Drug War Chronicle, Issue #549 -- 8/29/08
Phillip S. Smith, Editor, http://stopthedrugwar.org/user/psmith
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/549

A Publication of StoptheDrugWar.org
David Borden, Executive Director,
http://stopthedrugwar.org/user/borden
"News and Activism Supporting Sensible Reform"

Offer: Unique and Important New Book on Medical Marijuana:
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/549/dying_to_get_high_membership_offer

Table of Contents:

1. FEATURE: CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL ISSUES MEDICAL MARIJUANA
GUIDELINES -- MOSTLY GOOD BUT SOME PROBLEMS, SAY ADVOCATES
After more than a decade of conflict and confusion over
California's medical marijuana laws, state Attorney General
Jerry Brown Monday issued a series of guidelines for patients,
providers, and police designed to specify just what is and is
not allowable under the law.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/549/california_medical_marijuana_guidelines

2. FEATURE: AFGHAN OPIUM PRODUCTION DECLINES SLIGHTLY FROM
RECORD LEVELS
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime reported this week that Afghan
opium production has decreased slightly this year. While the
West praised the findings, independent observers were much less
sanguine.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/549/afghanistan_UNODC_opium_production_down

3. OFFER: UNIQUE AND IMPORTANT NEW BOOK ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA
"Dying to Get High," by sociologists Wendy Chapkis and Richard
Webb, is a groundbreaking work that provides an in-depth
portrait of one of the country's most well-known medical
marijuana collectives.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/549/dying_to_get_high_membership_offer

4. STUDENTS: INTERN AT DRCNET AND HELP STOP THE DRUG WAR!
Apply for an internship at DRCNet for this fall (or spring), and
you could spend the semester fighting the good fight!
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/549/drcnet_internships_to_stop_the_drug_war

5. LAW ENFORCEMENT: THIS WEEK'S CORRUPT COPS STORIES
A key Coast Guard anti-drug fighter gets caught doing cocaine,
plus the usual array of miscreants in blue.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/549/police_drug_corruption

6. MEDICAL MARIJUANA: WASHINGTON STATE FIGHT OVER ALLOWABLE
QUANTITIES CONTINUES
Washington voters approved medical marijuana a decade ago, but
confusion over what constitutes an allowable quantity of
medicine and plants continues. Now, the state health department
is trying to set rules, and patients aren't happy with what it's
proposing.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/549/washington_state_medical_marijuana_limit...

7. HARM REDUCTION: FUNDS BEGIN TO FLOW TO DC NEEDLE EXCHANGE
PROGRAMS
For a decade, Congress has barred the city of Washington, DC,
from spending money to fund needle exchange programs in an
effort to slow the spread of HIV/AIDS. That ban was lifted
earlier this year, and now the money is beginning to flow.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/549/needle_exchange_funds_DC

8. LAW ENFORCEMENT: LEAP BARRED FROM ASIAN-AMERICAN COPS MEETING
IN VIRGINIA
Somebody at the National Asian Peace Officers Association
conference this week didn't want their members to hear from
anti-prohibitionist cops. LEAP wants to know who and why.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/549/LEAP_barred_from_asian_cops_meeting

9. EUROPE: SCOTTISH HEROIN CRACKDOWN SPARKS VIOLENT CRIME
INCREASE
Police in Scotland engineered a crackdown on heroin in Dundee,
only to find they had created a crime wave.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/549/scottish_heroin_crackdown_violent_crime_...

10. DEATH PENALTY: MORE EXECUTIONS IN IRAN, SAUDI ARABIA
This month, Iran has once again led the way in executing drug
offenders.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/549/death_penalty_iran_saudi_arabia

11. AUSTRALIA: STRONG SUPPORT FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA, NEEDLE
EXCHANGE PROGRAMS, NATIONAL SURVEY FINDS
Australians showed strong support for medical marijuana and harm
reduction measures in a national survey. Marijuana legalization?
Not so much, at least not yet.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/549/australia_survey_medical_marijuana_harm_...

12. WEEKLY: THIS WEEK IN HISTORY
Events and quotes of note from this week's drug policy events of
years past.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/549/drug_war_history

13. WEEKLY: BLOGGING @ THE SPEAKEASY
"How Much More Public Support Does Medical Marijuana Really
Need?," "New Medical Marijuana Regulations Are a Good Thing,"
"Police Cannot Identify Good Marijuana," "'Extremely Small
Amount' of Marijuana Causes Panic Throughout Massachusetts,"
"California Attorney General Tells Police to Uphold Medical
Marijuana Laws," "Biden is a 'Moderate' on Crime Issues?," "Joe
Biden's Awful Record on Drug Policy."
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/549/blogging_at_the_speakeasy

14. FEEDBACK: DO YOU READ DRUG WAR CHRONICLE?
Do you read Drug War Chronicle? If so, we need your feedback to
evaluate our work and make the case for Drug War Chronicle to
funders. We need donations too.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/549/do_you_read_drug_war_chronicle

15. WEBMASTERS: HELP THE MOVEMENT BY RUNNING DRCNET SYNDICATION
FEEDS ON YOUR WEB SITE!
Support the cause by featuring automatically-updating Drug War
Chronicle and other DRCNet content links on your web site!
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/549/drug_policy_content_syndication_feeds_no...

16. RESOURCE: DRCNET WEB SITE OFFERS WIDE ARRAY OF RSS FEEDS FOR
YOUR READER
A new way for you to receive DRCNet articles -- Drug War
Chronicle and more -- is now available.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/549/drug_policy_RSS_feeds_now_available

17. RESOURCE: REFORMER'S CALENDAR ACCESSIBLE THROUGH DRCNET WEB
SITE
Visit our new web site each day to see a running countdown to
the events coming up the soonest, and more.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/549/drug_reform_calendar

(Not subscribed? Visit http://stopthedrugwar.org to sign up
today!)

================

1. Feature: California Attorney General Issues Medical Marijuana
Guidelines -- Mostly Good But Some Problems, Say Advocates
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/549/california_medical_marijuana_guidelines

After more than a decade of roiling confusion over what
California's groundbreaking medical marijuana law and subsequent
enabling legislation do and do not allow, state Attorney General
Jerry Brown sought to clarify matters Monday by issuing a
long-awaited set of guidelines
(http://ag.ca.gov/cms_attachments/press/pdfs/n1601_medicalmarijuanaguidelines.pdf)
for patients, providers, and law enforcement. In addition to
clarifying what is permissible under state law, Brown also hoped
to damp down the ongoing conflict between state and federal
authorities over medical marijuana in California.

Under the guidelines, medical marijuana dispensaries must
operate as not-for-profit collectives or cooperatives, and are
prohibited from buying marijuana from growers who are not
themselves patients or registered caregivers. The only fees
dispensaries can collect are those covering overhead and
operating expenses.

The guidelines strongly urge patients to obtain state medical
marijuana ID cards and advise police to accept such cards as
proof of legitimate medical need. The guidelines also call on
police to return seized marijuana to patients who are later
proved to be legitimate. They prohibit medical marijuana
patients from lighting up near schools and recreation centers or
at work, unless employers approve.

Affirming that California's medical marijuana law is not
preempted by federal law, the guidelines further direct "state
and local law enforcement officers [to] not arrest individuals
or seize marijuana under federal law" when an individual's
conduct is legal under state law.

But while providing protections to patients and non-profit
dispensaries organized as co-ops or collectives, the guidelines
could provide a green light for law enforcement to go after the
store-front dispensaries that have sprung up like mushrooms in
some areas of the state. In ballyhooing a Friday raid against a
Northridge dispensary by California Bureau of Narcotics Agents,
Brown signaled Monday that a crackdown could be looming.

Accusing the Today's Healthcare dispensary and its operators of
criminal behavior by operating a profitable business, Brown went
on the offensive. "This criminal enterprise bears no resemblance
to the purposes of Proposition 215, which authorized the use of
medical marijuana for seriously sick patients," he said.
"Today's Healthcare is a large-scale, for-profit, commercial
business. This deceptively named drug ring is reaping huge
profits and flaunting the state's laws that allow qualified
patients to use marijuana for medicinal purposes."

California law enforcement pronounced itself pleased with the
guidelines. Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer, president of the
California Police Chiefs Association, praised Brown for
promulgating them. "Since Proposition 215 was passed, the laws
surrounding the use, possession and distribution of medical
marijuana became confusing at best. These newly established
guidelines are an essential tool for law enforcement and provide
the parameters needed for consistent statewide regulation and
enforcement."

Despite the apparent threat to non-compliant dispensaries and
their suppliers, most medical marijuana advocates also
pronounced themselves generally satisfied with the guidelines.
The medical marijuana defense group Americans for Safe Access
(http://www.safeaccessnow.org) has been working with Attorney
General Brown and his predecessor, Bill Lockyer, for several
years in an effort to see guidelines promulgated. ASA spokesman
Kris Hermes said this week that while the guidelines are not
perfect, they are a step in the right direction.

"We've been urging them to come out with an official statement
that can direct law enforcement and stop what has been rampant
disrespect for state law in some areas," he said. "From that
perspective, the guidelines are a huge step forward. They
provide a blueprint for local law enforcement to develop
sensible policies around patient encounters, and they recognize
the validity and law-abiding nature of medical marijuana
dispensaries in California. That's huge," said Hermes. "These
guidelines are a boon for patients, police, and everyone else in
the state and will greatly advance the implementation of state
law."

"Given the vagueness of the initiative and the statutes, the
guidelines are pretty good," said Bruce Mirken, San
Francisco-based communications director for the Marijuana Policy
Project (http://www.mpp.org). "They establish parameters within
which the distribution of medical marijuana is to be treated as
legitimate and legal. That's important because some prosecutors
have been adamant that there is no legal authority for
dispensaries -- period. This cuts the legs out from under them,"
he said.

"They were about what we expected," said Dale Gieringer, head of
California NORML (http://www.canorml.org). "Most of the
guidelines are consistent with what our attorneys have been
saying and advising their clients to do all along. There are a
few problem areas, but these guidelines will help fill the
vacuum."

One problem Gieringer pointed out was that the guidelines say
dispensaries may possess and distribute only lawfully cultivated
marijuana, and that they cannot purchase from or sell to
non-members. "There is nothing in either federal or state law
against purchasing marijuana, so we don't see any legal basis
for saying it's illegal to buy from outside vendors," he said.

Another potential problem is that the guidelines say that co-ops
and collectives should document their activities and record the
source of the marijuana they purchase, Gieringer said. "That is
going to be problematic until we have some assurance of
protection from being arrested by the DEA, and we don't want to
see the cops come in and seize the records, and then bust the
growers."

"While there is much about the guidelines that is positive, we
also have some worries about some of the dispensary language,"
Mirken said. "Requiring dispensaries to be non-profit is just
silly. Is Jerry Brown going to demand that Walgreen's and
Riteaid become charities, too? If society thinks private
enterprise and the profit motive are a logical way to distribute
goods and services, why not medical marijuana?"

Still, said Mirken, the guidelines are a step in the right
direction. "Given that we have all these issues here in
California, anything that moves us in the direction of an
orderly system with some legal clarity is a good thing. When you
have local authorities who just don't like medical marijuana and
are looking for an excuse to bust people, which some of them
have been doing all along, this is going to provide protection."

But at least one Bay Area dispensary operator was not so
impressed. "Let's see how it all plays out," said Richard Lee,
proprietor of Oakland's Bulldog Coffee Shop and SR-71 dispensary
and key promoter of the Oaksterdam scene. "Hopefully, it will
help people in more repressed redneck areas and not hurt people
in more progressive areas like Oakland and San Francisco."

Although Brown's guidelines call for dispensaries to be
organized as co-ops or collectives, Lee has not incorporated in
that manner and has no plans to. "We've been here eight years,"
he said. "We were here before they even passed SB 420. Oakland
has a system that allows reasonable profits; it's set up for the
clubs to run like any other business, and we are fine with that.
Does Jerry Brown really want to come in and mess with Oakland's
system that works?"

While the guidelines could result in a temporary decrease in the
number of dispensaries as non-compliant ones either close their
doors or have them closed for them by law enforcement, the end
result will most likely be more dispensaries opening in areas of
that state that are currently underserved because of local law
enforcement or official hostility.

"I'm not too worried about a short term decrease in the
dispensaries if it brings a little more rigor," said Gieringer.
"Things have been fast and loose, and we have some rogue
operators who wouldn't normally be operating in a legal market.
We will lose some of those people, which could result in a short
term decrease in availability, but in the medium term, this
should be balanced out by the increase in availability in
currently underserved areas."

While not everyone is happy with all aspects of the guidelines,
the state of California has now taken a big step toward
legitimizing its medical marijuana industry, reducing the
confusion surrounding the state's medical marijuana law, and
sending a strong signal to the DEA that it intends to police
itself.

================
The fruit of drug prohibition in the USA and Mexico is bitter and
sets the teeth on edge as the practitioners of Anslinger's law move down
the path of totalitarianism.

And removing cannabis from the status of illegal drug
is something that would save immense amounts of money for the
American taxpayer which is good thing in this period of severe
inflationary pressures.

<http://www.briancbennett.com/charts/fed-data/costs/costs05.htm>
___________________
It's time to correct the mistake:
truth:the Anti-drugwar
<http://www.briancbennett.com>

Cops say legalize drugs--find out why:
<http://www.leap.cc>

Stoners are people too:
<http://www.cannabisconsumers.org>
___________________

later
bliss -- C O C O A Powered... (at california dot com)

--
bobbie sellers - a retired nurse in San Francisco

"It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.
It is by the beans of cocoa that the thoughts acquire speed,
the thighs acquire girth, the girth become a warning.
It is by theobromine alone I set my mind in motion."