Toke of the Town

Browsing: Medical

San Diego Council Ready To Finalize Dispensary Regulations

0
By on Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

Photo: stopthedrugwar.org
San Diegans protest Operation Green Rx, District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis’ dispensary crackdown

​The San Diego City Council is considering adopting dispensary regulations that were developed recently by the city’s Medical Marijuana Task Force, with substantial public input.

The task force held public meetings, studied ordinances from other cities and counties around the state, and considered comments from San Diego residents over a period of five weeks before making the recommendations.
“The San Diego City Council is doing a difficult and brave thing,” said Margaret Dooley-Sammuli, deputy state director in Southern California for the Drug Policy Alliance Network. “It’s putting safe access for medical marijuana patients and the needs of San Diegans above the political opposition of the County Board of Supervisors and the District Attorney.”
Read More

Ill N.J. Man Found Not Guilty Of Most Serious Marijuana Charge

0
By on Growing, Medical, News

Photo: CMMNJ

​Jurors have found a Somerset County, N.J., medical marijuana patient not guilty of the most serious charge against him — operating a drug facility out of his home — reports Jennifer Golson of The Star-Ledger.

John Ray Wilson, 37, was growing 17 marijuana plants, which he said he used to treat his multiple sclerosis.
Wilson was found guilty of second-degree manufacturing and third-degree drug possession for the dried marijuana and psilocybin mushrooms New Jersey State Police seized at his rented home on Aug. 18, 2008.
Testimony in the case started Tuesday before Superior Court Judge Robert Reed, and attorneys delivered closing arguments this morning. The jury deliberated just before lunch and came to a decision about 4 p.m. Eastern time today.
Read More

S.F. Suburb Stops Short Of Banning Pot Dispensaries

0
By on Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Despite a moratorium on the opening of any new dispensaries, beautiful Richmond, California still has safe access for medical marijuana patients — for now.

​East Bay city Richmond, Calif., will hold off on an outright ban of medical marijuana dispensaries, Katherine Tam reports in The Oakland Tribune.

City leaders in Richmond, an residential inner suburb of San Francisco, say they are still looking for a way to regulate dispensaries without exhausting police resources, “which should be focused on homicides and more serious violent crimes.”
Richmond officials plan to study other cities’ tactics as they weigh their options.
“See if there is a way to try to accomplish the goal of getting a convenient way for people to have access to medical marijuana in a way that doesn’t lead to constant drains of police resources,” said Councilman Jim Rogers.
Read More

Councilman Demands Refund Of Attorney Fees For Bad Advice On Pot Dispensaries

0
By on Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

MediLeaf
The little dispensary that could: MediLeaf is still open in Gilroy, Calif.

​Gilroy, Calif., Councilman Perry Woodward has called for a “full refund” of legal fees from the city’s contracted law firm after learning that Gilroy’s assistant city attorney advised the neighboring City of Los Altos to take a “diametrically opposed” stance on banning marijuana dispensaries, reports Jonathan Partridge at the Gilroy Dispatch.

Woodward urged the council to demand restitution for all legal fees paid to hired attorney Linda Callon of San Jose-based law firm Berliner-Cohen in connection with regulating medical marijuana dispensaries. According to the Dispatch, the councilman has sent emails to fellow council members, city administrators and Callon herself.
Read More

Stunning Reversal At N.J. Medical Marijuana Trial!

0
By on Legislation, Medical, News

Photo: CMMNJ
MS patient John Ray Wilson, left, and a supporter

​In a move that could be huge for the medical marijuana movement, a New Jersey judge reversed course today, allowing a multiple sclerosis patient on trial for growing 17 marijuana plants to testify about his medical condition, Brian Thompson of NBC New York reports.

Although Judge Robert Reed had earlier ruled defendant John Ray Wilson couldn’t present a defense based on medical necessity, Wilson was allowed to mention his MS after multiple conferences among lawyers and the judge.
“I told them [the arresting officers]I was not a drug dealer and I was using the marijuana for my MS,” Wilson was allowed to tell the jury.
“I think it carried weight, even though it was one sentence,” said Chris Goldstein of the Coalition for Medical Marijuana in New Jersey.
No follow up on Wilson’s MS was allowed.
He faces up to 20 years in prison on the “drug manufacturing” charge.
Read More

Buffer Zone For Marijuana Dispensaries Raises Questions In L.A.

0
By on Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

Photo: Laurie Avocado

​The Los Angeles City Council’s proposed restrictions on where medical marijuana dispensaries can locate in the city would eliminate most sites, according to maps drawn by city planners, John Hoeffel of the L.A. Times reports.

City Councilman Ed Reyes said Tuesday that the current proposal — a 1,000-foot buffer between dispensaries and residences or other “sensitive” areas, including schools and parks — “will go out the window right away” when the council returns to the issue today.
Read More

Colorado Coalition Releases Guidelines For Marijuana Dispensary Regulation

0
By on Dispensaries, Medical

CMMR

​Coloradans for Medical Marijuana Regulation (CMMR), a coalition of medical marijuana patients, providers and growers supporting responsible regulation of medical marijuana, today released proposed guidelines for regulating medical marijuana dispensaries.
According to CMMR, the guidelines would protect the businesses and their patients, as well as promote public safety.
Read More

Dope Of The Day: Wisconsin Politician Accuses Medical Marijuana Supporters Of ‘Secret Agenda’

0
By on Culture, Legislation, Medical

Photo: www.legis.state.wi.us
Dope of the Day Leah Vukmir: Just take your pharmaceuticals, and forget about that silly marijuana.

​A Republican legislator’s accusation that medical marijuana supporters have a secret agenda of legalizing pot for everyone drew boos from many in a room packed with sick people in wheelchairs or walking with canes, AP reports.

Rep. Leah Vukmir claimed there are no medical reasons to use marijuana and that suffering patients should do things that “do not require individuals to light a joint.”
For her complete lack of empathy for her fellow human beings, along with an obnoxious dose of hubristic arrogance combined with insufferable ignorance, Toke of the Town enthusiastically awards Rep. Vukmir our ignoble Dope Of The Day award.
Read More

Marijuana Collective Operator Goes To Court Today In San Diego; Support Needed

0
By on Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

Photo Courtesy Eugene Davidovich
Marijuana hero Eugene Davidovich: In San Diego court today at 1:30 p.m.

​Medical marijuana patient, activist and provider Eugene Davidovich is scheduled to appear in court in San Diego today.

Davidovich is one of the victims of San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis’ war on cannabis patients and providers.
Eugene’s hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. at 220 West Broadway, San Diego. If you’re in the San Diego area, in-person court support is much appreciated.
A military veteran with an honorable discharge, Davidovich started a legal marijuana collective in San Diego, carefully abiding by state law.
Eugene was arrested last February as part of Operation Green Rx (aka Operation Endless Summer). He told me that the chief investigative officer in his case testified on the stand that the officer based his expert testimony, as far as “medical marijuana training,” on a handout from something called the Narcotic Educational Foundation of America, “Drug Abuse Education Provider of the California Narcotic Officers’ Association.”
In this toxic little screed, with the title Use of Marijuana As A “Medicine” (the quotes are theirs), we learn right off the bat — in the first sentence! — that “Marijuana, a plant from the cannabis family, is illegal and highly psychoactive.” No mention of the fact that medical use of marijuana is legal, mind you — and this in materials used to educate law enforcement officers.

Read More

Colorado Governor Second Guesses Doctors, Wants To Regulate Medical Marijuana

0
By on Legislation, Medical

Photo: thanasim25 (Arthur Mouratidis)
Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter: At this rate, by next week he’ll be an expert on nuclear physics.

​Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter said he’s “concerned” about the number of medical marijuana cards issued in the state recently, and his office is crafting legislation to deal with the issue, reports Dan Boniface at 9news.

Voters in 2000 approved legalizing medicinal pot in Colorado. Since the Obama Administration announced it wouldn’t be going after patients and providers in states where medical marijuana is legal, the number of cards in Colorado has skyrocketed.
The governor, who seems eager to start practicing medicine, said he wants to “define the relationship” between doctors and patients to ensure marijuana cards “aren’t just given to people who spend 20 minutes with a doctor.”
One of the main points of the governor’s proposed regulations seems to be second guessing medical doctors. “I have a sense that the number of cards that we’ve been seeing would indicate to me that there may be some group of physicians that are not being careful about how they’re prescribing it and to whom they’re prescribing it,” a dazzlingly hubristic Ritter said.
We’re still awaiting input from physicians on how they feel Ritter should do his job.
More on the governor’s amazing newfound medical expertise as the story develops.
1 … 196 197 198 199 200 … 203