klik disini

The move puts the state a bit more in line with the feds in dealing with the explosion of questionable marijuana dispensaries since the passage of Proposition 215 more than a decade ago.

The first target was Today's Health Care club in Northridge (Los Angeles County), which agents from the state Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement raided over the weekend. The club owner and an alleged middleman were booked on drug-dealing charges.

Brown said Tuesday he would "not be surprised" to see similar raids here in the Bay Area.

"The voters wanted medical marijuana dispensaries to be used for seriously ill patients and their caregivers - not as million-dollar businesses," Brown said.

In recent years, pot club raids have been conducted mainly by federal authorities who don't recognize Prop. 215, the initiative California voters passed in 1996 to let patients use cannabis to treat what ailed them. Although medical marijuana is still illegal under federal law, the feds say many of their targets were actually sham outfits that were dealing marijuana for, shall we say, nonmedicinal uses.

This week, Brown issued an 11-page directive laying out guidelines that medical marijuana cooperatives must follow to comply with Prop. 215.

Among them: Sell only to legitimate patients. Operate as nonprofits. Buy pot only from fellow cooperative members at prices that cover cost, as opposed to professional growers out for big bucks.

"We are not out to harass legitimate clubs," Brown said. "The targets are those clubs that are part of a larger criminal operation where medical marijuana winds up being sold on the street and contributing to crime and violence."

Brown's Rules on Medical Marijuana

They're more than a decade overdue, but the guidelines on medical marijuana issued this week by California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown could finally help divide the gray area in which the state's growers and dispensers operate into clearer shades of black and white.

Brown's 11-page directive is aimed at giving police the ability to distinguish between criminals and legitimate medical marijuana sellers under state law, as well as protecting patients from arrest.

It won't stop federal drug enforcement agents from raiding law-abiding dispensaries and prosecuting innocent business owners whenever they see fit, but it will make such raids harder to justify -- and might ramp up the pressure for more sensible federal marijuana policies.

When California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 215 in 1996, allowing the sale and use of marijuana for people with demonstrated medical needs, it set off a host of consequences both positive and negative. As voters intended, thousands of people suffering from AIDS, glaucoma and other serious ailments now have access to a safe, legitimate treatment. Yet as voters didn't intend, the state is now riddled with dispensaries that employ on-site doctors who will write a prescription to nearly anyone who walks through the door, while places such as Humboldt County have been invaded by criminal elements running underground grow houses to supply these middlemen.

Most of the negative consequences can be attributed to the gap between state and federal marijuana laws. The fact that even sellers considered legitimate by the state can be prosecuted and ruined by federal agents encourages black-market dealers, who endanger their communities by ignoring fire codes, selling to healthy minors and fighting turf wars with other dealers. The centerpiece of Brown's directive is its insistence that medical marijuana sellers must operate as nonprofit collectives or cooperatives, and the marijuana they sell must be grown by state-certified patients or caregivers. That will empower municipal police to weed out the bad guys.

Overall, Proposition 215 has done more good than harm. In addition to marijuana's medical benefits, its legitimate sale brings in $100 million a year in tax revenues, and even though it can be abused by users, it isn't demonstrably more dangerous to society than tobacco and alcohol. The state's new guidelines will help reduce the measure's harmful side effects, but the only long-term solution is for the feds to stop the medical marijuana raids and leave California law enforcement to California officers.

Note: New guidelines on legal pot use are a welcome shield for Californians with medical needs.

Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)

Website: http://www.latimes.com/

"We had this bill to address problems with our law," said Rep. Joe Bertram III, D-11th (Makena, Wailea, Kihei). "Our state law is so vague that patients don't know how to get medical cannabis for legitimate use."

Lingle's veto of the bill last month left muddy issues that a task force would have aired: legal distribution, transportation and how federal and state laws interact, Bertram said.

Bertram and Rep. John Mizuno, D-30th (Kamehameha Heights, Kalihi Valley, Fort Shafter), yesterday invited law enforcement officials, physicians, a law professor and members of the Drug Policy Forum of Hawai'i to air their concerns that will be melded into bills for the upcoming legislative session that will begin in January.

To be effective, a state law must remove criminal penalties for patients using or possessing medical marijuana, Bertram said.

Patients and primary caregivers on an approved list are exempt from state law prohibiting marijuana possession, but not federal law.

Hawai'i is one of 12 states that have laws allowing qualified patients to use marijuana. Today more than 4,000 patients are registered with the state Narcotics Enforcement Division and are allowed to legally grow and use the drug.

Hawai'i was the first state to allow medical use of marijuana by a law enacted in 2000.

Snipped

Complete Article: http://drugsense.org/url/6Hx0Ad8D

Source: Honolulu Advertiser (HI)

Website: http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/

Responding to concerns by advocates, Assistant Health Secretary Karen Jensen extended until 5 p.m. Friday the deadline for comments on a proposed rule to limit medical-marijuana users to possessing 24 ounces of cultivated marijuana, six mature plants and 18 immature plants.

The action came at a 2-½-hour hearing in which about 50 patients, doctors and other marijuana supporters blasted the proposal as unfair, unrealistic and unduly influenced by law-enforcement agencies.

"We're not criminals. We're patients," said Melissa Leggee, of Spokane. "We just want to be left alone to do what we need to do to survive."

Leggee said she uses marijuana to ease chronic pain, irritable bowel syndrome and other conditions.

Dr. Karen Hamilton, of Redmond, who has treated patients helped by marijuana, said the proposal would "effectively take treatment out of the doctors' hands," adding that there is no "one-size-fits-all" appropriate marijuana dose.

Speaker after speaker said six mature plants can't possibly provide the amount of marijuana most patients need to combat pain, nausea and symptoms of more than a dozen ailments the drug is used to treat. As a result, they argued, users would need to find drug dealers to augment their supply.

"You're going to make everyone in this room a felon," if the proposed limit is adopted, Steve Sarich, of Kirkland, told the panel of Health Department officials. Sarich is director of CannaCare, which provides legal assistance and starter plants to patients.

Lawsuit Filed

Sarich and another activist, John Worthington, of Renton, filed a lawsuit Friday in Thurston County Superior Court that they hope will force the state to reclassify marijuana, now on a list of "Schedule I" drugs deemed to have no valid medical use.

Sarich said the state's old drug law, which contains that listing, should be superseded by Initiative 692, passed in 1998, which legalizes marijuana for medical purposes.

The initiative, approved by nearly 59 percent of Washington voters, said patients with valid certification by a physician should be allowed to possess a 60-day supply of marijuana but contained no definition of what quantity that is.

Last year, the Legislature directed the Health Department to spell out an acceptable amount.

Several speakers Monday criticized Health Department staffers for not sticking with an earlier draft proposal, which would have allowed a user 35 ounces of harvested marijuana and a 100-square-foot growing "canopy."

That proposal was changed after Gov. Christine Gregoire's policy analysts urged the Health Department to get input from law-enforcement agencies and medical experts, who were scarcely represented at the workshops on the draft proposal.

Staffers for Gregoire also told Health Department officials the amount appeared to be on the high side.

The change prompted Troy Williams, of Clark County, to remark that department officials should "stand up, have some courage, and tell the governor to shove it."

Jensen said she expects the agency to take about a month to evaluate comments and come up with a rule set by Health Secretary Mary Selecky.

If substantial changes are made to the current proposal, Jensen said, a new round of comments would be solicited.

Target of Raids

Despite the Washington initiative, possession, cultivation and sale of marijuana remain illegal under federal law. Some advocates for medical marijuana have found themselves the target of raids by law enforcement, which they say violates their rights not just to legal pot but to freedom of speech.

The homes of both Sarich and Worthington were raided early last year. Marijuana plants were seized at each man's home, but neither was formally charged.

Jeanne Ferguson, of Seattle, executive director of "Grammas for Ganja," said the controversy would disappear if marijuana were legalized. "The plant should be free to be grown in your backyard, next to your broccoli and carrots."

Outside the Health Department's Tumwater offices during Monday's hearing, marijuana backers set up a blue tent in which certified patients could "medicate."

Activists said state staffers had asked them not to set up the tent but did not interfere once it was in place.

Information from The Seattle Times archives is included in this report.

To read & comment on the Health Department's proposed limits for medical marijuana see: http://www.doh.wa.gov/hsqa/medical-marijuana

Complete Title: State Extends Time for Comments on Medical-Marijuana Limits

Source: Seattle Times (WA)

Website: http://www.seattletimes.com/

(P.S. How the heck do I join up for these clinical trials??)

Ganja atau cannabis sativa merupakan tanaman semusim yang mudah tumbuh tanpa memerlukan pemeliharaan istimewa. Tanaman ini tumbuh pada daerah beriklim sedang. Pohonnya cukup rimbun dan tumbuh subur di daerah tropis.

Ia ditanam dan dapat tumbuh secara liar di semak belukar. Salah satu ciri utamanya adalah daunnyayang berbentuk runcing dan berjari-jari ganjil (5, 7 atau 9).Nama samaran ganja banyak sekali, misalnya indian hemp, rumput, barang, daun hijau, bangli, bunga, ikat, labang, jayus, jum, grass, pot, reefer. Anak-anak ibukota menyebutnya gele ((gelek) atau cimeng. Di kalangan pecandu disebut grass, marihuana, Mary Jane atau MJ, has atau hashish.

Berbagai manfaat

Penelitian mutakhir tentang ganja menghasilkan kesimpulan, dari batang dan akarnya dapat diperoleh serat yang kuat, daunnya dapat digunakan untuk membuat obat, sementara dari bunga dan bijinya dapat diperoleh bahan bakar minyak (BBM) untuk mobil kelas atas.

Serat ganja, baik yang halus maupun kasar semua dapat dimanfaatkan. Dari serat yang halus dapat dibuat kain yang sangat halus (sebagaimana sutra), sementara yang kasar digunakan untuk membuat tali dan pakaian yang sangat kuat untuk kepentingan pakaian nelayan maupun buruh pabrik, juga dapat menjadi salah satu alternatif untuk campuran komponen material yang membutuhkan serat. Ini berarti alternatif lain di samping fiberglass.

Secara medis, ganja banyak digunakan untuk mengobati glaucoma, dan terbukti efektif untuk mengobati depresi, hilangnya nafsu makan, tekanan darah tinggi, kecemasan, migraine, dan berbagai problem menstruasi. Demikian tulis William Glenn Steiner dalam Encyclopaedia Britannica, Edisi 2007.

Bahkan BNN (Badan Narkotika Nasional) pun berencana/mengajukan untuk melegalkan ganja "untuk diteliti lebih lanjut" manfaat2 lainnya...

Kalo manfaat nya lebih banyak drpd tidak bermanfaat nya kenapa tidak di legalkan saja dengan pengawasan yg ketat?

disadur dari: www.kaskus.us

A integrated police team combing Vancouver Island from the sky looking for marijuana grow-ops expects to seize more than 20,000 plants.

The team is expected to find a significant amount of outdoor pot as the growing season now comes to an end, says Const.  Darren Lagan of the Island District RCMP.

"Based on what we have seen in the air so far, we will get 20,000 plants altogether," Lagan said Friday.

The goal of the annual fall police project is to locate and destroy marijuana grown outdoors, which is often on Crown land, notes Lagan.

While he noted police may be able to detect grow-ops from a helicopter, they can not always get into the isolated areas to tear them down.

"The number of sites we get to depends on weather and location," said Lagan.

"Through our partnership with the Canadian military, we are able to utilize their expertise and equipment to gain access to these challenging locations," added Lagan.

Last year, he said, the fall detection program on the Island netted RCMP about 20,000 plants.

And Lagan pointed out that many of those they busted last year set up in a new location: "They will change location from year to year, but were atuned to that."

Outdoor pot production poses significant environmental risk, he said.

Streams are often diverted, growth-enhancing chemicals and pesticides are introduced into pristine lands and garbage is left behind at many of the sites, said Lagan.

Source: Province, The (CN BC)

Website: http://www.canada.com/theprovince/

Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown issued an 11-page directive intended to help legitimate patients avoid arrest while giving police the tools to distinguish legal medical marijuana operations from illegal cultivators and criminal middlemen.

He suggested his new "road map" would serve as a shield against the federal government, which has waged war against the state's pot rules by conducting raids and mounting court challenges.

"Hopefully the feds will back off in instances where people are really following these guidelines," Brown said Monday in a telephone interview.

The guidelines affirm the legality of many of the state's medical marijuana dispensaries, but only those operated as collectives or cooperatives and not in business for profit.

"Clearly there have been abuses, places that served as big fronts for illegal drug dealing," Brown said. "This will help get criminals out of medical marijuana."

An unlikely coalition of police and medical marijuana activists welcomed the new guidelines, the first substantial directive from a state agency since voters approved Proposition 215 in 1996.

"As far as I'm concerned, I give this two thumbs up," said Kevin Reed of the Green Cross, a collective in San Francisco. "If you're in it for profit, you shouldn't be in medical cannabis."

"This is huge," said Kris Hermes of Americans for Safe Access, a pro-medical marijuana group. "Hopefully this will send a message to the federal government that California doesn't intend to deter from the course it has set."

The federal government maintains a strict prohibition against marijuana as medicine, and for more than a decade it has made California -- which has an estimated 200,000 cannabis-using patients -- the principal beachhead in the battle against medical marijuana.

Federal officials at the president's Office of National Drug Control Policy and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration did not return calls for comment.

Police, meanwhile, welcomed Brown's guidelines, saying they shed light on what had often seemed to them a shadowy world.

"We have been operating in the dark for many years," said Jerry Dyer, Fresno's chief of police and president of the California Police Chiefs Assn.

Dealing with medical marijuana patients and dispensaries, he said, "has been like trying to hit a moving target. This allows us to know what the target is."

Brown's guidelines urge patients to apply for state-sanctioned medical marijuana ID cards -- and advise police to accept authenticated cards as proof of medical need.

Patients are prohibited from using cannabis near schools and recreation centers or at work, unless an employer gives permission. Police, meanwhile, must return seized cannabis to patients who are later proved legitimate.

Brown takes a notably hard line on for-profit dispensaries.

Scores of storefront operations have sprouted up, often with business owners running virtual emporiums of cannabis.

Under the attorney general's guidelines, they must operate as not-for-profit collectives or cooperatives, and establishments are prohibited from buying marijuana from illegal, commercial growers. Instead, the marijuana must be grown by patients or their caregivers, with fees limited to covering overhead and operating expenses.

Bruce Mirken of the Marijuana Policy project questioned the nonprofit distinction, saying, "The last I heard, Walgreens isn't a charity."

But the rules essentially give police a green light to raid for-profit storefront dispensaries.

The guidelines also say that a dispensary that signs up patients after they simply fill out forms making the owner their primary caregiver is "likely unlawful."

They suggest that investigating officers be alert to signs of mass production and illegal sales, including "excessive amounts" of marijuana and cash, weapons and other indicators of criminal activity.

"We know that cartels are controlling many of the medical marijuana dispensaries operating for profit," said Dyer, the Fresno police chief.

"I'm hopeful the state will partner with local police and the feds to shut down the cartels."

Note: Jerry Brown outlines steps to help patients and dispensaries stay within the law, help police know when to step in and, it's hoped, keep the federal government at bay.

Complete Title: California Attorney General Issues Medical Marijuana Guidelines

Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)

Website: http://www.latimes.com/

Am I to dumb to grow it or smart enough to know that the cops have multiable ways of detecting it if grown indoors and out.

The economic value of B.C.'s illegal marijuana industry is difficult to determine, but over the years experts have estimated it exceeds a billion dollars a year

Source

While the California Supreme Court takes up the issue, the existing limits in the California Health and Safety Code remain in effect throughout much of California. For Mendocino County, the limits are a bit murkier as the ongoing legal challenge to the portion of Measure B, which had the county adopt the state limits may await the final Supreme Court decision.

Superior Court Judge John Behnke in his August 8 decision on the challenge to the Measure B limits ruled "if the state legislature cannot amend a stat law passed by initiative (the Compassionate Use Act) by passing specific legislation certainly the electorate of a county can't amend a statewide initiative by passing a local ordinance or initiative."While this decision was made prior to the Supreme Court accepting the Kelly case for review, Behnke cited the more recent appeals court ruling from July 31 of California vs Phomphakdy as raising similar issues to the Kelly case although it cannot be cited for 30 days and also may be accepted by the Supreme Court for further review.

The Behnke decision leaves the county effectively without any new guidelines for law enforcement, although the statewide limits appear to serve as a minimum protection for medical marijuana users, at least until the Phomphakdy case either becomes law on August 30 or is accepted for Supreme Court review.

A review of California vs. Patrick Kelly:

A Los Angeles County medical marijuana case, which most agree would never have seen a courtroom in Mendocino County, has raised questions on whether any limits imposed by the legislature to the Compassionate Use Act is constitutional.

The Court of Appeal in the case of California vs. Patrick Kelly ruled limits on medical marijuana possession imposed by the Health and Safety Code to be unconstitutional. In July, the state Attorney General petitioned the state Supreme Court to review the case. On August 13, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case, leaving in place the current provisions of the Health and Safety Code.

In California vs. Patrick Kelly, the appeals court overturned Kelly's 2006 conviction for possession of more than an ounce of marijuana for which he received a sentence of 2 days in jail and 3 years probation. The jury was asked, but declined, to convict Kelly of possession and cultivation of marijuana for sale.

A summary of the case reveals a substantially different prosecutorial atmosphere in Los Angeles County than prevails in Mendocino County. According to court records, Kelly suffers from several ruptured vertebrae causing severe back pain, as well as mood disorders, hepatitis, nausea and lack of appetite, which he had tried treating with epidurals, pain therapy, hot and cold braces, nerve stimulators and medication. Dissatisfied with this treatment plan, in part due to the cost of pain management pills, Kelly sought a recommendation to use marijuana, which he received in 2005.

Unable to afford marijuana from a dispensary, Kelly began growing a few plants at his home, consuming between one and two ounces per week.

Based on a tip from an informant and the visibility of some pot plants in the backyard, law enforcement officers obtained a search warrant for Kelly's home and confiscated 12 ounces of processed pot stored in 2-ounce baggies, seven potted marijuana plants, a loaded gun in the nightstand and a scale.

Kelly had taped a copy of his valid medical marijuana recommendation to the garage door including a phone number where it could be verified 24 hours a day, keeping the original copy in his bedroom. The deputy called and verified the validity of the recommendation. One plant had a homemade trip wire constructed from Christmas wrapping and bells.

Because Kelly had about 4 ounces more marijuana than allowed under the California Health and Safety Code and did not have a special doctor's recommendation to exceed the code amount, he was arrested for cultivation and possession of marijuana for sale. The charges were filed despite the lack of any evidence associated with the sale of marijuana such as nickel and dime bags, pagers, cell phones, pay-owe sheets, money, safes or elaborate growing systems at the Kelly residence. Kelly denied ever selling marijuana.

The case went to a jury trial. During the trial, according to the appeal, the prosecutor improperly instructed the jury that because the Health and Safety Code set an eight-ounce possession maximum for medical marijuana, the possession of more, which was not specifically authorized by a recommendation, was illegal. The case was overturned and a new trial ordered.

Although the court also declared the current Health and Safety Code limits unconstitutional, when the Supreme Court agreed to take up the case, that declaration was set aside pending the outcome of a future Supreme Court ruling.

Source: Willits News (CA)

Website: http://www.willitsnews.com/

The Medical Marijuana Caregivers Association of El Dorado County previously leased from a landlord who received written notice recently from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The notice said the agency had discovered the lease agreement between the caregivers association and the landlord, and warned the arrangement violated federal drug law.

Matt Vaughn, director of the local caregiver association, said budget matters are forcing a move at the same time the DEA letter is, so it could be worse.“The consequences are minimal for us, but in general, if they did get a DEA letter, it’s going to cost a landlord a good renter,” Vaughn said.

In 2007, the agency began warning landlords, all of them in southern California.

“The goal is advice,” said Special Agent Sarah Pullen. “The Los Angeles field office sent out nearly 200 letters.”

In bold-face type, the letters warned landlords that California’s 10-year-old Compassionate Use Act legalizing use of medical pot did not protect them from federal law criminalizing the providing of space for distributing any drug named on the federal Controlled Substances List.

“Violation of this law is a felony crime, and carries with it a penalty of up to 20 years in prison,” the letters said. “In addition, federal law allows for the seizure of assets, including real property, which have been used in conjunction with the distribution of controlled substances.”

Soon, the notice program expanded to northern California.

“The DEA San Francisco Office sent out approximately 50 letters to property owners,” said Special Agent Casey McEnry..

The DEA does not recognize California’s voter-approved legalization of medical marijuana. Pullen said the DEA is out to shut down all California med-pot dispensaries by any legal means necessary.

“There are hundreds of them in L.A.,” she said. “Our resources are limited. We use them as we can.”

She declined to provide a cost estimate for the letter-writing program.

Source: Folsom Telegraph (CA)

Website: http://folsomtelegraph.com/

Law Would Protect Patients From Being Fired

A bill passed the state Senate Wednesday that would protect hundreds of thousands of medical marijuana patients in California from employment discrimination.

Assembly Bill 2279, introduced in February by Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, already passed the state assembly by a 41-35 vote in May and now goes to the governor's desk.

AB 2279, co-authored by Assemblywomen Patty Berg, D-Eureka, Lori Hancock, D-Berkeley, and Lori Saldana, D-San Diego, would reverse a California Supreme Court decision in January that stated that an employer could fire someone solely because they use medical marijuana outside the workplace.

"AB 2279 is not about being under the influence while at work. That's against the law, and will remain so," Leno said in a prepared statement. "It's about allowing patients who are able to work safely and who use their doctor-recommended medication in the privacy of their own home, to not be arbitrarily fired from their jobs."

http://www.nbc11.com/news/17265537/detail.html

The California Appeals Court ruled in May that the six mature, 12 immature plant limit and the eight ounce dried marijuana possession limit were unconstitutional because the California Legislature had set the limits by legislation not voter initiative. Measure B's limits were based on the California state law.

(The California Supreme Court has now decided to take up the question of the legality of these limits which were rejected a second time in another Appeals Court ruling in July.)

Now, medical marijuana growing and possession goes back to the confusing and varied interpretations that existed before the state passed its regulations - regulations that were fervently sought by true medical marijuana patients in order to bring some order and protection to the 1996 initiative that was unfortunately very poorly worded.

As of this moment, there are technically no limits on the number of medical marijuana plants a person can grow - but anything they grow has to be strictly for their own personal medical needs.

That is the important distinction and one that local marijuana growers need to pay attention to.

Unfortunately this ruling may encourage more of the commercial backyard growing we've seen from people who will assume that "no limits" means they can get away with anything.

We hope that our Sheriff Tom Allman and District Attorney Meredith Lintott will make it clear in their actions that this local court ruling - and the ruling it stems from in People v. Kelly in the State Court of Appeals - still makes it clear that medical marijuana growing must be for personal medical use - and lacking any regulatory direction, not some conglomerate in San Francisco or dispensary in Ukiah.

The courts ruled that the Compassionate Use Act does not limit a medical marijuana patient's growing allowance based on a doctor's recommendation. But it is also clear that those needs must be approved by a doctor and clearly defines "caregiver" as a person "designated by the person exempted under this section who has consistently assumed responsibility for the housing, health, or safety of that person."

We have long argued that the definition of caregiver from the CUA had been twisted out of all proportion and made mockery of the compassion California voters tried to extend to the truly sick and dying.

We will see if the California Supreme Court agrees that regulating the CUA by legislation is constitutional. If not, the CUA will likely be scrutinized and perhaps amended by another voter initiative. If that happens, we believe it is time to set constitutional limits on the number of plants a medical marijuana patient can have, and provide a strict definition of caregiver, limiting that to one person, someone who is personally caring for the patient on a regular basis, not someone in Mendocino County growing 100 plants in their name.

The Kelly decision - and the local decision based on it - should not be construed as an open door to more pot growing. These decisions should be viewed as restating the limits envisioned on medical marijuana when the voters passed the CUA, limits that have been ignored up and down the state and which have led voters even in this Emerald Triangle, to reject marijuana growing as greedy and dangerous to their communities.

Source: Ukiah Daily Journal (CA)

Website: http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/

Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer

Thursday, August 21, 2008
A federal judge breathed new life Wednesday into medical marijuana advocates' effort to ward off the federal crackdown on medical pot in California, saying enforcement of U.S. drug laws can go too far if it seeks to interfere with state authority.

U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel of San Jose denied a Bush administration request to dismiss a lawsuit by Santa Cruz city and county officials and members of a medical marijuana collective whose drugs were seized by federal agents in a 2002 raid.
The suit claims federal prosecutors have tried to disrupt the California law by enforcement that targeted critical participants in the state system - doctors who approved their patients' marijuana use, local officials who issued state-approved identification cards to medical marijuana users, local governments whose zoning allowed pot dispensaries, and marijuana suppliers who cooperated with local governments.
But Fogel said Wednesday that if the plaintiffs can prove all their claims, "they may be able to show that (federal officials) are deliberately seeking to frustrate the state's ability to determine whether an individual's use of marijuana is permissible under California law."
Medical marijuana advocates and their lawyers called the ruling a potential breakthrough.
E-mail Bob Egelko at begelko@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page B - 2 of the San Francisco Chronicle

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/21/BAU412FCB9.DTL

urlet:  http://urlet.com/ago.environment

As the political debates over medical marijuana drag on, a small cadre of researchers continues to test inhaled marijuana for the treatment of pain, nausea and muscle spasms.

All drugs have risks, they point out -- including ones in most Americans' medicine cabinets, such as aspirin and other pain-relievers or antihistamines such as Benadryl.

Doctors try to balance those risks against the potential for medical good -- why not for marijuana as well, they ask.

The truth, these researchers say, is that marijuana has medical benefits -- for chronic-pain syndromes, cancer pain, multiple sclerosis, AIDS wasting syndrome and the nausea that accompanies chemotherapy -- and attempts to understand and harness these are being hampered. Also, they add, science reveals that the risks of marijuana use, which have been thoroughly researched, are real but generally small.

Dr. Donald Abrams, chief of hematology and oncology at San Francisco General Hospital and professor of clinical medicine at UC San Francisco, says he sees cancer patients in pain, not eating or sleeping well, experiencing nausea and vomiting from treatment, and being depressed about their situation. He says he is glad that he lives in California, where use of medical marijuana is allowed by state law, although federal officials continue to raid cannabis dispensaries in the state and scrutinize practices of physicians who specialize in writing cannabis recommendations for patients.

"I can talk to patients about medicinal cannabis [and] I'm often recommending it to them for these indications," Abrams says.

Note: A look at the pros and cons of medical marijuana use, a topic that inspires strong opinions on both sides.

Read on to learn what science has to say about the medical pros and cons, and some mitigating factors, of Cannabis sativa.

Pro: Marijuana Use for Chronic Pain and Nausea
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-marijuanapro18-2008aug18,0,3084928.story

Con: Marijuana's Damaging Effects
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-marijuanacon18-2008aug18,0,2700897.story

Vaporizers Can Cut Marijuana Smoke, Retain Similar Medical Effects
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-marijuanabox18-2008aug18,0,2237553.story

Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)

Website: http://www.latimes.com/

Mendocino County Superior Court Judge John Behnke ruled last week that the medical marijuana plant limits set forth in Measure B cannot be enforced because they are unconstitutional in light of the ruling by the California Appellate Court in People v. Kelly.

"If the Kelly decision stands, Measure B's specific limits on the amount of marijuana a qualified patient or his primary care giver may possess constitute an amendment of the CUA (compassionate use act), without consent of the statewide electorate and the specific limits section of the new ordinance is therefore unconstitutional," Behnke wrote in his ruling.

Measure B, which was approved by voters in June, set medical marijuana possession limits in Mendocino County at six mature or 12 immature plants and eight ounces of marijuana, the same as the state limits.

Those limits were enacted by the California Legislature in Senate Bill 420, which amended the voter-approved CUA which legalized the possession of marijuana for medical purposes, but contained no possession limits.

The limits set forth in SB 420 were found to be unconstitutional by the California Appellate Court in May of this year. The appellate court ruled that the Legislature cannot amend an initiative like the CUA unless the initiative gives the Legislature the authority to do so. According to the Kelly ruling, the CUA does not give that authority.

"The limits section of Measure B seeks to modify the CUA in the same terms that Kelly found to be an unconstitutional amendment of the CUA," Behnke wrote in his ruling.

Behnke found that if the state Legislature cannot amend a statewide initiative with a proposition, then Mendocino County cannot amend the initiative with a local ordinance or initiative.

The effect of Measure B as it relates to plant counts will remain stayed unless and until the Kelly decision is overturned, Behnke said in his ruling. The California Supreme Court announced Wednesday that it would be reviewing the decision but did not set a hearing date.

In addition to setting medical marijuana limits, Measure B also repealed Measure G, which was approved by Mendocino County voters in 2000 and instructed law enforcement to make the prosecution of anyone growing 25 or fewer marijuana plants the lowest possible law enforcement priority.

Behnke said that portion of Measure B would stand.

Complete Title: Measure B Plant Limits Can't Be Enforced, Judge Rules

Source: Ukiah Daily Journal (CA)

Website: http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/

Tulisan ini saya buat sebagai wujud keprihatinan terhadap bahaya rokok terhadap kesehatan masyarakat non-smoker (to hell with the smokers' health, I don't give a damn care) tanpa bermaksud 'mendukung' pemakai narkoba. Narkoba is narkoba, okay? Drugs can kill you.

Di Indonesia, membawa ganja bisa saja dihukum mati. Kalau tidak salah, terpidana mati narkoba asal Nigeria masih 19 orang. Di Malaysia, hukumnya lebih ketat lagi. Kenapa sih kok bawa ganja sampai perlu dihukum mati?

Ganja Tidak Haram?

Sekali lagi, tanpa bermaksud membela kelompok pro Narkoba, sebenarnya hukuman berat pengedar ganja adalah karena "merusak moral generasi muda". Weleh, weleh. Benar sih. Tapi coba kita cermati secara jernih. Sebetulnya "moral yang rusak" itu apa ya cuma karena narkoba? Bagaimana dengan orangtua yang sibuk terus, kurang perhatian, dan memanjakan anak? Bagaimana dengan kekerasan terhadap anak (yang juga berpotensi melahirkan generasi 'keras')? Bagaimana dengan mafia pendidikan formal, yang menyebabkan banyak anak tidak mampu sekolah?

Sebetulnya, ketika seorang pengedar ganja menawarkan dagangannya kepada Mas X, si calon konsumen, yang ditawarkan hanyalah sebuah pilihan hidup. Apakah moral Mas X rusak karenanya? Kalau Mas X menerima tawarannya, berarti moral Mas X memang sudah rusak dari awalnya. Sudah tahu barang haram kok masih coba-coba. Kalau Mas X makin jadi bajingan setelah nge-drug, itu hanyalah memperkuat sifat aslinya, yang sudah muncul sejak keputusannya menerima barang setan itu. Kalau toh sifatnya memang baik, Mas X akan tobat setelah puyeng dari percobaan pertamanya, dan jadi pengalaman hidupnya.

Seorang pemakai ganja yang teler di kursinya, tidak meracuni orang lain secara luas. Anda bisa teler juga kena asapnya kalau duduk di sisinya, tapi pemakai ganja kan jarang mabok asap di warung-warung, taman, atau bis kota. Jadi, kalau Anda teler kena asapnya, itu salah Anda sendiri, mengapa dekat dengan dia. Jangan-jangan Anda pemakai juga.

Rokok Haram?

Nah, kalau rokok, ini memang belum pernah difatwakan haram. Alasannya, nggak merusak moral manusia kok? Ah masa ???

10 tahun yang lalu, saya bekerja di sebuah pabrik di Surabaya. Ada beberapa buruh pabrik, yang penghasilannya pas-pasan. Selepas kerja, dia masih nyambi di tempat lain, dan istrinya buka warung kecil-kecilan di rumah, terima laundry, dsb. Terima upah harian. Katanya nggak cukup untuk makan dan sekolahin anak-anak ... tapi lho, Dji sam soe nya kok ngepul terus? Sehari katanya 1 pak lebih. Kalau nggak gitu, pusing katanya.

Juga lihat tukang becak. Ngeluh hasil pas-pasan. Anak banyak. Tapi lagi-lagi ... kok ngepul. Belinya sih 1000-an, batangan. Tapi sehari, bisa lebih dari 1 pak.

Lantaran nggak diharamkan, rokok bisa dinikmati di mana saja. Di taman kota, di warung, restoran, sampai bis kota. Ini beda dengan narkoba. (Kalau berani coba aja nge-bong di bis kota .. hehe). Asapnya, weleh .. weleh. Di dalam rokok terdapat 4000 zat yang semuanya berbahaya. Nggak ada untungnya. Mulai dari tar, nikotin, karbon-karbon, sampai sianida (hasil pembakaran kertas) sampai kalau ditulis semuanya blog ini bakal cuma jadi daftar isi, saya juga nggak mungkin ingat apa yang sudah atau belum saya tulis.

Menarik mencermati sianida ini. Pernah membakar sejumlah besar kertas putih dan terhirup asapnya? Puyeng kan? Sianida dalam jumlah kecil cukup membunuh orang dewasa secara efektif. Jumlah yang terkandung di asap rokok pastinya lebih kecil lagi, tapi saya heran ada orang yang rela menghisap zat berbahaya ini bahkan setelah diberi tahu.

Pernahkah Anda melihat seorang bapak (yang pastinya tidak bertanggung jawab) merokok sambil menggendong anaknya, sementara istrinya hamil mendampinginya? Kalau belum, Anda mungkin jarang berada di Indonesia. Di sini, kejadian serupa ini bejibun banyaknya.

Pernahkah seorang perokok memikirkan bahwa orang yang duduk di sampingnya mungkin pengidap asthma? Mungkin bisa mati sesak napas kena asapnya? Atau ibu hamil? Atau anak-anak? Atau mungkin sekedar orang yang berusaha menjaga kesehatannya? Perokok merupakan sosok yang paling egois di komunitas, dan merampas hak hidup manusia lain untuk 'menikmati udara (yang lebih) bersih'. Sudah kena asap kendaraan, bau apek, asap rokok pula!

Seorang perokok, membunuh pelan-pelan manusia-manusia di sekitarnya. 4000 racun yang disedotnya akan dihembuskan lagi berikut kotoran di paru-parunya (yucks!) dan dihirup oleh orang di sekitarnya. Tidak masalah bila si perokok mati, semua edukasi dan peringatan bahaya rokok toh dia sudah pernah tahu. Dia memang siap untuk mati, impoten, dan keguguran (wanita). Tapi non-smokers yang jadi perokok pasif?

Perokok bisa berdalih, "kalau nggak suka, pergi aja." Bagaimana kalau
di atas bis? Haruskah oper? Bayar 2 kali? Bagaimana kalau tengah makan
di warung? Hilang nafsu makan, dan pergi? Egois, mengapa tidak dia saja
yang pergi?

Seorang perokok seperti buruh pabrik dan tukang becak yang saya gambarkan juga merampas hak hidup anak-anak mereka untuk mendapat hidup yang lebih layak. Hitung sendiri berapa ongkos habis untuk merokok. Mending buat makan atau biaya sekolah anak-anak, kan?

Satu lagi, ... tahukah Anda bahwa para drugger nyaris semuanya adalah juga perokok? Yang ingin juga saya cari keterkaitannya adalah bagaimanakah prosentase pelaku kriminal yang merokok? Atau hubungan antara Kekerasan, Arogansi, Over PD dengan Merokok.

Kini: Ganja Haram, Rokok Tidak Haram

Kalau saya sengaja kampanye bahwa ganja itu tidak haram, tentu sejumlah pihak bakal mencak-mencak dan menuding saya drugee. Ganja haram, rokok tidak haram, ini perbandingannya

• Menawarkan ganja itu hanya menawarkan pilihan, menawarkan rokok pada orang lain juga pilihan.
• Ngisep ganja tidak mungkin dilakukan di tempat umum, ngisep rokok bisa di tempat umum.
• Ngisep ganja tidak mencemari kesehatan umum, ngisep rokok di tempat umum jelas mencemari.
• Ngisep ganja ngehabisin uang, yang lebih baik untuk hal positif lain, ngisep rokok juga.
• Pengisap ganja tidak meracuni orang lain kecuali diri sendiri. Perokok meracuni diri sendiri DAN orang lain.
• Sengaja mengonsumsi ganja adalah pilihan buruk, mengonsumsi rokok juga pilihan buruk.

Bahasa hukumnya, "secara sengaja dengan tindakannya dengan kesadaran
penuh meracuni orang lain di sekitarnya." dan "dengan kecerobohannya
dan tindakannya yang tidak waspada mengakibatkan kematian orang lain;
meracuni dan merusak kesehatan orang lain disekitarnya."

Perbedaan terbesar adalah pemerintah tidak memungut cukai atas penjualan ganja, sedangkan rokok adalah pembayar pajak terbesar! Sekalian saja kalau begitu, Indonesia melegalkan dan menarik pajak dari penjualan narkoba dan prostitusi. Biar negaranya kaya. Jadi, kalau MUI berfatwa bahwa ganja itu haram, apalagi rokok!

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suaranurani.wordpress.com

** 10.000 Perokok aktif menyumbang @ Rp 1000 / orang untuk membuat seorang perokok pasif jatuh sakit dan biaya berobatnya jelas lebih dari Rp 10.000.000 rupiah (ditanggung sendiri pula).

Pro: Marijuana use for chronic pain and nausea

All three candidates present at the Humboldt Green Party General Assembly on Sunday night expressed support for the opening of medical marijuana dispensaries in Eureka.  Republican Polly Endert was absent.  Republican Frank Jager, Democrat Linda Atkins and Democrat George Clark agreed that the city could use the revenue and that patients deserve access.  Republican Frank Jager's only qualification is "if we can avoid the problems experienced elsewhere." 

This weekend, Hempfest rolls into Seattle, holding claim as the biggest pro-pot rally in the world.

How are the police handling it?

"Actually, Hempfest is one of the easier events that we do," police spokesman Mark Jamieson said. "There has always been great cooperation between the organizers and SPD.

"We haven't had any major problems since Seattle's been doing Hempfest."

Police in the past have taken a low-key approach to policing pot use at Hempfest and aren't expecting anything worse this year when a crowd of more than 150,000 people is expected to pack Myrtle Edwards Park.

A month after the 2003 Hempfest, Seattle voters passed an initiative making the investigation, arrest and prosecution of marijuana offenses the lowest law enforcement priority when the drug was intended for adult personal use.

Medical marijuana has been legal in Washington since 1998.

more:  http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/seattle911/archives/146201.asp

Hawaii County residents will get their chance to tell police to make enforcement of private, adult use of marijuana on one's own personal property the lowest enforcement priority.

Adam Lehman, director of grassroots group Project Peaceful Sky, prevailed in asking council members to certify his petition, despite gathering not even half the required number of valid signatures to get his initiative on the upcoming ballot. Ka'u Councilman Bob Jacobson assisted Lehman, by introducing a resolution to certify the petition, a move that is allowed by the county's charter. Project Peaceful Sky collected more than 5,000 signatures, but more than half, 2,600, were deemed invalid.

http://www.westhawaiitoday.com/articles/2008/08/14/local/local04.txt

Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Agak kurang mengasyikkan barangkali mencoba menyandingkan Aceh, ganja dan kumpul kebo. Apalagi memposisikan Aceh sebagai sebuah daerah sebagai ‘aktor’ dari kumpul kebo itu. Idealnya memang kumpul kebo itu lebih menunjuk pada praktik yang dilakukan manusia. Terasa terlalu abstrak mengkumpul-kebokan Aceh dan Ganja. Dimensinya juga sangat jauh berbeda. Semoga anda mau kiranya mengangguk bahwa tidak terlalu penting memperdebatkan 2 hal itu. Mari kita layangkan pikiran pada simbol-simbol yang pernah disematkan pada Aceh sebagai Daerah Ganja Istimewa.

Beberapa hari lalu, seorang remaja SMP yang biasa bertandang ke kontrakan saya memberi laporan, disekolahnya beberapa siswa sekelasnya dengan leluasa mengisap ganja diruangan kelas saat jam istirahat tanpa khawatir diketahui guru, dan memang akhirnya tidak di ketahui oleh gurunya.

Sebelumnya, di sebuah desa di Nagan Raya terlihat beberapa remaja berkumpul melinting ganja di depan sebuah rumah yang sebenarnya terletak dilokasi yang memiliki rumah-rumah lumayan padat, tanpa merasa terbeban mereka melinting ganja dengan rapinya dan dengan santai mengisap lintingan ganja tersebut. Kentara terlihat, tidak ada kecemasan pada gurat wajah mereka, hanya ekspresi kenikmatan. Layaknya tidak akan ada yang menegur perilaku mereka.

Ilustrasi diatas sebagai gambaran bagaimana keakraban ganja dengan masyarakat Aceh.

Seorang rekan di Jakarta berujar, “Aceh punya kualitas ganja dan kuantitas produksi ganja yang cukup ‘istimewa’, tidak banyak daerah lain di Indonesia yang bisa memproduksi ganja seperti halnya Aceh. Saya heran kenapa itu tidak dijadikan sebagai pemasukan untuk anggaran daerah. Toh, sekalipun dilarang juga praktik penanaman ganja masih tetap tidak berkurang di Aceh. Polisi bisa saja menakut-nakuti pelaku penanaman ganja, penjual atau pembelinya dengan penangkapan dan penjara sekalipun. Tapi saya tidak yakin mereka akan mampu mengurangi produksi ganja di Aceh. Logika saya begini, masih ingat saat kita masih anak-anak saat nyoba-nyoba merokok sambil sembunyi-sembunyi karena takut ketahuan oleh orang tua kita, nah ternyata semakin kita terbawa oleh ketakutan malah semakin kita menikmati itu sebagai sebuah tantangan.”

Nyaris saya tidak bisa mengambil sikap atas tawaran ‘cerdas’ rekan saya ini. Satu sisi memang apa yang ditawarkan oleh rekan ini memang sangat terorientasi pada sisi benefit yang mungkin saja memang untuk dihasilkan saat ide tersebut terimplementasikan di Aceh, bisa jadi.

Cuman, ---karena hanya dialog sederhana---, saya tetap melihat juga dengan logika yang tidak kalah sederhana, jika dengan adanya sebuah sangsi yang demikian tegas terhadap pelaku pengadaan, penanam barang haram itu namun yang menjadi korban tidak sedikit. Nah, apalagi jika itu dilegalkan, pertama. Selanjutnya, masih banyak asset lain di Aceh yang masih bisa diberdayakan. Masih banyak tanaman lain yang berpotensi untuk meng-kayakan masyarakat Aceh.

“Tetapi bukankah memang tanaman tersebut sangat ideal dan memang sudah lama memasyarakat dengan masyarkaat kita di Aceh? Bukankah juga tidak kalah baik, jika seiring dengan upaya peningkatan ekonomi daerah dari sector lain dengan tidak ‘memubazirkan’ yang telah ada? (baca: ganja).”

Iya, itu cerdas, tetapi jika kita berbicara dari sudut risiko, memang sebuah kemajuan, apapun itu tetap memiliki kandungan risiko. Dalam kaitan lain, nuklir dengan pengembangannya tidak saja bisa mengangkat peradaban dan tingkat kehidupan manusia, namun disisi lain pada pengembangan nuklir juga mengandung benefit lain sebagai ‘viagra’ untuk peningkatan ‘libido’ intelektual dan sains.

Bagaimana halnya ganja? Ada kemiripan mungkin, dengan ganja ini, Terolah sedemikian rupa, punya manfaat untuk dunia kedokteran, tetapi tetap saja pengendalian penyalahgunaan dari benda tersebut tidak memiliki ‘garansi’ yang jelas. Impact nya, punya potensi efek negative yang cukup kuat juga yang nyaris sepadan dengan sisi positifnya yang lebih dekat dengan ‘spekulasi’.

Ganja adalah satu jenis dari banyak ragam bentuk narkoba. Ganja ini bisa menjadi ‘ibu’ untuk melahirkan banyak bentuk ‘anak’ lainnya. Jadi memang harus ada sebuah kebijakan yang cukup tegas dari pemerintah dan penegak hukum di Indonesia.

Saya tidak terlalu bisa menerka---entah anda---, kapan negeri ini bisa menjadi negeri yang tidak lagi bimbang dalam memilah kepantasan hukuman untuk tiap hal yang punya energi kuat menghancurkan kekuatan anak-anak bangsa. Dan ganja adalah bagian dari bingkai besar problem yang menuntut tindak penyelesaian, penyepelean pada persoalan ini hanya akan meng-akselerasikan daerah ini ke kubangan kegelapan yang tidak sesederhana argumen kita.|| Zulfikar Akbar