Southern California Legal Growers

PLUM fumbles
September 29th, 2009 | No Comments | Posted in » Medical Marijuana Information

Medical cannabis advocates left today’s Planning and Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee disappointed when, after more than two hours of comments and debate, the committee voted unanimously to approve a badly flawed ordinance prepared by the City Attorney’s office. Chairman Ed Reyes gave staff four pages of instructions amending the ordinance before sending it on to the Public Safety Committee. However, advocates argue that the amendments do not address the key issues that make the ordinance unworkable – the legal status of storefront collectives, sales of cannabis, and patient-cultivator privacy.

Like his predecessor, City Attorney Carmen Trutanich insists that sales of medical cannabis and storefront facilities that provide it to members of patients’ collectives and cooperatives are illegal. As a result of this faulty interpretation of law, the City Attorney’s staff developed a draft ordinance that seeks to regulate the collective cultivation of medical cannabis, instead of the storefront facilities from which medicine is provided. Trutanich’s position is in conflict with guidelines published by the California Attorney General last year and a growing body of case law.

This conflict over regulations in Los Angeles is explored in greater detail in a White Paper prepared by Americans for Safe Access (ASA) and the Greater Los Angeles Collective Alliance (GLACA). I will publish a more detailed analysis of the City Attorney’s draft ordinance when a draft incorporating today’s changes in available (probably next week).

The City Attorney’s intransigence on this issue may be due, in large part, to his fundamental opposition to medical cannabis in the city. ASA released documents today showing that Mr. Trutanich will be a headliner at a training luncheon for local law enforcement entitled “Eradicating Medical Cannabis Dispensaries in Los Angeles and Los Angeles County” on October 8. I reminded PLUM Committee members to consider the bias reflected by participation in an event like this when considering the City Attorney’s analysis of medical cannabis law. Is he working with the City Council to regulate safe access, or at cross-purposes to eradicate it?

Not all of the debate today was about the minutia of the Health and Safety Code and its interpretation in court. Councilmember Dennis Zine got some chuckles when he defended his recent radio comments, in which he referred to collective operators who are breaking the law as “greedy bastards.” He also surprised advocates by calling on the City Attorney’s office to call in the Drug Enforcement Administration to close recalcitrant collectives that refuse to close after the denial of their hardship application. This drew condemnation from Dege Coutee of the Patients Advocacy Network, and audible boos from the crowd.

Councilmember’s Zine’s suggestion is more likely to be the result frustration than an articulation of a new policy. He made his initial motion to study regulations in 2005. The issue has been before the Committee numerous times, usually with long and passionate debate. He and his colleagues are impatient for an ordinance – which may be why they are willing to move forward with a flawed policy, in lieu of more inertia. We can only hope Councilmembers bring fresh eyes and open minds to the coming debate in the Public Safety Committee and before the full City Council.

Implement, Don't Eradicate!
ASA protests in Montebello 10/08

Americans for Safe Access (ASA) is calling on patients and advocates to join a peaceful demonstration against plans to eliminate medical cannabis collectives in Los Angeles. We need everyone who believes in medical cannabis to come out to Montebello next week and tell local officials and police that we expect implementation of our state laws – not the eradication of safe access to medicine.

On Thursday, October 8, Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley and Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen Trutanich will join local law enforcement for a training luncheon hosted by the California Narcotics Officers Association (CNOA) entitled “Eradicating Medical Marijuana Dispensaries in the City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County.”

Over their choice of chicken or beef, local police officers and prosecutors will learn how to close medical cannabis collectives and prosecute their operators. The District Attorney and City Attorney consider all medical cannabis collectives to be illegal – even if they follow state law. Legal patients rely on these collectives for doctor-recommended medicine to treat the symptoms of HIV/AIDS, cancer, Multiple Sclerosis, chronic pain, and other serious conditions.

The CNOA and local law enforcement are working at cross-purposes to the Los Angeles City Council, which is working to craft regulations for patients’ collectives. This is an important task for patients and the community at large. Research shows that sensible regulations protect access for legal patients, while reducing crime and complaints around collectives. We must not let medical cannabis opponents and ideologues derail the long campaign for safe access!

Please join ASA, the the nation’s largest organization of patients, medical professionals, scientists and concerned citizens promoting safe and legal access to cannabis for therapeutic use and research; in defending safe access in Los Angeles County. Bring signs, banners, drums, bullhorns, drinking water, and your friends and loved ones to Montebello next week.

What: Peaceful Protest in Montebello – “Implementation, Not Eradication!”

When: 10:30 AM * Thursday, October 8

Where: At the entrance to the Montebello Country Club, at the intersection of N. Garfield Ave. and Via San Clemente (near the 60 Freeway) in Montebello

Info: [email protected]

---

Read more about the CNOA training luncheon at http://safeaccessnow.org/blog/?p=316

Read “Advancing Medical Cannabis Regulations in Los Angeles” at http://www.AmericansForsafeAccess.org/LAordinance

Learn more about ASA at http://www.AmericansForSafeAccess.org

Get some background information about the regulatory process in Los Angeles at:
http://aboutmedicalmarijuana.com/2009/0 … m-fumbles/ and
http://aboutmedicalmarijuana.com/2009/0 … lay-in-la/
Don Duncan
ASA California Campaign Director
Americans for Safe Access (ASA) is the largest national member-based organization of patients, medical professionals, scientists and concerned citizens promoting safe and legal access to cannabis for therapeutic use and research.

Please get your friends to take this survey. It's important. We're going to get the results to the LA city counsel before they start "eradicating" legal medical marijuana dispensaries and collectives in LA. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=3qNsNcv_2fbESD_2bZ8hs5_2fcEQ_3d_3d

Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley said Thursday he will prosecute medical marijuana dispensaries for over-the-counter sales, targeting a practice that has become commonplace under an initiative approved by California voters more than a decade ago.

"The vast, vast, vast majority, about 100%, of dispensaries in Los Angeles County and the city are operating illegally, they are dealing marijuana illegally, according to our theory," he said. "The time is right to deal with this problem."

Cooley and Los Angeles City Atty. Carmen Trutanich recently concluded that state law bars sales of medical marijuana, an opinion that could spark a renewed effort by law enforcement across the state to rein in the use of marijuana. It comes as polls show a majority of state voters back legalization of marijuana, and supporters are working to place the issue on the ballot next year.

The district attorney's office is investigating about a dozen dispensaries, following police raids, and is considering filing felony charges against one that straddles the Los Angeles-Culver City line.

"We have our strategy and we think we are on good legal ground," Cooley said.

Medical marijuana advocates say the prosecutors are misinterpreting the law.

"I'm confident that they are not right," said Joe Elford, chief counsel for Americans for Safe Access. "If they are right, it would mean that thousands of seriously ill Californians for whom the Compassionate Use Act was intended to help would not be able to get the medicine that they need."

Law enforcement officials have been frustrated by the explosion in the number of dispensaries in Southern California, arguing that most are for-profit enterprises that violate the 1996 voter initiative legalizing medical marijuana and the 2003 state law permitting collective cultivation. Cooley's announcement, coming at a news conference that followed a training session he and Trutanich conducted for narcotics officers, dramatically raises the stakes.

In the city of Los Angeles, some estimates put the number of dispensaries as high as 800. The city allowed 186 to remain open under its 2007 moratorium, but hundreds of others opened in violation of the ban while the city did nothing to shut them down.

In August, Cooley and Sheriff Lee Baca sent a letter to all mayors and police chiefs in the county, saying that they believed over-the-counter sales were illegal and encouraging cities to adopt permanent bans on dispensaries.

Mark Kleiman, a professor of public policy at UCLA and an expert on drug policy, was not surprised that local prosecutors had decided to attack the rapid proliferation of marijuana stores.

"I think it's a natural response to the rather flagrant marketing practices of a bunch of the dispensaries. The medical veneer has been wearing thinner and thinner," he said. "I've always wondered why those things were legal when they didn't look legal to me."

Cooley said he believes that under state law, collectives must raise their own marijuana and can only recoup their costs. "That's absolutely legal," he said. "We're going to respect that."

But he said none of them currently do that.

The district attorney's warning could make the situation more chaotic in Los Angeles, where the City Council has struggled for two years to devise an ordinance to control the distribution of medical marijuana.

In addition to prosecuting dispensaries, Cooley said he would consider going after doctors who write medical marijuana recommendations for healthy people. Medical marijuana critics argue that some doctors freely recommend the drug to people who are not ill.

Medical marijuana advocates celebrated a brief thaw in the enforcement climate after the Obama administration signaled earlier this year that it would not prosecute collectives that followed state law. That spurred many entrepreneurs to open dispensaries in Los Angeles. As stores popped up near schools and parks, neighborhood activists reacted with outrage and police took notice.

Councilman Dennis Zine, a key player on the issue at L.A. City Hall, welcomed Cooley's decision to prosecute dispensaries. "There are many that are operating illegally and it's not a secret," he said, adding that he believes "a few" collectives in the city are operating legally.

Anticipating that police departments will ramp up raids on dispensaries, medical marijuana advocates reacted with dismay to Cooley's announcement.

"What we'll see is a big disruption," said Don Duncan, the California director for Americans for Safe Access. He called Cooley's decision "incredible" and said, "It certainly sounds scary."

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Copyright © 2009, The Los Angeles Times

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=138761518164
AMMA 10th Anniversary Celebration
"Who Will Win "Patient's Choice Award 2009"? Your Judge's Pack, containing top strains from this year's harvest, is waiting for you to judge and decide."

This event is planned to start at 9:00 pm on Oct 23, 2009 at The location is secret and will only be disclosed to actual ticket holders, 24 hours before the event.

That sums it up in socal...

Our disp owners for the most part are glorified drug dealers.

Thats not to say that there are a few out there that actually care. I have been seeing this issue developing more and more and it inspired me to actually attempt to start a collective that is following california law to a t.

It really is going to be fairly difficult to have everything needed there and the orchestration is a lot worse then how people have been operating currently.

Marijuana Testing

By Michael Backes

CityWatch
Vol 7 Issue 86
Pub: Oct 20, 2009

LA City Attorney, Mr. Carmen Trutanich, has been all over the media trying
to convince Los Angeles that a pesticide used to kill Mexican fire ants is
evidence that medical cannabis provided by dispensaries is poisonous and
supporting Mexican drug cartels.

According to Mr. Trutanich, three samples of medical marijuana from
"controlled buys" by undercover LAPD were tested by an FDA laboratory. On
these samples, Mr Trutanich said the lab found high concentrations of an
insecticide uncommon in California that is used to kill fire ants in Mexico.
Trutanich claims this Mexican fire ant insecticide is evidence that LA
medical cannabis is being supplied by the Mexican drug cartels.

Except... There are no Mexican fire ants. There is the notorious red
imported fire ant - solenopsis invicta - but that's from Brazil, not Mexico.
Those fire ants were accidentally imported into the US in the 1930's then
spread across the southern United States. Fire ants were never found in
Mexico, until they crossed the Texas border into northern Mexico a few years
back. The range of fire ants has not extended deeply into Mexico.

Pesticide testing is not a trivial exercise. It requires very sensitive
machines that are capable of detecting just a few molecules. The FDA
certainly has these machines, but were the samples provided by Mr. Trutanich
sufficient?

Pesticide testing requires a large plant sample to produce precise results.
EMA, one of the largest testing labs in California, requires a minimum 200
gram sample. No marijuana dispensary in LA sells cannabis in 200 gram
lots. It's more likely that Mr Trutanich would have had much smaller
samples tested, with a much higher risk of error in the testing.

There are no pesticide residue tolerances established for cannabis by the
EPA, the FDA or The California Department of Pesticide Regulation. It takes
careful research to establish these tolerances on a pesticide-by-pesticide
basis, but that work has not been done. This research is important, because
the acceptable ranges vary by plant species.

The insecticide that Mr Trutanich claims was found on his samples of
cannabis was bifenthrin. Bifenthrin belongs to a common class of
insecticides called pyrethroids.

Mr Trutanich claims that California restricts the use of bifenthrin because
of its toxicity to humans. Mr. Trutanich is incorrect.

California restricts the use of bifenthrin because of its

The Superior Court judge's decision undermines the city's 4-month-old drive to shut down hundreds of the stores.

By John Hoeffel

10: 02 PM PDT, October 19, 2009

Los Angeles' ban on new medical marijuana dispensaries is invalid, a Superior Court judge said Monday in a decision that undermines the city's 4- month-old drive to shut down hundreds of the stores.

The judge issued an injunction banning enforcement of the moratorium against Green Oasis, a dispensary in Playa Vista that had challenged the ban. But city officials acknowledged the ruling would effectively block current efforts to enforce the ban against other dispensaries.

The decision came on the day the Obama administration issued guidelines that limit federal prosecution of medical marijuana users and dispensaries. A Justice Department memo makes official a policy change that the president adopted earlier this year -- one that inadvertently contributed to the city's dizzying dispensary boom.

Those actions cheered supporters of medical marijuana, but Los Angeles officials insisted they were committed to closing down and prosecuting dispensaries. The city attorney and the district attorney maintain that most are selling marijuana for profit in violation of state law.

Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley did not back off that position Monday. "A collaboration of numerous agencies, including federal, state and local police agencies, county and city prosecutors, will combat the proliferation of illegal medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles City and County," he said.

Several City Council members said the ruling will force them to take quick action to pass an ordinance that could lead to law enforcement raids to close dispensaries that opened after the moratorium was adopted in August 2007.

"Anyone who doesn't comply is going to be taken down," warned Councilman Dennis Zine, who initiated the council's consideration of dispensaries more than four years ago. "Once we take a few down and some publicity comes about, those who are in it for the cash business will say it's too hot, let's get out of it."

David Berger, a special assistant to City Atty. Carmen Trutanich, said a new draft of the ordinance would be submitted to the council today.

Berger also acknowledged the moratorium had been extended improperly and said the city would not appeal.

At Monday's hearing, Judge James C. Chalfant said he had hoped to learn that the council had adopted a permanent ordinance. "I thought you would come in and tell me this was all moot," he said.

"This is the city of Los Angeles," replied Assistant City Atty. Jeri Burge. "Sometimes it goes slowly."

City Councilman Greig Smith, who heads the Public Safety Committee, said he may send the proposed ordinance to the full council for emergency consideration so it could be approved immediately. The measure has been debated for more than two years in the planning committee and was recently sent to Smith's panel.

Chalfant's decision dismayed community activists, who have pleaded with the council to crack down on dispensaries that have opened up throughout the city but are heavily concentrated in some neighborhoods.

"It looks like not only will the ones that are open continue to operate, but there will be more that open also, and the whole business will start expanding exponentially, I think, knowing that L.A. city is completely inept at handling control on these," said Michael Larsen, the public safety director for the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council.

In his decision, Chalfant concluded that the city had failed to follow state requirements when it extended its initial moratorium. "The city cannot rely on an expired ordinance," he said.

Burge warned, "You're going to open the floodgates."

In a court filing, the city said an injunction would cause "grave irreparable harm."

"This lawsuit is not just about one 'bad apple.' It is about illegally dealing marijuana," the city argued. "Hundreds of unlawful marijuana stores have cropped up throughout the city and will likely attempt to bootstrap their illegal operation on the outcome of this action."

Chalfant dismissed that claim, saying the city had other means to shut down dispensaries. "That's so clearly in your hands," he said, noting that some cities have adopted outright bans.

Robert A. Kahn, the attorney for Green Oasis, said the city was trying to punish dispensaries for a situation that arose from the council's own failures.

"They clearly blew it, they blew the way they are supposed to be handling these ordinances," he said. "The Compassionate Use Act was passed in 1996. What have they been doing for the last 13 years?"

The council started to look at the issue in 2005, when Zine asked the Police Department for a report on dispensaries. The moratorium took effect Sept.

14, 2007, and allowed 186 dispensaries to remain in business. The City Council extended the moratorium to last for two years. It adopted a second moratorium to last through mid-March.

In court Monday, the city argued that the council did not need to comply with a state law that requires certain steps to extend a zoning moratorium. Burge argued that it was a public safety, rather than a zoning, moratorium. Zoning moratoriums cannot be extended beyond 24 months. Chalfant quickly dispensed with that theory.

"Although there may be overtones of public safety," he said, "this is a zoning issue."

Besides failing to adhere to state law when it extended the ban, the city also failed to enforce it.

Hundreds of dispensaries filed applications for hardship exemptions from the moratorium, and many opened without permission. The City Council began to deny those requests this summer, which allowed city officials to file civil or criminal charges. None have been filed, however, and Berger said the city attorney's office now will not file charges until there is a permanent ordinance.

Green Oasis, which is on Jefferson Boulevard just west of the 405 Freeway, sought a hardship exemption in April and opened in May, without waiting for the City Council to act on the request. In July, the City Council denied the exemption. The city attorney's office notified Green Oasis that its operators faced civil and criminal violations, including a $1,000 fine and six months in jail. The dispensary sued last month.

Dan Lutz, a co-owner of Green Oasis, said he was relieved by the decision but wished he was not in an adversarial stance with the city. "A lot of the collectives out there are wanting to do a good job and provide a valuable service for the community, and we're actually surprised that we're in this position in L.A.," he said.Lutz's dispensary was in the city's sights even before he filed suit.

An undercover narcotics officer visited at least twice, according to a declaration Officer Brent Olsen filed with the court. On Sept. 2, he said he handed over his identification and doctor's recommendation and filled out a form. Buzzed into an interior room, he said he was told there were 60 strains available. He paid $58 for one-eighth of an ounce of marijuana. On Sept. 10, he paid $55 for another eighth.

"It is my opinion that the dispensary is being used to sell marijuana," Olsen said in the declaration. He noted that he had not participated as a member of a collective or in any collective cultivation.

Lutz could also be in jeopardy on other grounds. The city attorney's office says the dispensary failed to obtain a building permit or a certificate of occupancy.

"They could come after us for many things," Lutz said. "What can we do?"

[email protected]

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-pot-moratorium20-2009oct20,0,2288177.story

Its short notice, but if you can make it out today please do:

Day of Action List of Events:

Los Angeles
Rally at Los Angeles City Hall
200 N. Main St. Entrance, Downtown LA
2:15 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.


San Francisco
[email protected]
Rally at Congressional Office of Nancy Pelosi
90 7th Street, San Francisco, 94103
Noon to 1 p.m.


San Diego
[email protected]
Rally at CA Narcotic Officers Assoc. Awards Ceremony
Double Tree Hotel
7450 Hazard Center Drive
5:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.


Riverside
[email protected]
Rally at Riverside County Courthouse
Corner of 10th and Main Streets, Riverside Civic Center
5 p.m. to 6:15 p.m.

On Wednesday, October 28, representatives from NORML and California NORML will testify before the California Assembly Committee on Public Safety at an informational hearing entitled, "Legalization of Marijuana: Social, Fiscal and Legal Implications for California."

The hearing will take place from 10am to 1pm in Room 126 of the State Capitol in Sacramento. The hearing will be chaired by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, sponsor of Assembly Bill 390, the Marijuana Control, Regulation, and Education Act. You can read drafts of NORML's prepared testimony here and here.

This is expected to be a groundbreaking hearing and will set the table for future hearings on AB 390. Please show your support for marijuana law reform by contacting the Committee on Public Safety and expressing your support for AB 390 and sensible marijuana law reform.

Committee Members District Phone E-mail
Tom Ammiano - Chair
Dem-13 (916) 319-2013 [email protected]

Curt Hagman - Vice Chair
Rep-60 (916) 319-2060 [email protected]

Juan Arambula
Ind-31 (916) 319-2031 [email protected]

Warren T. Furutani
Dem-55 (916) 319-2055 [email protected]

Danny D. Gilmore
Rep-30 (916) 319-2030 [email protected]

Jerry Hill
Dem-19 (916) 319-2019 [email protected]

Fiona Ma
Dem-12 (916) 319-2012 [email protected]

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SOURCE: TOWN HALL Los Angeles

Oct 27, 2009 18:25 ET
City Attorney Trutanich Shares His Vision With TOWN HALL Los Angeles
Highlighted Links

Register for Carmen Trutanich

Join TOWN HALL Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwire - October 27, 2009) - "A Vision for a Better, Safer Los Angeles" will be the topic of a keynote address to be delivered by LA City Attorney Carmen Trutanich on Tuesday, November 10, 2009, at the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy.
Sworn in to office on July 1, 2009, Trutanich will expound on his vision of issues currently facing the city including medical marijuana dispensary sites and what happens next; gang violence injunctions, grafitti and vandalism; City Hall philosophy: governance, transparency, accountability, and civil litigation issues or lawsuits brought against the city.
On what his department can do about homelessness in downtown Los Angeles, Trutanich stated, "We tend to drive away from Downtown and forget that there are lives that we leave behind. We've got to make it more important that people remember there are people here, human beings that want to retain some sort of dignity. I'm in the position to see what the law allows us to do… We need some enforcement, don't get me wrong, but we need a hand and not a heavy hand."
With more than 500 lawyers and 1,000 employees overall, the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office is among the largest government legal offices in the country. It is the third-largest government law office in California, following the Attorney General's Office and the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
In 1998, Trutanich formed Trutanich-Michel, LLP, where he worked as an attorney focusing on environmental litigation. Upon completing his law degree at South Bay University College of Law, Trutanich went to work for the LA County District Attorney's Office, in the Hard Core Gang Division. Trutanich earned both his undergraduate degree and MBA from the University of Southern California.
TOWN HALL Los Angeles has been a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization since 1937, supported by Angelenos, foundations and corporations who believe in open public discussion. We advocate for no side, represent no particular ideology and stand solidly in support of free speech, civility and a belief that knowledge is a priceless commodity. To learn more visit www.townhall-la.org.
All accredited members of the media are invited to cover this event.
**Please credit TOWN HALL Los Angeles in your coverage.
When: Tuesday, November 10, 2009
12:00 PM Luncheon; 12:30 PM Program

Where: National Center for the Preservation of Democracy
111 North Central Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Contact:
Deborah Weinberg
Director, Media Relations
213.312.9307
Email Contact
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By Paul Armentano, AlterNet
Posted on October 28, 2009, Printed on October 28, 2009
http://www.alternet.org/story/143558/
The following is the testimony NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano will deliver on Oct. 28 to the California Assembly Public Safety Committee's special hearing on "the legalization of marijuana: social, fiscal and legal implications for California." Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, sponsor of AB 390, The Marijuana Control, Regulation and Education Act, is the chairman of the committee.
By any objective standard, marijuana prohibition is an abject failure.
Nationwide, U.S. law enforcement have arrested over 20 million American citizens for marijuana offenses since 1965, yet today marijuana is more prevalent than ever before, adolescents have easier access to marijuana than ever before, the drug is more potent than ever before, and there is more violence associated with the illegal marijuana trade than ever before.
Over 100 million Americans nationally have used marijuana despite prohibition, and 1 in 10 -- according to current government survey data -- use it regularly.
The criminal prohibition of marijuana has not dissuaded anyone from using marijuana or reduced its availability; however, the strict enforcement of this policy has adversely impacted the lives and careers of millions of people who simply elected to use a substance to relax that is objectively safer than alcohol.
NORML believes that the state of California ought to amend criminal prohibition and replace it with a system of legalization, taxation, regulation and education.
The case for legalization and regulation
Only through state government regulation will we be able to bring necessary controls to the commercial marijuana market. (Note: Nonretail cultivation for adult personal use would arguably not be subject to such regulations, just as the personal, noncommercial production by adults of beer is not governed by such restriction.) By enacting state and local legislation on the retail production and distribution of marijuana, state and local governments can effectively impose controls regarding:
• which citizens can legally produce marijuana;
• which citizens can legally distribute marijuana;
• which citizens can legally consume marijuana; and where, and under what circumstances such use is legally permitted.
By contrast, the criminal prohibition of marijuana -- the policy the state of California has in place now -- provides law enforcement and state regulators with no legitimate market controls. This absence of state and local government controls jeopardizes rather than promotes public safety.
For example:
• Prohibition abdicates the control of marijuana production and distribution to criminal entrepreneurs (i.e. drug cartels, street gangs, drug dealers who push additional illegal substances);
• Prohibition provides young people with unfettered access to marijuana (e.g., according to a 2009 Columbia University report, adolescents now have easier access to marijuana than they do alcohol);
• Prohibition promotes the use of marijuana in inappropriate and potentially dangerous settings (e.g., in automobiles, in public parks, in public restrooms, etc.)
• Prohibition promotes disrespect for the law and reinforces ethnic and generation divides between the public and law enforcement. (According to the FBI's Uniform Crime Report, 75 percent of all marijuana arrestees are under age 30; African Americans account for only 12 percent of marijuana users but make up 23 percent of all possession arrests).
Marijuana is not a harmless substance -- no potentially mind-altering substance is. But this fact is precisely why its commercial production and distribution ought to be controlled and regulated in manner similar to the licensed distribution of alcohol and cigarettes -- two legal substances that cause far greater harm to the individual user, and to society as a whole, than cannabis ever could.
Taxing and regulating cannabis in a manner similar to alcohol will bring long-overdue state oversight to a commercial market that is presently unregulated, uncontrolled and all too often inundated by criminal entrepreneurs.
While this alternative may not entirely eliminate the black-market demand for cannabis, it would certainly be preferable to today's blanket, although thoroughly ineffective, expensive and impotent, criminal prohibition.
Voters nationwide, and in California in particular, support ending criminal marijuana prohibition. This past spring, 56 percent of California voters expressed support for taxing and regulating marijuana in a statewide Field poll.
Doing so would give greater control to state law enforcement officials and regulators by imposing proper state restrictions and regulations on this existing and widespread marijuana market.
I urge this committee to move forward with the enactment of sensible regulations for legalizing marijuana.
Paul Armentano is the deputy director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) and is the co-author of the book Marijuana Is Safer: So Why Are We Driving People to Drink (2009, Chelsea Green).
© 2009 Independent Media Institute. All rights reserved.
View this story online at: http://www.alternet.org/story/143558/

UPDATED THURSDAY 10/29/09 - NORML representatives will be speaking about
the 3 raids and arrests by LAPD on collectives yesterday (10/28/09) in the
San Fernando Valley as well as the raid by LAPD last week on Craig Rubin's
Temple 420.

Please attend if you can.
----------

Los Angeles NORML Letter Writing Party @ Bruce Margolin's Office, Sun Nov
1st, 9-11:30 AM


----------

NOTE: We are extending an invitation to ALL patient activist groups to
attend and participate. We are also asking all activist organizations to
please circulate this notice to your members as we need to put our
collective thoughts together and come up with a plan. Thank you.

----------


Los Angeles NORML will be hosting a "Letter Writing Party" get together on
Sunday morning November 1st at Bruce Margolin's Law office in West
Hollywood from 9-11:30 am.

We are asking people to give us an hour of their time, that's all. More
would be great.

The purpose of the meeting will be to discuss the current situation in Los
Angeles and also to write letters to Los Angeles city officials about the
medical marijuana ordinance that will then be hand delivered to each
council members office on Monday Nov 2nd.

Also letters will be written to state officials urging support of AB 390,
the Ammiano bill.

In talks with aides to council members it has become clear that we need to
start an old fashioned letter writing campaign. Many aides have told me to
"have your people write letters instead of yelling outside".

What we are told constantly is that politicians like to look at stacks of
letters from constituents and point to them and say "look at all these
letters I get about this". Apparently emails and phone calls have a much
less effect, they are tallied and quantified but letters are actually
read.

And the more letters we write the greater our impact will be.

This could be groundbreaking, getting all the local activist patients and
groups together to plan a unified action.


What: Los Angeles NORML Letter Writing Party

Date: Sunday November 1, 2009

Time: 9-11:30 Am

Where: Law Offices of Bruce Margolin
8749 Holloway
West Hollywood, Ca 90069

We look forward to seeing you Sunday Nov 1, 2009.

Yes we cannabis!

For more info, please contact Brett Stone at: <[email protected]>

ASA needs your help to stop Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen Trutanich from pushing an ordinance through the City Council that could effectively ban medical cannabis collectives in the city. On Monday, October 16, the Planning and Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee and Public Safety Committee will consider this badly flawed draft ordinance. Can you take a moment to call the committee members before that meeting and tell them to reject the City Attorney&#8217;s ordinance?
A simple phone call can make a big difference! Just call the committee members and say, &#8220;I am a medical cannabis supporter calling to ask the Councilmember to reject the draft medical cannabis ordinance prepared by City Attorney Carmen Trutanich.&#8221;
Ed Reyes-Chair (213)-473-7001
[email protected]
Dennis Zine (213)-473-7003
[email protected]
Jose Huizar (213)-473-7014
[email protected]
Tony Cardenas (213) -473-7006
[email protected]
Jan Perry (213)-473-7009
[email protected]
Greig Smith (213)-473-7012
[email protected]
Join us on Monday, November 16, to ask committee members in person to reject the ordinance, and adopt one that protects patients&#8217; privacy and ensures that collectives can stay open. This is an important point in the process, because the draft ordinance may go to the full City Council for approval after this committee hearing.
What: Joint PLUM and Public Safety Committee meeting
When: 9:30 AM * Monday, November 16
Where: Room 350, City Hall, 200 N. Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Public Transit Info: http://www.mta.net/riding_metro/default.htm
Arrive early to complete a public speaker&#8217;s card if you want to talk with the joint committee on Monday. You may have as little as one minute to speak. Keep your comments brief and on topic!
You can download a copy of the City Attorney&#8217;s draft ordinance:
http://safeaccessnow.org/downloads/four &#8230; LA_ord.pdf
You can see ASA&#8217;s suggested changes at:
http://www.safeaccessnow.org/downloads/ &#8230; LA_Ord.pdf
Don Duncan
ASA California Campaign Director
Americans for Safe Access (ASA) is the largest national member-based organization of patients, medical professionals, scientists and concerned citizens promoting safe and legal access to cannabis for therapeutic use and research.

LA, you need to show up tomorrow. Things are getting out of control. The LA City Council voted today to cap the dispensaries in LA today to 70 but they were going to grandfather/give preferential treatment to the original 186. What? It will be more like 139 or maybe below 70. OK, that sounds good.

They also decided that they would not be able to "abut" a residential area. Oh, wait, let's make that 1000 feet. No that's crazy. There would be no dispensaries that would qualify. You're right. That is crazy. But.... It has to be "abut". No we don't like that word. What would you like to call it? I don't know. Let's debate it for 2 hours. Ok, let's make it 500. What happened to "abut". Oh that's right. Let's do "abut". Ok, so what's a residential area? I know this sounds crazy, but could that be where a homeless person decided to make their home. Oh, why, you're correct. It could. It could also be a motor home. Ok, that makes sense. So, let's make it 1000 feet from any residential area. Ok. Passed.

This is a sample of the 7 hour craziness that we endured today. We need your help tomorrow at city hall at 10PM. PM me if you can make it.