E-Dispensary, Incl. SJ Cops' Seizure of Homeless + Disabled Patient's Medicine

PROTEST FRIDAY July 28th IN San Jose - Disabled Female Homeless Patient's Medicine Seized!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 7/26/06
Contact: Jim Lohse - 650 669-4175

WE AT THE DEFENSE TABLE -- A Public Protest Action
WHO: Silicon Valley Cannabis Patients Union, a chapter of the
Compassionate Coalition
WHAT: Protest the San Jose State Police Siezure of Medical Marijuana
from a Homeless Disabled Sleeping Female Patient
WHERE: In front of the SJSU PD at 377 S. 7th St.
WHEN: Friday, July 28, Protest and smoke-in begin at 4:20pm,
continues through 9:20pm
WHY: To bring attention to the plight of patients on campus, work for
return of Ms. Flora's medicine.
HOW: Bring yourself, your cards and notes, and some medicine. We will
all be ready for citation, siezure and arrest if needed.

This morning at 2:30am my homeless disabled friend Christine Flora
was sleeping on a bench on the San Jose State University Campus.
Instead of compassionately telling her to move along, they arrested
her, took her to the station for two hours and put her through sleep
deprivation by waking her up repeatedly. In the end, at 4:30am, she
was cited for 89031 Education Code.

More importantly, her medicine was siezed and she was cited for
11357(b), despite showing an OCBC card and a note from Dr. Mikuriya.
She would have had a Santa Clara County card, except the county
places extra requirements on homeless people.

Join us at the San Jose State PD, revive the spirit of Bill
Kunstler's famous 1970 speech on campus. We at the Defense Table will
read a selection of Bill Kunstler's works, including his famous SJSU
speech.

See you there,
Jim Lohse, President
Silicon Valley Cannabis Patients Union

***************************************************************

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

***************************************************************

Court Support Dates for Solano County
**Benjamins - July 31st @ 1:30pm - Dept 8 RM 207 JUSTICE CENTER - 600
Union Ave, Fairifield
**Rob Taylor – August 7th @ 10:00am – Prelim/Ruling - Dept 8 RM 207
JUSTICE CENTER - 600 Union Ave, Fairfield
**Mark Freeman & Michael Mendoza– August 22nd, 10am, DPT 8 RM 207,
JUSTICE CENTER - 600 Union Ave, Fairfield
**Lawtons – Sept. 1st, @ 8:30am- Dept 12 Courtroom 101 - 321 Tuolumne
Street, Vallejo
More info: http://www.compassionatecoalition.org/node/3862
{http://www.compassionatecoalition.org/node/3862}

SPG is planning out 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

***************************************************************

Rev. Joseph Fortt court support: July 31st
Former dispensary owner Rev. Joseph Fortt will be in court on July
31st, at 9:00 AM, at the Fresno Federal Courthouse, 2500 Tulare, in
Fresno, California. Rev. Joe's dispensary was based on an integrated
model of holistic healing, of which medicinal cannabis was a
component. He credits this therapy with enabling him to live with
AIDS. Joe's months-long stay in the brutal Fresno County Jail has
ravaged his health; please show your support!

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}

***************************************************************

Solano County BOS closed session meeting - Aug 1st
Submitted by Linda on Thu, 07/27/2006 - 12:09am.
Thanks to all the folks who came out and gave support at this
meeting. SPG was outside at 8am with signs and then we went inside
for the meeting. The board had nothing to say to us after we spoke.
After SPG spoke, one gentlemen who spoke on other issues spoke up for
us and asked the county what they plan to do about it? Then supervisor
Kromm asked other members of the board when that was going to be on
the agenda. The County Administrator answered that there would first
be a private meeting scheduled for next week. Galen Lawton yelled
from the audience and asked the board "Why a private meeting?".
Supervisor Vasquez immediately answered "Because it is". Supervisor
Kromm then took the microphone and said "The reason was because there
are legal issues at hand and we need to be briefed by the attorneys
because of possible liabilities and possible lawsuits." He then asked
the Administrator of the board, "don't we have it scheduled to be on
the agenda for the end of August"? The Administrator answered,
"depending what happens at the closed meeting". The closed session
meeting is scheduled for Aug. 1st before the public meeting starts.
SPG plans to be at that meeting on August 1st to see what the Board
has decided to do about the issue. Please join us before the meeting
outside in front of the building at 8am. We will be having our
peaceful protest before the meeting starts at 9am. The meeting is at
675 Texas Street, Fairfield, CA 94533

http://www.compassionatecoalition.org/node/3860
{http://www.compassionatecoalition.org/node/3860}

Linda Jimenez
Compassionate Coalition
Solano Patients' Group
707-635-3752
http://www.solanopatientsgroup.org {http://www.solanopatientsgroup.org}

***************************************************************

Sacramento Compassionate Coalition Meeting: August 2nd
Please join Sacramento Chapter of The Compassionate Coalition for our
next planning meeting and information session! Agenda topics include:
Patient meetings, news updates, court support, 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}

***************************************************************

Postponed: Louis Fowler in Court: August 4th
Louis Fowler's court appearance has been moved to August 4th. 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}

***************************************************************

Central Valley Patients Coalition Meeting: August Meetings
Please join central valley patients and supporters in August to help
plan and strategize for the defense of patients rights in Stanislaus
County, Merced County, and beyond. Agenda items will include court
support, letters to the editor, safe access, and more. The CVPC meets
at 4213 McHenry Ave, Suite F, Modesto California, 95354.

Meeting Dates: August 5th, 12th, and 26th.

For additional information, contact Darian Burnham, Secretary for
the Central Valley Patients Coalition - JollyD_CA [at] yahoo.com
{mailto:JollyD_CA [at] yahoo.com}

***************************************************************

Solano Patients’ Group Meeting: August 8th
The SPG will be meeting on August 25th at 7:00 PM. Meeting location
will be at 2145 Collinsville Road in Birds Landing, CA 94512. More
info: Linda Jimenez, Secretary/Treasurer: 707-635-3752 or
linda4spg [at] CompassionateCoalition.org
{mailto:linda4spg [at] CompassionateCoalition.org} or
http://www.SolanoPatientsGroup.org {http://www.SolanoPatientsGroup.org}

***************************************************************

Joaquin Brand Court Support: September 8th
Joaquin Brand will appear in court on September 8th, with a 3 day
trial tentatively scheduled for September 9th to 11th. Please support
Joaquin in Department 8 at 2775 Richardson Drive in Auburn, CA; more
information to follow.

***************************************************************

Compassionate Coalition Leadership
The Board of Directors has voted, and I'm excited to announce that
Linda Jimenez is now our national Chairman of the Board!
Additionally, the Solano Patients Group, our Solano County chapter,
will now be hosting our national meetings. Lastly, I will be serving
in a new position as national Communications Director.

Thanks to Linda Jimenez and the SPG for stepping up to take the lead
in our struggle for patients' rights!

Nathan Sands
Communications Director
Compassionate Coalition
http://www.CompassionateCoalition.org
{http://www.CompassionateCoalition.org}
Email: nathan [at] CompassionateCoalition.org
{mailto:nathan [at] CompassionateCoalition.org}

***************************************************************

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!

***************************************************************
***************************************************************

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
Communications Director
The Compassionate Coalition
http://www.CompassionateCoalition.org
{http://www.CompassionateCoalition.org}
nathan [at] CompassionateCoalition.org
{mailto:nathan [at] CompassionateCoalition.org}

***************************************************************
***************************************************************