Search Results: gieringer (50)


A proposed law that would have established policing of marijuana dispensaries statewide was essentially killed in the California legislature last week.
Dale Gieringer, state coordinator of California NORML, says it’s now time to take the matter directly to voters. He envisions the possibility, in 2016, of an initiative that would ask you to approve both the legalization of recreational marijuana and the creation of a regulatory framework for all pot retailers. That could mean having the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control act as police for medical and recreational shops. More at the LA Weekly.

Just two months after filing title language for a ballot initiative legalizing limited amounts of cannabis with the state, the Drug Policy Alliance says they will not be moving forward with their California proposal in 2014. According to one spokesman for the campaign, 2014 was a “trial run or dress rehearsal for 2016”.
And they aren’t alone. Longtime activist Ed Rosenthal says he’s no longer pursuing his ballot measure any longer either.

The Drug Policy Alliance Wednesday filed ballot initiative language last week that would legalize up to an ounce of pot and four plants for adults over 21 in California as well as allow for recreational cannabis sales with a tax of up to 25 percent.
But as of now, nobody seems willing to push it. According to a blog post at StopTheDrugWar.org last night, DPA officials say they aren’t sure if they are even going to push for the measure right now due to remaining shell shock from failure of 2010’s Proposition 19 that would have legalized recreational cannabis in the Golden State.

Asian American Bar Association
Federal judge Donna Ryu ordered a defendant to stop taking the legal prescription drug Marinol because it causes the court a problem on drug tests

A medical cannabis activist has been ordered by a judge to find another legal drug than Marinol to treat his chronic back pain.

Jose Gutierrez’s doctor, Frank Lucido, testified at a pretrial detention hearing that he had prescribed Marinol because it is the best legal drug for his condition, but the federal magistrate Donna Ryu objected that it caused her a “problem” because drug tests cannot differentiate it from marijuana, which is illegal under federal law.
In fact, there does exist a test that can discriminate between Marinol and marijuana, according to Dale Gieringer of California NORML, but it is not available through the particular laboratory that has been hired by U.S. Pretrial Services.
“The bottom line is that a US court is asking a defendant who has not yet faced trial to give up legal cannabinoids in favor of addictive opiates because of the inadequacies of its own laws and drug detection technology,” Gieringer said.
Gutuierrez faces felony charges for “assaulting a federal officer” stemming from a scuffle in which he was beaten to the ground by federal agents during the Oaksterdam University raid in April. The offense carried a prison sentence of up to five years.

Aisha
Activists seek clarification from Attorney General Eric Holder on what state are local laws are allegedly being violated by dispensary operators

U.S. Reps. Nadler and Cohen are seeking clarification from the Attorney General about how DOJ determines whether state laws are violated
State-federal medical cannabis conflict intensifies prior to a fundraising visit to Oakland by President Obama on July 23
The National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) is awaiting answers from United States Attorney General Eric Holder related to sworn testimony he provided to the House Judiciary Committee on June 7. On that day, he said that the Department of Justice (DOJ) limits its medical cannabis “enforcement efforts to those individuals [or]organizations that are acting out of conformity with State laws, or, in the case of instances in Colorado, where distribution centers were placed within close proximity to schools.”

All photos by Sharon Letts
Canna Comic Sherry Glaser on the main stage “Being Mother Earth.”

Photos and Story by Sharon Letts
Deep Green Fest II was held the day after 4/20 in the picturesque locale of the historic Craneway Pavilion, located just over the Richmond Bridge from San Francisco.
Joining up purposefully with Earth Day celebrations, Deep Green’s intent is to educate and enlighten on all things green – including Hemp, Cannabis, and holistic healing, with a healthy dose of politics thrown in for good measure.
Four stages featured music, lectures, and panels on everything from beekeeping to Cannabis, Hemp and legalization of both, Canna economics, responsible business models, and protecting children in the crossfire.
The star of the event was Stephen DeAngelo of Oakland’s Harborside Health Center, with his brother Andrew close by. Both were featured in the Discovery Channel’s Weed Wars, and promises of a second season of the hotly debated super miniseries were tweeted earlier in the week by Stephen, but quelled by event day with a promise of finding a new network.

All photos by Jack Rikess for Toke of the Town


By Jack Rikess
Toke of the Town

Northern California Correspondent

The demonstration that was planned for Tuesday morning to protest the most recent letters sent by U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag took on an added dimension of anger and unabashed outpouring of emotion with the Feds’ untimely raid on East Bay’s Oaksterdam and Richard Lee yesterday morning.  Hundreds of patients, caregivers and activists streamed to the steps of City Hall, carrrying signs and chanting slogans to relieve the anger most were feeling from the assault on Richard Lee. 
The elegant David Goldman, from Americans for Safe Access, commanded the podium and took Haag to task for making the assumption that most patients are basically faking it and dispensaries are nothing more than illegitimate drug dealers. David and others spoke of the Attorney General’s additional comment that she is only “going after dispensaries, not patients,” which garnered many boos from the crowd.  
Supervisor David Chu, observing the crowd, said, “We’re Black, we’re Asian, we’re White, we’re Latino, and today…San Francisco is Green!” Applause echoed between City Hall and the surrounding buildings, drawing in more supporters.

THC Finder

​A bill that would establish a zero-tolerance driving under the influence (DUI) standard for marijuana has been introduced in the California Legislature.

The bill, AB 2552, sponsored by Norma Torres (D-Pomona), would make any driver found with above-zero levels of cannabinoids in blood or urine presumptively guilty of DUI.
“Since cannabinoids remain in the system for days or weeks after last use, the bill would effectively outlaw driving by every marijuana user in the state,” said Dale Gieringer of California NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws).

Deep Green

Second Annual Earth Day Weekend Deep Green Festival Combines Speakers, Music, Exhibitors and Attractions with Full Conference
The Deep Green Festival will celebrate and explore the intersection of cannabis, health and ecology on Saturday, April 21, 2012, from noon to midnight at the San Francisco Bay Area’s Craneway Pavilion. A concurrent conference with in-depth panels and workshops will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Craneway Conference Center.
Deep Green explores the Seven Dimensions of Cannabis – Cultural, Creative, Medical, Nutritional, Industrial, Political and Spiritual – and this perspective is reflected in the event’s overall content.
At a time when recent Gallup polls show 50 percent of the U.S. population believes cannabis should be legalized, Deep Green will for the second year present a thorough and insightful exploration of the cannabis plant as a vital medical and industrial resource. Featured on the Discovery Channel reality TV show, “Weed Wars” (Season 1, Episode 4), Deep Green has become a popular gathering for both medical cannabis and industrial hemp innovators and enthusiasts in the United States.

The Weed Blog

​Three new marijuana-related bills were introduced on Friday in the California Legislature, according to Dale Gieringer of California NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws).

AB 2465 (Campos, D-San Jose) would require all medical marijuana patients to get a state ID card and also register the address where they grow cannabis.
“This bill is a blatantly unconstitutional amendment to Prop 215, as it abridges the fundamental right of patients not to be arrested upon the ‘written or oral’ recommendation of their physicians,” Gieringer said.
AB 2365 (Nestande, R-Palm Desert) would amend the Family Code to require that family courts consider parents’ documented use of prescribed controlled substances — including medical marijuana and “narcotic maintenance medications” — in child custody proceedings.
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