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Medical Cannabis Cooperative Compels El Cajon Police to Return Seized Property

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By San Diego Americans for Safe Access / October 10, 2016

With the stroke of a judge’s pen, Justice has prevailed.

Pursuant to Court order, members of San Diego Alternative Care, a lawfully formed medical cannabis Cooperative, retrieved their property last week from the El Cajon Police Department, including 30 pounds of medical cannabis flower, 5 pounds of concentrates, and hundreds of medicated edibles and vape pen cartridges.

El Cajon Police had been in possession of SDAC’s property since late June when the department raided SDAC’s facility. Along with the apprehension of possibly facing felony charges, Cooperative members were confronted with the fact that their property was in police lockup. The property not only included medical cannabis products but also corporate documents, membership records, and office equipment.   [Read more…]

58% of California Voters Support Marijuana Legalization

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Proposition 64 Enjoys Wide Support Among Most Voter Categories

A new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll found that a good majority of California voters support marijuana legalization and back Proposition 64.

58% of voters in the state support Prop 64, which would allow Californians ages 21 or older to possess, transport and use up to an ounce of cannabis for recreational purposes, and would allow individuals to grow as many as six plants. The measure would also impose a 15% tax on retail sales of the drug.

And according to the poll, the favorable attitude toward grass cuts across most lines of age, race, income and gender.   [Read more…]

Will 4 Out of 5 Pediatricians Endorse Marijuana Gummy Bears?

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Back in the days when tobacco use was an accepted norm in society, cigarette companies regularly created ad campaigns featuring physicians attesting to the quality of their products.

Opponents of Proposition 64, the California initiative to legalize recreational pot, are being accused of trying to pull a fast one on general election voters by including language in official ballot arguments suggesting that TV ads making marijuana attractive to children are part of the measure.

The Yes on Proposition 64 committee filed suit in Sacramento County Superior Court yesterday, asking a judge to change or delete arguments in opposition to the measure they say include false or misleading language.   [Read more…]

County Vote Audits Challenged (And Campaign Contributions Flow)

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I will not write about Donald Trump today. I will not write about Donald Trump today. I will not write about Donald Trump today. I will not write about Donald Trump today. I will not write about Donald Trump today. I will not write about Donald Trump today…

The Cheeto Jesus is not the only thing coming at voters this fall.

It’s looking like there will be 17 (or 18) statewide, as many as a dozen citywide measures on the ballot for San Diegans and a few countywide measures for voters to consider. A few (okay, lots of) other people are running for office in local, state, and federal elections.

San Diego Free Press coverage of those contests will commence shortly after Labor Day, and culminate as mail-in ballots are sent out with a comprehensive progressive voter guide. Meanwhile, there are some developments to report.   [Read more…]

Will California Legalize Marijuana in 2016?

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If there’s any group capable of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory in California, it’s marijuana activists.

The polling has never been better. This year 60% of likely California voters are inclined to legalize the consumption of marijuana for recreational use, up from 54% last year.

The political prognosis has never been better. Four states and the District of Columbia have already legalized pot and another eight states are considering giving voter approval to the idea.

So California’s Adult Use of Marijuana Act qualifying for the November ballot should be good news, right? Not so fast. We’ve been here before.  In 2010 Proposition 19 started out with strong polling and had decent financial backing, as I recollect. 
  [Read more…]

Another Ten Minute Acquittal Against DA Dumanis in Medical Cannabis Trial

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The thin-as-air manufacturing case against medical cannabis patient and collective operator, Shaun Smith swept so quickly through trial that before we knew it, Attorney Michael Cindrich had queued up his third cannabis-related not guilty verdict in four months.

The Cindrich winning streak started with defendant John Mazula in El Cajon, moved north to LA and then touched down in San Diego County’s Vista yesterday – surely making waves in District Attorney’s office and changing the landscape for medical cannabis patients.   [Read more…]

ACLU Endorses ‘Adult Use of Marijuana Act’ Expected on November Ballot

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In 2014, 73 percent of misdemeanor marijuana arrests are people under 20. Nearly 70 percent of arrests were people of color.

By ACLU San Diego / Imperial

Citing the continued widespread criminalization of young people of color through marijuana enforcement, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of California today announced it has endorsed the Adult Use of Marijuana Act (“AUMA”) to control, regulate, and tax adult use, sale and cultivation of marijuana in California. The measure is expected to qualify for the November state ballot.

Low-level marijuana possession was reduced from a misdemeanor to an infraction in California in 2011, but marijuana law enforcement still results in thousands of arrests each year.

In 2011 to 2014, according to the California Department of Justice, law enforcement agencies made 60,000 marijuana arrests statewide. In 2014, young people under the age of 20 accounted for 73 percent of all misdemeanor marijuana arrests in the state. Nearly 70 percent of all marijuana arrests were of people of color. A recent analysis of infraction data from Fresno and Los Angeles Police Departments found racial disparities in marijuana enforcement remain even at the lowest level.   [Read more…]

DA Bonnie Dumanis Loses Another Marijuana Case

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Medical Marijuana Patient Dad Found Not Guilty of Child Endangerment

By Terrie Best / San Diego Americans for Safe Access

Almost a year ago this week San Diego police officers stormed past medical cannabis patient Micah Wojnowski’s organic vegetable farm in Golden Hill and into the home he shared with his teenage son and a couple of roommates.  The police entered the urban home with guns drawn on a tip from a confidential informant. They did not find what they were looking for but decided not to accept defeat. Instead, they searched Micah’s house and garage and set a stage to paint Micah as a child abuser because he is a medical cannabis patient, an industry expert and a parent.

Bonnie Dumanis took 37-year-old Micah to trial but a jury of 12, including one San Diego County sheriff put an end to her charade Friday afternoon. The five women and seven men panel deliberated for about nine hours and returned not guilty verdicts on manufacturing concentrated cannabis and felony child endangerment charges.  The eight hours were due to the fact they had deadlocked over a lesser-included misdemeanor offense with two jurors holding out to convict. After the reading of the not guilty verdicts and some discussion, the prosecutor moved to dismiss the misdemeanor charge.  Micah was free to go off and continue being a good dad to his son and an asset to his community.   [Read more…]

The Pot Wars 2016: The End to Marijuana Prohibition in California Is Near

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The war on marijuana continues even at mid-point of 2016 – the year that California voters will end the marijuana prohibition in the state. While California voters get set to vote to legalize the recreational use of pot, there are good signs and bad signs around the state as the Pot Wars continue.

Right now, a majority of Californians favor legalization.

The folks who have been organizing the more successful of the legalize recreational marijuana initiatives have gathered more than 600,000 signatures, far exceeding the 350,000 needed. It’s a certainty that the Adult Use of Marijuana Act will be on California’s November ballot. This is the initiative that has support from California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and billionaire Facebook co-founder Sean Parker. And many marijuana policy reform groups also support it.

So, what does it do?   [Read more…]

County Board of Supervisors Extends Moratorium on Medical Marijuana Projects

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By Terrie Best / San Diego ASA

The County Board of Supervisors met Wednesday to vote on staff recommendations to extend a moratorium against new medical marijuana activity in San Diego County. The 45 day moratorium was put in place on March 16 and was largely a knee-jerk reaction to a group of community members from Julian and Ramona. At the March meeting the Board instructed staff to come back with options including a ban on medical cannabis; enhanced enforcement and more zoning restrictions among other things. Instead, staff returned with a request for more time which was ultimately granted.   [Read more…]

Remembering the Racism of Pot Prohibition, Celebrating 420 Day

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So, today is national stoner day. You know, 4/20, dude. Californians will likely be voting to Legalize It in November, though it’s not certain at this point what language will be approved.

Legalizing pot won’t free it from its long history of association with racism, and we need to talk about it. And I’ll share some of the fun 420 coverage from around the state.

Harry Anslinger, made commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics after alcohol prohibition failed, was one of the driving forces behind pot prohibition. He pushed it for explicitly racist reasons, saying, “Reefer makes darkies think they’re as good as white men,” and complaining about “its effect on the degenerate races.”   [Read more…]

Illegal Pot Shops Sell Black Market Products, Challenging Legal Dispensaries

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By Dr. David Blair / A Green Alternative

A Green Alternative, after its first year of operation serving the community, still faces unique challenges in the evolution of the consumer friendly medical marijuana marketplace. The biggest problem legal dispensaries face are the illegal pot shops and delivery services, which pop up like weeks after a rainstorm; each time a licensed dispensary opens, three to four illegal pot shops open up right next to them.   [Read more…]

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