PDF version of current issue  | Volume 5 Number 4 Winter2013
 | Volume 5 Number 3
Autumn2012
 | Volume 5 Number 2
Summer 2012
 | Volume 5 Number 1
Spring 2012
 | Volume 4 Number 4,
Winter 2012
 | Volume 4 Number 3,
Autumn 2011
| Volume 4 Number 2,
Summer 2011
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Archives
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Autumn 2009 • 122,000 copies
Three Voter Initiatives Filed fopr California 2010 Ballot
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US Supreme Court:
State Cannabis Laws Stand
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Ending Medi-Marijuana Raids "Now American Policy"
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Winter 2009 • 72,500 copies
Election Brings New Hope for Reform in 2009
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Flurry of Court Rulings Boost Medical Rights
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California High Court Stands by State Law to Return Medical Marijuana
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| Volume 1 Number 1
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San Francisco Adopts Medical Marijuana Sanctuary Ordinance
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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
Is cannabis a performance-enhancing drug?
That would seem to be the logic behind the one-year suspension of American wrestler Stephany Lee, who qualified for the Olympic team, only to have her dreams of London gold crushed by testing positive for cannabis before the Olympic trials in April. Lee courageously stated that she was a regular toker who always quit using it before competitions, with never a dirty test before. She said she had stopped her use two weeks earlier — “the longest I ever quit before a competition.” Cannabis does not enhance her ability to wrestle, or provide her with a competitive advantage. Certainly an Olympic caliber wrestler experiences pain and other life stressors for which cannabis therapy can be helpful. So why should an athlete be penalized for using a substance far safer than alcohol, caffeine or other legal substances? When cannabis is finally legal, this all will
Read More: Olympian misses games, suspended for a year over cannabis
A Question of the West Coast Leaf’s future…
This editorial poses a question to our readers as to how the West Coast Leaf shall proceed. When we launched this newspaper, long-time activists and publishers Chris Conrad and Mikki Norris agreed to produce it for five years and then decide what to do next. As this current issue is Vol. 5 No. 3, we are nearing the end of that cycle, and it is time for us to decide. The upcoming Winter 2012 edition marks the end of this arrangement.
One thing is certain, things will not remain as they are now. Some people say the Internet has displaced the need for authoritative print journalism. Others say that a credible newspaper of record has a singular place and purpose, and it’s time for others to step up to the plate to keep it going. We just know it’s time
Read More: SAVE THE LEAF
By Ellen Komp, VeryImportantPotheads.com
As Prop. 19 went down partly due to a well-heeled, ridiculous ad campaign by the Chamber of Commerce warning against a stoned California workforce, one known marijuana smoker was quietly winning the World Series.
Pitcher Tim Lincecum, 26, led the SF Giants to victory over the Texas Rangers two days after the anniversary of his bust last year for possession. Posters seen at AT&T Park borrowed Lincecum’s image and said, “Tim Is Not a Criminal: Vote Yes on Prop. 19” and “Tim Lincecum Smokes as Well as Many American Athletes.”
Immediately after the Giants took home the trophy, the press began speculating over whether Lincecum’s ‘pothead’ image would hurt his endorsement deals. Bob Dorfman, a sports marketing expert with Baker Street Advertising told the San Francisco Chronicle, “For more of the edgier products that appeal to teenagers and twenty-somethings who are very familiar with marijuana
Read More: Celebrities come out to endorse Prop 19 effort; SF Giants beloved ‘stoner’ pitcher wins again
By Bill Murrow
Despite its demonstrated benefits, California college and professional athletes still get into trouble for using legal medicinal marijuana. The state medical-use laws are designed to prevent criminal charges, yet athletes who use it are not protected. Amateur and professional boxers, mixed martial arts fighters, and combat athletes must be approved under the State Athletic Commission (CSAC) before fighting in its events.
Current Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz had one of the biggest wins of his career changed into a no-contest decision after testing positive for medical marijuana.
A mandatory CSAC rule bans illegal narcotics, banned substances and performance-enhancing drugs. Marijuana is not a performance-enhancing drug, CSAC rules state, but it “could slow a fighter’s reflexes and endanger his or her health or safety.” The CSAC policy is unlikely to change unless California passes Prop 19 this November. If that fails,
Read More: Cal Athletic Commsn still doesn’t get medical cannabis rights
By Ellen Komp veryimportantpotheads.com Author Christopher Hitchens, who was at Oxford at the same time as Bill Clinton, purports to explain in his forthcoming memoir why Clinton said he didn’t inhale. “When I was in England I experimented with marijuana a time or two — and didn’t like it — and didn’t inhale and never tried inhaling again,” Clinton said while cam- paigning for the presidency in 1992.
Hitchens writes, “He preferred, like many another marijuana enthusiast, to take his dope in the form of large handfuls of cookies and brownies.”
This information bolsters that in Edward Klein’s book The Truth About Hillary, which says our Secretary of State met her future husband at a commune called Cozy Beach, where her Yale Journal of Law and Social Action co-editor Kris Olson lived. According to Klein, Cozy Beach was affiliated with Ken Kesey’s Oregon Hog Farm, and the Magic Bus
Read More: Shared pastime links Clintons with sports figures
Two-time Cy Young Award winner and San Francisco Giants pitcher Tim Lyncecum spent 10 minutes in a Clark County WA court Jan. 19 to pay a $513 fine for his Oct. 30 arrest for 3.3 grams of cannabis. “I’ll try not to let this happen again,” he told the court. On Feb. 17, the Giants and Lyncecum signed a two-year, $23 million contract. The cannabis consumer is now among the highest-paid athletes, set to receive $8 million this season and $13 million in 2011, with a $1 million bonus payable each year. He also will get $100,000 each time he’s an All-Star, $100,000 for being the National League’s Most Valuable Player, $75,000 as World Series MVP and $50,000 as league championship-series MVP.
Acting on an anonymous tip, Pennsylvania police pulled over Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver and Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes driving a black Range Rover Oct. 23 with Florida license plates. Although it was not the vehicle police were seeking, they allegedly smelled cannabis as they approached it. Holmes admitted to having a small amount of marijuana, pointing out three blunts to officers. He was issued a summons for possession of marijuana. An Allegheny County DA told the judge she agreed with the defense that police didn’t have sufficient cause to pull Holmes over, given that police were unable to identify who called in the tip, and dismissed the charge.
San Francisco Giants All-Star starter pitcher Tim Lincecum, 2008 Cy Young Award winner and local-hero U of Washington baseball star, was pulled over for speeding Oct. 30 and cited for possession in Washington, his home state. A State Patrol officer stopped the 25-year-old Lincecum for driving 74 in a 60 MPH zone on Interstate 5 some four miles north of the Oregon border, when he allegedly smelled the odor of cannabis. Lincecum immediately complied with a request to hand over his 3.3-gram stash and a pipe from the car’s center console. Possession of up to 40 grams for personal use is a minor misdemeanor in WA, but Lincecum pled down to an infraction: possession of the pipe. San Francisco Chronicle columnist Scott Ostler noted that far from being a negative for Lincecum, the incident “might even enhance his stature” among Giants fans in the Bay Area. He made history
Read More: SF Giants’ pitcher catches ganja citation in Washington State
UPLOAD IMAGE HERE
A panel of sports figures backed cannabis reform spoke at the NORML conference in San Francisco Sept 26. (L-R) Mark Stepnoski, who won two Super Bowl rings as a Dallas Cowboy; Former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Heavyweight Champ Rob Van Dam; former ESPN producer Sean Neumann; and MMA fighter Toby Grear.
By Brian Vicente Sensible CO Executive Director
In a decisive victory for equality, a high-profile Colorado ski tourist destination voted to legalize adult possession of cannabis. Breckenridge voters on Nov. 3 passed Measure 2F by a 73 percent vote to remove from the Town Code criminal penalties for private possession of up to one ounce by adults 21 and older.
In a cutting-edge move, the ordinance also removes criminal penalties for the possession of drug paraphernalia. This is the first ordinance change in Colorado — and likely national — history to remove penalties for both cannabis and associated paraphernalia.
“This vote demonstrates that our Breckenridge citizens overwhelmingly believe that adults should not be punished for making the safer choice to use marijuana instead of alcohol, said Sean McAllister, Breckenridge attorney and chair of Sensible Breckenridge.
“As state and national focus grows on this important issue, the popular ski town
Read More: Colorado Ski Resort Legalizes Adult Use
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National Cannabis Industry Association’s 2nd Anniversary Gala
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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