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ASA’s Media Summary for the Week Ending 10/19/07

ASA IN THE NEWS: PBS Examines the California Quandary

The award-winning Public Broadcasting Service news program, the News Hour, did a segment looking at the policy contradictions around marijuana law enforcement in California. In addition to law enforcement officers, the program interviewed the acting Southern California Coordinator for Americans for Safe Access, Don Duncan, who highlighted the problems created for patients by the refusal of federal officials to work with California on protecting the health and safety of some of the state’s most seriously ill and injured citizens.

California Grapples with Polices on Marijuana
by Jeffrey Kaye, PBS NewsHour
Don Duncan, Americans for Safe Access: Right now, we have a situation in California and in Los Angeles where medical cannabis is legal. Collectives like this one are legal and tolerated. And yet, under federal law, all of that conduct is illegal. And it's very, very important that we harmonize the federal laws with the laws in the states that allow for medical marijuana so patients and providers and facilities like this can be safe.

VERMONT: Program a Success Despite Scare Tactics

As happened in California when the initiative came before voters, many in Vermont’s law enforcement community predicted disaster if medical marijuana were made legal. But in practice, the state has discovered that medical marijuana is in many respects no different from any number of other drugs available with a doctor’s prescription: diversion is not a substantial problem and police have little difficulty distinguishing between qualified patients and drug abusers.

Pot Fears Unfounded
by Brian Joyce, WCAX TV (Burlington, VT)
A little more than three years ago Vermont became the thirteenth state to enact a medical marijuana law despite strong opposition from law enforcement. The police predicted the law that permits physicians to prescribe pot as a pain-killer was just a pretext to legalize marijuana for everyone. Today a top cop acknowledged those predictions have been wrong.

CALIFORNIA: Implementation a Local Matter

The voters had their say on medical marijuana in 1996, telling officials to find ways to make it safely and legally accessible to everyone whose doctor recommends it. The legislature add its two cents in 2003, directing counties to help protect patients and caregivers from arrest by accepting minimum amounts they can grow and possess. Now it’s up to local communities to work out the land use rules for cultivation and distribution.

Council fine-tunes role of marijuana task force
by Cerena Johnson, Eureka Reporter
The Arcata City Council approved the creation of a working group Tuesday to identify guidelines for land-use regulations of marijuana grow houses and clinics.

The Sentencing Project: Disenfranchisement News & Updates - 10/18/07

National: Resolution Supports Voting While on Community Supervision The American Probation and Parole Association (APPA) approved a resolution in support of restoring voting rights upon completion of sentence including no loss of voting rights while on community supervision. The resolution was passed by APPA's Board of Directors last month. "Voting is an integral part of community participation in democratic societies and is one of vital importance in building truly representative governments," the APPA stated in a release. "When large sectors of the population are prevented from voting, a democracy cannot function as it should." Wisconsin: Challenge Posed to Policymakers, Residents The Capital Times in Wisconsin published a letter to the editor in support of Assembly Bill 390, which would give individuals the right to vote upon completion of sentence. The author of the letter, Greg Shiver, wrote: "If the goal is to rehabilitate offenders and integrate them back in to the community, giving them the right to vote is essential. What better way to tell someone that they are part of the community? By giving felons the right to vote we are promoting public safety." Mr. Shiver continued that an estimated 62,342 Wisconsin citizens with felony convictions are banned from voting - 1.5 percent of the voting population. International: 'Unlike the U.S.,' Australia Would 'Never' Disenfranchise Because of Past Convictions The Honorable Justice Michael Kirby, a member of the Australian High Court whose vote was in the majority in striking down legislation stripping inmates of voting rights in the recent Roach v. Electoral Commissioner, gave the address during the conferral of degrees at Southern Cross University in New South Wales September 29. The theme of Justice Kirby's address dealt primarily with the August decision which overturned legislation stripping all inmates of voting rights. In his speech, Kirby stated: "Some, of course, will say that we should not worry about prisoners. Take away their civil rights. Throw away the key. We all know the usual suspects who are of this persuasion. However, it has not been the temperate tradition of Australia. Ours is a land made up, largely, of immigrants without sharp class distinctions. Many of our earliest settlers were convicts. They were people who served their time. Prisoners must be able to "live it down." And as for those serving shorter sentences, they remain entitled to choose their rulers. It remains an inclusive society. Unlike the United States, it would never tolerate excluding millions (or thousands) of citizens from the vote because of past convictions ... The Australian Constitution expressly provides that a person may be elected to serve in Parliament although sentenced to imprisonment for less than one year. If a member of Parliament, with those higher duties, could serve despite such a sentence, it would be paradoxical to exclude altogether prisoners with their much less onerous obligations of being voters." The 4-2 decision, however upheld a 2004 law denying the vote to inmates jailed for more than three years. As a result, only 8,000 of the country's 20,000 sentenced prisoners can vote in the federal election scheduled later this year. - - - - - - Help The Sentencing Project continue to bring you news and updates on disenfranchisement! Make a contribution today. Contact Information: email: [email protected], web: http://www.sentencingproject.org

Drug Truth Network: Cultural Baggage + Century of Lies + DEA Bust Video 10/18/07

Drug Truth Network Update: Cultural Baggage + Century of Lies + DEA Bust Video Half Hour Programs, Live Tuesdays & Wednesdays... at 90.1 FM in Houston & on the web at www.kpft.org. Cultural Baggage for 10/17/07 Medical Marijuana Dispensary Busts: Dr. Mitch Earleywine, Judge James P. Gray, Rick Steves, Doug McVay, Rob Kampia, Rebecca Saltzman, Ethan Nadelmann, James Anthony, Cliff Shaffer, Phil Smith & Poppygate MP3 MP3 LINK: http://www.drugtruth.net/007DTNaudio/FDBCB_101707.mp3 Century of Lies for 10/16/07 NORML Conference Special: Rick Steves, Doug McVay, Jeff Jones, Rob Kampia, Steve Dillon, Dr. Mitch Earleywine, Dr. Tom O'Connel, Mathew Robinson & Rebecca Saltzman MP3 MP3 Link: http://www.drugtruth.net/007DTNaudio/COL_101607.mp3 NEW Video: I just uploaded a 6:32 video from last Thursday's DEA bust of the Arts District Healing Center cannabis dispensary in Los Angeles to YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rG9cyFi9Pqg Next Week - Century of Lies on Tues, Cutural Baggage on Wed: - Cultural Baggage 12:30 PM ET, 11:20 AM CT, 10:30 AM MT & 9:30 AM PT: TBD - Century of Lies 12:30 PM ET, 11:20 AM CT, 10:30 AM MT & 9:30 AM PT: NORML Conference III NOTE: NEW RELEASE DATE FOR CULTURAL BAGGAGE (Broadcast onTues) & CENTURY OF LIES (Broadcasts Wed) Hundreds of our programs are available online at www.drugtruth.net, www.audioport.org and at www.radio4all.net. We provide the "unvarnished truth about the drug war" to scores of broadcast affiliates in the US and Canada., ck out our latest videos via www.drugtruth.net/dtnvideo.htm 1 video: "Prohibition is Evil" + 2 from townhall meeting on racial disparity. Please become part of the solution, visit our website: www.endprohibition.org for links to the best of reform. "Prohibition is evil." - Reverend Dean Becker, Drug Truth Network Producer Dean Becker 713-849-6869 www.drugtruth.net

ASA’s Medical Marijuana in the News: 10/12/07

ASA ACTION: Patients Ask California Governor for Protection

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has expressed his support for California's medical marijuana program, but activists want him to do what he can to stop federal interference. More than 300 patients and advocates attended ASA's rally at the governor's office in LA to help educate him on the importance of this issue. Letters of support came from Republican elected officials as well as Los Angeles City Council Member Dennis Zine and Orange County Supervisor Chris Norby. Local media, which reaches more than 10 million people, covered the protest extensively.

Marijuana activists rally in downtown LA, want end to raids
Associated Press
About 200 people on Thursday protested federal raids on cannabis clinics and urged Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to compel the Bush administration to back off. Steph Sherer, executive director of Americans for Safe Access, a pro-medical marijuana group, said Schwarzenegger should coordinate with the 12 other governors whose states have legalized medical marijuana to send a message to Washington.

Marijuana activists assemble downtown
Daily Breeze (CA)
About 200 demonstrated outside of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's office in Los Angeles, demanding he do more to end federal raids on cannabis clinics.

CA Marijuana Protest
KSBY - NBC TV 6 (San Luis Obispo)
Marijuana activists rallied today in downtown Los Angeles, calling for an end to federal raids on cannabis clinics and urging Governor Schwarzenegger to compel the Bush administration to back off.

ASA ACTION: Protests of DEA Raids Drawing Attention

Last week’s protest in support of a maker of edible cannabis products for patients got more attention this week. ASA and other advocates are denouncing the rash of recent raids on medical marijuana patients and dispensaries in California.

Advocates decry medical marijuana raids
by Michael Manekin, Contra Costa Times (CA)
The raid of a large Oakland-based manufacturer of cannabis-laced candy last month was deemed by the federal government as a timely victory in the war on drugs. But medical marijuana advocates pointed to the raid as further evidence that the DEA has escalated its attack on California's marijuana laws by targeting the most vulnerable medical cannabis patients.

FEDERAL: Another Dispensary Raided in LA

DEA agents staged another paramilitary-style raid on a California medical marijuana dispensary, seizing records, cash and marijuana, but making no arrests. Alerted to the raid by a network of emails and text messages, more than 75 ASA activists, patients and other advocates protested in front of the dispensary while it happened.

DEA Agents Raid L.A. Medical Marijuana Clinic
KABC TV Los Angeles
A loud protest broke out Thursday night when agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration raided a medical marijuana clinic in downtown Los Angeles.

The Sentencing Project: Disenfranchisement News & Updates - 10/11/07

National: Social Justice Groups, Latino Congress Hope to Affect Disenfranchisement In the Summer 2007 issue of the New England Journal on Criminal and Civil Confinement, Avi Brisman argues that environmental organizations "should consider criminal disenfranchisement to be an 'environmental' issue" and that activists "should work with grassroots social justice groups to bring about changes in state criminal disenfranchisement laws and policies." Brisman, an attorney and doctoral student in anthropology at Emory University, contends in "Toward a More Elaborate Typology of Environmental Values: Liberalizing Criminal Disenfranchisement Laws and Policies" that public participation plays an important role in shaping agendas and forming coalitions around environmental issues. The loss of the right to vote for more than five million Americans due to a felony conviction not only affects electoral outcomes, but has a profound impact on the direction of the environmental movement as the voices of potential supporters are lost. Brisman calls for environmental advocates to join together with those people working to reform felony disenfranchisement laws and recognize their common goal. A post-incarceration disenfranchisement resolution submitted by the New York University Law School's Brennan Center for Justice was unanimously passed by the National Latino Congreso during its annual convening in Los Angeles earlier this month. It endorsed the automatic restoration of voting rights to individuals with felony convictions upon their release from prison. The resolution also calls on legislators from the thirty-five states that continue to disenfranchise individuals post-incarceration to enact legislation that will automatically restore voting rights upon release from prison. The final decree of the resolution states, "the organizations represented by delegates of the 2007 National Latino Congreso pledge to support federal legislation that will automatically restore voting rights after release from prison on a national level." International: Still No Guaranteed Right to Vote - Using the Flawed U.S. as a Model While the Australian High Court struck down legislation passed last year stripping all inmates of voting rights, the Court upheld a 2004 law denying the vote to inmates who have been jailed for more than three years. The 4-2 decision restoring some inmates' right to vote in Roach v. Electoral Commissioner was made in August, but the ruling's impact became clear only after the court issued its reasons in late September. As a result, only 8,000 of the country's 20,000 sentenced prisoners can vote in the federal election scheduled later this year. "The judgments make clear there is no legal barrier to the disenfranchisement of significant sectors of the voting population, including 18-21 year- olds and anyone convicted of a crime deemed to be 'serious,'" the Westender reported. Solicitor- General David Bennett, representing the Howard government, suggested Australia could adopt many U.S. states' policy: permanently disenfranchising those imprisoned, even after their sentence had been served. - - - - - - Help The Sentencing Project continue to bring you news and updates on disenfranchisement! Make a contribution today. Contact Information: email: [email protected], web: http://www.sentencingproject.org

Drug Truth Network Update 10/08/07

Drug Truth Network Update: 4:20 Drug War NEWS Half Hour Programs, Live Tuesdays & Wednesdays... at 90.1 FM in Houston & on the web at www.kpft.org. 4:20 Drug War NEWS 10/08/07 to 10/14/07 now online (3:00 ea.): Monday 10/08/07 San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsome: "War on Drugs is a Failure" Tuesday 10/09/07 Poppygate & Bruce Mirken Marijuana Policy Project Wednesday 10/10/07 Stephen Harper Canada's Prime Minister kisses Drug Czar's ring Thursday 10/11/07 "Welcome, to Machine" (Meth Machine) Friday 10/12/07 Drug War Facts + "Official Government Truth" Saturday 10/13/07 Canada's Marc Emery on Proposed drug laws in Canada Sunday 10/14/07 Dr. Joel Hochman Dir Natl. Foundation for Treatment of Pain on Zero deaths for opioids NOTE: NEW RELEASE DATE FOR CULTURAL BAGGAGE (Broadcast onTues) & CENTURY OF LIES (Broadcasts Wed) Hundreds of our programs are available online at www.drugtruth.net, www.audioport.org and at www.radio4all.net. We provide the "unvarnished truth about the drug war" to scores of broadcast affiliates in the US and Canada., Cultural Baggage for 10/03/07 Dr. Joel Hochman Dir Natl. Foundation for Treatment of Pain + Poppygate MP3 MP3 LINK: http://www.drugtruth.net/007DTNaudio/FDBCB_100307.mp3 Century of Lies for 10/02/07 Cliff Schaffer of DrugLibrary.org + Drug War Facts MP3 MP3 Link: http://www.drugtruth.net/007DTNaudio/COL_100207.mp3 Next - Century of Lies on Tues, Cutural Baggage on Wed: - Cultural Baggage 12:30 PM ET, 11:20 AM CT, 10:30 AM MT & 9:30 AM PT: DTN Celebrates 6 years on the airwaves! - Century of Lies 12:30 PM ET, 11:20 AM CT, 10:30 AM MT & 9:30 AM PT: Chris Goldstein of NORML Potcasts Check out our latest videos via www.drugtruth.net/dtnvideo.htm 1 video: "Prohibition is Evil" + 2 from townhall meeting on racial disparity. Please become part of the solution, visit our website: www.endprohibition.org for links to the best of reform. "Prohibition is evil." - Reverend Dean Becker, Drug Truth Network Producer Dean Becker 713-849-6869 www.drugtruth.net

ASA’s Medical Marijuana in the News: 10/05/07

FEDERAL: Medical Marijuana Provider Turns Himself In

About 50 ASA activists and other supporters of medical marijuana provider Mickey Martin protested at the federal court house when he turned himself in to authorities. Last week, DEA agents raided food-preparation locations they allege are connected to Martin and arrested three others. Martin, who was on vacation with his wife and two young sons, surrendered Thursday and was released on bond. Martin has been a leader in developing alternatives to smokeable forms of medicinal cannabis.

Pot Candy Maker Out On $300,000 Bail
KTVU TV2 (San Francisco)
The founder of an Oakland food factory that laces everything from cookies to barbecue sauce with marijuana surrendered Thursday to face a federal drug charge.

Owner of pot-candy factory surrenders on federal drug charges
by Henry K. Lee, San Francisco Chronicle
The owner of an Oakland marijuana candy factory surrendered Thursday to face federal drug charges, but not before blasting the U.S. government for what he called an unfair attack by federal bullies on ailing patients who rely on medical marijuana.

Pot Candy Dealer Turns Himself In
by Katie Hammer, ABC7/KGO-TV
A man who makes edible marijuana products for medical patients turned himself in this morning to federal authorities after they raided his Oakland factory. He had a lot of supporters today at the federal courthouse in Oakland.

ASA ACTION: Defending Democracy

The victory in ASA’s legal challenge to the electronic voting machines used in a local California election got more attention this week not because the questionable recount was of a medical marijuana measure but because of widespread concerns about the integrity of votes cast without a “paper trail.” The ruling makes clear to election officials that voters have a right to verifiable recounts.

Judge orders Berkeley medical marijuana measure back on ballot
Associated Press
A judge ordered a failed 2004 city initiative on medical marijuana returned to the ballot next year because county election officials failed to hand over data from voting machines.

Judge Orders Sanctions, New Election in Measure R Case
by J. Douglas Allen-Taylor, Berkeley Daily Planet
In what would appear to be the most stinging rebuke possible to the conduct of the Alameda County Registrar of Voters Office in the November 2004 Berkeley Measure R Medical Marijuana initiative election, a California Superior Court judge has ordered that a new Measure R election be held in November of next year, and that Measure R proponents be reimbursed for litigation and recount costs.

Berkeley pot bill put on 2008 ballot after judge nullifies results
by Chris Metinko, Contra Costa Times (CA)
An Alameda County Superior Court judge has nullified the results of a hotly contested 2004 election because of mishandling of a recount by Alameda County election officials, and she ordered Berkeley's Measure R -- a citizen-sponsored medical marijuana initiative -- back on the ballot for a re-vote in 2008.

Election Results Tossed in E-Voting Case
by Catherine Pickavet, InternetNews
Electronic voting has promised security, accuracy, expediency and fairness since its advent. But amid continued controversy, a new ruling in California may add yet another mark in the tally against it.

Americans for Safe Access Monthly Activist Newsletter

Win for Collective Cultivation Case in Butte

Superior Court Rules in Favor of ASA Suit Challenging Ban on Patient Collectives

The legal team for Americans for Safe Access won the first round this month in their fight to protect the right of California patients to organize as collectives for cultivation.

A strongly worded ruling from Superior Court Judge Barbara Roberts on September 6 found that that seriously ill patients cultivating collectively "should not be required to risk criminal penalties and the stress and expense of a criminal trial in order to assert their rights."

The ruling came in response to an attempt by Butte County to stop the lawsuit ASA filed in May 2006 on behalf of a seven-person private patient collective.

"The court has sent a clear message to local law enforcement in California that they must respect the rights of patients to cultivate collectively." said ASA Chief Counsel Joe Elford.

At issue is a September 2005 warrantless search of a patient's home by the Butte County Sheriff's Department, during which David Williams, 54, was forced to uproot and destroy more than two dozen plants or face arrest and prosecution.
"We were told that it was not lawful to grow collectively for multiple patients," said Williams.

Judge Roberts' ruling also rejected Butte County's policy of requiring all members to physically participate in the cultivation, thereby allowing collective members to "contribute financially."

"The next step is to show that Williams was running a valid collective," said Elford. "At that point, the court is expected to make a final determination consistent with yesterday's ruling, which strongly vindicates the right of medical marijuana patients to associate together to grow the medicine they need."

ASA's intervention came after repeated reports of unlawful behavior by Butte County sheriffs and other law enforcement agencies.

For more information:
Butte County Superior Court ruling from September 6, 2007
ASA's lawsuit challenging Butte County's ban on collective cultivation

Activists Persuade Congress to Intervene with DEA

45 Reps Sign Letter Urging Research Cultivation License

ASA lobbying was part of a successful, many-month effort by medical marijuana activists to get Congress to support research into cannabis therapeutics. On September 19, a letter signed by 45 members of the U.S. House of Representatives was delivered to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), urging the DEA to allow a UMass-Amherst professor to grow marijuana for approved research studies.

Over the past four months, ASA National Office staff, led by Governmental Affairs Director Caren Woodson, have been part of a campaign to get members of the House to sign the bi-partisan letter to DEA Adminstrator Karen Tandy. ASA members across the country contributed to a national grassroots campaign, contacting their representatives to ask them to sign on.

The letter, which was authored by U.S. Representatives John Olver (D-MA) and Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), asks Tandy to accept DEA Administrative Law Judge Mary Ellen Bittner's February 2007 Opinion and Recommended Ruling in support of the UMass-Amherst Medical Marijuana Research Production Facility. The law judge's ruling is non-binding and DEA has no deadline to decide whether to accept or reject it. The ruling is the result of legal action sponsored by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies and supported by the American Civil Liberties Union and other drug policy reform groups.

The DEA's handling of the UMass application to cultivate marijuana for research studies has already elicited congressional questioning. A DEA deputy administrator faced criticism on the subject during hearings this summer.

"The DEA is ignoring the vast scientific evidence that clearly shows medicinal use of marijuana benefits patients who are extremely ill," said Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), who sits on one of the committees charged with oversight. "When it comes to providing the best treatment options to sick Americans, we should trust doctors and medical researchers and not federal bureaucrats."

Lyle Craker, who is the director of the Medicinal Plant Program in the Department of Plant, Insect and Soil Sciences at University of Massachusetts, Amherst, submitted his initial application to DEA in June 2001. Craker plans to cultivate marijuana that would be used in clinical trials to determine whether marijuana meets FDA standards for medical safety and efficacy.

Since 1968, the federal National Institute on Drug Abuse has maintained a monopoly on the supply of research marijuana. Judge Bittner found that NIDA has repeatedly refused to supply marijuana for FDA-approved studies that could develop marijuana as a prescription medicine. Federal law requires adequate competition in the production of such Schedule I drugs as marijuana, to ensure a supply for approved research.

The Sentencing Project: Disenfranchisement News & Updates - 10/04/07

Florida: Major Backlog - and It's Just Going to Get Worse After the Clemency Board's April action making voting easier for most people convicted of nonviolent felonies, Florida hoped to process all newly eligible individuals in time to make it to the polls in the presidential primarily on January 29 - but at this point, "that's not likely," the St. Petersburg Times reported. Nearly 300,000 former non-violent offenders have been identified as eligible to vote, but in six months time only 34,444 citizens' rights have been restored. "It can always be better," said Gov. Charlie Crist. "We continue to chip away at it and work at it. It's a new day in Florida." The Florida Parole Commission processes about 7,000 cases a month. The prison system reported that 3,000 new people are released every month, making it seemingly years to resolve the pending cases. "This just highlights the shortcomings of these new rules," said Muslima Lewis, an attorney with the ACLU and director of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition. - - - - - - Help The Sentencing Project continue to bring you news and updates on disenfranchisement! Make a contribution today.

Drug Truth Network: Cultural Baggage & Century of Lies 10/04/07

Drug Truth Network Update: Cultural Baggage + Century of Lies Half Hour Programs, Live Tuesdays & Wednesdays... at 90.1 FM in Houston & on the web at www.kpft.org. NOTE: NEW RELEASE DATE FOR CULTURAL BAGGAGE (Broadcast onTues) & CENTURY OF LIES (Broadcasts Wed) Hundreds of our programs are available online at www.drugtruth.net, www.audioport.org and at www.radio4all.net. We provide the "unvarnished truth about the drug war" to scores of broadcast affiliates in the US and Canada., Cultural Baggage for 10/03/07 Dr. Joel Hochman Dir Natl. Foundation for Treatment of Pain + Poppygate MP3 MP3 LINK: http://www.drugtruth.net/007DTNaudio/FDBCB_100307.mp3 Century of Lies for 10/02/07 Cliff Schaffer of DrugLibrary.org + Drug War Facts MP3 MP3 Link: http://www.drugtruth.net/007DTNaudio/COL_100207.mp3 Next Week - Century of Lies on Tues, Cutural Baggage on Wed: - Cultural Baggage 12:30 PM ET, 11:20 AM CT, 10:30 AM MT & 9:30 AM PT: DTN Celebrates 6 years on the airwaves! - Century of Lies 12:30 PM ET, 11:20 AM CT, 10:30 AM MT & 9:30 AM PT: Chris Goldstein of NORML Potcasts Check out our latest videos via www.drugtruth.net/dtnvideo.htm 1 video: "Prohibition is Evil" + 2 from townhall meeting on racial disparity. Please become part of the solution, visit our website: www.endprohibition.org for links to the best of reform. "Prohibition is evil." - Reverend Dean Becker, Drug Truth Network Producer Dean Becker 713-849-6869 www.drugtruth.net
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