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www.WestCoastLeaf.com ISSN 1945-221X • Volume 4 No. 1 Spring 2011 New Directions Big jump in cannabis legislation nationally State lawmakers nationwide Hawaii, Illinois, Rhode Island, Texas, and Virginia) are considering bills to ‘decrimi- weigh marijuana reform nalize’ possession of small amounts of By Morgan Fox, Marijuana Policy Project marijuana, and at least one more state leg- One of the biggest victories for cannabis islature is expected to consider a similar last year was the sheer quantity of publici- proposal during the 2011 legislative ses- ty in the media. After the discussion sur- sion. All the bills would replace possible rounding Props 19 in , 203 in jail sentences with fines for a modest Arizona, and other major devel opments amount of marijuana (ranging from less around the country, reform is in the lime- than an ounce to up to two ounces). light. More importantly, it is finally being While many argue that marijuana treated as a legitimate policy issue. decrim does not go far enough, it would be This exposure has had an impact in a a tremendous step forward for states like number of state legislatures this session. Texas with Draconian penalties, where More states are considering cannabis more wide-reaching reform is still years Kristin Peskuski addressed a Conference held at the senior community reform measures now than ever, and there off. Any step to help keep marijuana users Laguna Woods City Auditorium on Jan. 22. The image behind her depicts super-magnified and is a real possibility that we will see some out of jail deserves support. colorized trichomes, or resin glands of the cannabis plant, which contain . More about the conference and more photos by Michael Guerrini on page 5. substantive changes in the near future. Perhaps even more significant is that Seven states (Arizona, Connecticut, Please turn to page 11 Leno bill would protect patients’ jobs Medical marijuana under attack Employment rights bill in employers a right to discriminate against more than 400,000 qualified patients. By Russ Bellville, NORML stash.norml.org Since medical marijuana was legalized California legislature Leno’s bills have been in direct response to Fifteen states and the District of Columbia in 2004 until 2009, teenage use dropped By Kris Hermes, Americans for Safe Access that ruling. have enacted medical marijuana laws. Will 28.7%, Montana’s crime index declined California Senator Mark Leno (D-San “The people who voted for Prop 215 there still be 15 of these by the end of the 15.8%, fewer people died in auto fatalities, Francisco) is moving legislation to protect never intended to force law-abiding year? Two states – Montana and New gross domestic product outpaced national the employment rights of patients. In late Please turn to page 7 Mexico – face unprecedented calls for out- averages, workplace injuries and fatalities January, Leno introduced SB 129, a bill he right repeal of their medical use laws. both dropped, overall marijuana use fell, said “simply establishes a medical The GOP lawmakers who dominate the and fewer people attended rehab claiming cannabis patient’s right to work.” Montana legislature are circulating a prop- marijuana as their “primary substance.” The bill is similar to a Leno bill passed aganda essay entitled, “Why Montana’s Regardless, Montana’s House Speaker by both houses of the state legislature in Medical Marijuana Law Should Be Mike Milburn (R) remarked that, “Voters 2008, AB 2279, and vetoed by then- Repealed.” Montana NORML’s John did vote for the [compassionate use] initia- Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Both Masterson said it was created by the state’s tive but it wasn’t for what happened.” A bills seek to clarify the intent of the legisla- coordinator of drug courts. front group, Safe Community Safe Kids, is ture when it passed SB420, the Medical The essay says the state medical use Please turn to page 23 Marijuana Program Act (MMPA), in 2003. program has led to increased “criminal The MMPA states that, “Nothing in this involvement … intoxicated driving crashes THC content up, CBD down article shall require any accommodation of and fatalities … use of marijuana by their any medical use of marijuana on the prop- children … lost productivity by their state’s in confiscated cannabis erty or premises of any place of employ- workforce … unsafe working conditions … By Paul Armentano, NORML ment or during the hours of employment.” amount of drugs consumed on a regular Levels of the CBD (cannabidi- Unfortunately, the state Supreme Court in basis by each user … and the need for more ol) are declining in marijuana, according to 2008 ruled in Ross v. Raging Wire AWARD GIVEN — California State Senator psychiatric and addictive disease treat- a review* of over 5,000 samples seized by Telecommunications that the language gives Mark Leno received an award from California ment.” None of this is true, according to law enforcement in California. The review NORML Jan. 29 at the Berkeley conference. Photo by Mikki Norris Montana statistics. appears on the website of the journal Drug Medical cannabis regulation and Alcohol Dependence. Investigators at the RAND Corporation bills in Cal legislature Overflow crowd turns out for forum to discuss in Santa Monica assessed changes in the By Dale Gieringer, Director Cal NORML median THC and CBD levels of can nabis California Sen. Lou Correa (D-Anaheim) ‘Next Steps’ for marijuana reform in California seized between 1996 and 2008 and found has introduced a comprehensive Medical Cal Norml hosts conferences Alliance pointed to a global debate that that THC levels rose during this time peri- Canna bis Licensing Act to provide a “com- Prop 19 initiated in 2010 and the more od while CBD levels fell. “[M]edian THC By Chris Conrad plete, functional, licensing scheme” aimed favorable voter turnout expected in 2012. potency has increased from 4.56% in 1996 An overflow crowd came from around the at fulfilling Prop. 215’s mandate for a “safe Cal NORML Director Dale Gieringer to 11.75% in 2008,” they reported. “The state to Berkeley Jan. 29, 2011 for a and affordable” distribution system. guided the conferees through a series of increase in THC was far more dramatic in California NORML conference to assess Senate Bill 847 would require produc- panels and presentations. non-border areas (from 4.18% to 13.95%) ‘Marijuana Reform: Next Steps for ers, distributors and sellers to be licensed than in border areas (from 4.52% to 6.84%). California.’ Another conference is set for A second room was opened to handle by the Dept. of Public Health, with licenses … The median level of CBD dropped from March 19 in Los Angeles (see canorml.org). the overflow crowd. During the last panel renewed each 12 months. It also establishes of the day, that room became an open- 0.24% in 1996 to 0.08% in 2008.” At the Jan. 29 event, State Senator Mark an indicia program under the Board of microphone forum so everyone had a The authors speculated that the shift Leno and Assemblyman Tom Ammiano Equalization, to require traceable, secure chance to speak on the future of reform. was because “growers are making greater indicia of licensure to be placed on medical agreed that with Jerry Brown as state gov- All agreed that legalization reached use of plant strains that favor THC produc- marijuana, require a product testing pro- ernor the prospect of getting meaningful tion over CBD production.” reform passed and signed into law is new levels of acceptance in 2010. Dale Sky gram and a facilities inspection program, is a non-psychotropic enhanced. Leno said he is introducing Jones of the Yes on 19 campaign said this and authorize assessment of related fees. cannabinoid that is believed to temper the SB129 to protect the jobs of qualified was a major goal of the campaign and that On the whole, SB 847 is surprisingly psychoactive effects of THC. In preclinical patients who use cannabis medicinally. a new initiative committee is in its develop- well drafted (especially given that Correa mental stages. “The question isn’t whether trials, CBD has demonstrated the ability to Oakland City Councilwoman Desley has the worst record of any Democrat in cannabis will be legalized, it is determining both treat symptoms and modify the Brooks and Mendocino Supervisor John the legislature on medical rights). It puts what form of legalization will take place.” course of various diseases. A recent review enforcement in the hands of the Dept. of McCowen spoke of devising workable Throughout the day, a plethora of ini- in the journal Trends in Pharmacological Health and Board of Pharmacy; explicitly solutions at the local level in the face of tiative ideas was discussed by the panels Sciences reported that CBD has over a exempts licensees from charges for sales, erratic federal intervention. Surprise guest Please turn to page 7 dozen separate therapeutic properties — Please turn to page 10 speaker Ethan Nadelmann of Drug Policy Please turn to page 24 Spring 2011 Page 2 West Coast Leaf Bill to make some cultivation less serious offense Assembly bill creates wobbler charged as a misdemeanor, but growing West Coasterdam Report any amount of marijuana must be charged as felony or misdemeanor as a straight felony punishable by prison.” By Quintin Mecke “This change is long overdue and is Patients attended the Assemblymember Tom Ammiano intro- Oregon Medical simply common sense,” said Ammiano. Cannabis Awards 2010 duced AB 1017, sponsored by Mendocino “Allowing marijuana cultivation to be a event at the World County District Attorney David Eyster, to Famous Cannabis Café misdemeanor will save the state money, in Portland on Dec. 10, change Health and Safety Code section allow for more cost-effective prosecution, 2010. The event is 11358 cultivation from a mandatory felony and reflects the views of most Californians. organized to gather data penalty to an alternate felony or misde- on the top strains avail- I applaud DA Eyster for his leadership on able in Oregon and meanor, known as a “wobbler”. trying to create a rational public policy for which symptoms each “When it comes to marijuana cultiva- strain is most effective marijuana in California.” in relieving. tion, one size does not fit all,” said Eyster. “Sending nonviolent marijuana offend- “The proposed change affords local DAs ers to state prison is a particular waste of the charging discretion to determine, for resources in a state that lowered possession Photo by Michael Allen Kirk example, that a home gardener with a few penalties last year and seriously consid- non-medical plants will not be prosecuted ered ending marijuana prohibition out- at the same level as a profiteer operating a right,” said Drug Policy Alliance California DEA returns $7500 to grower it wrongly raided major marijuana plantation. Director Stephen Gutwillig. The US Treasury returned $7500 to Joy Greenfield on Jan. 25, 2011, money that had been “It makes no sense that unlawful pos- “The fact that law enforcement figures confiscated by federal DEA agents in a summer 2010 raid on her Covelo property. “I’ve session of less than one ounce of marijuana like DA Eyster support Ammiano’s sensi- never seen that happen,” commented her attorney Bob Boyd. Greenfield, 70, a softspoken is an infraction, possession of more than an ble new legislation shows how quickly the grandmotherly grower, received Mendocino County’s first permit to grow 99 marijuana ounce of marijuana is a misdemeanor, pos- tide is turning.” plants under the protection of the sheriff’s zip-tie program in July 2010. Within days of the session of methamphetamines may be approval, she was raided by the DEA, which confiscated her 99 plants, computer, and $7500 cash. The DEA acknowledged they were looking for someone else. Her computer was returned last fall (but not the plants). Charges were never filed. Her collective is one Inland Empire collective finds growing need of 18 who enrolled in the zip-tie program last year at $50 per plant plus $1500 and regular Desert Organic Solutions staff of seven, and is seen by many as an inspection fees. Greenfield said she intends to apply for the 99-plant exemption again this asset to the community. By Nicky Vallee year. “I believe I got my money back because of the program.” — Pebbles Trippet, MMMAB “We started out with only six members, If you’d told Gary Cherlin a year ago that and I never could have imagined we California narc charged with stealing, re-selling drug evidence his soon-to-be-open medical marijuana dis- would grow so quickly,” says President The commander of a multi-agency central Contra Costa County narcotics enforcement pensary would be viewed as an asset to the Gary Cherlin. “We have 3,050 members team was arrested Feb. 16, 2011 and charged with stealing illegal drugs and precursor community, he never would have believed now, and a large percentage of them have compounds from police evidence lockers, then reselling them to traffickers. Normal it. But a mere eight months after Desert cancer, HIV, or multiple sclerosis. I’ve been Wielsch, an agent with the Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement, allegedly dealt with the head Organic Solutions opened to the public in getting tremendous feedback from them in of a private investigation firm, Christopher Butler, in the scheme, and both are charged Palm Springs, business is ‘growing.’ One of terms of just how necessary this facility is with embezzlement, second-degree burglary, and transporting and selling marijuana, only three legal facilities approved for to their overall well-being.” methamphetamines, and steroids. One sale allegedly involved more than a pound of operation in the Inland Empire, the Desert meth. The incident has raised concern about any cases where Wielsch and/or Butler’s Organic Solutions (DOS) collective serves Located at 19-486 Newhall St near I-10 company were involved in an investigation. upwards of 100 patients per day, employs a Please turn to page 10

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Shortly thereafter, Walker’s hus- Evergreen state moves major against job dis- licensed by the Liquor Control Board. band was diagnosed with stage-IV reform measures forward crimination did It received a public hearing before the metastatic melanoma. She related to the not survive By Alison Holcomb, House Committee on Public Safety and committee the intensely personal story of amendments ACLU of Washington Drug Policy Director Emergency Preparedness Feb. 8. her family’s struggle, ending on the hope- during the Washington state legislators have intro- “Ending marijuana prohibition is per- ful note that — with the help of cannabis — executive ses- duced two comprehensive marijuana law haps the most pro-law-enforcement action her husband had managed to keep down a sion. reform measures in the 2011 session. Both bowl of cereal earlier that morning. this legislature can take,” Seattle City have been through committee hearings Its House companion is HB 1100, by Attorney Peter Holmes told the committee. Senate Bill 5073 passed out of commit- Speaker Pro Tempore Jim Moeller, Majority with extensive witness testimony, the vast “It will enhance the legitimacy of our tee Feb. 10 with bipartisan support. Seven Whip Sharon Tomiko Santos, and represen- members recommended passage by the laws and our law enforcement.” Patients will get ‘up front’ protection, not tatives from Seattle as well as from full Senate, and two referred the bill with simply a legal defense after arrest Spokane, the state’s second-largest city. HB 1550’s Senate companion is SB no recommendation. No member voted to 5598, introduced by President Pro Tempore Another comprehensive bill on the oppose it. Unfortunately, a provision to Margarita Prentice and Sen. Adam Kline. majority of which supported passage, table is HB 1550, by Rep. Mary Lou including testimony from high-profile public figures such as the Seattle city attor- ney and the deputy mayor of Tacoma, the Cannabis: Fresno rejects cornerstone for Central Valley recovery state’s third-largest city. By Lilly White county, including some areas A Dutch cow grazes near a crop in modern day Senate Bill 5073, introduced by Sen. Despite the great opportunities that come within city boundaries. Holland. Fresno County residents want their elected leaders to bring hemp back to the Central Valley in Jeanne Kohl-Welles and nine co-sponsors with cannabis — jobs, tax revenues, and In July 2010, the County California, as well. Photo courtesy of HempFlax, NL from both sides of the aisle and both sides industrial hemp farming and manufactur- Board of Supervisors took of the state, will change state medical use ing — Fresno city and county officials action against the collectives law from providing patients only an affir- decided to ban it completely. by placing a moratorium on mative defense to raise at trial to providing Fresno, the fifth largest city in new shops. Then in September, up-front protection from arrest and prose- California, sits amid the Central Valley, a it banned outdoor cultivation. cution. It will create a system of licensed key producer of agricultural products. When the Planning Dept. producers, processors, and dispensers of Gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman brought a draft regulation ordi- medical marijuana regulated by the state’s compared the Valley to Detroit. Some 80% nance to the Board in departments of agriculture and health. of its farms are family-owned; many are December, it was told to move Additional improvements include protect- failing. Fresno has one of the highest forward with a ban instead. be re-tooling our farms and factories to ing patients from losing their children or unemployment rates in the nation. The “This directive defies not only safe accommodate the production of hemp and their housing. mayor has asked its citizens to donate $1 access, common sense and changing public its 30,000-plus uses. We should be focusing, The bill was heard Jan. 20, highlighted each to help take care of the homeless. attitudes toward cannabis, but also state heavily on cannabis bio-fuel production by the compelling personal story of Cannabis could help cure some of its ills. law and the attorney general’s guidelines,” with the oil reserves declining at a rate of Tacoma Deputy Mayor Lauren Walker. She Nonetheless, in September 2009, Fresno said Shannon Luce of the Mind, Body and 40% annually.” had been sympathetic but skeptical when City Council banned all medical marijuana Soul Collective. Luce said there is currently a Central she and her Tacoma City Council col- dispensaries and collectives, using “must “We should be putting our farmers to Valley chapter of NORML forming. “They leagues heard testimony last October be federally legal” language in their ordi- work and improving the quality of the soil, are a wonderful, dedicated group of people opposing enforcement of a cease-and- nance. Fresno dispensaries shut down or air, and life in general by planting industri- with fabulous ideas for the future of desist letter issued to dispensaries within moved into unincorporated parts of the al hemp across the Valley floor. We should cannabis in the Central Valley.” Spring 2011 Page 4 West Coast Leaf Los Angeles adopts disappointing lottery plan San Bernardino rejects ʻWhite Paperʼ as biased By Allen Bartleman, Attorney at Law pensaries for nearby, unrelated crimes. for only 100 dispensaries, but gets its ordinance San Bernardino County Planning Com mis - Bynum noted that the claimed crimes sur- Bittersweet victory for ASA medical purposes. No local subdivision sioners, expressing concern that their staff rounding any dispensary could not be doc- should be allowed to curtail that right umented and, even if some were true, there By Jessica Gelay, Drug Policy Alliance had provided biased evidence in the wholesale or regulate it out of existence.” “California Police Chief’s White Paper on are other legal remedies short of a ban on Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa signed hard- The California Coastal Commission Medical Marijuana,” delayed a vote on a all dispensaries. fought and still flawed medical marijuana spoke out and rejected Laguna Beach’s cannabis collectives ban, to seek a more regulations for the City of Los Angeles that desire to ban collectives in all city zones. balanced presentation of facts. However, Com mis sioners expressed concern that took effect Jan. 28, 2011. Six commissioners disagreed with the planners revisited the proposal at their Feb. their staff had provided biased evidence Previous regulations were revised after city’s stance that cannabis collectives 17, 2011 meeting and passed a ban. in the infamous “California Police Chief’s Superior Court Judge Anthony Mohr would be too difficult to deal with. In an It next goes to the Board of Supervisors, White Paper on Medical Marijuana” struck down portions of the ordinance Dec. article published Jan. 19, commissioner who are expected to pass it. More than 70 10, 2010 in the case Americans for Safe Access The proposed ban would over-broadly Mark Stone told OC Register reporter qualified patients, their attorneys, and v. City of Los Angeles. ASA represents over define a “dispensary” as three or more Claudia Koerner, “For communities to not other witnesses opposed to the proposed 100 collectives in this case. qualified patients growing their own med- step up and take some responsibility for ban appeared before the planners during The revisions mean that any collective icine, any outdoor grow, or any place how their folks can have access, and to five hours of testimony. While patients tes- that can prove it was in operation before where cannabis is provided. The commis- push it off onto other communities, brings tified about the benefits of cannabis in alle- Sept. 7, 2007 will be eligible to participate sion staff apparently drew up the restric- to us a consistency issue that is legitimate viating their conditions or symptoms, the in a lottery. One hundred collectives will be tive ordinance with no consideration for for us to look at even though it’s not direct- anti-patient forces also cited anecdotal chosen to apply for the registration the established rights of qualified ly a coastal access issue.” scare stories about marijuana affecting chil- process. The same day the new regulations California patients under Prop 215, SB 420, In the same article, commissioner Ross dren and the community. Attributing were voted on, a motion was introduced to or the Attorney General’s guidelines. It Mirkarimi said, “Dispensary bans included “immorality” to pot use, some claims made allow ten additional permits that Council would contradict established state law by patient access and criminal justice issues by professional anti-drug advocates actual- members would be able to give on a discre- forbidding outdoor growing or the form- that the Coastal Commission could not ly caused people to laugh out loud. tionary basis. The date of the lottery has ing of collectives. ignore.” He said he “hoped the vote would Attorneys Allen Bartleman of San not yet been announced, but is expected to San Bernardino County has had a legal send a message to cities to take a harder Bernardino and Lawrence Bynum of be released soon. moratorium on medical marijuana dispen- look at how to regulate dispensaries Riverside cited grievous errors in the so- “At the end of the day there will be saries since June, 2009. By law, the morato- instead of banning them.” called White Paper, such as blaming dis- medical cannabis dispensing collectives in rium expires in June, and if it is not LA, even if it’s not as many as we want, or replaced by an ordinance, it will allow dis- the ones that we want,” said Don Duncan, Patients have high hopes for new Riverside DA pensaries to go forward unregulated. Americans for Safe Access California’s By Lanny Swerdlow, RN LNC a breath of fresh air.” Non-regulation is the county rule campaign director. To the relief of medical marijuana patients Zellerbach, 57, served as a Riverside today; numerous dispensaries have been The struggle has gone on since 2006, throughout Riverside County, Judge Paul County prosecutor for 22 years and as a operating without any legal oversight. By and bad press surrounding the city’s lack Zellerbach was sworn in as the county’s superior court judge for the past 10 and a enacting a senseless moratorium for nearly of control over the opening of collectives new District Attorney Jan. 3, 2011. He half. He was supported in his bid for office two years, the Board of Supervisors created has led to a statewide backlash in which replaces one-term DA Rod Pacheco, whose by a broad coalition of private lawyers, a surge of dispensaries in many locations, counties, including LA, Orange, and zeal for prosecuting cannabis patients cre- public defenders, community activists, clustered together, sometimes acting ille- Fresno, have voted to ban collectives out- ated a climate of fear and intimidation that progressive organizations, and cannabis gally and giving a bad reputation to legiti- right. As dismal as that appears, support permeated the county’s medical marijuana patients. mate, law-abiding operators. for safe access does exist, and case law is community. Asked about allowing collectives to Several planning commissioners getting stronger. Commenting on Pacheco’s relationship operate, Zellerbach replied, “It’s a prob- expressed a desire to pass a less restrictive For example, Judge Mohr acknowl- to marijuana patients, Marty Victor, who lematic issue. It’s up to each jurisdiction, ordinance than proposed by staff. Attorney edged the lawful rights of citizens of had been prosecuted by Pacheco for oper- whether it be the cities or the county, to advocates intend to relay unbiased facts California when he ruled, “[I]n discharging ating a 10-member collective in his back- decide how they want to deal with the and propose a substitute ordinance that its powers and duties under the police yard, emphatically stated, “I think he issue. It is not the position of the DA or the will allow patients to exercise their rights power, the City must not lose sight of the should be thrown in jail. The guy is a crook. DA’s office to tell the county or each indi- while protecting the community from nui- fact that the People of the State of He robbed me and my wife of our lives and vidual city throughout the county what sances which may be caused by a few dis- California have conferred on qualified he’s robbed the citizens of Riverside they should or should not do. It is the pensaries or individuals. patients the right to obtain marijuana for County of their dignity. Zellerbach will be Please turn to page 11

“NO ONE BELONGS IN JAIL FOR MARIJUANA!” MARGOLIN LAW OFFICES THE NATION’S FOREMOST AUTHORITY ON DRUG AND MARIJUANA LAW BUSTED? QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS? Bruce Margolin Allison Margolin 35-year NORML Director Call 1-800-420-LAWS Harvard Graduate Criminal Defense ‘LA’s Dopest Attorney of the Year (1-800-420-5297) Attorney’ Superior Criminal Available to represent clients 310-652-0991 Defense • All State and throughout California. Federal Charges. www.1800420laws.com The Margolin Guide to Marijuana Laws is free to California residents. Call for your free copy of the Margolin Guide. Download a PDF of the Margolin Guide, available at the above website. West Coast Leaf Page 5 Spring 2011 Tehama court rejects patient garden, access rights Cal NORML to appeal court churches, parks or youth facilities. decision on garden ordinance In his decision, Judge Schueller held that the county’s powers to regulate nui- By Dale Gieringer, California NORML sances through zoning ordinances were Superior Court Judge Richard Schueller not preempted by Prop. 215 or SB 420. The rejected a lawsuit by county patients Feb. 3 court ruled that “creating the potential for and upheld a Tehama County ordinance zoning enforcement as to medical marijua- that sharply restricts cultivation of medical na is not the same as criminalizing it.” marijuana. Browne v. Tehama County plain- The court cited the Kruse v. Claremont tiff attorney J. David Nick had argued that decision, which upheld a city’s right to ban the ordinance violated their rights under a cannabis dispensary. Unlike Claremont, Prop. 215 and SB 420 by making it impossi- however, Tehama’s ordinance limits the ble for patients to grow their own medi- right of individual patients to grow. Unlike cine. California NORML, which sponsored collectives, patients are explicitly protected the lawsuit, announced that it will appeal under Prop 215. A Medical Cannabis Conference, organized by Apothecary Genetics, OC NORML, GGECO the decision. University and magazine to educate Orange County seniors about cannabis as an Judge Schueller also cited the alternative to pharmaceutical prescription medication treatments, was held in the senior The Tehama ordinance restricts the Buchanan bill, HS 11362.768, which community Laguna Woods City Auditorium on Jan. 22. Nearly 300 people heard from speakers amount patients or collectives can grow to such as Debbie Goldsberry formerly of BPG, Jeffrey Raber, Ph.D. from The Werc Shop, Dr. declares that nothing shall prohibit local William Courtney (shown speaking) from Mendocino, his wife Kristin Peskuski, and Dr. Donald 12 mature marijuana plants on 20 acres or governments from enacting ordinances Abrams from UCSF Medical School. See conference video at cbdConference.com.Topics less; requires 100-foot setbacks from neigh- “further restricting the location or estab- included the science behind medical cannabis, conditions it can be used to treat, current boring property; and forbids any cultiva- research, and methods of usage that seniors may not be familiar with, such as vaporizing, lishment of a medical marijuana coopera- making milk , or juicing cannabis. Report by Kandice Hawes, OC NORML. Photos by Michael Guerrini tion at all — indoors or outdoors — within tive, collective, dispensary, operator, estab- 1000 feet of schools, school bus stops, lishment, or provider.” Nick countered that the bill does not apply to individual Drug dogs react to handlers, give alerts when there is no cannabis patients or caregivers, nor does it override the legislative intent of SB 420. By Mickey Martin cy may be fatally flawed, and untold num- organizations to examine how the han- Nick said Cal NORML plans to appeal The US Supreme Court ruled in Illinois v. bers of people may have their dlers’ expectations affected the overall per- the ruling to the Third District Court of Caballes (2005) that officers have the right to Constitutional privacy rights to be free formance of their canine partners. The Appeals, which has issued favorable deci- search even if the only suspicion is from a from unlawful search and seizure trampled dogs were an array of breeds and mostly sions on medical marijuana in the past. dog alert. A 2010 study done at UC Davis as a result. The study, published in the male, with four females. They were trained “Never before has an appellate court finds clear evidence that police dogs are January 2011 issue of Animal Cognition, an to alert passively by sitting or lying, approved a re-writing of statewide law not as capable of finding substances, like interdisciplinary journal, found that dogs and/or to alert more actively by barking. under the masquerade that it’s a zoning marijuana, as law enforcement and the jus- were influenced by subtle clues and emo- The study was performed in a church, provision,” said Nick. “The state Supreme tice system would have people believe. tion from their handlers. because it was deemed to have a low prob- Court and appellate courts have repeatedly Detection dogs alerted or identified “These might be as important, or even ability of containing drug or explosives held that municipalities have no authority that a scent was present over 200 times more important, than the sensitivity of a residue from previous activity. Four rooms to restrict what the breadth of state law when there was no scent present. That fig- dog’s nose,” said Lisa Lit, a post-doctorate were set up, each with a different scenario. expressly permits. Prop 215 gives individu- ure increased in situations where the han- researcher from the UC Davis Dept. of One room was untouched by the als the ability to create their own medicine; dler believed there was a scent present. Neurology and lead author of the study. researchers. In a second room they taped that right will disappear in swaths of the This means that relying on the canine as Researchers worked with 18 certified red construction paper to a cabinet. whole state if it can be eliminated through probable cause to invade a person’s priva- detection-dog teams from law enforcement Please turn to page 8 the ‘zoning’ trick.”

The Inland Empire’s No. 1 “420 Lawyer” • Collective Incorporation Services • SB 420 Legal Advice • Zoning Issues • Criminal Defense • Felonies and Misdemeanors • All State Courts Allen Bartleman, Attorney at Law

32 Years in Practice • Defending Your Rights Since 1980 Cal NORML-listed Lawyer • Member of California Attorneys for Criminal Justice

505 N. Arrowhead Ave. Suite #509, San Bernardino, CA (909)-885-8388 “IF YOU DON’T KNOW THE LAW, KNOW YOUR LAWYER” Call for Consultation Appointment

OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK 11 AM –7 PM Spring 2011 Page 6 West Coast Leaf Mendo County permit system moves ahead Mega-grows proposal scaled down in Oakland By John McCowen, County Supervisor* Sheriff’s Office, applicants may choose City cultivation ordinance up Councilmember Desley Mendocino County’s landmark medical among three “third-party inspectors” for Brooks spoke at the ʻNext in air over legalities, logistics Stepsʼ conference marijuana cultivation program, allowing subsequent compliance inspections. Jan. 29 on issues 99-plant permits issued by the Sheriff’s Applicants must show that they are not By Mickey Martin, T-Comp Consulting surrounding Office, is entering its second year. illegally diverting water, creating erosion, Oakland City Council persists in its effort large-scale medical The program is unique in that appli- harming wildlife, polluting the environ- to license medical garden facilities and is cultivation cants are inspected by the Sheriff’s Office ment, or creating neighborhood problems. searching for ways to do it legally, after a ordinance plans. and must comply with numerous condi- In return, they have unprecedented assur- plan for four unlimited mega-grows was tions designed to prevent black-market ance that they will not be subject to arrest deemed illegal by the Alameda County diversion, protect the environment, and and eradication of their plants by local District Attorney’s Office and raised eye- prevent neighborhood problems. police. By drawing a bright line around brows at the US Department of Justice. legally-compliant growers, the county and The most current incarnation, put forth Photo by Sam Salbzanzar, medicalmarijuana411.com Applicants must show that they its applicants can avoid the costs of arrest by Councilperson Desley Brooks, makes are not illegally diverting water, and prosecution. way for five new permitted organizations Brooks is championing the newly mod- creating erosion, harming wildlife, All 18 applicants were approved in that each would have a licensed grow ified version of the ordinance with Council polluting the environment, or 2010 and have been participating in a col- space and dispensary. The new ordinance President Larry Reid, after “several com- creating neighborhood problems. laborative process with the Sheriff’s Office does not address existing dispensaries, ments in the press regarding the legality of and third-party inspectors to identify and “leaving (it) open.” So, new organizations (the previous) ordinance” moved them to Adopted in 2008, the Medical Mari - resolve issues and identify possible would be allowed grow licenses while instruct staff to prepare legislation to mod- juana Cultivation Ordinance, Section 9.31, improvements to the program. Under dis- existing ones that have served the commu- ify the terms of the ordinance, according to imposed a restrictive 25-plant-per-parcel cussion are requirements that permit hold- nity for years would not, unless changes a memo from Brooks’s office. They wanted limit, but had few other limits on neighbor- ers comply with sustainability guidelines are made to the proposal. the new language to “clearly and unam- hood impacts. Amendments adopted last that would be adopted by the Sheriff to The revised plan attempts to identify biguously be in compliance with local and year allowed for the 99-plant permits with insure quality and purity. cultivation and dispensing locations, state law” and “prevent the unlawful mar- new conditions to limit neighborhood and require new organizations to grow 70% of An unintended benefit of the program keting and selling of marijuana for profit,” community impacts. the medicine they dispense, maintain is less polarization and a growing reconcil- but were silent on the need to increase Collectives, cooperatives, and individ- patient/provider relationships in accor- iation between law enforcement and the patient value or safety. ual members cultivating on their behalf patient community. At a recent budget dance with California law, and allow a Prospective operator Dhar Mann has may apply for the permits if they comply hearing, several applicants spoke in sup- grow space of up to 50,000 square feet. worked close with Brooks’s office in the with the Compassionate Use Act (Prop port of the Sheriff’s Office, which has “This appears to be advantageous only crafting of the ordinance. Councilpersons 215), the Medical Marijuana Program Act undergone budget cuts and layoffs. to the five new potential dispensaries,” Brooks, Reid, and Rebecca Kaplan have all (SB 420), and the Attorney General said a perplexed local dispensary operator Critics contend that the ordinance vio- appeared at the opening of his hydro store. Guidelines, and have a sufficient patient with a current permit. lates the CUA and the MMPA, but thus far Mann hopes for speedy resolution so he base to justify the amount produced. courts have held that local jurisdictions The ordinance drew criticism from can open a large grow facility and dispen- A minimum parcel size of five acres is may regulate the time, place, and manner patients, providers and collective operators sary in Oakland. required. Multiple contiguous parcels of cultivation. Likewise, it is legal for who questioned the wisdom and motive of “Politics and these issues need to be under one ownership are eligible for only everyone to drink milk, but no one thinks the Council to proceed after the release of a addressed now rather than later,” Mann one permit, to limit neighborhood impacts. they can have a herd of dairy cows in their letter warning of enforcement from US stated. “The delays have placed Oakland Applicants may apply for additional per- residential back yard. As one speaker at the Attorney for the Northern CA District as a follower rather than as a leader, as mits on non-contiguous parcels. They pay Next Steps Conference said, if marijuana is Melinda Heig. City Attorney John Russo other states have gone ahead with cultiva- an application fee and buy serial-num- legalized, it will be regulated. declared he would not work on the ordi- tion and dispensary processes; but that bered zip ties to attach to each mature * McCowen is a Mendocino County Supervisor who helped nance any further after evaluating and dis- may not necessarily be a bad thing.” plant. After an initial inspection by the develop the 99 plant permit program. cussing the situation with the Feds. West Coast Leaf Page 7 Spring 2011

Steve DeAngelo of Harborside speaks Ukiah dispensaries sponsor educational seminar at the Jan. 29 Cal NORML conference. Also visible, Ethan Nadelmann of DPA By Carole Brodsky, MMMAB cussed the local Medical Marijuana and Dale Sky Jones of Yes on 19. About 50 Mendocino County residents Cultivation Regulation. “The exemptions attended a January seminar sponsored by to grow up to 99 plants have reduced three Ukiah cannabis dispensaries, grower anxiety. It’s not perfect, but people Compassionate Heart, MJ’s Place and no longer have to fear the Sheriff. They Reflections of Avalon. visit your garden with a clipboard, not a County Supervisor John McCowen dis- machete.” Tim Blake, founder of Laytonville’s Emerald Cup outdoor cannabis competi- Employment rights tion, discussed grower challenges. “We grow all the outdoor we need but can’t get Continued from page 1 Photo by Sam Salbzanzar, medicalmarijuana411.com it to the marketplace. We retain less than patients out of a job,” said Don Duncan, 18% of market share. A whole generation California Director with Americans for Cal activists ready to go beyond medical use dislikes outdoor cannabis. It’s a tough mar- Safe Access (ASA), the country’s largest 13 unacceptable), and opening up medical ket to break,” he noted. ‘Next Steps’ survey finds medical marijuana advocacy group and marijuana sales to for-profit businesses Blake encouraged growers to join sponsor of the bills. “Patients just want to agreement on key issues (2.64, 17 unacceptable) Mendocino County’s 99-plant growing be productive members of society,” he By Dale Gieringer, California NORML Director A scattering of answers was received to program. “If you’re not an in-law, you’re added. “Why must hundreds of thousands Participants at California NORML’s ‘Next the question of how much marijuana an outlaw,” he cautioned. of Californians be denied their civil rights Steps’ conference in Berkeley Jan. 29 took a should be taxed. The responses ranged Oakland’s Steep Hill Laboratories CEO and forced to live with the risk of losing vote on ideas for a 2012 initiative or legisla- from nothing or sales tax only up to $50 per AnnaRae Grabstein presented information their jobs due to their choice of medica- tion in Sacramento. Activists will have ounce. The median response was around about its ‘Safe Cannabis’ Program. tion?” another chance to vote at a follow-up con- $10-$20 per ounce. Since it began recording instances of “Products are tested for potency, pesti- ference in LA (canorml.org) March 19. cides, and microbiological contaminants employment discrimination in 2005, ASA One hundred questionnaires were and packaged in nitrogen-sealed, tamper- has received hundreds of such reports from returned, with proposals rated on a scale of ‘Next Steps’ conference patients across California. proof mylar bags,” he said one to four, lower numbers being better. Continued from page 1 Ukiah physician Dr. John Lovejoy dis- The 2008 bill won strong support from The most popular priority was to legal- and privately among the 300 attendees, cussed cannabis use during pregnancy and a broad coalition of disability rights, labor, ize adult use, possession, and personal cul- who included many of the state’s top breast feeding, citing four years of medical and legal groups. Leno and ASA tivation (average score 1.44), followed by activists, as well as people who came from Mendocino County public health records. will be working together in the coming reducing felonies to lesser offenses (1.59) across the nation to participate. months to shore up even greater support “One out of ten pregnant women claimed and establishing clearer rules for medical Mikki Norris spoke to “who we are,” for the new legislation. cannabis use during pregnancy,” he said. marijuana (1.72). by listing the diverse players and opinions “Mothers using cannabis must err on “Senate Bill 129 is not about being After that came legalizing “like alco- with a stake in cannabis reform. The call for the side of caution,” Lovejoy noted. under the influence while at work,” said hol” (1.90). The only unpopular idea was to unity was repeated many times. One divi- Dr. Jean Tallerand discussed cannabis Leno in a previous statement. “That’s stick to medical marijuana on the grounds sion was made apparent in the two-track usage from 8000 BC to the present. against the law, and will remain so.” it’s too early for legalization (3.18). path taken by the conference in concurrent “Cannabis is the oldest non-food crop cul- The bill leaves intact existing state law Respondents rated various measures afternoon breakout sessions — medical tivated by humans,” he noted, and drew that prohibits at the that might be included in a ballot initiative marijuana and full legalization. chuckles quoting a 1907 Ukiah Dispatch workplace or during working hours and on a scale of one to five, with five being On medical use, Steve De Angelo of Democrat report that the “queer smokes excludes “safety-sensitive” positions such “unacceptable.” The most popular and Harborside Health Center talked about gave one a desire to caress one’s feet.” as health care providers, school bus driv- least controversial proposal was to end working with local government, while Dr. Mark Rabe discussed CBD and the ers, and operators of heavy equipment in employment and housing discrimination Steph Sherer of Americans for Safe Access brain’s endocannabinoid receptor sites. order to protect employers from liability against Prop 215 patients (average score discussed the delicacies of working for the and to ensure public safety. Sergeant Randy Johnson, coordinator 1.33, no unacceptable votes), followed by rights of patients across the country who The 2008 ruling stems from a lawsuit of the county’s cultivation program, said establishing clubs where adults could are affected by what happens here. filed by systems engineer Gary Ross, who first-year applicants were concerned. smoke marijuana publicly but not neces- Berkeley family doctor Frank Lucido, M.D. was fired in 2001 from his job at Raging “Growers said, ‘They want to get my sarily buy it (1.78, two unacceptable) and and others expressed physician view- Wire Telecom for testing positive for mari- name.’ Like they can’t get it anyway,” said requiring commercial marijuana to be test- points. Attorneys dissected legal aspects of juana. Ross, a disabled patient in his mid- Johnson, getting laughs. ed for potency and contaminants (1.86, one crafting legalization laws. 40s, was injured while in the Air Force and “You may be legal in the program but unacceptable). Nate Bradley of LEAP, Michael Jolson uses cannabis legally to treat chronic back there’s no transportation exemption,” he The most unpopular proposals were with the CCHHI or ‘Jack Herer’ initiative, pain from his injury. In rendering its deci- cautioned, and added that gardens of 25 repealing all state laws and leaving Jeff Jones of Yes on 19, Debby Goldsberry sion, the court overlooked amicus ‘friend of plants or less are not targets. “I’m not say- enforcement to the Feds (3.32, 35 unaccept- of the Cannabis Action Network, Bruce the court’ briefs from 10 state and national ing they’re totally off limits. If you’ve got able); taxing commercial medical produc- Margolin of LA NORML, Lindsay medical organizations, the co-authors of 50 pounds of processed and ten guns, we tion (3.04, 15 unacceptable); allowing local- Robinson of Marijuana Policy Project, the MMPA, and disability rights groups in might have issues.” ities to regulate personal cultivation (2.90, Deborah Small of Break the Chains and support of Ross and patients across Johnson claimed the DEA is not 14 unacceptable); legalizing personal use others were on a crowded activist panel. California. Please turn to page 13 and cultivation but not public sales (2.70, Video of the event is posted online at canorml.org.

Medical Cannabis Collective Consultations William McPike Attorney at Law

California 1-888-420-BUDS 1-888-420-2837 [email protected]

West Coast Leaf Support your cannabis newspaper of record. Place your ad today! westcoastleaf.com or 510-215-8326 Spring 2011 Page 8 West Coast Leaf American in Egypt faces death penalty for hemp US Navy veteran denied his medical use defense Cairo to reissue Soliman a passport so he Escapes from burning prison By Angela Bacca, GreenAid.com with felony posses- could return to the US. So far, the embassy By Adam Eidinger Votehemp.com Ken Unger is a US Navy veter- sion with intent to has refused to issue the new passport, for an deemed 100% disabled and distribute and Mostafa Soliman, a US citizen who has no apparent reason other than the unemployable by the St. Louis faces five to 15 lived in America for 40 years, was wrongly unfounded Egyptian drug charges. imprisoned Dec. 30, 2010 by Egyptian Veterans Administration. The years in state The Egyptian-born American is owner authorities for importing organic hemp State of Missouri is barring prison. He plans to of Health Harvest, a company which seed oil used in salads and other healthy Unger, who is fighting mari- fight for his right to exports hemp-seed oil from Canada and recipes. The nation’s leading trade organi- juana charges, from explaining a medical defense operates in Egypt. He lives in Aventura, zation promoting non-drug industrial his medical use in court. in court. If won, Florida, and was in Egypt to manage the hemp became involved and learned that, if Unger was hit in the head this will set a state arrival of product shipments. convicted, he risks death by hanging. with a 50-ton crane hook while precedent. “This is a tragic mistake that could be O’Fallon, Missouri After almost a month in jail, Soliman serving in Grenada in 1983, solved with a simple drug test. Soliman is police obtained a was finally granted bail as protests raged and left with two herniated falsely accused of importing ‘’ warrant to search across Egypt. Just as he was about to be discs in his back, muscle when in fact it was healthy hemp food,” Unger’s home on released on Jan. 28, his jail was attacked by spasms, weakness, pain, and numbness in said HIA Executive Director Eric Steenstra. the suspicion he was growing and selling protesters and set on fire. Guards and his legs. He has six coronary stents holding marijuana. The distribution charge had no police fled, leaving the prisoners, many “The HIA and Votehemp.com are the arteries in his heart open and an artery evidence to back it up. In applying for the crammed into eight-by-eight-foot cells launching a campaign to free Mostafa bypass in his right leg. His injuries have warrant, Officer Justin Hill wrote, “Your with up to 30 people in each, to die in the Soliman that will hopefully jump-start rendered him weak, and he suffers from affiant knows that persons who cultivate burning jail. Protesters eventually entered action at the US State Department. The depression as well as diabetes. marijuana will distribute marijuana they the jail, smashed the locks on the prison unrest in Egypt will make it more difficult Unger had been prescribed morphine, produce for others for profit.” cells amidst smoke and tear gas, and for US authorities to act, but this terrible which led to three heart attacks, but released the inmates in a nightmarish scene mistake by Egyptian authorities was made learned the benefits of cannabis, which has Unger has no prior federal, state, or of danger and chaos. well before the recent protests began and in no detrimental side effect for him. He culti- local offenses. He rejected a five-year pro- many ways symbolizes the corruption the bation plea offer that would have required Over the next few days, attorneys in the vated small amounts of marijuana to treat protestors are resisting.” Unger to submit to drug testing, thus pre- US working with the Hemp Industries his service-related injuries and has never To help, call 202-744-2671 or email [email protected]. venting him from using any medication to Assn. (HIA), asked the US Embassy in profited from his efforts. Unger is charged treat his chronic pain. NOW ACCEPTING NEW PATIENTS Study: Drug dogs may alert to please their handlers NORTHERN CALIFORNIA NATURAL COLLECTIVE Continued from page 5 locations, so dogs were not just alerting in In another room they placed decoys of two the same places as other dogs. NCNC NORCALNATURAL sausages and two tennis balls. The last While revealing, the study hardly room had red construction paper where negates the ability of these animals to per- 973 Park Ave, San Jose, CA 95216 the decoy scents were hidden. No rooms form incredible feats with their enhanced Open Monday-Saturday from 11am-8pm contained either drugs or explosives. So, sense of smell. It does signal the need to while there should have been zero real replicate the test and for closer examina- 408-647-6337 alerts, in fact there were alerts in all rooms, tion of the handler-dog relationship to and increased alerts in rooms with the red compensate for the cognitive factors that www.norcalnatural.com construction paper, indicating that human handlers and trainers have in these situa- norcalnatural Prop 215 / SB 420 Patients only suggestion was more at play than dog tions, and to thereby avoid false alerts and interest. Alerts were on different target protect Fourth Amendment rights. West Coast Leaf Page 9 Spring 2011 Long Beach collective founders face prosecution Cannabis patients need a plan to ensure that their Human Solution to go to trial medical rights are respected on probation, parole By Cheri Sicard It’s best to talk to attorney SB 420) took effect in 2004. Section 11362.795 states that a probationer who is a The founder of The Human Solution, a By Lisa Meier, Jackson Square Law qualified patient may ask a court to con- nonprofit, grassroots association providing Cannabis patients who wish to medicate firm their right to use medical marijuana. education and support to qualified patients while on probation for a criminal offense While this may seem to help patients to and the community at large, faces felony often find them themselves in a quandary. charges in Long Beach Superior Court. medicate, appellate courts have held that it On the one hand, if the patient specifi- permits the court to grant or reject a Joe Grumbine and partner Joe Byron cally requests permission from their proba- patient’s request to use cannabis while on operated two medical marijuana collec- tion officer to use cannabis, the request probation, so the decision should be made tives in Garden Grove and Long Beach that may be declined and the probationer will on a case-by case basis. were part of a December 2009 SWAT-style not be allowed to medicate until the issue raid involving drug-sniffing dogs, helicop- is litigated in court, a process which could Gather pertinent medical records and a ters, and 120 armed officers sent to 17 loca- Byron (left) and Grumbine in court. take a month or longer. On the other hand, Photo by Sam Salbzanzar, medicalmarijuana411.com letter from a physician explaining why tions. Fifteen people were arrested — vol- if the probationer uses marijuana without cannabis is an effective treatment. Have unteers, employees and even an independ- permission, they risk incarceration for vio- ent construction worker. A year later, only friends and family write letters for you. courtroom overflowing with supporters, lating probation. Grumbine and Byron face actual charges. most wearing The Human Solution’s sig- Prosecutors argue that judges have The California Supreme Court in People Ironically, a California court had found nature green “solidarity ribbons,” just as broad discretion in imposing reasonable v. Kelly (2010) held that the quantity limits Grumbine in complete compliance with they did during the bail hearings. Detective conditions of probation, including not set by the MMPA are unconstitutional as it California’s medical marijuana laws in a after detective noted that the undercover using or growing marijuana, particularly cannot amend the CUA, or Prop 215, a law similar case that culminated just five weeks officers sent in to buy medicine did possess when the underlying conviction is for a passed by voter initiative. Similarly, before the raid took place. valid doctor’s recommendations and the cannabis-related offense, per People v. defense attorneys cite Kelly to argue that Despite having no prior convictions, collectives verified that fact. Police testified Bianco (2001). They argue that probationers the MMPA may not restrict a patient’s right Judge Arthur Jean imposed $200,000 and that the collectives provided other benefits must obey all laws while on probation, to use cannabis while on probation. $300,000 bails on Grumbine and Byron, to members, including chiropractic and including federal laws, and marijuana vio- Given this confusion, the best course of respectively. Later, Grumbine’s bail was massage services, free medicine, food, lates federal law. Defense attorneys, how- action for a patient on probation is to raise reduced to $120,000 — more than LA clothing, and wheelchairs to those in need. ever, counter that Prop 215, the this issue to their attorney before sentenc- County recommends for rapists, kidnap- The officers even admitted to being aware Compassionate Use Act (CUA), provides that ing. Gather pertinent medical records and pers, and child molesters. that the collectives assisted handicapped patients are not subject to criminal prose- a letter from their physician explaining patients in building wheelchair ramps in cution and sanctions for its use. “What’s so frightening about the whole why cannabis is an effective treatment for their homes free of charge. situation,” Grumbine said, “is that this In People v. Tilehkooh (2003), the appel- their condition. Have friends and family could happen to anyone. Getting in trouble Nonetheless, the preliminary hearing late court found that “it would completely write letters outlining the patient’s good with the law was something we never marches on. A lengthy jury trial is likely to frustrate the purpose of Health and Safety character and explaining how cannabis has envisioned because we read and under- follow, unless Judge Jesse Rodriguez finds Code 11362.5 (the CUA) if a violation of helped them. stood the law. We followed it and trusted it’s not warranted. Grumbine remains opti- probation for the medical use or possession If the patient is making the request after that we were protected, because that’s mistic, inspired in large part by the dedi- of marijuana is permitted while barring a being on probation, they should gather the what laws in America are supposed to do.” cated Human Solution members and oth- criminal prosecution for the same con- information described above and provide ers who have stood firmly by him. duct.” Defense attorneys also cite this case A preliminary hearing began Feb. 8 in a proof they complied with the conditions of to argue that the state is barred from pros- probation up to that point (i.e., paid fines, ecuting violations of federal law. OMAR FIGUEROA reported as requested, no new arrests, To further complicate this issue, the passed drug testing). ATTORNEY AT LAW Medical Marijuana Program Act (MMPA or COMPLIMENTARY CASE CONSULTATION. Years of experience defending growers, patients, caregivers and members of collectives / coops in CA & Fed courts. Graduate of Yale University, Stanford Law School and Trial Lawyers College. 707-829-0215 415-489-0420 AN EARTH DAY CELEBRATION of CANNABIS, HEALTH & ECOLOGY [email protected] • [email protected] 7770 Healdsburg Av. # A APRIL 23, 2011 • Noon - 2 a.m. Sebastopol, CA 95472 From the creators of Earthdance comes Deep Green – www.omarfigueroa.com An unprecedented high energy, information-intense, and intensely fun 14-hour Earth Day festival featuring a holistic exploration of the cannabis plant! Live Music * DJs * Displays * Speakers * Workshops * Vendors Music & Special Guests Live performances from The Coup, Heavyweight Dub Champions with Goddess Alchemy Project, MC Yogi, Alex Theory and more – plus an outstanding line up of top Bay Area DJs with celebrities and sages sharing wit and wisdom along the way. Speakers & Workshops Leading authorities and change-makers will address the CRANEWAY PAVILION transition to a sustainable culture through the advance- 1414 Harbour Way South ment of cannabis/hemp, eco-activism, natural cures and Marina District of alternative healing. Presenters include: Richard Lee, Ed Richmond, California 94804 Rosenthal, Chris Conrad, Patrick Goggin, Former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson, Kevin Danaher of Green Festivals, David Bronner, Ralph Metzner, Steve DeAngelo, Eric Steenstra, Mikki Norris, Prashanti de Jager, Ahmed Rahim, and many more! Vendors & Exhibits The latest in green growing gear, holistic health, sustainable lifestyles, clothing, natural and raw foods, organic drinks, trade groups and non-profits making a difference – plus educational M.C.N.C. exhibits including the Human Rights and the Drug War Photo Exhibit, The Hemp House Movement – and much more. Medical Cannabis of Northern California Medical Dispensary Showcase & Lounge Deep Green is a production of Venue-within-the-venue showcasing dispensaries Medical Cannabis Evaluations and vapor lounge for medicinal marijuana patients Introductory Dr. Nate Pettinger Offer: 916-333-3831 $ in association with United Earth 30 Networks and Harmony Festival 2222 Watt Avenue, Sacramento CA 95825 FOR TICKETS AND COMPLETE EVENT DETAILS VISIT: www.DeepGreenFest.com Cell 760-954-4987 • Fax 530-205-9638 • License# G29874 Want to be involved? Contact: [email protected] Spring 2011 Page 10 West Coast Leaf Two California bills look at medical regulations Continued from page 1 distribution, etc., under HSC 11357 – 61; provides for hygiene, safety and security inspections; and leaves it to relevant public agencies to work out regulations. It pre- scribes fees, not taxes, to fund the system. Meanwhile, Sen. Calderon has re-intro- duced a more lengthy and complicated Cannabis and Cannabis Product Certificate / Taxation bill like one he sponsored last year, aimed at collecting sales taxes. It provides for certification by the State Board of Equalization for all growers, wholesalers, retailers, and transporters of cannabis products doing business in California. It would require certified grow- ers, wholesalers, retailers and transporters to keep records of every sale, transfer, or delivery of such products, as specified. The bill would authorize any peace officer and specified employees of the board to con- duct inspections, as provided. It would prohibit growers, wholesalers, retailers, and transporters from selling or purchas- ing cannabis products without a certificate. The SB 626 bill has many shortcomings. It tries to regulate medical marijuana through the state Board of Equalization rather than the Dept. of Health; requires growers and transporters as well as sellers to register with the BoE; tries to make wholesalers pre-pay sales tax before the product is sold; prevents anyone with a felony record from participating; and fails to protect legal providers from prosecution under HSC 11358, 11359, 11360, etc.

Palm Springs collective gives back to the community Continued from page 2 at Indian Canyon Drive, the facility opened June 5, 2010 after a year and a half process to provide patients with safe, reliable access to affordable, high-quality cannabis. The membership collective is open to all qualified patients with a physician’s verified recommendation and primary caregivers. “The City of Palm Springs was wonderful in terms of helping to fast-track the approval for our zoning license prior to opening,” Cherlin said. “They see we are a legitimate, licensed facility that helps peo- ple who are suffering. “For me, it’s all about giving back to the community,” he added. “I wanted to help and asked myself ‘what is the best way to give back?’” So, DOS has been expanding its patient programs, offering a free pack- age of medicine once a month to indigent patients. It also runs a program for the dis- abled and one for military veterans, and recently started collecting clothing for an area homeless shelter. In terms of future trends, Cherlin antic- ipates tremendous growth in the area of edible products. His facility offers a large assortment of such items, which include everything from ice cream to gluten-free bread pudding. “These products really appeal to our older patients who are seeking alternative ways of ingesting the medicine,” he said. “In this day and age, there are so many options for people. Medicinal marijuana isn’t just about smoking anymore.” The facility’s patient demographic runs the gamut. On an average day, Cherlin says the dispensary could see anyone from a 90- year-old glaucoma patient to a 23-year-old suffering from breast cancer. For more about Desert Organic Solutions, call 760-288-4000 or visit www.desertorganicsolutions.com. West Coast Leaf Page 11 Spring 2011 months and go to drug rehab. Both the US make them less restrictive and reduced the Lenient sentencing victory in Stacy case attorney and judge disagreed and stated original three-year probation recommen- Two years federal probation dispensaries. multiple times that Stacy was in clear and dation to two years. for dispensary operator Last year, Stacy was facing a federal unambiguous compliance with state law, The US Attorney’s office agreed and mandatory minimum of five years in so no jail time was warranted. Stacy walked out of that courtroom, not in By Eugene Davidovich prison with the possibility of a life sen- Judge Moskowitz took extra time to custody, into a hallway filled with his sup- San Diego medical marijuana patients saw tence. Shortly before his trial was supposed modify the terms of Stacy’s probation to porters and friends. a victory Jan. 7, 2011 at the Federal to begin last November, the US Attorney Courthouse. In a courtroom filled to the made an offer which included three years brim with supporters wearing green soli- probation and no jail time, if Stacy pled Coalition takes patient issues to City Hall darity ribbons, James Stacy was sentenced guilty to cultivation. After due considera- San Diego fight to ‘Stop the “People need to know what’s about to to probation for two years for operating a tion Stacy signed the deal. happen in their city,” said attorney and medical dispensary in Vista, Calif. The probation department recom- Ban’ against medical access Stop the Ban spokesperson Rachel Scoma. His collective, Movement in Action, mended Stacy be incarcerated for 13 By Ben Cisneros and Eugene Davidovich “The ordinance, as proposed, would close was raided in September of 2009 as part of A coalition of community groups, non- every medical can nabis facility serving San Diego DA Bonnie Dumanis’ Operation profits, businesses, and concerned citizens patients in San Diego, make it virtually Green Rx raids on over a dozen San Diego launched the grassroots ‘Stop the Ban’ impossible for any to reopen, and leave campaign to get San Diego City Council to thousands of AIDS, cancer, MS and other seriously ill patients in despair.” Legislation surges in 2011 replace an impending de facto ban on med- ical cannabis facilities with reasonable reg- Gretchen Bergman of A New Path out- Continued from page 1 ulations for collectives. lined the need for compassion and her legislatures in 10 states are now consider- The Council is expected to vote on the opposition to the proposal at a Stop the Ban ing bills to create entirely new medical proposed ordinance March 28, 2011. If press conference held outside City Hall. marijuana programs, with at least four passed, it would force all currently open “We want to make sure that if the City more expected to do the same this year. facilities to close and effectively eradicate insists on passing this ban that they do so Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, safe access in the city, where over 50,000 despite the most unprecedented outpour- Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, New patients are currently served by more than ing of public opposition to an ordinance Hampshire, New York, and Oklahoma are Lanny Swerdlow interviewing Riversideʼs new District Attorney, Paul Zellerbach 100 dispensaries. It would take collectives that the city has ever seen,” said Scoma. all looking at bills to protect seriously ill at least a year to come into compliance The campaign has also launched patients from arrest under certain condi- with the Process 4 Conditional Use Permit, stopthebansd.org to inform the public tions with a recommendation from their New DA in Riverside so, under this scenario, San Diego will see about the impending ban and help organ- physician. In the most optimistic view, the Continued from page 4 a long period of time with no access and ize volunteers for the effort. number of states that allow medical use responsibility of the DA to make sure that then maybe a handful of places emerging Stop The Ban Coalition: Canvass for a Cause, A New could nearly double this year. whatever the cities decide to do that collec- after the compliance period. PATH, Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), Americans for Safe In addition, some states are looking at Access, San Diego Renters Union, Veterans for Medical tives and cooperatives are run according to Led by the local chapter of Americans Marijuana Access, Students for Sensible Drug Policy, Ideal ways to improve their existing programs. the law. That’s my job.” for Safe Access and Canvass for a Cause, a Choice Insurance, Law Offices of Melissa Bobrow, Law A California bill would protect qualified Offices of Kimberly Simms, Nug Magazine, Kush Magazine, As for the need for licensing require- non-profit specializing in grassroots organ- San Diego County Community Coalition, Green Freedom patients from being fired for simply testing ments and regulations so patients won’t be izing, Stop the Ban is urging the City to Law Group, Legal Cannabis Institute, several members of the positive for marijuana on a drug test, but San Diego Medical Marijuana Task Force, and others. in the position of breaking laws, he said “I amend its proposed ordinance and bring it excepting workplace impairment or situa- don’t disagree with that position. We want in line with the recommendations of the tions involving safety issues. SSET ROTECTION everyone to follow the laws in our society, City Medical Marijuana Task Force. A P Unfortunately, some states are also so that’s a good thing.” BUSINESS LAW • TAX looking at ways to curtail or eliminate their Angela Smith, board member of Yes ESTATE PLANNING • PROBATE medical use programs. The most notable We Cannabis, a medical-use advocacy example of this is Montana, where a bill to West Coast Leaf group based in Riverside, is optimistic that repeal the program entirely has already there will be a change for the better in rela- Support your cannabis passed the state House along party lines tions between qualified patients and law and is on its way to the Senate. If this bill newspaper of record. enforcement. Whereas Pacheco had passes, over 20,000 Montana patients will LAW OFFICE OF refused to meet with patients, Smith said, become criminals overnight. Place your ad today! JEROME D. HANDLEY “We look forward to working with the new Everything possible must be done to DA in our efforts to protect safe access westcoastleaf.com 1-800-517-5166 make sure our representatives know the across Riverside County. I believe www.jeromehandley.com facts about marijuana, and to promote the Zellerbach will bring a new perspective to or 510-215-8326 [email protected] passage of rational state legislation. the office that is long overdue.”

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OPEN 7 Days/Week 9AM-9PM Mon-Sat Sun 11AM-6PM 40422 Highway 41, Oakhurst CA 559-641-6191 Spring 2011 Page 12 West Coast Leaf Researcher John Dvorak shows off a piece of insulative hemp Therapeutic use of cannabis has a very good prognosis concrete. Switzerland, England, Germany and France have been By Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director logical health by osteopath and cannabis documenting the environmental NORML has revised, updated and posted specialist Dr. Dustin Sulak. “As we contin- benefits of building with hemp for ue to sort through the emerging science, more than 20 years. Three hemp online its popular and comprehensive houses were built in Asheville, booklet Emerging Clinical Applications for one thing remains clear: a functional North Carolina in 2010 by Hemp Cannabis & Cannabinoids. cannabinoid system is essential for health,” Technologies, Inc. Construction of the houses has generated a The report reviews some 200 newly writes Dr. Sulak. tremendous amount of media published scientific studies assessing the See norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID= 7002. Hard attention. Other hemp concrete copies available for purchase. Earlier editions avail- projects are underway or planned safety and efficacy of marijuana and its able at a reduced bulk rate. across North America as builders compounds in the treatment and manage- seek ever-more eco-riendly construction alternatives. ment of 19 clinical indications: chronic An Adnams Brewery pain, Alzheimer’s disease, amyotrophic Jackson free on bail to appeal warehouse in England was built lateral sclerosis (ALS), diabetes mellitus, of hemp concrete and so, an dystonia, fibromyalgia, gastrointestinal Answerdam conviction $800,000 heating/air conditioning unit did not have to be installed, disorders, gliomas and other cancers, By Eugene Davidovich, San Diego ASA reducing electricity expenses by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), San Diego cannabis patient, Navy veteran, over $50,000 per year. hepatitis C, hypertension, incontinence, An area the size of a football and former operator of the Answerdam field can grow enough hemp to methicillin-resistant Staphyloccus aureus collective Jovan Jackson is out on bail build an average-size house. But (MRSA), multiple sclerosis, osteoporosis, pending appeal of his conviction after it is illegal to grow hemp under pruritus, rheumatoid arthritis, sleep apnea, federal law. being tried twice in less than a year on the and Tourette syndrome. In some cases, pre- same charges of possession and sale. Learn more at hempology.org clinical data and clinical data indicate that After one jury split on the verdict, he cannabinoids may halt the progression of was convicted by another Sept. 28, 2010 in disease more efficaciously than available a second trial after being denied his med- SLO patients seek better treatment from county pharmaceuticals. ical marijuana defense by Judge Howard Medical cannabis protests applying his precious resources in a ration- The updated report features a new sec- Shore, who held that although they were al way,” District 2 Supervisor Bruce Gibson tion on the endocannabinoid system and legal patients, since all 1600 Answerdam continue in San Luis Obispo told local media. its role in maintaining mental and physio- members did not express that their “pur- By William Dolphin, Americans for Safe Access “I would hope that he would pursue pose” was to cultivate, Jackson did not San Luis Obispo-area medical cannabis violations of our drug laws, but not a fruit- qualify for a medical collective defense. activists have been staging informational less pursuit of those following the rules.” Got Bot? Jackson was sentenced to 180 days in events and rallies in support of patients Patient advocates have been passing By Mary Jane Borden, DrugSense.org jail plus a fine, and scheduled to report on and providers facing charges. out flyers at the San Luis Obispo Farmers’ A new tool from DrugSense lets activists Feb. 1, 2011 when Chief Legal Counsel Joe During a three-day period at the end of Market on the first two Thursdays of the track drug policy developments almost as Elford of Americans for Safe Access (ASA), December, local and state law enforcement month. Several of those arrested appeared they happen, so they can make better deci- the country’s largest medical marijuana agencies raided seven collectively run in court Feb. 9, 10 and 14. sions, craft better campaigns, or act more advocacy group, joined the case. medical cannabis delivery services, arrest- Voters in nearby Morro Bay defeated a quickly. It’s called a bot. A sample can be Elford was in front of Superior Court ing 15 people on felony charges, with bail November ballot initiative that would have accessed at drugbot.org. Judge Shore Jan. 27, along with Lance set at up to $100,000. In addition to seizing banned dispensaries, and city officials are Bot is an Internet spider that parses Rogers, arguing to keep Jackson out of jail medicine, money, computers and other now considering a dispensary ordinance. over 1,000 breaking drug policy articles per pending his appeal. At the hearing, Deputy property, police have also frozen some Many cannabis patients have turned to day from newspapers, blogs, social media, DA Chris Lindberg demanded that no bail bank accounts. Several of those arrested delivery services, since all of the incorpo- and other Web content. While parsing, bot be accepted from the defense unless a were charged with child endangerment, rated cities in the area have adopted mora- classifies these articles by over 375 topics, judge or magistrate finds that no portion of and Child Protective Services removed at toriums or outright bans against storefront enabling them to be finely categorized and the payment was feloniously obtained, per least six children from the homes of three cannabis dispensaries. graphically displayed. Penal Code 1275, and Shore imposed the different families. requirement on Jackson. Raided collectives include Canna fornia The DrugSense newsbot is an A January courthouse protest that coin- Health Services, Atascadero; Santa Barbara advanced concept based on ‘persuasive Elford got the bail reduced from cided with the arraignment of one of the Collective, Tarzana (LA); Open Access classification.’ It can be used in conjunction $180,000 to $50,000. Jackson has the help of providers helped persuade two San Luis Foundation, Trilogy Health Services, and with automated Web crawlers to produce a ASA, Excalibur Bail Bonds, Nug Magazine Obispo County supervisors to speak with Harmonic Alliance, Paso Robles; Hopeful 24/7 stream of geographically and/or top- and others, in his fight to present his med- incoming Sheriff Ian Parkinson to clarify Remedies and West Coast Caregiving, ically specific breaking news that can be ical marijuana collective defense to a jury. his stance on medical marijuana. Pismo Beach. Please turn to page 24 San Diego Americans for Safe Access SafeAccessSD.org “I want to be sure that the sheriff is

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Box 72505 Davis, CA 95617 Appointments for Room 200 — 415.456.4313 [email protected] Toll-Free #: 1-800-991-6530 6 School Street Plaza, Ste. 215, Fairfax CA — Licensed since 1997 • Now Licensed to Deliver — 707-575-1103 www.yololegal.com www.CBCmarin.com • 415-256-9328 703 Second St. Suite 401, Santa Rosa CA 95404 West Coast Leaf Page 13 Spring 2011 Standardization assures safety in marketplace By Christine Wagner Pesticide screening seeks to detect toxic Regulations for standardization and test- chemicals used by growers to treat microbe ing will soon be part of the criteria for med- or insect infestations, although adoption of ical and distribution best cultivation practices may avoid the of products destined for retail sale. need for this type of screening in the This means using uniform and recog- future. Microbiological screening provides nized testing protocols, followed by labo- insight as to levels of microbial flora, which ratories like Botanical Analytics; best culti- may have bearing on product quality and vation and handling practices, such as patient tolerances in varying degrees. those developed by Mendo Grown, a trade While testing is available, its advan- tages have yet to be fully realized because SCROG: A Blue City Diesel plant in a Screen of Green that yielded over 2 pounds. association of Mendocino County-permit- ted producers and processors; and appro- testing is currently voluntary and not part Book to reveal secrets of growing green giants priate labeling criteria for medical cannabis of a regulatory framework. It is incumbent in all its forms. upon the cannabis industry to develop Is low California safe harbor the plant to develop an oversized, level quality control standards that work and canopy, offering support to branches so Testing can quantify can nabinoid con- limiting ‘master growers?’ tent (potency) in medicine, and screen for allow it to do what is right for patients, they can develop big, heavy buds that communities and the environment. By Dru West* would otherwise break the branch. pesticide and microbiological contamina- tion (molds, bacteria, yeasts, pathogens). Standards will demonstrate to those out- Medical cardholders in Oregon and The book discusses techniques being side of the industry that it is thoughtful in Potency testing will allow for accurate Washington can possess up to 24 ounces of refined by Northwest growers who legally its approach to regulating this medicine. and reliable labeling and dosage informa- usable marijuana. However, California possess the resulting yields, whereas an Wagner is President of Botanical Analytics, Inc., attorney of patients can be arrested for exceeding the individual California cardholder using the tion, and provide a mechanism for tracking cannabis law, and member of the Legal Committee to the San safe harbor of eight ounces. While this may SCROG technique to grow one plant might specific strains that are found to alleviate Francisco Medical Cannabis Task Force. be enough for some patients’ short term be three times or more over their legal safe particular symptoms. medical needs, it impedes growers. harbor as soon as they harvest. Several Researching my upcoming grow book, master growers who contributed to the Overheated lamps cause fire in bedroom garden The Secrets of the West Coast Masters, I found book had moved from California to over- By Michael Saturno* [email protected] multiple 1000-watt, high-intensity-dis- that growers in Oregon and Washington come this hurdle. Lights allegedly used to grow marijuana charge (HID) grow lamps. A residence were utilizing this advantage to grow mon- * West is author of the forthcoming book, Secrets of the West without an upgrade lacks the infrastruc- ster plants yielding well over a half- pound Coast Masters: The ultimate techniques for growing medical mari- overloaded an electrical circuit and juana; 4/20/11. westcoastmasters.com ture to handle the electrical load. That is of bud per harvest. sparked an early morning blaze at a duplex in Santa Rosa Feb. 9, 2011. The fire started why so many home growers are turning to While most medical growers are con- in a small bedroom grow, destroyed that professional grow-design specialists. tent with a yield of two to four ounces per Mendo sheriff’s advice room and damaged the rest of the unit. Calculations must be made on aggre- plant, there are techniques that consistently Continued from page 7 This type of accident can be averted if a gate lighting loads and all the accessory yield a pound and a half per plant, so as to focused on 99-plant gardens but acknowl- professional electrician is involved in plan- equipment such as air conditioners, keep each harvest just within the legal edges the reality of federal laws. “If I do ning the garden. Prohibition has caused heaters, fans and pumps. Electrical panels, limit. Some caretaker growers consistently end up in prison [by following county inexperienced people to build grow-rooms breakers and wire must be sized appropri- get more than two pounds per plant using rules], at least I’ll have somebody I like for without insight or oversight on safe design. ately for safety and longevity. Every part of these techniques. a roommate,” smiled Johnson, referring to They risk property damage, jail time, and the electrical system must be installed One such secret to huge yields and his boss. personal injury. The electrical system in a properly to maintain a safe indoor grow- giant plants is the use of a Screen of Green “This is about trust, feedback and edu- typical house or apartment is designed to room that will be ergonomic, productive, (SCROG), a structure that suspends a net cation,” said Johnson. “I learn from you in operate vacuum cleaners, microwaves, a problem-free and fun. over the budding plant and is used to train order to change the program.” refrigerator, TV, lights and toasters, not for * An electrical/plumbing contractor with 11 yrs experience. Spring 2011 Page 14 West Coast Leaf Form and function fulfill the indoor garden Ancient Egyptian roots of the cannabis tradition By Samuel Janovici use 110 or 240 volts? Be sure the system can The Lab Bench: (1,300 BC), the Berlin Papyrus (1300 BC), the Hearst Papyrus (1550 BC), the Vienna Whether large or small, designing and handle the power load before throwing the By Jahan Marcu Papyrus (220 AD), and many others. An implementing an indoor grow operation first switch. Egypt is one of the great ancient civiliza- internet search will yield pictures of some requires a contractor with the skills of an Water and power cannot be tossed tions that had an advanced medical sys- of these, along with an example or two of electrical engineer and the agility of a jug- together without careful planning. Pulling tem. There is ample evidence of cannabis specific references to the plant. gler to keep growers from painting them- thousands of watts of electricity into a use as a medicine in ancient Egypt, with selves into easily-avoidable room with flowing water indications for use and instructions for corners. requires some thought preparation written in some of the oldest Space and interior dimen- and a practiced hand. Get medical texts in existence. A hieroglyph designated shemshemet lit- sions can belie the amount of help if you’re in over your Hemp pollen has been detected in erally means cannabis. Other ancient soci- light and ventilation a specific head. Never steal power ancient mummies and soil samples. eties have left references to this plant, such circumstance demands. To from a neighbor or at the Although the extent of cannabis use in as in ancient Sumerian, Chinese, Persian, avoid mold, disease, and pole. It’s a bad way to do ancient Egypt is debatable, traces of Greek and Hebrew texts. fungi, the air must circulate business, and there’s no cannabis have been detected in mummies frequently. medical-use defense for by archeologists, as have cocaine and nico- Some remain unconvinced that Good ventilation can pre- stealing power. tine; but these findings were subjected to cannabis was widely used in ancient vent mold and mildew from Using insulation and intense debate. Egypt. Because references to it appear and disappear throughout Egyptian records, setting in; it allows for easy soundboard to suppress The Papyrus Ramesseum III contains one the term ‘cannabis interruptus’ has been temperature adjustments and maximum industrial noise pays off in the long run. An of the oldest mentions of cannabis. coined. These disappearances are easy to plant respiration. Negative air pressure extra layer of protection can make a crucial Instructions on preparing cannabis and understand, as papyrus is very delicate with good filters in place means no odor difference. guidelines for treatment can also be found and hard to preserve amid wars, invasions, will get out into the neighborhood. The Be careful out there. in the Chester-Beatty VI (Medical) Papyrus rated cubic feet of air flowing through your revolts and other conflicts. system must be calculated so that all interi- The changing face of the medical marijuana patient population During the ninth century AD, Egyptian or air is drawn out through charcoal scrub- medicine evolved into Islamic medicine. bers and is not leaking out through passive Amanda Reiman, PhD To determine if the population is really Despite Sharia law banning all intoxicants, vents or unsealed areas. Director of Research, Berkeley Patients Group changing, researchers analyzed data on the plant, in ‘’ form, continued to be Most new patients in the first few years of If using the flood-and-drain method, patients at Berkeley Patients Group and used as medicine. Adding another level of Proposition 215 had been using cannabis as allow room to get around the reservoirs for compared a 2007 sample (N=350) to a sam- confusion, the term for the plant and its a medicine for decades; now they were just water changes and cleanings. Allow ple of patients who had joined BPG in that products changed over time. In Islamic doing it legitimately. However, 15 years enough head and shoulder room to make past six months (N=304). The mean age medicine it was known as qunnab and its later, the patient population is changing. the subtle adjustments that will make the dropped from 39 to 32, and nearly 20% of resin hashish, or shadanaj, “the royal grain.” This means the current patient population difference between success and failure. new patients reported using cannabis for Research on cannabis and cannabi- represents new groups of medical cannabis the first time in the prior six months. New Proper lighting requires ceilings high noids continues in modern-day Egypt. users. users were significantly more likely to be enough to allow adjustments and avoid Recent scientific publications discuss the Two groups have emerged amid this Latino/a or African American (p < .05). burning crops. Positioning lamps takes metabolism of cannaflavins from the plant, population shift: people who become 18 constant tinkering, so growers need to While this data represents cannabis toxicity and abuse potential, potential and can legally become patients, and allow space to accomplish that. Full 1000- patients at only one dispensary, it is consis- impact of use on lifestyle, and the synthesis patients who are novices to using cannabis watt HID lights are not right for all situa- tent with these two trends. This suggests of new cannabinoid drugs. as a medicine. Those who provide medical tions and a grower needs to know when that dispensaries should institute educa- For images and additional notes visit antiquecannabis- cannabis should adjust to the needs of this tion programs aimed at younger and book.com or read History of Cannabis and Its Preparations in 600-watts are a better choice. Is it better to Saga, Science, and Sobriquet, by Ethan B. Russo (2007) new breed of patient. Please turn to page 16 Crop and Collective / Co-op Certifications Grower and Collective Compliance Consultations www.CleanGreenCert.com [email protected] 707-218-6979 Chris Van Hook, California Attorney

BOB BOYD, ATTORNEY AT LAW Serving Mendocino & Lake Counties ROBERTS & ELLIOTT ATTORNEYS AT LAW 707-468-0500

— Lifetime Member, NORML Legal Panel — mendocinolaw.com West Coast Leaf Page 15 Spring 2011 Spring 2011 Page 16 West Coast Leaf Controlling costs, marketing essential to farmers From the Field… cut consumption. Recycling of potting soils reduces footprint. There are moral as well By Chris VanHook, CleanGreen as economic reasons to do so. Two major issues affect both outdoor and It’s a good time to begin contacting a indoor growers. First, production costs collective or dispensary regarding place- must be reduced in light of the decline in ment of future product. Growers should prices due to increased crop production. ask about strains dispensaries would like Second, product placement in the medical to have, and make plans around the timing cannabis market must be secured. of the harvest. Compliance is enhanced, One way to reduce outdoor production and both sides benefit. costs is to build natural soils on the farm Not affiliated with a larger collective? Student patients left hanging change that might put them at odds with rather then relying on expensive and some- ‘Farm-direct’ is becoming a popular alter- the federal government. However, no times variable-quality bagged soils. By John Perri, SSDP native to retail collectives. More and more school has ever lost federal funding due to Composting onsite can save money and With more and more states having laws farmers are creating direct access to a violation of the DFSCA and the Dept. of help build farm soils. that protect patients from arrest for med- Education has not attempted to clarify how patients through existing groups or affilia- ical marijuana, one demographic is finding tions. Know of a sporting group, book club, state medical use laws affect the rule. Competition from indoor gardens and it nearly impossible to take advantage of or knitting guild? Any personal relation- Promptly after passage of Arizona’s light deprivation have shaken the logic of these protections: college students. ships can lead to patients for a small farm- medical use law last year, the University of saving outdoor crops for a better price. School administrators in states like direct collective. Contact a reliable attorney Arizona and two other state universities California, Arizona, Montana and experienced in medical compliance to Please turn to page 25 Compost teas can help reduce input Colorado have made it clear that medical review the plans and papers. costs. Google “ATTRA” to see many book- marijuana is not allowed and student There is a large and growing base level lets helpful to the small scale/sustainable patients will not be exempt from punish- of high-quality indoor cannabis coming Population dynamics farmer. Taking good care of each plant so it ment if caught using or possessing it on onto the market year-round. Outdoor- produces high-quality product will both campus. All of these schools maintain that Continued from page 14 grown ‘light dep’ (deprivation) cannabis reduce farm costs (fewer plants, reduced they would lose federal funding under the novice users to help new patients under- comes onto the market mid-season, labor costs) and help assure placement of Drug Free Schools and Communities Act stand the role of cannabis in their life and increasing supply. This sheds light on the the crop in the medical market, where the (DFSCA) if they were to follow state law how their patient status might affect social practice of storing outdoor crops through- highest-quality cannabis is in greatest and allow cannabis on campus. interactions with their friends, family, out the year hoping for a period of low employers, and teachers. demand. The DFSCA is a federal mandate that supply to increase the farm price. This is the time of year (when fire dan- states, “As a condition of receiving funds Basic education around safe consump- One should consider moving product ger is low) to maintain the border areas of or any other form of financial assistance tion, strain and preparation differences, at whatever the current reimbursement the growing area. Trim back or remove under any federal program, an institution and effective methods of ingestion can help values are. This is similar to all other per- trees and shrubs that have grown larger of higher education must certify that it has demystify the medical cannabis experience ishable or overly supplied agricultural and are blocking the sunlight needed for adopted and implemented a program to and empower new users to make educated products. Move the product at current best growing conditions. The firewood can prevent the unlawful possession, use, or and thoughtful decisions about cannabis prices, but at least get it moved and pre- be used and the brush mulched to help distribution of illicit drugs and alcohol by use and their health. pare for your next crop — or relax. Older build farm soils. students and employees.” Providing dispensary staff with train- product will quickly become less valuable Indoor growers can reduce production It is understandable that despite state ing programs on working with new and you may move it at a price below what costs and carbon footprint by taking the laws making marijuana a legal medicine patients can impart basic clinical skills that the reimbursement value was when it was time to thoroughly review energy use. for qualified students, schools in such will go a long way in making new patients fresh. Better to move it. Lower-watt bulbs on movable tracks can states are reluctant to make any policy feel comfortable with their choice to use Chris Van Hook can be reached at www.cleangreencert.com medical cannabis West Coast Leaf Page 17 Spring 2011 Researchers struggle with federal roadblocks New Jersey medical marijuana program at impasse with gov By Ken Wolski, RN, MPA* CMMNJ ture agreed that the rules set by Governor or give away unused cannabis after the Putting pressure on US to Chris Christie’s DHSS were inconsistent study, the first in 30 years to study outpa- The New Jersey Department of Health and with the intent of the law. treat trauma with cannabis tient medical marijuana use. Senior Services (DHSS) issued a Request for Applications (RFA) for six Alternative The Senate Health Committee held a By Stephen Morseman and MAPS’s solution was to give each Treatment Centers (ATCs) in January. The hearing Jan. 20, 2011 to invalidate those Rick Doblin, Ph.D. MAPS patient a handheld video camera and have RFA had Feb. 14, 2011 as a closing date. rules in whole or in part. If the legislature The Multidisciplinary Association for them film themselves taking out the mari- DHSS received 20 applications, and claims votes to invalidate the rules it is not certain Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), with lead juana, using it, and replacing unused mate- it will have cannabis distributed to patients what effect this will have on the RFA investigator Dr. Sue Sisley, sent a Nov. 11, rial. Then, every week, researchers will by mid-summer. process or who will set policy. DHSS set a 2010 study proposal to the FDA to investi- review the videos and call designated March 7 public hearing on the proposed gate the safety and efficacy of marijuana friends or family members to verify that Patients, advocates and potential ATC new rules at its Trenton headquarters. for veterans with chronic, treatment-resis- subjects haven’t been diverting the mari- operators told a legislative committee that tant post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). the program might not work at all, or will * Executive Director, Coalition for Medical Marijuana-New juana. The FDA, which is generally sup- Jersey, Inc. www.cmmnj.org MAPS’s goal is to develop cannabis portive of MAPS’s research, was satisfied. be bleak, with only very few patients get- ting low-grade marijuana at an exorbitant into an FDA-approved prescription med- However, just because this approach price. Additional qualifying conditions will Cincinnati lowers pot penalty ication to help PTSD patients by reducing seems reasonable to the FDA doesn’t mean not be added for at least two years. By Lynne Wilson nightmares, improving sleep, and decreas- NIDA and the DEA will agree. ing stress and anxiety. For information or to contribute to MAPS, see maps.org/ Late last year, the entire state legisla- Cincinnati, Ohio’s city council voted 5-4 The FDA approved two MAPS mari- Dec. 28 for a 2011 budget that included the juana studies in the 1990s. The National line item, ‘Repeal city-only jailable offens- Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) holds a New national trade association formed to take es.’ So died Ordinance 910-23. Anyone monopoly on the supply of cannabis for US found to possess fewer than 100 grams will research, and simply refused to provide case to DC and lobby for cannabis industry again receive only a ticket of $150. Council - any. Since then, MAPS has been trying to By Etienne Fontan nomic force to advance reform on the fed- man Cecil Thomas pushed through a 2006 break the monopoly by suing the Drug Businesspeople in nearly every industry in eral level. NCIA’s goal is to end federal ordinance making possession an arrestable Enforcement Administration (DEA) to the country — from pharmaceutical manu- marijuana prohibition entirely so that a offense with a fine up to $250 and up to 30 force it to grant a license for a MAPS-spon- facturers to beer wholesalers to plumbers – legal market in cannabis products can days in jail, and in 2007, despite proof that sored marijuana farm, to be directed by benefit from organized trade associations flourish in all 50 states. Besides taking steps the law wasn’t working, Council voted 7-2 Prof. Lyle Craker at the University of advancing their interests in the national toward broader reform, NCIA is lobbying to keep it on the books indefinitely. Massachusetts, Amherst. political arena. Late last year, the National to immediately improve conditions for the In 2008, activists built cincinnatimari- Despite a DEA judge’s ruling that Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) medical cannabis industry. juanalaw.com to gather statistics on guns granting the license would be in the public stepped forward as the first and only trade Centerpiece issues for the NCIA this found, shootings, etc., and prove that the interest, the agency denied the application. association representing the cannabis year involve banking law and regulations law didn’t work, cost too much and was Another brief will be filed, but the DEA is industry. and the Internal Revenue Code. The associ- neither finding all the guns nor stopping unlikely to be persuaded. The first NCIA board of directors meet- ation is lobbying to amend the tax code so violence. Citizen’s for a Safer Cincinnati led the fight to repeal 910-23. When decid- The study is designed to compare five ing was held in Denver, Colorado Dec. 16, that the effective tax rate for medical ing the 2011 budget, four new council different potencies of marijuana with vary- 2010. The board consists of professionals cannabis collectives will be no different members teamed up to convince Thomas ing levels of THC and CBD as well as the from across the country and from several than any other state-legal business. It is to vote to overturn his own law. relative safety and efficacy of smoking and sectors of the cannabis industry. One-third also working to clarify policy to make it easier for banks to have the confidence Aka Happy Hemptress HempRock Radio & TV Citizen’s for vaporizing. Comparing strains with and of its board hails from California, including a Safer Cincinnati Cincinnati/Northern KY TeaPot Party without CBD is especially important, since representatives from Berkeley Patients they need to do business with cannabis- CBD is widely recognized for both its anti- Group, Harborside Health Center, and related enterprises. anxiety properties and its ability to moder- SPARC medical can nabis collectives. Director of public affairs Steve Fox is Distributor regulation in RI ate some of the effects of THC. Future NCIA board members will be elect- leading the NCIA lobbying effort in By Jesse Stout, RIPAC The FDA put the protocol on hold in ed by the general membership in an elec- Washington, DC. Fox, co-author of the Rhode Island is one step closer to licensing mid-December, asking MAPS to provide tion this spring. book Marijuana Is Safer: So why are we driv- ‘Compassion Centers’ (CCs) to distribute information about the cannabis cigarettes Aaron Smith, former Marijuana Policy ing people to drink?, is optimistic that the medical marijuana. In 2010 the Dept. of to be used. This won’t be possible unless Project California director, is NCIA’s exec- sheer economic force of the emerging Health rejected all 15 applicants for three NIDA approves the study and agrees to utive director. Smith is confident that the industry will be what finally breaks the licenses, and restarted the whole process. It provide the marijuana. fledgling trade association will become a back of cannabis prohibition. held a hearing Feb. 7, 2011 for people to A month later NIDA told MAPS that it significant force on the DC political scene. “It becomes an entirely different game comment on the 18 new applications. could provide the potencies required. Smith said he co-founded the organiza- when government agencies have to shut The DoH is scheduled to announce to NIDA’s cooperation may indicate that tion after “seeing the industry blossoming down legitimate, tax-paying businesses whom the three center licenses will be MAPS’s persistent efforts to obtain the into something really beautiful and realiz- that are employing thousands of people in awarded in mid-March. Some applicants DEA license have increased its willingness ing that it’s about time that the industry tough economic times,” said Fox. say that, on that schedule, they can be open to provide research cannabis. NIDA may and the professionals in it had representa- “Moreover, once other states see that to supply registered patients with medical realize that unless it provides researchers tion at the national level just like any other cannabis can be regulated in a thoughtful cannabis as early as June. what they need, the necessity of breaking legitimate profession.” and effective manner, it is only a matter of The cities of Providence, Pawtucket, its monopoly will become more clear. The association aims to bring together time before they follow suit.” and Warwick all endorsed various appli- In a possible roadblock, the FDA hundreds of cannabis-related businesses to Fontan is director of Berkeley Patients Group and a member cants, as did the Rhode Island Patient of the NCIA board of directors. expressed concern that subjects might sell collectively exert their influence as an eco- Advocacy Coalition (RIPAC). DON’T BE Safe and Appropriate A VICTIM OF MEDICAL CANNABIS Evaluations DRUG TESTING! Frank H. Lucido MD Maria Mangini PhD, FNP Primary Care / Family Medicine Serving the Bay Area since 1979 New patients welcome • Patient-centered care 2300 Durant Ave, Berkeley, CA 94704 Protect your human rights! For Appointment: 510-848-0958 — Clear Test — 1.800.248.5655 cleartest.com

Collective and Cooperative Farming Compliance Consultations Custom Built Legal Binders • Better Farming Practices Collective Certification Program Garden Yield and Probable Cost Analysis Asset Management-Crop Protection Spring 2011 Page 18 West Coast Leaf How to talk to a cop about marijuana legalization By Nate Bradley, with officers about legalization to always Editorials and Commentary Law Enforcement Against Prohibition be respectful of their opinions as well. Yes, I know it sounds scary, but take it from Some of the officers you will speak to me, a former cop: Talking to police officers have been ‘fighting’ in the drug war for about marijuana legalization is easy, fun decades. It’s not easy to get people to Looking for that ‘Sweet Spot’ and rewarding. change their minds immediately, but plant- At the ‘Next Steps’ conference Jan. 29, we savored the words of Ethan Nadelman, director Believe it or not, a large portion of law ing a seed in a conversation now can go a of the Drug Policy Alliance, as he refered to the “Sweet Spot” of cannabis reform. That is enforcement either supports marijuana long way toward getting them to look at the point where the aspirations of the reform movement intersect with majority acceptance legalization or hasn’t made up its mind yet. this issue in a different light next time they among voters or legislators. We heard a sampler of California reformers invoke a menu of Look at how few law enforcement unions catch someone with marijuana or find goals that most seemed to hunger after: An end to criminal prohibition laws, protection came out and opposed Prop 19. Only three themselves in a voting booth to decide on a and expansion of medical rights and access, taxation that is not prohibitive, nobody of California’s 58 sheriff department asso- marijuana initiative. behind bars for a marijuana offense, the right to grow and share an untaxed personal sup- ciations and four of more than 200 city ply, fundamental human rights to work, housing, education, etc. Meanwhile, voters, pun- police associations actually took positions Mexico’s crisis demands dits and public officials have an appetite for new tax revenues, assurances about job and officially opposing Prop 19. highway safety, and rules that keep non-medical marijuana out of the hands of minors and The Yes on Prop 19 campaign featured cannabis legalization protect neighborhoods from nuisances. The recipe for success must satisfy these cravings. many cops, judges and prosecutors who, By Daniel Robelo, Drug Policy Alliance The ideal voter initiative will serve up a passable casserole that the legislature can then based on their law enforcement experi- As security in Mexico deteriorates every flavor with positive reforms, but not ruin the dish. It’s so close, we can almost taste it. ences, absolutely and very publicly sup- port legalizing marijuana. day, calls for legalization grow louder and more urgent. In just four years, 35,000 peo- So how do we talk to the police about ple have been murdered in prohibition- Schedule is tight to file, qualify for 2012 ballot marijuana legalization? First, here is what related violence, including more than 1,000 cuted by professionals. not to say. Don’t focus on tax revenues, Timeline for 2012 initiative children. Over 15,000 people were killed racial disparities in arrest rates, how mari- By Sam H. Clauder II* However, for a provision to be includ- last year, making it the deadliest since ed in the initiative, it must have at least juana is ‘safer’ than alcohol, or how cops California advocates face a tight race. A President Felipe Calderon unleashed the 57% approval in the polls. This is the waste their time arresting marijuana users. successful ballot measure requires drafting, army against drug traffickers. absolute minimum, because history proves Those arguments will most likely fall on testing and filing wording, and then col- This ongoing tragedy is a painful five percent of liberal and progressive vot- deaf ears. lecting and filing a large number of valid reminder of the failure of prohibition, ers simply do not vote; so 57% support Most law enforcement officers who are signatures within strict deadlines set by which pushes the drug market into the translates to a 52% win at the polls. against marijuana legalization oppose it law. The first phase of the process must hands of violent gangsters like those who because they are under the impression that begin by June 2011 or there will likely be no Phase Two: Submit all the top issues to emerged during Alcohol Prohibition. a committee of lawyers with experience in the war on drugs is actually working and is cannabis initiatives on the 2012 ballot. Unfortunately, the situation in Mexico constitutional, legislative, and cannabis somehow making society safer. They The voter initiative qualification is far more deadly — and escalating. Last law to draft four different initiatives. This believe that if you legalize marijuana, soci- process has settled into a two-year time year’s death toll included the largest num- would encompass a political spectrum ety will become unsafe. cycle. Counting backward from Election ber of civilians yet, according to the Trans- from the greatest amount of reform to the So, point out how prohibition is mak- Day, 2012, sets the timetable. Border Institute. Fourteen mayors and 11 least amount of reform that could pass. ing cities and neighborhoods unsafe, and The third week of April 2012 is the best journalists were assassinated in 2010, clear Phase Three: Test all four drafts of the illustrate by politely stating facts the officer time to file signatures with the Secretary of evidence that prohibition is destroying initiative with another set of polls, and this won’t be able to refute. State for the November ballot. So as to have Mexican lives, and also its democracy. time use focus groups, too. One draft may According to the state Board of the maximum time to collect signatures, The violence is spreading. Once con- be chosen, or the best results are rewritten Equalization, keeping marijuana illegal has approximately five months, petitions fined to northern Mexico, it has reached into a final reconciliation ballot measure created a $14 billion-a-year underground should start circulating the week before formerly peaceful places like Mexico’s rich- that is filed with the Secretary of State by market in California alone. That criminal Thanksgiving 2011. est city, Monterrey, and even the nation’s the second week of September. market regularly uses violence to solve capital. Regionally, cartels have also The Attorney General’s office wants business disputes. That same underground This is the challenge facing reformers. increased their presence in Central eight weeks before that to write a title and market has killed and injured countless * Political consultant Sam Clauder has been active in cannabis American countries, especially Guatemala summary, so the initiative should be filed reform for 40 years. He helped place hundreds of initiatives on bal- numbers of law enforcement and innocent lots and authored Prop 66 (2004) to amend the three-strikes law. and El Salvador. by the second week of September 2011. civilians since marijuana was first out- From now to September is the time for West Coast Leaf lawed in 1937. If we choose to regulate and Meanwhile, diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks last December show ram- drafting and testing language. The broad The West Coast Leaf™ is a free speech publication control marijuana we could shrink that political constituency with an interest in owned and operated by Creative Xpressions. ISSN criminal market drastically. pant corruption in Mexico’s institutions 1945-211X. Business license EC08-0002765. The Leaf and no clear strategy for over $1.6 billion reform will require a wholly inclusive cam- Most officers believe that marijuana supports tolerance and maintains that cannabis the US has pledged in military aid. The paign. The process of drafting the wording legalization will increase children’s access. sales and cultivation should and will be legal for cables revealed that US officials don’t even must be fully transparent in order to devel- adult consumption. We invite submissions and That can’t be farther from the truth. In the believe the drug war can succeed. op a broad base of support from the reform advertising. WCL fosters a socio-political commu- current illegal market it’s easier for kids to nity by providing photos, news, directories, fea- movement. It is simpler than it appears, gain access to marijuana than it would be Despite massive seizures, and the cap- can be done in three phases, and costs tures, and regional information for our readers. ture or killing of a few notorious traffick- Special thanks to Jackie G. Wilson for editorial in a regulated market. Why? Because the about $150,000. assistance. neighborhood drug dealer doesn’t check ers, cartels remain extremely powerful. Phase One: Collect all the different Chris Conrad, executive editor ID. He doesn’t care how old your kids are; Each week they commit brutal massacres, points and issues to be addressed in legal- Mikki Norris, managing editor all that matters to him is if they have cash. shocking prison breaks, and brazen assas- izing cannabis and test them with polls. sinations. Drugs flow into the US by every PO Box 1716, El Cerrito CA 94530 And that’s why federal surveys show that This is the phase that can be inclusive of all conceivable manner, including tunnels WestCoastLeaf.com • 510-215-TEAM (8326) teens generally have had an easier time under the border and catapults to launch the issues to begin with. The issues would Vol 4 No 1. Print run: 167,000 copies. obtaining illegal marijuana than obtaining be transformed into a general poll and exe- Spring Issue. © 2011. All rights reserved. legal and age-regulated alcohol. marijuana over it. In conclusion, remember when talking Please turn to page 19 Subscribe to West Coast Leaf A unique newspaper, delivered quarterly in a discreet, plain envelope. $ Annual subscription (1 copy per issue for a year) 20 Upcoming Quarterly Schedule and Submission Deadlines Buddy pack (20 copies per issue for a year) $50 Your ad in this newspaper helps build our community in California and Activist stack (50 copies per issue for a year) $75 the West, and will be seen around the world. Distributor bundle (100 copies per issue for a year) $100 For larger quantities: Call 510-215-8326 to make arrangements. 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Phone or Email ______Place your Ad at www.WestCoastLeaf.com or call: Make check or MO payable to ‘Creative Xpressions’ and mail it with this form to: West Coast Leaf • 510-215-Team (8326) Creative Xpressions Subscriptions, PO Box 1716, El Cerrito CA 94530 For bulk distribution, contact us at [email protected] West Coast Leaf Page 19 Spring 2011 Flash point for medical advocates in Washington By Martin Martinez, Lifevine wealth of public comment on no less than State Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles of Seattle ten revised drafts, she introduced the was the highest-ranking Washington state ambitious Senate Bill 5073. It was intended proponent for medical cannabis even to extend safe access in three separate cate- before the Medical Use Act of 1998. She has gories: single-patient gardens, small com- introduced numerous bills to protect munity gardens, and large state-sanctioned patients, having personally seen the bene- production and distribution channels fits of medical cannabis therapy for close licensed by the Departments of Agriculture friends who suffer the ravages of cancer. and Health, respectively. Following months of research, and a Things change. Law enforcement did not testify at Health and Safety Committee hearings, but pushed through harmful was a collective defense. Mendo’s new DA is OK amendments behind the scenes. Eyster presented this alternative strate- Prohibition and Mexico By Pebbles Trippet, Secretary, MMMAB gy in his campaign at the MMMAB forum Continued from page 18 While having a sales tax on medical marijuana or retracting some sections pro- Newly elected Mendocino County DA last year, and has been making good on it The growing crisis has impelled tecting employees may be seen to have David Eyster described his massive over- since winning the tight race. Mexico’s former president, Vicente Fox, to merit, three amendments to SB 5073 are haul of the DA’s office as “a work in His law enforcement approach is to again call for legalizing drugs, beginning deal-breakers with much of Washington’s progress” when he met with the break the logjam in the courts, clear out with cannabis, as the only way to put the cannabis community. Mendocino Medical Marijuana Advisory cases that should not be prosecuted before cartels out of business. Board in early February and laid out his they are dragged through the courts only “We have to take all the production First, dropping community gardens plans in common-sense, concrete steps. to be dismissed later (for lack of evidence, chain out of the hands of criminals and into from a ceiling of 25 patients down to three “How many marijuana cases have I legitimate medical use, etc.). the hands of producers, so there are farm- is completely unrealistic. Secondly, the filed since I took office?” He held up two ers that produce marijuana and manufac- “voluntary” registration section excludes from arrest protection patients who do not fingers in a circle: “Zero.” Obama: legitimizes debate turers that process it and distributors that “[Former DA Meredith] Lintott filed at distribute it and shops that sell it,” Fox register and removes penalties from police the rate of two cases per day. We’re not By Stephen Gutwillig, Drug Policy Alliance recently told Time magazine. who abuse the registry with unwarranted investigations. Third, it places unreason- going to do that anymore. The policy used President Barack Obama was finally forced In a modest shift, President Obama Jan. able demands on physicians, such as a to be that any deputy DA had discretion to to answer a question about drug policy 27 called legalization a “legitimate” topic quarterly filing procedure that would file charges. That has ended. Now every- during a Feb. 7 ‘town hall.’ He called drug of debate, joining Calderon, who last fall severely limit the number of recommenda- thing goes through me. legalization an “entirely legitimate topic supported a national conversation on the tions written and reduce the state’s quali- “Any defense attorney can make a for debate,” although he is opposed to it. issue. But Secretary of State Hillary fied patient population by thousands. request on behalf of a defendant and I’ll There were more than 1.6 million drug Clinton, returning from Mexico, comment- pull that case file and review it. Before I file arrests in the US last year alone. ed that legalization won’t work because Senator Kohl-Welles has pledged to charges, I’ll review each case myself, open Obama’s comments on legalization “there’s too much money in it.” So legaliza- remove the adverse sections, yet no one my door to defense attorneys and defen- came in response to a question from Mac - tion is finally part of the Administration’s can be sure that she will be successful. dants and hear their side of the story, and Kenzie Allen, a retired deputy sheriff who vocabulary, but they still don’t know the Readers should voice their concerns with then decide which ones to prosecute.” worked in Los Angeles and a member of meaning of the word. Urging US reformers SB 5073 to the State Senate and to the House with its companion bill HB 1100. This is in sharp contrast to Lintott’s Law Enforcement Against Prohibition to press on after Prop. 19, Vicente Fox said, approach, which was to take up the court’s (LEAP). Allen had the top ranked question “It is not necessary that there is a global Senate Bill 5073 must not reach the gov- time with many deputy DAs doing their of 193,000 submitted. Amazingly, 198 of the change. Always, in every human action, ernor’s desk in its current form. Please own thing individually, in open court, in top 200 most popular questions to the there are leaders. There are people that go write a letter, email, or make a phone call to defiance of her policies and the attorney President had to do with legalizing ahead, that see problems before the rest, Washington legislators. Medmj-wa.com general’s guidelines, whether or not there cannabis and drug policy reform. that take decisions before the rest.” has updates to take action on SB 5073. Spring 2011 Page 20 West Coast Leaf Montana House repeals medical use, Senate next? By Tom Daubert, areas and loopholes enabled “abuses” and founder/director, Patients & Families United* exploitation by opportunists who hurt the Montana reformers spent the winter work- program. They called for ‘sideboards’ and ing tirelessly against a backlash in the 2011 regulatory oversight, and supported most legislature. More than a year of steadily- of the provisions in HB 68, a 2010 bill by a building opposition, fueled by the out- bipartisan health committee of legislators. landish, flashy behavior of ‘ganjapreneurs,’ Initially, Senate leaders seemed to agree, coupled with 2010 elections that gave but the House refused to act on it. Republican ideologues overwhelming 68- Senate Bill 154 was introduced to create 32 control over the House of Represent - licensing and oversight of growers and put atives, has spawned a rash of proposals — a 10% tax on gross revenues. Sponsor Sen. some 25 bills introduced or requested, Dave Lewis (R-Helena) sought to regulate mostly targeting medical cannabis for a new industry whose value he recognized sharp curtailment or outright extinction. as fundamentally positive for the state Zealous legislators, including the economy. At the Senate hearing on the bill, Speak er of the House, companies like Rim - he proposed a radical transformation of his rock Foundation (a high-priced drug treat- initial proposal, supplied by the Montana ment facility in Billings), and a group that Medical Growers Assn., a trade group that nearly qualified a repeal ballot measure promotes high standards and professional- after only a week of signature-gathering ism among the state’s caregivers. seek to make this the first medical use state Another Senate bill in the works was to repeal its compassionate use policy. developed by patient and caregiver leaders A repeal bill sponsored by the Speaker to codify “science and quality standards” passed the House in February by a 63-37 in the state’s medical use program in ways vote but had little support in the Senate, that law enforcement and local govern- and it didn’t appear the legislature could ments would welcome. override an expected veto by Governor The Senate also heard more punitive Brian Schweitzer if the bill were to pass. proposals, such as SB 170, targeting pain A ‘repeal bill lite,’ HB 429, would allow patients. Chronic pain was the condition of a caregiver or grower to serve only one many patients who got recommendations patient, unless they were an immediate from traveling ‘caravan clinics’ that began family member, require a judge to ratify a in 2010 (and wrote up to 1,000 recommen- physician’s recommendation, and stiffly dations in a single day, accounting for punish doctors for any “inappropriate” roughly two-thirds of the state’s registered recommendation. Sponsoring Rep. Tom patients). SB 170 sought to make radical Berry (R-Roundup) said his aim was to changes in the requirements for pain reduce the state’s number of legal patients patients. Their pain would have to be to a few hundred, and terminate the new “intractable” and unhelped by all other industry that employs thousands of other- medical choices. A recommendation would wise jobless Montanans. then be subject to review and approval by Those who proposed and promoted the an “independent” panel of three physi- medical initiative, passed in 2004 with 62% cians who have never met the patient. of the vote, have long agreed that gray *Daubert can be reached via [email protected] West Coast Leaf Page 21 Spring 2011

Images courtesy of Robert Hawai’i legislature facing a raft of proposals Buelteman. By Andrea Tischler, passed the Senate committees and four Americans for Safe Access, Big Island Chapter other bills remain to be heard in the more A cannabis decriminalization bill and a conservative House. myriad of medical use bills are grinding Matt Rifkin, co-chair of the Big Island their way through committees in the Chapter of Americans for Safe Access in Hawai’i state legislature. There is a sense of Hilo, said, “There has never been a better urgency this year since the current medical time to reform cannabis law and make use law, passed legislatively in 2000, has medicinal cannabis more accessible to an not changed since its inception. Numerous ever-increasing number of patients.” legislative attempts to update the antiquat- During the past three years, the num- ed cannabis program were all rejected by ber of cannabis patients in the state tripled former conservative Republican governor to nearly 9000, with their greater voice Lisa Lingle in years past. advancing demands for change. Legis la - However, a ‘New Day in Hawai’i’ was tors have received more testimony this born with the inauguration of Governor year than ever. The Drug Policy Forum of Camera-free Neil Abercrombie, a former Democratic US Hawai’i, ASA, Patients Out of Time, representative who is more supportive of Friends of Justice, Peaceful Sky Alliance photography decrim and changes to the medical use law. and other activist groups, physicians, and In an interview by the Maui Time during individuals are contributing compelling lets patient explore the campaign, Abercrombie was asked if testimony and lobbying legislators. he believed philosophically that cannabis plant in a new light “By eliminating the traditional tools of should be a criminal offense. He replied, my craft, cameras, lenses, and computers, I “No, I don’t think so.” He has admitted to Japanese expatriate patient The vibrant art of Buelteman am able to see more deeply into nature’s “enjoying cannabis.” By Sharon Dellamonica A Japanese patient battling Crohn’s disease design, thereby transforming both the sub- Recently, Senate committees unan- came to America for an alternative treat- Celebrated photographic artist Robert ject of the art and the viewer as well.” imously advanced a decrim bill, SB1460, ment, and now that he’s found out that it Buelteman has turned his unique creative He uses a complex electro-process which could make Hawai’i the 14th state to works, he is afraid to return to Japan. vision towards a subject that is both per- known as Kirlian photography. decriminalize possession of a small quanti- Kenichi Nalita is trying to gain political sonal and ubiquitous. His work has received international ty. Medical use bills working their way and medical asylum in the US in a state Since being diagnosed with Lyme dis- exposure over the last few years, in Wired, through committees are finding easier pas- that allows legal medical marijuana, ease in 2007, Buelteman has been unable to PhotoWorld (China), American Photo, Geo sage, and activists hope this is a year for because his homeland’s government says work, though the use of cannabis has pro- (Germany), Outdoor Photographer, and on liberalized cannabis reform. cannabis is not a medicine. vided relief from joint pain and some other CBS News and BBC Worldwide. Carol So far, five medical cannabis bills have The first cannabis user to fight for his debilitating effects of this disease. Greenhouse wrote in New West magazine, advanced through committees in the medical rights in Japanese courts, Nalita Buelteman, whose cameraless, lensless, “Buelteman has stretched the outside edge Senate that include SB 174 rescheduling was arrested for marijuana in Japan and computer-free photographic artwork is of the photographic envelope so far that his cannabis to a Schedule III drug, SB 1458 has used up all legal avenues for protec- exhibited throughout the US and Canada, work no longer has much to do with the establishing compassion centers (dispen- tion. He calls this the fight for his life and calls his interpretive rendering of cannabis conventions of the field — shutter speed, saries), SB 58 increasing the caregiver-to- hopes the US will take him as a political “a natural expression for an artist whose film exposure, lens aperture — and every- patient ratio, SB 113 establishing a state prisoner seeking asylum, since if he stays life has been deeply invested in the explo- thing to do with concepts like the relation- research program, and SB 175 moving the in the US he can obtain medicinal cannabis ration of consciousness.” His open exhibi- ship of spirit and consciousness.” administration of the medical but in Japan he is facing hard tions of these works have given him oppor- Buelteman’s cannabis posters are available from California- program to the Dept. of Health from the time in prison. Readers can support his tunities to speak to the public about Cannabis.biz, with original artworks available through Narcotics Enforcement Dept. All have cause, Save-Kenichi-Nalita, on Facebook. decriminalization. SharonDellamonicaFineArt.com. Spring 2011 Page 22 West Coast Leaf Colo patient, providers face privacy concerns DEA going after Western Michigan providers By Laura Kriho, cannabistherapyinstitute.com database of transactions that would be By Tim Beck Michigan Dept. of Community Health to Colorado is the first state in the nation to open to law enforcement. With a population of 10 million, Michigan release confidential registry data on seven create a branch of law enforcement dedi- Since cannabis possession is still a fed- is second only to California as the biggest suspects in the raids. cated to policing medical use, and some eral crime, shopping at an MMC medical marijuana state in the US. Its social The matter is now tied up in federal patients are concerned about giv- should not require state-legal and political culture varies widely from court with a lawsuit filed by a consortium ing up their right to privacy to patients to incriminate them- one region to another. of medical cannabis advocacy groups, shop at one of these heavily selves federally by being In Ann Arbor in southeast Michigan, comprising Americans for Safe Access, monitored Medical Mari- photographed purchasing practically anything goes when it comes to Cannabis Patients United and the juana Centers (MMCs). medicine. Patients who cannabis, medical or otherwise. The city Michigan Assn. of Compassion Centers. The MMCs were created are concerned about these has at least 20 dispensaries in operation, On Feb. 1, Lansing-area caregivers by the state legislature in 2010 provisions need to make even though state law is silent on whether Randall Lloyd Darling, 24, and Joseph through House Bill 1284. Prior their voices heard. they are legal or not. In contrast, the prose- David Johnson, 23, were indicted in federal to this, patients were able to pur- Fortunately, HB 1284 is cutor in rural Kalkaska County in north- court in Grand Rapids for growing over chase from caregiving businesses now being rewritten with public west Michigan advised anyone with a 100 plants. It is unclear whether the two called dispensaries. input, but until the new medical marijua- medical marijuana ID card in his territory, were in compliance with Michigan law per However, HB 1284 forced caregivers to na rules are finally revised, this situation is to “turn in your drivers license.” their plant counts. give up basic constitutional protections in causing patients to avoid the program. Likewise, the DEA in Michigan seems “It seems like Lansing is under the exchange for the uncertain statutory privi- Discrimination against cannabis already to have assumed a geography-based split DEA microscope,” said Lansing attorney lege of applying to operate an MMC. Its runs rampant in Colorado. Patients have personality regarding medical cannabis Timothy Knowlton, who is a member of stated intent was to put a lot of the existing lost their jobs, children, VA benefits and investigations and prosecution. Cannabis Patients United. “The western dispensaries out of business. health insurance, merely because it was In the highly populated eastern federal district of Michigan is very conservative The newly-formed Medical Marijuana discovered they were on the registry. If region composed of Detroit and its myriad and that seems to be the only logical reason Enforcement Division (MMED) of the confidentiality cannot be guaranteed, suburbs, US Attorney Barbara McQuade for the DEA harassment going on.” Department of Revenue is the first time a patients are not likely to sign up for the has taken a hands-off approach to medical medical program has been run by state tax program or to shop at MMCs. marijuana, and so far no major DEA collectors. Funded by MMC applicants House Bill 11-1043 would extend the enforcement activity has taken place. DEA arrests Nevada patients By William Dolphin Americans for Safe Access with over $10 million in application fees, statewide moratorium on new MMC appli- With Grand Rapids as its epicenter, the , the MMED has dozens of armed auditors, cants for another year and require care- western federal district is largely rural, Early January DEA raids in Las Vegas investigators and regulators with all the givers to register their garden’s location Bible-belt country. The notable exception is resulted in 15 arrests and the seizure of powers of regular law enforcement officers with the MMED. the state capital, Lansing, where dozens of medicine, money and other property. and the additional power to enter and House Bill 11-1250 seeks to ban centers dispensaries line the major thoroughfares The arrests followed federal raids last search any MMC at any time, without a from producing or selling cannabis edibles. and operate with the blessing of the county September. Those arrested face a broad warrant or probable cause. House Bill 11-1261 seeks to ban patients prosecutor and mayor. range of federal charges, including distri- The MMED proposes to track all from driving privileges by setting a limit Western district US Attorney Rene bution of marijuana, conspiracy to distrib- cannabis from “seed to sale.” Their original on THC in the blood that most patients will Shekmer seems not to want the robust ute, conspiracy to commit money launder- plan would have eliminated privacy by always exceed. Any driver with an amount in Lansing to inspire the ing, distribution near a campus, possession requiring each patient to place a photo ID, of THC over five nanograms/ milliliter in rest of the western region. of a firearm in relation to drug trafficking, medical marijuana registry card, and the their blood will be considered impaired A DEA investigation begun in June and failing to disclose or concealing infor- amount of cannabis being purchased on a and guilty of DUI and subject to loss of 2010 resulted in raids on several grow sites, mation concerning Social Security benefits. 12”x12” space on the counter of each their driver’s license. Patients who use with the participation of Michigan State The federal actions in Nevada followed MMC. Each purchase was to be pho- cannabis continuously will always be over Police. Participation may soon be reduced controversial raids near Lansing, Michigan tographed, videotaped and logged into a five Ng/ml of THC in their blood. if the DEA is successful in forcing the that used National Guard troops. West Coast Leaf Page 23 Spring 2011 Colo coalition forms for 2012 ballot measure Dutch policy safe ... for the moment By Kirsten Roszel “Coloradans have grown accustomed By Derrick Bergman, G0NZ0 Media come is that public nuisance near the A coalition is being formed in Colorado to to seeing medical marijuana centers in In a major victory for the coffeeshop sys- remaining coffeeshops will increase. The promote and pass a 2012 ballot initiative their communities, and more and more tem, Dutch Minister of Justice and Security coffeeshops in the center of Amsterdam making cannabis legal for adults and estab- they recognize they are not causing any Ivo Opstelten has postponed his proposal cater to tourists for a large part, but do not lishing a system of regulation similar to problems,” said Brian Vicente, executive to clamp down on cannabis use. cause the public nuisance that is experi- that for alcohol. director of Sensible Colorado, the state’s The Dutch government’s repressive enced in the border area.” Local and national reform organiza- most prominent medical use advocacy plans for coffeeshops were put on hold, at tions, members of Colorado’s cannabis group. “Support for medical marijuana least temporarily, after meeting stiff oppo- Amsterdam coffeeshops cater to tourists, industry, a wide variety of activists and and a regulated market through which it is sition from local politicians over planned and “do not cause” a public nuisance. supportive community members, and the produced and distributed is becoming measures, such as a ‘weed pass,’ that leaders of several non-cannabis-specific increasingly popular among the public.” would ban foreigners from coffeeshops. But even cities in this border area see only negative effects of the proposals from organizations are at the table to plan for the The debate has shifted from whether Especially in Amsterdam and cities The Hague, where the national govern- initiative as the effort gets underway. marijuana should be made legal to how it near the Belgian border, several city coun- ment resides. The city council of “There is more interest in legalization should be made legal. The coalition is cils voted squarely against both the ‘weed Maastricht, the border town that attracts in Colorado than ever before,” said SAFER working to bring forward the best possible pass’ and forced closure of all coffeeshops the biggest number of so-called drug Executive Director Mason Tvert. initiative in next year’s election. Attorneys within 350 meters from schools. The results tourists apart from the capital, even went throughout Colorado are being consulted, of this policy would be disastrous: about “A great deal of attention is being paid so far as to formally block any measure that as are legal experts nationwide. 60% of the 666 total coffeeshops in the to the state, thanks to a growing baseline of is aimed at excluding foreign visitors. The public is also being asked to weigh country would have disappeared. In support and the overall success of a state- Breda and Eindhoven joined ranks, as well. regulated medical marijuana industry.” in throughout the state. Groups have been Amsterdam alone, 187 out of 223 cof- meeting with cannabis organizations and feeshops would have had to close. This may only be the second round Polls show support among likely voters industry members to determine how best with Opstelten, who has put the govern- for such an initiative at around 50%, with In a letter to Opstelten, Amsterdam to cater the initiative to the entire commu- ment on a collision course with local opposition around 43% to 48%. Colorado’s mayor Eberhart van der Laan wrote, “The nity, including the state’s 120,000-plus reg- authorities, repeating his zero-tolerance current medical marijuana system is seen proposed introduction of a pass system to istered patients. mantras. as a strong asset, since voters will not need ban tourists from coffeeshops will have Activists plan a spectacular third edi- to imagine what a legal, state-regulated “We are going to great lengths to get as consequences ... that are not in line with the tion of Cannabis Liberation Day celebra- marijuana market looks like. many people and groups as possible to achievements of the coffeeshop system in buy-in on this initiative,” Tvert said. the city. On the contrary, the expected out- tion at Amsterdam’s Westerpark May 8. More info: voc-nederland.org, cannabisbevrijdingsdag.org Medical use laws at risk Continued from page 1 lobbying lawmakers and the public that the medical marijuana law “is not a law that can be fixed.” New Mexico’s four-year-old program, signed into law by former Governor Bill Richardson (D), is under threat of repeal from new Gov. Susana Martinez (R). The Associated Press reported that Martinez “said during her campaign the state law puts state employees in the posi- tion of violating federal law and she’d like it repealed.” She has since said pressing budget issues will likely forestall her wish for medical repeal for now. Two more states face problems getting their programs running. New Jersey and Arizona both passed medical use laws in 2010 but regulations and taxes threaten the effectiveness of those laws. Former Gov. Jon Corzine (D) signed New Jersey’s medical use law as one of his last official acts. Incoming Gov. Chris Christie (R) opposed the law and has now promulgated strict regulations that would make the program unworkable. Some of Christie’s proposals would limit state dispensary production to only three cannabis strains, cap cannabinoid content at 10%, limit medical use to cases where all other medications have failed, ban medicated edibles, and require doctors to wean patients from cannabis. In Arizona, Rep. Steve Farley (D) is pro- posing taxing medicine sold in dispen- saries at 300%. This would force dispensa- ry cannabis to be sold at rates higher than those on the underground market. Learn about the cannabis politics in your state at The NORML Stash Blog, stash.norml.org. Spring 2011 Page 24 West Coast Leaf Annual Conference: Coming of Age, Denver, CO. Grand Hyatt Hotel, Denver. Join cannabis activists from around the Calendar and Community Directory country and world to network and learn about the latest information and research on our favorite topic in one of the most Mar. 12, Tony Serra Booksigning Events, hemp expo. Prizes for best medicinal pot-friendly cities in the US. For info and Corte Madera & , CA. Book cannabis, hash, and edibles from to register, see norml.org Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Bl., Corte Madera, Colorado’s legal dispensaries. For details April 23, Deep Green Fest: The Premier 3 PM. The Green Arcade, 1680 Market St., see medcancup.com Earth Day Celebration of Cannabis, San Francisco, 7:30 PM. For more events, April 16, MendoGrown Public Education Health and Ecology, Richmond, CA. see pier5law.com Meeting, Ukiah, CA. Saturday Afternoon Craneway Pavillion, Marina district of Mar. 19, Marijuana Reform: Next Steps Club, 107 South Oak Street, Ukiah. 1 PM. Richmond. Noon to 2 AM. From the cre- Jeff and Dale Sky Jones are proud to Southern California, Los Angeles, CA. Local growers and interested parties are announce the birth of their son, Jackson Wolf ators of Earthdance, a full day of music Jones, born Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2010 at Ricardo Montalban Theatre, 1615 Vine St, invited to learn about the latest in medical and special guests, speakers and work- 10:25pm after 45 hours of labor. ʻJackʼ attend- ed his first drug policy conference, the Next Hollywood. 9 AM to 6 PM. Sponsored by cannabis law, regulations and the local shops, vendors and exhibits, hemp house, CaNORML, Drug Policy Alliance and ordinance. For more info call 707-485- Steps for California even, at 4 weeks old. visionary art gallery, medical dispensary Because he spent his time in the womb travel- Marijuana Policy Project, this conference 8070, mendogrown.org showcase, lounge and vending. Evening ing and listening to politics, debates and builds on the success of a similar gather- interviews he was strangely soothed by the April 20, Oaksterdam Spring Cannabis concert and dance party. For more info, not so gentle sounds of debate and applause. ing in Berkeley in January and will feature Bowl, Oakland CA. Oaksterdam see deepgreenfest.com He's a natural sprout in the cannabis industry. a public discussion with drug policy University, 1600 Broadway, Oakland. 3 June 2-4, NORML Legal Seminar, Aspen, reform leaders, medical marijuana advo- PM to 9:00 PM. For info and tickets, check CO. The Gant Hotel. CLE sponsored by cates, legislators, attorneys, physicians out oaksterdamuniversity.com the NORML Legal Committee. Public wel- June 25-26, Medical Cannabis and marijuana reform activists from April 20, Overgrow the Government come. For info, see norml.org Cup, San Francisco, CA. Medical marijua- across the state. All are welcome. For info March and Rally, Washington DC. na and hemp expo. Prizes for best medical and to register, see canorml.org June 3-5, Treating Yourself Second Annual Demand an end to marijuana prohibition. Alternative Medicine Expo, Toronto, cannabis, hash, and edibles from April 2-3, High Times Medical Cannabis For details, see overgrowthegovt.com Canada. Metro Toronto Convention California’s dispensaries. medcancup.com Cup, Denver CO. Medical marijuana and April 21-23, National NORML 40th Centre, North Building Hall A. Lectures, Nov. 2-5, International Drug Policy vendors, entertainment, vapor lounge for Reform Conference, Los Angeles, CA. Westin Bonaventure Hotel. For details, see Medical marijuana at Metro Toronto Convention Ctr June 3-5 medical marijuana patients. For info, see treatingyourselfexpo.com drugpolicy.org By Dani Stern KDK Distributors, Finest Medicinal Seeds, “Last year was the premiere of the Green House Seeds, Herbal Aire, RooR NORML national conference in Rocky Mountain springtime Germany, Advanced Nutrients, Treating Yourself Expo (TYE),” said Marco By Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director Renda, patient, publisher, and show pro- Cannafresh, Formula 420, Apothecary The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) will hold its 40th ducer. “Its success confirmed the need for Genetics, Bongs and Such, Skunk annual conference this spring from April 21–23 in Denver, Colorado — one of America’s an annual event to raise awareness of the Magazine, CALM and the Michelle Rainey most ‘pot-friendly’ cities. “We chose the Denver Grand Hyatt Hotel to recognize the medical benefits of marijuana and the diffi- Foundation. TYE allocates a portion of its prominent role that Colorado is now play- culties patients undergo to legally obtain it. proceeds to helping medical patients in ing in the movement to end marijuana pro- Free bot for WCL readers Now that people have seen that this event need. See TreatingYourselfExpo.com. hibition and legalize responsible use in is professional and promotes responsible Continued from page 12 America, both for medical reasons and for medical use, we anticipate more visitors simultaneously analyzed for frequency, general use,” said Executive Director Allen wanting to browse the increasing number concept, and tone. For example, one could Rise in THC, drop in CBD St. Pierre. of vendor booths.” track a favorite drug policy topic, say Continued from page 1 “Colorado has become the center of cannabis, within a local community, such Health Canada approved the use of including anti-cancer, anti-diabetic, anti- America’s legalization fight, and NORML as Seattle, Oregon or Los Angeles. cannabis in 1999 for certain health condi- epileptic, and anti-bacterial. wants to both encourage that movement tions. Since then, the agency has approved Bot could prove particularly useful in A small number of growers has recent- and learn how we might more effectively fewer than 5,000 permits and has com- tracking statewide ballot measure cam- ly begun breeding ‘CBD-rich’ strains of export that fight to other states.” pelled doctors to act as gatekeepers. paigns, city council debates, or local law cannabis (defined as 4% CBD or higher) for West Coast Leaf readers are invited to enforcement raids. While doing so, it can The Treating Yourself Expo (formerly the medical market. Information on these join hundreds of likeminded marijuana law also help track what is being said, how it is the Medical Marijuana & Hemp Expo) is strains, CBD content, and availability is reformers at the nation’s only annual con- being said, and who is saying it — almost presented by Treating Yourself, The posted online at projectcbd.com. ference dedicated to ending cannabis prohi- as it is happening. Alternative Medicine Journal, a magazine by * “Heterogeneity in the composition of marijuana seized in bition. More at norml.org, or send an e-mail To get bot or learn more information, please contact Doug patients for patients, and is sponsored by California” appears in Drug and Alcohol Dependence. to: [email protected]. Snead at [email protected]

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Babá KEN OKULOLO and His BANDS Live AFRICAN Music for All Occasions AFROBEAT – HIGHLIFE ACOUSTIC – SOLO - LESSONS New CD “We Are All from Africa” at www.CDBaby.com www.AfricanMusicSource.com 510-778-1885 West Coast Leaf Page 25 Spring 2011 Roseanne Barr gives her blessing to cannabis Book illustrates a powerful voice for justice Book Review: Lust for Justice: compassion from jurors who have the fate Praise the Lord and pass the The Radical Life & Law of J. Tony Serra By Paulette Frankl, of his clients in their hands. He refuses to Herb of the Goddess Lightning Rod Publications, 2010, 292 pp. represent snitches and rails against the By Ellen Komp, www.VeryImportantPotheads.com By Mikki Norris informant system. His words and philoso- Roseanne Barr’s latest book, Roseannarchy: Reading Lust for Life: The Radical Life & Law phy are eloquent and profound. Dispatches from the Nut Farm, explains that of J. Tony Serra is like going on an incredi- Frankl followed Serra around over the her failed attempt to sing the US national ble, intellectual, philosophical, poetic, and last 17 years as his courtroom artist. Her anthem in 1990 was fueled by psychiatric artistic ride that engages the reader to think works have been shown on CNN, Fox, and drugs and a lack of marijuana. deeply about life and the concepts of free- major network stations. Her book includes She writes: “Shortly after the national dom and justice. many of her illustrations and portraits, anthem horror, I started to feel as though I It’s a gripping biography about one of which capture the essence of the animated were waking up from a bad nightmare. The the greatest criminal defense trial attorneys Serra, the feeling and intensity of the Prozac, Zoloft, Klonopin, and several other of the 20th and 21st centuries, who has rep- moment of the trial. She frames the story mood-altering drugs that had been pre- resented many high profile clients includ- and provides an intimate view of the court- scribed for me by psychiatrists (whose ing Bear Lincoln, a Native American room drama that she has witnessed, the destruction by Scientology I now welcome) activist accused of killing a cop, Huey preparation and aftermath of the many tri- for my “Multiple-Personality Bipolar and host Steve Harvey great consternation Newton of the Black Panthers, Brownie als she observed. She transcribes his rants Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder” were no indeed. When the contestant’s opponent in Mary, and Ellie Nesler, amongst others. and thoughts from the heights of victory to the depths of defeat. longer doing the trick of shielding me from the game guessed instead “the collection Author, photographer reality. I became even more depressed than plate at church,” Harvey congratulated her ,and artist Paulette Frankl Serra is a highly success- normal, like a lot of people do after they for trying to save them all from Hell. But beautifully examines what ful attorney who actively take antidepressants. “collection plate” was the response of only makes the legendary San practices law and men- “I had stopped smoking the Herb of the four of those surveyed, so “joint” won the Francisco attorney tick: his tors a group of bright Goddess that had forever kept me bal- round! The YouTube “Devils & Angels” beliefs, principles and “hip- young attorneys at Pier 5 anced enough to become successful and video of the episode went viral, counting pie” lifestyle; his motivation Law Offices in San rich, in order to support my then-hus- over a million views in two days’ time. for going to battle in the Francisco. He took a band’s ‘sobriety,’ and that led to massive President Obama said of drug legaliza- courts in behalf of drug offenders, murder- vow of poverty to never buy new things. bipolar troubles that were all capped off tion Jan. 27, “It’s an entirely legitimate ers, death penalty, and ‘Three Strikes and He drives around in clunkers, appearing in with tons of psychiatrists and psychiatric topic for debate,” in answer to a question You’re Out’ cases. She paints the picture of court in crumpled, ill-fitting suits from drugs, none of which helped with my from a member of LEAP (Law Enforcement a highly-skilled and respected “semantic thrift stores, his long white hair flowing. problems at all and, in fact, made them Against Prohibition). Obama was in top warrior,” master of the law and courtroom Serra is a principled tax resister who even worse.” form on Feb. 7, addressing the US performance art, who uses his words, his served time in prison for tax evasion. He Barr’s hilarious 2006 HBO special, Chamber of Commerce, the group that had voice and body language, emotion, fine- inspired the film True Believer. He was “Blonde and Bitchin,” contained her dumped in their dollars to defeat Prop. 19 tuned strategies and gifted intellect to fight probably the first attorney to publicly come trenchant observation, “The War on Drugs in California with horrid ads scaring peo- and often win the most difficult cases. out of the closet and get a doctor’s is a war on poor people using street drugs ple about a stoned-out work force. Serra challenges the criminal justice approval for medical cannabis, which he waged by rich people on prescription If we really want innovation in the system and questions authority as he push- uses for anxiety, inspiration and creativity drugs.” In Roseannarchy, she writes of “a work force, we should demand workers be es the envelope, and explains how to use in his work. natural substance called THC,” and says properly “inspired — a word that means the power of jury nullification when need- Read this book, and hear him speak if it’s “the only drug that should be legal. In ‘you breathe in the god,’” said Sean ed. He delves deep within himself to you get a chance. You will enjoy this ride. fact, it should be mandatory.” Dorrance Kelly, co-author of All Things understand the psychology of crime and To find out where Serra will be speaking Tony Newman and Stephen Gutwillig Shining, on Feb. 3. passionately seeks to elicit empathy and and signing books, see pier5law.com. of Drug Policy Alliance took notice of another benchmark in society’s acceptance Student patients face discrimination on campuses, despite state laws of marijuana when a contestant on TV’s Family Feud answered the question “Name Continued from page 16 permits. The only positive policy change and administrators. The Dept. of Education something that gets passed around?” with made it clear they would not allow stu- that some colleges have started to make is needs to make it clear that schools in states the obvious: “a joint.” dents to use or possess their medicine on to allow cannabis patients to live in off- with legal medical marijuana will not lose Not only that, but “joint” was on the campus. In Colorado, a high school student campus housing. That isn’t enough. funding if they allow patients to consume Family Feud survey board with eight / patient was told that he couldn’t even Students using pharmaceuticals such as or possess medicine on campus. responses, causing the audience to go wild return to school if he was taking a cannabis pain killers, amphetamines, or anti-anxiety More about SSDP’s campaigns: SchoolsNotPrisons.com lozenge to control seizures drugs, which all have a Affordable Drug & Alcohol Treatment caused by a neurological much higher potential for • Alternative Sentencing • disorder. After a disabled abuse and addiction than CBD RICH Delivery Collective student at U Montana was cannabis, are allowed to Outpatient/ Alternative Inpatient “from our collective to your door…” caught and punished for live on campus. • Therapy growing cannabis in his on- The DFSCA was passed • Counseling 1-510-CBD-RICH campus housing, the school in 1989, seven years before • Psychiatric Testing Specializing in CBD RICH Medical Marijuana • Life Skills adopted a policy specifical- California became the first ly prohibiting cannabis use state to allow medical use Delivery available to qualified CA Medical Marijuana Patients by students with state- of cannabis. Policy needs to 714-533-2900 www.CBDRICH.org WE ALSO DELIVER 2024 W. Lincoln, Unit 6, Anaheim, CA 92801 issued medical-marijuana be clarified for students WHOLESALE TO DISPENSARIES Spring 2011 Page 26 West Coast Leaf Community Announcements Local and regional Americans for Safe Access meetings Matriarch inspired generations to volunteerism Central CA ASA, second Tues/mo., 6 PM, C.A.F.E., 935 [email protected] F Street, Fresno. [email protected] San Diego North County/Oceanside ASA, fourth East Bay ASA, third Tues/mo., 6:30 PM, Oaksterdam Tues/mo., 7 PM, The Fish Joint, 514 South Coast Hwy, Bernice Malin Student U, 1915 Broadway, Oakland. Oceanside. [email protected] Feb. 29,1920 — Dec. 19, 2010 [email protected] San Francisco ASA, second & fourth Tues/mo., 7:30 PM, Bernice Malin passed away peacefully on Humboldt County ASA, third Thurs/mo., 6 PM, Bayview Bowers Pizza, 371 11th St, SF. [email protected] Courtyard Senior Housing, Rec. Room 550 Union St., Dec. 19, 2010 surrounded by her family in San Jose - Silicon Valley ASA, first Tues/mo., 7:30 PM, Arcata. 707-407-8522. [email protected] MedEx Collective, 2000 Senter Rd, SJ,siliconvalleyasa.org Tarzana, CA. She was the beloved mother LA ASA, 3rd Sat/mo., 1 PM, 1st floor of the West of Mikki Norris, publisher and managing Hollywood Gateway Mall (at Santa Monica Blvd. & La San Luis Obispo ASA, third Tues/mo., 7 PM, Studio 23 Salon, 570 Higuera (in the Creamery), Suite 235, SLO, editor of the West Coast Leaf. Brea) Enter through glass doors between Jersey Mike's & BevMo stores. [email protected] [email protected] Ms. Malin instilled in her four daugh- Marin ASA, second Wed/mo., 7:30 PM, Whistlestop, 930 Santa Cruz County ASA, third Thurs/mo., 7 PM, ters and her grandchildren the strong val- Tamalpias Ave., San Rafael. [email protected] Greenway Compassionate Relief, 140 Dubois St., Santa ues of volunteerism and equal rights. She Napa ASA, third Wed/mo., 6 PM, Round Table Pizza, Cruz. [email protected] 3331 Solano Ave., Napa. [email protected] helped to form and raise money for the Solano ASA, first Tue/mo., 8:30 PM, 650 Benecia Rd., Orange Co. ASA, third Fri/mo., 7 PM, Giovannis Pizza, Vallejo. [email protected] Jewish Home for the Blind in Chicago in 922 W. Williamson, Fullerton. [email protected] Sonoma ASA, first Thurs/mo. 5 PM, Dept. of Health, So. the 1940s and the Louis G. Norris chapter Bernice Malin with her ʻHemp Kid,ʼ Mikki Norris in 2004. Photo by Chris Conrad San Diego ASA second Tues / mo., 7 PM, La Jolla Brew City View Rm., 625 5th St, Santa Rosa, knock loudly. of the City of Hope upon her husband’s House, 7536 Fay Ave, La Jolla. Contact [email protected] passing in the 1960s. She always stressed the importance of treating people equally, To make a donation to the Alzheimer’s Reform organizations of interest starting with her family, which influenced Association in her name, please go to west- Americans for Safe Access who support drug regulation rather than prohibition. her ‘Hemp Kid,’ Mikki, in creating the coastleaf.com/Bernice_Malin safeaccessnow.org / A patient advocacy and support net- Legal Services for Prisoners w/ Children work. 510-251-1856 Cannabis Consumers Campaign to encour- prisonerswithchildren.org/ Advocates for the human rights Axis of Love SF/ Activist Resource Center and empowerment of incarcerated parents, children, fami- age people to come out of the closet and Patients organizing for their rights, 415-797-3672 ly members and people at risk for incarceration stand up for equal rights. Adele Bozzi Morgan California NORML Marijuana Anti-Prohibition Project MAPP Norris attributes her activism and com- Founder of We Are Hemp cooperative canorml.org/ Advocacy, directories, lobbying, research, mpp.org/ national membership Aug. 21, 1939 – Feb. 28, 2011 news, alerts. 415-563-5858 passion for social justice and individuals to Marijuana Policy Project MPP A native of Boston, Morgan moved to Can-Do Clemency mpp.org/ national membership org. Focuses on removing her parents’ upbringing. At a young age, candoclemency.org/ advocates clemency for all non-vio- criminal penalties through initiatives and legislation. California as a teen, where she made her they taught her about the horrors of the lent drug offenders. Mendo Medical Marijuana Advisory Board mark. In the early 1960s, 70s and 80s, she Holocaust and the evils of scapegoating Cannabis Defense Coalition mmmab.net/ [email protected] managed R&B cdc.ccop/ Cannabis Resource Center. 888-208-5332 groups of people who are unfairly blamed Medical Marijuana of America groups and spent Cannabis Consumers Campaign medicalmarijuanaofamerica.com/ directory, court reports, for problems in society. This inspired her to 12 years as a pro- cannabisconsumers.org/ Come out of the closet to stand POW stories and contacts. develop the Human Rights and the Drug up for equal rights. Media Awareness Project bation officer. She War exhibit project and subsequent book, Civil Liberties Monitoring Project mapinc.org/ MAP has generated millions of letters to the had a career as a editor. Help gather news for their clearing house. Shattered Lives: Portraits from America’s Drug civilliberties.org/ Monitors police eradication abuses, etc, nurse for 30 years. to protect civil rights in the CA northcoast. 707-923-4646 Michigan NORML War, along with her husband and partner, In her retirement, Drug Reform Coordination Network minorml.org/ lots of chapters throughout the state Chris Conrad, and the late Virginia Resner. stopthedrugwar.org/ drcnet.org, Global support network Mothers Against Misuse and Abuse she became a med- for drug policy reformers with weekly analysis. Ms. Malin will be remembered for her mamas.org/ responsible drug education ical use activist Drug Policy Alliance warm smile and ready laugh, her love of MAPS who advocated strongly and repeatedly for drugpolicy.org/ DPA works on drug policies based on sci- maps.org/ Multidis ciplinary Association on Psychedelic life, dancing and travel. She was known for ence, compassion, health, human rights and a just society Studies, studies on cannabis, psychedelics. 831-429-6362 patient access before the Alameda County free from prohibition. her wonderful baked goods. She will be NORML Board of Supervisors. Drug Policy Forum of CA missed by Mikki and her sisters, Dolly norml.org/ National Organization for the Reform of Morgan founded We Are Hemp coop in Listserve for Cal cannabis/drug war issues. Sign up at Marijuana Laws. 202-483-5500 Norris, Andrea Wishnow, and Shelley drugsense.org/dpfca/list.htm Hayward, CA ten years ago, receiving a November Coalition Norris-Alvarez, sons-in-laws, grandchil- DrugSense november.org/ National support group for Drug War permit from the Sheriff's Dept. in 2004. In drugsense.org/ Daily compilation of news excerpts. Web POWs. Publishes The Razor Wire. dren, and the people who had the opportu- site dev. and hosting. 501(c)3 tax exempt fiscal sponsor. 2008, her collective was raided by the DEA. Oregon Green Free nity to know her. Drug War Facts Patients protested this unjust closure, and oregongreenfree.net. Free OMMP info. A leap-year baby who lived to be 90 drugwarfacts.org/ Just the facts. it was reopened to continue servicing its Oregon NORML years old and suffered a major stroke four Families Against Mandatory Minimums ornorml.org / patient members, despite ongoing threat of famm.org/ Advocates an end to harsh, unjust sentencing and a half years ago on top of Alzh eimer’s, Patient Advocacy Network prosecution. Morgan was loved and will be laws affecting prisoners and their families. Bernice kept smiling to the end. cannabissaveslives.com missed by many. Family Council on Drug Awareness fcda.org/ Accurate information on effects of drugs and SAFER drug policies. Down loadable PDFs to print and hand out. saferchoice.org/ Safer Alternative For Enjoyable Recreation. [email protected] Green Aid Marijuana Legal Def. & Education Fund, Local and regional meetings Inc. green-aid.com/ Sensible Colorado sensiblecolorado.org / Non-profit resource for patients and Harm Reduction Coalition East Bay NORML, third Thurs/mo., 7:30 PM (after mo. 3 PM, 266 N. Palm Canyon Dr., Palm Springs, 92262. those interested in reforming laws. 720-890-4247 Measure Z Oversight Comm.), OU Student Union, 1915 760-799-2055 harmreduction.org/ Works to reduce drug-related harm by programs such as clean needle exchange. Sensible Washington Broadway, Oakland. [email protected] Sacramento County Patients & Collectives, first & third sensiblewashington.org/ organizing legalization initiative. Hemp Industries Association El Dorado Co. American Alliance for Medical Thurs./mo.7:30 PM if needed, 5207 Auburn Blvd. #H hempindustries.org/ The HIA is a non-profit trade group Southern Oregon NORML Cannabis, 4th Sat/mo., 2:15-4:20, Garden Valley Grange, Sacramento, CA 95841. 916-361-1612 representing hemp companies, researchers, supporters. so-norml.org/ Reform activities and OMMP support. 4940 Marshall Rd. Garden Valley, CA, 530-621-2874 Victorville MAPP, third Thurs/mo. 7 PM, Coco’s Human Rights and the Drug War Medford. 541-779-1448 El Centro/Imperial County Marijuana Anti-Prohibition Restaurant, 15570 Park Ave. E, Victorville, 92392. 760- hr95.org/ Photo display of Drug War POWs, analyzes Students for a Sensible Drug Policy Project (MAPP), third Tue/mo. 7:30 PM at Imperial Valley 799-2055 human rights abuses. ssdp.org/ Students for reducing the harms caused by drug Collective, 119 N. 5th St., El Centro 92243. 760-799-2055 Western Inland Empire Area MAPP, first Wed / mo., Humboldt Medical Marijuana Advisory Panel abuse and drug policies. Oakland Measure Z Oversight Committee, third Thurs/ 7:30 PM, THCF Medical Clinic, 647 Main St. Riverside, hummap.org/ Community policy group. 707-223-4014 VoteHemp mo. 6 PM, City Hall, 1 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Oakland. CA 92501. Also hosts seminars on Anti-aging and medical Interfaith Drug Policy Intiative votehemp.com/ Industrial, horticultural hemp. Orange County NORML, third Fri./mo. 7 PM. OC ASA, 8 benefits of cannabis, First Fri./mo. 8 PM. 951-782-9898 idpi.us / Organizing people of faith to promote reform. Voter Power, Oregon PM.Giovanni’s Pizza, 922 W. Williamson, in Fullerton. Yucca Valley/Landers MAPP third Wed/mo. 6:30 PM 301-270-4473 voterpower.org/ Advocating for fair, cannabis laws and Free pizza. ocnorml.org Castle Inn, 1388 N. Golden Slipper in Landers 92285. Law Enforcement Against Prohibition policies. OMMP registration. 503-224-3051, 541-245-6634 Palm Springs/ Coachella Valley Area MAPP, first Sat/ Lanny 760-799-2055 leap.cc/ Current and former members of law enforcement To get listed, please email [email protected] West Coast Leaf Page 27 Spring 2011 Spring 2011 Page 28 West Coast Leaf