ASA CA Weekly Alert 5-25-07

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ASA California Weekly Alert: May 25, 2007
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*Weekly Round Up*
1. Ed Rosenthal Rally/Trial Update; Riverside Raid Update; Tod Mikuriya: A Memorial

*Take Action!*
2. It's a Holiday Weekend: Petition Your Communities!

*ASA Chapter and Affiliate Meetings
*3. Tuesday, June 5, Sacramento: Sacramento ASA Meeting
4. Thursday, June 7, San Mateo: San Mateo ASA Meeting
*
City and County Hearings
*5. Tuesday, May 29, Fairfield: Fairfield City Council to Vote on Dispensary Ban
*
Court Support*
6. Tuesday, May 29, San Francisco : Ed Rosenthal Federal Trial Final Arguments
7. Friday, June 1, Sacramento: Status Hearing for Louis Wayne Fowler
8. Monday, June 4, Placerville: State Criminal Trial for Don Kearney Begins

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Weekly Round-Up California Logo
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1. Ed Rosenthal Rally and Federal Trial; Riverside Raid Update; Tod Mikuriya: A
Memorial*
/
Ed Rosenthal Rally and Federal Trial Update/

Medical marijuana advocate and author Ed Rosenthal told the U.S. District Court on
Wednesday that he would be presenting no witnesses in his defense against federal charges
of marijuana cultivation and distribution, saying the government had failed to prove its
case.

Several witnesses have refused to testify for the prosecution against Rosenthal. At an
earlier, pre-trial hearing on the matter, Assistant U.S. Attorney George Bevan, Jr. told
the court that he did not think that even incarcerating the "recalcitrant" witnesses for
contempt would be likely to compel their testimony, since their reluctance to testify
against Mr Rosenthal was "cause related." Judge Breyer noted that as a matter of law the
remedy must be designed to elicit the testimony sought, so without an expectation of
compliance, he cannot legally jail them.

Rosenthal is fighting a retrial on three charges related to cultivating medical
marijuana, as well as two additional counts related to distribution of marijuana to
patients. This Wednesday 100 medical marijuana activists gathered together to show their
support for the medical cannabis advocate. Taking place in front of the San Francisco
Federal Building, the ASA-sponsored and organized rally lasted over an hour in the warm
mid-day sun. ASA's Executive Director, Steph Sherer, MC'd the event, which opened with
Ed Rosenthal addressing the crowd and calling on them to join him on Tuesday, May 29th at
9:00am for the prosecution's closing arguments. Other speakers at the rally included one
of Rosenthal's Attorneys, Shari Greenberger, and San Francisco ASA Chapter's Alex Franco,
who read a statement by San Francisco Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi. Following the scheduled
speakers, several community members spoke about the importance of this trial and the
impacts it has had will have in the medical marijuana movement.

Thank you to all the East Bay ASA Chapter members who took time out of their busy
schedules to make signs, slogans, and calls to get people to come out to the rally this
past Monday. Without your help we couldn't have had such a successful rally!

/
Riverside Raid Update/

Last Tuesday Riverside Police Department raided California Caregivers
Association-Riverside with a warrant from a local judge. No one was arrested, however,
Riverside PD also raided the house of a collective member.

The police stole all of the collective's resources and medicine. Local authorities cited
edible cannabis preparations as the reason for the raid. Edibles are legal in the state
of California and ASA assumes that the recent increase in edible cannabis enforcement is
just law enforcement's newest excuse to harass medical cannabis providers. Unconfirmed
reports from witnesses at the scene show local law enforcement may have stolen
confidential records belonging to collective members.


/Tod Mikuriya: A Memorial
/
This past Sunday, the Medical Cannabis Movement lost one of it's founders and great
champion, Dr. Tod H. Mikuriya. Dr. Tod died from complications of cancer at his Berkeley
home, his family said. He was 73.

According to Valerie J. Nelson's article in the Los Angeles Times, Dr. Tod was one of the
co-authors of Proposition 215, the state ballot measure that legalized marijuana for the
seriously ill who have a doctor's recommendation, Dr. Tod had written approvals for
almost 9,000 patients. Dr. Tod had studied the marijuana's therapeutic potential since
the 1960s and briefly directed marijuana research at the National Institute of Mental
Health. He left when he realized the government only "wanted bad things found out about
marijuana," he told the online newsmagazine AlterNet in 2004.

In 1999, Mikuriya founded the Society of Cannabis Clinicians to educate colleagues about
the plant's medical uses. He wrote books on the subject and kept a list of medical
conditions that had been eased by cannabis; among the 285 ailments were many cancers,
insomnia and stuttering.

Tod Hiro Mikuriya was born in 1933 in Bucks County, Pa., to the former Anna Schwenk, a
German immigrant, and Tadafumi Mikuriya, a Japanese samurai. His mother taught special
education and his father was a civil engineer who often designed bridges.

Growing up, he attended Quaker schools and paid his way through college by folk singing.
He graduated from Reed College in Portland, Ore., in 1956 with a bachelor's degree in
psychology and served as an Army medic before earning a medical degree from Temple
University in Philadelphia in 1962.

While at Temple, he came across a reference to the medical use of marijuana in a
pharmacological text, which triggered his lifelong interest.

Dr. Tod specialized in psychiatry at Oregon State Hospital in Salem and completed his
training at Mendocino State Hospital. By 1970, he had moved to Berkeley and entered
private practice. He has had a positive impact in so many activists' and patients' lives.
Dr. Tod's work has help build the foundation of the Medical Marijuana movement. His
memory will forever be ingrained in this movement.

"We have lost a great leader and pioneer in the medical cannabis movement. Dr. Tod will
continue to be in our hearts and minds as we push forward to have safe and accessible
medicine for patients all over the United States," said ASA's Executive Director, Steph
Sherer.

A memorial service will be held at 4:30 p.m. today at Quaker Berkeley Friends Church,
1600 Sacramento St., Berkeley. Memorial contributions may be made to Reed College
<http://www.reed.edu>.

Read Dr. Tod's obituary in the LA Times.
<http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-mikuriya25may25,0,6466480.story?coll=la-home-obituaries>

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Take Action! Federal Advocacy
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2. It's a Holiday Weekend: Petition Your Communities!*

Take advantage of the 3-day weekend to petition at your holiday events, festivals, and
local parks.

Background: In 1999, the Institute of Medicine recommended that additional medical
cannabis research be conducted and that the use of smoked cannabis be permitted for
patients with debilitating symptoms who met a specific set of conditions. Recently,
long-overdue research was published in Neurology indicating that smoked cannabis
effectively reduces chronic neuropathic pain as well as acute pain for people living with
HIV/AIDS. Despite the IOM recommendations, federal agencies discourage medical cannabis
research like this study on neuropathic pain.

That is why ASA is petitioning Congress to hold hearings to conduct congressional
oversight hearings to investigate why federal agencies have resisted full implementation
of the Institute of Medicine's 1999 recommendations on medical cannabis. Please download
a PDF of the petition
<http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/asa/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=494>and circulate in your
communities.

This is your chance to call on Congress to hold hearings on medical cannabis!

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ASA Chapter and Affiliate Meetings Activist Fist
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3. Tuesday, May 5, Sacramento : Sacramento ASA Meeting

*Please join Sac ASA to plan for the future of safe access locally, statewide, and
nationally!

7:00 p.m.
Crusaders Hall
320 Harris Avenue, Suite H
Sacramento, CA*
*
For more information or to get involved, please contact Lanette: cannacare [at] earthlink.net
<mailto:cannacare [at] earthlink.net>*

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4. Thursday, June 7, San Mateo: San Mateo ASA Meeting

*A new chapter of ASA has been formed in San Mateo. Please join them for their third
public meeting to discuss dispensary regulations, law enforcement issues, protecting
patient and collective growers, and establishing an emergency response plan. Get active
locally to protect safe access!

DATE: Thursday, June 7, 2007
TIME: 7:30-8:30
PLACE: PCRC, 164 South Blvd. San Mateo, CA
Finger foods, desserts, coffee, tea, water

For more information or to get involved, please contact Brent: brent_saupe [at] yahoo.com
<mailto:brent_saupe [at] yahoo.com>
*
*
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City and County Hearings Activist Fist
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*5. Tuesday, May 29, Fairfield: Fairfield City Council Votes on Dispensary Ban*

Fairfield City Council will be meeting and voting on whether they will ban dispensaries
in Fairfield or not next Tuesday, May 29. Please come out and show your support for
medical marijuana. Download ASA's talking points on dispensaries.
<http://www.safeaccessnow.org/downloads/dispensary.ban.talking.points.pdf>

Tuesday, May 29th at 7:00pm
Fairfield City Hall
City Council Chambers
1000 Webster Street
Fairfield, CA

For more information on the hearing please contact Linda Jimenez:
linda4spg [at] compassionatecoalition.org <mailto:linda4spg [at] compassionatecoalition.org>.

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Court Support Patients Rights
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**6. Tuesday May 29, San Francisco: Ed Rosenthal Federal Trial Closing Arguments
*
An appeals court last year overturned Rosenthal's 2003 conviction. The U.S. Attorney's
Office brought new charges against Rosenthal last October, but Judge Breyer dismissed the
bulk of them as "vindictive prosecution." If convicted of the remaining marijuana
charges, Rosenthal faces no time or other penalty, as he has already served his one-day
sentence and three years of supervised release. The Federal re-trial began on Tuesday May
15th and closing arguments are on Tuesday, May 29th beginning at 9:00am.

Medical Cannabis activists are encouraged to show their support for Ed
Rosenthal by attending the trial.

San Francisco Federal Building
Courtroom of U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, 19th Floor
450 Golden Gate
San Francisco, CA

For trial updates go to Green Aid. <http://www.green-aid.com/>

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*7. Friday, June 1, Sacramento: Status Hearing for Louis Wayne Fowler*

The DEA and Sheriff conducted a raid on Sacramento County dispensary operator Louis
Fowler, 51, on July 7, 2005. In addition to the raid on the Alternative Specialties
dispensary, allegedly as a result of operating without a business license, three other
locations were raided by the DEA and Sheriff where two indoor gardens allegedly with more
than 800 plants were found. Fowler was charged federally with manufacture of marijuana
and illegal possession of weapons. Fowler is
released pending trial in Sacramento.

Friday, June 1st @ 10:00am
Courtroom of Judge Edward Garcia
U.S. District Court
501 I Street
Sacramento, CA
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8. Monday, June 4, Placerville: Don Kearney State Criminal Trial Begins

*Monday, June 4 Don Kearney's state criminal trial goes before Judge James Wagoner at the
El Dorado County Superior Court <http://eldocourtweb.eldoradocourt.org/addresses.html>.
El Dorado County Sheriffs raided his private patient collective cultivation site and
arrested disabled U.S. veteran and chronic pain and glaucoma patient Don Kearney on July
13, 2005. Kearney is being charged with cultivation and possession with intent to sell
more than 900 plants. The District Attorney has refused to dismiss the case and intends
to try him. Additionally, the federal government is proceeding with asset forfeiture on
Don's house.

Please come out to Don's trial to show the jury that he is part of our community and we
stand behind him.

June 4, 2007 at 8:30am
El Dorado County Superior Court <http://eldocourtweb.eldoradocourt.org/addresses.html>
495 Main Street, Placerville, CA.

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--

Sonnet Seeborg Gabbard
Field Coordinator
Americans for Safe Access
AmericansForSafeAccess.org <http://AmericansForSafeAccess.org>

Americans for Safe Access (ASA) is the largest national member-based organization of
patients, medical professionals, scientists and concerned citizens promoting safe and
legal access to cannabis for therapeutic use and research.

Join us today... AmericansforSafeAccess.org <http://AmericansforSafeAccess.org>

Headquarters
1322 Webster St Suite 402
Oakland, CA 94612
P: 510-251-1856 ext. 321 F: 510-251-2036