Feature Archives

Michael Martin of Tainted/Compassionate Medicinal Edibles faces a Change of Plea Hearing in Oakland on Wednesday, March 26th. He plans to accept a plea deal that was offered by the US Attorney. As he is unable to speak freely about the medicinal nature of Tainted's products in his defense, the alternative would be a jury that could assign him a ten year mandatory minimum sentence. Michael is hoping that the community will go to court to show support for him. The hearing will take place on Wednesday at 2:30pm in Judge Wilken's courtroom at 1301 Clay St. in Oakland.

On Wednesday, March 19th, the California Supreme Court decided not to review last year’s landmark return of property decision in Garden Grove v. Superior Court. By affirming the appellate court’s decision, the Supreme Court has made protection against seizure of medical marijuana by law enforcement legally binding throughout the state of California.

To celebrate the growing support for medical cannabis and the spread of safe access in medical cannabis states throughout the nation, Americans for Safe Access (ASA) organized Medical Marijuana Week 2008. Medical Marijuana Week commemorated the passage of Proposition 215, California's medical cannabis law. Each day during the week, Americans for Safe Access announced opportunities to advance safe access to medical cannabis, through actions such as educating one's community, meeting with U.S. Senators, and more. Events were held in San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley during the course of the week.

On February 26th, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed two key resolutions. The first re-establishes the city's sanctuary status and calls on Mayor Gabin Newsom to take action. The second is a resolution that allows for dispensaries to stay open after the March 1st deadline, pending an amendment to the current ordinance. On February 4th, members of San Francisco's medical cannabis community and their supporters gathered to call onhe Mayor to end his silence about recent US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)'s scare tactics against medical cannabis facility landlords. Days later, Newsom's spokesperson made a lukewarm statement against the DEA's actions, but supervisors and their constituents wanted to provide assurances that medical cannabis patients and dispensaries would be protected.

Volunteers hope to gather over 400,000 signatures on a petition to put the California Cannabis Hemp and Health Initiative on the state's ballot for 2008. Advocates of hemp as well as of the religious and medical uses of cannabis have sponsored this initiative, which would repeal criminal and civil penalties for cannabis, ban drug testing for metabolites, and provide that marijuana be regulated in a manner similar to the wine industry. It would also decriminalize the cultivation, distribution, and possession of industrial hemp, as well as order the immediate release from jail of all non-violent marijuana offenders.

On Tuesday, January 29th, the Berkeley City Council unanimously approved a medical cannabis-related resolution that was co-sponsored by Kriss Worthington and Darryl Moore. This item declares Berkeley a "sanctuary city" for medical cannabis, calls on the local and state officials to not cooperate with the DEA as it undermines state and local medical cannabis laws; urges Governor Schwarzenegger to stand with the state's over 200,000 medical cannabis; and encourages the City to plan for continued safe access in Berkeley in the event of a DEA raid on any local dispensaries.

On January 24th, the California Supreme Court ruled 5-2 that employers can fire workers for using medical marijuana. The court dismissed a lawsuit brought by Gary Ross under the state's Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) that he had been wrongfully denied employment by RagingWire Telecommunications after he had tested positive for past use of marijuana on a urine test. The court ruled that it did not create a general right to use medical marijuana, but only protected patients from criminal sanction for possession or cultivation of marijuana. The court's decision leaves the door open for discrimination against medical marijuana users via drug urine tests.