Court to decide on legality of “sales” & whether dispensary operators are entitled to a defense San Diego, CA — Medical marijuana patient advocacy group Americans for Safe Access (ASA) today appealed the September 2010 conviction of San Diego dispensary operator Jovan Jackson in a case that has received widespread attention. The case...

On October 7, 2011, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a crackdown on medical cannabis patients’ cooperatives, collectives, gardens, and others. The scope of the crackdown is shocking. Federal officials and agencies are threatening providers, growers, and property owners. They are seeking to intimidate elected officials, financial service providers,...

Nov 5, 2011

Will Bonnie Dumanis walk her talk on marijuana? Guest post by Alex Kreit on Two Cathedrals As you may have seen, Bonnie Dumanis issued a statement Wednesday “clarifying [her] position on medical marijuana.” The statement articulates a reasonable — even admirable — position that seems designed to appeal to the moderate voters she’s trying to court. In...

Lawsuit uses 10th amendment to challenge federal overreaching and commandeering of state law San Francisco, CA — Americans for Safe Access (ASA), the country’s largest medical marijuana advocacy organization, filed suit in federal court today challenging the Obama Administration’s attempt to subvert local and state medical marijuana laws in...

Sep 9, 2011

By: Eugene Davidovich The month of September has eternally been etched into memories of medical marijuana patients in San Diego. September 9th, marks the second anniversary of District Attorney (DA) Bonnie Dumanis’ Operation Green Rx raids; the largest one day swat style assault against medical marijuana access in San Diego County’s history. In the early...

Aug 23, 2011

The Oceanside City Council had ample opportunity to develop reasonable regulations for medical marijuana patients in Oceanside during their two year moratorium on this issue. Instead, the City Council let the moratorium expire, and have launched an all out assault/eradication effort on the existing facilities through lawsuits, injunctions and threats. The City...

Aug 14, 2011

By: Eugene Davidovich, San Diego Americans for Safe Access. August 14, 2011 Patients stand up in the face of threats, violence, and intimidation by Chula Vista Police Department during an illegal attempt to search Green Power medical marijuana collective in South San Diego. Chula Vista – On July 12, at 10:45pm the Chula Vista City Council adopted an outright...

Jul 31, 2011

By Terrie Best, San Diego Americans for Safe Access With San Diego Americans for Safe Access (SDASA) board members and other patient advocates behind him, Benjamin Gasper was in court again on Thursday of last week, this time for a 995 motion hearing before Judge Howard Shore, a notoriously anti-medical marijuana Judge who happened to be filling in that day for...

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...

Jul 6, 2011

By: Marcus Boyd, Vice Chair San Diego Americans for Safe Access Medical cannabis patients, supporters and advocates in the City of Imperial Beach (IB) are urged to be prepared. Additional law enforcement action against legitimate patients brought about by the IB City Council is imminent. Now is the time to stand up against the City Council’s attempt to...

Patients, Activists, and Friends– 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...

Justice Department policy “clarification” pushes legal patients into unregulated, illicit markets Washington, DC — Deputy U.S. Attorney General James Cole issued a controversial memorandum Wednesday in an apparent attempt to clarify federal policy with regard to medical marijuana. Calling marijuana “a dangerous drug,” Cole’s...

Jun 30, 2011

By: Don Duncan, Americans for Safe Access In a move that impacts hundreds of thousands of medical cannabis patients nationwide, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) sent a chilling message tonight to state and local officials who are seeking to implement medical cannabis laws and to those trying to provide legal medicine: You may be prosecuted. In a memo to US...

Jun 28, 2011

By: Terrie Best, San Diego Americans for Safe Access Monday, June 27, 2011 in San Diego Superior Court, the faulty search warrant obtained by a misleading affidavit was upheld in the medical cannabis case of Jason and Sarine Gastrich. All morning, Deputy DA Ramin Tohidi and attorneys for the defense argued the legitimacy of the warrant which led to felony...

Jun 23, 2011

By: Terrie Best and Eugene Davidovich Co-defendants Jason and Sarine Gastrich, recent victims of Bonnie Dumanis’ fierce fight to eradicate medical marijuana in San Diego, were in court this week for their preliminary examination in Judge Hanoian’s courtroom. On the prosecution side was Deputy DA Ramin Tohidi and for the defense on behalf of Sarine was Public...