Medical Marijuana

MEDIA ADVISORY Americans for Safe Access For Immediate Release: August 23, 2007 Contact: ASA Media Liaison Kris Hermes (510) 681-6361 or ASA Chief Counsel Joe Elford (415) 573-7842 Medical Marijuana Patients Argue for Right to Unlawfully Seized Property Hearing Today in state appellate court could mark an end to years of local law enforcement violations What: Oral arguments for two medical marijuana "Return of Property" cases in State Appellate Court When: Thursday, August 23 at 1:30pm Where: California Court of Appeal for the Fourth District, 925 N. Spurgeon Street, Santa Ana Who: ASA Executive Director Steph Sherer, Chief Counsel Joe Elford will all be available for comment after the hearing Santa Ana, CA -- After more than two years, Garden Grove patient Felix Kha may finally see the return of his wrongfully confiscated 8 grams of medical marijuana. California's Fourth Appellate District in Santa Ana will hear oral arguments today in a case that has drawn the attention of the State Attorney General and the California Police Chiefs Association. Both organizations filed amicus briefs in the case, which supported opposite sides of the issue whether law enforcement has a right to seize a patient's marijuana and, in the event of an unlawful seizure, whether that patient has a right to get it back. Kha was cited for marijuana possession and had his medicine seized in June 2005, but after the case was dismissed in August 2005, an Orange County Superior Court judge ordered the return of his medicine. However, the City of Garden Grove not only refused to return Kha's unlawfully seized property, it also appealed the order, an unprecedented action by a California city. "More than ten years after the passage of the Compassionate Use Act, patients are still victim to routine medical marijuana seizures by local law enforcement," said Americans for Safe Access Chief Counsel, and Kha's attorney, Joe Elford. "It is bad enough to have your medicine indiscriminately seized by police, but to then be denied its rightful return shows a blatant disregard for state law and the hundreds of thousands of California patients for whom this law was designed to protect." Americans for Safe Access (ASA) has compiled reports from nearly eight hundred patient encounters with local or state police during a period of more than two years. These reports show a glaring trend: more than 90% of all encounters result in medicine seizure by police regardless of any probable cause. According to reports received by ASA, rampant seizure of medical marijuana from qualified patients and primary caregivers has taken place in 53 of California's 58 counties. These violations of state law occur in both urban and rural locales, in the north as well as the south, and by both city and county law enforcement. Until 2005, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) held the record for the worst violator of Proposition 215, with a policy of mandatory seizure of medical marijuana regardless of patient status. In early 2005, ASA sued the state's top law enforcement agency and by August of that year the CHP had revised its policy to better respect patients' rights. As a result of that policy change, the CHP went from being the most irresponsible law enforcement agency with regard to the unlawful seizure of medical marijuana to one of the state's best. As a result of different litigation, also involving ASA, the County of Merced revised its police policy in June 2007 to prevent the unlawful seizure of marijuana from qualified patients. As a consequence of the high number of medicine seizures, ASA has assisted scores of patients in seeking the return of their property. Although fairly onerous, California criminal courts have a mechanism to seek the return of medical marijuana; patients can file a motion for return of property and request a hearing. According to ASA, at least thirty of these motions have resulted in Superior Court orders and the return of patient medicine. At the same time, an undue number of denials have also occurred. In fact, Kha's case will be heard alongside the case of Jim Spray, a Huntington Beach patient that was denied a court order by a different judge in the same Superior Court that issued Kha's order. This discrepancy makes the issue ripe for an appellate court decision.

Is there an event coming up in your community where you'd like to distribute literature about the need to reform our nation's disastrous marijuana laws? MPP's new publication, the “Marijuana Policy Monitor,” makes for a great giveaway at conferences, concerts, festivals, and other events. Check it out here: http://www.mpp.org/atf/cf/%7BFC4E88DF-6ACE-4AA6-851C-0688A929D3C5%7D/FED%20TABLOID_2007.PDF This four-page flyer, printed on newsprint, contains a comprehensive overview of marijuana prohibition -- and why it should be brought to an end. It includes information on the victims of the government’s war on marijuana users, taxing and regulating marijuana like alcohol, and safe access to medical marijuana for patients. You can find more information and view a copy here: http://www.mpp.org/site/c.glKZLeMQIsG/b.3090849/k.9B5E/MPP_Newspaper.htm To place an order, contact MPP’s Membership Department at [email protected] or (202) 462-5747, ext. 132. Payment by credit card (American Express, Discover, MasterCard, or Visa) is preferred, but checks and money orders are accepted through the mail. Copies are 3 cents each, and a minimum order of 1,000 copies (or $30) is required. The price includes shipping and handling. Orders will ship twice a month from the fulfillment center in Ohio, so please allow time for delivery.

FEDERAL: Operators Charged after DEA Dispensary Raids FEDERAL: Hypocrisy on Federalist Principles Glaring KANSAS: State Measure to Protect Patients Urged NEW MEXICO: Scare Tactics from State Law Enforcement Chief CALIFORNIA: Officials Sorting Out Implementation DISPENSARIES: Patient Demand Clear, Official Responses Mixed -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FEDERAL: Operators Charged after DEA Dispensary Raids Interference in California’s regulation of medical marijuana dispensaries has entailed threatening letters to landlords and the seizure of medicine and patient records. Now federal charges are being brought against some of the operators. This despite state law, local efforts at regulation, and the crucial services dispensaries offer the community’s most seriously ill and injured. The escalation has the earmarks of a failed policy in its final, desperate throes. Medical marijuana dispenser pleads not guilty to charges of selling drug illegally by Stephen Curran, San Luis Obispo Tribune (CA) The former owner of a Morro Bay medical marijuana dispensary pleaded not guilty today on charges he used his controversial co-op as a front for illegally selling the drug. Not guilty plea in medical marijuana case by City News Service, Los Angeles Daily News A Valencia man who ran a West Hollywood medical marijuana storefront pleaded not guilty Monday to federal drug charges. COMMENT Drug raids add up to federal intimidation EDITORIAL, Freedom Newspapers The federal Drug Enforcement Administration has started playing hardball with medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles, but it’s unclear how far it will move beyond symbolic intimidation. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FEDERAL: Hypocrisy on Federalist Principles Glaring This columnist is not the first to point out that if the present Administration were serious about its avowed principles it would not be interfering with state-level attempts to regulate medical use of marijuana. Likewise with the action of the US Supreme Court, which has taken federalist positions on guns near schools and child pornography. But in the case of both the Court and the Administration, politics and prejudice have overwhelmed principle. Feds Bust Former Portland Police Detective for Medical Marijuana by Tim King, Columnist, Salem-News (OR) The Portland Tribune's article Monday on the federal government's persistent hassling of a medical marijuana patient in Oregon, underscores the Bush administration's failure to value state's rights, and shows how they in fact do everything possible in some cases to eliminate them. ____________________________________________ KANSAS: State Measure to Protect Patients Urged The vast majority of Americans agree that no one should be prosecuted or imprisoned for following their doctor’s advice about medical treatment, or for helping a loved one ease their suffering. Each legislative session sees more state lawmakers considering measures to remove criminal penalties for medical use of marijuana, and Kansas may soon join the thirteen states with such exemptions. Group Advocates for Medical Marijuana Patients in Kansas WIBW CBS 13 (KS) A new, grassroots organization has been created in Kansas to advocate for legal protection of patients who use medical marijuana and for physicians who recommend the drug as part of a treatment program. Coalition seeks marijuana legalization by Scott Rothschild, Lawrence Journal-World (KS) A Lawrence woman who helped change the way marijuana cases are handled in Lawrence is leading a group that will seek a state law to legalize the use of marijuana for medical reasons.

Dispensary Progress in LA Despite DEA Raids City Council Starts Regulatory Process; Calls on DEA to Cease and Desist For two years, ASA organizers have been working with city officials in Los Angeles to ensure safe access to medical marijuana, educating them on the needs of patients and the benefits of a sound regulatory approach. The efforts of ASA and other patient advocates has resulted in significant progress in LA, so much so that the DEA has made it a target. On the same day that the Los Angeles City Council was preparing to take an important step toward regulating the operation of medical cannabis dispensing cooperatives, federal agents staged another set of coordinated paramilitary raids designed to intimidate local officials and patients. The raids on ten dispensaries came within weeks of the DEA sending over a hundred threatening letters to landlords of LA dispensaries, telling them the dispensaries are operating illegally under federal law and that the landlords could lose their buildings to federal asset forfeiture. These attacks on patient access were similar to the dozen simultaneous raids conducted in January. Like then, ASA activists sprang into immediate action, organizing protestors at dispensaries while raids were still going on and alerting the local media, which turned out in force. Within two hours of the raids starting, over 200 patients and advocates had gathered at one Hollywood dispensary, blockading the entrances and preventing DEA agents from leaving until they released the employees being detained. That same day, the Los Angeles City Council - under the leadership of Councilmember Dennis Zine, a former LA police officer with whom ASA has worked closely - voted overwhelmingly to establish the groundwork for a regulatory process for medical cannabis dispensaries that ASA has been advocating for two years. The council then all signed a letter to the DEA and then unanimously approved a motion endorsing the Hinchey-Rohrabacher amendment, which would prevent future DEA attacks on state medical marijuana programs. Councilmember Zine also joined ASA before the hearing in a press conference calling on the DEA to abandon its attacks on medical cannabis dispensaries and allow LA to move forward without further federal interference. ASA's communication efforts helped ensure that LA media covered the raids and City Council actions from the patients' perspective - not the DEA's. And the story was picked up by the major networks and carried by hundreds of television and radio stations as well as newspapers across the country.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE- August 9, 2007 CONTACT: Rielle Capler, T: 604-875-0214, E: [email protected] Report Reveals Massive Inefficiencies in Government's Medical Cannabis Program, Urges Cost Coverage for Medicine A report released today by the BC Compassion Club Society (BCCCS) uncovers massive spending inefficiencies in Health Canada's Medical Cannabis program. It was recently discovered that the government is marking up their supply of cannabis by 1500%--and that many people who have ordered the government's supply are unable to afford it and have been cut off from accessing this sole legal source. The BCCCS felt this situation warranted further scrutiny of the cultivation contracts between Health Canada and its supplier of cannabis, Prairie Plant Systems (PPS). The report's highlights include findings that: 63% of the cannabis Health Canada buys from PPS is unusable, at a cost of $220,000 this year; and 80% of the total cost of the government program are operational costs, including the cost of reports at a price of $86,740 per month. These are some of the costs being passed on to patients. The original contract between Health Canada and PPS began in December 2000, with the cost of the contract now totaling over $10 million. The report finds that community-based dispensaries are more cost-effective--while also providing higher quality services to many more people who suffer from critical and chronic illnesses. It costs the government $500,000 more per year to serve 10 times fewer people than the BC Compassion Club. The BC Compassion Club, a non-profit medical cannabis dispensary, just celebrated its 10th year anniversary of distributing high quality cannabis to over 4000 critically and chronically ill Canadians. Together compassion clubs across the country serve an estimated 10,000 people, whereas Health Canada's program has licensed only about 1,700 Canadians, of whom only 350 are accessing their cannabis from PPS. "Health Canada is requiring taxpayers and medical cannabis patients to fund inefficient practices, capital upgrades, and equipment for a private contractor. Instead of providing affordable medicine to those in need, Health Canada has chosen a policy and program that seemingly creates a windfall for one monopoly supplier," states Rielle Capler, the report's author. The report highlights the need for cost coverage of this important medicine, regardless of the source. "The cost of cannabis for those in medical need must be covered under Canada's universal health care system as it is for other medicine," says Ms. Capler. The Attorney General's office is in the early stages of an audit of certain user fees in Health Canada's program. The Vancouver Island Compassion Society (VICS) is currently in court with a constitutional challenge of the government's program. Senator Pierre Claude Nolin and Lynne Belle-Isle of the Canadian AIDS Society testified against the program this week in Victoria. "It's clear from the testimony of patients enrolled in this program that the cost is an obstacle to safe access to medical cannabis," said Philippe Lucas, director of VICS. "Compassion clubs have long urged the government to explore cost-coverage options through provincial or federal funds." To see the report: http://safeaccess.ca/pr/hc_pps_contract_report.pdf

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 8, 2007 CONTACT: Laura A. Green, Coalition Director, Kansas Compassionate Care Coalition, T: 785-865-9001 (office) or 785-550-4757 (mobile), E: [email protected], Web: www.ksccc.org New Organization Advocates Compassion for Medical Marijuana Patients in Kansas Poll shows 62% of Kansans would not oppose a law protecting patients from arrest A new, grassroots organization has been created in Kansas to advocate for legal protection of patients who use medical marijuana and for physicians who recommend the drug as part of a treatment program. The group, known as the Kansas Compassionate Care Coalition, is committed to supporting those who use marijuana as a last resort when more traditional medications prove ineffective in addressing the effects of chronic pain, cancer, chemotherapy, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, glaucoma and other serious conditions. “Our objectives are simple: To allow physicians – not politicians – to make decisions about what is best for patients and to protect citizens from the risk of arrest simply because they’re trying to gain relief from a major medical problem,” said Coalition Director Laura Green. A nationwide Gallup Poll conducted in 1999 found that 73 percent of American adults favor “making marijuana legally available for doctors to prescribe in order to reduce pain and suffering.” Twelve states that make up about 22 percent of the U.S. population already have enacted laws that allow the use of cannabis for medical purposes. An estimated 115,000 Americans have obtained physician recommendations to use marijuana for medical purposes in states with existing medical marijuana laws, according to the New England Journal of Medicine. In addition, a growing number of mainstream medical organizations have voiced support for the use of medical marijuana under a physician’s supervision, including the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Public Health Association and the American Nurses Association. The New England Journal of Medicine also has editorialized in favor of patient access to marijuana. “No one should face the ordeal of arrest and possibly prison because they want to feel better,” Green said. “That’s why the Compassionate Care Coalition is working closely with state legislators, law enforcement officials, healthcare leaders and others to pass laws that will help our fellow Kansans in their time of need.” In Kansas, the possession of any amount of marijuana for whatever purpose currently is punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $2,500. Cultivation of five or more marijuana plants, even for medical purposes, is a felony punishable by 11 to 17 years in prison. Green said that common misconceptions about medical marijuana have been shown to be inaccurate. A 2002 study by the Government Accounting Office, for example, found no evidence that abuse of medical marijuana laws was routinely occurring in states that had passed medical marijuana legislation. “We look forward to working with the growing number of Kansans who believe that our fellow residents have a right to access medical marijuana if it is recommended by their physician,” Green said. The Kansas Compassionate Care Coalition currently has more than 400 members and chapters in NE Kansas and Wichita. The group includes concerned patients, doctors, nurses, caregivers and others. For more information see the coalition web site, www.ksccc.org. # # #

ASA ACTION: Pursuing the Truth about Medical Marijuana FEDERAL: DEA Interfering with Medical Marijuana Dispensaries OREGON: Feds Escalating Investigation of Patients CALIFORNIA: Merced Patient Wants Seized Property Back CALIFORNIA: Implementation Around the State CALIFORNIA: Dispensary Debates Continue RESEARCH: Biased Reporting Skews Findings -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ASA ACTION: Pursuing the Truth about Medical Marijuana When ASA petitioned to correct misinformation about medical marijuana spread by the federal Department of Health and Human Services and the Food and Drug Administration, the agencies stalled for two years and then refused to respond. So ASA filed suit to force the issue. The judge hearing the case has indicated that ASA may be able to make the government respond, but may have no legal recourse to correct the false information. Yet the law says federal agencies must rely on sound science in the information they disseminate, so ASA will first try to get an answer. And if that answer does not acknowledge the consensus of doctors and scientists about the medical efficacy of marijuana, there will be an appeal. Suit Over Pot's 'Benefit' Stumbles by Matthew Hirsch, The Recorder (CA) An Oakland, Calif.-based nonprofit can't put the federal government on trial for saying that marijuana has no medical use -- but it might get to challenge the government for blowing deadlines, a federal judge in California ruled last week. Americans for Safe Access sued in February after two federal agencies refused to alter government-published statements saying marijuana has "no currently accepted medical use in the United States." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FEDERAL: DEA Interfering with Medical Marijuana Dispensaries In the week after the coordinated raids on medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles, editorial pages and patient protests around the state have denounced the interference with state and local handling of public health matters. Collusion between the DEA and rogue elements of the LAPD is being investigated, and local officials are calling for changes in the law. Feds, LAPD freeze Berkeley pot club's assets by Paul T. Rosynsky, Oakland Tribune A city-sanctioned medical marijuana dispensary had its assets frozen this week, prompting some city council members to call for new city laws protecting such businesses. Berkeley medical pot club raided by Carolyn Jones, San Francisco Chronicle The Los Angeles Police Department and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency seized the assets of a Berkeley marijuana club Tuesday, following a raid of its sister club in Los Angeles. Backers of medical marijuana protest raids by John Asbury, Press-Enterprise (CA) Medical-marijuana advocates staged a protest in front of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration building in Riverside on Friday to oppose recent raids on Southern California distributors. DEA's Scarlet Letter by Celeste Fremon, LA Weekly The DEA and the City of Los Angeles are at war over medical marijuana. On one side of the fight is the Drug Enforcement Administration, which seems to be doing all within its power to shut down the 180 or so medical-marijuana collectives (as dispensaries are called) in Los Angeles County. COMMENT Only Congress can resolve pot battle EDITORIAL, Daily Breeze (CA) In 2005, the Supreme Court ruled that medical marijuana users could be federally prosecuted, though the court did suggest that supporters of medical marijuana could lobby Congress to change the law. That's where municipal leaders who support regulating medical marijuana at the local level should place their energies. Federal intervention EDITORIAL, Los Angeles Daily News Feds, back off. That's what the Los Angeles City Council and medical marijuana advocates hope will happen by adopting a moratorium on new dispensaries and bringing current ones into compliance while stricter rules are written. Why Don't More Republicans Oppose the DEA's Medical Marijuana Raids? by Jacob Sullum, TownHall.com Last week, the Los Angeles City Council voted for a measure that asked the federal government to stop harassing medical marijuana users in California. Minutes later, the Drug Enforcement Administration raided 10 medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles County. Fed's medipot raid priorities are out of whack by Thomas Elias, Columnist, San Gabriel Valley Tribune (CA) There's something almost idiotic about the obviously confused and misguided way in which federal authorities are trying to enforce anti-marijuana laws in California today. DEAsy Pickings by Dan Bernstein, Columnist, Press-Enterprise (CA) I never realized the Drug Enforcement Agency gets the summer blahs, just like everybody else. But I happened to be talking with a friend who knows all about this stuff. DEA thwarts Montana's medical marijuana law by Robin C. Prosser, OpEd, Billings Gazette (MT) Five years ago, I starved myself to bring attention to the plight of the sick in Montana that need medical marijuana. Two years later, I worked hard on the campaign for our state medical marijuana initiative, which passed with more support than any other.

Dear ASA Supporters, The press release below refers to a cable network program that is the result of ASA working with Retirement Living TV over the past six months and is a part of ASA’s campaign to focus on Senior outreach, including ASA’s Seniors Union (http://www.safeaccessnow.org/modinput4.php?modin=59). It is some of the best coverage on this issue I have seen. You can see a 5 minute teaser on RLTV's website (http://rl.tv/OurShows/Viewpoint/tabid/598/Default.aspx). The Seniors Union works with ASA to distribute important research information to medical professionals, work with other senior organizations to support patients' right to cannabis in lieu of failed alternatives, and advocate for safe and legal access to cannabis for all seniors who need it. The Seniors Union is open to seniors who use medical cannabis, caregivers, family members, researchers, physicians, and other health providers who support the use of medical cannabis. The primary objective of this project is to renew relationships with key condition-based organizations like AARP and other senior communities that have traditionally kept an arms length from this issue. Specifically, we would like senior organizations to endorse our organizational goals, and engage with ASA to lobby Congress and administrative agencies to end federal raids, expand therapeutic research, and create access programs for patients across the United States. The fact that ASA shares intersecting patient populations with a variety of condition-based organizations provides us with unique opportunities for collaboration. The strategy of the Medical Cannabis Seniors Union project is to underscore the needs of medical cannabis patients: elimination of federal raids and prosecutions, expansion of therapeutic research opportunities, and immediate access to a safe and legal supply of cannabis. Creating new alliances with other senior organizations will provide a broader base of support for our goals. To get involved in this project, please follow this link: www.AmericansForSafeAccess.org/RLN Sincerely, Steph Sherer Executive Director Americans for Safe Access Join us today… www.AmericansforSafeAccess.org/Donate ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Media Release Americans for Safe Access For Immediate Release: August 1, 2007 Seniors Take On Medical Marijuana Retirement Living Television segment airs today in millions of homes; Poll shows 82% support Washington, D.C. -- A Florida medical marijuana patient, Irv Rosenfeld, who receives his medicine from the federal government, was interviewed by the country’s largest television network devoted to retirement programming for a news magazine segment that aired today in millions of homes across the country. The program Viewpoint, produced by Retirement Living Television (RLTV), which boasts 29 million viewers, also interviewed Dr. Bertha Madras, the Deputy Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. And, an RLTV promotional program, Daily Café, which aired yesterday, included an interview with Caren Woodson, the Director of Government Affairs for Americans for Safe Access, a medical marijuana advocacy organization. According to RLTV, its program Viewpoint sought to investigate “the relationship between seniors living with chronic pain and their choice to use medical marijuana to alleviate their constant discomfort.” In addition to providing important and relevant information on medical marijuana to seniors by way of its television program, RLTV also offers additional information on-line at www.rl.tv. According to its website, RLTV considers itself “the new voice of a generation under-served by the media industry,” and “the foremost experts on aging and seniors.” RLTV is currently polling its viewers on the issue, and so far claims that 82% support medical marijuana with a physician’s recommendation. Today’s RLTV Viewpoint segment is especially timely in its focus on a Los Angeles dispensary, California Patients Group (CPG), which served more than a thousand patients over the age of fifty. After the RLTV interview was conducted, CPG was raided by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), had its assets seized, and was forced to close. “This action against CPG and other facilities in the Los Angeles area shows the extent to which the federal government will go to undermine California’s medical marijuana law and patients’ right to chose their medicine,” said CPG operator Don Duncan. Dr. John Benson, one of the co-investigators at the National Academy of Sciences, who issued the 1999 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report on medical marijuana, was also interviewed for the Viewpoint program. Dr. Benson and others concluded in the IOM report, a million-dollar investigative report commissioned by the Clinton Administration that, “Scientific data indicate the potential therapeutic value of cannabinoid drugs [medical marijuana] for pain relief, control of nausea and vomiting, and appetite stimulation.” The IOM report also urged further research, a recommendation that has been ignored by the federal government. This is not the first time a major retirement-focused organization has taken on the issue of medical marijuana. In December 2004, the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) released a report, which found that 72% of people surveyed who were 45-years and older “agree that adults should be allowed to legally use marijuana for medical purposes if a physician recommends it.” Nearly one-third of those surveyed admitted that they smoked marijuana. In order to educate both seniors, and the physicians caring for them, Americans for Safe Access (ASA) has developed a booklet on “medical marijuana and aging” that is disseminated to literally thousands of people nationwide. This education is necessary due in part to the federal government position that “marijuana has no accepted medical use in treatment in the United States.” Advocates are hopeful that with the efforts of RLTV, ASA, and others, medical marijuana can be effectively used by our country’s aging population and by all who might benefit from its therapeutic properties. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RLTV Viewpoint promotional segment (full program available tomorrow):www.rl.tv/OurShows/Viewpoint/ tabid/598/Default.aspx AARP 2004 Report: www.AmericansForSafeAccess.org/AARP Institute of Medicine 1999 Report: www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/marimed / ASA booklet on Aging and Medical Marijuana: www.AmericansForSafeAccess.org/aging_ booklet