Have a look at the blog about ASA posted by long-time ASA supporter Berkeley Patients Care Collective -

… We have gained a lot of ground in the past ten years, but none of the protections we have as cannabis patients came about by themselves.  The ASA is one of our greatest weapons in the fight for medical cannabis rights.  They argue for our rights in the courts, help patients to gain legal access to medicine in places not tolerant to cannabis, and organize protests whenever necessary.  Not only that, but they got their start right here in the Berkeley/Oakland area…

Read the entire post on the BPCC’s web page.

By: Terrie Best, San Diego Americans for Safe Access

Legal cannabis patient Dexter Padilla was in court last week in front of Judge Albert T. Hartunian III as he and his attorney, Michael J. McCabe, of the Davidovich victory, fought it out with Prosecutor Ramin Tohidi over whether there was enough prosecutorial evidence to bind the case over for trial.

The Preliminary Examination of the evidence on one count of cannabis cultivation and one count of possession with intent to distribute came after a series of exhaustive disclosure meetings between attorneys for defense and prosecution where, the defense’ witness, Mark Wuerfel, Esq. Dexter’s civil attorney, laid open Dexter’s books, Articles of Incorporation papers, Bylaws and every other piece of evidence to show Dexter’s lawfulness in his cultivation and possession of medical cannabis. (more…)

After nine years of delay, the DEA finally denied the Coalition for Rescheduling Cannabis (CRC) petition to reschedule marijuana.  While this may superficially seem like a setback, it now allows us to get a more fair hearing in federal court.  We even had to to file a lawsuit in federal court to compel any action on this decision, so it is a step in the right direction that we received a final administrative action on the rescheduling petition to set the stage for a court battle.  Now, we can present our evidence to a tribunal that will listen.

Already, Time posted an article concluding that science demonstrates the following:

if an appeals judgment were based on scientific evidence, rather than political considerations this time around, it’s easy to imagine a very different outcome.

Similarly, the International Business Report posted an article entiled, “Did U.S Government Miss the Mark with Medical Marijuana Ruling?”  You can guess the answer (or click on the link for the result).  The short of it is that we are getting a chance in court and we need to make the most of it.  And we will.

More by a confluence of circumstances than by design, the federal government made clear this past week its intolerance to medical cannabis as well as its intolerance to the independence of local and state governments to decide their own public health policies. The irony of the U.S. Department of Justice issuing formal threats against the autonomy of local and state officials on the eve of Independence Day is not lost on many who are paying attention to this latest power grab by the federal government.

When was the last time you remember local and state officials being threatened en masse with criminal prosecution by the federal government for implementing their own public health laws? This egregious attempt by the fed to seize unwarranted authority over the states should be a concern not only to the medical cannabis patient community, but also to those who believe in the importance of local autonomy in a federalist system of democracy.

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By: Eugene Davidovich, San Diego Americans for Safe Access

On July 1, 2011, Mother Earth’s Alternative Healing Cooperative Inc. received their final permit the “Medical Marijuana Collective Operations Certificate”, signed by Sheriff Gore himself, allowing the coop to operate in full compliance with the law.

Located at 8157 Wing Avenue, El Cajon, CA 92020, the grand opening will be held on Monday, July 4th to commemorate Independence Day and the coop’s regular hours of operation will be Monday through Saturday, 10am-8pm.

“We are very excited about providing safe, reliable access to patients in San Diego who suffer from seriously ill and in many cases debilitating conditions” said Bob Reidel, official spokesperson for the coop. (more…)

Deputy US AG Cole

Under the Obama Administration, Deputy Attorney General James Cole issued a memo reinforcing the intent of the federal government to interfere with state medical cannabis laws, specifically the creation and licensing of dispensing centers. Compromising the legitimacy of dispensing centers will jeopardize access for patients in medical cannabis states across the country.  The time has come for great action on our part to show the federal government that our state’s right to medical cannabis will not be trumped. 

Our community is on red alert.  ASA suggests that everyone revisits their emergency response plans, and if you do not have one, now is the time.  Sign up for ASA Raid Text Message Alerts by clicking here.  If you are a medical cannabis related business, sign up your business for our Raid Response Program.

For more information, click here to view our press release, and click here to read ASA’s Blog reaction.

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