• ASA ACTION: New Election for Medical Marijuana Measure
• FEDERAL: Raid on Maker of Medicinal Edibles
• NEW MEXICO: New State Law Close to Implementation
• FEDERAL: Dispensary Landlords Threatened in Santa Barbara
• FEDERAL: Sacramento Dispensary Raided
• DISPENSARIES: Patient Demand Driving Debate
• FLORIDA: Patient Needs Inform Plea for Protection
• WISCONSIN: Passage of Medical Bill Urged
• VETERANS: Medical Marijuana May Help PTSD
• WASHINGTON: Revising Patient Guidelines for Amounts

ASA ACTION: New Election for Medical Marijuana Measure

Three years after election officials said a local medical marijuana measure narrowly failed, a judge has ordered a new election. At issue are electronic voting machines that election officials did not properly maintain to ensure data was available for the recount requested by Americans for Safe Access. Whatever the outcome of the new election, ASA has won a victory for the democratic process.

Judge voids results of Berkeley measure on medical pot
by Henry K. Lee, San Francisco Chronicle
An Alameda County judge has voided election results for a failed 2004 Berkeley medical marijuana measure, ordering it returned to the ballot next year because county election officials failed to hand over data from voting machines, attorneys in the case said Thursday.

Berkeley Election Nullified Based on Misconduct by Officials
Bay City News Service
A judge has nullified the results of a Berkeley medical marijuana ballot measure in 2004 because of what she said was misconduct by Alameda County election officials. Smith also ordered that the county refund $22,000 that Americans for Safe Access had to pay for a recount of the election results as well as some legal fees for the group's lawyers.

FEDERAL: Raid on Maker of Medicinal Edibles

DEA agents staged another paramilitary-style raid in Northern California, kicking down doors at locations allegedly related to a maker of medicinal edibles, arresting three people, and even killing an employee’s dog. Despite hysterical language from the DEA about mistaking the edibles for regular candy, all the products in question are clearly labeled as medicinal and are available only to qualified patients in dispensary settings. Like the other raids around the state, the DEA appears intent on disrupting patient access as much as possible before the next election cycle. See ASA’s press release on this situation at http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=5084

Feds Raid Pot-Laced-Candy Factory
by Paul Elias, Associated Press
Federal agents said Thursday they shut down a factory that made marijuana-laced barbecue sauce, chocolate-covered pretzels and other "enhanced" snacks intended for medical users of the drug.

Oakland company raided for allegedly selling pot-laced foods
by Leslie Griffy, Mercury News (CA)
Federal drug agents busted an Oakland company that allegedly distributed pot-laced treats to medical marijuana clubs across the state, officials said today.

NEW MEXICO: New State Law Close to Implementation

Thanks to the intervention of Governor and Presidential-candidate Bill Richardson, patients in New Mexico are now being afforded a measure of protection. The state may be the first to provide medical marijuana directly to patients, though the state attorney general has expressed concerns about the federal government going after state employees who are implementing the law.

Medical Marijuana Rules Close To Final
by Vanessa Reyes, KFOX TV - Las Cruces
The rules of the medicinal marijuana law in New Mexico are close to becoming final after a public hearing with the New Mexico Department of Health and a medical board.

FEDERAL: Dispensary Landlords Threatened in Santa Barbara

One of the latest tactics being used by the DEA to thwart patient access in California is the intimidation of the landlords whose buildings dispensaries are renting. The DEA has been sending letters to the landlords, telling them that the government may seize their buildings, even if they have nothing to do with the operation of the dispensaries. After the DEA raided the Los Angeles Cannabis Resource Center in West Hollywood several years ago, they even used asset forfeiture to seize the building the city had provided for the collective’s use.

Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Risk Eviction
KEYT TV Santa Barbara
Federal Drug Enforcement agents are pressuring Santa Barbara Medical Marijuana Dispensaries to close their doors for good. The owner of one shop on Victoria Street says his landlord received a strongly worded letter from the DEA threatening to take their property if they don't comply.

Feds Target S.B. Medical Marijuana Shops
Santa Barbara Independent
After enjoying years of relatively hassle-free business, Santa Barbara’s medical marijuana scene is feeling the heat this week, with a distinctly ganja-scented cloud of uncertainty hanging over its future in the wake of a federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) letter-writing campaign.

FEDERAL: Sacramento Dispensary Raided

DEA Agents raided one of the leading dispensaries in California’s capital this week, leading to patient protests. The operators were among a group who have been working to establish “best practice” guidelines for patient care. ASA’s emergency response meant activists were immediately calling the media and organizing 100 patients to turn out at the dispensary. The Sacramento ASA chapter leader was interviewed by the local media, which filmed the raid in progress. For more on ASA’s raid response, see http://safeaccessnow.org/blog/?p=7.

Medical pot dispensary raided by DEA agents
by Niesha Lofing, Sacramento Bee
Federal authorities raided a medical marijuana dispensary Wednesday in Sacramento as employees, customers and medical marijuana advocates protested out front. Kris Hermes, legal campaign director of Americans for Safe Access, said River City Patient Center is part of an association of medical marijuana collectives in the Sacramento region, established to "spread and protect good business practices around medical marijuana dispensing."

Medical Marijuana Dispensary Raided By DEA
KCRA TV - Sacramento
A medical marijuana dispensary was raided Wednesday by officials from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.

DISPENSARIES: Patient Demand Driving Debate

California patients have come to rely on medical marijuana dispensing collectives for several reasons: safe, reliable access; selection of different varieties of marijuana; and staff who can help choose the right one for a particular patient or condition. In addition, most patients are like most Californians, they live in densely populated urban areas that make cultivating difficult. Local officials are also realizing the benefits of regulated dispensaries: reduced crime, better oversight, and accountability. Read more about it at www.AmericansForSafeAccess.org/DispensaryReport.

Mayor sees complexities of pot
by Wendy Leung, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
When it comes to questions about marijuana, Don Kurth rarely has yes or no answers.

Cannahelp Owner Due in Court Wednesday
KESQ ABC TV (Palms Springs)
The owner of a former El Paseo medical marijuana dispensary that recently reopened on Highway 111 and then closed again -- is due in court Wednesday morning along with his two managers for their preliminary hearing on drug charges.

Norco City Council likely to ratify marijuana dispensary ban
by Sarah Gordon, Press-Enterprise (CA)
Norco is poised to join several other Inland cities in prohibiting medical marijuana dispensaries within its borders. Medical-marijuana advocates are awaiting the outcome of a court challenge to the city of Fresno's ban on medical marijuana dispensaries, but they plan to keep pushing for access, city by city, said Kris Hermes, spokesman for the Oakland-based Americans for Safe Access.

Livermore joins other cities in banning pot clubs
by Eric Kurhi, Mercury News (CA)
Livermore joined neighbors Dublin and Pleasanton in banning medical cannabis dispensaries within city limits by passing a similar ordinance Monday night.

FLORIDA: Patient Needs Inform Plea for Protection

This OpEd describes the patient need that drives the demand for legal access to medical marijuana. With an unusually large number of senior citizens whose age-related conditions are frequently treatable with medical cannabis, Florida is a state that should be providing protection to those whose doctors are recommending it.

Medical marijuana could relieve many in pain, if we'll let it
by Robyn Chaky, OpEd, Ocala Star-Banner (FL)
Imagine you are forced to put on a pair of short shorts every morning when you wake up because if long pants were to lightly brush your skin during the day, the sensation would be similar to a thousand spiders crawling up your legs.

WISCONSIN: Passage of Medical Bill Urged

The state legislature in Wisconsin is again considering removing criminal penalties for medical marijuana patients. Three out of four voters think it’s a good idea, and this editorial board agrees.

A higher tolerance
EDITORIAL, Badger-Herald
Reps. Mark Pocan, D-Madison, and Frank Boyle, D-Superior, recently introduced legislation that would legalize medicinal marijuana in Wisconsin. We urge the state to lift its ban and pass the bill.

VETERANS: Medical Marijuana May Help PTSD

Using cannabis in the treatment of psychological disorders remains controversial, but many of those suffering from Post Traumatic Stress report that cannabis eases their symptoms, and more doctors are now recommending it for those patients.

Medical Pot and the Iraq Veteran
by Colby Buzzell, Esquire Magazine
We're back from the war. We can't sleep. We're getting divorced. If marijuana is good for post-traumatic stress, who are we to deny its medicinal properties?

WASHINGTON: Revising Patient Guidelines for Amounts

State officials are grappling with the problem created by setting arbitrary limits on the amount of medical marijuana patients may possess. Unlike other drugs where dosage is decided by doctors working with patients, many medical marijuana laws set one amount for all patients. Washington officials are discovering that what constitutes a 60-day supply varies considerably, depending on the individual and the condition being treated.

Standard dosage sought for medical marijuana
by Lynn Marshall, Los Angeles Times
Patients using marijuana for ailments such as chronic back pain and cancer are allowed by Washington state law to possess a two-month supply of the drug. But medical marijuana doesn't come with a standard dose or even a standard method of taking the drug.

MORE ABOUT AMERICANS FOR SAFE ACCESS

Find out more about ASA at AmericansForSafeAccess.org. More medical marijuana news summaries can be seen at AmericansForSafeAccess.org/News