Hello Medical Marijuana Supporters, were mid way through 2011 and a great deal has gone on recently. We wanted to give you a mid-year update on the local, state, and federal developments as they relate to our back yards here in SLO County.
Local News…
The December Raids of SLO delivery services…
Of the 15 people originally charged, three people have had their charges “repealed pending further investigation” meaning that the prosecution has a little more than a year to file charges; some believe this is simply a delay tactic for the purpose of putting off legitimate lawsuits.
Of the remaining 12 cases, one issue created a big stir. The prosecution filed a motion to suppress the medical defense of the arrestees stating that because members had no hands in cultivation, and the collective operators were charging “street prices” the arrestees were not running legitimate medical collectives, and thus not entitled to a medical defense. After a great deal of argument about what was legal under state law, what was not, and how to instruct the jurors, a frustrated Judge La Barbara said “I could just give them (the jurors) the entire statute, have them read the entire thing, and tell them ‘you figure it out because we cant’” and denied the prosecution’s motion.
Many people believe by the end of this month the majority of charges will be dropped, others believe that the prosecution will trudge on. Defense attorneys have said they have a number of sound strategies they can pursue should the charges not be dropped.
One other development…
Chip and Rachel Tamagni were the first two people to have their charges “repealed” but after months they had not received their property, (mostly computers, as well as medical business, and financial records) and medication returned. Though Rodney Johns of the department of justice argued that they needed to hold on to the property, the acting judge ordered that their property is to be returned and they should receive it Monday or Tuesday at the latest.
For more information about recent decisions here is a link to a New Times article…
** SLO County Action Alert**
Dispensary Hearing in Oceano June 20th
The Compassionate Cannabis Information Center (CCIC) in Goshen wishes to open a satellite dispensary here in Oceano. Their collective director Tammy, has called me and asked that SLO-ASA members support her endeavor on June 20th at the Oceano Advisory Panel meeting. Tuesday the 19th is our regularly scheduled third Tuesday meeting date, Rather than meeting at a different location this month, I propose that this month we meet on Monday the 18th at 1:30 PM at Old Juan’s Cantina located at 649 Pier Ave in Oceano on the corner of Hwy 1 (Front St.) and Pier. Afterwards we will go to the Oceano Sheriff’s substation, at the community room located at 1681 Front St. for the Advisory committee meeting at 3:00 PM. I know not all of you will be able to meet at this day or time but I think it is essential that we attend this event if at all possible.
http://www.oldjuanscantina.com/menu.php
CCIC Weedmaps page with reviews and directions
Quarterly SLO-ASA Barbeque
At the last meeting it was discussed that we should have a fundraiser/barbeque at least bi-yearly or quarterly to raise funds, awareness, and put a special call out to members who can’t make it to every meeting to try and attend these functions.
We are currently looking for a location to host these events at preferably at a private residence or community room of a supportive home owners association etc. If you have a suggestion or can offer your location please contact me via email.
New Meeting Location Needed
After a long talk we have decided it no longer makes sense to pay 20.00 per month to utilize the meeting room at the SLO community center, as it does not seem having a centralized meeting location in SLO has increased meeting attendance. Therefore were looking for a new location that we can host the event at. I have suggested using the Petra Grill in SLO, but if you can suggest a better suited location please let me know.
Other Local Events…
There have been other local concerns, such as Sheriff Parkinson announcing that he will wait for the Attorney General’s new guidelines to come out before proposing his own guidelines, or that Dr. Rees is being sued by the parents of a Cal Poly that died in an auto accident (*many issues to this case beyond marijuana including cocaine, alcohol, dark streets, etc.) and a few other concerns but these will be addressed at the next public meeting.
State Developments…
ASA is currently battling two state initiatives that have come forward
SB 847 bans any cultivation or distribution of cannabis within 600ft of any residential use (regardless of zoning) this would effectively close the doors on hundreds of existing medical marijuana dispensaries in our state and halt almost any new dispensary from opening. This bill passed 31-2; it must go through one more assembly proposal before being voted on by the state assembly, if passed, it will effectively eliminate any residential cultivation.
AB 1300 this bill allows each city to ban collectives or cooperatives as they see fit, the bill passed the state assembly 53-1, it has gone to the state senate, and if it passes there it becomes part of state law.
Federal Developments…
Most of these issues are covered in this month’s ASA Activist Newsletter, but for a quick synopsis…
ASA, amongst others, are suing the federal government for their delay in rescheduling cannabis to a lower narcotics classification.
Three new federal medical marijuana bills have been proposed…
HR 1983 which would re-classify marijuana to a schedule III substance and allow it to be proscribed by doctors, and would provide a medical defense to patients charged with federal crimes.
HR 1984 would remove medical marijuana businesses from a “Suspicious Activities” list that banks must report on to the treasury department. This would supposedly stop banks from closing medical marijuana business bank accounts.
HR 1985 would alter the tax code to allow medical marijuana businesses to deduct “cost of goods” in relation to medical marijuana sales.
Department of Justice Memorandum reverses 2009 position.
The department of Justice issued a memorandum on June 29th, which was stated to be a clarification of their stance on federal law enforcement activities in states which have passed medical marijuana laws.
This was in response to roughly 10 warning letters sent by the US Attorney General threatening that the DOJ would enforce the controlled substances act in states that had passed marijuana laws, (some of which threatened to prosecute state employees who approved business licenses) regardless of a memo that was sent in 2009 saying that federal funds would not be used for such actions.
In short the recent memorandum clarified that targeting “commercial operations cultivating, selling or distributing marijuana” is one of the “core functions” of current federal law enforcement efforts, and though it is “unlikely” federal law enforcement would go after cancer patients and their immediate caregivers, large scale growing or distribution operations would be and have been targeted, and federal funds are currently being used to arrest and prosecute those individuals.
Please note that prior to these letters, over 40 federal raids of dispensaries had been conducted in Montana, West Hollywood California, and other locations.
Here is a link for the ASA national position…
And the memorandum itself…
DOJ memorandum from June 29, 2011:
DOJ memorandum from October, 2009:
Thanks Again to everyone who has been participating and keeping up to date on current events. We hope to see you all in Oceano on the 18th for this important meeting.
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