PDF version of current issue  | Volume 5 Number 4 Winter2013
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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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| Volume 4 Number 1, Spring 2011
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Archives
| Volume 3, Number 4, Winter 2011
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| Volume 3, Number 3, Autumn 2010
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| Volume 3, Number 2, Summer 2010
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| Volume 3, Number 1, Spring 2010
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| Volume 2, Number 4, Winter 2010 Press Run 127,000 copies printed
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| Volume 2 Number 3,
Autumn 2009 • 122,000 copies
Three Voter Initiatives Filed fopr California 2010 Ballot
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| Volume 2 No. 2,
Summer 2009 • 115,000 copies
US Supreme Court:
State Cannabis Laws Stand
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| Volume 2 No. 1 Spring 2009 • 85,000 copies
Ending Medi-Marijuana Raids "Now American Policy"
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| Volume 1 No. 4,
Winter 2009 • 72,500 copies
Election Brings New Hope for Reform in 2009
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| Volume 1 No. 3,
Autumn 2008 • 65,000copies
Flurry of Court Rulings Boost Medical Rights
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| Volume 1 No. 2
Summer 2008 • 50,000 copies
California High Court Stands by State Law to Return Medical Marijuana
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| Volume 1 Number 1
Spring 2008 • 35,000 copies
San Francisco Adopts Medical Marijuana Sanctuary Ordinance
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Colorado legislates legal cannabis rules, Washington hands task to Alcohol Board
By Jeremy Daw, JD, weedthepeoplebook.com
Since two states legalized adult cannabis sales and use last November, they have taken different approaches to the voter mandates. Colorado’s Amendment 64 Implementation Task Force, an appointed body of experts and bureaucrats, has released its final recommendations for how to treat cannabis businesses in the state’s new legal regime. By contrast, Washington State has outsourced much of its implementation of Initiative 502 to an outside group.
Colorado’s A-64, approved by a 55-45 margin by voters, placed a constitutional imperative on state bureaucrats to regulate so-called “recreational” cannabis in a manner similar to alcohol, but many of the specific regulations like tax rates and cultivation restrictions were left unaddressed by the voter-approved ballot initiative. The Task Force’s recommendations, which are preliminary and non-binding, are thus the first proposed rules for many specific
Read More: Two states take different approaches to legalization
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
By David Frankel, Attorney at law
Yuba County supervisors amended a May 2012 medical marijuana ordinance by a 4-1 vote Dec. 18, resulting in one of California’s most progressive cultivation ordinances, but only after successful negotiations to settle a lawsuit brought by attorney Jeffrey Lake on behalf of the Yuba County Growers Assn., Sam McConnell, Lew Neal, Kathie Thelen and their patient collectives.
“This revised ordinance strikes a balance between the County’s interest in regulating marijuana cultivation for public health and safety, and the legally protected interest of patients to have safe access to their medicine,” said Lake. “It should become a model for similar ordinances throughout California.”
The amended ordinance restricts outdoor cultivation of medical marijuana to six mature plants on parcels under one acre, but allows patients to cultivate up to 18 mature plants on parcels from one to five acres; 36 on parcels between five and
Read More: Yuba patients win round
By Mikki Norris
County Counsel Thomas Parker announced Dec. 21, 2012 that Mendocino County (CA) had filed a suit to quash five federal subpoenas that seek information about cultivation in the county’s innovative 9.31 program, saying, “The scope of the subpoenas is overbroad and burdensome, oppressive and constitutes an improper intrusion into the ability of state and local government to administer programs for the health and welfare of their residents.”
Ordinance 9.31, adopted in 2008, restricts cultivation to 25 medical marijuana plants per parcel, but allows qualified patients to voluntarily purchase “zip-ties” to attach to each plant. The zip-ties, with unique identifying numbers, enable law enforcement easily to identify authorized medical gardens. The ordinance was amended in 2010 to allow collectives to grow 99 plants per parcel with a permit issued by the sheriff, sufficient zip-ties and a series of inspections.
Federal subpoenas issued in late October to compel
Read More: Mendocino County moves to quash federal subpoenas
By Pebbles Trippet, pebbles@pacific.net
The 9th annual Emerald Cup, a competition among outdoor organic medical marijuana farmers in the heart of the Emerald Triangle, brought 500 connoisseurs to Humboldt County’s Mateel Community Center in Redway, CA, Dec. 15, 2012 for two stages of speakers, music, panels and an awards ceremony for the best bud, hash and photo. Speakers covered the ins and outs of seeds, dabs, labs, growing organically in the sun, legal issues, medical discoveries.
Tim Blake started the Emerald Cup in 2004 at Area 101, a spiritual and cultural center, as a safe cannabis celebration and marketplace of strains to connect growers, share tips and compare trichomes in a family atmosphere. In 2011-2012, it flowered into a full-fledged conference of high-level ideas on the science, law, economics and social significance of cannabis.
Trial lawyer extraordinaire Tony Serra was honored with the 2012 Emerald Lifetime Achievement Award. The
Read More: Emerald cup moves north
By Robert Raich,* Attorney at Law
The state Supreme Court will affect the future of California medical cannabis dispensaries in 2013 by ruling on whether the Medical Marijuana Program Act (MMPA), also known as Senate Bill 420 (SB420), prevents municipalities from banning dispensaries. Thus far, answers from the various courts of appeal have been contradictory.
The Court has granted review in five cases regarding municipal regulation of dispensaries: two cases hold that local ordinances may entirely prohibit dispensaries (City of Riverside v Inland Empire Patient’s Health and Wellness Center, Inc. and People v G3 Holistic, Inc.); two cases hold that municipalities may not ban dispensaries (City of Lake Forest v Evergreen Holistic Collective and County of LA v Alternative Medicinal Cannabis Collective [AMCC]); and one case hold that municipalities may regulate collectives strictly, albeit short of a total ban (420 Caregivers, LLC v City of LA).
Briefing in the
Read More: Cal Supreme Court holds key
Humboldt State University in Arcata, CA, developed an academic institute in autumn 2012 to focus on marijuana-related issues. This groundbreaking effort highlights the impact cannabis has had on the Northern California county’s economy and culture. The school chose not to shy away from the once unspoken mystery but to embrace the topic from an intellectual standpoint. The institute is co-chaired by Sociology professor Josh Meisel and economics professor Erick Eschker, who developed the idea in 2010 when state ballot measure Prop 19 made the issue a hot-button topic in the area.
“People across the spectrum became concerned after Prop 19,” said Meisel. “With these public discussions, there were a lot more questions than there were answers.” The institute looked to answer some of those questions and develop a more educated reference on the subject of marijuana. Topics covered include the Campaign Against Marijuana Planting eradication program, effects of cultivation
Read More: HSU creates institute for marijuana research
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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