ASA's Summary of Medical Marijuana Media MICHIGAN: Legislature Considers Bill; Initiative Likely WASHINGTON: Out-of-State Recommendation Disqualified CALIFORNIA: Court Clarifies Medical Cannabis Law CALIFORNIA: Community Champion Remembered CALIFORNIA: ID Cards Moving Forward CALIFORNIA: Local Dispensary Ordinances Considered FEDERAL: DEA Faces Suit by Cannabis Specialist ____________________________________________ MICHIGAN: Legislature Considers Bill; Initiative Likely State lawmakers failed to act on a pending bill, despite the compelling testimony of patients and the voter initiatives passed by several Michigan cities over the past several years. Federal officials continue to insist that states maintain criminal penalties for patients. Voters may soon get to have their say. Hearing set on medical pot use by Art Aisner, Ann Arbor News (MI) Proponents of medical marijuana in Michigan are gearing up for their cause's most significant initiative in the state in decades. http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=3899 Marijuana bill snuffed out by Chris Andrews, Lansing State Journal Irvin Rosenfeld is a willing poster child for medical marijuana. The Florida stockbroker suffers from a rare and painful disease called multiple congenital cartilaginous exostosis. He has received medical marijuana from the U.S. government since 1982, although the program was closed to new patients 10 years later. http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=3888 Medical marijuana bill dies by Charlie Cain , Detroit News A bill to allow people with "debilitating medical conditions" to legally use marijuana to ease their symptoms died in the Michigan Legislature on Tuesday, and backers say the issue will likely be left up to voters to decide. http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=3897 Lawmakers hear debate over medical marijuana by Tim Martin, Associated Press, Kalamazoo Gazette (MI) A proposal to allow the use of marijuana for medical reasons in Michigan received a rare legislative hearing Tuesday. http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=3887 Michigan tackles medical, recreational marijuana by Associated Press, WOOD TV8 (MI) Charles Snyder III says his rare disorder, nail patella syndrome, sometimes leaves him in so much pain he'd nearly be bedridden without pain medication -- such as marijuana. Snyder supports a bill discussed Tuesday in the state House that would make it legal for patients with "debilitating medical conditions" who grow or use marijuana for treatment purposes. http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=3886 Federal official urges state to keep pot use illegal by Dawson Bell, Detroit Free Press A top federal anti-drug official, testifying about legislation to approve the use of marijuana in Michigan for medical purposes, told lawmakers Tuesday the move would be bad both for patients and society. http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=3898 ____________________________________________ WASHINGTON: Out-of-State Recommendation Disqualified Conflicts between the intent of the law and officials’ interpretations can crop up as state’s implement medical cannabis laws. Washington’s law is clearly intended to protect patients, yet a woman’s recommendation was invalidated by the state Supreme Court because her doctor was from California. As an editorial notes, “Where the cops and courts failed, lawmakers can succeed, by rewriting the law to recognize medical marijuana prescriptions from any licensed physician.” Medical Marijuana: Dopey decision EDITORIAL, Seattle Post-Intelligencer The Washington Supreme Court, for hardly the first time in judicial history, has rendered a ruling that is at the same time legally correct and morally wrong. http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=3894 Woman may be jailed for medical pot use by Rachel La Corte, Associated Press Her California medical marijuana card will not protect a Hayward woman from going to jail for a marijuana charge in Washington state, the Washington State Supreme Court ruled Wednesday. http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=3900 ____________________________________________ CALIFORNIA: Court Clarifies Medical Cannabis Law The state Supreme Court has ruled that legislative action to clarify the voter initiative that made medical cannabis legal ten years ago were intended to aid implementation of the law. Specifically, the court found that patients may transport cannabis as needed. Man's Conviction Upheld In Medical Marijuana Case by CBS News, KCAL CBS-2 An Orange County man's felony conviction for transporting marijuana was upheld Monday by the California Supreme Court despite its ruling that later law allowing a medical marijuana defense for transportation applies retroactively. http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=3892 ____________________________________________ CALIFORNIA: Community Champion Remembered The life of a prominent doctor who served as medical director of the Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative was remembered this week. Mike Alcalay contributed tireless of his time and energy to patients throughout the Bay Area; we will miss him greatly. Mike Alcalay (1941-2006) Remembered on World AIDS Day by Judith Scherr, Berkeley Daily Planet Countless lives have been touched by Dr. Mike Alcalay who died Nov. 18 in Oakland from a rare and aggressive leukemia, after surviving AIDS for more than 20 years. http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=3895 ____________________________________________ CALIFORNIA: ID Cards Moving Forward ASA’s legal arguments have helped persuade a Superior Court judge that counties must implement the state’s ID card system. That has helped prompt county officials to move forward. Board to discuss medical marijuana ID card after tentative ruling supports Prop by Shayla Ashmore, Lassen News (CA) The medical marijuana identification card program will be back before the Lassen County Board of Supervisors sometime after Jan. 1 due to a San Diego County Superior Court ruling that counties must follow the state’s medical-marijuana laws regardless of federal drug statutes. http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=3890 BOS to consider ID cards for medical marijuana patients by Tiffany Revelle, Record-Bee (CA) Those using marijuana for medicinal purposes in Lake County may soon join almost 3,000 of their counterparts statewide who have access to county-issued identification cards to protect their legal rights under the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, and the more recent Senate Bill 420. http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=3889 ____________________________________________ CALIFORNIA: Local Dispensary Ordinances Considered ASA has compiled information from officials around the state with experience in regulating dispensaries that shows ordinances are working well. Tulare Co. wants more data on marijuana dispensaries by Sarah Jimenez, Fresno Bee Tulare County planning commissioners said Wednesday they needed more expert information and a review of similar ordinances in Visalia and Tulare before they would consider an ordinance regulating where medical marijuana dispensaries can be located. http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=3896 Coachella council to vote on dispensary moratorium by K. Kaufmann, Desert Sun (CA) The Coachella City Council is expected to vote at its meeting tonight on an emergency moratorium on the licensing of medical marijuana dispensaries in the city. http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=3884 Tracy orders marijuana club closed by Mike Martinez, Tri-Valley Herald (CA) It wasn't exactly what Tracy City Manager Dan Hobbs had in mind for his "greening of Tracy" plan. The medical marijuana dispensary, which opened under the nose of city late last month on the outskirts of downtown Tracy, has been ordered to close. http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=3883 ____________________________________________ FEDERAL: DEA Faces Suit by Cannabis Specialist A leading physician who specializes in cannabis therapies has filed suit against the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, alleging that they have been targeting him because of the nature of his practice. Redding doctor sues DEA by Tim Hearden, Record Searchlight (CA) A Redding doctor who specializes in medical marijuana is suing the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and other agencies for sending informants and undercover agents to his office posing as patients. http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=3882 ______________________________________________ For more news summaries or information about Americans for Safe Access, see our website at http://AmericansForSafeAccess.org.