our quarterly newsletter

Vol 38 # 3 - October 2014
100-Year War on Pot Denounced in LA
LOS ANGELES, Sept. 11:
Public officials joined reform advocates in marking the 100th anniversary of the nation’s first
marijuana bust at a press
conference sponsored by
California NORML on
the steps of City Hall.
Speakers decried the
century-long toll of marijuana prohibition and
its disproportionate impact on minorities—in
particular LA’s Mexican
community, who were
targets of the first known
raids of marijuana gardens in the US.
when “marihuana,” the
Mexican word for cannabis, was virtually unknown. The raids were
the opening shot in a
hundred years’ war that
has seen over 2.7 million Californians arrested
for victimless marijuana
crimes.
City Hall steps front row, l to r: Antonio Gonzalez of the William C.
Velasquez Institute, Armando Gudiño of the Drug Policy Alliance, South
LA Reintegration Council director Nyabingi Kuti, LA City Councilman Paul
Koretz, former city councilman Bill Rosendahl. Second row: Cheri Sicard of
NORML Women’s Alliance and Dale Gieringer of California NORML.
The event was covered
on the front page of the
Daily News and by other
media outlets including Telemundo Spanish TV news and
KPCC radio 89.3 FM.
City Councilman Paul Koretz, who helped sponsor the event,
opened with remarks about the history of Sonoratown, the
Mexican immigrant community once located near City Hall.
The marijuana raids were led by the California State Board
of Pharmacy, which had secured passage of a pioneering law
prohibiting “Indian hemp” as part of a broader anti-drug
campaign in 1913, an event marked by Cal NORML at a
conference in San Francisco last year.
Hispanics were also the target of the state’s first marijuana
raids, as reported in the LA Times (Sept 10, 1914), at a time
Ironically, only after being made illegal did marijuana become popular,
eventually being used by
millions of Californians,
including an estimated
750,000 patients who use
cannabis for medical purposes under Prop. 215.
continued on p. 9
CA Election Guide to
Drug Policy Reform
Read about candidates
for local, state and federal
office and ballot measures
that will affect your rights
in the November 4th election. See page 2.
California NORML Reports
October 2014
Voters Guide to Drug Policy Reform Candidates - Nov. 2014
need a state full of pot-heads, he was
right.” Showing that he means business,
Kashkari has gone so far as to advocate
mandatory drug testing of legislators.
However, Kashkari does claim to support decriminalization.
Lieutenant Governor
Governor
Gov. Jerry Brown has posted a mixed
record as Governor. To the disappointment of many fans, he dismissed calls for
marijuana legalization with derogatory
comments about “unproductive potheads.” On the positive side, he signed
legislation to expand access to clean
syringes by drug users and a 911 Good
Samaritan Act to protect callers from
prosecution for illegal drug possession.
He also vetoed a bill banning dispensaries within 600 feet of residential zones.
More ambiguously, Brown vetoed a bill
to legalize industrial hemp, but then
approved a revised version that was conditioned on federal approval (which may
soon be forthcoming thanks to the new
federal law allowing hemp for research
purposes). On the negative side, Brown
has resisted court orders to reduce prison
crowding, shocking prison reform advocates by vetoing Mark Leno’s bill SB649
to downgrade penalties for possession
of narcotics from a mandatory felony to
a wobbler (fortunately, voters will have
a chance to override him by voting for
Prop. 47 this November).
Brown’s opponent, banking mogul Neel
Kashkari, has been touted by the press
as a socially liberal Republican, but has
echoed Brown’s sentiments on legalization, saying that when he “said we don’t
Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom has distinguished himself by becoming the first
state official to openly declare his support for marijuana legalization. Newsom
made similar waves as mayor of San
Francisco by pushing the envelope for
gay marriage, successfully turning the
national tide on the issue through the
courts. Hopefully, his advocacy on behalf
of legalization will enjoy similar success.
The state Democratic Party has endorsed
legalization in its platform.
Newsom’s Republican opponent,
Ron Nehring, has lined up with exC ongressman Patrick Kennedy’s
anti-marijuana group SAM (“Smart
Approaches to Marijuana”) in denouncing legalization and questioning
marijuana’s value as medicine.
Attorney General
For the first time, the race for this crucial
office features a major-party candidate
who advocates marijuana legalization:
Republican Ron Gold, a little-known
former CA Dept. of Justice official. In
the last election, incumbent Democrat
Kamala Harris barely edged out Los
Angeles D.A. Steve Cooley in no small
part due to strong support from the
medical cannabis community, which
Harris had supported as D.A. of San
Francisco. Since moving to Sacramento,
however, Harris has been notably
unhelpful on cannabis issues, doing
nothing to challenge federal scheduling
or the DOJ crackdown on California’s
-2-
dispensaries. At one point Harris’ office quietly proposed a badly conceived
update to the Attorney General’s guidelines on cannabis collectives, which was
thankfully dropped.
In challenging Harris, Gold has made
marijuana reform an important plank
in his campaign platform. Gold says
that adoption of a Colorado-style legalization law will reduce the cost of
law enforcement for victimless crimes,
reduce the incentives for drug cartels,
and raise much needed tax revenues.
Asked to comment, Harris laughed
dismissively and sidestepped the issue. Harris will have to do better if she
wishes to retain the pro-marijuana vote.
State Controller
This underlooked state office has an
outstanding candidate in Betty Yee,
who has championed the legal sale and
taxation of marijuana on the Board of
Equalization. Yee criticized the federal
raids on California’s dispensaries when
other SF officials and AG Harris were
silent and she is supportive of full adult
use legalization. In one of the closest
races in state history, Yee edged out fellow Democrat John Perez in the primary,
thanks to support from the marijuana
reform community.
Running ahead of both was Yee’s
November opponent, the socially conservative Republican mayor of Fresno,
Ashley Swearengin, who cheerled the
city’s sweeping ban on marijuana cultivation. Her husband, Paul Swearengin, is a
fundamentalist pastor who among other
things preaches the biblically unattested
evils of pot. Swearengin’s race is getting
an influx of cash from out-of-state conservatives; Yee is running a grassroots
campaign.
California NORML Reports
Ballot Propositions
NO on PROP 46 - Drug and Alcohol
Testing of Doctors, Medical Negligence
Lawsuits. This cynical initiative would
require random drug testing of all physicians—as if the quality of medical care
could be divined by urine samples. In
fact, the primary intent of this initiative,
which is sponsored by trial lawyers, is
to quadruple the limit on medical malpractice awards in California, thereby
fattening the purses of its sponsors. The
drug-testing provision was added as an
afterthought by Machiavellian political
consultants when it was discovered to
test well in public opinion polling. It is
testimony to the woeful public ignorance
about drug testing that this proposal
could be taken seriously as a good way
to improve medical care, given there
is no good scientific evidence that it is
either safe or effective in improving job
performance.
The ugly reality is that drug tests are
highly over-sensitive to harmless, offthe-job use of marijuana, but highly
insensitive to the number-one drug of
abuse, alcohol—not to mention a host of
dangerous synthetic drugs, such as the
marijuana substitute “Spice,” which isn’t
tested at all. Perversely, Prop. 46 defines
“drug” to include marijuana metabolites,
which are entirely non-psychoactive,
but not THC, marijuana’s primary active component. Worse yet, Prop. 46
makes no allowance for medical use of
marijuana.
Given the evidence that medical marijuana actually helps reduce drug abuse
deaths, and that studies have failed to
show a benefit in drug testing health
care workers, this initiative deserves a
resounding “No” from the electorate.
California’s physicians (and other workers as well) deserve the right to use marijuana in their private lives. Sadly, Prop.
46 has been endorsed by some poorly
informed consumer advocates, such as
October 2014
Sen. Barbara Boxer and Erin Brockovich,
but it has also drawn deserved criticism from the press for its deliberately
misleading title, which was approved
by Attorney General Harris. In the end,
though, the race is apt to come down to a
high-priced fundraising contest between
doctors and trial lawyers.
YES on PROP 47 - Criminal
Sentences - Misdemeanor Penalties.
Sponsored by Californians for Safe
Neighborhoods and Schools and S.F.
District Attorney George Gascón, Prop.
47 would reduce penalties for certain
nonviolent crimes, including drug
possession, from felonies or wobblers
(optional felonies or misdemeanors) to
misdemeanors. The result would be to
de-felonize simple possession of cocaine
and heroin, which are now mandatory
felonies, as well as other controlled substances like methamphetamine and LSD,
which are wobblers. Hashish and concentrated cannabis, which are also wobblers, would likewise be de-felonized,
but not marijuana, since it is already
an infraction or misdemeanor. Prop. 47
also de-felonizes a variety of non-violent
property crimes, such as minor theft,
shoplifting and forgery.
The measure allows prior offenders to
apply for a change in their records from
felony to misdemeanor status, provided
that they haven’t also been convicted of
violent or serious priors. Prop. 47 is an
expanded version of a drug sentencing
bill by Senator Mark Leno, which was
approved by the legislature but vetoed
by Gov. Brown. According to the legislative analyst, Prop. 47 would affect some
40,000 offenders annually and save the
state hundreds of millions of dollars in
enforcement costs.
Congressional Races
Marijuana and drug reform aren’t prominent issues in this year’s races for state
legislature or Congress. Among the hand-3-
ful of competitive legislative contests in
California, just a few feature substantial
differences over drug policy.
California’s Congressional delegation has
tended to vote well, in line with growing
voter sentiment for reform. Support has
been most solid amongst Democrats, especially in the Bay Area, where Rep. Barbara
Lee (Oakland) and Sam Farr (Monterey)
have been leading sponsors of reform
bills. On the Republican side, Rep. Dana
Rohrabacher (Huntington Beach) has
emerged as his party’s leading advocate
for marijuana reform in Congress. In a
landmark victory for medical marijuana,
Rohrabacher teamed up with Farr to
sponsor a budget amendment blocking
funds for the Department of Justice to
interfere with state medical marijuana
laws, which won by the surprising margin
of 219-189.
This session also witnessed the historic
passage of a bill legalizing the cultivation
of industrial hemp for research purposes,
which passed both houses of Congress
and was signed into law by President
Obama.
Other, stronger reform bills were introduced but failed to advance due to
continued resistance from the conservative Republican leadership of Speaker
John Boehner, abetted by whip-turnedmajority leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy
of Bakersfield. The prospect for decisive
reform would be greatly improved were
the Democrats to win a majority, in
which case the speakership would return
to San Francisco’s Nancy Pelosi, who has
declared medical marijuana to be a “really
important” priority. However, chances of
a Democratic majority are negligible in
this off-year election.
KEY CONGRESSIONAL RACES
7th Dist. - Rancho Cordova/Roseville
Incumbent freshman Democrat Ami
Bera has voted well and is openly
continued on p. 4
California NORML Reports
October 2014
Voter Guide - Cont. from p. 3
supportive of medical marijuana.
He is opposed by former Republican
Congressman Doug Ose, who pushed
for the feds to attack California’s cannabis clubs and attacked medical marijuana
as a “sham.”
31st C.D. - San Bernardino - Republican
anti-drug activist Paul Chabot, the
founder of Drug Free California, is running as an out-and-out drug warrior
against Democrat Pete Aguilar, who is
endorsed by local reform advocates.
Congressional Honor Roll 2013-4
(Co-sponsored & voted for reform bills)
District - Member
02 - Jared Huffman (D-N. Coast)
04 - Tom McClintock (R-Granite Bay)
11 - George Miller* (D-Concord)
13 - Barbara Lee (D-Oakland)
15 - Eric Swalwell (D-Fremont)
17 - Mike Honda (D-Sunnyvale)
19 - Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose)
20 - Sam Farr (D-Monterey)
30 - Brad Sherman (D-LA Valley)
33 - Henry Waxman* (D-Bev. Hills)
44 - Janice Hahn (D-Compton)
47 - Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach)
48 - Dana Rohrabacher
(R- Huntington Beach)
50 - Duncan Hunter (R-San Marcos)
* = Not running for re-election
Congressional Hall of Shame 2013-4
(Consistent anti-reform votes)
District - Member
01 - Doug LaMalfa (R-Redding)
08 - Paul Cook (R-Barstow)
10 - Jeff Denham (R-Modesto)
22 - Devin Nunes (R-Visalia)
23 - Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield)
25 - Howard McKeon* (R-Palmdale)
42 - Ken Calvert (R-Murrieta)
49 - Darrell Issa (R-Vista)
For more on legislative and Congressional races, including voting records, see DPFCAʼs on-line Election Guide
at http://www.CaNORML.org/votersguide
California Legislature
Although many incumbents will not be
running for re-election on account of term
limits, the balance of power in Sacramento
is not expected to swing dramatically this
election. Although Democrats hold a vetoproof 2/3 majority, this has not greatly affected legislation, as many new Democrats
come from moderate swing districts where
public opinion on drug issues is divided.
Due to term limits, the Assembly will lose
its leading champion of marijuana reform
in Tom Ammiano (D-SF), who sponsored
a pathbreaking adult-use legalization
bill in 2009 and as chair of of the Public
Safety Committee has ably blocked bad
legislation. Assemblyman Bill Quirk
(D-Hayward), who has five terms left, is
emerging to replace him as the Assembly’s
lead champion of cannabis reform. In the
State Senate, no great changes are likely,
as veteran reform champions Sen. Mark
Leno (D-SF) and Public Safety Committee
chair Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley) both
have two years left in office.
Assembly Honor Roll 2013-4
(Consistently voted for reform bills)
District - Member
02 - Chesbro* (D-N. Coast)
04 - Yamada* (D-Vacaville)
10 - Levine (D-San Rafael)
15 - Skinner* (D-Berkeley)
17 - Ammiano* (D-S.F.)
18 - Bonta (D-Alameda)
19 - Ting (D-So. S.F.)
20 - Quirk (D-Hayward)
22 - Mullin (D-San Mateo)
24 - Gordon (D-Palo Alto)
25 - Wieckowski (D-Fremont)
29 - Stone (D-Santa Cruz)
41 - Holden (D-Pasadena)
46 - Nazarian (D-Van Nuys)
50 - Bloom (D-Malibu)
51 - Gomez (E. L.A.)
59 - Jones-Sawyer (S. L.A.)
63 - Rendon (D-Lakewood)
70 - Lowenthal* (D-Long Beach)
78 - Atkins (D-San Diego)
79 - Weber (D-Lemon Grove)
* = not running in 2014
**= running for higher office
As a rule, Democratic legislators are more
inclined to support drug and criminal
justice reform than Republicans. Although
Republican opposition has been softening,
as seen in the bi-partisan support for Sen.
Leno’s hemp bill, the party leadership
remains strongly beholden to the state’s
prohibitionist law enforcement lobby.
This can be seen in the aggregate vote
totals: altogether, Republicans voted 50130 against drug reform measures, while
Democrats voted 351-54 in favor. Though
the CA Democratic party has officially
endorsed marijuana legalization in its
platform, many so-called “moderate”
Dems remain skittish or hostile.
Assembly Hall of Shame 2013-4
(Consistently opposed reform bills)
District - Member
03 - Logue** (R-Chico)
05 - Bigelow (R-Angels Camp)
06 - Gaines (R-Roseville)
08 - Cooley (D-Carmichael)
12 - Olsen (R-Modesto)
21 - Gray (D-Merced)
23 - Patterson (R-Fresno)
26 - Conway* (R- Visalia)
31 - Perea (D-Fresno)
32 - Salas (D-Bakersfield)
34 - Grove (R-Bakersfield)
36 - Fox (D-Palmdale)
42 - Nestende** (R-Riverside)
continued on p. 6
-4-
California NORML Reports
October 2014
Cal NORML Joins Lake Lawsuit Against Warrantless Searches
A lawsuit filed on August 30 by attorney Joe Elford challenges warrantless
searches conducted by Lake County
officials, based on state and federal
constitutional privacy and property
rights, and due process requirements.
California NORML joined other local
plaintiffs in the lawsuit on behalf of our
Lake County members who are fearful
of further raids.
“In blatant disregard of ... constitutional
principles, defendants repeatedly sent
approximately a half-dozen armed
police agents—dressed in camouflage
military attire, in unmarked trucks,
with guns conspicuously visible on their
sides—to raid homes of qualified medical marijuana patients and chop down
their plants, without providing them
a warrant or any advance notice,” the
lawsuit states. Plaintiffs say officers told
them they did not need warrants, and in
one case threatened to arrest a man just
for asking for one.
Although the judge refused to issue a
temporary restraining order against
law enforcement at this time, arguing
the damage had already been done, the
case seems to have halted the questionable practices in Lake for the time being,
and will still see its day in court. The
brief cites NORML’s historic lawsuit
against CAMP, NORML v. Mullen, 608
F.Supp. 945 (N.D. Cal. 1985), in which
plaintiffs obtained a preliminary injunction preventing warrantless searches and
seizures of marijuana, as well as the unjustified surveillance of plaintiffs’ homes
through the use of helicopters.
Meanwhile, in Mendocino County,
numerous reports of camouflaged, unidentified agents landing by helicopter
in gardens and chopping them down
without leaving any citations have been
circulating. The reports have yet to be
verified by photographic or eyewitness testimony. The head of Lear Asset
Management, a private security firm
that was involved in clean-up operations
on private lands earlier in the season,
has denied involvement in the raids.
Suspicion has focused on the federally
sponsored CAMP (Campaign Against
Marijuana Planting) program, which
was defunded at the state level a few
years ago, but appears to still be in operation. Inquires to legislative offices failed
to find an answer as to how CAMP is
being run. Mendocino County has asked
for more time to answer a Freedom of
Information Act request from KPIX-TV
for records pertaining to Lear.
In court action, an ACLU challenge to
Fresno County’s ordinance banning all
cultivation, relying on similar arguments
as a previous challenge to a cultivation
ban passed in Live Oak, is pending.
The Live Oak challenge, which was
sponsored by Cal NORML, fell one vote
short of being granted review by the state
supreme court. Several growers have
mounted procedural challenges to fines
imposed under the ban.
Yes! I want to support Cal NORML and receive Cal NORML Reports
Edited by Dale Gieringer and Ellen Komp; Proofreader: Jackie Gay Wilson - October 2014
Name____________________________________________________________
Address__________________________________________________________
City ____________________________________State______ Zip___________
E-mail_______________________________________I can volunteer!_______
_____SIGN ME UP FOR A PAPERLESS SUBSCRIPTION
Peace Dove or Listing Membership $100___
Regular membership/subscription $30 ____
Membership w/ Hemp/Cotton T (pictured) $60____
specify size: __S __M __L __XL __XXL
NEW Cal NORML Drug Testing Guide $10____
Low-income or NWA members $15 _____
-5-
Send payment to:
California NORML
2261 Market St. #278A
San Francisco, CA 94114
(415) 563-5858 or (510) 540-1066
canorml@canorml.org / www.canorml.org
California NORML Reports
Voter Guide - cont. from p. 4
Assembly Hall of Shame, cont’d
56 - Perez, V.M.* (D-Coachella)
60 - Linder (R-Mission Viejo)
65 - Quirk-Silva (R-Fullerton)
66 - Muratsuchi (D-Torrance)
67 - Melendez (R-Murrietta)
72 - Allen (R-Fountain Valley)
73 - Harkey*** (San Juan Capistrano)
State Senate Honor Roll 2013-4
(Consistently voted for reform bills)
02 - Evans* (D-Napa)
06 - Steinberg* (D-Sacramento)
07 - DeSaulnier** (D-Walnut Creek)
09 - Hancock* (D-Berkeley)
10 - Corbett* (D-San Leandro)
11 - Leno* (D-S.F.)
13 - Hill* (D - Palo Alto)
15 - Beall* (D-San Jose)
17 - Monning* (D-Santa Cruz)
19 - Jackson* (D-Santa Barbara)
20 - Padillla** (D-Van Nuys)
22 - Hernandez (E-Covina)
24 - De León (D-L.A.)
25 - Liu* (D-Glendale)
26 - Mitchell (D-Culver City)
39 - Block* (D-San Diego)
40 - Hueso (D-Imperial)
* = Not running in 2014
**= Running for higher office
State Senate Hall of Shame 2013-4
(Consistently voted against reform bills)
01 -Gaines, Ted** (R-Redding)
04 - Nielsen (R-Oroville)
12- Cannella (R-Merced)
16 - Berryhill (R-Modesto)
18 - Fuller (R-Bakersfield)
21 - Knight** (R-Victorville)
23 - Morrell* (R- Rancho Cucamonga)
29 - Huff *(R-Chino)
36 - Anderson (R-Alpine/S.D.)
37 - Walters** (R-Laguna Hills)
38 - Wyland * (R-Carlsbad)
Local Ballot Measures
Butte County - No on A, Yes on B
Cannabis advocates are backing a ref-
October 2014
erendum to repeal a restrictive cultivation ordinance passed by the Board of
Supervisors, Measure A, and replace it
with a more liberal one, Measure B.
bis dispensaries in the city. Measure CC,
backed by Orange County NORML, would
authorize a minimum of 22 dispensaries,
with a 2% sales tax. Measure BB, a more
restrictive alternative sponsored by the
Lake County: Marijuana Cultivation Yes
City Council, has no minimum number of
on Measure O - Measure O, sponsored by
dispensaries, a 5% tax, and other restricthe Emerald Unity Coalition, would repeal
tions not in CC. If both are approved, the
a restrictive cultivation ordinance passed
measure with the most votes wins. While
advocates are campaigning for CC, they
aren’t actively opposing BB, as either one
would be an improvement on the present
situation, where dispensaries are banned.
Santa Cruz County - Cannabis Business
Tax Measure K - Would impose a 7%
business tax on gross receipts of cannabis
businesses in the unincorporated county,
with a 10% maximum rate allowed.
Santa Cruz City - Cannabis Business Tax
Measure L - Would impose a 7% business
tax on gross receipts of cannabis businesses in the city, with a 10% maximum
rate allowed.
Shasta County - NO on Measure A
Cultivation Restrictions - Referendum
Kandice Hawes of OC NORML urges
sponsored by local cannabis advocates to
support for Measure CC in Santa Ana
repeal Shasta County’s stringent cultivation ordinance banning outdoor grows. A
by the Board of Supervisors, Measure
“No” vote would repeal the ordinance.
N, and establish more liberal growing
guidelines plus a Medical Marijuana Shasta Lake City - Cannabis Business
Enforcement Division funded by a $50 Tax Measure C would impose a 6% busiper plant fee on gardens over 12 plants. ness tax on medical marijuana collectives,
A second initiative, Measure P, spon- with a maximum cap of 10%. Sponsored
sored by hemp activist Ron Kiczenski, by city council, no opposition filed.
sweepingly declares that residents have
a fundamental right to grow natural Encinitas - Yes on Measure F - Medical
plants exempt from county ordinances marijuana regulation initiative sponsored
and permits if they take “reasonable care by patient advocates to authorize dispento prevent environmental destruction.” saries in the city and establish reasonable
rules for their operation, with a 2.5% sales
Nevada County - YES on Measure S tax on transactions.
This initiative sponsored by patient advo- La Mesa - Yes on Measure J - Medical
cates would liberalize the county’s restric- marijuana regulation initiative sponsored
tive and pettyfogging cultivation rules.
by patient advocates to authorize and
Santa Ana Dispensary Initiatives - Yes on establish rules for medical cannabis disMeasure CC - Two competing measures pensaries in the city; would also impose a
are on the ballot to allow medical canna- 2.5% sales tax on their transactions.
-6-
California NORML Reports
Cal NORML Backs
2016 Unity Initiative
Plans are afoot for a unity initiative to
legalize marijuana in California in 2016.
A statewide coalition of advocates, including California NORML, has formed
the Coalition of Cannabis Policy Reform
(CCPR), to help lead the effort under
the banner of ReformCA.com. Besides
NORML, members of CCPR include the
California Cannabis Industry Association,
Emerald Growers Association, LEAP,
ASA, UFCW, NAACP, GLACA, and
William C. Velazquez Institute.
CCPR will be working in conjunction
with two national partners, the Marijuana
Policy Project (MPP) and Drug Policy
Alliance (DPA), in supporting and planning the 2016 effort.
CCPR’s aim is specifically to represent
the interests of Californians—consumers, patients, the industry and workers,
friends, and the public—to ensure the
initative is tailored to the state’s unique
needs and traditions on the forefront of
cannabis reform.
California NORML is calling for a comprehensive initiative to regulate marijuana
along similar lines as Colorado. Included
would be provisions to (1) make it legal for
adults to possess, cultivate, use and share
cannabis for personal use; (2) decriminalize and eliminate felony penalties for minor cultivation and distribution offenses;
(3) strengthen and protect medical access
for patients in genuine medical need; (4)
establish a legally regulated and taxed
system for commercial production and
sales along similar lines as alcohol; (5)
allow for on-site consumption in licensed
premises; and (6) clear felony records of
non-violent marijuana offenders.
Cal NORML encourages friends and
members to join us in supporting CCPR’s
2016 effort by visiting ReformCA.com.
October 2014
Court of Appeal Upholds Medical
MJ Collectives in Baniani decision
by Damian A. Martin
August 22: In a decision upholding patients’ safe access to affordable medical
marijuana, the Fourth District Court of
Appeal, Division 3 in Santa Ana ruled that
“a member of a collective or cooperative
may purchase medical marijuana from
the collective or cooperative so long as
the sale is not for profit.”
The decision, People v. Baniani (229 Cal.
App. 4th 45), continues the line of decisions ruling that the Medical Marijuana
Program Act (“MMPA”) does not require
all the members of a collective or cooperative to actively participate in the cultivation process.
In Baniani, the defendant had a valid
physician’s recommendation, set up a cooperative as a non-profit corporation, and
acquired a seller’s license from the Board
of Equalization. Moreover, he produced
evidence that the cooperative did not
make a profit and the money provided
by patients was given to the growers to
reimburse them for costs.
Given the Fourth District Court of
Appeal’s 2012 ruling in People v. Jackson
(210 Cal. App. 4th 525) that the MMPA:
• provides a defense for collective/cooperative defendants when members
are qualified patients that associate to
cultivate medical marijuana and are not
engaged in a profit-making enterprise;
and
• allows a member’s contribution to the
collective/cooperative to be limited to
financial support in the form of marijuana
purchases;
the prosecutor argued that a member must
“make his or her monetary contribution
prior to the planting of the marijuana the
patient would eventually be given.”
-7-
Although the trial court bought the prosecutor’s argument, the Fourth District
Court of Appeal completely rejected it as
inconsistent with the MMPA’s purpose of
ensuring that qualified patients have safe
access to affordable medical marijuana.
To quote directly from the Court:
It would be cruel for those whose need for
medical marijuana is the most dire . . .
to require that they make their monetary
contribution and then wait months for the
marijuana to be planted, grown, and harvested before they may lawfully be provided
medical marijuana. Moreover, for some
the cultivation and processing would not be
completed until it was too late to provide
any relief. The MMPA does not anticipate
a patient who has received a physician’s recommendation must thereafter wait months
to lawfully acquire medical marijuana.
Overall, the Baniani decision represents a
common-sense extension of the Jackson
line of decisions in response to a legally
unsupported argument by a prosecutor. But the ruling does not provide an
impervious legal shield for collectives
and cooperatives. Since Baniani did not
change the fact that the MMPA protections only offer an affirmative defense
after arrest, collectives and cooperatives
will still operate in a legal environment
where members are subject to arrest and
forced to prove the legality of their operations before a court.
D O NAT E
T O DAY !
REFORMCA.COM
BRINGING CITIZENS
TOGETHER TO END
CANNABIS PROHIBITION
Coalition for Cannabis Policy Reform
1734 Telegraph Ave Oakland CA 94612
California NORML Reports
October 2014
Medical Marijuana Bill
SB 1262 Dies in Sacto
SACRAMENTO – For the third year in
a row, the California legislature failed to
pass a bill to legally regulate the state’s
medical marijuana industry, as negotiations between patient advocates and law
enforcement over a licensing and regulation bill by Sen. Lou Correa, SB 1262,
collapsed at the eleventh hour.
Correa’s bill had been sponsored by law
enforcement and the California League
of Cities, who insisted on strong local
controls over the industry. The bill
picked up support from some medical
marijuana groups as Correa negotiated
to improve it and eliminate objectionable
features, such as a provision to sharply
limit physicians’ ability to recommend marijuana. However, most marijuana advocates, including California
NORML, remained skeptical of the bill
and demanded additional changes to ensure the regulations were workable and
fair to small-scale growers and patient
collectives.
Correa responded by improving SB 1262
with language from a rival bill, AB 1894,
by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, which
had been supported by marijuana advocates but failed to pass the Assembly.
Ammiano agreed to work with Correa as
a co-sponsor of SB 1262 provided other
outstanding problems were addressed.
At the last minute, negotiations took an
unexpected step backwards when law
enforcement added additional language
to limit total marijuana production and
ban participation in the industry by
anyone with a prior felony trafficking
conviction. Ammiano and most other
advocates then withdrew support for
the bill.
SB 1262 was killed by the Assembly
Appropriations Committee, where con-
cerns over its economic costs figured
prominently. In testimony to the committee, Cal NORML questioned the economic viability of the bill. The bill would
have created a new medical marijuana
regulatory agency under the Department
of Consumer Affairs at a cost upwards of
$25 million. By Cal NORML’s estimate,
the agency would have collected at most
$3 million in licensing fees in its first
year due to the bill’s overly restrictive
eligibility qualifications for growers. As
a result, the legislature would have had to
find an additional $20+ million in order
to fund the agency.
Advocates believe it may be too late for
the legislature to try to pass another
regulatory bill next year. If so, they intend to address medical marijuana regulation in the 2016 legalization initiative.
By the time the next legislature finalizes
legislation in late summer 2015, the initiative will already have to be written.
Anything that the legislature proposes in
the interim is liable to being overridden
by the initiative.
“California voters are in a better position than the legislature to enact a
sound medical marijuana regulation
system,” argues Cal NORML director
Dale Gieringer. “Any sensible regulatory
system needs to have scaled licensing
fees, so that small growers pay less than
large-scale operators. Unfortunately,
scaled fees are considered a ‘tax’ under
California law (Proposition 26) and require a 2/3 vote of the legislature. This
poses a formidable political hurdle in
Sacramento. The easiest solution may
be to go directly to the voters, who can
approve a sensible licensing fee system
by a simple majority vote.”
The legislature ended without passing
any marijuana bills this year. A bill
-8-
by Sen. Noreen Evans that would have
required law enforcement to compensate medical marijuana growers for
crops that were wrongfully eradicated
was withdrawn by the author after the
compensation provision was killed by
a hostile amendment. A zero-tolerance
marijuana DUI bill by Assemblyman
Jim Frazier was also killed under strong
opposition from NORML, which testified that scientific studies have shown
that impairment cannot be measured by
chemical drug tests.
Leaving Office, Holder
Suggests Rescheduling
In an unprecedented statement, Attorney
General Eric Holder raised the question
of marijuana’s scheduling status the day
before announcing his retirement.
In an interview with Katie Couric,
Holder said whether or not heroin and
marijuana should be in the same federal
schedule “is something that we need to
ask ourselves — and use science as the
basis for making that determination.”
Holder’s views have evolved since his
first years in office, when his office first
declared a “hands-off ” policy on medical
marijuana, then launched a crackdown
that closed hundreds of dispensaries.
After helping torpedo California’s Prop
19 legalization initiative, Holder held his
silence as both CO and WA approved legalization, and has since largely refrained
from interfering with state marijuana
laws. More recently, he has won praise
for advocating sentencing reform.
As Holder leaves office, scores of federal
medical marijuana cases are still in the
courts. However, arrests have become
infrequent since Holder’s 2013 visit to
Berkeley, over which Cal NORML cosponsored a plane towing a banner,
“Holder: End Rx Cannabis War.”
California NORML Reports
October 2014
Ending the 100-Year War cont. from p. 1
Other officials and speakers who joined Mr. Koretz were
California Attorney General candidate Ron Gold, West
Hollywood City Councilman John Duran, former LA councilman Bill Rosendahl, Judge Jim Gray, Armando Gudiño of
the Drug Policy Alliance, Antonio Gonzalez of the William
C. Velasquez Institute, Nyabingi Kuti of the South LA
Reintegration Council, LA NORML director Bruce Margolin,
and NORML Women’s Alliance spokeswoman Cheri Sicard.
(Left to right): LA City Councilman Paul Koretz, Bruce Margolin
of LA NORML, and Judge James Gray.
Participants called for an end to the war on cannabis so that
its full potential can be realized as a medicine, an agricultural
crop, a legally regulated industry for adult enjoyment, and a
source of tax revenues for drug treatment, education, health
care and other needed services. Sicard and Amy Povah of
Harm Reduction Productions spoke about the men serving
life sentences for marijuana crimes, and Povah of her own
experiences serving time for refusing to “snitch” on a former
boyfriend in the drug trade.
The event was followed by a celebration of LA NORML
Director Bruce Margolin’s birthday at a Mexican restaurant
According to the CA Attorney General’s office, Hispanics are complete with a mariachi band playing “La Cucaracha,” and a
now the most-arrested ethnic group for felony marijuana of- party at the LA NORML offices on Saturday night, where OC
fenses in the state, followed by whites and by blacks, who are NORML’s Kandice Hawes received an award for her outstanding leadership towards marijuana reform.
incarcerated at a rate of nine times more than whites.
An annual benefit for:
Sponsored by:
11AM–8PM, SOMA STREAT FOOD PARK
WITH PERFORMANCES BY:
Bayonics, DJ SelektaLou, Red Hots Burlesque
S FC A N N A B I S C U P.C O M
-9-