Blog

Happy holidays from everyone at ASA!

Contents:
California News

• Is California Actually Moving Backwards? (California)
• Medical marijuana patient to challenge cultivation ruling (California)
• Los Angeles Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Relocate In Compliance With Proposition D (Los Angeles)
• Marijuana production climbs in Merced County (Merced County)
• County readies for fight over medical marijuana in 2014 (Tulare County)
• Ordinance to Regulate Medical Marijuana Collectives Moves to Planning Commission (Long Beach)
• San Jose City Council asks staff to come up with regulations for medical marijuana dispensaries (San Jose)
• Group Seeks Referendum to Overturn Repeal Of Napa's Medical Pot Ordinance (Napa)
• City council to review medical marijuana dispensaries in the New Year (San Diego)
• Sonoma fairgrounds plays host to pot contest (Sonoma County)

Events

• April 5-7, 2014 - The 2nd Annual National Medical Cannabis Unity Conference (Washington, DC)

Take Action

• Join ASA and enter to win a free ASA Cloud Vaporizer Pen!

ASA Services
Free Online Services

• Legal Support
• Publications
• Raid Center
• Medical Cannabis Advocate's Training Center

ASA Chapter Meetings

• Tuesday, December 24, 2013 – North County/Ocean Side ASA (San Diego)
• Thursday, December 26, 2013 – Sacramento ASA

California News

Is California Actually Moving Backwards?
By Bryce Callahan on Medical Cannabis: Voices from the Frontlines (ASA Blog)

The Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors met in Sonora on Tuesday to hear a proposal by the District Attorney and Sheriff’s office to ban outdoor cultivation of medical cannabis and to effectively zone dispensaries out of existence. The room was filled mostly with the authors and enforcers of the proposed ordinance who faithfully dragged reefer madness memes out of their intellectually bankrupt arsenal of prohibitionist arguments to appeal to the emotions of an admittedly ignorant Board of Supervisors…
Read the entire blog here.

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Medical marijuana patient to challenge cultivation ruling
By Staff in Lake County News

In an action supported by California NORML, medical marijuana patient James Maral will file a petition with the California Supreme Court to review the recent Third District Appellate Court decision upholding the city of Live Oak’s ban on medical marijuana cultivation. San Francisco Attorney Joe Elford will draft and file the petition. “If you ban dispensaries and you ban cultivation, you’re ripping the heart out of California's medical marijuana laws,” said Elford. “This decision conflicts with the intent of the electorate and Legislature and should not be allowed to stand.” The announcement comes a day after Fresno County took steps to enact a total cultivation ban on first reading at its Board of Supervisors meeting. A second reading on the ordinance will take place on Jan. 7…
Read the full story here.

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Los Angeles Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Relocate In Compliance With Proposition D
By Drake Dorm in Medical Jane

LOS ANGELES, CA — In a move that is likely to contribute to successful medical cannabis regulation in Los Angeles, several dispensaries in the region are in the process of relocating to Proposition D compliant facilities this week. California residents voted to pass the measure in the May 2013 Mayoral election. In addition to placing a limit on the number of certified collectives permitted in the city, Prop D requires them to keep a certain distance from schools, parks, residential neighborhoods and other dispensaries…
Read the entire blog here.

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Marijuana production climbs in Merced County
By Rob Parsons, Carmen George, and Lewis Griswold in the Modesto Bee

Marijuana production and related crimes kept the Merced County Sheriff’s Department busy in 2013. “We’ve seen substantial increases in every category,” said Sgt. Kevin Blake, head of the Sheriff’s Tactical and Reconnaissance Team. This year, deputies eradicated a total of 77,143 illegal plants and seized more than 1,200 pounds of street-ready marijuana buds from both indoor and outdoor grows. Additionally, the STAR team arrested more than 30 people in connection with black-market plant production, sought criminal charges against dozens more and seized about 100 firearms from growers, ranging from automatic weapons to pistols, Blake said…
Read the full story here.

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County readies for fight over medical marijuana in 2014
By Valerie Gibbons in the Visalia Tines-Delta

The Tulare County Board of Supervisors is gearing up for a long fight over medical marijuana rules next year. The county will lobby for stricter rules governing the cultivation and sale of medical marijuana at the state level. The lobbying pits Central Valley counties directly against urban coastal counties in the Bay Area and Southern California that have operated under a far looser interpretation of the law. Since the Compassionate Use Act was passed in 1996, the county has had rules in place restricting medical marijuana cultivation to indoor sites — and in restricted areas. Many cities within the county have also set up their own set of regulations, as well…
Read the full story here.

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Ordinance to Regulate Medical Marijuana Collectives Moves to Planning Commission
By Sarah Bennett in the Long Beach Post

Though an outright ban has been in place for nearly two years, an ordinance which will allow for the regulation of medical marijuana collectives in Long Beach inched forward Tuesday when city council approved to push the issue to the Planning Commission. After nearly three hours of discussion and public comment, the council unanimously voted to refer the Planning Commission to draft an ordinance that includes caps on the number of allowed operators and zoning specifications pursuant [sic] to the original request made to the city attorney's office at its September 10 meeting. In that request, collectives were to be restricted to industrial zones with a buffer between schools and parks, and there were to be no more than two per council district with a limit of 18 in the city…
Read the full story here.

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San Jose City Council asks staff to come up with regulations for medical marijuana dispensaries
By Carol Rosen in the San Jose Mercury News

Despite the late hour, city council members battled back and forth the night of Dec. 10 on whether to initiate an outright ban on marijuana or to direct staff to come back in 90 days with a regulatory program. Regulations won as only four council members--Rose Herrera, Kansen Chu, Xavier Campos and Pete Constant--favored the ban. The combined memos of Mayor Chuck Reed and Councilman Don Rocha made up the motion for regulations. First on the agenda, within the next 30 days, is for staff to close any dispensaries that are directly connected to residences. The rest of the motion allows 90 days for staff to come back to the council with a regulatory program that addresses medical marijuana dispensaries…
Read the entire story here.

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Group Seeks Referendum to Overturn Repeal Of Napa's Medical Pot Ordinance
By Keri Brenner in the Napa Valley Patch

The newly formed Napa’s Compassion Referendum Committee is mounting a referendum campaign seeking voter support to overturn Napa City Council's recent repeal of the city's medical marijuana ordinance. Napa's medical marijuana dispensary ordinance provided for the operation of one dispensary -- and possibly one additional dispensary after one year, with the dispensaries to be selected based upon merit following a rigorous selection process. "Napa’s MMDO is a win, win for the city, because it provides safe controlled access for those in need while creating jobs, generating sales tax revenues and funds for other non-profits and charitable organizations," said committee member Kyle Iverson in a press release Thursday…
Read the full story here.

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City council to review medical marijuana dispensaries in the New Year
By Staff at CBS8 San Diego

A draft ordinance to regulate medical marijuana dispensaries in San Diego is slated to go before the City Council in February, according to Interim Mayor Todd Gloria. Public vetting of the proposed restrictions was recently completed, according to Gloria. "Essentially, what I think it is, is a reasonable balance between the communities and the need for safe access," Gloria said Thursday at his weekly media briefing. "This will result in a handful of collectives in the community that are operating under very strict guidelines that they don't currently necessarily have to follow." Medical marijuana has been argued for years in San Diego, but operating dispensaries within city limits remains illegal 17 years after Californians passed the Compassionate Use Act.
Read the entire story here.

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Sonoma fairgrounds plays host to pot contest
By Staff at Capitol Press

The first time marijuana growers in Mendocino and Humboldt counties gathered to compare crops a decade ago, it was an underground, end-of-harvest celebration open only to a small number of cannabis cognoscenti. In a sure sign of the sizable role marijuana has come to play in California’s agricultural economy, this year’s Emerald Cup — a competition for organic pot farmers who grow outdoors instead of under powerful lights — was held at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds.
Read the entire story here.

Events

April 5-7, 2014- The 2nd Annual National Medical Cannabis Unity Conference (Washington, DC)

We are pleased to announce the 2nd Annual National Medical Cannabis Unity Conference, Navigating Medical Cannabis in the Mainstream, taking place April 5 – 7th at the Mayflower Renaissance Hotel in Washington, D.C. Americans for Safe Access and our allies will fight even harder for safe access in 2014. This is our chance to show the Obama Administration and Congress our strength in unity – and to make our voice heard like never before in the nation’s capitol! The conference is your chance to network with other activists from around the country, attend panels and workshops to improve your skills and increase your knowledge, and to engage in direct citizen-lobbying efforts in the halls of Congress. Last year we had over 300 patients, providers, activist, medical and legal professional march on Washington on our lobby day. This was the largest march on Washington for safe access. Dont miss your chance to be apart of history.

Read more, register for the conference, and book your room at the Mayflower Inn today.

Do you have a medical cannabis event to share? Send items for the California Weekly Roundup to [email protected] before 12:00 PM on Friday to be included in Monday's distribution.

Take Action

Join ASA and enter to win a free ASA Cloud Vaporizer Pen!

This holiday season become a member of ASA and you will automatically be entered to win a FREE ASA Cloud Vaporizer Pen.  This is the gift that keeps on giving.  A portion of the proceeds raised from the sale of the Limited Edition ASA Cloud Vaporizer Pen will go to promote the work of ASA.  The drawing will be held January 2nd, but there is still time to purchase these as gifts for your friends and loved ones.

ASA Services

Free Online Services

• Legal Support - Legal information for patients, lawyers, and other about medical cannabis laws the legal system.
• Publications - Education literature and training for patients, activists, and others.
• Raid Center - Be prepared for a law enforcement encounter, let ASA help you in case of a federal raid, and get text alerts regarding local law enforcement activity.
• Medical Cannabis Advocate's Training Center - Learn how to be a more effective advocate for medical cannabis and how to build the movement in your community.

ASA Chapter Meetings

Tuesday, December 24, 2013 – North County/Ocean Side ASA (San Diego)
7:00 PM at Captain Keno's - 158 N Coast Highway 101, Encinitas, CA 92024. Email [email protected] for more information.

Thursday, December 26, 2013 – Sacramento ASA
7:00 PM at 2315 K Street, Sacramento. Email [email protected] for more information.

See the full calendar here.

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.