Blog

Medical Marijuana Advocates Hail San Diego Mayor's Decision to Stop Crackdown on Dispensaries

Paul Marini | January 11, 2013

San Diego, CA -- Advocates applauded the recent actions of San Diego Mayor Bob Filner in trying to put an end to the years-long crackdown on access to medical marijuana in the city.

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Medical Marijuana Patient Group Gets D.C. Department of Health Contract to Train Dispensary, Cultivation Center Staff

Paul Marini | January 10, 2013

Washington, DC -- The country’s leading medical marijuana advocacy group Americans for Safe Access (ASA) was awarded a permit by the D.C. Department of Health last week to implement its compulsory training for cultivators and distributors licensed by the District....

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Patient Advocates Invite Former U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy to Better Understand Medical Marijuana

Paul Marini | January 09, 2013

Washington, DC -- In response to public comments made against U.S. marijuana reform today by former Rhode Island Congressman Patrick Kennedy, patient advocates wrote to Kennedy inviting him to attend a national conference on medical marijuana scheduled for February 22nd...

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Obama Administration Throwing Medical Marijuana Patients Into Federal Prison at Unprecedented Rate

Paul Marini | January 04, 2013

Washington, DC -- Fallout from the Obama Administration's aggressive federal enforcement in medical marijuana states has reached a fever pitch this month with three people being sentenced, two others due to surrender to federal authorities to serve out sentences of...

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ASA Activist Newsletter - Jan 2013

Paul Marini | January 03, 2013

Volume 8, Issue 1

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Medical Marijuana Groups File Brief in Support of Mendocino's Refusal to Turn Over Cultivation Records to Feds

Paul Marini | January 02, 2013

San Francisco, CA -- Two medical marijuana groups have teamed up to support Mendocino County officials in their effort to fight a sweeping federal subpoena filed in October, seeking "any and all records" for the county's medical marijuana cultivation program,...

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ASA's Year in Review 2012

Paul Marini | December 31, 2012

This is the time of year when I take some time to reflect over the past twelve months and prepare myself for the opportunities that lay ahead in the New Year.2012 was bittersweet. On one hand, we moved the fight...

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City of Oakland and Feds Go Toe-to-Toe in Medical Marijuana Dispensary Forfeiture Case

Paul Marini | December 19, 2012

San Francisco, CA -- The Obama Administration will be going toe-to-toe in federal court Thursday at 10am with the City of Oakland and California's largest medical marijuana dispensary, Harborside Health Center. U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag filed forfeiture proceedings in July...

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ASA Comments on CA Sales Tax Exemption Proposal

Paul Marini | December 13, 2012

Recently, the California State Board of Equalization asked for comments on a conceptual proposal to exempt terminally ill patients from paying sales tax on cannabis provided by dispensaries. In California, as in many other states, medications prescribed by doctors are...

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LA advocates submit 70,000 initiative signatures

Paul Marini | December 11, 2012

A coalition of medical cannabis patients, providers, and organized labor submitted 70,000 signatures on Friday to qualify a voter initiative for the May ballot in Los Angeles. The Committee to Protect Patients and Neighborhoods (CPPN), which includes Americans for Safe...

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