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The trend in cities and counties last week was to crack down on medical cannabis cultivation and distribution. San Joaquin County is moving to ban all cultivation, except by commercially licensed providers. That is bad news for patients who want or need to grow their own. Read ASA’s report on why patient cultivation is so important, and then share it with your local lawmakers to help stop this trend.

Meanwhile, Butte County is fining cultivators, and the City Council in Redding just voted to turn up the heat on growers there. The Mayor in San Jose is still pressuring dispensaries, and the police department in Pasadena just raided a reputable testing lab. The LA City Attorney says he has closed over 500 dispensaries there, but hundreds more not qualified under the city’s ordinance are still open.

Read all the news and find out about medical cannabis events, hearings, chapter meetings, and court support dates in ASA’s California Weekly Roundup for Monday, April 13, 0215. 

ASA California Weekly Roundup: April 13 2015

Contents:

News

• Legal Conflicts on Medical Marijuana Ensnare Hundreds as Courts Debate a New Provision (National)
• Feds have gone rogue on medical marijuana, two Congressmen charge (National)
• Marijuana pesticide guidelines issued by State of California (California)
• Tax officials tour cannabis sites (Humboldt County)
• Med pot industry donations go mainstream (Calaveras County)
• 2 Arrested After Tip Leads Police, Drug Agents to Pasadena Business (Pasadena)
• Personal marijuana cultivation likely to be banned in San Joaquin County (San Joaquin County)
• Redding council cracks down on panhandlers, pot grows (Redding)
• Enforcement of medical marijuana Measure A now includes 16 citations (Butte County)
• Los Angeles closes 500 medical marijuana shops, but hundreds remain (Los Angeles)
• Mayor Turns up the Heat on Dispensaries in San Jose (San Jose)

Events

• April 14, 2015 – Assembly Business and Professions Committee Hearing on AB 266 (Sacramento)
• April 14, 2015 – Senate Public Safety Committee Hearing on SB 303 (Sacramento)
• April 14, 2015 – Senate Public Safety Committee Hearing on SB 305 (Sacramento)
• April 14, 2015 - San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors Meeting (Stockton)
• April 15, 2015 – Assembly Agriculture Committee Hearing on AB 243 (Sacramento)
• April 20, 2015 – Senate Business and Professions Committee Hearing on SB 643 (Sacramento)
• April 28, 2015 – Assembly Business and Professions Committee Hearing on AB 34 (Sacramento)

Court Support

• April 15, 2015 – Conference and Motion Ruling in United States v Schweder, et. al. (Sacramento)
• And more

Take Action Now

• Sign the Petition to Ask Your Representatives to Sign on to the Senate CARERS Act!
• Support the Medical Marijuana Organ Transplant Act
• ASA-CCSA Email Discussion List

ASA Website Spotlight

• Work with ASA

Chapter & Affiliate Meetings

• April 15, 2015 - East Bay ASA (Berkeley)
• April 15, 2015 – Lake County ASA (Clearlake Oaks)

News

Legal Conflicts on Medical Marijuana Ensnare Hundreds as Courts Debate a New Provision (National)
Erik Eckholm, NY Times

Charles C. Lynch seemed to be doing everything right when he opened a medical marijuana dispensary in the tidy coastal town of Morro Bay, Calif.
Read more here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/09/us/medical-marijuana-dispensers-trapped-by-conflicting-laws.html?_r=3

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Feds have gone rogue on medical marijuana, two Congressmen charge (National)
David Downs, SF Gate

Federal prosecutors are breaking federal medical marijuana law in their quest to seize two California dispensaries and imprison Washington patient-cultivators, two California Congressmen charged today.
Read more here:
http://blog.sfgate.com/smellthetruth/2015/04/08/feds-have-gone-rogue-on-medical-marijuana-two-congressmen-charge/

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Marijuana pesticide guidelines issued by State of California (California)
David Downs, SF Gate

The State of California is taking historic steps to protect watersheds amid the devastating ongoing drought, combined with an uptick in cannabis cultivation along remote, sensitive watersheds.
Read more here:
http://blog.sfgate.com/smellthetruth/2015/04/08/marijuana-pesticide-guidelines-issued-by-state-of-california/

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Tax officials tour cannabis sites (Humboldt County)
Juniper Rose, Eureka Times-Standard

Elected representatives from the state Board of Equalization spent Tuesday and Wednesday exploring cannabis production in Humboldt County.
Read more here:
http://www.times-standard.com/general-news/20150408/tax-officials-tour-cannabis-sites

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Med pot industry donations go mainstream (Calaveras County)
Joe Kramer and Dana M. Nichols, Calaveras Enterprise

Medical marijuana is so mainstream now in Calaveras County that growers and patients meet regularly in the Mountain Ranch Town Hall and donate thousands of dollars to youth programs and the Friends of the Calaveras County Sheriff.
Read more here:
http://www.calaverasenterprise.com/news/article_8258a812-dcac-11e4-83d6-07005225cb68.html

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2 Arrested After Tip Leads Police, Drug Agents to Pasadena Business (Pasadena)
Michael Larkin and Toni Guinyard, CBS 4

A tipster's phone call led police and drug agents to a Pasadena business Monday where investigators found hundreds of pounds of marijuana in what might have been a major drug operation concealed in office space.
Watch the video and read more here:
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Detained-Hash-Oil-Pasadena-Police-Bust-298864751.html

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Personal marijuana cultivation likely to be banned in San Joaquin County (San Joaquin County)
Wes Bowers, News-Sentinel

Only commercial or medically licensed marijuana growers will be allowed to cultivate the plant in San Joaquin County.
Read more here:
http://www.lodinews.com/news/article_bb7ed9c8-ddb4-11e4-b1c7-17a8fad9e8a4.html

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Redding council cracks down on panhandlers, pot grows (Redding)
Jenny Espino, Record Searchlight

Redding is poised to get tough on panhandlers and medical marijuana gardens.
Read more here:
http://www.redding.com/news/local-news/redding-council-cracks-down-on-panhandlers-pot-grows

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Enforcement of medical marijuana Measure A now includes 16 citations (Butte County)
Ryan Olson, Chico Enterprise-Record

Butte County officials provided a clearer picture Tuesday of the effort to enforce Measure A, the voter-approved ordinance regulating the physical size of medical marijuana grows.
Read more here:
http://www.chicoer.com/general-news/20150407/enforcement-of-medical-marijuana-measure-a-now-includes-16-citations

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Los Angeles closes 500 medical marijuana shops, but hundreds remain (Los Angeles)
Reuters, Channel News Asia

Authorities in Los Angeles have shuttered 500 medical marijuana dispensaries since residents voted two years ago to cap the number of pot shops in the city at about 130, officials said on Thursday.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/health/los-angeles-closes-500-me/1775684.html

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Mayor Turns up the Heat on Dispensaries in San Jose (San Jose)
Tony Kovaleski, NBC Bay Area

Medical marijuana is an $18 million dollar tax boon for the City of San Jose, but two of the South Bay’s largest dispensaries are now in a conflict with city leaders.
Watch a video and read more here:
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/california/Mayor-Turns-up-the-Heat-on-Dispensaries-in-San-Jose-299268841.html 

 Public Meetings & Events

April 14, 2015 – Assembly Business and Professions Committee Hearing on AB 266 (Sacramento)
9:00 AM in Room 447 in the State Capitol Building on 10th Street between L & N Streets, Sacramento, CA 95814. The committee will hear testimony on AB 266 (Cooley), which will license and regulate commercial medical cannabis activity and more. See http://www.safeaccessnow.org/2015_legislation for more information.

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April 14, 2015 – Senate Public Safety Committee Hearing on SB 303 (Sacramento)
9:30 AM in Room 3191 in the State Capitol Building on 10th Street between L & N Streets, Sacramento, CA 95814. The committee will hear testimony on SB 303 (Hueso), which will reduce the amount of cannabis required to be kept as evidence from ten pounds to two pounds and make other simplifications to the evidence handling process. See http://www.safeaccessnow.org/2015_legislation for more information.

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April 14, 2015 – Senate Public Safety Committee Hearing on SB 305 (Sacramento)
9:30 AM in Room 3191 in the State Capitol Building on 10th Street between L & N Streets, Sacramento, CA 95814. The committee will hear testimony on SB 305 (Bates), which will authorize enhanced sentences for manufacturing concentrated cannabis in a structure where a child under the age of 16 is present or where a child under the age of 16 is injured as a result of the manufacturing. See http://www.safeaccessnow.org/2015_legislation for more information.

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April 14, 2015 - San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors Meeting (Stockton)
9:00 AM in Board Chambers at 44 N. San Joaquin St., Stockton, CA 95202. The Board will vote on an ordinance banning medical cannabis cultivation. Show up and tell them no. Get the agenda at http://www.sjgov.org/board/dynamic.aspx?id=6724

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April 15, 2015 – Assembly Agriculture Committee Hearing on AB 243 (Sacramento)
1:30 PM in Room 126 in the State Capitol Building on 10th Street between L & N Streets, Sacramento, CA 95814. The committee will hear testimony on AB 243 (Woods), which will require that indoor and outdoor medical cannabis cultivation to be conducted in accordance with state and local laws and best practices related to land conversion, grading, electricity use, etc. See http://www.safeaccessnow.org/2015_legislation for more information.

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April 20, 2015 – Senate Business and Professions Committee Hearing on SB 643 (Sacramento)
1:00 PM in Room 3191 in the State Capitol Building on 10th Street between L & N Streets, Sacramento, CA 95814. The committee will hear testimony on SB 643 (McGuire), which will license and regulate commercial medical cannabis activity and more. See http://www.safeaccessnow.org/2015_legislation for more information.

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April 28, 2015 – Assembly Business and Professions Committee Hearing on AB 34 (Sacramento)
9:00 AM in Room 447 in the State Capitol Building on 10th Street between L & N Streets, Sacramento, CA 95814. The committee will hear testimony on AB 34 (Bonta), which will license and regulate commercial medical cannabis activity and more. See http://www.safeaccessnow.org/2015_legislation for more information.

Court Support

What is Court Support and how do I get involved?

April 15, 2015 – Conference and Motion Ruling in United States v Schweder, et. al. (Sacramento)
12:00 PM in the Sacramento Federal Courthouse at 501 I St., Sacramento , CA 95814. Judge Muller is expected to make a historic ruling in this federal criminal trial on whether or not cannabis is misclassified under federal law. Dress in an appropriate manner and obey all courtroom rules to best help the defendants.

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Find more information and additional listings on The Human Solution Calendar: http://www.thsintl.org/calendar

Take Action Now

Sign the Petition to Ask Your Representatives to Sign on to the Senate CARERS Act! (National)
http://www.safeaccessnow.org/senate_carers_act_petition

For the first time ever, we now have comprehensive medical marijuana legislation in the U.S. Senate.  Sign the Petition below to urge your senators to protect safe access and patients right by signing onto the CARERS Act.

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Support the Medical Marijuana Organ Transplant Act (California)
http://www.safeaccessnow.org/support_the_ca_medical_marijuana_organ_transplant_act

A patient in California can be denied a life-saving organ transplant solely based on the fact that he or she uses medical cannabis! Legal patients have died after being removed from the organ transplant list, and others are in jeopardy right now. Americans for Safe Access, the nation's leading medical cannabis patients' advocacy organization, proposes legislation to prevent anyone from being denied a transplant because of medical cannabis. Sign this petition to let lawmakers know you support AB 258, the Medical Marijuana Organ Transplant Act, to provide equal access to health care for legal patients.

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ASA-CCSA Email Discussion List (California) 
http://www.safeaccessnow.org/asa_ccsa_email_discussion_list

There are thirteen medical cannabis bills in the state legislature this year, cities and counties are moving to regulate or ban collectives, and there are big battles for medical cannabis in the courts right now. Sign up for the California Campaign for Safe Access email discussion list to talk with patients, advocates, industry workers, and other stakeholders about what’s happening at the local, state, and federal level. This email discussion list is the primary place that ASA publishes information about state legislation, including bills about organ transplants, commercial regulations, vape pens, and cultivation rules.

ASA Website Spotlight

Work With ASA
http://www.safeaccessnow.org/work_with_asa

The mission of Americans for Safe Access is to ensure safe and legal access to cannabis (marijuana) for therapeutic uses and research. ASA's stand on federal interference with medical cannabis state laws is one of zero-tolerance. ASA organizers engage in traditional, battle-tested tactics such as legislative organizing, community outreach, phone-in days, petition drives, etc., and supports the use of non-violent direct action as means of escalating tactics to reach campaign goals.

ASA helps organize media support for court cases, rapid response to law enforcement raids, and capacity-building for advocates. Our successful lobbying, media and legal campaigns have resulted in important court precedents, new sentencing standards, and more compassionate community guidelines.

This is where you come in ... get involved now!

ASA Chapter & Affiliate Meetings

April 15, 2015 - East Bay ASA (Berkeley)
6:30PM at 3025 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley, CA 94705. Email [email protected] for more information.

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April 15, 2015 – Lake County ASA (Clearlake Oaks)
6:30 PM at Moose Lodge 15900 E Highway 20, Clearlake Oaks 95423. Email [email protected]  for more information. 

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See all California ASA Chapter Meetings here:
http://www.safeaccessnow.org/california_advocacy 

Have something to share?

The “California Weekly Roundup” is a once-a-week email for ASA Members and Friends that focuses on relevant news and important updates, action alerts, meetings and special events. Send items for the California Weekly Roundup to [email protected] before 12:00 PM on Friday to be included in Monday's distribution.