Medical

Two Redneck CA Counties Still Refuse To Give Medical Pot Cards

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on April 8, 2010 Legislation, Medical

See those two little red counties? Those are the heart of redneck California, ladies and gentlemen. Sutter and Colusa counties are the only two in the state still violating state law by refusing to issue medical marijuana ID cards.

Fourteen years after Californians voted to legalize the medicinal use of marijuana, two counties — in violation of state law — are still refusing to issue official identification cards to cannabis patients.

The Sutter County Board of Supervisors’ rejection of a plan Tuesday night left the county as one of only two in the state, along with Colusa County, without such a program, reports Howard Yune at the Yuba Appeal-Democrat.

Senate Bill 420, passed in 2003, directs California counties to issue ID cards to patients using medical marijuana with a doctor’s approval. Unfortunately, SB 420 doesn’t list specific sanctions against counties that refuse to do so.

The plan voted down by the myopically marijuana-phobic Sutter County supervisors was so reasonable, so middle of the road, that even the county sheriff endorsed it.

California Mayor Proposes Marijuana Nursery Downtown

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on April 7, 2010 Growing, Medical

Photo: Dunsmuir Chamber of Commerce

The historic California Theatre in downtown Dunsmuir, Calif., may have a new neighbor — a marijuana nursery — on Dunsmuir Avenue if Mayor Peter Arth has his way.

The mayor of Dunsmuir, California has proposed the establishment of a medical marijuana nursery in the downtown area.

The proposal was brought to city officials by Mayor Peter Arth Jr., who plans to finance the project, along with Green Collar Compassionate Collective owner Leslie Wilde, who will lease the nursery in order to harvest medical marijuana for her patient members, reports Ami Ridling of Mt. Shasta News.

Arth and Wilde are applying for a historic site alteration permit for the facility, and will present their plans to the Dunsmuir Planning Commission in May.

Alabama: House Committee Approves Medical Marijuana Bill

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on April 7, 2010 Legislation, Medical

Photo: Loretta Nall

Loretta Nall: “We plan to keep fighting our way through the process”

An Alabama House committee approved a bill Wednesday that would legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes in the Heart of Dixie.

This is the first time in Alabama history that a medical marijuana bill has advanced out of committee to the House floor.

Patricia Todd (D-Birmingham), who sponsors the bill, said it had no real chance of being approved by both the House and the Senate before this legislative session ends in five days, reports Scott Johnson of the Montgomery Advertiser.

The bill, known as the Michael Phillips Compassionate Care Act, is named after a medical marijuana patient with a brain tumor who fought to make the herb legal for medicine in Alabama. Phillips died in 2007 at the age of 38.

Marijuana was the only thing that allowed Phillips to function normally, according to his mother, Jackie Phillips. Without it, she said, Michael had seven or eight seizures a day.

“I could see the difference in him when he smoked and when he didn’t,” Phillips said.

Maryland Senate Committee Approves Medical Marijuana Bill

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on April 6, 2010 Legislation, Medical

Graphic: MarylandMedicalMarijuana.com

Maryland’s Judicial Proceedings Committee voted 7-4 Monday night to pass SB 627, a bill that would provide qualified patients with safe access to medical marijuana and protection from arrest for using the medicine that works best for them.

The bill now moves to the full state Senate for consideration.

“This vote represents the biggest victory to date for supporters of an effective medical marijuana law in Maryland,” said Dan Riffle, a legislative analyst with the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP).

Ohio: Bill Proposes Legalizing Medical Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on April 6, 2010 Legislation, Medical

Graphic: Ohio Patient Network

A bill which would legalize dispensing, growing and using marijuana for medical purposes has been introduced in the Ohio House. Passage is considered unlikely, but if that happened, Ohio would become the 15th state to make medical marijuana legal, reports Alan Johnson at The Columbus Dispatch.

Rep. Kenny Yuko (D-Richmond Heights) is the bill’s primary sponsor, along with five other co-sponsors. The Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) in Ohio worked with Yuko in writing the bill, which is similar to Senate Bill 343 fro the last legislative session, but has significant changes, according to advocates.

According to Edward J. Orlett, a former legislator who is Ohio representative for the California-based DPA, said if the Legislature doesn’t legalize medical marijuana, voters should take matters into their own hands.

Medical Marijuana Patients Sue Two California Cities

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on April 6, 2010 Legislation, Medical

Photo: Christopher Victorio/OC Weekly

Medical marijuana advocates protest at a Lake Forest City Council meeting

Four medical marijuana patients have filed a federal lawsuit attempting to stop the recent crackdowns on cannabis dispensaries in the cities of Costa Mesa and Lake Forest, California.

In the lawsuit, which was filed Friday, Orange County residents Marla James, Wayne Washington, James Armantrout and Charles Daniel DeJong allege that the cities’ efforts to close down medical marijuana dispensaries deny them the access to public services, reports Ellyn Pak at The Orange County Register.

San Diego D.A. Has Losing Streak With Medical Pot Cases

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on April 5, 2010 Medical, News

Photo: Bonnie D.A.’Mantis

San Diego County D.A. Bonnie Dumanis: Despite a pledge to respect California’s medical marijuana laws, she has waged an urelenting war against cannabis patients and providers

San Diego County medical marijuana activist, patient and provider Eugene Davidovich was recently acquitted of all charges of illegally selling and possessing cannabis. His March 26 acquittal follows an earlier courtroom loss for District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis in the Jovan Jackson case.

Yet Dumanis continues her fanatical and expensive campaign against medical marijuana patients and providers.

Another high profile medical pot case looms for Donna Lambert, a 49-year-old cancer patient who also ran a medical marijuana network that provided home deliveries to patients, reports Peter Hecht at the The Sacramento Bee.

”I don’t take from this that we’re not going to be able to prosecute a dispensary,” Deputy District Attorney Steve Walter said after the Jackson case. But Walter and his boss Dumanis clearly still haven’t shown they can win such a case, even after wasting a lot of tax money and police manpower trying to do so.

San Diego Medical Marijuana Ordinance Developed In Secret

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on April 2, 2010 Legislation, Medical

Graphic: Fox 5

Medical marijuana advocates have responded with shock and concern at a draconian proposal that would create strict new rules for medical marijuana collectives in unincorporated areas of San Diego County.

According to advocates, the ordinance, as drafted, threatens to cut off San Diego patients’ access to medical marijuana by making compliance with the absurdly too-strict rules almost impossible.

State Supreme Court To Review Firing Of Medical Marijuana Patient

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on April 2, 2010 Legislation, Medical

Graphic: Fox 5

The Washington Supreme Court has agreed to review a case in which an employee was fired solely for her lawful use, at home, of doctor-recommended marijuana for medicinal purposes.

The case arose from the 2006 firing of authorized medical marijuana patient Jane Roe (who is using a pseudonym to protect her identity) from a company called TeleTech Customer Care Management. Roe was hired by TeleTech to be a customer service consultant, which required answering phones and responding to emails.

Roe informed TeleTech about her medical use of marijuana during the hiring process, providing the company with a copy of her physician’s authorization.

However, when Roe’s pre-employment drug screen tested positive for THC, an active ingredient of marijuana, she was fired.

WA Governor Allows More To OK Medical Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on April 2, 2010 Legislation, Medical

Photo: World of Work

More medical professionals will be allowed to authorize the use of medical marijuana for qualified patients under a measure signed into law by Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire.

Washington’s newest improvement on the medical marijuana program expands the number of health care providers who are legally allowed to recommend medical marijuana to patients.

Gregoire signed the bill Thursday, and it will take effect June 10, reports The Associated Press.

Under previous law, only physicians were authorized to write a recommendation for medical marijuana.

The new measure adds physician assistants, naturopaths, advanced registered nurse practitioners, and osteopathic physician assistants to the list of those who can officially recommend cannabis for patients under Washington’s medical marijuana law.

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