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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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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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San Francisco Adopts Medical Marijuana Sanctuary Ordinance
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By Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director
California medical marijuana patient Daisy Brant has had her infant child literally torn from her breast twice to be handed over to Child Protective Services and been charged with child abuse because police found medical marijuana growing in her home. She won the first case, got her child back, was raided again and is now fighting the second case as a new published study shows how wrong and cruel the police have been in this and other cases in what amounts to little more than what Brant has called “government-sanctioned child-stealing.”
“The role of child protection in grow-operations,” a study in the March 2013 International Journal of Drug Policy, shows that children who live in homes where marijuana is being cultivated do not suffer from adverse health effects at any greater rate than do comparable children in cannabis-free environments.
A pair of investigators
Read More: Study: Home marijuana gardens not a health risk for children
While tourists who travel to Amsterdam, The Netherlands, have coffeeshop access to top-shelf cannabis for about $12.50 per gram, visitors to Copenhagen, Denmark, buy their supply on Christiania’s “Dealer’s Street.” Varieties primarily consist of overpriced Moroccan hash, but there is also some home-grown herb: limp, sparse buds of Jack Herer, White Widow, and Bubble Gum selling for $22.50 per gram. The cheapest deal is seeded, outdoor-grown at $8 per gram.
That may change soon. Part of the city’s plan to legalize cannabis, presented at a March 15, 2013 conference, is to explore importing from two US states that recently legalized adult use of the herb, according to prepared documents from the council. The city proposed a three-year trial, stating, “The legal sale of cannabis will result in decreased gang criminality, more prevention and a better life for average cannabis users”.
Deputy mayor for social affairs Mikkel Warming told the
Read More: Danish capital wants to offer American bud
December 15, 1941 – February 6, 2013
San Francisco, California Randall “Randy” Givens passed away Feb. 6, 2013 at age 73, following years of poor health. A colorful character in the San Francisco medical marijuana activist scene, he was a pool hustler, a supporter of Prop 215 – California’s 1996 medical use initiative, and a common fixture at the SF Cannabis Buyers’ Club SF-CBC until it was shut down by the state in 1998, long before SB 420 authorized patient collectives.
He was one of five children born and raised in Springfield. He moved to San Mateo, CA in the 1960s but returned to San Francisco in the early 1970s and worked as a custom cabinet maker and woodworker into the 1980s. He sold marquetry artwork as a San Francisco street artist during that time. He was a columnist for several years with “Pool and Billiard” magazine, a
Read More: Randy Givens, San Francisco activist
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.
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
By Jeffrey Steinborn, Attorney at law, potbust.org
While everyone you know may think it’sfine to use cannabis responsibly, 750,000Americans get busted for it every year.Here are 10 keys to staying out of jail.
1. Break only one law at a time. If you’reholding or using cannabis — that’s one.Don’t break any more. Particularly in yourcar, all laws must be religiously obeyed.
2. Practice home hygiene. Sooner or later,someone is going to come to your housewho might turn you in if s/he sees somethingsuch as a pipe, a joint, a bud or agrow room. These things should alwaysbe kept where they can’t be seen.
3. Never invite trouble home, and don’tdo things that bring police to your house.Smoke out back, away from the frontdoor.
4. Protect the privacy of your home as bestyou can. Remember noise and odors travel.‘Private property’ signs, gates andfences give your lawyer a chance to arguethat
Read More: How to not get busted
Born June 21, 2008 — Died Nov. 14, 2012
Cash Hyde, 4, was the youngest known cannabis patient in the US when he passed away Nov. 14, 2012 from brain cancer. His parents and doctor were able to replace seven scary and toxic drugs that had been given as a nausea cocktail around the clock with 0.3 milliliters of cannabis oil. At the time he first used it, he was so sick that he hadn’t eaten in over 40 days and was living on TPN and lipids as intravenous nutrition. He vomited 8-10 times a day and could barely lift his head off the pillow. Within two weeks of receiving the oil, Cash was eating, laughing, and had a quality of life he hadn’t seen in months. After two full remissions from the cancer, its third appearance was too much for his body to withstand.
While it was
Read More: Cash Hyde: Youngest cannabis patient
Born Feb 12, 1930 — Died Oct. 14, 2012
“If it were legalized in Pennsylvania and if I were in pain and my doctor prescribed it, then yes, absolutely I would” use medical marijuana to help combat his cancer, US Senator Arlen Specter told the Philadelphia Daily News June 17, 2008. A Republican, he joined Senator Jim Webb the following year to propose a major prison-reform package, including federal drug-sentencing reforms.
Specter switched parties after three decades April 29, 2009 — the same day Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana bill HB 1393 was introduced — to become a Democrat. He gave a strong endorsement to medical marijuana at a Jan 30. 2010 candidates forum, but eventually they both lost.
State Sen. Daylin Leach (D) promised a renewed effort in December 2012 to pass a medical marijuana bill during the 2013 session of the Pennsylvania Senate.
Born: Oct. 7, 1958 – Died: Sept. 13, 2012
Mother, patriotic prostitute and fierce advocate for medical marijuana Robyn Few came from Paducah, KY to California, where she touched many people’s lives before she passed away after a four-year struggle with cancer.
Few was a patient and advocate who worked with ASA, among other groups, and was frustrated in her efforts to set up first a dispensary and then a cannabis museum in San Francisco. When US Attorney General John Ashcroft swept her up in a crackdown on prostitution, always true to herself, Few courageously fought back with a campaign to legalize prostitution as she organized the Sex Workers Outreach Project (SWOP) in 2003. The group designated Dec 17 as International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers. In June 2012, the Robyn Few Sex Workers’ Resource Center opened in Tucson, AZ.
A natural born rabble-rouser, Few was the MC
Read More: Robyn Few: Champion of legalized cannabis and prostitution
I-502 wins with 11% margin
By Doug Honig | ACLU of Washington Communications Director
Voters in Washington State gave Initiative 502 (I-502) an 11-point margin of victory Nov. 6, 2012 to legalize, tax and regulate cannabis for adults 21 and over, sending a clear message that the public is ready for a change in policy.
The impact of the vote was seen even before I-502 took effect on Dec. 6. Prosecutors in several major counties dropped cases against people arrested under the old law, saying it didn’t make sense to pursue prosecutions for conduct that soon would be legal. They also knew it would be difficult to get a jury to convict.
I-502 makes adult possession of an ounce of marijuana permissible under state law, but not cultivation. During a year-long process that ends in December 2013, the State Liquor Control board will create a system for licensing the
Read More: Washington measure takes conservative tack
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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