Dear ASA members, allies, and friends in Orange County:
    Thank you for your involvement and hard work in ASA's efforts over the years. In recent months, there has been significant conflict and disharmony within the ranks of the Orange County ASA Chapter.  I know that this conflict has been difficult for everyone involved.  I also know that we all would much prefer working together collaboratively to spending endless hours in internal disputes. All of us, as a community, are at our best when we are working together to achieve safe access to medical cannabis for those who need it.

    After giving careful thought to the internal conflicts that the Orange County ASA Chapter has endured, I have decided to dissolve the current Orange County Chapter. I know this will cause short-term disruptions to your hard work in the community. Please know that we have every intention of restarting an Orange County Chapter in the future. We want to make sure that when the new chapter is formed, it is done in a way that empowers all of you to be as effective as possible in your community work.
The dissolution of the current Orange County Chapter takes effect immediately.  In order to make sure that old tensions are put to rest, there will be a cooling-off period of one to two months before I instruct my staff to work with the OC community to build a new Orange County ASA chapter.

Thank you for your patience and for all of your hard work.  Our staff in Oakland and Washington DC has worked hard to fight for safe access, but we couldn't do it without all of your hard work too.  From lobbying City Council members to providing court support, your time and energy has always made the difference in our shared campaigns for compassion.

I hope that in the not-too-distant future we will all be working together once again.

Sincerely,

Steph Sherer
Executive Director

    On September 25^th, the California Supreme Court refused to review County of Butte v. Superior Court.  A landmark appellate court ruling that protects the right of medical marijuana patients and their primary caregivers to collectively cultivate. This ruling by California's Third Appellate District Court also affirmed a patient's ability to take civil action when their right to collectively cultivate is violated by law enforcement. The nationwide medical marijuana advocacy group Americans for Safe Access (ASA) filed a lawsuit in May 2006 on behalf of 56-year-old David Williams and six other collective members after the Butte County Sheriffs Department conducted a warrant less search of his home in 2005. Williams was forced by law enforcement to uproot more than two-dozen plants or face arrest and prosecution. Contrary to state law, Williams was told by the Sheriff that his collectively cultivated medical marijuana was illegal.  "By refusing to review this case, the California Supreme Court sends a strong message that local law enforcement must uphold the medical marijuana laws of the state and not competing federal laws," said Joe Elford, ASA Chief Counsel and the attorney that litigated the case on behalf of Williams. The appellate court ruling from July 2009 concluded that, "The deputy was acting under color of California law, not federal law. Accordingly, the propriety of his conduct is measured by California law."

    The California Senate this month approved a resolution that calls for big changes in federal policy on medical marijuana. The resolution, which is sponsored by ASA, urges federal lawmakers to both end federal interference in state medical cannabis laws and establish a comprehensive national plan to provide safe access for all patients.
    The state Senate's 23-15 vote on the non-binding resolution comes in the wake of recent federal enforcement activity in the state, including multiple raids and the arrests of five individuals. Senate Joint Resolution 14 was introduced in June by State Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco). If the state Assembly passes it, the resolution will be sent to the White House and Congress.
    The Obama Administration has promised to end interference in state medical marijuana programs, and the President has signed a memorandum that says government policies should be based on sound science. But numerous federal raids since January have California lawmakers concerned.
     "Patients and providers in California remain at risk of arrest and prosecution by federal law enforcement and legally established medical marijuana cooperatives continue to be the subjects of federal raids," said Sen. Leno in a statement on the resolution.
    Federal agents were involved in at least three raids on medical marijuana dispensaries last month, including two in California and one in Colorado, as well as a raid on a rural marijuana garden in California. These follow at least a half-dozen other federal actions that have occurred since President Obama took office.
    "Federal interference in state medical marijuana laws is unnecessary, unwelcome, and harmful," said Don Duncan, ASA's California Director. "Patients will benefit from a national policy that protects safe access; law enforcement will benefit from clearer federal guidelines; and taxpayers will benefit from better use of federal resources."
    SJR 14 urges President Obama and Congress to "move quickly to end federal raids, intimidation, and interference with state medical marijuana law." It also asks them to establish "an affirmative defense to medical marijuana charges in federal court and establish federal legal protection for individuals authorized by state and local law."
    Currently, federal medical marijuana defendants are prevented from using any defense that involves medical necessity or their compliance with state law.
    "More than two dozen medical marijuana defendants are currently being prosecuted on federal charges," said Duncan. "A change in federal policy can keep these people from serving many years in prison."
    The resolution also addresses the need to expand research into the medical benefits of cannabis, a primary recommendation of the 1999 Institute of Medicine report, which was commissioned by the White House.
    Further information:
Senate Joint Resolution on medical marijuana
ASA fact sheet on SJR 14

    Sacramento, CA -- The California Third District Court of Appeal issued a landmark ruling today on the right under state law of patients to collectively cultivate. The 2-1 appellate court decision stems from the case County of Butte v. Superior Court involving a private medical marijuana collective of 7 patients in Paradise, California. The nationwide advocacy group Americans for Safe Access (ASA) filed a lawsuit in May 2006 on behalf of 56-year-old David Williams and six other collective members after a 2005 warrantless search of his home. Williams was forced by the Butte County Sheriff to uproot more than two-dozen plants or face arrest and prosecution. Contrary to state law, which allows for collective cultivation, Williams was told by the Sheriff that it was not lawful to grow collectively for multiple patients.
    "This ruling by the California Courts sends yet another strong message to state law enforcement that they must abide by the medical marijuana laws of the state and not the competing federal laws," said Joe Elford, ASA Chief Counsel and the attorney that litigated the case on behalf of Williams. Today's appellate court ruling affirmed this position by concluding that, "the deputy was acting under color of California law, not federal law. Accordingly, the propriety of his conduct is measured by California law."
    The appellate court also stated that to deny patients protection from warrantless intrusions and seizures by law enforcement "would surely shock the sensibilities of the voters who approved [Proposition 215]." Especially worthy of note is the appellate court's assertion that the Compassionate Use Act of 1996 is not simply an affirmative defense to criminal sanctions, but "...we see an opportunity for an individual to request the same constitutional guarantee of due process available to all individuals, no matter what their status, under the state Constitution. The fact that this case involves medical marijuana and a qualified medical marijuana patient does not change these fundamental constitutional rights or an individual's right to assert them."
    Today's appellate court decision upholds Butte County Superior Court Judge Barbara Roberts' ruling from September 2007, in which she states 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." 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."
    Even in his dissenting opinion, Court of Appeal Judge James Morrison stated that, "the United States Congress should reconsider its refusal to amend the federal drug laws to make reasonable accommodation for the 13 states that have enacted some form of compassionate use exception to their penal codes."
    ASA was compelled to file the Williams lawsuit after receiving repeated reports of unlawful behavior by Butte County law enforcement, as well as by other police agencies throughout the state. After uncovering Butte County's de facto ban on medical marijuana patient collectives, ASA decided to pursue the case to show that collectives and cooperatives are protected under state law. "In addition to protecting patients' right to collectively cultivate, the Court has reaffirmed that medical marijuana patients enjoy the same constitutional rights as everyone else, including the ability to file civil rights actions when those rights are violated," continued Elford.
    Further information:
Today's ruling by the California Third District Court of Appeal: http://AmericansForSafeAccess.org/downloads/Butte_Appellate_Decision.pdf
Information on Butte Case:  http://AmericansForSafeAccess.org/Butte

    The tiny city of La Palma, is less than two square miles and the second-smallest city in Orange County with only about 16,500 residents.  California law permits patients with doctors’ notes to use marijuana, but marijuana possession is forbidden under federal law.  On Tuesday October 21^st., the La Palma City Council temporarily resolved the state/federal conflict in that city when they Banned Medical Marijuana Dispensaries in a cowardly fashion. They did not even address the issue and simply approved an ordinance that requires all businesses to comply with all city, state and federal laws.  It is clear that this law targets Medical Marijuana dispensaries and likely that this law will only affect MMJ dispensaries. This policy is against the will of the people of California and against the spirit of Prop 215 and will have the unfortunate effect of forcing patients in the area to get their medications from illicit sources.

    As raids on Medical marijuana dispensaries continue across the state, Federal agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration and Laguna Beach Detectives raided a marijuana dispensary Tuesday October 7^th at 2007 South Coast Highway in Laguna Beach^.   The Medical marijuana there was seized along with two people taken into custody and later released.  Federal law prohibits the use and sale of marijuana.  Voters in California passed the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, which allows people to use of medical marijuana if recommended by a physician.  This seizure of medical marijuana is the most recent example of the continuing conflict between contradictory California and federal laws.

Congress Urges Oversight of

DEA Tactics on Medical Cannabis

MMJ patient gets medicine back from

Huntington Beach Police...Finally

    It is becoming increasingly clear that the expensive and counterproductive "war on drugs" is not working!  California Proposition 5 reduces possession of less than an ounce of marijuana from a misdemeanor to an infraction (similar to a traffic ticket).  This will have little impact on law enforcement, since current law makes possession a misdemeanor punishable by with a $100 fine, which will continue.  Prop. 5 will also reduce parole for a wide range of non-violent crimes from three years to six months, reducing stress on the current overburdened parole system.  The measure will also expand drug treatment for non-violent drug law offenders and reduce the use of incarceration as a way to deal with addicts and other drug users.  Prop. 5 will build on the success of prop 36 passed in 2000 and will also require prisons to offer drug rehabilitation programs.  Prop. 5 is a modest step toward a more humane and productive approach to the problem of drug use than the strictly punitive approach that has failed so abysmally.  Over time, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office, “It should save taxpayers a considerable amount of money.”

ASA recommends a YES vote on Prop. 5

    The little city of 18,500 became the first in Orange County to pass an ordinance allowing medical marijuana dispensaries with a City Council vote of four yes, one abstention and none opposed!  In October, when the law takes effect, residents of Laguna Woods may be able to get their medications from a safe and legal dispensary in an unspecified commercial office area within the city.  The new law is not without restrictions.  The dispensary cannot be within 1000 feet of a school, daycare center, playground or other youth oriented facility. No one under the age of 18 is permitted to enter the dispensary at any time. The dispensary may only operate between 9am and 5pm, Monday through Saturday.  The dispensary must operate as a non-profit collective and may only serve residents of Laguna Woods.

    According to Cha Hanna, Orange County chapter coordinator for AMERICANS for SAFE ACCESS in the Orange County Register, "It's a very positive step". "All of the other cities that are banning (dispensaries) are violating the spirit of the Compassionate Use Act." These ordinances allow people to purchase marijuana in a safe environment and to avoid the black market and illicit sales".