Subject: Medical Marijuana

• America and Marijuana: “Medicinal” My Ass

  August 13, 2007

• Medical pot can get you fired, court says

  January 24, 2008

• Medical Marijuana Still Under Fire

  February 18, 2008

• Bill Protects Employment Rights of Medical Marijuana Users

  February 25, 2008

• Who Can Get Away With Selling Pot Sweets? The Candy Man Can't.

  March 28, 2008

• SF Gov. InAction: Quick, the Budget's in Trouble! Someone Cut the Community Justice Center or Something

  By Benjamin Wachs Keeping with tradition, the Supervisors have taken a holiday weekend and turned it into an extended vacation. Their justification this time is that they all need the extra two days off to go see "Milk." Last year, it was to stand in line and buy iPhones, and the year before that, they needed time to stay home and catch up on "Heroes." My understanding (I wasn't here) is that in 2005, one of them actually had a loved one to spend time with, and so the whole board took t

  December 1, 2008

• 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

• Drugs, Politics, and Money

  March 20, 1996

• 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

• Mirkarimi Jumps on the Marijuana Express -- and Our Bowl Runneth Over

  Try San Francisco-brand medical marijuana!Coming on the heels of Tom Ammiano's marijuana legalization bill in the Assembly, Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi's Tuesday proposal that San Francisco jump into the medical pot dispensary game was a bonanza for media types and marijuana nay-sayers: Everyone got to trot out their tired puns two times for the price of one. While Ammiano's proposal has been back-burnered -- and that is not a pun -- it remains to be seen what lies ahead for Mirkarimi's plan. But

  April 15, 2009

• Week of September 26-October 2, 2007

  September 26, 2007

• Dumb as a Potted Plant

  Why is someone as smart as Mark Leno sponsoring genuinely stupid legislation to legalize hemp cultivation?

  April 6, 2005

• Letters to the Editor

  Week of July 9, 2003

  July 9, 2003

• Letters to the Editor

  Week of June 25, 2003

  June 25, 2003

• Hey, Man, Got Any ID?

  Why the Legislature shouldn't extend the city's medical marijuana identification system statewide

  June 11, 2003

• Letters to the Editor

  Week of January 22, 2002

  January 22, 2003

• Now, the Emphatic Colonic News

  Chevron to Turks: Bay is pristine! GOP to pot doctor: Good job! Tenants to landlords: You're illegal! Potheads to supervisors: Like, wow -- a sanctuary!

  July 18, 2001

• Letters to the Editor

  Letters from March 7, 2001

  March 7, 2001

• Letters to the Editor

  Letters from February 28, 2001

  February 28, 2001

• Burning Questions

  How "prescription mill" doctors and indiscriminate pot clubs threaten the well-being of legitimate medical marijuana patients

  February 21, 2001

• Smoke and Smearers

  Potheads distort the record -- and endanger the justice system -- as they try to recall the Marin DA

  February 14, 2001

• Chronic City: 10 Years For Medical Marijuana -- This Has Got To Stop

  HR95.orgBryan EpisWhen Californians voted to legalize medical marijuana under Proposition 215 almost 13 years ago, it's a safe bet that not many of them were expecting such prosecutions would continue well more than a decade later. But that's exactly what is happening, thanks to the Drug Enforcement Agency's war on marijuana and its users -- even the medical users who are legal under the laws of California and a dozen other states.Speaking of a decade, that's just about how long Bryan Epis will

  May 5, 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: What If They Banned Zoloft Or Something Else Instead?

  igougo.comIf you're a medical marijuana patient, Oceanside may decide on Wednesday that it doesn't want your business. Or your crime, or your noise. Wait, what?Oceanside, like 110 or so other cities in California, may impose a (temporary, they say) ban on medical marijuana dispensaries until the city decides how to "regulate" them, according to the North County Times. On Wednesday, the Oceanside City Council will look at an "urgency ordinance" that would immediately prohibit marijuana dispe

  May 11, 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: Yes, I'm A Medical Marijuana Patient. No, I'm Not Sorry.

  Not bad medicine...There are many among us who obviously harbor some enormous moral judgments about marijuana and about those who legally use it as medicine -- as if we should somehow feel guilty about the relief that is afforded us through using this herb.As a legal medical marijuana patient myself, I take exception to this moralistic, judgmental, and willfully ignorant tone.Such anti-marijuana zealots often assert that "statistics strongly suggest" that more Californians use marijuana as a res

  May 22, 2009

• Chronic City: Getting It Wrong -- What's The Press-Enterprise Been Smoking?

  familydocs.orgDr. Tom Bent, president, California Academy of Family PhysiciansRiverside newspaper the Press-Enterprise reported yesterday that "observers don't expect a flood of applicants for medical marijuana cards" even though challenges by San Diego and San Bernardino counties to California's medical pot law have been turned away by the U.S. Supreme Court.The P-E's Lora Hines, soberly noted that "Despite the court's decision, federal law still prohibits the use of marijuana and doctors

  May 26, 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

• Mark Leno Introduces 'Joint Resolution' Urging End to Crackdowns On Medical Pot. We Are Not Making This Up.

  Sen. Mark Leno today announced he has introduced a "joint resolution" to end the federal crackdown on medical marijuana use in California. While this is a matter of serious legislation, one can't help but notice the howler of a marijuana-related "joint" resolution. Leno's spokeswoman, Ali Bay, confirmed that this was not an attempt at a cute double-entendre by the senator; "We do not have any choice in the wording." If you're going to introduce legislation simultaneously to both houses, this is

  June 9, 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: Medical Marijuana Group Gets $139,000 In Attorneys Fees From Garden Grove; City Spent $250K In Legal Battle over $200 Worth of Pot

  wikimedia.orgLeggo my indo.Will grass get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no grass? National medical marijuana advocacy group Americans for Safe Access (ASA) may not have to find out, as it just received $139,000 for attorney fees by the City of Garden Grove in a landmark medicinal pot case.Throw in the more than $100,000 spent by the City of Garden Grove fighting the state's medical marijuana law, and the L.A. suburb spent a likely total of more tha

  June 17, 2009

• Chronic City: Court Says Patients Can Collectively Grow Medical Marijuana

  photobucket.comOfficer, release that plantSome rural sheriff's departments still haven't really come to terms with the fact that medical marijuana is now legal in California, despite having had since 1996 to adjust to the concept. But in a landmark ruling, an appellate court today protected the right of California medical marijuana patients to collectively cultivate the herb under state law.The California Third District Court of Appeals issued the 2-1 ruling in the case of County of Butte v. Sup

  July 1, 2009

• Mark Leno's Aptly Named 'Joint Resolution' In Support of Medical Pot Passes Senate Committee

  Last month, we reported on a Mark Leno bill introduced simultaneously in the Assembly and Senate -- a "joint resolution." The moniker was especially fitting, however, because the resolution supported medical marijuana users, and called for an end to the federal crackdown on dispensaries. Well, when state legislators finished up any chuckles about the double-entendre, they went ahead and voted for it. The California Senate Health Committee approved Leno's resolution, 7-3, late Wednesday. It next

  July 16, 2009

• Chronic City: To Tax Pot, Or Not? Oakland Votes Tuesday

  Photo: chron.ronThe color of moneyMail-in voting closes Tuesday on Measure F, a new ordinance in Oakland which would impose a special tax on sales of medical marijuana in the city's dispensaries. The measure would make Oakland the first city in the United States to have a business tax category for marijuana merchants.Dispensaries have already been paying a rate of $1.20 per $1,000 of gross receipts. Measure F would create a separate category for marijuana sellers, at a rate of $18 per $1,000 of

  July 20, 2009

• Chronic City: Revealed -- California Cops Are Trained 'Marijuana Is Not A Medicine'

  Artwork courtesy Jim WheelerCan't we all just get along?​A recent court case in San Diego has revealed some California police officers are basing their sworn court testimony in medical marijuana cases on badly outdated, legally inaccurate information.This goes a long way towards explaining why it is that so many law enforcement officers in the state still seem to harbor such personal animosity toward medical marijuana and those who use it, even after it's been legal in the state for 13 years.

  July 30, 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: Fresno's Freakin' -- But Marijuana Dispensary To Stay Open

  Medmar ClinicMedmar Clinic is under legal attack from the City of Fresno.​You've gotta pity the poor, put-upon city officials of Fresno. After all, they've only had 13 years to suss out Proposition 215, this newfangled medical marijuana law that's being forced upon their fair city by more progressive Californians. And, heck, it's only been a little over half a decade since the legislature amplified and clarified the intent of the law with SB 420, opening the door for medical marijuana dispensa

  August 28, 2009

• Chronic City: Here's Progress -- S.F. Firefighters Rescue Marijuana Grow-Op

  Save the medical marijuana, fire teddy! ​ Sometimes the biggest signs of epochal change in society are those that are casually mentioned, five paragraphs down in a story. Such was the case with Sunday's four-alarm warehouse fire in Bayview, where fire crews remained yesterday monitoring for flare-ups."Marijuana was found growing in one of the buildings," CBS5 reported, "but police Sergeant Wilfred Williams said this morning that the narcotics unit investigation found that the marijuana is bein

  September 2, 2009

• Chronic City: The Results Are In -- Medical Marijuana Works

  julianayrs.comYou can't argue with results.​"There's no proof that medical marijuana works. It needs more study. There's only anecdotal evidence. It doesn't treat specific conditions. People just want to get high." Every cannabis advocate and medical marijuana patient has run into these arguments, threadbare as they are in 2009. Even from professionals who should know better -- such as many medical doctors -- the same tired arguments come up again and again.As baffling as it may be, just liste

  September 15, 2009

• Chronic City: How Much Should We Read Into S.F. Police Chief's Prohibition Reference During Pot Press Conference?

  George Gascon​Did San Francisco Police Chief George Gascon tacitly hint at the benefits of marijuana legalization during a press conference this week? That's one way to read the, er, tea leaves. At the conference, held Wednesday to tout the SFPD's recent raids shutting down illegal marijuana growhouses in the city, the first question from a reporter was whether legalizing marijuana could help prevent the house fires that sometimes result from illegal grow operations.Gascon quickly noted that "

  October 2, 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: 77 Percent Of L.A. Residents Favor Dispensaries; Majority of West Coasters Want To Legalize Pot

  Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley may have believed he was safely playing to the grandstands when he promised to shut down all of L.A.'s estimated 800 to 1,000 medical marijuana dispensaries, magnanimously declaring that "approximately zero" of the dispensaries were operating legally in exchanging weed for cash. But perhaps Cooley should check his numbers: In a new poll taken this week and released today, the reaction of Los Angelenos sounds more like a chorus of boos and hisses.

  October 22, 2009

• Chronic City: L.A.'s Marijuana Dispensary Ban Could Cost City Millions

  Los Angeles' proposed medical marijuana ordinance -- which would ban the sale of pot at dispensaries -- could cost the city $36 million to $74 million in lost sales tax, according to a marijuana advocacy group.Photo by lavocado, Wikimedia CommonsOpen for business on L.A.'s Ventura Boulevard... but for how long?​Dale Gieringer, coordinator for the California chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), said the proposed ordinance, supported by L.A. District Att

  October 26, 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

• Chronic City: Poll Reveals San Diegans Want To Regulate Marijuana Dispensaries, Not Eliminate Them

  Photo: Coaster420, Wikimedia CommonsMedical marijuana: Legal as long as you don't actually buy it anywhere?​It's a classic case of disconnect between public policy and public opinion. As District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis continues with her medical marijuana dispensary crackdown in San Diego, a new poll indicates that a hefty majority of city residents favor leaving the pot shops open and regulating them.About 77 percent of San Diego's adult residents agree that the city has an obligation t

  October 29, 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

• Chronic City: Pot Dispensaries Appeal Order To Turn Over Client Names

  Photo by LiveBloid, Wikimedia CommonsWatching you?​Five medical marijuana dispensaries in Dana Point are appealing an Orange County Superior Court ruling ordering them to turn over records -- including client lists -- to the city as part of an investigation into dispensary operations."I think everyone kind of had the same idea about appealing the order for the reason of protecting third-party names and some of the privileged items that we believe shouldn't be disclosed," attorney Lee Petros, r

  November 13, 2009

• Chronic City: L.A. District Attorney Says City Councils Have 'No Authority' Over Medical Pot

  Los Angeles County District Attorney's OfficeD.A. Steve Cooley (left) and City Attorney Carmen Trutanich: They'll keep busting dispensaries no matter what the City Council says!​It was a petulant fit of pique, certainly entertaining, and potentially hilarious -- if safe access for so many medical marijuana patients weren't hanging in the balance.After things didn't go his way at Monday's Los Angeles City Council joint committee meeting, District Attorney Steve Cooley pronounced Tuesday that he

  November 18, 2009