up to one ounce of marijuana during the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver next week. (See full recommendation and PDF of memo below.)

The Denver Marijuana Policy Review Panel's recommendation comes in response to news reports in which a spokesman for the Denver Police Dept. said police would be arresting or citing adults for marijuana possession despite ballot measures approved by Denver voters calling on them to refrain from doing so. In 2005, Denver voters approved a ballot measure making possession of small amounts of marijuana legal for adults, and in 2007, voters approved a measure designating adult marijuana possession Denver's "lowest law enforcement priority."

"The People of Denver have made it clear they do not want adults in this city punished for simply possessing a drug less harmful than alcohol," said panel member Mason Tvert, who led the campaigns for the two ballot measures. "Now a panel appointed by the Mayor of Denver has echoed that call, and we hope police will not defy the people of this city or its mayor when the international spotlight hits the Mile High City next week.

"Tomorrow we will deliver an official memo from the panel to the chief of police and the mayor, and we expect police to abide by this very logical recommendation," Tvert said. "If police expect the taxpayers to cover their $1.2 million in overtime during the DNC, it is only fair that they respect the laws adopted by those taxpayers. There will be plenty for police to do during the DNC aside from arresting or citing adults who are simply making the safer choice to use marijuana instead of alcohol."

WHAT: Press conference and delivery of memo from Denver mayor's panel to Denver police chief and mayor

WHEN: Thursday, August 21, 12 p.m. (noon)

WHERE: Press conference in front of the Denver City and County
Building, 1437 Bannock St. Then the memo from the panel chair will be delivered to the Denver Mayor's Office in the Denver City and County Building, and to the office of Denver Police Chief Gerry Whitman at 1331 Cherokee St. (around the corner)

WHO: Mason Tvert, Denver Marijuana Policy Review Panel member

# # #

Resolution adopted on August 20, 2008, by the Denver Marijuana Policy Review Panel appointed by Mayor John Hickenlooper:

The Denver Marijuana Policy Review Panel recommends that the Denver Police Department should refrain from arresting, detaining, or issuing a citation to any adult 21 years of age or older for the private possession of up to one ounce of marijuana during the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

PRESS RELEASE
Americans for Safe Access
For Immediate Release:* August 20, 2008

Medical Marijuana Employment Rights Bill Passes Both California Houses / Anti-discrimination bill AB2279 now heads to the Governor's desk

Sacramento, CA -- A medical marijuana employment rights bill, which would protect hundreds of thousands of medical marijuana patients in California from employment discrimination, passed the State Senate today. AB2279 had already passed the State Assembly in May, which means the bill now heads to the Governor's desk. Advocates expect the bill to reach Schwarzenegger's desk in the next few weeks.

AB2279, introduced in February by Assemblymember Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) and co-authored by Assemblymembers Patty Berg (D-Eureka), Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley) and Lori Saldaña (D-San Diego), reverses a January California Supreme Court decision in the case /Ross v. RagingWire/. Support for the bill has been widespread, coming from labor, business, and health groups at the local and national level.

"Now that both houses of the California legislature have voted in favor of employment rights for medical marijuana patients, the onus is on Governor Schwarzenegger to do the right thing," said Joe Elford, Chief Counsel with Americans for Safe Access, the medical marijuana advocacy group that argued the case before the Court and a sponsor of the bill. "The Governor has a chance to include medical marijuana patients as productive members of society, thereby protecting the jobs of thousands of Californians with serious illnesses such as cancer and HIV/AIDS."

The bill leaves intact existing state law prohibiting medical marijuana consumption at the workplace or during working hours and protects employers from liability by carving out an exception for safety-sensitive positions. "AB2279 is not about being under the influence while at work. That's against the law, and will remain so,"
said Mr. Leno, the bill's author. "It's about allowing patients who are able to work safely and who use their doctor-recommended medication in the privacy of their own home, to not be arbitrarily fired from their jobs," continued Mr. Leno. "The voters who supported Proposition 215 did not intend for medical marijuana patients to be forced into unemployment in order to benefit from their medicine."

On January 24, in a 5-2 decision, the California Supreme Court upheld a lower court's ruling that an employer may fire someone solely because they use medical marijuana outside the workplace. The plaintiff in the case, Gary Ross, is a 46-year old disabled veteran who was a systems engineer living Carmichael, California, when he was fired from his job in 2001 at RagingWire Telecommunications for testing positive for marijuana. The decision in /Ross v. RagingWire/ dealt a harsh blow to patients in the courts, shifting the debate to the state legislature.

But, before the court made its final decision, Ross enjoyed the support of ten state and national medical organizations, all of the original co-authors of the Medical Marijuana Program Act (SB 420), and disability rights groups. Since it began recording instances of employment discrimination in 2005, ASA has received hundreds of such reports from all across California.

Further information:

Employment rights legislation AB2279: http://www.AmericansForSafeAccess.org/downloads/AB_2279.pdf
ASA web page on AB2279, including Fact Sheet and Letters of Support: http://www.AmericansForSafeAccess.org/AB2279
Legal briefs and rulings in the Ross v. RagingWire case: http://www.AmericansForSafeAccess.org/Ross

# # #

Kenneth Rau, the Bismarck, North Dakota, man who suffers the dubious distinction of being the first pe

In June, foes of Mendocino County, California's relaxed marijuana cultivation ordinance, managed to narrowly r

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   
AUGUST 11, 2008

Patients to San Bernardino Board of Supervisors: Stop Wasting Tax Dollars on Failed LawsuitMedical Marijuana Advocates to Protest, Attend Aug. 12 Supes' Meeting

CONTACT: Aaron Smith, MPP California organizer, 707-575-9870

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — Medical marijuana patients and advocates will hold a demonstration before attending the county Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday to urge the board to drop its doomed lawsuit seeking to overturn state medical marijuana laws.

    San Bernardino and San Diego county officials have contended that federal laws prevent them from obeying state requirements to issue medical marijuana identification cards to qualified patients who desire them. Although the case has already been dismissed twice, most recently last week in a unanimous decision by the 4th District Court of Appeals, San Diego's Board of Supervisors has already voted to appeal the case again, this time to the California Supreme Court.   

    "In a time of staggering budget deficits and inevitable cuts to county services, San Bernardino’s officials must cease this meritless and wasteful litigation and obey the laws protecting medical marijuana patients," said Aaron Smith, California organizer for the Marijuana Policy Project, who will attend the demonstration and Board of Supervisors meeting. "If compassion for seriously ill San Bernardino patients isn't enough to make the board stop this nonsense, then respect for county taxpayers and the rule of law ought to be."

    WHAT: Demonstration calling on San Bernardino officials to drop its lawsuit against state medical marijuana laws, followed by Board of Supervisors meeting

    WHEN: Aug. 12 – Demonstration begins at 11 a.m. Demonstrators will walk to the Board of Supervisors meeting at 12:30 p.m.

    WHERE: Demonstration begins at the San Bernardino County Health Administration Building at 351 N. Mountain View Ave., and will end at the Board of Supervisors meeting at 385 N. Arrowhead.

    With more than 25,000 members and 100,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit www.MarijuanaPolicy.org.

####

In a July 31 decision, the Arizona Court of Appeals has held that there is no religious right to possess marijuana.

In a July 31 ruling, California's 4th District Court of Appeals upheld the state's voter-approved medical marijuana law against a challenge from conservative county supervisors in San Diego and San

An all-white jury found Lima, Ohio, Police Sgt.

The Illinois Department of Transportation earlier this month issued its annual report on race and tra

The Hawaii State Teachers Association (HSTA) and the administration of Republican Gov.

South Dakota's annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally begins next weekend and, as usual, is expected to draw huge crowds of motorcycling enthusiasts.

Louisiana: Bill Requiring Voting Rights Notification Gets Thumbs Up from Local ACLU

The ACLU of Louisiana has applauded Gov. Bobby Jindal's recent signing of a law that mandates the Department of Public Safety and Corrections to notify people leaving its supervision about the process of regaining their voting rights. The law, which goes into effect August 15, also requires the Department to provide returning citizens with voter registration applications.

"By requiring notice of voting rights reinstatement to those completing their felony sentences, the Louisiana legislature and Gov. Jindal have taken an important step towards ensuring that all of Louisiana's eligible voters can exercise their fundamental right to vote," said Marjorie Esman, Executive Director of the ACLU of Louisiana, which lobbied in favor of the bill. "The enactment of this legislation shows that the right to vote transcends partisan politics," Esman said. "This bill is about the strength of our democracy."

Louisiana's current law bans nearly 100,000 citizens from voting until they have completed parole or probation. Thousands more are kept from the polls because they wrongly believe that they cannot regain their right to vote, according to the ACLU. "The ACLU of Louisiana will be working with Voice of the Ex-Offender (VOTE) to help ensure that the Department of Public Safety and Corrections implements the bill quickly and effectively," said Norris Henderson, VOTE's founder and director.

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