posted on February 26, 2013 by

Medical marijuana: Truckee gets Americans for Safe Access chapter

Americans for Safe Access has expanded the Nevada County chapter of the
national organization into the Truckee area. The first meeting is
scheduled for noon March 9 and will continue to take place the second
Saturday of the month in the Truckee-Donner Community Recreation Center
Conference Room.

ASA is the largest national member-based
organization of patients, medical professionals, scientists and
concerned citizens who support cannabis for therapeutic use and
scientific research. The organization works on the local, state and
federal levels to promote laws that protect patients’ rights.

ASA
membership provides access to resources designed for budding activists,
including the Training Center, Think Tank & Policy Shop,
Federal Advocacy Project and the Patients’ Right Project. ASA-NC hosts
numerous educational events, including recent medical discoveries, legal
rights seminars, responsible growing techniques and Good Neighbor
policies. The group occasionally hosts fun events like movies, music
festivals and community barbecues.

Founded in 2002 by Steph
Sherer, Americans for Safe Access strives to overcome political and
legal barriers to medical cannabis by using a multifaceted approach that
incorporates public education, grassroots activism and media campaigns.
ASA has worked with local governments to draft sensible regulations
that work to benefit the community. When negotiations fail, ASA’s legal
team will institute proceedings against any policy that infringes on
patients’ civil liberties or any attempt to restrict safe access to
medicinal cannabis.

Americans for Safe Access recently hosted a National Unity Conference in Washington, D.C. In an effort that might qualify
for the Guinness Book of World Records, hundreds of activists from
across the country met to lobby with every senator and representative in
a single day. The group hopes to raise support for pending legislation
that would recognize states’ rights to chart their own course on medical
marijuana without interference from the federal government.

Filed Under: National News
posted on February 25, 2013 by

Pot Sellers Unite

Medical-marijuana advocates lobbying
Congress this week got powerful new allies to help them make
the case for getting federal prosecutors to back off: labor
leaders.

The 1.3 million-member United Food and Commercial Workers,
which represents meat packers, retail and grocery employees, is
joining with advocates for pot dispensaries to push the Justice
Department to ease off on those that sell the drug where it

Filed Under: National News
posted on February 25, 2013 by

Medical marijuana bill unveiled in House

Flanked by more than 150 advocates from around the country,
Oregon Democrat Earl Blumenauer on Monday put forward his legislation
allowing states to legalize medical marijuana in an effort to end the
confusion surrounding federal pot policy.

Blumenauer

Filed Under: National News
posted on February 24, 2013 by

City council approves third medical marijuana measure to appear on May ballot

After medical marijuana dispensaries were put in jeopardy of a ban last July, the Los Angeles City Council voted 8-4 to approve its own medical marijuana measure to appear on the May ballot.

Ordinance No. 182443,
the measure proposed by Councilman Paul Koretz, would allow roughly 100
medical marijuana dispensaries to remain open, increase taxes from $50
per $1,000 in gross receipts to $60, and restrict dispensaries from
being located near K-12 schools and churches.

Christopher Koontz, planning deputy for Koretz who has worked closely on developing the medical marijuana measure, said the reason behind proposing this measure included finding a compromise between having a ban on marijuana dispensaries and letting a limitless amount of them become operational.

Filed Under: National News
posted on February 20, 2013 by

Medical Cannabis Unity

The advent of the Affordable Care Act
and personalized medicine hold great promise for the1.2 million
Americans living with HIV. Advances in HIV research, care, treatment and
diagnostics yield dramatically improved health outcomes for today

Filed Under: National News
posted on February 17, 2013 by

Potential Dispensary tax flows attractive to cities

Medical Marijuana dispensaries –
originally allowed so sick patients could have safe access to the drug
– have become cash cows for cities that see the opportunity for an
alternative source of income.

"There’s no question there’s a big pot of tax money sitting
there to be collected," said Palm Springs lawyer Joseph Rhea, who
represents dispensaries.

Some cities have generated millions in extra revenue by placing
additional taxes on the businesses – Oakland brought in $1.4 million
in 2011 and San Jose $3.6 million during fiscal year
2011-12.

Palm Springs – the only Coachella Valley City to permit dispensaries
– collected $22,224 in sales tax over the course of a year, but does
not levy an extra tax.
It may be just a matter of time,
though.

Mayor Steve Pougnet said the city is "taking a look at the
possibility."
"It’s something that we’ve definitely discussed," he
said.

Pougnet and Councilwoman Ginny Foat are researching what other cities
such as San Jose have implemented for possible discussion with the
entire City Council at a later date.

"Once we have that research, we will talk to our dispensaries here,
our stakeholders," he said.

An extra tax would have to be approved by voters.

Like any other business that has an exchange of goods, a sales tax is
collectable from marijuana sold at dispensaries and delivery services,
regardless of whether they are considered legal or not.

The California Board of Equalization collects between $58 million to
$105 million in sales taxes from dispensaries annually, based on
estimates of between $700 million and $1.3 billion in total
sales.

The board does not have actual numbers for sales of medical marijuana
because dispensaries are not required to identify their business type
when registering for a permit and can report total taxable sales
without categorizing the specific product sold.

Of the sales tax collected, 1 percent is returned to
cities.

In Palm Springs, the city
collects an additional 1 percent for Measure J on top of that – to
help pay for redevelopment.

Palm Springs has seen a steady
increase in sales tax revenue over the years, but Palm Springs City
Attorney Doug Holland said he can’t attribute it to dispensaries,
which at one point topped at about a dozen.

"I think the amount they would be generating would be so small
it’s not a significant amount at this juncture."

Local dispensaries battling to stay open said they would welcome an
extra tax, if it meant no hassle from the city.

"We’d be OK with whatever payment plan, permit fee, in order to
stay open and serve our patients," said Charles Pace, director of
operations at PS Organica on East Sunny Dunes Road.

Many of the non-permitted dispensaries have been embroiled in legal
issues as they fight to stay open amid pressure from the city to
close.

Since early December, when the city issued abatement notices with
steep fines to all the illegal marijuana dispensaries operating in the
city, at least four of the nine have closed, Holland
said.

With the potential for extra revenue at a time when many cities are
struggling financially, marijuana advocates wonder why more cities
aren’t allowing the dispensaries.

"They’re denying a huge income into a city," Pace
said.

Despite a ban on dispensaries in most cities, there are still dozens
of them operating across the valley, and they are still required to
collect taxes.

Kris Hermes, spokesman for Americans for Safe Access, whose
organization’s goal is to advance medical marijuana policy at all
levels of government, said it’s the city’s right to levy extra
taxes on dispensaries, but doesn’t condone it. "We think it puts
an undue burden on the patients," he said.

In addition to the state sales tax, San Jose levies a 7 percent tax
and Oakland tacks on a 5 percent tax. Instead of an extra sales tax,
San Francisco receives additional revenue from dispensaries through
the licensing or permitting process.

"You’ll find in many cities, they tax medical marijuana far in
excess of other businesses. They feel that’s acceptable. Whether it
is or not, it does represent or indicate an alternative source of
revenue," Hermes said.

With only three permitted
dispensaries in the Coachella Valley, Rhea is guessing those
operations do well with sales.

"If they’re not bringing in a lot, something is wrong. They have
three collectives that are wide open, fully permitted in a tourist
town. There is going to be a substantial amount. If not, then
something is weird," Rhea said.

Cities could further add to their pocketbooks, advocates say, if
marijuana was legal like alcohol as it is now in Colorado and
Washington.

Even those cities that ban dispensaries could see a benefit if they
allowed the collectives to operate legally, said Ellen Komp, deputy
director of NORML of California.

"First of all you have a legal income stream, so that means you’re
paying employees that are paying income tax, and there’s payroll
tax," she said.

She also points to the savings in
law enforcement costs from not having to chase after non-permitted
operations and illegal purchasers. "There have been studies that
show when they close down dispensaries, crime increases on the street
because it goes back on the street. It increases crime and it
decreases the economic benefits to the community," she
said.

According to a Colorado Center on Law and Policy Center study on the
legalization of marijuana, it is estimated that $32 million in new
revenue for the state and more than $14 million in new revenue for
local governments could be generated while saving more than $12
million in state and local law enforcement spending.

In California, a report conducted by NORML updated in 2009 estimates
total legalization of marijuana could yield at least $1.2 billion in
tax revenue as it lowers enforcement costs.

Filed Under: National News
posted on February 15, 2013 by

John Schwarz, Father Of String Theory, To Headline Medical Marijuana Conference In D.C.

A medical marijuana conference planned for next week will feature not
just activists and politicians, but John Schwarz, a theoretical physics
professor at the California Institute of Technology and father of
string theory.

Aside from an editorial published in The Huffington Post late last year, the conference will mark Schwarz’s first time speaking publicly on the issue.

"Being a physicist, not a physician, I don’t usually comment on issues in medical science," Schwarz wrote in his editorial.
"But I can no longer remain silent while people in my family and
profession run the risk of federal arrest so that they can follow the
recommendations of their doctors."

One such person is Schwarz’s wife, Patricia, who, after being
diagnosed with a bladder condition in 1995 found medical marijuana was
the only thing that relieved her pain. After listening to her groan
about the issue for years, Schwarz said her husband felt moved to take
up the cause. "We live in a evidence-based society," Patricia Schwarz
told HuffPost. "Why isn’t the science getting through?"

Under federal law, marijuana is considered a schedule I prohibited
substance, defined as having

Filed Under: National News
posted on February 13, 2013 by

Banning Pot Clubs

The California Supreme Court appears ready to uphold the
right of cities and counties to ban medical cannabis dispensaries. And
while experts say the decision likely will result in few changes in much
of the East Bay, the ramifications for the rest of California could be
profound

Filed Under: National News
posted on February 6, 2013 by

California Supreme Court weighs cities’ bans on medical marijuana

For the first time, the California Supreme Court entered the medical
marijuana debate Tuesday and heard arguments on whether municipal
governments can ban retail pot dispensaries within their jurisdiction.

In the years since California voters legalized medical
marijuana in 1996, about 200 cities and counties have outlawed pot
shops, according to Americans for Safe Access, a pro-dispensary group.
But Tuesday

Filed Under: National News
posted on February 5, 2013 by

Medical Marijuana Goes Mainstream: CCIC Co-Sponsors Certified Medical Education in Nation’s Capital

Health professionals
in the nation’s capital will soon be able to earn education credits for
learning about medical marijuana. A certified medical education program
called "Cannabis in Medicine: A Primer for Health Care Professionals"
will take place at the Mayflower Renaissance Hotel on Friday, February
22, 2013 from 2 pm to 6 pm. This course will present an expert overview
of the medical use of cannabis, including basic science, clinical trial
results, safety information and practical advice for physicians and
nurses. The program is accredited by the University of California-San Francisco (UCSF). Health professionals who attend will receive 2.75 AMA PRA Category 1 credits.

Course
faculty includes academic researchers who conduct clinical trials of
the drug, as well as clinicians with years of experience monitoring
patients. Speakers hail from California and Canada, where patients have
long had access to medical marijuana. "We’ve seen the best and worst
examples of patient care. We hope to share what we have learned over the
years with physicians on the East coast, where there has been little
exposure to medical cannabis," said Dr. Donald Abrams, professor of
clinical medicine at UCSF and chair of the steering committee.

More than one-third of physicians in the United States now live in states with medical marijuana laws, based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Timing for the program coincides with the long-awaited implementation of Washington’s medical marijuana program.

"The need for this type of education has never been greater," explained Dr. Mark Ware, executive director of the Canadian Consortium for the Investigation of Cannabinoids (CCIC) and associate professor of family medicine at McGill University. "Medical marijuana laws
are getting passed in more states every year. Yet the basic physiology
of our body’s own cannabinoid system is hardly covered in medical
school, and the clinical applications of cannabis are not discussed in
any professional training. Most people do not realize how much data on
medical cannabis has become available in recent years."

The program is jointly sponsored by the CCIC and the UCSF, in collaboration with the Society of Cannabis Clinicians (SCC), and is supported by an unrestricted educational grant from the Americans for Safe Access Foundation (ASAF).

For more information, including course agenda, faculty and registration, go to: www.ccic.net/USACME

About the CCIC  The
CCIC is a nonprofit organization formed in 2000 to promote
evidence-based education concerning the endocannabinoid system and
therapeutic applications of cannabinoid agents to clinical audiences.
Its membership includes more than 200 basic scientists, clinical
researchers and healthcare professionals from around the world. The
organization conducts accredited cannabinoid education programs,
symposia and workshops in Canada, Europe and the United States.

About the SCC  The
SCC, formed as a project of the California Cannabis Research Medical
Group (CCRMG) in 2004, is dedicated to educating physicians and the
public about the medicinal properties of cannabis, conducting quality
clinical medical cannabis research, ensuring the safety and
confidentiality of all research subjects, and maintaining the highest
quality of practice standards.

About the ASAF  Founded in
2002, the ASAF is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating
patients, medical professionals, scientists and concerned citizens about
safe and legal access to cannabis for therapeutic use and research.
Together with their sister organization, Americans for Safe Access, ASAF comprises the largest medical cannabis education and advocacy team in the United States.

ad more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/02/05/5166798/medical-marijuana-goes-mainstream.html#storylink=cpy

Filed Under: National News
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