U.S. Federal Government

50 Marijuana Dispensaries Targeted by US Attorneys

The US attorneys have sent landlord letters to over 50 more
dispensaries in the Inland Empire area, where local officials have
been pressing to close them.  In addition, Cal NORML has learned of
new landlord letters in Mendocino, apparently targeted at facilities
within 1,000 feet of schools or playgrounds.
      - D. Gieringer, Cal NORML

  http://www.dailybulletin.com/ci_20074920

Marijuana dispensaries warned of federal charges

Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Created:   02/29/2012 07:41:26 PM PST

U.S. attorneys sent letters Tuesday to more than 50 marijuana
dispensaries in San Bernardino, Fontana, Colton and Bloomington
threatening criminal or legal action in federal court if the
dispensaries stay open.

This is the latest stage in a statewide crackdown that began in
October, said Thom Mrozek, a public affairs officer for the U.S.
Attorney's Office.

"We've gone after different geographic areas, and this enforcement
action is the latest phase," Mrozek said.

The letters give the dispensaries 14 days to stop distributing
marijuana.

"This letter serves as formal notice to you that the marijuana
dispensary's operations violate United States law and that the
violations of United States law relating to the marijuana dispensary's
operations on your property may result in criminal prosecution,
imprisonment, fines and forfeiture of assets, including the real
property on which the dispensary is operating and any money you
receive (or have received) from the dispensary operator," reads a
sample version of the letter.

Federal law prohibits possessing or distributing marijuana for any
reason, including medical use, but those who run or use dispensaries
argue it's legal in California. They cite Proposition 215, the 1996
law that approved medical cannabis in the state, and Senate Bill 420,
passed in 2003, which details the amount of marijuana a person can
possess for medical purposes and sets guidelines for identification
card programs.

"The law says we need (medical marijuana), and there is a need for
us," said Dewayne "Dewbie" O'Brien, a budtender at Arrow Alternative
Remedies in San Bernardino. "We're very busy with new patients and
returning patients, staples of the community. The community needs us."

O'Brien said he had not yet received a copy of the letter but said
Arrow Alternative Remedies is careful to operate safely and according
to state law.

Aaron Sandusky, who ran G3 Holistic in Colton until a city raid forced
him to shut down, said it's undemocratic and harmful to public health
to shut down well-run collectives like his.

"God help us all," he said. "It's the will of the people."

Sandusky also operates a dispensary in Upland, outside the area
contacted Tuesday, that was shut down but reopened Dec. 30 as it
appeals its closure.

The partnership with U.S. Attorney's Office and the Drug Enforcement
Agency is the latest stage in what already was an aggressive approach
in San Bernardino, said Jolena Grider, assistant city attorney.

Opening a dispensary has been illegal in San Bernardino since July
2010 and for most of the period stretching back to 2007, but in the
past year the city attorney's office began imposing $1,000-per-day
fines known as Administrative Civil Penalties or ACPs.

"For the past year we've been issuing ACPs, which are penalties of
$1,000 a day from the time we went out and verified that they were
dispensing marijuana," Grider said. "Now, we'll be coordinating with
the U.S. attorneys to do more."

Contact Ryan via email or by phone at 909-386-3916.

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Attachment: http://norml.net/attached/aQ2ZGmGazH25707.html
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snoop

Assemblyman Tom Ammiano has filed a bill to create a statewide medical marijuana regulation system

SACRAMENTO – Assemblyman Tom Ammiano has filed a bill to create a statewide

medical marijuana regulation system.

 

The proposed bill, AB 2312, closely resembles the proposed Medical Marijuana Regulation Control and Taxation initiative (www.regulatemedicalmarijuana.org).

Major differences are that it does not propose a state tax (which would require a 2/3 majority) but instead authorizes local taxes; establishes a different governing structure for the regulatory agency, and doesn’t expand patient rights or reduce felony penalties.
– D. Gieringer, Cal NORML

FACT SHEET from Assemblyman Ammiano’s office:
> IN BRIEF AB 2312 creates the Board of Medical Marijuana Enforcement
> within the California Department of Consumer Affairs to oversee and
> regulate the medical marijuana industry in California. It would also
> authorize local governments to impose an excise tax.
>
> THE ISSUE Despite the passage of the Compassionate Use Act of 1996
> and the Medical Marijuana Program Act (SB 420, Vasconcellos, Chapter
> 875, Statutes of 2003), because there is no effective statewide
> system for regulating and controlling medical marijuana, local
> governments have been confronted with uncertainty about the legality
> of some medical marijuana cultivation and distribution activities,
> and many cities and counties have passed local ordinances that in
> some cases ban the cultivation or distribution of medical marijuana.
>
> THE SOLUTION Pursuant to the powers reserved to the State of
> California under the Tenth Amendment to the United States
> Constitution, AB 2312 provides clarification and a comprehensive
> system of regulation of medical marijuana in California through the
> creation of the Board of Medical Marijuana Enforcement in the
> California Department of Consumer Affairs that will:
> · Approve or deny mandatory registration for cultivation,
> processing, manufacturing, testing, transportation, distribution,
> and sales
> · Suspend, fine, restrict, or revoke registration upon a violation
> of this act
> · Impose any penalty authorized by this ac
> t · Adopt, amend, and rescind regulations, special rulings, and
> findings for regulation and governance
> · Hear and determine appeals at public hearings of application
> denials and complaints
> · Administer oaths and issue subpoenas of records necessary to make
> determinations
> · Maintain the confidentiality relative to HIIPPA and CA Medical
> Information Privacy Act · Develop forms, identification cards, and
> applications necessary to conduct business
> · Oversee the Medical Marijuana Fund
> · Establish fees for direct and indirect costs for regulation
> · Develop zoning standards for unincorporated and otherwise non-
> zoned areas
> AB 2312 also authorizes local governments to enact reasonable
> taxes, as well as reasonable zoning regulations and other
> restrictions to cultivation and distribution based on local needs.
> BACKGROUND In 1996, the people of the State of California
> overwhelmingly enacted the Compassionate Use Act of 1996. The people
> declared that their purpose in enacting the measure was, among other
> things, “[to] ensure that seriously ill Californians have the right
> to obtain and use medical marijuana for medical purposes where that
> medical use is deemed appropriate and has been recommended by a
> physician who has determined that the person’s health would benefit
> from the use of marijuana in the treatment of cancer, anorexia,
> AIDS, chronic pain, spasticity, glaucoma, arthritis, migraine, or
> any other illness for which marijuana provides relief.” The
> Compassionate Use Act of 1996 called on state government to
> implement a plan for the safe and affordable distribution of
> marijuana to all patients in medical need of marijuana. In 2003,
> the Legislature enacted the Medical Marijuana Program Act (MMPA).
> Under the guidance of the MMPA, approximately 60 California cities
> and counties have created medical marijuana access ordinances that
> can act as a guide for the state. However, many other cities and
> counties are calling for more guidance and regulation from the state
> and have passed bans or moratoria on medical marijuana cultivation
> and distribution while awaiting such guidance. Greater certainty
> and uniformity are urgently needed regarding the rights and
> obligations of medical marijuana facilities, and for the imposition
> and enforcement of regulations to prevent unlawful cultivation and
> the diversion of marijuana to nonmedical use.
> SUPPORT TBD FOR MORE INFORMATION Curtis Notsinneh Office of
> Assemblymember Tom Ammiano (916) 319-2013
>
Dale Gieringer – dale@canorml.org
California NORML www.canorml.org
510-540-1066 / FAX 510-849-3974

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Man smoking pot

Study shows smoking Pot doesn’t impair lung capacity

Study shows smoking Pot doesn’t impair lung capacity.

Even though most marijuana smokers tend to inhale deeply and hold the smoke in for as long as they can before exhaling, the lung capacity didn’t deteriorate even among those who smoked a joint a day for seven years or once a week for 20 years, according to the study published Tuesday in JAMA, the journal of the American Medical Association.

Original Contribution

Association Between Marijuana Exposure and Pulmonary Function Over 20 Years

156 Comments