ASA Activist Newsletter - July 2010
Volume 5, Issue 7
First Webcast by National League
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Bill Urges New Federal Policy on Medical CannabisCalifornia Assembly to Vote on Joint Resolution A bill sponsored by ASA that urges federal officials to adopt a new national policy ensuring safe access is now before the California Assembly. Following testimony by California Director Don Duncan last month, the Assembly's Committee on Health voted 10-3 to pass the non-binding resolution to the full Assembly. 'This legislation is needed now more than ever,' said Duncan in his testimony to the committee. 'Lest federal officials think their job is done, they need to know their work addressing medical marijuana as a public health issue has only just begun.' Originally introduced by State Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) in June 2009, Senate Joint Resolution 14 urges the federal government to end medical marijuana raids and to 'create a comprehensive federal medical marijuana policy that ensures safe and legal access to any patient that would benefit from it.' The full Senate passed the bill last August by a vote of 23-15.  'Patients and providers in California remain at risk of arrest and prosecution by federal law enforcement,' said Senator Leno in a statement on the resolution. 'And legally established medical marijuana cooperatives continue to be the subjects of federal raids and prosecutions.'The Department of Justice issued a memo to US Attorneys in October 2009, discouraging them from prosecuting individuals who comply with state medical cannabis laws. But raids, arrests and prosecutions have occurred since then in California, Colorado and New Mexico. More than two-dozen patients and providers are currently being prosecuted under federal law and face decades in prison. In California, medical marijuana provider James Stacy, whose dispensary was raided by the DEA in September 2009, a month before the Justice Department policy was issued, is scheduled to go to trial next month. 'No one should go to federal prison for treating illness or injury with a safe, effective medicine,' said Duncan. 'Suffering patients across the country will benefit from a sensible, comprehensive federal medical cannabis policy.' In addition to urging President Obama and Congress to 'move quickly to end federal raids, intimidation, and interference with state medical marijuana law,' SJR 14 asks them to establish 'an affirmative defense to medical marijuana charges in federal court and establish federal legal protection for individuals authorized by state and local law.' Under federal rules of evidence, defendants facing federal marijuana charges cannot use their medical condition or compliance with state law as a defense in court. A bill to change that, the Truth in Trials Act (HR 3939), is currently pending before Congress. If passed by the Assembly, the resolution will then be sent to President Obama, Vice President Biden, the Speaker of the House and each member of the California Congressional delegation. Further information: Senate Joint Resolution on medical marijuana ASA fact sheet on SJR 14 |
Oregon Pharmacy Board Says Cannabis is MedicineDecision Bolsters ASA's Federal Petitions on Medical Use The latest indication of the scientific consensus on the medical uses of cannabis comes from the Oregon Board of Pharmacy, which officially reclassified the drug as a medicine last month. After months of deliberation and input from scientist, physicians and patients, the board voted 4-1 to move marijuana from Schedule I, reserved for highly dangerous drugs with no medical use, to Schedule II. The action follows action by the Oregon legislature in August 2009, when it passed a bill directing the pharmacy board to reclassify marijuana to an appropriate schedule. Although 14 states have adopted laws making the medical use of cannabis legal, and four have classified cannabis as medicine, it is still listed as a Schedule I substance by the federal government.  'When a state public health and drug regulatory body takes such an action, it sends a clear message to the federal government,' said Caren Woodson, ASA's Director of Government Affairs. 'They should approve the petition on rescheduling cannabis they've been sitting on for eight years, as well as ASA's petition on correcting the denials of its accepted medical uses.'Congress defined cannabis as a substance with a high potential for abuse and no medical value in 1970, when it enacted the Controlled Substances Act. Requests to change that classification have been rejected by federal officials in the past, and the latest petition to reschedule cannabis has been under consideration since 2002. That petition -- filed by the Coalition for Rescheduling Cannabis, of which ASA is a member -- has been passed to the DEA with a recommendation from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Acting DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart, who awaits confirmation by the Senate, will have the final say on the matter. 'DEA Administrator Leonhart has yet to demonstrate that she understands the science on medical cannabis,' said Woodson. 'But this is nonetheless an opportunity for the Obama Administration to make good on its pledge to base policy on scientific findings.' As part of its new National Strategy, ASA is developing a national grassroots campaign in support of the CRC petition. The campaign, which will launch this fall, will press local, state and federal officials to acknowledge the medical consensus on the therapeutic utility of cannabis and support the rescheduling effort. Further Information: Oregon legislation (SB 728) instructing BOP to reclassify marijuana Oregon Board of Pharmacy page on reclassifying marijuana |
Decision Due in Challenge to California Dispensary BansA California appeals court is due to issue a decision this month in a case with far-reaching implications for safe access in the state.ASA Chief Counsel Joe Elford argued before the Fourth Court of Appeals that the state legislature barred local governments from using nuisance statutes to ban medical cannabis dispensaries. 'Local governments cannot simply ban an activity that has been deemed lawful by the state,' said Elford. 'Dispensaries aren't nuisances, they're providers of essential health services.' That argument was bolstered when the court requested additional briefing, and Senator Mark Leno, one of the principal co-authors of California's Medical Marijuana Program Act (SB 420), filed papers telling the court that the legislature's express intention was to facilitate safe access and block such bans. The case, Qualified Patients Association v. City of Anaheim, was brought by attorney Anthony Curiale on behalf of a dispensary that had been in operation for five months prior to Anaheim instituting a ban in July 2007. The appeal was filed in March 2008 after a Superior Court ruled that Anaheim could prohibit medical marijuana dispensaries from operating within its city limits. |
Silicon Valley ASA Fights City Restrictions on Access
In a victory for patients, the Council did not adopt the proposed restrictions. The Council only adopted recommendations about enforcing zoning rules and monitoring dispensaries operating within 500 feet of sensitive uses. After the meeting, the city's planning director said he would only act on specific complaints. |
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