FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 5, 2009
CONTACT: Tony Newman at 646-335-5384 or Tommy McDonald at 636-335-2242

Montel Williams, Celebrated Talk Show Host and Medical Marijuana Patient/Advocate, to Receive Award at International Drug Policy Reform Conference in New Mexico

Award Recognizes Williams' Pioneering Advocacy for Compassionate Drug Laws and Safe Access to Medical Marijuana

Montel Williams, veteran TV talk show host and currently the host of Montel Across America, a nationally syndicated daily radio show, will receive the The Edward M. Brecher Award for Achievement in the Field of Journalism at the International Drug Policy Reform Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Nov. 13, 2009. Williams, who suffers from multiple sclerosis and uses medical marijuana to relieve chronic nerve pain, is being honored by the Drug Policy Alliance for his groundbreaking journalism and outspoken advocacy on behalf of medical marijuana patients and providers. Williams will accept the award during the conference awards dinner, which begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency Albuquerque.

Since going public with his personal medical marijuana use in late 2003, Williams has tirelessly campaigned for changes in state and federal laws to expand access to marijuana as a medicine. In addition to writing Climbing Higher, his 2004 autobiography that detailed his struggle with MS and the therapeutic effects of cannabis, Williams has hosted TV shows on the topic of medical marijuana, authored Op-Ed pieces in major newspapers and used his platform as a public figure to press legislators across the country to enact new drug policies based on compassion, reason and science. In particular, Williams traveled to state capitals in Albany, NY and Trenton, NJ, as well as Washington, D.C., to urge elected officials to pass medical marijuana legislation.

"I utilize medical marijuana to help alleviate the extreme neuralgic pain I suffer from," said Montel Williams. "I am not alone. There are thousands of patients like me, and we should not be treated as criminals."

“Montel is in a league of his own insofar as the effort to legalize medical marijuana is concerned,” said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance. “No one has used his media pulpit as effectively and passionately as he has in combating drug war intransigence.”

The Drug Policy Alliance, the nation's leading organization promoting policy alternatives to the drug war, bestows the biennial Edward M. Brecher Award to media figures who show the courage and leadership to question official drug war propaganda. Previous recipients include: ABC News Anchor Hugh Downs; Cartoonist Gary Trudeau; The Economist magazine; Rolling Stone magazine; William Finnegan, staff writer for The New Yorker; and Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation and Reefer Madness, among other distinguished honorees.

The International Drug Policy Reform Conference, co-hosted by the Drug Policy Alliance in Albuquerque, NM from Nov. 12-14, 2009, brings together nearly 1000 leading international experts, treatment providers, researchers, policymakers and key activists at the leading global forum on drug policy reform. For more information or to register for the conference, please visit www.reformconference.org. To purchase tickets for the awards ceremony: http://www.regonline.com/Checkin.asp?EventId=784745.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 5, 2009
CONTACT: Tony Newman at 646-335-5384

NY State Assemblyman Jeffrion L. Aubry, Chief Sponsor of Historic Rockefeller Drug Law Reform Legislation, to Receive Award at International Drug Policy Reform Conference in New Mexico

Award Recognizes Aubry's Leadership and Tenacity in Successful Effort to Roll Back Draconian New York State Drug Laws

New York State Assemblyman Jeffrion L. Aubry, a longtime champion of efforts to reform New York's harsh Rockefeller Drug Laws, will receive the Justice Gerald Le Dain Award for Achievement in the Field of Law at the International Drug Policy Reform Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Nov. 13, 2009. Aubry, who introduced bills to repeal New York's mandatory drug sentencing laws in every legislative session since 1997, is being honored by the Drug Policy Alliance for his unyielding commitment to reform culminating in this year's passage of sweeping changes to the Rockefeller laws.

The Justice Gerald Le Dain Award for Achievement in the Field of La is bestowed on those involved in the law who work within official institutions to challenge traditional drug war orthodoxy. Previous recipients include: Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI); federal judges Robert Sweet (NY) and John Kane (Denver); former police chiefs Joseph D. McNamara ( Kansas City and San Jose) and Nicholas Pastore (New Haven, CT); Canadian Member of Parliament Libby Davies; and other distinguished attorneys, activists, judges and others.

Aubry, chair of the Assembly Standing Committee on Correction, led the successful fight to repeal mandatory minimum sentences for most low-level, nonviolent drug offenses in New York and instead return discretion to judges to determine whether to divert individuals to treatment or probation instead of incarceration. The reforms, signed into law in April by New York Gov. David Paterson and enacted in October, signal a shift toward treating drug use as public health issue rather a criminal justice matter.

"Thirty-five years of a drug policy focused on punishing drug users and spending billions of dollars on incarceration has failed to reduce drug use or drug-related crime," Aubry said. "Unfortunately, we have spent hundreds of millions of dollars locking up individuals, mostly African-Americans and Latinos, with drug abuse problems rather than offering them needed drug treatment. This historic reform enacts a sensible, comprehensive and cost-effective approach for dealing with nonviolent drug offenders and will ensure that drug abusers are able to access effective substance abuse treatment and counseling."

Aubry has represented the 35th Assembly District in Queens since 1992. He previously served as Director of Economic Development for the Borough President's Office of Queens. For 16 years, he worked in the drug treatment program at Elmcor Youth and Adult Activities, one of the largest nonprofit social service agencies in Queens.

Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, said, “I don’t know of any state legislator in the country who has fought so long, so hard, and now so successfully to reform a drug war injustice as Jeff Aubry.”

The International Drug Policy Reform Conference, co-hosted by the Drug Policy Alliance in Albuquerque, NM from Nov. 12-14, 2009, is the outstanding gathering in the world of people working to reform local, national and foreign drug policies. For more information or to register for the conference, please visit www.reformconference.org. To purchase tickets for the awards ceremony: http://www.regonline.com/Checkin.asp?EventId=784745.

For years, getting caught trying to smuggle drugs across the US-Mexican border meant being handed over to US authorities for prosecution.

A poll released this week suggests backers of California marijuana legalization initiatives have their work cut out for them.

Residents of the Colorado ski town of Breckenridge overwhelmingly voted to legalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana Tuesday. Early returns had the local measure passing with 72% of the vote.

That means as of January 1, people in Breckenridge can legally possess up to an ounce of marijuana under local ordinance. The measure also legalizes the possession of marijuana paraphernalia.

"This votes demonstrates that Breckenridge citizens overwhelmingly believe that adults should not be punished for making the safer choice to use marijuana instead of alcohol," said Sean McAllister, Breckenridge attorney and chair of Sensible Breckenridge, a local project of the statewide marijuana law reform group Sensible Colorado.

"As state and national focus grows on this important issue, the popular ski town of Breckenridge has taken center stage on marijuana reform-- and not just for medical purposes," said Brian Vicente of Sensible Colorado. "With this historic vote, Breckenridge has emerged as a national leader in sensible drug policy"

The campaign, which had no formal opposition, received a chorus of local support including endorsements from Breckenridge Town Councilman Jeffrey Bergeron, former. Colorado State Representative and Breckenridge resident, Gary Lindstrom, and the Summit Daily News.

Measure 2F was placed on the ballot when over 1400 local supporters signed a petition supporting the reform measure.

Under Colorado state law, possession of up to an ounce is decriminalized and punishable by a $100 fine. But Breckenridge police will "still have the ability to exercise discretion," said Chief Rick Holman. “It's never been something that we've spent a lot of time on, so I don't expect this to be a big change in how we really do business,” he told the Summit Daily News.

Breckenridge residents had voted for Amendment 44, a statewide legalization initiative, by the same percentage in 2006. That initiative won only 41% of the vote statewide.

Denver became the first city to vote to legalize marijuana possession under municipal ordinance in 2005.

Three months after New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch (D) vetoed a medical marijuana bill, bill supporters attempting to override the veto came up one vote short in the state Senate Wednesday.

In an historic hearing Wednesday, the California legislature examined the pros and cons of marijuana legalization.

In an opinion released Thursday, the Colorado Court of Appeals has ruled that persons designated as "caregivers

Wednesday was a historic day at the California state capitol. For the first time since the state banned marijuana in 1913, marijuana legalization was the topic of a hearing in the state legislature. The hearing was organized by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco), head of the Assembly's Public Safety Committee, to discuss his marijuana legalization bill, AB 390.

For three hours, proponents and opponents of reform clashed before an overflowing hearing room--the hearing was so popular capitol employees had to add a monitor in the hallway for those who couldn't get into the session. Both supporters and foes of legalization were well represented, and they mostly followed their predictable scripts. To this observer, law enforcement's dire warnings and objections sounded increasingly threadbare and shopworn and the arguments of legalizers especially compelling, but then, I agree with the legalizers.

I think what is important about Wednesday's hearing is not so much what was said--we've heard it all before, on both sides--as where it was said and in what context. Just a few days ago, they were talking legalization at the statehouse in Boston; now, they're doing it at the statehouse in Sacramento. Nobody expects the California bill to pass this year, but the fact that legalization is finally getting a serious hearing is a sign of progress.

I'll be reporting on the hearing and the preceding press conference in more detail later this week for the Drug War Chronicle. Check out the article on Friday.

Marijuana Policy Project Alert

October 28, 2009

Dear friends:

Today, the New Hampshire legislature came just shy of voting to override Gov. John Lynch (D)'s veto of the state's proposed medical marijuana law. Two-thirds of the votes were needed. Although we cleared the House with 67.6% of the vote (240-115), it lost in the Senate, 14-10.

The bill had passed the legislature in June, by 232-108 in the House and 14-10 in the Senate. But on July 10, Gov. Lynch vetoed the bill, after refusing to meet with 15 patients and after failing to give input to the legislative conference committee, which amended the bill to address each of the eight concerns he had voiced in April.

To override the veto and pass the bill into law, we needed supportive votes from two-thirds of voting members of the House and 16 votes in the Senate.

Coming so close to victory makes losing more painful. Yet the support of MPP’s 29,000 dues-paying members allowed us to wage a fierce fight: We retained a top lobbying firm in the state and funded an outstanding organizer, Matt Simon, who leads the New Hampshire Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy. We also ran tens of thousands of dollars of TV, radio, and print ads featuring patients who were counting on the governor and legislature to do the right thing and generated hundreds of e-mails, calls, and faxes and postcards to the governor and key legislators.

But the bill faced strong opposition from the state's attorney general and chiefs of police.

However, we’re determined to see New Hampshire medical marijuana patients protected from arrest and jail. 71% of New Hampshire voters support allowing seriously and terminally ill patients to use and grow medical marijuana for personal use if their doctors recommend it, according to a 2008 Mason-Dixon poll.

Would you help us come back even stronger? Please don’t let the New Hampshire patients who spoke out publicly in support of this bill be ignored. Donate what you can today.

Need one more reason? Do it for the memory of Scott Turner, a New Hampshire medical marijuana patient and activist who died August 4 after a long and painful battle with degenerative joint disease and degenerative disc disease.

Together, we're going to win this fight.

Thank you,

Rob Kampia
Executive Director
Marijuana Policy Project
Washington, D.C.

P.S. As I've mentioned in previous alerts, a major philanthropist has committed to match the first $2.35 million that MPP can raise from the rest of the planet in 2009. This means that your donation today will be doubled.

MPP will be able to tackle all of the projects in our 2009 strategic plan if you and other allies are able to fund our work.

Contributions to MPP are not tax-deductible. To make a tax-deductible contribution, click here.

Popular Links:

·         MPP's home page

·         MPP blog

·         MPP TV

·         FAQ

·         State-by-state medical marijuana laws

·         MPP news releases

·         2009 strategic plan

·         Download hand-outs

·         About the Marijuana Policy Project

·         MedicalMarijuanaProCon.org

·         Why donate?

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Small Print …
Our mailing address is MPP, P.O. Box 77492, Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C. 20013.

We are required by federal law to tell you that any donations you make to MPP may be used for political purposes, such as supporting or opposing candidates for federal office.

MEDIA ADVISORY                                                                                                              
OCTOBER 27, 2009

State Assembly to Hold Historic Hearing on Marijuana Regulation Wednesday 10/28
Press Conference at 9 a.m. Followed by Hearing in Public Safety Committee

CONTACT: Bruce Mirken, MPP director of communications …………… 415-585-6404 or 202-215-4205

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA — On Wednesday, the California Assembly Public Safety Committee will hold a historic hearing on the implications of taxing and regulating marijuana similarly to alcoholic beverages. The informational hearing marks the first time California’s legislature has considered ending marijuana prohibition since California first banned marijuana in 1913. Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco), chair of the committee, is author of AB 390, the Marijuana Control, Regulation, and Education Act. A press conference will precede the hearing.

            WHAT: Press conference and Public Safety Committee informational hearing on taxing and regulating marijuana.

            WHO: Speaking at the press conference will be Assemblyman Tom Ammiano; Aaron Smith, Marijuana Policy Project; Stephen Gutwillig, Drug Policy Alliance; and Dale Gieringer, California NORML. Available to answer questions at the news conference and testifying at the hearing will be: Terence Hallinan, former district attorney, City and County of San Francisco; Dan Macallair, executive director, Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice; Jim Gray, retired judge, Orange County Superior Court; Rev. Canon Mary Moreno-Richardson, Episcopal priest, Hispanic Ministries at St. Paul’s Cathedral, San Diego; Tamar Todd, staff attorney, Drug Policy Alliance Network; Allen Hopper, counsel, American Civil Liberties Union.

            WHERE: State Capitol, Sacramento. Press conference in Room 317, hearing in Room 126.

            WHEN: Press conference at 9 a.m., hearing at 10 a.m.

         With more than 29,000 members and 100,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit http://MarijuanaPolicy.org.

####

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                                                 

OCTOBER 26, 2009

N.H. Patients Make Final Plea for Medical Marijuana Law in Tuesday Press Conference

CONTACT: Matt Simon, New Hampshire Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy… (603) 391-7450

CONCORD— One day prior to the final vote on HB 648, patients and advocates will hold a Tuesday morning press conference urging legislators to end the uncertainty and pass this bill into law when they vote Oct. 28.

Additionally, half-page newspaper ads have been slated to run Tuesday in the Concord Monitor and the New Hampshire Union-Leader urging support for the override.

HB 648 passed the House and Senate June 24, but was subsequently vetoed by Gov. John Lynch.  If it becomes law, New Hampshire would become the 14th state to protect seriously ill patients from arrest for using medical marijuana if their doctor recommends it.

WHAT: Press conference urging legislators to pass the medical marijuana bill into law

WHO: Advocates scheduled to participate include: 
                              

Rep. Evalyn Merrick, prime sponsor of HB 648

Barbara Filleul, a cancer survivor from Concord

Dennis Acton, a cancer survivor from Fremont

Former state Sen. Burt Cohen, a survivor of Hepatitis-C

Matt Simon, executive director for the N.H. Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy

WHEN: Tuesday, October 27, 10 a.m.

WHERE: Legislative Office Building lobby, Concord, N.H.

Medical Marijuana Regulations:  We need your guidance 

Dear Supporters of Sensible Drug Policy,
 
Interesting news!

Colorado State Senator Chris Romer has requested that Sensible Colorado contact our large database of patients and supporters to request input on a bill he plans to run in 2010-- a statewide bill to Regulate Medical Marijuana Sales.  Senator Romer has told Sensible Colorado that he wants to see our state become a leader in alternative therapies-- including medical marijuana-- for all seriously ill people. 
 
The Senator wants to hear from you.  Please take advantage of this unique opportunity to help shape the future of medical marijuana in Colorado.  Contact Sen. Romer today with your guidance and comments at:  sen.romer@gmail.com.  To assist with this process, we have linked a copy of Sensible Colorado's White Paper titled "Medical Marijuana Dispensaries:  Benefits and Regulation" HERE and have included an email template below.    
 
--Here is a sample email--
 
Dear Sen. Romer,
 
On behalf of Sensible Colorado and the movement for safe access in Colorado, I applaud you for examining the important issue of medical marijuana regulation in our state.  It is vital that Colorado's sick patients have safe and reliable access to this doctor-recommended medicine.  Please keep in mind that medical marijuana dispensaries are utilized by the sickest members of your community, so please act to preserve these facilities.  Here are some ideas for sensible regulation:
 
-- Arbitrary caps on the number of dispensaries can be counterproductive.  Policymakers do not need to set arbitrary limitations on the number of dispensaries allowed to operate within a community because, as with other services, competitive market forces will be decisive. 
 
--Regulations are best handled by Health and Planning Departments, not law enforcement.  Let's leave medical issues to health professionals.  Law enforcement agencies, having little expertise in health and medical affairs, are ill-suited for handling such matters.
 
--Restrictions on the locations of dispensaries are often unnecessary and can create barriers to access.  Certainly we don't want dispensaries-- or liquor stores for that matter-- next to schools.  However, patients benefit from dispensaries being convenient and accessible, especially if the patients are disabled. 
 
--Patients benefit from onsite consumption and proper ventilation systems.  Dispensaries that allow patients to consume medicine onsite encourage members to take advantage of non-marijuana, therapy services and allow for greater social interaction, which can have positive psychosocial health benefits for this chronically ill population.  
 

Thanks for your time and for the opportunity to comment on this important topic.
 
Sincerely,
 
[NAME]

Sensible Colorado | PO Box 18768 | Denver CO 80218

San Diego's ASA chapter protested outside the California Narcotics Officers Association awards ceremony this week. As well they should -- CNOA is a statewide drug police union that has a nasty habit of publishing some of the most warped propaganda about the drug war I've seen.

Larger copies of the protest photos, and more of them, online here.

The Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act, a bill named after a well-known Wisconsin medical marijuana patient and activist, was mentioned here last week. Check out another article about from two days ago in the Express Milwaukee newspaper, Medical Marijuana Advocates Won't Wait.

Good article -- and good title, why should they have to wait?

A California Superior Court judge ruled Monday that the Ci

Hit hard by a double whammy of drought and economic slowdown, California's Central Valley has become a hotbed of methamphetamine and other injection drug use.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE           

OCTOBER 22, 2009

U.S. Attorney’s Announcement Brings New Hope for Medical Marijuana Bill in New Hampshire

Medical marijuana vote Oct. 28; poll shows 71% support

CONTACT: Matt Simon, NH Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy…………………(603) 391-7450

CONCORD – Patients and their advocates received new hope Tuesday in their effort to pass a medical marijuana bill in New Hampshire.  The U.S. attorney for New Hampshire, John Kacavas, announced that his department will not prosecute seriously ill patients who use marijuana to relieve their suffering.

The statement from Kacavas came one day after the Obama administration issued guidelines to federal prosecutors and the DEA directing them not to expend limited resources prosecuting medical marijuana patients in states where doctors may legally recommend the drug.  Kacavas went a step further, telling reporters his office would not prosecute patients for possessing marijuana regardless of whether HB 648 passes or fails. 

When the bill was debated earlier this year, many legislators expressed concern that a New Hampshire law could not protect patients from federal prosecutions.  In light of Kacavas’ announcement, advocates say it is now clear that patients have nothing to fear from federal agents in New Hampshire.

“It’s great to hear that I’m safe from the federal authorities,” said 24-year old Clayton Holton, a Somersworth resident who suffers from muscular dystrophy and lost his ability to walk at age 10.  “Unfortunately, if HB 648 doesn’t pass, I’ll still have to live in fear of New Hampshire state and local police.”

A 2008 Mason-Dixon poll showed that 71% of New Hampshire voters support allowing seriously and terminally ill patients access to medical marijuana for personal use if their doctors recommend it.

Matt Simon, executive director for the NH Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy, praised the announcement from Kacavas but pointed out that of the more than 800,000 marijuana arrests that take place each year in the US, 99% are made by state and local law enforcement officers.  “If legislators want to see some of New Hampshire’s most vulnerable citizens receive protection from arrest, there is no good reason left for them to vote against HB 648,” he said.

Cancer survivor Dennis Acton, a Fremont resident, also cheered the new development.  “It’s great to see the federal government finally acknowledging that states should be free to determine their own policies,” he said.  “Now it’s clear that the responsibility of changing this law rests with our own state legislature, and nobody else.”

The bill is scheduled for a final vote in the House and Senate Oct. 28.  Two-thirds majorities will be necessary to override Gov. John Lynch’s veto and pass the bill into law.  When the bill passed June 24, the House vote was 232-108 (68%) and the Senate vote was 14-10, only two votes short of the override threshold.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                               
OCTOBER 22, 2009

Patients Call for Medical Marijuana Bill in Light of New Federal Policy

Obama Announcement Clears Way for Massachusetts to Protect Patients; 81% of Voters in Favor

CONTACT: Bruce Mirken, MPP director of communications …………… 415-585-6404 or 202-215-4205

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS — The Obama administration’s directive to federal prosecutors not to prosecute medical marijuana activities that are in accord with state laws gives new impetus to the drive to pass a medical marijuana bill in Massachusetts, patients who have benefited from marijuana said today. Pending legislation, HB 2160 would make Massachusetts the 14th state with such a law. The bill is largely modeled on the successful medical marijuana law in Rhode Island, which has been in force since 2006.

         “I’m excited about this news from the Obama administration, which shows that the government is now willing to acknowledge that marijuana has legitimate medical uses,” said Marcy Duda of Ware, who suffers from chronic pain and debilitating nerve damage due to brain surgery. “I hope this sends a signal to our legislators that there is no reason not to move ahead with legislation to help seriously ill patients. I’ve tried prescription painkillers that are very addictive and just knock me out. Medical marijuana helps me get by.”

         A Suffolk University poll released in September found that 81 percent of Massachusetts voters support medical marijuana legislation. Full poll results are available at http://www.suffolk.edu/research/38128.html

         “Hopefully this will help reduce the needless stigma associated with medical marijuana use,” said Don from the South Shore, who suffers from a rare condition called cyclic vomiting syndrome and who asked that his full name not be used for fear of legal consequences. “It’s not about an excuse to use an illegal drug, it’s about people with cancer, pain, or other illnesses who don’t respond to other available medications. I suffered for years before I had any idea about medical marijuana. I’ve considered moving to Rhode Island so I could have safe access to my medicine and never have to miss work while bedridden with nausea and vomiting.”

         With more than 29,000 members and 100,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit http://MarijuanaPolicy.org.

####

LOS ANGELES PREPARES FOR CLASH OVER MARIJUANA

**********************************************************************

DrugSense FOCUS Alert #417 - Sunday, 18 October 2009

Today the New York Times focused on the issue of medicinal marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles but also covered the growing battle over the dispensaries across the state.

As stated in the article State Attorney General Jerry Brown's guidelines, which you may read at http://drugsense.org/url/kKMJR2lu, do "allow for nonprofit sales of medical marijuana" by cooperatives or collectives properly established in accordance with the state's laws.

Letter writing activists may find targets for their efforts both in California and other states at http://www.mapinc.org/topic/dispensaries and articles about California marijuana issues at http://www.mapinc.org/find?115.

**********************************************************************

Source: New York Times (NY)

Copyright: 2009 The New York Times Company

Contact: letters@nytimes.com

Author: Solomon Moore

LOS ANGELES PREPARES FOR CLASH OVER MARIJUANA

LOS ANGELES -- There are more marijuana stores here than public schools. Signs emblazoned with cannabis plants or green crosses sit next to dry cleaners, gas stations and restaurants.

The dispensaries range from Hollywood-day-spa fabulous to shoddy-looking storefronts with hand-painted billboards. Absolute Herbal Pain Solutions, Grateful Meds, Farmacopeia Organica.

Cannabis advocates claim that more than 800 dispensaries have sprouted here since 2002; some law enforcement officials say it is closer to 1,000. Whatever the real number, everyone agrees it is too high.

And so this, too, is taken for granted: Crackdowns on cannabis clubs will soon come in this city, which has more dispensaries than any other.

For the first time, law enforcement officials in Los Angeles have vowed to prosecute medical marijuana dispensaries that turn a profit, with police officials saying they expect to conduct raids. Their efforts are widely seen as a campaign to sway the City Council into adopting strict regulations after two years of debate.

It appears to be working. Carmen A. Trutanich, the newly elected city attorney, recently persuaded the Council to put aside a proposed ordinance negotiated with medical marijuana supporters for one drafted by his office. The new proposal calls for dispensaries to have renewable permits, submit to criminal record checks, register the names of members with the police and operate on a nonprofit basis. If enacted, it is likely to result in the closing of hundreds of marijuana dispensaries.

Mr. Trutanich argued that state law permits the exchange of marijuana between growers and patients on a nonprofit and noncash basis only.
Marijuana advocates say that interpretation would regulate dispensaries out of existence and thwart the will of voters who approved medical cannabis in 1996.

Whatever happens here will be closely watched by law enforcement officials and marijuana advocates across the country who are threading their way through federal laws that still treat marijuana as an illegal drug and state laws that are increasingly allowing medicinal use. Thirteen states have laws supporting medical marijuana, and others are considering new legislation.

No state has gone further than California, often described by drug enforcement agents as a "source nation" because of the vast quantities of marijuana grown here. And no city in the state has gone further than Los Angeles. This has alarmed local officials, who say that dispensary owners here took unfair advantage of vague state laws intended to create exceptions to marijuana prohibitions for a limited number of ill people.

"About 100 percent of dispensaries in Los Angeles County and the city are operating illegally," said Steve Cooley, the Los Angeles County district attorney, who is up for re-election next year. "The time is right to deal with this problem."

Mr. Cooley, speaking last week at a training luncheon for regional narcotics officers titled "The Eradication of Medical Marijuana Dispensaries in the City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County," said that state law did not allow dispensaries to be for-profit enterprises.

Mr. Trutanich, the city attorney, went further, saying dispensaries were prohibited from accepting cash even to reimburse growers for labor and supplies. He said that a recent California Supreme Court decision, People v. Mentch, banned all over-the-counter sales of marijuana; other officials and marijuana advocates disagree.

So far, prosecutions of marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles have been limited to about a dozen in the last year, said Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman for Mr. Cooley. But Police Department officials said they were expecting to be called on soon to raid collectives.

"I don't think this is a law that we'll have to enforce 800 times,"
said one police official, who declined to speak on the record before the marijuana ordinance was completed. "This is just like anything else. You don't have to arrest everyone who is speeding to make people slow down."

Don Duncan, a spokesman for Americans for Safe Access, a leader in the medical marijuana movement, said that over-the-counter cash purchases should be permitted but that dispensaries should be nonprofit organizations. He also said marijuana collectives needed more regulation and a "thinning of the herd."

"I am under no illusions that everyone out there is following the rules," said Mr. Duncan, who runs his own dispensary in West Hollywood. "But just because you accept money to reimburse collectives does not mean you're making profits."

For marijuana advocates, Los Angeles represents a critical juncture
-- a symbol of the movement's greatest success, but also its vulnerability.

More than 300,000 doctors' referrals for medical cannabis are on file, the bulk of them from Los Angeles, according to Americans for Safe Access. The movement has had a string of successes in the Legislature and at the ballot box. In the city of Garden Grove, marijuana advocates forced the Highway Patrol to return six grams of marijuana it had confiscated from an eligible user. About 40 cities and counties have medical marijuana ordinances.

But there have also been setbacks. In June, a federal judge sentenced Charles C. Lynch, a dispensary owner north of Santa Barbara, to one year in prison for selling marijuana to a 17-year-old boy whose father had testified that they sought out medical marijuana for his son's chronic pain. The mayor and the chief of police testified on behalf of Mr. Lynch, who was released on bail pending appeal.

And last month, San Diego police officers and sheriff's deputies, along with agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration, raided 14 marijuana dispensaries and arrested 31 people. In an interview, Bonnie Dumanis, the district attorney for San Diego County, said that state laws governing medical marijuana were unclear and that the city had not yet instituted new regulations.

Ms. Dumanis said that she approved of medical marijuana clubs where patients grow and use their own marijuana, but that none of the 60 or so dispensaries in the county operated that way.

"These guys are drug dealers," she said of the 14 that were raided.
"I said publicly, if anyone thinks we're casting too big a net and we get a legitimate patient or a lawful collective, then show us your taxes, your business license, your incorporation papers, your filings with the Department of Corporations."

"If they had these things, we wouldn't prosecute," she said.

Marijuana supporters worry that San Diego may provide a glimpse of the near future for Los Angeles if raids here become a reality. But many look to Harborside Health Center in Oakland as a model for how dispensaries could work.

"Our No. 1 task is to show that we are worthy of the public's trust in asking to distribute medical cannabis in a safe and secure manner," said Steve DeAngelo, the pig-tailed proprietor of Harborside, which has been in business for three years.

Harborside is one of four licensed dispensaries in Oakland run as nonprofit organizations. It is the largest, with 74 employees and revenues of about $20 million. Last summer, the Oakland City Council passed an ordinance to collect taxes from the sale of marijuana, a measure that Mr. DeAngelo supported.

Mr. DeAngelo designed Harborside to exude legitimacy, security and comfort. Visitors to the low-slung building are greeted by security guards who check the required physicians' recommendations. Inside, the dispensary looks like a bank, except that the floor is covered with hemp carpeting and the eight tellers stand behind identical displays of marijuana and hashish.

There is a laboratory where technicians determine the potency of the marijuana and label it accordingly. (Harborside says it rejects 80 percent of the marijuana that arrives at its door for insufficient
quality.) There is even a bank vault where the day's cash is stored along with reserves of premium cannabis. An armored truck picks up deposits every evening. City officials routinely audit the dispensary's books. Surplus cash is rolled back into the center to pay for free counseling sessions and yoga for patients. "Oakland issued licenses and regulations, and Los Angeles did nothing and they are still unregulated," Mr. DeAngelo said. "Cannabis is being distributed by inappropriate people."

But even Oakland's regulations fall short of Mr. Trutanich's proposal that Los Angeles ban all cash sales.

"I don't know of any collective that operates in the way that is envisioned by this ordinance," said Mr. Duncan, of Americans for Safe Access.

Christine Gasparac, a spokeswoman for State Attorney General Jerry Brown, said that after Mr. Trutanich's comments in Los Angeles, law enforcement officials and advocates from around the state had called seeking clarity on medical marijuana laws.

Mr. Brown has issued legal guidelines that allow for nonprofit sales of medical marijuana, she said. But, she added, with laws being interpreted differently, "the final answer will eventually come from the courts."

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Prepared by: Richard Lake, Senior Editor www.mapinc.org

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