Nearly 200 supporters of safe access to medical marijuana testified Monday at a 12-hour hearing before the Colorado State Board of Health to oppose a proposal aimed at curtailing the centralized distribution of medical marijuana. Fortunately, the Board of Health took heed of the overwhelming objection and voted 5-4 to table a proposal that would limit caregivers to 5 patients.

The proposal also required caregivers to assist patients in ways that would be impractical for many medical marijuana providers. The decision, which paves the way for increased access to medical marijuana through safe and affordable distribution, was cheered by the roomful of hundreds of supporters. (more…)

Gil Kerlikowske, the Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, the country’s new Drug Czar was in Fresno, California this week for Operation S.O.S. (Save Our Sierras). The multi-agency effort to eradicate marijuana in eastern Fresno County has nothing to do with medical marijuana. However, that did not stop Kerlikowske from declaring (erroneously) to the Fresno Bee that marijuana “has no medicinal benefit.”

Certainly, Kerlikowske should have limited his public comments to the (non-medical) marijuana being pursued by local and federal agents under Operation S.O.S. But, if he really felt compelled to stray from the issues of recreational marijuana enforcement to comment on the medicinal use of marijuana he should have at least done his homework. (more…)

This is a guest blog by Thomas Kikuchi, who was recently released from federal custody:

It was great seeing so many old and new friends at the Americans for Safe Access (ASA) meeting in Los Angeles last Saturday. Sarah Armstrong, founder of the Landa Prison Outreach Project, rented the Haru Sushi Café for the meeting and a special reception to welcome me home.

LA-ASA hosted the reception for me because on June19, I was released from federal custody after serving nearly two years for a probation violation following my conviction for growing medical cannabis. The conviction and jail time were unjust, but even harder for me because I knew my partner, Stephanie Landa, was in federal custody for the same offense at the same time.

The last six months of my sentence were especially difficult due to problems with the way some halfway houses are run. These problems resulted in months of jail time in the notorious San Bernardino and Los Angeles County jails. (more…)

Yesterday, I had the privilege to testify before the California Senate Health Committee about SJR 14, an ASA-sponsored resolution authored by Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) calling for important changes to federal medical cannabis policy. The Committee voted 7-3 to approve the resolution. This is the first step in ASA’s effort to adopt SJR 14 and send a clear message to the President and Congress at strategic moment in time.

Here are my comments to the committee:

“Good afternoon, Senator Alquist and committee members. I am Don Duncan, the California Director of Americans for Safe Access, the nation’s largest organization of patients, medical professionals, scientists and concerned citizens promoting safe and legal access to cannabis for therapeutic use and research.

Please support SJR 14 and help us send this message to Washington, DC. Thank you.”

SJR 14 goes next to the Senate Judiciary Committee, then on to the floor of the Senate for approval by the full body. The Assembly will also need to approve the resolution before we can make it part of our federal advocacy project in Washington, DC.

It is no accident that SJR 14 closely mirrors ASA’s National Policy Agenda, which we distributed to the President and Members of Congress after Inauguration Day. Our effort to adopt SJR 14 is part of a highly coordinated campaign to finally change federal medical cannabis law. It is very important that we have the official voice of the California Legislature while ASA works to build support for our agenda in Congress this summer.

Los Angeles City Councilmember Dennis Zine acknowledged the work of Americans for Safe Access (ASA) at a reception honoring his inauguration to a third term on the City Council this afternoon. Speaking to an invitation-only crowd of almost one hundred supporters at City Hall, Councilmember Zine thanked ASA for working with the city to be sure that patients who need medical cannabis have safe access. ASA has been working with Councilmember Zine and other allies in city government since 2005 to develop and implement sensible regulations for patients’ association in the city.

Medical cannabis is a hot topic right now at City Hall. The Los Angeles City Council recently voted to close a loophole in the city’s two-year old moratorium, which allowed more than eight hundred collectives to open after the Council adopted the measure in September of 2007. Critical media coverage and growing concern from neighborhood groups add urgency to the call for action on permanent guidelines for safe access in the state’s largest city. The City Council has already voted to close more than forty of the collectives that opened using the controversial hardship provision.

Advocates worry that the controversy surrounding the proliferation of collectives and cooperatives in Los Angeles may erode support on the City Council. It was a relief to hear Councilmember Zine, a forty-year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department, publicly reaffirm his commitment to protecting patients today. I hope every ASA member shares my pride in ASA being singled out for recognition of the persistent work we have done in Los Angeles.

Medical cannabis supporters are also encouraged by the inauguration of a new City Councilmember today, former West Hollywood Mayor and California Assemblymember Paul Koretz. Councilmember Koretz is a long-time supporter of patients’ rights, and his voice of reason and compassion is welcome. This is especially true because he is replacing former Councilmember Jack Weiss, who did not support safe access in the city.

There may still be a lot of controversy and confusion before the city finally adopts a permanent ordinance and decides the fate of hundreds of post-moratorium collectives. However, leaders on the City Council remain committed to defending safe access, and ASA is helping to make a difference.