- About
-
Get Informed
Get Informed
-
Get Involved
Get Involved
-
News
News
ASA Activist Newsletter - JUNE 2013
Volume 8, Issue 6
NH, IL Legislatures Each Pass
New Hampshire and Illinois are in a race to see which will become the nation’s 19th medical cannabis state. |
|
Mass. Health Officials Approve Regulations![]() The commonwealth’s Public Health Council had final say on regulations issued by the Department of Public Health (DPH). The rules, which took effect May 24, were crafted with extensive input from public sessions that included testimony from medical cannabis patients and other stakeholders. ![]() “The final regulations ease some of the obstacles that would have been created by the draft regulations for physicians who want to incorporate this medicine into their practice,” said ASA Board Member Dr. Karen Munkacy, an anesthesiologist and delegate to the Massachusetts Medical Society who provided extensive input to DPH. The new law allows qualifying patients with a recommendation from their physician to use medical cannabis and obtain up to 10 ounces in a 60-day period from a registered Medical Marijuana Treatment Center (MMTC). MMTCs will be licensed to cultivate, process, and sell medical cannabis under the supervision of the state’s health department. “The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has been receptive to patient concerns,” said ASA Executive Director Steph Sherer. “We are pleased with many improvements made to the draft regulations.” More information: Final Massachusetts Medical Cannabis Regulations Dept. of Public Health page on Medical Marijuana in Massachusetts |
|
L.A. Voters Approve Dispensary Regulations![]() The May 21 election saw 63% of voters approve Measure D, one of two competing measures on the ballot. The new law establishes hours of operation, location rules and other regulations for the more than 100 dispensaries that registered with the city in Sept. 2007. ![]() Measure D, which was placed on the ballot by a vote of the LA City Council, contains many provisions sought by patient advocates and other industry stakeholders. LA dispensaries will be required to operate as nonprofits, pay local taxes, and locate at least 600 feet from sensitive facilities such as schools, public parks, drug abuse treatment facilities, and places of worship, as well as other medical cannabis businesses. Measure D also raises the local tax rate on the sale of medical marijuana from 5 to 6 percent. Last July, the City Council banned dispensaries outright, but after patient advocates successfully qualified an initiative to repeal it, the Council rescinded their ban. That followed a 2010 ordinance so restrictive it amounted to a de facto ban and spawned a flurry of lawsuits. Since 2003, when the California legislature passed the Medical Marijuana Program Act, more than 50 localities have adopted regulations similar to those in Measure D. The passage of Measure D comes on the heels of a decision by the California Supreme Court that gives local governments the express right to ban dispensaries altogether. |
|
|
|
DOJ Intent on Closing Respected DispensaryBerkeley Patients Group may be one of California's oldest and most respected medical cannabis dispensaries, but federal prosecutors won’t give up on shutting it down.The dispensary has already closed and moved once in response to threats from U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag, but within months of opening at a carefully chosen location, their new landlord is now being threatened with seizure of the property BPG rents. Federal prosecutors have leveled similar threats against hundreds of landlords around the country, resulting in the closure of more than 200 dispensaries. ![]() The forfeiture complaint alleges no local or state law violations, and the dispensary has worked so closely with city officials that the Berkeley City Council in 2009 declared a special “Berkeley Patients Group Day” to commemorate their decade of service to the community. 'Berkeley Patients Group intends to vigorously defend the rights of its patients to be able to obtain medical cannabis from a responsible, city-licensed dispensary,' said BPG Chief Operations Officer Sean Luse. After receiving a forfeiture threat letter from U.S. Attorney Haag in November 2011, BPG moved its operation in order to be more than 1,000 feet from a school, even though there is no such requirement in local or state law. The Obama Administration has said it is not a good use of federal resources to target anyone in compliance with state medical cannabis. BPG has operated without incident since 1999. “This federal action is not about anyone profiteering or violating state law,' said Steph Sherer, ASA Executive Director. 'It is a heartless attempt to shut one of the oldest and best-respected dispensaries in the country.' |
|
ACTIVIST SPOTLIGHT
|
|
ACTION ALERT: Tell your Rep: Peace for Patients Now!The Peace for Patients Petition was the first step. Now it’s time to let your Congressional Representative know it’s time to stop the war on patients.Just use our easy tool to find and email your Representative today! If you haven’t added your name to the Peace for Patients Petition, you can do that right now at AmericansForSafeAccess.org/contactcongress. |
|
|
Share this page