Blog

Contents:

• Message from the CA Director: Let's talk about medical cannabis and the election
• State & Local News: California, Santa Ana, Santa Cruz, La Mesa, Nevada County, De Luz, Berkeley
• Public Meetings & Events: San Francisco, Santa Ana, Washington DC, and online
• Court Support: Los Angeles, Visalia, and more
• Take Action Now: Pardon Dr. Mollie Fry, Join the ASA-CCSA Discussion List, Support the Medical Marijuana Organ Transplant Act
• ASA Website Spotlight: Resources for Patients
• Chapter & Affiliate Meetings: Grass Valley, Yuba County

Election Day in California is over, and medical cannabis advocates can expect a legislative playing field in 2015 that is largely unchanged from this year. Seventeen Assembly Members identified as medical cannabis supporters were up for election on Tuesday. Fifteen were reelected to their offices, and two were elected to serve in the Senate.  Fifteen Assembly Members identified as opponents were seeking reelection, but only thirteen succeeded. The supporter/opponent ratio in the Senate, where only twenty out of forty seats were on the ballot, remained unchanged.

Voters decided on nineteen medical cannabis ballot measures in fourteen cities and counties on Election Day. Voters embraced taxing medical cannabis, but were reluctant to approve measures to reform medical cannabis regulations or repeal bans. Voters did approve a regulatory ordinance created by the City Council in Santa Ana (Measure BB), but only as the less-lenient alternative to another measure supported by the majority of medical cannabis advocates in the community (Measure CC). Read more about the local ballot measures and find a link to the vote counts in my blog from last week.

So what does the election mean for efforts to pass a bill to license and regulate commercial medical cannabis activity in 2015? What about bills to protect patients from discrimination? Will lawmakers do anything, given that voters are likely to vote on a legalization initiative in 2016? Let’s talk about those questions and what it all means for patients and other stakeholders on my next live Google Hangout at 7:00 PM on Thursday, November 20. A live Google Hangout is an interactive event you can join on your computer or mobile device at https://plus.google.com/u/0/events/ck8r7cos98b1d6kqube10i4p2so. The event will also be broadcast live on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tk8nCOm4UQs.

I want to say a special thank you to all of the volunteers who worked so hard on the local medical cannabis ballot measures this year. I know most of you did not get what you wanted, but you did help move the ball down the court and keep this issue alive in your city or county. I hope you will keep fighting for safe, legal, and dignified access in your communities!

California & National News

California Measures Taxing Medical Marijuana Win Big At Ballot Box (California)
CBS Sacramento

Californians are eager to tax medical marijuana, but they want limits on who can grow it and sell it. That was the message from Tuesday’s voting, as backers of nearly two dozen local medical marijuana-related ballot questions tallied the votes.
Read more here:
http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2014/11/05/california-measures-taxing-medical-marijuana-win-big-at-ballot-box/

Read a related blog by ASA California Director Don Duncan here:
http://www.safeaccessnow.org/california_election_roundup_taxes_bans_regulations

---
Marijuana Laws Overhauled by California Mid-Term Election (California)
David Downs, East Bay Express

Washington, DC; Alaska; and Oregon legalized cannabis Tuesday night, leaving everyone wondering, "What the heck is wrong with California?" The Golden State led the way in medical marijuana in 1996, and is the nation's largest domestic producer of the crop.
Read more here:
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/LegalizationNation/archives/2014/11/06/marijuana-laws-re-shaped-by-california-mid-terms

---
California Raids Destroy Sick Kids' Medical Marijuana Supply (California)
Carly Schwartz, Huffington Post

A spate of recent raids in California has destroyed an abundance of medical marijuana plants intended to treat children with debilitating seizure disorders.
Read more here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/03/california-marijuana-raid_n_6064798.html

---
Santa Ana 'ahead of the game' with pot law (Santa Ana)
Alejandra Molina, OC Register

Living off of 17th Street in Santa Ana’s Floral Park neighborhood, Robert Iggulden has at one point or another counted nearly 20 medical marijuana shops within a half-mile radius of his home.
Read more here:
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/marijuana-641119-medical-city.html

---
Voters support city, county cannabis business tax (Santa Cruz)
Samantha Clark, Santa Cruz Sentinel

Medical marijuana dispensaries in the city and unincorporated county of Santa Cruz may see the cost of doing business go up.
Read more here:
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/santacruz/ci_26866846/first-results-showing-approval-city-county-cannabis-business

---
La Mesans OK with term limits, not on pot shops (La Mesa)
Karen Pearlman, U-T San Diego

La Mesa voters Tuesday sent a definitive statement of approval regarding term limits for elected officials, and just over half of them thought the city clerk position should be made by the city manager and not by election. But voters were not so high on the idea of medical marijuana dispensaries in their city.
Read more here:
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/nov/06/la-mesans-ok-term-limits-no-pot-shops/

---
Nevada County says ‘no’ to Measure S (Nevada County)
Keri Brenner, The Union

Measure S, Nevada County’s medical marijuana cultivation initiative on Tuesday’s ballot, appeared heading for defeat in unofficial results.
Read more here:
http://www.theunion.com/news/13660982-113/measure-county-nevada-ballot

---
Medical marijuana mix-up: San Diego task force raids Riverside county pot farm (De Luz)
David Gotfredson, CBS 8

Medical marijuana has been legal in the state of California for 18 years. So, when a group of men carry guns raided a pot farm in Riverside county owned by a Carlsbad grandmother, she reported it to her county supervisor.
Read more here:
http://www.cbs8.com/story/27177332/medical-marijuana-mixup

---
Dignitaries celebrate 15th anniversary of nation's oldest operating medical marijuana dispensary (Berkeley)
Tom Lochner, Contra Costa Times

Berkeley Patients Group, which lays claim to being the oldest operating medical marijuana dispensary in the United States, was hailed on its 15th anniversary last week by a gallery of dignitaries headed by Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-Oakland), state Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) and Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates, who proclaimed Oct. 31 as Berkeley Patients Group Day.
Read more here:
http://www.contracostatimes.com/west-county-times/ci_26862948/berkeley-dignitaries-celebrate-15th-anniversary-nations-oldest-operating

Public Meetings & Events

Monday, November 10, 2014 - Marijuana Compassion and Common Sense (Online)

6:00 PM at www.blogtalkradio.com/marijuananews Tune in for this weekly live Internet broadcast about cannabis and medical cannabis issues. ASA California Director will be a guest on the program. You can call in to participate. 

---
Tuesday, November 11, 2014 – Screening of “The Culture High” (San Francisco)
Doors at 6:00 PM, movie at 6:30 PM at AMC Van Ness 14, 1000 Van Ness Ave, San Francisco, CA 94109. This film by Brett Harvey scours the deep-seated roots of this morally induced Marijuana campaign and reveals the fascinating path it has taken to get to where it is today.

---
Thursday, November 20, 2014 –What Legalization Means for Medical Cannabis (Online)
7:00 PM online. Join ASA California Director Don Duncan for a live Google Hangout to discuss what legalization of cannabis means (and does not mean) for medical cannabis patients, providers, and other stakeholders in California. A Google Hangout is an interactive event you can join from your computer of mobile device. Click on this link a few minutes early to get signed in and participate in the Q&A/comments: https://plus.google.com/u/0/events/ck8r7cos98b1d6kqube10i4p2so Use this link to watch the broadcast live on YouTube (without signing in): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tk8nCOm4UQs

---
Friday, November 29, 2014 – 420 Bingo Fundraiser for NORML (Santa Ana)
8:30 PM at OC NORML Office at 117 W. Fourth St., Santa Ana, CA 92701. $20 for 10 games, food, and drink. Proceeds benefit National NORML. RSVP to [email protected] to reserve your spot. 

---
March 27, 2015 – ASA’s National Medical Cannabis Unity Conference 2015 (Washington, DC)
Join us March 27th – 31stfor the biggest and most important medical cannabis conference yet. Early bird and ASA member discounts are now available. Save money on registration, travel, and lodging by registering now. For more information: http://www.nationalmedicalcannabisunityconference.org

Court Support

What is Court Support and how do I get involved?

Monday, November 10, 2014 – Court Support for Noah Kleinman (Los Angeles)
9:00 AM at LA Federal Court Building at 312 N Spring St, Los Angeles, CA 90012. Dress in an appropriate manner and obey all courtroom rules to best help the defendants.

---
Wednesday, November 12, 2014 – Court Support for Ray Mannon & Co-Defendants (Visalia)
8:30 AM in Division 4 at 221 S Mooney Blvd, Visalia, CA 93291. Mr. Mannon and his co-defendants operated Foothill Growers Association, a legal medical cannabis collective in Tulare County. Dress in an appropriate manner and obey all courtroom rules to best help the defendants.

---
Find more information and additional listings on The Human Solution Calendar. http://www.thsintl.org/calendar

Take Action Now

Sign the Petition: Pardon Dr. Mollie Fry (National)
http://www.change.org/p/president-barack-obama-pardon-dr-mollie-fry?recruiter=2973685&utm_campaign=twitter_link_action_box&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=share_petition

Sign this online petition by Republican California Attorney General candidate Ron Gold asking the President to pardon Dr. Mollie Fry. Dr. Fry is in federal prison as a result of a medical cannabis conviction in 2001. 

---
Join ASA’s New California Discussion List – ASA-CCSA (California)
http://www.safeaccessnow.org/asa_ccsa_email_discussion_list

ASA-CCSA is a membership-based email discussion list about local and state medical cannabis legislation, initiatives, referendums, and related litigation in the state of California. Unlike this weekly email, you can respond to messages on ASA-CCSA and share your response with everyone. The purpose of the list is to facilitate dialog and participation by movement and industry stakeholders. Respectful and courteous participation, conversations, and debate are welcome.

---
Support the Medical Marijuana Organ Transplant Act (California)
http://www.safeaccessnow.org/support_the_ca_medical_marijuana_organ_transplant_act

A patient in California can be denied a life-saving organ transplant solely based on the fact that he or she uses medical cannabis! Legal patients have died after being removed from the organ transplant list, and others are in jeopardy right now. Americans for Safe Access, the nation's leading medical cannabis patients' advocacy organization, proposes legislation to prevent anyone from being denied a transplant because of medical cannabis. Sign this petition to let lawmakers know you support the Medical Marijuana Organ Transplant Act to provide equal access to health care for legal patients.

ASA Website Spotlight

Resources for Patients
http://www.safeaccessnow.org/resources_for_patients

Find important information about how to become a legal patient in California, how to talk to you doctor about medical cannabis, safety information, growing tips, and much more in the Resources for Patients section of our website. You will also find ASA Executive Directors Steph Sherer’s personal story about her path to medical cannabis and patient advocacy. 

ASA Chapter & Affiliate Meetings

Tuesday, November 11, 2014 - Nevada County ASA (Grass Valley)
The meeting starts at 6:00 PM at The Banner Grange, 12629 McCourtney Road, Grass Valley, CA 95949. Email [email protected] for more information.

---
Thursday, November 13, 2014 - Yuba County ASA (Foothills)
The meeting starts at 7:00 PM at the Willow Glen Restaurant. Email [email protected] for more information.

---

See all California ASA Chapter Meetings here:
http://www.safeaccessnow.org/california_advocacy 

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.