Patients in Action: Defending Medical Marijuana Rights

Success in Solano County: June 28, 2006
Thanks to the efforts of the Solano Patients Group, the County's
Board of Supervisors is now planning to look into implementing the
medical marijuana ID card program in Solano County. Previously, they
had indicated that they had no intention of starting a program. Our
letters to the board, published op-eds supporting the program and the
public outcry at yesterday's meeting may help turn the tide in the
right direction.

The Fairfield Daily Republic's back-to-back news reports are posted
below. Supportive letters to the editor should be submitted here:
http://local.dailyrepublic.net/submit_letter.php
{http://local.dailyrepublic.net/submit_letter.php}

Aaron Smith
Safe Access Now
fa_smith [at] yahoo.com {mailto:fa_smith [at] yahoo.com}

Daily Republic: "Advocates convince board to look at medical
marijuana"
Daily Republic: "Marijuana advocates push for registry program".
To read the articles: http://www.compassionatecoalition.org/node/3778
{http://www.compassionatecoalition.org/node/3778}

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Central Valley Patients Coalition Meeting: July 1st
Central Valley patients and supporters met in Modesto, CA on Saturday
to plan and strategize for the defense of patients rights in
Stanislaus County, Merced County, and beyond. Current president of
the Merced County Patients Coalition(MCPC), Nick Osborne, announced
that he will be moving to the Aloha State, and Stanislaus/Merced
patients are stepping up to build upon the progress made by the MCPC.
Patients in Stanislaus and Merced Counties are joining together, and
the MCPC will become the "Central Valley Patients Coalition"(CVPC), a
chaper of The Compassionate Coalition.

The newly-formed Central Valley Patients Coalition will meet again
this Saturday to elect new officers, and make plans to defend safe
access in the area. Please join us on Saturday July 1st at 1:00 PM at
4213 McHenry Ave, Suite F, Modesto California, 95354. For additional
information, contact Nick Osborne at 209-261-8324 or
nick [at] CompassionateCoalition.org
{mailto:nick [at] CompassionateCoalition.org}

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Patrick McCartney Reveals "The Law Enforcement Conspiracy"

Pouring through government files, court transcripts and public
documents from record requests, Northern California journalist
Patrick McCartney is working to reveal "The Law Enforcement
Conspiracy" against medical marijuana in California. McCartney's
research reveals that the conspiracy to subvert Proposition 215 began
only days after voters approved the ballot measure. Much of the secret
cooperation between state and federal officials occurred in the
sprawling Eastern District, the largest of California's four federal
court districts. Its 34 largely rural counties include such
battleground locations as Solano, Fresno, Merced, Stanislaus, San
Joaquin, Sacramento, Kern, Shasta, Tehama, Placer, El Dorado and many
more.

While serving as city editor of the Auburn Journal in 2001, Patrick
McCartney was silenced from writing about the medical-marijuana issue
in Placer County. Instead of backing off, McCartney decided to
research and tell the story of why qualified medical patients were
still being arrested and prosecuted four years after voters made
their medicine legal.

Since that time, McCartney has gathered thousands of pages of
documents that spell out California law-enforcement's continuing
opposition to the Compassionate Use Act of 1996.

He and co-author Martin Lee of Sonoma County are negotiating with a
publisher for a book that will expose the conspiracy, and help to end
harassment and intimidation of medical marijuana patients. McCartney
and Lee will summarize their finding about law-enforcement's role
since 1996 for an article they are on assignment to write for The
Nation magazine on the tenth anniversary of Proposition 215 this
fall.

After five years work on the project, however, McCartney is also
running short on funding, and would appreciate any support that you
can provide at this critical time.

Please help support Patrick McCartney's continuing work by sending
your donation to: Patrick McCartney, 12116 Persimmon Terrace, Auburn,
CA 95603. McCartney can also be reached at ElPatricio [at] aol.com or (530)
823-3040.

McCartney also welcomes copies of any government document, court
transcript, arrest report or other material that would contribute to
a deeper understanding of the medical-marijuana movement in
California.

Thank you in advance for your support!

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Court Support Dates for Solano County, CA

Postponed: Laura & Galen Lawton Court Support: Readiness conference
moved to July 6th (not June 29th) at 1:30 PM in Dept 12, Courtroom
101 at the Superior Courthouse, 321 Tuolumne St., Vallejo, CA.

Rob Taylor - July 24th @ 10:00am - Dept 8 RM 207 JUSTICE CENTER - 600
Union Ave, Fairfield.

Benjamins - July 11th @ 1:30pm - Dept 8 RM 207 JUSTICE CENTER - 600
Union Ave, Fairifield.

Lark Freeman - July 24th, 10am, DPT 8 RM 207, JUSTICE CENTER - 600
Union Ave, Fairfield.

*SPG is planning on being outside with signs for all the court dates
above. If anyone can come and join us in our peaceful demonstration
outside the courthouse, please call us so we maybe coordinate times
to meet: (707) 635-3752

Thank You
Linda Jimenez
Secretary/Treasurer
Solano Patients' Group
linda4spg [at] CompassionateCoalition.org
{mailto:linda4spg [at] CompassionateCoalition.org}

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Joaquin Brand Court Support: July 7th
Joaquin Brand continues to have problems with his public defender,
who refuses to contact experts as needed. Next court appearance will
be on July 7th, at 8:30 AM in Department 8 at 2775 Richardson Drive
in Auburn, CA.

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Robin & Dustin Clark Court Support: July 12
Next court appearance on July 12th at 1:30 PM in Department 8 of the
Sacramento County Courthouse, 720 Ninth Street, in Sacramento, CA.
Background info:
http://www.compassionatecoalition.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=5589
{http://www.compassionatecoalition.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=5589}

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Bryan Epis Court Support: July 17th
Former cannabis cultivator Bryan Epis will be in court for an
evidentiary hearing on July 17th at 9:30am, in front of Judge
Damrell, at the Sacramento Federal Courthouse, 501 I street (I at
5th). Bryan has already served over 2 years of a 10 year sentence,
and has gotten out of the cannabis industry entirely. Bryan's case is
one of many being resentenced due to the US Supreme Court's Raich
ruling. http://www.compassionatecoalition.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=4666
{http://www.compassionatecoalition.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=4666}
http://207.41.18.73/wconnect/wc.dll?caedprocess~CourtRoomCalendar~&judgeID=5011&Date=2/6/2006
{http://207.41.18.73/wconnect/wc.dll?caedprocess~CourtRoomCalendar~&judgeID=5011&Date=2/6/2006}


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Sacramento/National CC Meeting: July 19th (July 5th meeting cancelled
due to holiday)
Please join The Compassionate Coalition for our next planning meeting
and information session! Agenda topics include: Patient meetings, news
updates, court support, elections, and business items. This group
meets the first and third Wednesday of each month at 7:00PM at the
River City Patient Center, 1512 C El Camino Ave, Sacramento, CA.
Note: Any patients who wish to use their medicine at this meeting
must be registered and verified in advance by the River City Patient
Center.

For information please contact Nathan Sands at
nathan [at] CompassionateCoalition.org
{mailto:nathan [at] CompassionateCoalition.org}
http://www.CompassionateCoalition.org
{http://www.CompassionateCoalition.org}

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AAMC Meeting: July 29th
The El Dorado County American Alliance for Medical Cannabis will meet
on the fifth Saturday of the month, from 2:15pm until 4:20pm, at the
Garden Valley Grange, 4940 Marshall Road, Garden Valley, California.
(Note: The group will normally has meetings on the 4th Saturday of
each month)
http://www.ElDoradoCountyAAMC.com/
{http://www.ElDoradoCountyAAMC.com/}

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Postponed: Louis Fowler in Court: August 4th
Louis Fowler's court appearance has been moved to August 4th (not
June 30th). Thanks to Peter Keyes for providing this information and
keeping us up-to-date on the case. For more information contact Peter
at: petergkeyes [at] hotmail.com {mailto:petergkeyes [at] hotmail.com}

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The Compassionate Coalition is an all-volunteer, non-profit,
educational organization. We work to defend the rights of medical
marijuana patients and care providers, and your support enables our
work to continue. Please consider making a donation today:
http://www.compassionatecoalition.org/donate
{http://www.compassionatecoalition.org/donate}

Thank you for defending the rights of medical marijuana patients!

Nathan Sands
Chairman of the Board
The Compassionate Coalition
http://www.CompassionateCoalition.org
{http://www.CompassionateCoalition.org}
nathan [at] CompassionateCoalition.org
{mailto:nathan [at] CompassionateCoalition.org}

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