Medical Marijuana in the News: 5/19

ASA’s Summary of Medical Marijuana Media for the Week Ending 5/19


a.. ASA ACTION: Going to Court for Patients’ Rights
b.. OP/EDS: FDA Backlash Continues
c.. NEW JERSEY: Support for New Bill
d.. COLORADO: Patient Going to Trial
e.. CALIFORNIA: Law Enforcement Priorities Questioned
f.. CALIFORNIA: Local Actions on Implementation

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ASA ACTION: Going to Court for Patients’ Rights

The latest action by ASA on behalf of patients takes the form of a lawsuit
filed against a California county for blocking patient collectives and
destroying patients' property. ASA’s commitment to defend patients’ rights
has yielded precedent-setting results, and the same is expected here.



ASA Sues Butte County for Its Ban on Collective Cultivation
http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=3440




Marijuana collective sues Butte County officials
by Ryan Olson, Chico Enterprise Record
A group of seven people qualified for medicinal marijuana are suing Butte
County officials after a sheriff's deputy ordered the destruction of nearly
all their plants. The Oakland-based Americans for Safe Access is filing a
lawsuit in Butte County Superior Court on behalf of David Williams and six
other plaintiffs.
http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=3455



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OP/EDS: FDA Backlash Continues

Few actions the federal government has taken in trying to stem the tide of
science and public opinion have backfired quite so spectacularly as their
4/20 denial of medical marijuana’s effectiveness. Their intent was clearly
to mollify a benighted Indiana Congressman who had demanded such a
statement, but the effect was to release a torrent of condemnation that
continues a month later.



Medical Marijuana: Politics Trumps Science at the FDA
by Gregory T. Carter, MD; Bruce Mirken, Medscape
For a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) increasingly mired in controversies
over the politicization of scientific and regulatory decisions, the agency's
April 20, 2006 statement regarding medical use of marijuana may represent an
all-time low point. Politics, it appears, has now completely trumped science
at this once proudly independent agency. The FDA has announced that "no
sound scientific studies" support the medical use of marijuana,
contradicting an increasingly large body of scientific literature. To those
of us who do research in this area, this is a personal affront.
http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=3443



Science: The Drug War’s Latest Victim
by Salim Muwakkil, In These Times
The war on drugs is an attack on rationality. Reason lost yet another
skirmish recently when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on
April 20 that “no sound scientific studies” supported the medical use of
marijuana.
http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=3448



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NEW JERSEY: Support for New Bill

Opinion makers are weighing in support of the new bill up for consideration
before the state legislature. With the governor already on record favoring
protection for patients and public opinion polls showing the same across the
political spectrum, it should be an easy decision for lawmakers.



Medical pot will get a hearing
EDITORIAL, The Times (NJ)
For the first time, the New Jersey Legislature will hear testimony on a
proposal to legalize marijuana for medical purposes. Those whose minds are
closed to any drug policy other than absolute prohibition are enormously
influential at the State House, but this is a step forward.
http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=3451



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COLORADO: Patient Going to Trial

While taxpayers in Colorado should be outraged that their money is being
spent prosecuting an AIDS patient for using medical cannabis to ease his
suffering – in just the way the Institute of Medicine report recommends – at
least he will get a chance to present his case to a jury, who should have
little difficulty setting the matter right.



Man to defend marijuana use
by Felix Doligosa Jr., Rocky Mountain News
An HIV-positive man who smokes marijuana to fight nausea triggered by
antiviral drugs can defend his pot use to a jury, a judge ruled Monday.
http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=3446



Man Says Marijuana Helps Treat Side Effects Of HIV
by Associated Press, CBS-4 Denver
A man who claims he smokes marijuana to treat the side effects of medication
he takes for HIV will stand trial for possessing the drug, a judge ruled
Monday.
http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=3447



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CALIFORNIA: Law Enforcement Priorities Questioned

The most compelling case for ensuring safe, legal access to medical cannabis
is based on simple compassion. But morality and ethics aside, it also makes
sense from the viewpoint of effective use of limited resources. In an era of
limited public finances, asking law enforcement to expend time and money on
prosecuting the sick and suffering who harm neither themselves nor others is
impossible to justify.



A California Tax Dollar and Medical Marijuana
by Kenneth Michael White, opinioneditorials.com
Hello, I am a California Tax Dollar and I have a problem with the way I am
being spent by some California law enforcement officials. Because there is
currently a difference between California law and Federal law regarding
medical marijuana, there is some confusion about what a California law
enforcement officer should do when encountering marijuana during the normal
course of duties.
http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=3444



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CALIFORNIA: Local Actions on Implementation

Tulare, Placerville, Richmond, El Cerrito, Seaside, Marina, Templeton,
Pomona

Implementation of state law having been made a largely local matter by
legislative action a year ago, local officials around the state continue to
invest time and energy into sorting out how to approach the issues, from ID
cards to dispensary regulations.



Medical marijuana users protected
by Sarah Jimenez, Fresno Bee
Tulare County became the second Central Valley county Tuesday to start a
medical marijuana identification program to protect patients and caregivers
from arrest.
http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=3442



Board approves medical marijuana I.D. cards
by Joann Groff, Porterville Recorder
The issuance of medical marijuana identification cards - with $100 price
tags - was approved at Tuesday's Tulare Board of Supervisors meeting.
http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=3441



Placerville moves to keep its medicinal pot ordinance
by Cathy Locke, Sacramento Bee
Placerville City Council members, faced with a conflict between state and
federal laws governing the medical use of marijuana, say they'll cast their
lot with the state.
http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=3452



Marijuana clubs question ethics of city's order to close
by Tom Lochner, ANG Newspapers
With the crafting of a medical marijuana regulating ordinance stalled, the
Richmond City Attorney's office has ordered the immediate closure of two
cannabis clubs, the only ones known to operate in the city.
http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=3454



El Cerrito leans toward cannabis club approval
by Alan Lopez, Contra Costa Times
The El Cerrito Planning Commission will consider recommending changes next
month to the city's zoning ordinance that would allow a medical marijuana
dispensary to operate in a three-block area on the city's north side.
http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=3449



Seaside, Marina Postpone Decision on Medical Marijuana Dispensaries
by Raul Vasquez, Monterey County Weekly
Seaside and Marina officials are in no hurry to grant zoning permits that
would allow medical marijuana dispensary sites to spring up in their cities.
This fact has Jhonrico Carrnshimba rethinking his whole “front-door”
strategy.
http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=3450



Templeton proposal dies for marijuana dispensary
by Stephen Curran, San Luis Obispo Tribune (CA)
A potential showdown between Templeton residents and the owner of a proposed
medical marijuana dispensary was averted Thursday, when the applicant
withdrew his application.
http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=3453



Medical marijuana issues on agenda
by Monica Rodriguez, Daily Bulletin (CA)
City staff members tonight are expected to ask that the Pomona City Council
extend a moratorium on the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries.
http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=3445




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FOR MORE MEDICAL MARIJUANA NEWS
Previous News Summaries are archived. The complete text of all these
articles and more is available by clicking the links on the article
headline. You can also see the latest news for the week by selecting "News
Articles" under the Press Room menu at http://www.SafeAccessNow.org.

A national coalition of 25,000 patients, doctors and advocates, Americans
for Safe Access is the largest organization working to secure the rights of
patients and doctors to use marijuana medicinally. To learn more, see
http://www.SafeAccessNow.org