Subject: Eric Holder

• Groovy: Marijuana Advocates Ecstatic About Attorney General's New Pot Policy -- See Boost for Ammiano Legalization Bill

  Supporters of legal marijuana -- medical and otherwise -- will be racking their brains to find some way to celebrate a potentially groundbreaking drug policy change announced by Attorney General Eric Holder today.In short, the AG said Justice will only target those "who violate both federal and state law" regarding marijuana. Without going into specifics, this should mean an end to the ever-present worries that Drug Enforcement Agency officers will crash the party for those using medical marijua

  March 18, 2009

• Marijuana Advocate 'Flabbergasted' at DEA Raid of S.F. Dispensary

  BummerLast week, Attorney General Eric Holder announced a policy shift away from the Drug Enforcement Agency raiding marijuana dispensaries in states that have approved medical marijuana. So, it came as something of a shock that DEA agents today raided Emmalyn's California Cannabis Clinic at 1597 Howard Street. Calls to the dispensary did not go through; for whatever reason the phone did not ring. Aaron Smith, the California Policy Director for the Marijuana Policy Project, was beside himself. "

  March 25, 2009

• Vote on Ammiano's Marijuana Bill Postponed Amid Difficult Time For S.F. Pot Fans

  In what is perhaps the best news of late for aficionados of marijuana legalization, a scheduled March 31 committee hearing of Assemblyman Tom Ammiano's legalization bill was postponed likely until 2010 (drag) -- which gives marijuana advocates some time to reverse what would have almost definitely been a no vote (groovy). On the whole, however, these are the days that try pot men's souls: Last Wednesday witnessed a jaw-dropping raid of a San Francisco marijuana dispensary, seemingly in stark con

  March 29, 2009

• US Attorney Spars with Hastings Law Students Over Pot Laws

  The most compelling question from the Hastings panel on pot: How could two guys with such different opinions on marijuana think so similarly about fashion? Was this planned?Hastings law students with the munchies and a keen interest in how changes in federal priorities on marijuana enforcement would affect them the average Californian in these times of change filled a classroom Wednesday to spar with Northern California's top drug warrior. Hastings student Elizabeth Leeper grabbe

  April 8, 2009

• Supes Condemn Raid on San Francisco Pot Club, Call For DEA to Mellow Out

  Fair enough, it was somewhat lost in the glare of our governor -- once caught on film wearing a shirt emblazoned with the sentence "Arnold Is Numero Uno" while smoking a joint and eating a massive piece of cake -- said he's open to debate on marijuana legalization. But, yesterday, a resolution passed by our very own board of supervisors fired another shot in favor of the herb. By a 9-2 vote (Carmen Chu and Sean Elsbernd were very un-Dude here), the supes blasted the March DEA raid of Emmalyn's C

  May 6, 2009

• Chronic City: An End To The War On Drugs -- Impossible Dream? Political Ploy? Or Inevitable?

  Gil KerlikowskeNew White House Drug Czar and former Seattle police chief Gil Kerlikowske didn't wait long before making big waves as the top drug enforcement officer in the country.  In his first public appearance since being confirmed on May 7, Kerlikowske, in a new interview with the Wall Street Journal, said he wants to end the "War On Drugs" and said he favors policies that emphasize making treatment available to drug users rather than putting them behind bars. Kerlikowske spoke with u

  May 14, 2009

• Chronic City: Dispensary Ban -- Hey, Goleta, Nice Job Helping Patients!

  The Goleta City Council has unanimously passed a "temporary" ban on medical marijuana dispensaries -- while still claiming the city is "voicing support" for medical marijuana patients.The Santa Barbara Independent reports that the council voted 5-0 in support of an ordinance banning dispensaries within city limits, pointing to "the need to examine the option of allowing and regulating dispensaries in more detail." Members of the council expressed interest in developing regulations under which di

  June 5, 2009

• Chronic City: Dispensary Operator Charlie Lynch Gets 366 Days In Federal Prison

  Reason.tvCharles Lynch In a courtroom crowded with spectators and supporters, Morro Bay medical marijuana dispensary owner Charles Lynch was sentenced today in federal court to one year and one day in prison.Lynch, 47, appeared this morning in the Los Angeles federal courtroom of U.S. District Judge George Wu.Lynch was convicted of five offenses last year for running Central Coast Compassionate Caregivers, a medical marijuana store in San Luis Obispo County. (See: "Chronic City: The Sad Case of

  June 11, 2009

• Chronic City: The 'Oaksterdam Model' For Legal Pot In California

  Oaksterdam UniversityWith Oakland broke and growing broker (like many other American cities), calls for the city to get into the growing and selling of medical marijuana are being taken more seriously.The idea seems a lot less crazy when you take a look at the potential revenue to be generated, especially in conjunction with the near-emergency condition of Oakland's municipal budget. Additionally, now that Attorney General Eric Holder has pledged that the Obama administration will stop federal r

  June 17, 2009

• Chronic City: Marijuana Moratorium -- How To Ignore The Voters And The Law

  Dispensary moratorium: Latest political fad?​One by one, across California, the lights are winking out.In city after city, town after town, patients who had dared hope they would at last have safe access to the medicine recommended by their physicians are having those hopes dashed  by political cowardice, inertia, and the status quo.In case you haven't noticed, medical marijuana is yet another front in the culture wars. Conservative hamlets which aren't yet ready for the 21st Century noti

  August 4, 2009

• Chronic City: Aptly Named 'Joint Resolution' Succeeds; California Senate Urges Change in Federal Medical Marijuana Rules

  ​By a 23-15 vote, the California State Senate yesterday approved a "joint resolution" urging the federal government to stop Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) raids on medical marijuana patients and providers. The Sen. Mark Leno-authored resolution additionally calls for the nation to "create a comprehensive federal medical marijuana policy that ensures safe and legal access to any patient that would benefit from it."Marijuana advocates say recent enforcement activity, including DEA arrests followi

  August 25, 2009

• Chronic City: Feds Lighten Up On Medical Marijuana Just As L.A. Tightens The Screws

  Photo by Rotbuche, Wikimedia CommonsLet my people grow.​In a stunning bit of role reversal, law enforcement officials in dispensary-heavy Los Angeles County are gearing up for a massive mobilization against hundreds of pot shops even while the Obama administration backs away from the federal government's traditional role as marijuana enforcer in the states where medical pot is legal.Today, the administration sent new, more relaxed medical marijuana guidelines to federal prosecutors in the 14 s

  October 19, 2009

• Chronic City: 'Truth In Trials' Bill Would Lift Ban On Medical Marijuana Evidence In Federal Court

  ​U.S. Representative Sam Farr (D-Carmel) and more than 20 bipartisan co-sponsors introduced legislation today that would allow defendants in medical marijuana cases the ability to use medical evidence at trial, a right they currently do not have. Due to the 2005 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Gonzales v. Raich, the government has the discretion to enforce federal marijuana laws even in medical marijuana states. The Raich ruling also allows federal prosecutors to conveniently exclude evidenc

  October 27, 2009

• No Justice

  October 28, 2009

• Chronic City: N. California's Top Federal Prosecutor -- 'Really Not A Change At All' In Medical Pot Enforcement

  ​Ah, "guidelines." They're a little more lax than "rules," which are a little looser than "laws." When it comes to guidelines, that's their strength -- and that's their weakness. Whereas laws and rules are "broken," guidelines can simply be "ignored."That truism is abundantly illustrated by this week's statements from George W. Bush appointee Joseph Russoniello, federal prosecutor for the northern district of California. "I think it's unfortunate that people have for some reason picked up on t

  November 3, 2009