Legal consultant and cannabis expert witness Chris Conrad, author of Cannabis Yields and Dosage, offers advice and professional services for court cases, sometimes paid by a county’s indigent defense fund. Info at chrisconrad.com.
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 | Volume 5 Number 4Winter2013
| Volume 4 Number 1, Spring 2011 Archives
| Volume 3, Number 4, Winter 2011 
| Volume 3, Number 3, Autumn 2010 
| Volume 3, Number 2, Summer 2010 
| Volume 3, Number 1, Spring 2010 
| Volume 2, Number 4, Winter 2010 Press Run 127,000 copies printed Click to read PDF 
| Volume 2 Number 3, Autumn 2009 • 122,000 copies Three Voter Initiatives Filed fopr California 2010 Ballot Read as PDF • Read as HTML 
| Volume 2 No. 2, Summer 2009 • 115,000 copies US Supreme Court: State Cannabis Laws Stand Read as HTML • Read as PDF 
| Volume 2 No. 1 Spring 2009 • 85,000 copies Ending Medi-Marijuana Raids "Now American Policy" Read as HTML • Read as PDF 
| Volume 1 No. 4, Winter 2009 • 72,500 copies Election Brings New Hope for Reform in 2009 Read as HTML • Read as PDF 
| Volume 1 No. 3, Autumn 2008 • 65,000copies Flurry of Court Rulings Boost Medical Rights Read as HTML • Read as PDF 
| Volume 1 No. 2 Summer 2008 • 50,000 copies California High Court Stands by State Law to Return Medical Marijuana Read as HTML • Read as PDF (4.7MB) 
| Volume 1 Number 1 Spring 2008 • 35,000 copies San Francisco Adopts Medical Marijuana Sanctuary Ordinance Read as HTML • Read as PDF (2.9MB) |
FEATURED SPONSOR Please take a moment to visit our list of Autumn 2012 sponsors. We have a wide range of sponsors offering a variety of services. It takes a lot of support to produce a free newspaper and our sponsors make it possible. Thank you to every sponsor for their continued support. Click here to see a complete list of sponsors for the Autumn 2012 edition.
How cannabis protects us from cancer and Alzheimer’s Disease. By Clint Werner Reviewed By Mary Pat Jacobs of the Sonoma Alliance for Medical Marijuana Once started, reading Marijuana Gateway to Health is hard to stop. Clint Werner’s training in journalism is evident throughout, making his book a definite smile to read. It may seem difficult to find humor in the egregious assaults against this benign and beneficial substance, but Werner has done it. Readers will laugh often at the factoids he places in ironoc juxtaposition to the ridiculousness of the drug warriors’ actions. One need read only a page or three of this book to be well armed with information. Author of many books on wellness Andrew Weil, M.D., wrote, “This book should be required reading for all medical professionals, elected officials and everyone interested in health and wellness.” The ‘End Notes’ are invaluable, as Werner’s association with Dr. Read More: Book Review: Marijuana Gateway to Health By Ken Wolski, RN, MPA Coalition for Medical Marijuana, New Jersey The New Jersey Dept. of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) issued permits March 21, 2011 to allow six non-profit organizations to open medical marijuana dispensaries, called Alternative Treatment Centers (ATCs). The DHSS said that patients can expect cannabis to be dispensed from these ATCs by late summer. New Jersey’s Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act, signed into law January 2010, does not allow home cultivation. Qualified patients who obtain an ID card from the DHSS will be eligible to purchase up to two ounces a month from one of these ATCs. However, there are still many concerns about the Medicinal Marijuana Program (MMP). The entire state legislature agreed that regulations DHSS proposed in December to enact the MMP were inconsistent with the legislative intent of the law. A resolution in the legislature would invalidate significant parts of those Read More: Questions still hound NJ state-run dispensary plan The City of San Jose, CA, reported first month revenues of $290,000 collected in March, 2011 from the 7% tax levied on medical marijuana collectives in the city. The tax was passed by voters Nov. 2, 2010. It is estimated that the city could reap about $3.4 million for the year if payments continue at the same level, which would help offset a $115 million budget deficit. “The new revenue collected has the potential to cover approximately 17 to 18 police officers or three libraries year-round,” Council Pierluigi Oliverio, sponsor of the tax measure, told the Mercury News. This tax is on top of the city business tax and sales tax collected. Of the 105 collectives identified in San Jose, 73 submitted the tax payment. The non-paying collectives are threatened with a 25% penalty plus interest on late taxes, once the program is in place. However, it is unclear Read More: CANNABIS TAX INCOME By Nate Bradley, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition Yes, I know it sounds scary, but take it from me, a former cop: Talking to police officers about marijuana legalization is easy, fun and rewarding. Believe it or not, a large portion of law enforcement either supports marijuana legalization or hasn’t made up its mind yet. Look at how few law enforcement unions came out and opposed Prop 19. Only three of California’s 58 Sheriff Department associations and four of more than 200 city police associations actually took positions officially opposing Prop 19. The Yes on Prop 19 campaign featured many cops, judges and prosecutors who, based on their law enforcement experiences, absolutely and very publicly support legalizing marijuana. So how do we talk to the police about marijuana legalization? First, here is what not to say. Don’t focus on tax revenues, racial disparities in arrest rates, how marijuana is ‘safer’ Read More: How to talk to a cop about marijuana legalization 
Cal Norml hosts conferences By Chris Conrad An overflow crowd came from around the state to Berkeley Jan. 29, 2011 for a California NORML conference to assess ‘Marijuana Reform: Next Steps for California.’ Another conference is set forMarch 19 in Los Angeles (see canorml.org). At the Jan. 29 event, State Senator MarkLeno and Assemblyman Tom Ammiano agreed that with Jerry Brown as state governor the prospect of getting meaningful reform passed and signed into law is enhanced. Leno said he is introducing SB129 to protect the jobs of qualified patients who use cannabis medicinally. Oakland City Councilwoman Desley Brooks and Mendocino Supervisor JohnMcCowen spoke of devising workable solutions at the local level in the face of erratic federal intervention. Surprise guestspeaker Ethan Nadelmann of Drug PolicyAlliance pointed to a global debate thatProp 19 initiated in 2010 and the more favorable voter turnout expected in 2012. Cal NORML Director Read More: Overflow crowd turns out for forum to discuss ‘Next Steps’ for marijuana reform in California 
Craig Reinarman, PhD, (l) and Harry Levine, PhD (r) professors and reseachers who have written important sociological studies on cannabis received the Lester Grinspoon Award for Outstanding Achievement at the 2010 National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws conference held in Portland,OR Sept. 9-11. Marsha Rosenbaum, PhD, (c) was the recipient of a well-deserved Lifetime Achievement Award, for her extensive body of work as a researcher, writer, and respected drug policy reformer who was California Director of the Lindesmith Center and the Drug Policy Alliance. Photo by Mikki Norris 
Joey Perez, front,with his mother, Mieko, their attorney Jeremy Joseph, and Joshua Shelton, a lawyer for HOPE Wellness Collective in Westminter CA, spoke at a press conference where Mieko explained how Joey barely survived almost a decade of phar- maceutical drugs that left his body at a mere 46 pounds. Joey, now 11 years old, is being treated with medical marijuana and has more than doubled his body weight. The collective has been providing medicine and other crucial services for special needs children, but was told to shut down immediately. Mieko and other families of special needs children fear there will be no safe location for them to obtain cannabis if the city closes the collective. The city later softened its posi- tion and said it will provide HOPE with the framework for discussions with the city about how to move forward. Photo and report by Sam Sabzehzar, Read More: SPECIAL NEEDS 
Josh Howard uses chopsticks to weigh medicine at Apothecary Assistant’s Collective in Long Beach, where roughly half of the estimated 90 collectives currently open are scheduled to close when the new municipal code takes effect Aug. 29. As part of the new code, collectives are no longer allowed to offer medicine not cultivated within the city of Long Beach, and consumables other than plant matter are to be made in a licensed facility within city limits as well. Photo courtesy of Sam Sabzehzar from MedicalMarijuana411.com. |
   
   
 
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So long for now and thanks for reading WCL
As the West Coast Leaf goes on hiatus, as announced in our previous issue, we would like to again thank our writers, advertisers, subscribers and helpers for making it possible for us to publish “the cannabis newspaper of record.”
These past five years have been among the most exciting in the history of reform, and we are glad to have played a role in informing and inspiring people to create change. See WestCoastLeaf.com as to our future plans