California

States that legalized medical marijuana saw fewer traffic deaths: study

Posted on December 31st, 2011 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , , , .

medical marijuanaA new study postulates a link between states with legalized medical marijuana and a reduction in traffic-related fatalities. The study was conducted by D. Mark Anderson, a Montana State University economics professor, and Daniel Rees, of the University of Colorado Denver. In looking at state-level data from sources such as the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, Anderson and Rees found that states with medical marijuana laws saw an average 9% decrease in traffic deaths. "We were pretty surprised that they went down," Rees told the Denver Post.

San Diego ballot initiative to save dispensaries

Posted on December 28th, 2011 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , , .

CaliforniaMedical marijuana advocates in San Diego have unveiled a proposed ballot measure to end the current municipal crackdown on dispensaries. The proposed initiative would set a 2.5% sales tax for the storefront dispensaries and prohibit them within 600 feet of schools and playgrounds, as well as laying out security and inspection requirements. "Our intent is to bring back safe access to medical cannabis for qualified patients," said Jessica McElfresh of the Patient Care Association of California, which helped draft the proposal. "Voters have almost always overwhelmingly supported medical marijuana responsible regulation." Proponents need to collect about 62,000 voter signatures to qualify the measure for the 2012 November ballot.

California AG seeks clarity on medical marijuana law

Posted on December 25th, 2011 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , .

medical marijuanaCalifornia Attorney General Kamala Harris urged state lawmakers in a Dec. 21 letter to clarify the Golden State's 1996 medical marijuana law, saying numerous holes in the statute have left law enforcement and legitimate patients in a state of uncertainty. In the letter to state legislature leaders, Harris said lawmakers need to make clear if the hundreds of storefront dispensaries and delivery services that sell cannabis—ostensibly for medical use—are legal, or if the only legal means of procuring the herb are patient collectives in which all members jointly grow their own supply.

California cannabis campaigners prepare ballot measure

Posted on December 21st, 2011 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , , .

CaliforniaA coalition of cannabis advocates led by Americans for Safe Access and the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) has proposed a 2012  California ballot initiative that would create a Board of Medical Marijuana Enforcement to oversee a statewide system for licensing, regulating and taxing the industry.

Another Marin dispensary prepares to close doors

Posted on December 18th, 2011 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , .

CaliforniaThe Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana in Fairfax officially closes this weekend in the face of federal threats to the dispensary's landlord. Additionally, the Marin Independent Journal reports Dec. 16 that one and possibly two more of Marin County's six dispensaries will be following suit. The Marin Wellness Center in Kentfield, also will cease operations by Jan. 1. Scot Candell, a San Rafael lawyer who represents the center, said its landlord had likewise received a threatening letter from federal prosecutors.

Long Beach dispensary ban dodged —for now

Posted on December 16th, 2011 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , .

CaliforniaLate on the night of Dec. 13, the Long Beach City Council deadlocked on a motion to ban medical marijuana collectives in the city—a measure backed by both the city attorney and police department. The vote—split 4-to-4—was quickly followed by a second vote to delay another such vote until January. The vote followed some three hours of public comments—from medical marijuana patients and activists, lawyers and lobbyists, to local business owners and residents who claimed dispensaries were selling pot to "kids on bikes." One of the patients who spoke, Mark Lee—who has no legs and is wheelchair bound—urged the council not to ban the dispensaries because it would force him to obtain his medicine on the street.

Prosecute banksters, not pot dispensers!

Posted on December 10th, 2011 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , , , , .

Shadow WatchA petition online at Roots Action unites the demands of the Occupy Wall Street movement with those of the medical marijuana movement. We are glad that some people are getting the big picture!

California's oldest dispensary prepares to close doors

Posted on December 5th, 2011 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , .

CaliforniaThe Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana in Fairfax—California's oldest cannabis dispensary—is preparing to close its doors  following a Dec. 2 ruling by Marin County Superior Court Judge Roy Chernus, who refused to stop the club's pending eviction. Chernus found that the dispensary's lease requires compliance with federal law, which forbids selling cannabis. MAMM founder Lynnette Shaw told Global Ganja Report by e-mail Dec. 5: "We are moving ourselves shortly to an unspecified location for storage. Maybe even today. Sigh..."

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