ASA Gets a Home Run For Patients! CHP Changes Policy in Light of ASA Lawsuit

Dear Medical Marijuana Supporters,

I am very pleased to share with you the news that the California Highway Patrol (CHP) has abandoned its policy of arresting medical cannabis patients and confiscating their medicine in response to a lawsuit filed on behalf of six patients by Americans for Safe Access (ASA) (See Today's LA Times article below). On August 22, the CHP quietly changed its policy to officially recognize the rights of lawful patients under California’s Proposition 215. This is one of the biggest victories for medical cannabis patients and caregivers in California since voters approved the Compassionate Use Act in 1996!

The CHP is responsible for more than one quarter of all medical cannabis arrests and confiscations reported to ASA in California – more than any other law enforcement agency in the state! It has been CHP policy to confiscate all medical cannabis found during traffic stops regardless of whether or not the patient has an ID card or a valid doctor’s recommendation. This overt disregard for the voter approved medical cannabis law and state legislation designed to implement it (SB-420) made the CHP the worst offender when it comes to unlawful arrests and confiscation.

The new change in CHP policy is a dramatic step towards protecting medical cannabis patients and caregivers in California. The new policy requires CHP officers to honor state-issued medical cannabis ID cards and letters of recommendations as proof of an individual’s status as a legal patient or primary caregiver. The policy forbids officers from confiscating medicine from legitimate medical cannabis patients. This gives patients and caregivers vastly more freedom and peace of mind when carrying medication on California’s highways.

If that was all the policy change accomplished, it would still be a major victory for medical cannabis. But, this decision has far reaching implications for patients and caregivers in every city and county in California. ASA will be working hard to pressure local police departments and county sheriffs to bring their policies into line with the CHP. Success in this work means patients and caregivers will no longer need to fear arrest or confiscation from law enforcement statewide!

This is a watershed moment for medical cannabis rights in California. ASA has worked for almost two years to develop this suit, identify plaintiffs, build a case, and push the issue this far. You can feel good about the fact that you have played a role in helping ASA push the CHP towards compliance with Proposition 215 and SB-420. Thanks to your support and this lawsuit, we are back on the offensive and ready to push our advantage!

We still have to fight our lawsuit in court to be sure that patients and caregivers have legal recourse if the CHP fails to uphold the new policy. We also have a lot of work to do to be sure that everyone – including police officers statewide – knows about the new policy.

ASA needs your ongoing support to keep doing this important work. We need your continued participation at meetings, rallies, and special events. We need you to keep speaking out to elected officials and signing petitions. We also need your continued financial support to keep moving forward.

I would like to ask everyone to make a special effort to help ASA at this strategic moment. Our resources have been stretched to capacity by the federal crack down that followed the adverse Supreme Court ruling this summer. We are providing court support, telephone consultations, and peer-counseling to hundreds of patients each week. This work is making a difference, but we need your commitment to carry on and make the most of this victory. We have a lot more up our sleeves for this fall and winter!

You can make a tax-deductible donation to support our work right now at http://www.safeaccessnow.org/article.php?list=type&type=83 Please do not wait. We need your help right now. (You can mail a check or money order payable to Americans for Safe Access – SEE to 1322 Webster St. #208, Oakland, CA 94612).

Together, we are making a difference for patients and caregivers. This lawsuit is a big step, but there is more to do. I am dedicated to making sure there is safe access for everyone who needs it. I know you are, too.

Thank you for your support! This is a great day for patients and the voters of California!

Steph Sherer

Executive Director

Americans for Safe Access


For more information and background on ASA’s lawsuit, visit http://www.safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=2489&preview=1


CHP Revises Policy on Pot Seizures
The new rules advise officers not to confiscate marijuana in amounts less than 8 ounces if motorists can document approved medicinal use.


By Eric Bailey, Times Staff Writer

SACRAMENTO — The California Highway Patrol has ordered its officers to stop confiscating medical marijuana during routine traffic stops, a victory for patients hoping to win broader acceptance of the controversial medicine from balky police departments around the state.

Highway Patrol officials sent out a bulletin last week to field commanders spelling out the policy shift, which would allow patients to travel on California's highways with up to 8 ounces of marijuana as long as they have a certified user identification card or documented physician's approval.

Patient advocates say the change will make the state's highways a "safe haven" for those who use marijuana with a physician's permission. They also hope the shift by the CHP sets an example for law enforcement agencies around California.

"This is going to send a very clear message: The constitutionality of patients needs to be protected," said Steph Sherer, executive director of Americans for Safe Access, a marijuana patients group that sued the CHP to force the policy change. "Our hope is this will ripple around the state."

Lt. Joe Whiteford, a CHP spokesman, called the policy shift "a revision" needed in part because of confusion among rank-and-file officers over a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

The high court declared in June that medical marijuana laws in a dozen states, including California, don't protect patients or suppliers from federal prosecution. But the ruling did not sweep away state medical marijuana laws and had no effect on local and state police such as the CHP.

Although voters legalized medical marijuana in California nearly nine years ago, police statewide have wrangled with activists over how to enforce the law.

Police officers have griped in particular about the difficulty of distinguishing true patients from recreational pot smokers.

With the Highway Patrol's new medical marijuana policy, officers in the field "have got their marching orders," Whiteford said. "Now they're pretty clear what to do."

For the last fiscal year, ending in July, Americans for Safe Access collected reports from 457 patients and caregivers who were arrested or had their medical marijuana seized by police officers in California.

About a quarter of those cases involved the Highway Patrol, and the rest were spread among police and sheriff's departments in 48 of California's 58 counties.

The Oakland-based patient group sued the CHP and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in February, asking the Highway Patrol to alter its confiscation protocols for medical marijuana. Activists said CHP officers would seize even the smallest amounts and sometimes arrest patients after they presented documentation from a physician.

Highway Patrol leaders balked initially, saying they wouldn't halt medical marijuana confiscations until the state launched an ID card program so officers could more easily distinguish legitimate cannabis patients.

California health officials started an ID program earlier this year, but participation has lagged, with cards issued to only 176 patients. Meanwhile, some cities and counties have issued thousands of cards. San Francisco has 8,000 registered medical marijuana patients with ID cards.

The CHP's new rules of engagement on medical marijuana advise patrol officers to accept state or local ID cards as proof of a patient's medicinal need. Patients can also provide a physician's written recommendation.

In the CHP's Aug. 22 bulletin, commanders spelled out how a typical scenario might be handled in the field. If an officer observed marijuana and the patient presented a doctor's written recommendation, the officer would call dispatch to attempt to verify its authenticity. If the document was valid, the marijuana would not be seized.

The new rules allow leeway for officers, authorizing them to use "sound professional judgment" to judge a patient's medical claim.

But the bulletin advised officers to be alert for indications of trafficking, such as "pay/owe" records, large quantities of cash or a big stash of the drug packaged as if for sale.

When a patient cannot provide proper proof or has more marijuana than allowed, the officer will confiscate the drug. The officer is also required to advise the person that he or she can file a motion with the court for the return of medical marijuana.

Patients who have jousted with the Highway Patrol over medical marijuana expressed delight with the new rules.

Mary Jane Winters, a 54-year-old nurse from Ukiah, was pulled over for speeding in November 2004. She said she was driving to deliver flowers to a homeless shelter. She was cited for possession of 2 ounces of marijuana. Winters said she has used the drug for a decade to offset pain from a back injury.

"I'm ecstatic," she said of the policy change. "This is the first step toward justice."

The next steps will likely come in court.

Joe Elford, chief counsel at Americans for Safe Access, said the group's lawsuit against the CHP won't be settled until the new policy is affirmed in court or in a binding legal document.

The group will continue monitoring medical marijuana seizures by police around the state, Elford said, and will file lawsuits "against any department, big or small, that doesn't follow the lead of the CHP."

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-pot28aug28,1,2536248.story?coll=la-headlines-california&ctrack=1&cset=true