Blog

California News

• Banks seek help with U.S. law when doing business with pot shops (National)
• Talking Marijuana – Episode 17 with David Nott from the Reason Foundation (National)
• Two Convicted of Murdering Echo Park Marijuana Clinic Employee (Los Angeles)
• Riverside shop run by Corona man sold more than vitamins (Riverside)
• Richmond council clears way for medical pot shop's move to East Richmond (Richmond)
• Santa Ana Warns Pot Collectives To Close Or Face Fines (Santa Ana)
• Officials move to block planned Mar Vista marijuana dispensary: Civil complaint a new tactic in fight to regulate medical cannabis, says city attorney’s office (Los Angeles)
• Medical Cannabis: Voices from the Frontlines (ASA Blog)

Events

• 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
• Fall Membership Drive: Become an ASA Member Now!

ASA Services
Free Online Services

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

ASA Chapter Meetings

• Tuesday, November 26, 2013 - North County/Ocean Side ASA (San Diego)
• Thursday, November 28, 2013 – Sacramento, ASA
• Saturday, November 30, 2013 – Nevada County ASA

California News

Banks seek help with U.S. law when doing business with pot shops
By Brett Wolf on Rueters

Banks, worried about running afoul of federal money-laundering law in dealing with state-authorized marijuana businesses, may soon receive some much-needed guidance from U.S. agencies. Because a federal prohibition of marijuana is still in place, most banks do not work with marijuana businesses in states that have legalized them for fear they might be charged with money laundering or failing to comply with other federal laws. The U.S. Treasury Department plans to discuss with banks and other regulators how the federal enforcement stance regarding state-authorized marijuana business could affect the banking industry…
Read the full story here.

Talking Marijuana – Episode 17 with David Nott from the Reason Foundation
From the Jon Lovitz Vodcast Network

Episode 17 of Talking Marijuana features special guests David Nott, president of Reason Foundation, and Kenny Morrison from the Venice Cookie Company. This is a great episode that deals with the divergence of medical cannabis and non-medical cannabis policies and the pros and cons of regulation. Hosted by Yami Bolanos, Barry Kramer, and Don Duncan – along with resident cannabis enthusiast and comedian Dan Gabriel.
Watch the entire Vodcast here.

Two Convicted of Murdering Echo Park Marijuana Clinic Employee
By John Schreiber in the Echo Park Patch

Two men were convicted Tuesday in the shooting death of an employee and the wounding of a security guard during a robbery at a medical marijuana clinic in Echo Park. Raymond Lemone Easter, 30, and Daniel Hinton, 35, were found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Matthew Butcher, 27, along with the attempted murder of a security guard who was shot in the head during the June 24, 2010, heist at the Higher Path Holistic Care Collective in the 1300 block of West Sunset Boulevard. Jurors also found true the special circumstance allegation that the murder occurred during the commission of a robbery, along with an allegation that Easter personally discharged a gun…
Read the entire story here.

Riverside shop run by Corona man sold more than vitamins
By Richard K. DeAtley in the Press-Enterprise

A 26-year-old Corona man has pleaded guilty to forgery and failure to legally pay workers and make state withholding tax contributions after Riverside police found his vitamin store was also selling marijuana. Billy Kim was placed on three years’ probation and sentenced to 150 days in jail, to be served in the Riverside County work-release program,  court records from Nov. 15 show…
Read the entire story here.

Richmond council clears way for medical pot shop's move to East Richmond
By Robert Rogers in the Contra Costa Times

The City Council on Tuesday agreed to allow one of Richmond's medical marijuana dispensaries to move into an East Richmond neighborhood, agreeing with managers and employees that the new location would pose little risk to the surrounding community. "The precedent we're setting tonight is we're respecting the neighborhood," Councilman Jim Rogers said. "We've heard from the public tonight ... I am comfortable there is neighborhood support for this." Owners of the Green Remedy Collective said they needed to move from the Hilltop area because the owner of that building is facing foreclosure. The new location, in the city's southeast corner, is tucked beneath overhead BART tracks, behind a Bank of America and adjacent to the Richmond Greenway, a public park…
Read the entire story here.

Santa Ana Warns Pot Collectives To Close Or Face Fines
By Nick Schou in the OC Weekly Blogs – Cannabis Chronicles

Santa Ana's city attorney has apparently sent warning letters to all medical marijuana collectives currently operating in the city. The letters reportedly state that any storefront dispensary must close its doors within 15 days of Nov. 15--basically the end of the month--or else face misdemeanor charges and fines of $1000 per day…
Read the entire blog here.

Officials move to block planned Mar Vista marijuana dispensary: Civil complaint a new tactic in fight to regulate medical cannabis, says city attorney’s office
By Gary Walker in The Argonaut

Los Angeles City Attorney Michael Feuer filed a lawsuit last week to block a medical marijuana dispensary from opening in Mar Vista. The move comes nearly a month after a community meeting in which a number of Mar Vista residents voiced strong opposition to the clinic proposed for 3472 Centinela Ave., a vacant storefront at the intersection of Centinela and Palms Boulevard. On Nov. 8, a group of clinic opponents gathered for a protest outside the location. The 59-page civil complaint filed against clinic proprietors and their landlord on Nov. 14 in Los Angeles Superior Court claims the business would violate voter-approved rules for marijuana dispensaries because of its close proximity to a residential neighborhood…
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

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!

Fall Membership Drive: Become an ASA Member Now!

ASA offers patients, their providers, attorneys, medical professionals and policymakers up-to-date information on the medical and legal use of cannabis nation-wide.  ASA offers our members legal and legislative support including trainings, capacity-building, analysis, publications and strategic support. We organize media support for court cases, rapid response to law enforcement raids, and media responses to current events.  Our successful advocacy, media, and legal campaigns have resulted in important court precedents, new sentencing standards, and more compassionate local and state guidelines.
Join between October 2nd and November 15th for a chance to win a FREE trip to DC for ASA's Annual Conference this April!

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 (Full Calendar Here)

Tuesday, November 26, 2013 - North County/Ocean Side ASA (San Diego)
7pm - 9pm at Captain Keno's - 158 N Coast Highway 101, Encinitas, CA 92024. Email [email protected] for more information.

Thursday, November 28, 2013 – Sacramento, ASA
7:00 PM at 2315 K Street, Sacramento, CA. Email [email protected] for information.

Saturday, November 30, 2013 – Nevada County ASA
2:00 PM at the North San Juan Senior Center, 29190 State Hwy 49, North San Juan, CA 93755. Email [email protected] for information.

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.