Compiled By: MedicalBillingandCoding.org
| Cannabis N.I. |
By Amos Silver
In Israel there is a group of about 15 percent of the population that is legally defined as offenders (the data is not accurate due to possible self-incrimination respondents), some even serving prison sentences. The group is an almost perfect cross section of the population in all other aspects.
Some serve in the army, pay taxes and are political activists, some of them belong to more vulnerable populations, some didn’t serve in the army and some own a cat. The rest are divided between the other layers of society. The only common thing among them is the reason they’re defined as criminals, besides that they are generally law-abiding as the rest of the population.
| NORML |
| Bryan Epis has been silenced by the federal government as a condition of his sentencing agreement |
Editor’s note: Recently, a remarkable resolution was reached on a federal medical marijuana case involving Bryan Epis, a California cannabis club operator, under which Epis had to agree not to be involved in marijuana activism. Epis’s attorney, John Balazs, has contributed his thoughts about the case below in a guest post which is reprinted here with his permission.
By John Balazs
Attorney
Bryan James Epis is a well-known medical marijuana activist who is believed to be the first person to be tried in federal court for cultivating marijuana for medical purposes after the 1996 ballot initiative that legalized medical marijuana in California. Although only 458 plants were found at his residence, the government extrapolated from a disputed spreadsheet to project that his “conspiracy” to grow marijuana was for at least 1,000 plants, the threshold to trigger a mandatory minimum 10-year sentence.
| Barb Brisson |
| Barb Brisson is fully present in her grandson’s life, thanks to cannabis. |
Here is what medical cannabis is all about: People reclaiming their lives. People making the conscious choice to once again be fully present with their families.
Every day I hear from chronic pain patients and those challenged by debilitating illness. Every day they tell me that when they had to depend totally on chemical pharms for relief, it was wrecking not only their bodies and minds but their relationships with people they care about.
“When we go out on adventures, I tell my grandson that some things, we can’t change … like the sun, moon, rain or snow,” medical marijuana patient Barb Brisson of Chatham, Michigan, told me this afternoon. “I teach him to be good to the Earth because it’s for everyone to enjoy.
| BBC |
| Gore Vidal, pictured here in about 1970, died on July 31, 2012 at the age of 86. He was famous for his biting political critiques and acerbic take on American society. |
Author, playwright and activist Gore Vidal’s death on Tuesday brought a worldwide expression of gratitude for a life well lived; millions are remembering the liberal author’s contributions to culture and politics.
What’s not as well known is that, decades ago, Vidal took a brave stand in favor of marijuana legalization, as pointed out on the Huffington Post by Tony Newman of the Drug Policy Alliance.
Via: Rehab International
The federal classification of marijuana as a Schedule I drug doesn’t just defy all scientific evidence; it isn’t just another way logic and reason are sacrificed on the altar of the War On Drugs.
| Chris Roberts/S.F. Examiner |
| Catherine and Steve Smith founded HopeNet 14 years ago and have diligently gone by state and city laws |
The ranks are thinning. Two more of San Francisco’s most well-known medical marijuana dispensaries closed their doors permanently on Tuesday, both due to the federal government’s crackdown in states which have legalized the medicinal use of cannabis.
HopeNet and the Vapor Room both announced they would shut down due to threatening letters sent to their landlords by the federal government, reports Joe Rosato Jr., of NBCBayArea.com.
“The Justice Department sent out landlord one of those nasty letters,” HopeNet cofounder Catherine Smith said. “So this is our D-Day; we have to leave.”
HopeNet was founded 14 years ago by Smith and her husband on Ninth Street in San Francisco’s South of Market. The business has long been regarded as an excellent example of a working, legitimate medical marijuana dispensary which carefully abides by state and city laws. Smith worked alongside city officials, serving on the Medical Marijuana Task Force and helping craft S.F.’s groundbreaking city ordinance on medicinal cannabis.
| AAHA Trends Today |
It was a hoax — but it was hoax to make a point.
The San Diego chapter of Americans for Safe Access (ASA), a nationwide cannabis advocacy group, working with LGBT activism group Canvass for a Cause and as part of the The Yes Men’s “Yes Labs” project, released a series of satirical press releases on Tuesday which indicated that U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy would begin targeting pharmacies for closure using asset forfeiture proceedings.
The purpose of the action was to draw attention to the U.S. Attorney’s harmful efforts to deny patients access to doctor-recommended medical cannabis.
“Just as the closure of retail pharmacies, like CVS or Walgreens, is poor public health policy, so is the federal government’s crackdown on medical cannabis dispensaries,” said Eugene Davidovich of San Diego ASA. “Pharmacies, like medical cannabis dispensaries, play an essential role in our communities as they help the sick and dying treat and manage various medical conditions.”
| FAC |
| U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy has made it her personal mission to shut down safe access to medical marijuana in Southern California |
The “Cease and Desist” orders and “official” press release announcing the federal closure of pharmacies in San Diego — purportedly originating from the office of U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy — are indeed fake.
“This hoax was conducted in retaliation against U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy for her insubordination against the Obama Administration and Government of the United States of America,” said Dexter Haight of the Federal Accountability Coalition (FAC), which took responsibility for the hoax.
According to the FAC, Duffy’s superiors, President Obama and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, have both pledged that Federal resources would not be used to shut down medical marijuana dispensaries operating in compliance with state law. Despite this pledge to the American public, U.S. Attorney Duffy has used Federal power to target medical marijuana dispensaries with asset forfeiture.
| MTCIA |
| “Through their repeal efforts, the legislature ignored the will of the people and claimed to be abiding by it all at the same time,” said Chris Lindsey, president of the Montana Cannabis Industry Association |
A billboard reading “Welcome to Yellowstone County, Where the Will of the People Doesn’t Count” now appears on Montana Avenue in Billings, Montana. The billboard encourages Montanans to vote against IR-124, a voter initiative appearing on this year’s ballot that allows voters keep or reject the current medical marijuana law.
The billboard was placed by the Montana Cannabis Industry Association (MTCIA), best known for its legal challenge to the current medical marijuana law. The new law repealed the popular and controversial voter initiative which put medical marijuana on the books in 2004.
“Through their repeal efforts, the legislature ignored the will of the people and claimed to be abiding by it all at the same time,” says Chris Lindsey, president of the MTCIA. “First, they rushed to repeal the original law and leave patients with nothing.