NEWSCALENDARMUSICRESTAURANTSARTSFILMBEST OFPROMOTIONSCLASSIFIEDSMMJ
Chronic City

Double Toke! Ammiano Reintroduces Bill to Legalize, Tax Marijuana.

By Peter Jamison Thu., Feb. 18 2010 at 4:44 PM
Categories: Breaking News, Chronic City, Politics
ammianoweed.jpg
​
Assemblyman Tom Ammiano has reintroduced his pioneering bill seeking to legalize and tax pot in California.

In a statement released this afternoon, Ammiano's office said the San Francisco Democrat hopes the new legislation will build on support garnered by AB 390, his first pot-legalization measure, which passed out of committee in Sacramento but overran its deadline for consideration by the rest of the Legislature.

The bill's expiration last month appeared more or less in line with the grand strategy of Ammiano, who said he wanted to take plenty of time to build consensus on the issue. Now AB 2254, the latest incarnation of the Marijuana Control, Regulation, and Education Act, will get a second shot.

More >>

Tags:

pot, Tom Ammiano
Write Comment Email to Friend
Chronic City

Hayward Votes Tonight on Citywide Marijuana Dispensary Kibosh

By Ashley Harrell Tue., Feb. 16 2010 at 4:30 PM
Categories: Chronic City, Crime, Law & Order
Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Medical-Marijuana-sign.jpg
​
Although California's Attorney General and judges have recently been loosening the legal reins on medical Marijuana users, the debate over whether dispensaries have a place in our cities remains a hot-button issue around the state.

This is particularly true in Los Angeles, but also in Hayward -- our neighbor across the Bay. At 7 p.m. the Hayward City Council will vote on a moratorium that would prohibit dispensaries from opening or operating in the city for approximately six to nine months.

In theory, the moratorium would allow the city to study and develop potential regulations, which could eventually make Hayward a more dispensary-friendly place. But would-be dispensary owners and advocates say that in a place like Hayward, where dispensaries have a checkered history and a hostile mayor, a moratorium doesn't bode well.
More >>

Tags:

Hayward, medical marijuana dispensaries, moratorium
Write Comment Email to Friend
Chronic City

Chronic City: It's Obvious -- State Medical Association Says Pot Prohibition Is 'Failed Public Health Policy'

By Steve Elliott Thu., Nov. 19 2009 at 12:59 PM
Categories: Chronic City, Health
Thumbnail image for stop_Marijuana_arrests.jpg
The November Coalition
Drug War protester at Huntington Beach, Calif.
​In a laudable nod to the obvious, members of the California Medical Association's (CMA) House of Delegates have endorsed a resolution stating that the criminal prohibition of Marijuana is a "failed public health policy."

As enacted, Resolution 704a-09, the "Criminalization of Marijuana" states: "[The] CMA considers the criminalization of Marijuana to be a failed public health policy, ... and encourage[s] ... debate and education regarding the health aspects of changing current policy regarding cannabis use." [PDF] The CMA has more than 35,000 members statewide.

A report just published in the British Columbia Mental Health and Addictions Journal highlights another good reason to question Marijuana prohibition: Health-related "social costs" per user are eight times higher for alcohol users than for those who use Marijuana, and more than 40 times higher for tobacco smokers.

More >>

Tags:

chronic city, medical marijuana
Write Comment Email to Friend
Chronic City

Chronic City: L.A. District Attorney Says City Councils Have 'No Authority' Over Medical Pot

By Steve Elliott Wed., Nov. 18 2009 at 11:59 AM
Categories: Chronic City, Government, Health
t09-27-249x223.jpg
Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office
D.A. Steve Cooley (left) and City Attorney Carmen Trutanich: They'll keep busting dispensaries no matter what the City Council says!
​
It was a petulant fit of pique, certainly entertaining, and potentially hilarious -- if safe access for so many medical Marijuana patients weren't hanging in the balance.

After things didn't go his way at Monday's Los Angeles City Council joint committee meeting, District Attorney Steve Cooley pronounced Tuesday that he'd keep prosecuting medical Marijuana dispensaries, even if the council adopts an ordinance that doesn't ban sales. Cooley said his office was already prosecuting some dispensaries, and he promised to step up such efforts in December.

The D.A.'s public meltdown was a result of his frustration that the council ignored the advice of L.A. City Attorney Carmen Trutanich and changed a provision in L.A.'s proposed medical Marijuana ordinance, allowing cash transactions as long as they complied with state law.

"The City Council has no authority to amend state law or Prop. 215. Such authority is solely possessed by California voters," Cooley said. "What the City Council is doing is beyond meaningless and irrelevant."

More >>

Tags:

chronic city, medical marijuana
Write Comment Email to Friend
Chronic City

Chronic City: L.A. Panels Reject Ban On Medical Marijuana Sales

By Steve Elliott Tue., Nov. 17 2009 at 5:30 AM
Categories: Chronic City, Government, Health
800px-DEA_Raid_protest.jpg
Photo by Shay Sowden, Wikimedia Commons
L.A.'s dispensaries remain open, for now.
​
Ignoring the advice of anti-pot City Attorney Carmen Trutanich, two Los Angeles City Council committees yesterday rejected a proposed ban on sales of medical Marijuana.

​Anti-pot zealots within L.A. city government had coordinated an 18-month assault on the dispensaries, with headline-grabbing pronouncements from media hogs Trutanich and Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley dominating coverage of the issue in recent weeks.

Both Trutanich and Cooley have been widely quoted in the press as claiming that most of the dispensaries are operating in violation of state law. Cooley's recent declaration that "approximately zero" of the dispensaries were operating legally sent chills and outrage through the medical Marijuana community, seeming to echo San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis' statement that there are "no such things" as legal dispensaries.

More >>

Tags:

chronic city, medical marijuana
Write Comment Email to Friend
Chronic City

Chronic City: Pot Dispensaries Appeal Order To Turn Over Client Names

By Steve Elliott Fri., Nov. 13 2009 at 3:59 PM
Categories: Chronic City, Health, Law & Order
Big_Brother_Logo.png
Photo by LiveBloid, Wikimedia Commons
Watching you?
​
Five medical Marijuana dispensaries in Dana Point are appealing an Orange County Superior Court ruling ordering them to turn over records -- including client lists -- to the city as part of an investigation into dispensary operations.

"I think everyone kind of had the same idea about appealing the order for the reason of protecting third-party names and some of the privileged items that we believe shouldn't be disclosed," attorney Lee Petros, representing the Point Alternative Care dispensary, told the Orange County Register.

All five pot dispensaries in Dana Point must hand over their records to the city by Dec. 7, according to a ruling by Judge Glenda Sanders. Sanders also ordered the disclosure of member names to be limited to city attorneys, a financial consultant retained for advice in the investigation, and the assistant city manager, "who will oversee and assist the consultant in his analysis," according to the Register.

More >>

Tags:

chronic city, medical marijuana
Write Comment Email to Friend
Chronic City

Chronic City: American Medical Association Reverses Position, Calls For Review of Medical Pot

By Steve Elliott Tue., Nov. 10 2009 at 10:30 AM
Categories: Chronic City, Health, Law & Order
782px-Medicinal_Marijuana (crop).jpg
Photo by Coaster 420, Wikimedia Commons
Coming to a dispensary near you
​
For years, one of the main arrows in the quiver of anti-pot zealots in arguing against medical Marijuana (along with the federal pot prohibition, recently blunted by the Obama Administration) has been "But the American Medical Association says pot has no medical value." As of today, that's no longer true.

In a move considered historic by supporters of medical Marijuana, the AMA voted today to reverse its long-held position that Marijuana should continue to be classified under federal law as a Schedule I substance with no medical value. The organization, which is the largest physician-based group in the United States, adopted a report, "Use of Cannabis for Medicinal Purposes," drafted by the AMA Council on Science and Public Health (CSAPH), which affirms the therapeutic benefits of medical Marijuana and calls for further research.

The CSAPH report concludes that "short term controlled trials indicate that smoked cannabis reduces neuropathic pain, improves appetite and caloric intake especially in patients with reduced muscle mass, and may relieve spasticity and pain in patients with multiple sclerosis."

More >>

Tags:

chronic city, medical marijuana
Write Comment Email to Friend
Chronic City

Chronic City: Academic Study Shows Marijuana Arrests Have No Impact On Usage Rates

By Steve Elliott Thu., Nov. 5 2009 at 10:01 AM
Categories: Chronic City, Crime, Law & Order
Marijuana-arrest_350.jpg
​
The most extensive study yet undertaken on U.S. Marijuana arrests and penalties, released today, finds no relationship between Marijuana arrest and use rates. The report further finds that current penalty structures act as a price support mechanism that boosts the illegal market.

Assembled by Jon Gettman, adjunct assistant professor in criminal justice at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Va., the new report claims:

• Marijuana arrests have almost doubled since 1991 -- but levels of Marijuana use have remained fundamentally unchanged

• Penalties that increase for larger amounts of Marijuana encourage consumers to make multiple small purchases, acting as a de facto price support for the illicit market

• Florida has the nation's harshest Marijuana penalties, while the District of Columbia has the highest arrest rate for Marijuana offenses

• Although African Americans use Marijuana at a rate only about 25 percent higher than whites, blacks are almost three times as likely to be arrested for Marijuana possession as whites

·• California Marijuana arrests have risen much faster than the national figure since 2003.

• Despite rising arrests and plant seizures, California had more Marijuana users in 2007 than 2003.

• In California, decriminalization of Marijuana possession saved taxpayers $857 million in 2006 (details in the California state report [PDF]).

More >>

Tags:

chronic city, Jon Gettman, marijuana, medical marijuana
Write Comment Email to Friend
Chronic City

Chronic City: N. California's Top Federal Prosecutor -- 'Really Not A Change At All' In Medical Pot Enforcement

By Steve Elliott Tue., Nov. 3 2009 at 10:59 AM
Categories: Chronic City, Health, Law & Order
rulesguidelines.jpg
​Ah, "guidelines." They're a little more lax than "rules," which are a little looser than "laws." When it comes to guidelines, that's their strength -- and that's their weakness. Whereas laws and rules are "broken," guidelines can simply be "ignored."

That truism is abundantly illustrated by this week's statements from George W. Bush appointee Joseph Russoniello, federal prosecutor for the northern district of California. "I think it's unfortunate that people have for some reason picked up on this as a change in policy," Russoniello told Mission Local, "because it's really not a change at all."

When asked if federal officials will halt investigation, prosecution, and Drug Enforcement Agency raids of medical Marijuana operations in California, Russoniello replied, "The short answer is no."

More >>

Tags:

chronic city, medical marijuana
Write Comment Email to Friend
Chronic City

Chronic City: Poll Reveals San Diegans Want To Regulate Marijuana Dispensaries, Not Eliminate Them

By Steve Elliott Thu., Oct. 29 2009 at 12:30 PM
Categories: Chronic City, Health, Law & Order
800px-Purple_Goo.jpg
Photo: Coaster420, Wikimedia Commons
Medical Marijuana: Legal as long as you don't actually buy it anywhere?
​It's a classic case of disconnect between public policy and public opinion. As District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis continues with her medical Marijuana dispensary crackdown in San Diego, a new poll indicates that a hefty majority of city residents favor leaving the pot shops open and regulating them.

About 77 percent of San Diego's adult residents agree that the city has an obligation to ensure convenient access to medical Marijuana and 69 percent say the drug should be treated like any other prescription drug.

Only 9 percent want to completely ban the dispensaries.

Dumanis received heavy publicity for saying there are "no such things" as legal Marijuana dispensaries, despite state law. A voter initiative, Prop 215, legalized medical Marijuana in California in 1996, and SB 420 clarified and expanded the law in 2003.

More >>

Tags:

chronic city, medical marijuana
Write Comment Email to Friend
VOICE Daily Deals
Sign up for free stuff, news info & more!

Slideshows»

Tools

Retail

Health & Beauty

More >>
About Us | Work for SF Weekly | Esubscribe | Free Classifieds | Advertising | Privacy Policy | Problem With the Site? | RSS | Site Map
© 2012 SF Weekly, LP. All rights reserved.