Federal Medical Marijuana Sentencings 4/12+13 in SF+LA

MEDICAL MARIJUANA in the NEWS - ASA's WEEKLY SUMMARY for APR 2nd

~UPCOMING IN SF: Federal Sentencings in SF & LA
~Intensifying Battle over Doctor-Patient Rights
~Collective Wants Ban on Raids Extended to Protect Them
~Airline Case Highlights Contradictions in Federal Policy
~Miracle Marijuana Only Legal Kind
~Struggle Over Where to Distribute
~Few Realize Strength of Public Support
~Drug Warrior Lashes Out
~Medical Marijuana for Minors

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UPCOMING EVENTS - FEDERAL SENTENCINGS IN SF & LA

APR 12th: Federal sentencing for Sonoma County patient/caregiver in San Francisco
Before his arrest in September 2002, Robert Schmidt was providing medical cannabis
for 1,200 qualified California patients and had developed his own strains of
cannabis to combat specific ailments. Arrested in a pre-dawn raid at his home in
Sebastapol and charged with "manufacture" of more than 1,000 plants, he faced a
mandatory 10-year sentence with the possibility of life in prison. Advised that he'd
be unable to present a defense at trial, he pled guilty to a lesser charge with no
mandatory minimum. Mr. Schmidt has a recommendation to use cannabis for wasting
syndrome, post-traumatic stress disorder and sleep disorders. The hearing is
scheduled for Thursday, April 12th at 2:15pm before the Hon. Judge Charles Breyer in
U.S. District Court, 450 Golden Gate, San Francisco.

APR 13th: Federal Sentencing for Patients/Caregivers in LA
Lynn and Judy Osburn, the Ventura County couple charged with federal cultivation
crimes mandating minimums of ten years in prison, are to be sentenced by Judge
Howard Matz in Los Angeles on Tuesday the 13th . The Osburns helped run and provide
marijuana for the Los Angeles Cannabis Resource Center in West Hollywood, a
dispensary that was a model for openness and cooperation with local government and
law enforcement. The LACRC was serving nearly 1,000 seriously ill patients (more
than 90% with AIDS) at the time of the DEA raid that shut it. Other officers of the
LACRC were recently given probation, despite government demands for jail time. The
hearing is Apr. 13th at 3:00pm in U.S. District Court, Courtroom 14, 312 N. Spring
St., Los Angeles.

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INTENSIFYING BATTLE OVER DOCTOR-PATIENT RIGHTS
Threats of federal retaliation have made many doctors reluctant to provide
recommendations for patients who might be helped by medical marijuana, but a few
brave physicians have stepped into the breach. The number of recommendations those
doctors have written has increasingly meant they've had to answer questions from
medical boards -- who have been under pressure from the federal government to
curtail the doctors' activities --even though the complaints against the doctors
have been shown to come from law enforcement, not patients.

States Defend Medical Marijuana Policies
by Todd Zwillich, WebMD
State officials defended their enforcement of medical marijuana on Capitol Hill
Thursday as lawmakers attacked state medical boards for ignoring federal drug laws
in favor of state statutes.

Court Rejects Subpoena for Medical Marijuana Records
Metropolitan News-Enterprise
The Medical Board of California must present more than "speculations, unsupported
suspicions, and conclusory statements" to justify subpoenaing patient records from a
doctor suspected of indiscriminately prescribing marijuana, this district's Court of
Appeal ruled yesterday.

Medical Pot Applicants Put on Hold
by Bill Kettler, Mail Tribune - Medford, OR
Seventy-three Southern Oregon residents who applied for state medical marijuana
cards during the past few months will have to find a new doctor to certify their
need.

Berkeley Pot Doctor Alleges Judge is Biased
Bay City News
A Berkeley psychiatrist who has prescribed medical marijuana for more than 7,000
patients said today he is asking that a judge's ruling against him be set aside
because he believes the judge is biased against marijuana use.

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COLLECTIVE WANTS BAN ON RAIDS EXTENDED TO PROTECT THEM
One of the highest-profile attacks on patients and caregivers was the commando-style
raid on a Santa Cruz collective, the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana. WAMM
is now in court seeking an injunction against the federal government, much like the
one handed down by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in December in the case of a
pair of patients and their caregivers (Raich v. Ashcroft).

Medical-Marijuana Fight Returns to Court
by Brian Seals, Santa Cruz Sentinel
Members of an area medical-marijuana cooperative return to federal court today
seeking an end to drug raids like the one that decimated their pot garden in
September 2002.

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AIRLINE CASE HIGHLIGHTS CONTRADICTIONS IN FEDERAL POLICY
An oddity of the federal prohibition on marijuana and the government's insistence
that it has no medical use is that there are a handful of American patients who
nonetheless receive marijuana directly from the federal government that is grown
with federal tax dollars. These patients are certified to legally use, possess and
transport the marijuana they receive, but few people believe it, creating the sort
of problem one such patient encountered when an airline refused to allow him to
board their plane with his government-grown marijuana.

Airline Not Fined for Barring Medicinal Pot User
by Eliot Kleinberg, Palm Beach Post
The U.S. Department of Transportation has ruled Delta Air Lines shouldn't have
barred former Boca Raton stockbroker Irvin Rosenfeld and his medicinal marijuana
from a flight, but declined to penalize the airline. Rosenfeld said Monday he will
appeal.

DOT Dismisses Complaint from User of US Marijuana
Associated Press Wire Service
The U.S. Department of Transportation found that a man who legally uses
government-provided marijuana for medicinal purposes should have been allowed to
board a Delta airlines flight here with the drug three years ago.

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MIRACLE MARIJUANA ONLY LEGAL KIND
Many states that have legalized medical marijuana have failed to address how
patients might get it. This creates a situation where it is not legal to grow, sell,
or buy marijuana, creating the odd predicament that patients may only legally
possess it if they acquire it through "miraculous" means. Real regulation provides a
mechanism for safe, legal access for all who need it.

A Medical 'Catch 22'
EDITORIAL, Las Vegas Sun
Does it make any sense to legalize the use and possession of marijuana for medical
purposes, but offer no legal way for patients to acquire it? No, but this is what
has been going on in Nevada since our constitutionally backed medical marijuana law
became effective Oct. 1, 2001.

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STRUGGLE OVER WHERE TO DISTRIBUTE
A similar problem to the one illustrated by the article above is that faced by
California cities. Once marijuana has been made legal for medical use, officials
must define where and when the dispensaries may operate. And landlords must be
convinced that they will not run afoul of federal liability.

Sonoma Pot Store Furor Grows
by Lori A. Carter, The Press Democrat
Sonoma planners have determined that medical marijuana shops will be allowed in
town, but proprietors of a proposed club must find a new location after their
landlord decided not to rent to them.

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FEW REALIZE STRENGTH OF PUBLIC SUPPORT
America has no other issue where public policy is so out of step with public opinion
as medical marijuana. New polls may help explain why.

The Trouble with Marijuana and Legislators
by Bruce Mirken, Alternet
For a long time many of us have puzzled over why overwhelming public support for
legal access to medical marijuana has not translated into legislative action. A new
Zogby poll conducted in Vermont and Rhode Island, released March 29, may have solved
the mystery.

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DRUG WARRIOR LASHES OUT
One reason public policy is so out of step with public opinion on medical marijuana
is that few realize the strength of public support. Another is the politicians who
build careers out of attacking patients under the guise of protecting our society.
Mark Souder of Indiana is one such politician. For him, no drug law can be too
Draconian.

IN Rep. Souder critical of medical marijuana
by Sylvia A. Smith, Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
Indiana Rep. Mark Souder has asked the Food and Drug Administration to send a
warning letter to a Canadian company that sells medical-use marijuana.

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MEDICAL MARIJUANA FOR MINORS
This story illustrates that, while everyone shares a concern for what messages
children get about using marijuana, for some minors marijuana is the best medicine.

Family remedy
by Will Evans, Sacramento Bee
Medical marijuana proponents have relied on Proposition 215, which passed in 1996
and legalized its use - though the federal government has never recognized the state
rules. Recent legal developments, though, provide a cushion and clarity for
caregivers and patients.


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ABOUT AMERICANS FOR SAFE ACCESS
A national coalition of 10,000 patients, doctors and advocates, Americans for Safe
Access is the largest organization working solely on medical marijuana. For
interviews or more information, contact ASA's communications director, William
Dolphin, at (510) 919-1498 or asa [at] williamdolphin.com.

Americans for Safe Access
1678 Shattuck Ave. #317
Berkeley, CA 94709
510-486-8083 (phone)
510-486-8090 (fax)
http://safeaccessnow.org