Medical Marijuana

On January 29, the Berkeley City Council will be considering a very important resolution. Co-sponsored by Kriss Worthington and Darryl Moore, this item would: 1. declare Berkeley a "sanctuary city" for medical cannabis in the event that the DEA raids any of our dispensaries, 2. call on the Berkeley Police Department, the County District Attorney, the Alameda County Sheriff's Department, and the State Attorney General not to cooperate with the DEA in its efforts to undermine state and local medical cannabis laws, 3. urge Governor Schwarzenegger to publicly stand with the more than 200,000 medical cannabis patients in the state and to let Congress and the Bush Administration know that DEA interference is uncalled for and will be resisted by local and state government, and 4. encourage the City to plan for continued safe access in Berkeley in the event of a DEA raid on one or more of our dispensaries. See the draft text at: http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/citycouncil/agenda-committee/agendaindex.htm. Click on the pdf for the 1/22 meeting, and look for Item 22. ASA and others have worked extensively with Councilmembers Moore and Worthington, and with many other supportive city staff, to craft this resolution, and we expect the full support of the Council, the City Manager and the City Attorney. Obviously this is a VERY important moment for medical cannabis patients, and I want to encourage you to attend tomorrow's City Council meeting if at all possible. We plan to have a rally at 6:45 p.m., before the Council meeting, on the steps of Old City Hall. Wear your ASA shirt, sport a medical marijuana pin, and let's fill the hall with supporters to celebrate the moment--and thank our Berkeley elected officials for taking this significant step to defend patients' rights! For more information, contact Becky DeKeuster at 510-540-6013 ext. 0.

Americans for Safe Access' new western NC chapter is having its first public meeting this Sunday in Asheville, NC. ASA, based in California, is a great patient advocacy organization: http://www.safeaccessnow.org.

Dr. David Bearman, a Santa Barbara, California physician and surgeon with Wisconsin roots, will be presenting at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. Dr. Bearman is one of the most clinically knowledgeable physicians in the U.S. in the field of medical marijuana. He has spent 40 years working in substance and drug abuse treatment and prevention programs. Dr. Bearman was a pioneer in the free and community clinic movement. His career includes public health, administrative medicine, primary care, pain management and cannabinology. He is on the Board of Advisors for the group Patients Out of Time [http://www.medicalcannabis.com/] and worked closely with them to present the Fourth National Clinical Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics in Santa Barbara, CA in April 2006.

Please join us at our next meeting! Some Agenda Items: - Latest Patient and DPC (Caregivers) related News and Announcements - Current Happenings – within the Program, with the Legislature, with Advocates

This event is presented by MedicalBoardWatch & Society of Cannabis Clinicians. It is a benefit for O'Shaughnessy's, the journal of record for the clinical use of cannabis, recording both the science, and the news. Come Support O'Shaughnessy's, and honor Dr. Tod who passed away May 20, 2007.

The Public Square at the Illinois Humanities Council and the Columbia College Television Department present the free Chicago premiere of Waiting to Inhale.

The post-screening discussion will focus on medical marijuana, its context within the "War on Drugs," and drug policy reform. Jed Riffe, director and producer of Waiting to Inhale; Melanie Dreher, Dean of the College of Nursing at Rush University; and James Gierach, a former Cook County prosecutor, local advocate for drug policy reform, and featured speaker with Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, will appear on the panel. Noted documentarian Gordon Quinn, president and founder of Kartemquin Films, will moderate the discussion.

Over the past several years, the Bush administration's Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has victimized patients and providers throughout California, undermining state law and stooping to new levels to shut down access for sick and dying patients in California. ASA has been working for the past five years to thwart the DEA's efforts, but as they escalate their tactics, we too must escalate our response and actions! We must put an end to the attack on patients and providers!

Please join the Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policy for a reception and reading with Tom Robbins. RSVP is required -- Purchase Tickets at www.SensibleMarijuanaPolicy.org or call (617) 901-7765.

Please join us for an emergency response rally to get our resources back and to ask for safe haven for medical cannabis in the city of Berkeley. Please bring as many people and signs as possible to help us rally the city and show local support. Call 510-540-6013 for more info. Spread this far and wide y'all! We need your help NOW!

The Marijuana Policy Project's congressional lobbyist, Aaron Houston, will appear on Comedy Central's "Colbert Report" tonight (Thursday). Tune in to watch Aaron get attacked by Stephen Colbert at 11:30 p.m. EST / 10:30 p.m. CST. If you miss the show, you can watch it here starting on Friday.