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California communities are still grappling with medical cannabis in the absence of a statewide licensing and regulation program. Dispensary applications in San Diego continue to move forward, clearing an important legal hurdle last week. Voters in Riverside and Yucca Valley will decide about medical cannabis rules this summer. Meanwhile Tehama County and the City of Clearlake have banned cultivation – a poorly conceived strategy that has still not seen its final day in court. Read more about the news, events, and court support in this week’s California Weekly Roundup.

Are you registered for the National Medical Cannabis Unity Conference and Citizen Lobby Day, March 27-31, in Washington, DC? Don’t miss the most important medical cannabis event of the year. There are only eighteen more days to get signed up and book your room at the Lowes Madison Hotel.

ASA California Weekly Roundup: March 9, 2015

Contents:

News

• NorCal leaders crafting unified stance on cannabis legalization (California)
• County outdoor pot garden ban adopted (Tehama County)
• San Diego Scientist: Every Medical Pot Study Showed A Benefit To The Patient (San Diego)
• Marijuana quality testing going mainstream (San Francisco Bay Area)
• Pot shop issue is on June ballot (Riverside)
• Opinion: Medical marijuana dispensaries offer jobs, aid to Riverside (Riverside)
• Poll says voters oppose pot measure (Riverside)
• No grow pot ordinance for Clearlake (Clearlake)
• Pot shops clear city hurdle (San Diego)
• Yucca Valley to conduct medical marijuana special election (Yucca Valley)

Events

• March 9, 2015 - Marijuana Compassion and Common Sense (Online)
• March 10, 2015 – Medical Cannabis: An informal talk with Dr. Jean Talleyrand (Westlake Village)
• March 10, 2015 - Yuba County Board of Supervisors Meeting (Marysville)
• March 12, 2015 – San Diego Planning Commission Meeting (San Diego)
• March 27-31, 2015 – ASA’s National Medical Cannabis Unity Conference 2015 (Washington, DC)

Court Support

• March 9, 2015 – Court Support for Trevor Alcorn and Elizabeth Sollenne (Redding)
• March 11, 2014 – Court Support for Mark Gillingham (San Diego)
• And more

Take Action Now

• Support the Medical Marijuana Organ Transplant Act

ASA Website Spotlight: California Legal Information

Chapter & Affiliate Meetings

• March 10, 2015 - Nevada County ASA (Grass Valley)
• March 11, 2015 – Sacramento NORML Meeting (Sacramento)
• March 12, 2015 – San Francisco Brownie Mary Democratic Club (San Francisco)
• March 12, 2015 - Yuba County ASA (Foothills)

News

NorCal leaders crafting unified stance on cannabis legalization (California)
Will Houston, Eureka Times-Standard

Local and state policy makers from six Northern California counties gathered in Sonoma County on Thursday to begin crafting a unified policy statement on cannabis as the state considers legislation to regulate medical and possibly recreational use.
Read more here:
http://www.times-standard.com/general-news/20150305/norcal-leaders-crafting-unified-stance-on-cannabis-legalization

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County outdoor pot garden ban adopted (Tehama County)
Julie R. Johnson, Corning Observer

An urgency ordinance to ban outdoor marijuana gardens in Tehama County was adopted by the county's Board of Supervisors on a 4-1 vote on Tuesday. The one variance to the all-out ban was decided by a 4-1 board consensus those who have already planted an outdoor marijuana garden this year and are in full compliance, to grow no more than 12 plants outdoors this year, effective April 1.
Read the full article here:
http://www.appeal-democrat.com/corning_observer/county-outdoor-pot-garden-ban-adopted/article_f27bd01e-c213-11e4-830b-3fd4a683abb7.html

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San Diego Scientist: Every Medical Pot Study Showed A Benefit To The Patient (San Diego)
David Wagner, KPBS

When voters passed Proposition 215 in 1996, California became the first state to legalize medical pot. There was only one problem. Scientists still hadn't firmly established marijuana's effectiveness as medicine.
Listen to the report and read more here:
http://www.kpbs.org/news/2015/mar/03/san-diego-scientist-clears-haze-medical-marijuana/

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Marijuana quality testing going mainstream (San Francisco Bay Area)
Lisa M. Krieger, San Jose Mercury News

Cannabis used to be what moonshine is to alcohol, its content as murky as a cloud of smoke lingering over a Phish concert. Now a cadre of Bay Area laboratories can tell you exactly what you're getting for your money -- creating reliability, safety and standardization in a business that long relied on the casual assurances of a skanky friend from Stonerville.
Read more here:
http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_27616995/marijuana-quality-testing-going-mainstream

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Pot shop issue is on June ballot (Riverside)
Alicia Robinson. Press Enterprise

Riverside voters’ June 2 ballots will include a measure to allow some medical marijuana dispensaries. The City Council voted Tuesday, Feb. 24, to send the measure to the Riverside County Registrar of Voters because proponents collected enough signatures to qualify.
Read more here:
http://www.pe.com/articles/measure-761076-council-voters.html

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Opinion: Medical marijuana dispensaries offer jobs, aid to Riverside (Riverside)
Robert Lees, Highlander News

Since Proposition 215 passed in 1996, which legalized medical marijuana use in California, there have been debates and friction regarding its implementation at the city, state and federal level.
Read more here:
http://www.highlandernews.org/16990/medical-marijuana-dispensaries-offer-jobs-aid-to-riverside/

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Poll says voters oppose pot measure (Riverside)
Alicia Robinson, Press Enterprise

A majority of Riverside voters are likely to reject a June 2 ballot measure that would allow a small number of medical marijuana dispensaries to open, a poll commissioned by the city shows.
Read more here:
http://www.pe.com/articles/percent-761766-measure-city.html 

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No grow pot ordinance for Clearlake (Clearlake)
Jennifer Gruenke, Record Bee

After much debate, the Clearlake City Council approved the second reading and adoption of a no grow marijuana ordinance at a city council meeting Thursday night with a three to one vote. The ordinance will ban the cultivation of all medical marijuana within the city limits.
Read more here:
http://www.record-bee.com/general-news/20150227/no-grow-pot-ordinance-for-clearlake

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Pot shops clear city hurdle (San Diego)
David Garrick, U-T San Diego

Six proposed medical marijuana shops cleared a key hurdle on Tuesday as San Diego continues to move forward with allowing the city’s first legal pot dispensaries to open.
Read more here:
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2015/mar/03/marijuana-dispensary-legal-open-appeal-environment/

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Yucca Valley to conduct medical marijuana special election (Yucca Valley)
Joe Nelson, San Bernardino Sun

The citizens of Yucca Valley on June 2 will vote on a proposed ordinance that would allow up to two medical marijuana dispensaries to operate legally within town limits.
Read more here:
http://www.sbsun.com/government-and-politics/20150304/yucca-valley-to-conduct-medical-marijuana-special-election

 Public Meetings & Events

March 9, 2015 - Marijuana Compassion and Common Sense (Online)

6:00 PM at www.blogtalkradio.com/marijuananews Tune in for this weekly live Internet broadcast about cannabis and medical cannabis issues. You can call in to participate. 

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March 10, 2015 – Medical Cannabis: An informal talk with Dr. Jean Talleyrand (Westlake Village)
6:30 at 530 Hampshire Rd, Westlake Village, CA 91361. Talleyrand will introduce medical cannabis as an option for treatment of prostate, lung, skin, breast and some brain cancers in this workshop. To RSVP or for more information, call (805) 379-4777.

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March 10, 2015 - Yuba County Board of Supervisors Meeting (Marysville)
3:00 PM at 915 8th St, Marysville, California 95901. The Board will vote on tightening rules related to medical cannabis. There is a time for public comment. See http://www.co.yuba.ca.us/departments/bos/documents/agendas/2015/MG290178/AS290184/AS290233/AI290268/DO290483/DO_290483.pdf

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March 12, 2015 – San Diego Planning Commission Meeting (San Diego)
9:00 AM at City Hall, 202 C Street, San Diego, CA 92101. The commission will hear testimony and may approve three new permits for patients’ associations. The hearing will be broadcast online at http://granicus.sandiego.gov/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=31

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March 27-31, 2015 – ASA’s National Medical Cannabis Unity Conference 2015 (Washington, DC)
Join us March 27th – 31stfor the biggest and most important medical cannabis conference yet. Early bird and ASA member discounts are now available. Save money on registration, travel, and lodging by registering now. For more information: http://www.nationalmedicalcannabisunityconference.org 

Court Support

What is Court Support and how do I get involved?

March 9, 2015 – Court Support for Trevor Alcorn and Elizabeth Sollenne (Redding)
8:30 AM at 1500 Court St, Redding, CA 96001, United States. Dress in an appropriate manner and obey all courtroom rules to best help the defendants.

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March 11, 2014 – Court Support for Mark Gillingham (San Diego)
8:30 AM in Dept. 11 - San Diego Central Superior Court 220 W. Broadway, San Diego, CA 92101. 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

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.

ASA Website Spotlight

California Legal Information
http://www.safeaccessnow.org/california_legal_information

Do you know what the law says about medical cannabis? This section of our website contains a comprehensive list of state medical cannabis laws, numerous city and county ordinances, information about the Attorney General’s 2008 guidelines, and links to important court cases. You can also see information here about how California scored in ASA’s national survey of medical cannabis states.

ASA Chapter & Affiliate Meetings

March 10, 2015 - Nevada County ASA (Grass Valley)
The meeting starts at 6:00 PM at The Banner Grange, 12629 McCourtney Road, Grass Valley, CA 95949. Email [email protected] for more information.

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March 11, 2015 – Sacramento NORML Meeting (Sacramento)
7:00 PM at Perko’s Farm Fresh Café, 925 3rd St, Sacramento, California 95814.

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March 12, 2015 – San Francisco Brownie Mary Democratic Club (San Francisco)
6:00 PM at 948 Mission St., San Francisco, CA 94103.

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March 12, 2015 - Yuba County ASA (Foothills)
The meeting starts at 7:00 PM at the Willow Glen Restaurant. 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.