Americans for Safe Access is urging Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) members to ask Acting Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) head Michele Leonhart difficult and pointed questions on Wednesday, during her confirmation hearing, about her plan to address the growing divide between federal and state medical marijuana laws. Leonhart, a Bush-holdover, led aggressive attacks for many years against medical marijuana patients and their providers, and has obstructed meaningful research into the medical efficacy of marijuana. Read more about Leonhart’s confirmation hearing, her background as Deputy DEA Administrator, the questions ASA has submitted to the SJC, and the action patients are taking to hold Leonhart accountable for her actions.

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While Kamala Harris' campaign team has declared  victory, the Secretary of State hasn't made a final decision yet.  There are a large number of unprocessed ballots (either because they were provisional, mailed in, or initially unreadable by the ballot tally machines).  Until we have a final official count, we won't know for certain. As of 2:34pm today, Ms. Harris held a lead of only 9,364 votes, down from estimates earlier in the day of under 14,000.  Voting precincts across the state are scrambling to get all of these unprocessed ballots counted accurately. Stay tuned to ASA's blog, & check our website often for updates.  We'll be sure to keep you in the loop.  For more information about ASA's statewide push against Steve Cooley, check out http://NotCooley.com

The following is a guest blog by Marcus Boyd and Eugene Davidovich, San Diego Chapter of Americans for Safe Access.

District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis and her ‘fierce fight’ against medical marijuana patients suffered another devastating defeat this week. Advocates from the local chapter of Americans for Safe Access (SDASA), the nation’s largest advocacy group promoting safe and legal access to cannabis for therapeutic use and research, successfully obtained an order from the courts for the release of five large impounded medical cannabis plants. The judge ordered the plants released to a representative of SDASA for their safe keeping.

On Wednesday afternoon of this week, Marcus Boyd of SDASA retrieved the plants from San Diego County Sheriff’s evidence locker.

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The patient, to whom the plants belong, remains in custody for cultivating them despite all the charges in his case being dropped, and will receive his plants upon release.

On September 2, John Palmer, a resident of Imperial Beach was arrested by Detective Michael Thomas Neumann and other members of the San Diego Sheriff's Department during a ‘routine’ probation search. Following the search and the discovery of the plants, Palmer was charged with possession, possession for sale, and cultivation of marijuana.

At the time of the search Palmer was in full compliance with state law, in fact, deputies found Palmer's state issued Medical Marijuana Identification Card as well as another patients' doctor's recommendation posted on the wall next to the grow.

During the search, Palmer explained to deputies that he was lawfully and collectively growing the medicine, as approved by the Probation Department. He explained that three weeks earlier he was granted a court order from a judge specifically allowing him to grow marijuana while on probation.

Detective Neumann not being aware of the law, called the infamous local medical marijuana eradicator and ‘expert’ cultivator, Detective Steve Reed, to find out if Palmer could be charged with cultivation and possession for sale.  Detective Reed said, “medical pot? Ha! Book-em and charge-em!"

Deputies arrested Palmer, impounded the plants and incarcerated him in the Vista jail where he remains today and is scheduled to be released on Monday October 25, 2010.

The other patient who was collectively cultivating the plants with Palmer and whose collective grow was confiscated during Palmer's arrest was not arrested himself. After learning of Palmer's arrest he was able to quickly make contact with Marcus Boyd of SDASA in search of assistance.

Boyd, who hosts the monthly South Bay meeting for SDASA in Imperial Beach, immediately contacted Salina Epley, Palmer’s public defender in the case, began providing assistance with the case as well as attending Palmer’ court hearings along with SDASA Advisory Board Member Terrie Best.

During the court process, the prosecutor was insistent upon keeping Palmer in custody, despite being told by the Judge that Palmer would likely be found not guilty if the case went to trial. The Judge urged that a plea bargain be worked out.

All plea offers from the prosecutor were unreasonable and therefore unacceptable to Palmer. A plea deal was not reached and a trial date was set for November 10th.

On October 6th, Palmer was back in court for an evidentiary / readiness hearing. That day, after reviewing the motions filed by the public defender, the prosecutor moved to drop all marijuana related charges against Mr. Palmer.

At a prior hearing however, the judge ruled that the prosecutor had provided sufficient evidence to violate Palmer's probation status remanding him into custody for another 20 days.

In light of the extended jail time, the public defender conferred with her client and while officially on the record, recognized Americans for Safe Access's support in the case and formally requested the court, "immediately release the five mature plants to Americans for Safe Access's representative, Marcus Boyd, for safe keeping."

Surprisingly, the prosecutor did not argue, stipulated to the request, and the court did not hesitate in granting the motion.

John Palmer left the courtroom in good spirits and was very happy to have won his case. He yelled "thank you" while deputies escorted him out of court.

Yesterday morning with the court order in hand, Marcus Boyd and Eugene Davidovich of SDASA, went to the San Diego County Sheriff’s evidence room and picked up the plants with no delay or resistance from Detective Neumann or any other law enforcement officials.

In fact when Boyd called Detective Neumann and asked him to fax over a release of the property form to the evidence locker, Neumann replied “I don't have a problem with it and I won't stand in the way.  I'll send them whatever they need this morning.”

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When Boyd and Davidovich arrived to retrieve the property, it was found that all the plants had been clipped at the stem right above the roots. In fact the day they were confiscated, Detective Neuman, instead of transporting them and taking care of the property as required by procedure, simply cut them and stuffed them in a large paper bag, ensuring that they could not be usable when and if they were ever retrieved.

The plants were immediately rushed to Kim Twolan, the founder of Mother Earth Co-op located in Mission Hills.  Twolan, who is also a SDASA Advisory Board member and serves on San Diego City's Medical Marijuana Task Force after thorough examination and several attempts to revive the plants, pronounced them dead upon arrival.

Palmer intends to file a claim for the damaged property upon being released from custody on Monday.

SDASA member and local criminal defense attorney Melissa Bobrow has agreed to help Palmer with the property damage claim against the county.

Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen Trutanich was one of more than sixty people who gathered last night for a candlelight vigil for the victims of two violent attacks at medical cannabis collectives this week.  Two people were killed and one was seriously injured in two separate incidents on Thursday. The tragedies occurred in the midst of ongoing controversy about the city’s tough new medical cannabis ordinance. Trutanich told a reporter from West Coast Cannabis Magazine that he understood this was “not something [the victims] brought on themselves,” and said the police department would not rest until the murderers were brought to justice. Trutanich’s words are reassuring for patients and the victims’ loved ones, who fear this human tragedy may be politicized by medical cannabis opponents in the often emotional debate about regulating safe access in Los Angeles.  Fear of crime around medical cannabis facilities fueled efforts to adopt the state’s toughest medical cannabis ordinance earlier this year, but Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck told City Councilmembers and the media that reports of increased crime around collectives did not bear out. Unfortunately, Thursday’s tragedies differ little from similar crimes that occur at convenience stores, gas stations, or grocery stores in Los Angeles. These murders are not medical cannabis crimes. Trutanich is correct to keep the blame on the perpetrators, instead of the victims. His presence at last night’s vigil and sensible comments speak volumes to patients and advocates, most of whom take issue with his adversarial posture towards medical cannabis. Americans for Safe Access (ASA) would like to commend the City Attorney on his presence, and extend our heart-felt sympathies to the families of the victims. We call on the Los Angeles Police Department and City Council to do everything in their power to bring the murderers to justice, and ask that anyone who can help in their arrest or prosecution cooperate fully in that effort.

A troubling trend of excessive bails in medical marijuana cases has begun to occur over the past month. The operators of a long-standing Santa Barbara dispensary, currently held on $1 million bail each, are the latest victims of this unprovoked attack on medical marijuana providers. On Friday, the Santa Barbara Police Department and Sheriff’s Department raided HortiPharm, a medical marijuana dispensary operated by Joshua and Dayli Braun. Police also raided a restaurant owned by Dayli Braun, and several other locations, seizing large amounts of medical marijuana and growing equipment, and arresting a total of 7 people. According to reports received today by Americans for Safe Access, the District Attorney has issued a warrant for HortiPharm’s bookkeeper and also intends to hold him on $1 million bail. Less than three weeks ago, on May 26th, a San Fernando Valley dispensary operator was held on $1 million bail after Sheriffs from Los Angeles and Ventura raided two of his distribution facilities and Ventura County home. Needless to say, holding people on $1 million bail is rare and typically reserved for people accused of seriously violent acts, not for those simply providing medicine to patients. In theory, we are supposed to be protected from unreasonable bail under the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Arguably, the excessive bails we are seeing in recent medical marijuana cases are a violation of those rights. The Santa Barbara District Attorney’s office claims that HortiPharm violated the terms of the Compassionate Use Act, but has failed to provide any evidence. And, do such claims even justify holding people on million dollar bails? Two recent acquittals of dispensary operators by jury trial in San Diego have shown that criminal prosecution may not be the best way to address the issue of medical marijuana distribution. Local officials in Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Ventura and elsewhere would do better to approach alleged local or state law violations with civil, not criminal, actions. Keeping people needlessly locked up using excessive bail is not the right approach for a public health issue like medical marijuana.

Stooping to a new low, local law enforcement in California has resorted to identity theft in order to entrap, arrest and prosecute law-abiding medical marijuana providers. The Calaveras County Sheriff’s Department has admitted to using the physician’s recommendation and identity of legal medical marijuana patient Robert Shaffer in order to entrap and arrest Jay Smith, operator of the local “K Care Alternative Collective” dispensary. The Sheriff’s Department was in possession of Shaffer’s documentation as a result of an unrelated arrest. Despite complying with state law by refusing to sell Deputy Sheriff Steve Avila any medical marijuana before verifying the recommendation that he fraudulently used, Smith is still being prosecuted for felony marijuana sales and transportation. Surprisingly, at a recent hearing, Calaveras County Superior Court Judge Douglas Mewhinney overlooked Smith’s compliance with the law and said there was sufficient evidence for the case to proceed to trial. Shaffer’s physician, Dr. Philip A. Denney of Carmichael, verified that Shaffer was indeed a patient when K Care contacted Dr. Denney’s office after Deputy Avila deceptively used Shaffer’s valid medical marijuana recommendation. Dr. Denney, upset that his patient, Robert Shaffer, did not authorize such use of his medical records, told The Record that the investigation against Smith “smacks of entrapment and sleaziness.”

Dr. Philip Denney: The prosecution of Smith “smacks of entrapment and sleaziness.”

Calaveras Sheriff Dennis Downum defended the actions of Deputy Avila, but seemed confused about the letter of the law. In an appearance before the Calaveras Board of Supervisors, Sheriff Downum claimed erroneously that, “to provide medical marijuana to someone, there has to be a caregiver relationship.” In fact, if Sheriff Downum had brushed up on the law, he would have realized that for Smith to be in compliance with state law, he must operate as a collective or cooperative, not as a “caregiver.” While Sheriff Downum has no excuse to be ignorant of the law he’s upheld to enforce, Calaveras District Attorney Jeff Tuttle has no excuse to falsely prosecute Smith based on the same flawed interpretation of state law. In an interview with the Calaveras Enterprise, Tuttle echoed Sheriff Downum and said that his “understanding of the law is that…you have to be a primary caregiver to provide [patients] with marijuana.” In response to accusations of impropriety, District Attorney Tuttle said:

Law enforcement officers and investigations are allowed to do many things that as citizens we would be penalized criminally for, but the reason they are is that they are doing it as part of an investigation. They can mislead people, they can lie they can try to trick people.

Smith’s attorney, Ean Vizzi, called Tuttle’s assertions “absolutely incorrect,” not knowing whether Tuttle was just “mistaken or [if] he’s purposefully ignoring the law.” Sheriff Downum and Distriact Attorney Tuttle should not be let off the hook so easily. At best, they have seriously misinterpreted California’s medical marijuana law, and at worst the Sheriff could be responsible for “investigatorial misconduct” against Smith and Shaffer. If it’s determined that the Sheriff’s Department has violated any ethical or legal standards by assuming Shaffer’s identity to entrap Smith, the case against Smith should be promptly dismissed and Sheriff Downum should have to face the legal consequences.

I was heartened to hear last Saturday words that cut right through the federal war on medical marijuana patients by one of the likeliest candidates to be our next U.S. President. In an interview with Mail Tribune of Oregon, Barack Obama stated, in answer to a question on medical marijuana, “…I think the basic concept of using medical marijuana for the same purposes and with the same controls as other drugs prescribed by doctors, I think that's entirely appropriate.” Obama then uttered the following decisive and sensible phrase, giving hope to medical marijuana patients and advocates throughout the country:

I'm not going to be using Justice Department resources to try to circumvent state laws on this issue.

Ideally, Obama would commit to changing federal policy around medical marijuana and allow legal access to those who benefit from it. Unfortunately, the federal government continues to ignore the mountain of evidence that marijuana has medical efficacy for a number of health conditions. Eventually, the federal government will align with the vast majority of U.S. citizens that support medical marijuana, and maybe that day will come with Obama in the White House. In the meantime, however, we can at least get the Bush Administration to end its harmful medical marijuana raids. While Obama’s words may not be strong enough to pierce the flak jackets of this Administration’s DEA agents, they may eventually resonate with the new DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart or Attorney General Michael Mukasey (and maybe they need to hear from more of us too). What Obama’s words do give us is hope for the future; that, at the least, the federal government will not hinder states that choose to establish medical marijuana laws. No need to sit around for that day to come, though. There’s something that we can do right now to ensure that outcome and more quickly. Americans for Safe Access has been urging the top candidates to pledge that they will introduce an Executive Order to end DEA activity in states that have passed medical marijuana laws. Sound familiar? Maybe he lifted the idea from our Executive Order campaign. Regardless, he has not formally pledged yet. Here’s your chance to urge Obama and Clinton to officially pledge to introduce an Executive Order, if elected President, that cuts off funding to the Department of Justice for enforcement against medical marijuana in states that have adopted such laws. Please consider emailing either or both of them from our Executive Order campaign page, or write to them at the following addresses: Senator Hillary Clinton Hillary for President 4420 North Fairfax Drive Arlington, VA 22203 Senator Barack Obama Obama for America P.O. Box 8102 Chicago, IL 60680 Just last week, six dispensaries were raided by the DEA in the Los Angeles area, aptly illustrating how this issue could not be more timely and important for our next President. Act now!

California Supreme Court Affirms ASA Win in Return of Property Case From California Campaign Director, Don Duncan

On Wednesday, the California Supreme Court declined to review or "de-publish" the landmark ruling in City of Garden Grove v. Superior Court of Orange County (Felix Kha case) that upheld the right to return of wrongfully confiscated medical cannabis, despite federal law! The decision in Felix Kha's case was a huge victory for patients, but we feared the worst after the City of Corona asked the Supreme Court to review the case. The Court might have "de-published" the case, making it impossible to cite as a precedent in other litigation.

Wednesday's ruling was an about-face from the Supreme Court's unconscionable ruling allowing employment discrimination against legal patients in Ross v. Raginwire Telecommunications.

Now that the Felix Kha decision has been vindicated, patients and caregivers can challenge the wrongful confiscation of medicine in any court in the state. This will leave local law enforcement with a tough choice - obey California law or face a torrent of litigation under this decision. No longer can they hide behind the illusion of enforcing federal law. We have been waiting a long time for a ruling that would put some teeth in Proposition 215. This is a big incisor! ASA spent years identifying this test case, preparing for the fight, and arguing in court. That is the kind of long-term, big picture thinking it is going to take to break the culture of resistance among some California police officers. This summer, ASA will beef up its return of property campaign to be sure every patient and caregiver in the state enjoys the full benefit of this precedent. Have a look at ASA Staff Counsel Joe Elford's blog on this topic at http://www.AmericansForSafeAccess.org/blog/?p=74 ASA, Operators, and Advocates Call on State to Protect Tax Revenue

On Tuesday, advocates and dispensary operators from throughout the state met up in Sacramento to testify at the Board of Equalization's hearing to help protect safe access and sales tax. The group met with the Board to encourage them to protect an important source of revenue - $100 million in sales tax collected annually by medical marijuana dispensaries.

ASA's Chief of Staff, Rebecca Saltzman testified first saying that dispensaries' tax revenue is in danger, due to increased federal interference in the state medical marijuana program. In 2007 alone, the DEA raided more than 50 medical marijuana providers, and they embarked on a new strategy, sending more than 300 letters to landlords of dispensaries, threatening property owners with criminal prosecution and asset forfeiture. She also mentioned House Judiciary Committee Chairman Conyers' intent to hold the DEA accountable for their actions against patients in future oversight hearings. Read Saltzman's report on the hearing on ASA's blog.

Following Rebecca Saltzman was Californial NORML's Dale Geiringer who broke down the numbers for the BOE, focusing on the amount of tax revenue dispensaries produce. He also discussed the problem of the DEA seizing assets from dispensaries.

Geiringer was followed by several dispensary operators and former operators from Berkeley, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, and Sonoma who explained the DEA threats they have been forced to face. Read more in Rebecca Saltzman's blog about the hearing.

DEA Raids 5 Los Angeles Dispensaries

On Thursday, the DEA raided 6 dispensaries and the private residence of an operator in Los Angeles. All of the dispensaries are from a single family of collectives. The collectives raided were:

The Holistic Caregivers, Compton Western Caregivers Group, LA Crenshaw Holistic Caregivers Group, LA THC Gardena, Gardena Southern California Caregivers Group, LA (SFV) Med Ex, LA

No arrests were made and the collectives, which took only minor losses due to careful precautions, are expected to reopen today. During one of the raids, acitivists at the site protesting over heard one of the DEA officers tell the others that "the alert has gone out" and "they're on the way." This further shows that ASA's Raid Response Emergency Text Messaging system is working!

Sign up for ASA's Emergency Response Text Messaging System to receive instant alerts about raids in your area. Visit www.AmericansforSafeAccess.org/RaidAlert

Look for an announcement over the next few days about LA ASA's response to the raids at Los Angeles City Hall and the downtown Federal Building on Tuesday morning.

Dr. Mollie Fry and Dale Schafer Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison

Federal Judge Frank C. Damrell sentenced Dr. Mollie Fry and her husband, Dale Schafer to five years in prison for "conspiracy to grow marijuana and manufacturing it in a medicinal marijuana case." During the four hour sentencing hearing, Judge Damrell said he had no choice but to issue the statutory minimum of five years in federal prison with an option to appeal the decision. The couple has posted bail at $25,000 per person as they await appeal.

On September 28, 2001, the DEA raided the Cool, California (El Dorado County) clinic of medical marijuana physician and breast cancer patient Mollie Fry and her husband, attorney and hemophilia and chronic pain patient Dale Schafer, and seized patient records. Almost immediately after the Raich decision, on June 22, 2005, Fry and Schafer were arrested and indicted for marijuana found on the premises during the raid. In 2002, the federal government also successfully revoked Fry's DEA license to practice medicine.

In order to convince the jury to convict on charges of cultivation of more than 100 plants, the U.S. Attorney took the unusual and controversial step of aggregating the plants in gardens from three different years. Additionally, Judge Damrell did not allow them to explain to the jury that the El Dorad County Sheriffs and District Attorney had previously given them active permission to grow their relatively modest garden.

Fry and Schafer are currently caring for three beautiful children and two grandchildren in their home.

Read more about the hearing in the Sacramento Bee.

Local Updates: Santa Barbara Approves Dispensary Ordinance and Sacramento Votes Against ID Cards This week, the Santa Barbara City Council unanimously voted to approve a citywide dispensary ordinance. The vote came after a 6-month moratorium which began last summer. The Santa Barbara ASA chapter has been diligently working to urge the city council to develop and implement a dispensary ordinance for over a year. Santa Barbara has seven dispensaries. Under the new regulations, only one dispensary will be in full compliance. The city council foresaw this problem and placed an addendum to the ordinance allowing the current dispensaries three years to fall into compliance with the new ordinance.

While the Santa Barbara City Council was voting for new regulations to protect safe access for patients, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors voted against implementing the state medical cannabis ID card program. The County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 against the program. Many patients testified at the hearing asking the board to adopt the program, but the board refused. The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department and District Attorney testified against the program citing concern that the program would encourage marijuana use.

Thank you to Sacramento ASA chapter, Aaron Smith from the Marijuana Policy Project, and all of the other medical cannabis advocates who have been working for months to urge the Board of Supervisors to adopt the program.

To read more about Santa Barbara and Sacramento read the Santa Barbara Independent Article and the Sacramento Bee Article.

 

Hours ago, the California Supreme Court denied review, as well as a request for depublication, of Garden Grove v. Superior Court. This was the 41-page published decision that strongly affirms the right of medical marijuana patients to possess their medicine without law enforcement harassment and requires courts to order the return of marijuana that was improperly seized by the police. The decision seemed unlikely to survive the California Supreme Court's scrutiny after the Supreme Court's horrendous decision in Ross v. RagingWire. Now, the decision ihas withstood this challenge and is binding on all of the superior courts of this state. Whereas the California Attorney General was on our side, all of the largest police officers' associations, as well as the California District Attorney's Association, filed briefs against us and plead with the Supreme Court to grant review of the case. Their desire for the published decision be repealed is understandable. It rejects all of the meritless arguments made by the police in no uncertain terms, especially in the last five pages. In particular, the decision states that California's laws are not preempted by federal law and that "it must be remembered it is not the job of the local police to enforce the federal drug laws as such." So much for the police's purported confusion about which law to enforce. The decision also contains many other quotable passages. Among them is the court's rejection of the characterization of medical marijuana patients as "criminals." In response to the police, the court states as follows:

Characterizing Kha as a “criminal defendant,” amici claim the CUA only provides him with a “defense” to certain offenses and does not make his possession of medical marijuana “lawful.” But Kha is clearly not a criminal defendant with respect to the subject marijuana. Since the prosecution dismissed the drug charge he was facing, he is nothing more than an aggrieved citizen who is seeking the return of his property. The terms “criminal” and “defendant” do not aptly apply to him.

This court got it. I am elated their words remain "published" and binding on every superior court and law enforcement as well.