Critical media coverage was one of the factors that influenced the Los Angeles City Council to adopt a controversial ordinance that may regulate most of the city’s medical cannabis collectives out of existence. Advocates fear only a handful of collectives can meet the tough location restrictions, tight registration timelines, and complicated record keeping and reporting requirements.

KCET’s So Cal Connect continued their coverage of the long regulatory debate with this installment, which discuss the anticipated legal fallout from ordinance.

In the wake of New Jersey becoming the 14th state to sanction the use of cannabis for therapeutic purposes, U.S. Representative Donald Payne (NJ-10) added his name to the list of co-sponsors on the Truth in Trials bill.

What about your Congress-critter? How about ringing in the New Year with a call to your U.S. Representative’s office to urge his or her co-sponsorship of H.R. 3939, The Truth in Trials Act. You can reach the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121. For ideas about what to say when you call, check out ASA’s Action page (and send an email while you’re there!).

(This is a guest blog from Eugene Davidovich at San Diego ASA)

Sebastian Maselli was a founding member of Healing Dragon Collective which was raided on September 9, 2009 part of Bonnie Dumanis’ effort to eradicate safe access to medical marijuana in San Diego County. He was arrested, property seized, and life dismantled. Four months after the raid, and with no charges filed against him, Sebastian decided to begin the fight to get his property back. Sebastian researched the ASA National website where he found a return of property motion, after a little encouragement and help from  friends and family, Sebastian completed it and submitted it to the court.

San Diego ASA caught up with Sebastian to discuss what happened on 9/9/9 as well as other issues related to the raids in September.

Sebastian wrote San Diego ASA: “I am happy to report that my motion was granted by the judge!  I have a piece of paper stating: “All property belonging to “defendant” to be returned by 02/08/10.”

Chief Beck with LA Mayor

Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck told reporters at the Daily News that medical cannabis collectives do not attract crime, adding that “Banks are more likely to get robbed than medical marijuana dispensaries.” The Los Angeles City Council should consider the Chief’s words carefully as they make final decisions about regulations for hundreds of patients’ associations in the city on Tuesday. If adopted as written, the ordinance may make finding a suitable location almost impossible.

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LA City Hall

The Los Angeles City Council delayed final approval of regulations for medical cannabis collectives until Tuesday. Councilmembers want more time to study a report by the Planning Department and new ordinance language provided by the City Attorney less than one hour before this morning’s meeting. The debate about the regulations seems to be winding up, with only a few contentious issues left to resolve – including where collectives can locate and how many will be allowed. 

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(This is a guest blog by cannabis researcher and ASA Medical & Scientific Advisory Board Member Jahan Marcu)

As a member of ASA’s Medical & Scientific Advisory Board, I’ve been actively engaged in pursuing further evidence of the medical efficacy of cannabis-based medicine. Some of this work occurred while I was working at the California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute (CPMCRI), and yesterday the findings of that work were published by the peer-reviewed journal Molecular Cancer Therapeutics. With this study, we have shown that cannabis compounds can work together to inhibit glioblastoma (GBM), one of the nastiest and most aggressive of all brain cancers. GBM is the type of brain cancer that caused the recent death of Senator Ted Kennedy.

Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the most prevalent compound found in the cannabis (marijuana) plant. Many studies have focused on THC and its therapeutic qualities, however other compounds in the plant should not be overlooked from a medical and scientific standpoint. In fact, the recently published study illustrates how THC and other compounds (known as Cannabinoids) found in the cannabis plant work synergistically to kill cancer cells and reduce tumor size. The anti-cancer effect, which is mediated through the activation of cannabinoid receptors on cancer cells, has been shown through both in vitro and in vivo experimentation.

The other most abundant compound in the cannabis plant is Cannabidiol (CBD). One of the main findings of our research was how THC and CBD act synergistically to inhibit GBM brain cancer cell proliferation. The research team at CPMCRI, lead by Dr. Sean McAllister, discovered that a ratio of about 4:1 of THC to CBD resulted in a synergistic or enhanced killing effect. This THC and CBD combination was determined after assessing anti-cancer activity resulting from the interaction of THC with some of the more-than-70 cannabinoids found in the cannabis plant. (more…)

The outcome of legal victories by Americans for Safe Access (ASA) could be seen again last week, when Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge William Sterling ruled that the California Highway Patrol (CHP) must return sixty pounds of medical cannabis confiscated during a traffic stop. ASA successfully sued the CHP to stop illegal confiscation of medical cannabis in 2005; and secured the right to return of property, regardless of federal law, when the US Supreme Court refused to overturn our victory Garden Grove v. Superior Court in 2008.

The defendant in this week’s case argued he was transporting the confiscated medicine for his collective in Venice. The judge disagreed with an expert witness from the CHP, who argued that only a Primary Caregiver can transport medicine under state law. The judge acknowledged that any member of a collective or cooperative could transport medicine on behalf of other members.

Cities and counties still working to develop and implement regulations for medical cannabis should take note of decisions like this, which acknowledge the broad immunities offered to collectives and cooperatives under the Medical Marijuana Program Act (SB 420). Patients involved in collective cultivation can maintain storefronts to provide medicine to members (and be reimbursed for doing so), grow medicine, possess enough for members, and transport it. Local regulations should respect these collective immunities – not try to roll them back with onerous restrictions.