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ASA Activist Newsletter - MARCH 2012
Volume 7, Issue 3
California Appeals Courts Rule on Dispensaries![]() The Fourth Appellate District Court of Appeal ruled in City of Lake Forest v. Evergreen Holistic Collective that localities may not pass outright bans on medical cannabis dispensaries because doing so would contradict the legislature's Medical Marijuana Program Act (MMPA). This reverses the lower court ruling and is the first time a California appellate court has said local governments may not use their land use authority to prohibit dispensaries from operating. The court's decision brings into question nearly 200 such local bans. But that's not the only issue that may find its way to the California Supreme Court, which is currently considering several other cases involving dispensary operations and regulation. The appellate court also ruled that dispensaries must cultivate the cannabis they distribute onsite, saying that 'nothing in the law authorizes the transportation and possession of marijuana to stock an off-site location.' Yet the other important appellate decision last month reached the opposite conclusion, largely because the MMPA explicitly protects patients from arrest and prosecution for transporting cannabis when engaged in collective medical cannabis activity. In the case of People v. Colvin, California's Second District Court of Appeal reversed the trial court's ruling that transporting medical cannabis from one collective location to another is illegal under state law. On appeal, California Attorney General Kamala Harris had argued that state law requires all members of a collective to participate in cultivating the cannabis. The appeals court unanimously rejected that argument, noting that the AG's interpretation of the law 'would impose on medical marijuana cooperatives requirements not imposed on other cooperatives' such as groceries, where some members may grow and sell the food but others may simply shop. The appeals court said that the 'logical conclusion' of requiring all cooperative members to participate in cultivation would be to 'limit drastically the size of medical marijuana establishments.' That would, according to the court, 'contravene the intent of [state law] by limiting patients' access to medical marijuana and leading to inconsistent applications of the law.' The decision means a new trial for William Frank Colvin, who operated Hollywood Holistic Inc., a cooperative with 5,000 members. Colvin was arrested transporting a pound of medical cannabis. More information: Text of Lake Forest ruling Text of Colvin ruling Text of California MMPA Local California dispensary bans |
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Judge Finds Nevada's Rules on Medical
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Rhode Island Moving Forward on Dispensaries![]() ![]() New legislation will attempt to mitigate that risk by creating tighter limits, with the Department of Health now regulating the amount of cannabis that the compassion center may grow and possess. In another rule change, registered patients or caregivers who cultivate cannabis within state guidelines may now sell any excess to a compassion center. Before Gov. Chafee halted the process last May, three distribution centers had already been approved by the Department of Health. All will be able to operate under the new rules, so officials hope to see them open in the near future. 'We just want patients to get some relief, soon,' said Rep. Scott Slater, whose late father sponsored the original bill. Rep. Slater introduced his bill in the assembly with 44 cosponsors. The companion bill in the Senate, introduced by Sen. Rhonda Perry, has 13 cosponsors. 'It's been three years now since we approved compassion centers,' Senator Perry told local media. “That's a long time for patients to wait for relief from pain and illness.' The U.S. Attorney for the area says the Department of Justice stance on medical cannabis has not changed, and that he would neither review nor discuss the new legislation. More information: The Rhode Island Senate Bill, S-2555 |
Coalition Fights to Save Safe Access
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Transplant Denial Subject of Reason TV Exposé![]() ![]() 'I have nothing to hide,' Smith tells Reason TV. 'It's probably too late for me, but I hope it makes it easier for the next guy.' Smith is far from the only medical cannabis patient in California or other states to either be denied a transplant or face a terrible choice. No state laws yet address the issue of transplant eligibility for medical cannabis patients, leaving the authority for such decisions to individual doctors and transplant centers such as Cedars-Sinai. Many classify any cannabis use as a symptom of drug abuse and bar transplants for those patients, even if they are qualified to use it legally under state law. ASA Chief Counsel Joe Elford sent a letter to Cedars-Sinai urging doctors to re-list Smith and change its policy on medical cannabis. The Reason TV segment can be viewed online at AmericansForSafeAccess.org/reasonTV. More information: ASA’s letter to Cedars-Sinai |
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