Blog

Contents:

• Message from the CA Director: Join the conversation about medical cannabis
• State & Local News: National California, San Francisco, Fresno, Santa Ana, La Mesa, San Diego, Diamond Springs, Riverside County
• Public Meetings & Events: Riverside, Santa Ana, Placerville, Washington DC, and Online
• Court Support: No dates reported this week
• Take Action Now: Expand the Green Zone (SF), Join the ASA-CCSA Discussion List, Support the Medical Marijuana Organ Transplant Act
• ASA Website Spotlight: Resources for Policy Makers
• Chapter & Affiliate Meetings: San Diego

Thanks to everyone who joined me last week for the latest live Google Hangout, What Legalization Means for Medical Cannabis. I appreciate the comments and questions. The broadcast is still available if you missed it live.

I know you have a lot to say about medical cannabis in California, too. While medical cannabis and legalizing cannabis gain momentum nation wide, California cities and counties are still cracking down. Read about increased pressure in La Mesa, Santa Ana, Diamond Spring, and San Diego in the News Section of this message. You will also see that Riverside and Fresno are using harsh fines to shut down cultivation. What does this mean for California? How is it impacting you? What can we do about it?

You can use ASA’s free email discussion list to have conversations about the news, local and state politics, what’s happening in your community, and more. Unlike this announcement list, comments and questions you post to the discussion list can be shared with all of the subscribers. Learn more about the California Campaign for Safe Access (CCSA) email discussion list and sign up here:

http://www.safeaccessnow.org/asa_ccsa_email_discussion_list

ASA’s CCSA discussion list is a low-volume list for patients, advocates, and others who are curious about what is happening with medical cannabis in California or have something they want to share. It is great for promoting meetings, events, and court dates. You can choose how often you receive messages form the list, or just read the online at your convenience.

Get signed up today, and let’s talk!

California & National News

The DoJ and Congress are begging each other to reform marijuana laws. So why hasn’t either budged? (National)
Christopher Ingraham, The Washington Post

The crowning inconsistency of the federal drug control system has always been the classification of marijuana as a Schedule 1 substance under federal law, which makes it among the Worst of the Worst drugs as far as the DEA is concerned -- literally as bad as heroin, and worse than cocaine!
Read more here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/11/18/eric-holder-has-the-power-to-reform-marijuana-laws-himself-so-why-doesnt-he/

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Green Lit: California Legalization Measure Is a Go for 2016 (California)
David Downs, East Bay Express

As the dust settles from the historic marijuana midterm election of 2014, a few things have become clear: Namely, Californians will vote on ending cannabis prohibition in 2016. But change is far from inevitable.
Read more here:
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/green-lit-california-legalization-measure-is-a-go-for-2016/Content?oid=4127974

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Big marijuana conference coming to San Francisco in February (San Francisco)
David Downs, SF Gate - Smell the Truth

Travel writer Rick Steves, columnist Andrew Sullivan, and the folks who legalized cannabis in Oregon this year are among those slated to speak at the International Cannabis Business Conference Feb. 15 and 16 in downtown San Francisco.
Read more here:
http://blog.sfgate.com/smellthetruth/2014/11/19/big-marijuana-conference-coming-to-san-francisco-in-february/

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Reporter Mike Sugerman Puts Bay Area Medicinal Marijuana Dispensary Products To The Test (San Francisco Bay Area)
Mike Sugerman, CBS San Francisco

Medicinal marijuana is legal in California. But what are patients really buying when they shop at their local dispensary? Reporter Mike Sugerman conducted a random test.
Read more here:
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2014/11/17/medicinal-marijuana-pot-weed-legal-medical-dispensary-sugerman-edibles-thc-potency-test-california-high-drugs-cannabis-dea/

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Fresno County Reverses First Marijuana Ban Fine (Fresno)
Corin Hoggard, ABC 30

Fresno County has reversed course on the very first marijuana growing fine handed out by county supervisors. "Plaintiffs are released from obligation to pay the administrative penalty to the county," said Fresno Superior Court Judge Dale Ikeda, reading from court documents.
Read more and watch a video here:
http://abc30.com/news/fresno-county-reverses-first-marijuana-ban-fine/403231/

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Santa Ana Passes Pot Shop Enforcement Plan (Santa Ana)
Adam Elmahrek, Voice of OC

Santa Ana City Council Tuesday night unanimously adopted a stringent plan to shut down medical marijuana shops deemed to be illegally operating, while strictly regulating other stores that comply with a voter-approved ordinance allowing some locations in industrial zones.
Read more here:
http://www.voiceofoc.org/oc_central/article_9ef67f06-7025-11e4-ba41-4f0f78cf9599.html

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La Mesa prepares to close illegal dispensaries after Prop J's failure (La Mesa)
Liz Swain, San Diego Reader

Since La Mesa voters on November 4 rejected a proposition to authorize and regulate medical marijuana dispensaries, the City of La Mesa will notify three dispensaries that they have ten days to "stop their business activities," assistant city attorney Greg Lusitana told the city council on November 12.
Read more here:
http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2014/nov/17/stringers-la-mesa-prop-j-failure-close-pot-shops/#

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Repeat pot shop offender stopped (San Diego)
David Garrick, UT San Diego

San Diego made headway Thursday in its efforts to shut down roughly 50 illegal pot shops still operating in the city when City Attorney Jan Goldsmith obtained a court order to close a Mission Valley marijuana dispensary that had moved from Bankers Hill.
Read more here:
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/nov/13/marijuana-dispensary-shutdown-goldsmith/

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El Dorado County pot dispensary raided; owner insists it's legal (Diamond Springs)
George Warren, KXTV

The head of a marijuana dispensary raided by the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office insists he and his staff were doing nothing illegal.
Read more here:
http://www.news10.net/story/news/local/eldorado-hills/2014/11/19/owner-insists-raided-dispensary-is-legal/19300535/

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Supervisors mull penalties for growing pot (Riverside County)
Jeff Horsemen, PE.com

Medical marijuana patients who meet certain criteria would be exempt from new penalties on marijuana cultivation in unincorporated Riverside County under rules being considered by the county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.
Read more here:
http://www.pe.com/articles/marijuana-754729-tuesday-jeffries.html

Public Meetings & Events

Monday, November 24, 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. You can call in to participate. 

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Tuesday, November 24, 2014 – Riverside County Board of Supervisors (Riverside)
9:00 AM on the 1^st Floor of the County Administrative Center at 4080 Lemon St, Riverside, CA 92501. The Board will discuss an amendment to the county code enhancing penalties against cannabis cultivation. Arrive early to sign up to speak on agenda item 3.1 - http://rivcocob.org/agenda/2014/11_25_14_files/03-01.pdf

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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. 

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Tuesday, December 2, 2014 – El Dorado County Board of Supervisors (Placerville)
9:00 AM at 330 Fair Lane, Placerville, California 95667. El Dorado County Board of Supervisors will be meeting to discuss a ban on outdoor cultivation in El Dorado County. Tell them no at the meeting or visit https://www.facebook.com/events/195455580625186/?ref_newsfeed_story_type=regular for information about how to oppose the ban in advance. 

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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?

No court support dates reported this week.

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

Take Action Now

Expand the MCD Green Zone (San Francisco) 
https://www.change.org/p/sf-board-of-supervisors-expand-the-mcd-green-zone 

The outdated rules restricting medical cannabis dispensaries to a limited Green Zone of less than 5% of The City of San Francisco have created a clustering problem, and limit access for medical cannabis patients. The current policy has not been updated since 2005. Expanding the existing MCD Green Zone would allow vital medical cannabis dispensaries to locate in more areas of The City of San Francisco.

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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.

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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 Policy Makers
http://www.safeaccessnow.org/policy_shop

You may already know that ASA’s provides volumes of free information for medical cannabis patients, providers, doctors, and lawyers. Did you know that we also provide free support services to lawmakers and staff? Our website has reports on regulations, a state-by-state comparison of medical cannabis laws, guides for regulating medical cannabis from the Americans Herbal Products Association, and much more. Whether you are in government or a citizen advocates participating in the process of regulating medical cannabis, this section almost certainly has something for you. Be sure to check out the “Policy Shop,” our tool for helping evaluate and improve legislative proposals.

ASA Chapter & Affiliate Meetings

Tuesday, November 25, 2014 - San Diego ASA (San Diego)
6:30 – 7:30 networking, 7:30 meeting starts at Giovanni's Restaurant at 9353 Clairemont Mesa Blvd. San Diego, CA 92123. Email [email protected] for more information.

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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.