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CA ALERT - Appellate Court ruling endangers medical cannabis cultivation in California. See the news section for more information.

Contents:
California News

• Live Oak Pot Ban Upheld by Appeals Court (California)
• Members Of Congress To California U.S. Attorney: Back Off Marijuana Prosecutions (California)
• Report: State Marijuana Laws Found To Comply With Federal Guidelines (California)
• Santa Monica to Open Two Medical Marijuana Dispensaries (Santa Monica)
• Illegal Pot Grows Increasing in the Valley (San Joaquin Valley)
• Security guard shot 3 times during robbery attempt at Calif. medical marijuana dispensary (Palmdale)

Events

• Monday, December 2, 2013 – Ventura City Council Meeting
• Friday, December 6, 2013 - California Medical Board Hearing
• Save the date: April 5-7, 2014 - ASA’s 2nd Annual National Medical Cannabis Unity Conference in Washington, DC.

Take Action

• Get you ASA Cloud Vaporizer Pen and help support ASA
• Click to Donate - Raise money just by searching the Internet

ASA Services
Free Online Services

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

ASA Chapter Meetings

• Tuesday, December 3, 2013 – San Francisco ASA
• Thursday, December 5, 2013 – Sonoma ASA

California News

Live Oak Pot Ban Upheld by Appeals Court
By Harold Kruger in the Appeal Democrat

Live Oak's ordinance banning medical marijuana cultivation was upheld this week. The 3rd District Court of Appeals in Sacramento said state law and previous court decisions "do not pre-empt a city's police power to prohibit the cultivation of all marijuana within that city." The appeals court upheld an earlier decision by Sutter County Superior Court Judge Perry Parker. The City Council approved the ordinance in December 2011. James Maral, individually and as trustee of the Live Oak Patients, Caregivers and Supporters Association, and others sued to stop enforcement of the ordinance. In upholding Live Oak's law, the appeals court on Tuesday cited its own decision in a legal challenge to Tehama County's medical marijuana law. There is no "unfettered right to cultivate marijuana for medical purposes," the appeals court said…
Read the full story here.

Read more background and analysis from the Western City, the newsletter of the California League of Cities here.

Members Of Congress To California U.S. Attorney: Back Off Marijuana Prosecutions
By Nicole Flatow on Think Progress

U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag sits in a district with some of the most well-known and respected medical marijuana dispensaries in the country. But she has her own reputation for being one of the fiercest enforcers of the federal marijuana prohibition in her territory, the Northern District of California. So when the Department of Justice directed prosecutors in August not to target those medical marijuana dispensaries complying with a robust state regulatory system, Haag was undeterred in her crusade to take on these dispensaries, saying she didn’t expect a “significant change” in her approach...
Read the entire blog here.

Report: State Marijuana Laws Found To Comply With Federal Guidelines
By Katie Rucke in MintPress News

Although 37 percent of the U.S. population currently lives in a state where medical marijuana is legal, and there are more than a million Americans legally using medical marijuana, the federal government has continued to prosecute medical marijuana businesses and patients across the country. On Monday, the medical marijuana advocacy group Americans for Safe Access released a report encouraging the federal government to allow states that have legalized marijuana to enforce their own laws, reasoning that in most states legalization legislation is already in compliance with federal guidelines…
Read the entire story here.

Read ASA's press release and download a copy of our report here.

Santa Monica to Open Two Medical Marijuana Dispensaries
By The 420 Times on the Huffington Post

A bill that would allow a total of two medical marijuana dispensaries to setup shop in Santa Monica, California has been presented to the members of city council for review. The language of the legislation in question, which is slated to be officially reviewed by the city council beginning on December 11, is laden with limitations designed to restrict the locations of the two dispensaries. Not only are the two businesses restricted to the maximum size of 2,500 feet in square footage, but they must also be located within the city's Healthcare District, which is demarcated as the expanses surrounding the UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica and Saint John's Health Center…
Read the entire story here.
 

Illegal Pot Grows Increasing in the Valley
By Carmen George and Lewis Griswold in the Fresno Bee

The central San Joaquin Valley is one of the hottest spots in the nation for illegal marijuana grows. Illegal growers are becoming bolder, many area sheriffs say, moving from historical hideouts in national forests to the Valley floor — even planting marijuana near elementary schools. A key reason for the shift is California's medical marijuana law, which is being manipulated to earn illegal traffickers a hefty payday, officials say…
Read the entire story here.

Security guard shot 3 times during robbery attempt at Calif. medical marijuana dispensary
Associated Press – The New Republic

A security guard at a medical marijuana dispensary in unincorporated Los Angeles County was shot while trying to prevent a robbery at the business, a sheriff's official said Thursday. The guard was shot three times late Wednesday when he tried to stop three suspects wearing bandanas and hoodies from breaking into the business in Palmdale, said Sheriff's Capt. Don Ford said. The dispensary was identified as the Green Cactus Collective. The guard was in critical condition at a local hospital but was expected to survive, Ford said. "The poor guy is in a hospital recovering when he should be at home with his family eating Thanksgiving dinner," he said…
Read the entire story here.

Medical Cannabis: Voices from the Frontlines (ASA Blog)

Read more articles and commentary on ASA's blog, Medical Cannabis: Voices from the Frontlines at http://www.AmericansForSafeAccess.org/blog

Events

Monday, December 2, 2013 – Ventura City Council Meeting
The Ventura City Council is expected to give final approval to an ordinance banning medical cannabis patients’ collectives. Ventura ASA members and advocates will speak in opposition to agenda item number 4. The meeting starts at 6:00 PM, Council Chambers, 501 Poli Street, Ventura, CA 93002.

Friday, December 6, 2013 - California Medical Board Hearing
Dr. David Allen will have an administrative hearing as part of a California Medical Board investigation into his medical cannabis recommendations. Dr. Allen is a medical cannabis specialist and outspoken advocate. The hearing time and location will be available soon. Email [email protected] for details. Visit Dr. Allen's Facebook page for more information.

April 5-7, 2014 - 2nd Annual National Medical Cannabis Unity Conference
Save the date for ASA's second national conference in Washington, DC.

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

Get you ASA Cloud Vaporizer Pen and help support ASA

Cloud Vapes and ASA have teamed up to offer this very special, limited edition vapo-pen. This high-quality vape pen has an ASA logo and a life time guarantee. Cloud Vapes is donating a portion of proceeds for each retail and wholesale transaction to ASA. ASA Cloud Vaporizer pens make great holiday gifts!

Click to Donate

Help raise money for medical cannabis advocacy – just by searching the Internet! Sign up at Click to Donate and select Americans for Safe Access as your charity. Then just keeping searching.

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 3, 2013 – San Francisco ASA
7:30pm at 847 Howard St, San Francisco, CA 94103. Email [email protected] for more information.

Thursday, December 5, 2013 – Sonoma ASA
5:00pm at the Arlene Francis Center, 99 West 6th Street, Santa Rosa, CA. 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.