Dispensaries

On August 1^st two more medical marijuana dispensaries in San Francisco, California will shut down, which means there will be less dispensaries in the city than there was 10 years ago.

Vapor Room and HopeNet both have to close down by the end of the month, as their landlords received letters from U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag in April threatening them with jail time if they didn’t throw the dispensaries out.

While the Vapor Room hasn’t said yet what they plan to do, the folks at HopeNet are planning on going delivery-only on August 1^st.

San Francisco began licensing and regulating medical cannabis dispensaries in 2005, after CA SB 420 passed in 2003, allowing storefront dispensaries in the state.

At that time (2005) there were over 40 dispensaries operating in the city, but city regulations and now the federal crackdown has reduced that number to less than 20.

Coming on the heels of the federal threats against Harborside Health Center in Oakland and San Jose, these new closures further decimate the already shrinking medical marijuana access in the bay area.

Which means patients are being affected. And since the federal government says they are not going after patients, something is off. Are we being lied to?

Would anyone be surprised if we were being lied to? Would anyone be surprised if those in power didn’t care how many patients were hurt?

Let’s say there is a thriving retirement community and there is only one pharmacy within 5 miles. Then suddenly that pharmacy is forced to close. What happens to those who frequented this pharmacy?

Their medicine supply is restricted. Under what circumstances besides great scarcity is it okay to restrict the medical supply?

Medical marijuana is not scarce. Common sense and compassion however, are in short supply.

Source: http://blogs.sfweekly.com

In November voters in Kalamazoo, Michigan will have the chance to decide whether or not 3 medical cannabis dispensaries open in their city. This is according to City Attorney Clyde Robinson, who said a measure filed last August by the Kalamazoo Coalition for Compassionate Care will be decided on by voters this fall.

"At this point there's a significant legal cloud over medical marijuana," Robinson said.

While the proposal was filed last year, an error in the City Clerk’s office caused some of the signatures to be counted. By the time the error was found and rectified, it was too late for the measure to be on the 2011 ballot. The measure needed to get 2,567 signatures to qualify.

The question the voters in the city will see this fall will say, "Shall the Kalamazoo City Charter be amended such that three (3) medical cannabis dispensaries are permitted within the city limits?"

"Simply put,” said City Attorney Robinson, “the proposed charter language violates existing federal law which outlaws marijuana/cannabis as a Schedule I controlled substance and violates the provisions of the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act and Michigan Public Health Code regarding the sale, possession, transfer, use, or cultivation of marijuana." But, he added, "the legal requirements of getting on the ballot were satisfied."

So one has to wonder if the measure does pass, will it will be enforced or challenged by the City Attorney? And where will that leave patients in Kalamazoo who have restricted access to their medicine?

But, as they say, first things first. Voters in Kalamazoo will have a chance to allow these dispensaries, then it will be up to the City Attorney to challenge a voter-approved law. Will he really go out of his way to challenge three new businesses in his city and the jobs that come with them?

Source: http://www.mlive.com

On Monday a three-justice panel of the 2nd District Court of Appeal in California upheld the legality of medical marijuana dispensaries and rejected bans imposed by municipalities on dispensaries.

The ruling reverses a preliminary injunction granted to the county by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ann Jones in May 2011.  

"Los Angeles County's total, per se nuisance ban against medical marijuana dispensaries directly contradicts the legislature's intent," Justice Robert Mallano wrote in the 19-page unanimous decision.

This ruling, unless overturned by the California Supreme Court, has major implications for medical marijuana patients all over the state. It upholds safe access for those who do not rely solely on growing their own.

"The court of appeal could not have been clearer in expressing that medical marijuana dispensaries are legal under state law, and that municipalities have no right to ban them," said Joe Elford, Chief Counsel of the medical marijuana advocacy group Americans for Safe Access. "This landmark decision should have a considerable impact on how the California Supreme Court rules in the various dispensary cases it's currently reviewing."

The ruling also presents a major roadblock in the way of plans to ban dispensaries in the city of Los Angeles, something that affects tens of thousands of patients. On July 24th, the city of Los Angeles is scheduled to vote on a dispensary ban similar to the one enacted by the County; the one just rejected by the court.

The court’s decision will have a major impact on the way officials and politicians in California address the issue of medical marijuana dispensaries, and they will be thinking of other ways to solve whatever “problems” they see with them with something other than outright bans.

The feds continue their crackdown in the CA, but momentum seems to be shifting on a state level back to patients.

Source: http://glendora.patch.com

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The Long Beach Police Department is investigating claims that its officers used excessive force during a raid of a medical marijuana dispensary.