Boca man credits medical marijuana for his health

Palm Beach, FL Nov 21, 2006 -- On Monday, Irvin Rosenfeld started his 25th year of smoking nearly a dozen joints a day. Getting busted is the least of his problems.

His more [>>>]

Redding, CA Nov 21, 2006 -- Bruce Mirken says he has a simple solution to the pot garden problem in the north state.

Legalize it [>>>]

Oakland, CA Nov 20, 2006 --Longtime advocate and activist, Dr. Mike Alcalay died Saturday in Oakland California. He was the medical director of the Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative - a free medical marijuana clinic under Proposition 215. Prop. 215 legalizes medical marijuana in California.

Dr. Alcalay [>>>]

Claremont, CA Nov 17, 2006 -- If it were up to Darrell Kruse, anyone who wanted to consume or cultivate marijuana should be able to - for medical reasons, of course.

"There are [>>>]

San Luis Obispo, CA Nov 17, 2006 -- San Luis Obispo County's qualified medical marijuana patients and caregivers will pay $78 for a medical marijuana identification card if they choose to sign up for the state-mandated program.

With a [>>>]

San Diego, CA Nov 16, 2006 -- A state judge on Thursday rejected San Diego County's challenge of California's decade-old law permitting marijuana use for medical purposes.

The ruling [>>>]

San Diego, CA Nov 16, 2006 -- The American Civil Liberties Union, Americans for Safe Access and the Drug Policy Alliance will appear in San Diego Superior Court tomorrow to represent medical marijuana patients and their caregivers and doctors in a lawsuit brought by three California counties seeking to thwart the state’s Compassionate Use Act. The ten-year-old Compassionate Use Act exempts from state criminal penalties the small group of seriously ill patients who use medical marijuana based on a doctor’s recommendation.

A press [>>>]

San Luis Obispo, CA Nov 16, 2006 -- The county has a medical marijuana identification card program, now that the county Board of Supervisors has given its final OK.

A 2003 [>>>]

Susanville, CA Nov 16, 2006 -- Local medical marijuana grower Timothy Ziegler, 47, insists he’s doing nothing wrong by asserting his right to grow and distribute medical marijuana — despite firm resistance from Lassen County’s law enforcement and government communities.

Ziegler claims [>>>]

San Diego, CA Nov 16, 2006 -- San Diego County gets its day in court today in its challenge of California's decade-old law permitting marijuana use for medical purposes.

The county [>>>]

San Francisco, CA Nov 15, 2006 -- Pending the formality of a second reading next Tuesday, San Francisco has joined several cities, most recently Santa Cruz, Santa Monica, and Santa Barbara, all in California, as well as Missoula, Montana, and Eureka Springs, Arkansas, in making marijuana the lowest local law enforcement priority. The ordinance was approved 8-3, with only one neighborhood group in opposition.

Camilla Norman  [>>>]

Livermore, CA Nov 15, 2006 -- City officials are moving forward with plans to permanently ban medical marijuana dispensaries.

An existing [>>>]

Fresno, CA Nov 15, 2006 -- A jury has been selected and opening arguments will begin today in the federal trial of Merced marijuana activist Dustin Costa, but it is unlikely there will be any debate on the hotly disputed issue of the drug's medicinal value.

Before his [>>>]

Newark, CA Nov 14, 2006 -- As it turns out, just saying no isn't so easy when it comes to medical marijuana.

It's a [>>>]

San Francisco, CA Nov 15, 2006 -- San Francisco's Board of Supervisors passed a law that essentially says when it comes to marijuana, the city doesn't much care.

The proposal [>>>]

San Francisco, CA Nov 14, 2006 -- The Board of Supervisors voted today to outlaw the use of Styrofoam and other polystyrene products by city restaurants and to effectively decriminalize the use, sale and cultivation of marijuana by adults.

The food [>>>]

San Francisco, CA Nov 14, 2006 -- San Francisco’s marijuana-friendly reputation could get a boost today if the Board of Supervisors decides to officially make the drug the lowest priority for local law enforcement officials.

Supervisor Tom [>>>]

San Francisco, CA Nov 13, 2006 -- San Francisco's Board of Supervisors will vote Tuesday on legislation that would set nearly all crimes involving marijuana as the lowest law enforcement priority for city police.

The legislation [>>>]

Seattle, WA Nov 13, 2006 -- In her spacious suburban home, Robin DeBow cleans countertops until they gleam, vacuums the carpets to plush perfection and then turns toward her most pressing chore -- tending the large pot plant budding in her sunny front room.

It's a

Pasadena, CA Nov 13, 2006 -- Here, near the 10th anniversary of voter-approved medicinal marijuana in California, the going is rough for purveyors in the San Gabriel Valley. The two latest dispensaries opened and quickly shut down due to county permit violations.

"Medical functions

Chicago, IL Nov 12, 2006 -- The war in Iraq loomed large last week as voters registered their disenchantment during the midterm elections. But lost in all the headlines and nightly news stories about the Republican loss of power were limited status reports on the other American conflict: the War on Weed. In Nevada, an initiative that would have legalized possession of up to an ounce of marijuana for anyone over 21 failed with only a 44 percent yes vote. Las Vegas -- where prostitution and gambling are legal and public intoxication common -- is not quite ready to end the prohibition of pot.

Nonetheless, what  [>>>]

San Diego, CA Nov 12, 2006 -- The people have approved it. Government has struggled with it. And this week, the county of San Diego will mount an attack to overturn it.

It is [>>>]

Oakland, CA Nov 11, 2006 -- The extent to which medical cannabis users discontinue or reduce their use of pharmaceutical and over-the-counter drugs is a recurring theme in a recent survey of pro-cannabis (PC) California doctors. The drug-reduction phenomenon has obvious scientific implications. Medicating with cannabis enables people to lay off stimulants as well as sedatives -suggesting that the herb's active ingredients restore homeostasis to various bodily systems. (Lab studies confirm that cannabinoids normalize the tempo of many other neurotransmission systems.) The political implications are equally obvious. Legalizing herbal cannabis would devastate the pharmaceutical manufacturers and allied corporations in the chemicals, oil, "food," and banking sectors. Put simply, the synthetic drug makers stand to lose half their sales if and when the American people get legal access to cannabis.

In the [>>>]

Santa Cruz, CA Nov 10, 2006 -- Now that growing, selling and using marijuana on private property is essentially allowed in Santa Cruz after the overwhelming support for Measure K this week, police are worried about how to carry out their state-sworn duties and parents and teachers wonder how to explain this one to their children.

"I'm just [>>>]

Washington DC Nov 9, 2006 -- The narrow, 48 percent to 52 percent defeat of South Dakota͇s medical marijuana initiative will not affect steady progress toward nationwide protection for medical marijuana patients, officials of the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) in Washington, D.C. said today. They pointed to other results showing strong support for medical marijuana, polls showing strong support for the 11 existing state medical marijuana laws, a growing consensus in the medical community that marijuana does have therapeutic value, and a new Congress that will be much more receptive to legislation to protect patients.

"For the [>>>]

Reno, NV Nov 9, 2006 -- Backers of a move to legalize small amounts of marijuana in Nevada said they're not bummed out by its defeat at the polls.

If anything [>>>]

Denver, CO Nov 7, 2006 -- Colorado voters snuffed out a ballot measure seeking to legalize possession of up to an ounce of marijuana for those 21 and older, according to a projection by the Rocky Mountain News.

Amendment 44 [>>>]

Sioux Falls, SD Nov 8, 2006 -- A movement to legalize the use of marijuana for medical uses was headed for defeat with partial election results available late Tuesday.

South Dakota's [>>>]

Nov 8, 2006 -- Voters in the cities of Santa Cruz, Santa Monica, and Santa Barbara will have the opportunity to make a statement that it's time to stop wasting law enforcement resources investigating, arresting, and prosecuting adult marijuana users on election day , November 7. Committees in all three cities submitted enough signatures to qualify their lowest law enforcement priority for marijuana offenses initiatives (LLEP) for the ballots, and the city clerks certified the results. The respective city councils had the option to either adopt the measures directly into law or place them on the ballots for the voters to decide. Bound by the duty of their office to uphold the democratic process, all of the councils voted to place the initiatives on the ballot.

Santa Cruz [>>>]

San Francisco, CA Nov 6, 2006 -- An ordinance to put marijuana infractions somewhere below spitting on the sidewalk on San Francisco’s law enforcement priority list is slated for a vote after its language was changed to give police discretion to investigate marijuana offenses that may pose a risk to public safety.

But a [>>>]

San Diego, CA Nov 6, 2006 -- Paul Cody said he harvested his medical marijuana crop early to avoid losing it to another bust. Paul Cody has titanium rods jutting up either side of his spine. Without them, he couldn't sit upright in his wheelchair.

Over the [>>>]

Cool, Ca Nov 5, 2006 --- Dr. Mollie Fry never thought telling her patients where to get the medicine she recommended for pain, depression and nausea would be a problem.

Federal drug [>>>]

Sacramento, CA Nov 5, 2006 -- Ten years after California voters approved Proposition 215, a landmark medical marijuana law, many qualified patients still run a gantlet of federal drug agents and hostile police and prosecutors.

This year [>>>]

Pasadena, CA Nov 5, 2006 -- Claiming that it is operating illegally, officials tried late last week to shut down a recently opened medical marijuana dispensary in an unincorporated county area.

"It is [>>>]

Sioux Falls, SD Nov 4, 2006 -- This Tuesday, South Dakotans will vote whether or not to make marijuana legal in the state for medicinal purposes.

Smoking marijuana [>>>]

Oakland, CA Nov 4, 2006 -- Tod Mikuriya, MD (Berkeley), was the first California doctor to monitor patients' use of cannabis systematically. In the early 1990s his interviews with members of the San Francisco Cannabis Buyers Club documented Dennis Peron's observation that people were self-medicating for an extremely wide range of problems.

The broad [>>>]

San Francisco, CA Nov 4, 2006 -- With pomp and a bit of pot-inspired pageantry, the battle-tested veterans of California's medical marijuana movement will come together this weekend to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Proposition 215, the milestone ballot measure that redefined cannabis as medicine.

Those planning [>>>]

Sioux Falls, SD Nov 4, 2006 -- A medical marijuana ballot issue in South Dakota is being supported by people who want to legalize drugs, a top federal drug official said Friday.

John Walters [>>>]

Los Angeles, CA Nov 3, 2006 -- Got a headache? Do your high-heeled shoes make your feet hurt? What about dry skin? Undercover, with hidden cameras, we found that with a simple complaint and $175 cash, you can get a recommendation for medical marijuana -- making it legal for you to smoke anywhere in California! We expose how simple it is to skirt the law…

This doctor [>>>]

Mbabane, Swaziland Nov 3, 2006 -- Faced with agricultural crisis and an irrepressible and growing marijuana farming sector, the southern African kingdom of Swaziland is now considering the production of another form of cannabis -- hemp. "Swazi Gold," as the locally produced pot is known, is a valuable commodity, fetching up to $5,000 a pound in the European market, and with growers of traditional crops such as cotton and sugar seeing tough times because of falling prices, generations-old, small-scale, traditional marijuana cultivation is being transformed into a major cash crop in the economically staggering nation.

Known in [>>>]

San Francisco, CA Nov 3, 2006 -- A decade ago Californians passed the nation's first medical marijuana law, but the future of that statute is no clearer now than when voters headed to the polls on Nov. 5, 1996.

The federal [>>>]

Toronto, Ontario Nov 3, 2006 -- Medical marijuana is making its mark in mainstream Canadian society. According to a recent national survey commissioned by Cannasat Therapeutics Inc. and conducted by Maritz Research (*),80 per cent of Canadians believe that adults should be allowed to legally use medical marijuana if recommended by a physician. The survey also found that a majority of Canadians are aware that medical marijuana is legally available through Health Canada for treating everything from cancer to multiple sclerosis.

Survey results [>>>]

Palm Springs, CA Nov 2, 2006 -- A search warrant was served around 10:45 a.m. at Palm Springs Caregivers at 2100 N. Palm Canyon Drive, and federal drug agents along with Palm Springs police are searching the business, which is a medical marijuana dispensary.

The search [>>>]

San Francisco, CA Nov 2, 2006--Ed Rosenthal is being prosecuted--and persecuted--by federal authorities for growing pot for medicinal purposes.

Axis of [>>>]

San Francisco, CA Nov 2, 2006  -- This year marks the 10th anniversary of the passage of Proposition 215, the Compassionate Care Act, which received 56 percent of California voters' support in 1996. Since that time, 10 other states have passed similar laws, and support for medical cannabis is growing, according to a report by the Marijuana Policy Project.

The report [>>>]

Torrance, CA Nov 2, 2006 -- The city of Torrance has revoked the business license of a controversial medical marijuana dispensary, officials said Wednesday.

Less than [>>>]

Nov 2, 2006 -- Although Canadians are hardly trading maple leaves for pot leaves, newly published findings suggest Cheech and Chong would feel right at home here.

In a [>>>]

San Diego, CA Oct 31, 2006 -- Police arrested seven medical marijuana advocates Tuesday for refusing orders to disperse while protesting outside a U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency convention in Mission Valley.

Officers took [>>>]

SALINAS MAN SAYS SEIZED POT PLANTS WERE MEDICAL

Salinas, CA Nov 1, 2006 -- In the latest in a series of marijuana busts in Monterey County and statewide, sheriff's deputies report seizing 27 pot plants from the residence of a Salinas man who claimed he and his mother use the cultivated drug for medical purposes.

The plants [>>>]

Bismarck, SD Nov 1, 2006 -- Editor’s note: This is another in a series of stories on ballot issues and candidates facing South Dakota voters in the Nov. 7 general election.

Voters will [>>>]

Oct 31, 2006 -- Voters in three California cities will decide Tuesday whether to require their police departments to make the private use of marijuana by adults the lowest law enforcement priority.

The ballot [>>>]

Los Angeles, CA Oct 31, 2006 -- A one-year moratorium on the issuance of permits for new medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles was approved Monday by the City Council's Public Safety Committee.

The committee [>>>]

Riverside, CA Oct 30, 2006 -- Oct 30, 2006 -- Riverside County will not join a legal challenge to California's medical marijuana law, scheduled to be heard in San Diego Superior Court Nov. 16.

The county [>>>]

Santa Rosa, CA Oct 30, 2006 -- Federal agents were preparing to raid the home of Mendocino County District Attorney Norman Vroman at the time of his death to search for maturing marijuana plants and a possible stash of illegal weapons, a newspaper reported Monday.

Agents told [>>>]

Boulder, CO Oct 30, 2006 -- -- I was on an RTD bus recently when two young buffoons sparked up a doobie a couple rows behind me. I turned and stared as these clowns tried to hide their joint and hold searing lungfuls of smoke until I turned away. "Put it out," I said. "I don't want it in my face." "What?" one replied.

So I [>>>]

Colorado Springs, CO Oct 27, 2006 -- On Nov. 7, Colorado voters will decide whether to legalize the possession of up to an ounce of marijuana by any person over 21.

Initiative 44 [>>>]

San Luis Obispo, CA Oct 29, 2006 -- The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors plans to take the last step in establishing a medical-marijuana identification-card program when it meets next month.

In August [>>>]

Winnipeg, Manitoba Oct 29, 2006 -- A well-known herb was touted as a way to ease the painful muscle spasms of multiple sclerosis at a conference on the neurological disease Saturday.

Toke [>>>]

Ukiah, CA Oct 28, 2006 - At its Oct. 24th meeting, the county Board of Supervisors voted to discuss establishing county guidelines for the growing and production of medical marijuana.

The board [>>>]

Sioux Falls, SD Oct 28, 2006 -- With election day little more than a week away, proponents of South Dakota's medical marijuana initiative are increasingly nervous about the measure's prospects in the face of a coordinated onslaught by the state's Republican political establishment, state and local law enforcement, and even the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP -- the drug czar's office). Given South Dakota's social conservatism and a number of hot-button other issues on the ballot, including abortion and gay marriage, the assault by law enforcement only makes voter approval of the measure more difficult. But with no polling on the issue in the state since 2002 (when it got 64% approval), it is hard to gauge exactly where the vote is likely to go.

Known on [>>>]

Oct 27, 2006 -- Inspired by successful local initiatives making marijuana the "lowest law enforcement priority" in Seattle and Oakland, activists in three California cities -- Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, and Santa Monica -- are busy working to ensure that similar measures pass there in November. Similar measures are also on the ballot in Missoula, Montana, and Eureka Springs, Arkansas.

"Lowest priority [>>>]

Ottawa, Canada Oct 27, 2006 -- In a decision handed down Thursday, the Canadian Supreme Court has thrown out the conviction of Alberta medical marijuana activist Grant Krieger, who had been convicted of marijuana possession with the intent to distribute. The high court held that the trial judge had erred by directing the jury to find Krieger guilty.

Krieger, who [>>>]

Barcelona, Spain Oct 27, 2006 -- A Spanish medical marijuana activist group, the Amigos de María, has announced the creation of the first publicly known medical marijuana dispensary in the country. Operating through the Internet, the "Cannabis Pharmacy" will provide information about medical marijuana, encourage patients to grow their own, and put patients in contact with listed growers who are prepared to donate part of their crops for patients.

While the [>>>]

San Francisco, CA Oct 27, 2006 -- With less than eight months left before all medical cannabis dispensaries in The City have to be registered under new permitting regulations, some say the process is too ambiguous or difficult to understand.

Last year [>>>]

Sky Valley, CA Oct 25, 2006 -- A Sky Valley man is accused of growing marijuana, but says he has a good excuse.

Gary Silva [>>>]

Los Angeles, CA Oct 24, 2006 -- Anyone wanting to open a new medical marijuana dispensary in Los Angeles within the next year might see their plans go up in smoke, under a plan approved Tuesday by a City Council committee.

The council's [>>>]

Rochester, MN Oct 24, 2006 - A chemical component extracted from the cannabis, or marijuana, plant may relax the colon and reduce stomach cramping after eating, a U.S. study found.

Doctors at [>>>]

Los Angeles, CA Oct 24, 2006 -- CA-Envelope-pushing medical marijuana distributor Richard Sentz, also known as Dr. Green, has threatened the dispensary review site Weedtracker with a lawsuit for allegedly posting defamatory statements about his business, according to an email sent on 9-11-'06. The "demand letter" sent by attorney James Anthony requests that Weedtracker pay $10,000 to Mr. Sentz, remove all defamatory statements about Sentz, and reinstate his membership with the forum-based web site.

Here is [>>>]

Santa Cruz, CA Oct 24, 2006 -- Santa Cruz may be attached to the mainland. But in many ways, it is an island.

Separated from [>>>]

Gardena, CA Oct 24, 2006 -- Gardena has become the latest South Bay city to take on medical marijuana, moving to revoke business licenses for two storefront dispensaries.

The city [>>>]

Flin Flon, Manitoba Oct 23, 2006 -- Demand for medical marijuana has grown by 80 per cent this year for a Saskatoon company that grows the plant in an old northern Manitoba mine shaft, its president said.

In fact [>>>]

Oakland, CA Oct 23, 2006 -- It has been 10 years since California voters enacted Proposition 215, making it legal to grow and use cannabis, with a doctor's approval, for medical purposes. Prop 215 didn't create a record-keeping system because the authors didn't trust the government and didn't want to generate a master list of cannabis users. So, over the course of the past decade, a vast public health experiment has been conducted in California but no state agency has been tracking doctors who approve cannabis use or patients who medicate with it.

To assess [>>>]

Torrance, CA Oct 20, 2006 -- Federal agents raided a controversial medical marijuana dispensary in Torrance on Thursday, seeking evidence that could lead to criminal drug dealing charges against its owners.

Workers at [>>>]

San Francisco, CA Oct 19, 2006 -- Ronnie "Abdullah" Whitaker was released on his own recognizance yesterday by Judge Charles Haines who upbraided the Asst. DA for charging Abdullah with sales of less then a gram of marijuana.

Arrested at [>>>]

Covina, CA Oct 19, 2006 -- The City Council has revoked the business licenses of three shops selling medical marijuana in the city, the latest move against such establishments in the San Gabriel Valley.

Several cities [>>>]

On the Spot: Dr. Abrams Responds

San Francisco, CA Oct 18, 2006 -- As part of our new On the Spot web feature, Dr. Donald Abrams, the new director of clinical programs at the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine and an expert in complementary therapies, agreed to answer your questions.

Below we’ve [>>>]

issoula, MT Oct 18, 2006 -- A ballot initiative that aims to make marijuana crimes the single lowest priority for Missoula County authorities - pegged below even jaywalking on the hierarchy of enforcement - has met heavy opposition from adversaries who argue the drug would become more available to young people.

But proponents [>>>]

Santa Barbara, CA Oct 17, 2006 -- With an initiative on the ballot to make pot possession a "lowest-priority" crime in Santa Barbara, the city's weed smokers will have to clear their foggy memories and remember to vote in November's upcoming election.

Measure P [>>>]

San Francisco, CA Oct 17, 2006 -- A medical marijuana dispensary director who is accused of marijuana cultivation and money laundering was granted release on $1 million bond by a federal magistrate in San Francisco Tuesday.

Sparky Rose [>>>]

Fort Collins, CO Oct 17, 2006 -- A Fort Collins couple still faces charges of possession and cultivation of marijuana after a judge refused Monday to dismiss the charges under Colorado's medical marijuana law.

It was [>>>]

San Francisco, CA Oct 16, 2006 -- Medical marijuana advocate Ed Rosenthal pleaded not guilty in federal court in San Francisco today to expanded charges that include tax evasion and money laundering as well as marijuana cultivation.

Rosenthal, 61 [>>>]

San Francisco, CA Oct 16, 2006 -- Ed Rosenthal and Rick Watts were arraigned in federal court in San Francisco today before Magistrate Larson. The government explained its 25-count indictment, which included charges of manufacture and distribution of marijuana, maintaining a place for manufacture and distribution, possession for the purpose of distribution, conspiracy, money laundering, and tax evasion. Ken Hayes was named in the indictment, but was not present for the arraignment. The three defendants have different and overlapping charges. Each of them face life in prison and millions of dollars in fines.

Both defendants [>>>]

Palm Desert, CA Oct 16, 2006 Medical marijuana will be on the agenda when the Public Safety Committee of the Coachella Valley Association of Governments meets 10 a.m. today at 73-710 Fred Waring Drive, Suite 119, in Palm Desert.

Kevin Ruddy [>>>]

Claremont, CA Oct 14, 2006 -- City hall last week sent a letter to Darrell Kruse ordering him to cease operation of his Claremont medical marijuana dispensary. The deadline for Mr. Kruse to shut down was Thursday, but as day broke Friday, the marijuana activist’s shop was still open for business.

“I’ve defied [>>>]

Willits, CA Oct 14, 2006 -- After some juggling occasioned by the death of Mendocino County District Attorney Norman Vroman, an educational conference on medical marijuana has been rescheduled for Saturday, October 21, from noon to midnight or later.

The conference [>>>]

Palm Springs, CA Oct 14, 2006 -- Collectives for growing medicinal pot could someday sprout in industrial-warehouse areas of this resort town.

Under a [>>>]

Fresno, CA Oct 14, 2006 -- Nine people — including the owners of a medicinal marijuana clinic in Modesto that was raided last month — pleaded not guilty to drug charges in federal court Friday in Fresno.

Luke Anthony [>>>]

Ottawa, Canada Oct 13, 2006 -- According to a top Canadian military general, Taliban forces in Afghanistan utilize forests of ten-foot tall marijuana plants to evade Canadian troops. The plants provide a nearly impenetrable barrier, and dense camouflage, for Taliban militias, and render thermal devices for detecting movement obsolete.

Marijuana plants [>>>]

San  Francisco, CA Oct 13, 2006 -- Oakland "Guru of Ganja" Ed Rosenthal was re-indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday on a host of marijuana-related charges, roughly six months after an appeals court tossed out his earlier convictions.

The superseding [>>>]

San Benito, CA Oct 13, 2006 -- Applications accepted two days a month

San Benito [>>>]

Amsterdam, The Netherlands Oct 12, 2006 -- For international travelers, Amsterdam has long served as a kind of nirvana. Considered a forward-thinking capital light years ahead of the rest of the world, much of the city's exceptional status is due its coffee shops -- essentially marijuana bars -- where smoking pot is perfectly legal. Coupled with other liberal sex and drug laws that have ensured a level of tolerance no European city can rival, Amsterdam has acted for many as a role model of what an enlightened 21st-century city should be.

But things [>>>]

Sun Valley, ID Oct 12, 2006 -- The citizens of Sun Valley could vote on whether to legalize marijuana within the city limits if a political advocacy group pushing the measure meets the city's requirements for initiative petitions.

"We will [>>>]

Thousand Oaks, CA Oct 12, 2006 -- Steve Comstock, a 23-year-old Thousand Oaks resident, says he's dying from Hodgkin's lymphoma and is in dire need of medical marijuana to relieve the painful condition. Loren Green, a 58-year-old man who works in Agoura Hills, says he uses marijuana to ease his symptoms of depression, anxiety and arthritis. But the condition of neither person failed to prevent the Agoura Hills City Council from enacting a recent moratorium barring medical marijuana cooperatives from the city.

The council [>>>]

Carson City, NV Oct 12, 2006  -- The Green Party's Craig Bergland has become the first Nevada gubernatorial candidate to endorse the ballot question legalizing possession and use of small amounts of marijuana.

"I am [>>>]

Eureka Springs, AR Oct 10, 2006 -- A petition to get a marijuana reform measure on the ballot in Eureka Springs, Ark., has ended in success with a vote scheduled for next month.

Leaders of [>>>]

Yankton, SD Oct 11,2006 -- Next month, South Dakota voters have an opportunity to embrace what might be considered an act of compassion by passing Initiated Measure 4, which would provide certain seriously ill individuals with access to marijuana for medical purposes.

The motivation [>>>]

Tucson, AZ Oct 10, 2006 -- National attention could be focused on southern New Mexico later this month when an Arizona couple with an unusual set of religious beliefs faces federal drug charges in a Las Cruces courtroom.

Dan and [>>>]

Maccan, Nova Scotia Oct 10, 2006 -- Rick Dwyer says officials with the provincial command of the Royal Canadian Legion were wrong to revoke the local legion’s charter but he figures the action will nonetheless help all Canadians.

"The attention [>>>]

Madison, WI Oct 9, 2006 -- Supporters of legalizing marijuana urged people to vote for candidates who support the drug's legalization at a rally this weekend.

Organizers estimated [>>>]

Sacramento, CA Oct 7, 2006 -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has refused to sign AB 1147, "The California Industrial Hemp Farming Act," which earlier this year passed the Senate (by 26 to 13) and Assembly (44 to 29). The bill would have allowed California farmers to grow hemp -the cannabis plant that has been bred for fiber and/or seeds. "Industrial hemp" contains only trace amounts of THC -.3 percent or less, as defined by AB 1147.

Cannabis is [>>>]

Palm Springs, CA Oct 7, 2006 -- A local medical marijuana dispensary is open again. Federal agents and local police raided the place on Wednesday.

Palm Canyon [>>>]

Claremont, CA Oct 7, 2006 -- A medical marijuana physician has begun issuing prescriptions at a newly opened Claremont office, the COURIER has learned, the announcement being the second in as many weeks that a medical marijuana facility has set up shop without the city’s consent or prior knowledge.

Madison Burbank [>>>]

Modesto, CA Oct 6, 2006 -- The Tuolumne Narcotics Team is helping to further investigate the California Healthcare Collective, Modesto's only medical marijuana dispensary.

On September [>>>]

Modesto, CA Oct 6, 2006 -- At least five California different medical marijuana dispensaries have been raided in the last ten days, bringing the total so far this year to more than 30, according to medical marijuana supporters. But that means nearly 200 existing dispensaries have not been raided, suggesting that what is occurring is more like a low-level battle of attrition than an all-out assault by the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and its allies among recalcitrant state and local law enforcement and elected officials.

Here is [>>>]

Washington DC Oct 5, 2006 -- Good news for ageing hippies: smoking pot may stave off Alzheimer's disease.

New research [>>>]

Palm Springs, CA Oct 5, 2006 -- A medical marijuana-laced "tip" left for an employee at Palm Springs' Spa Resort Casino in September ended with a search-and-seizure raid on a Coachella Valley medical marijuana dispensary on Wednesday.

Agents from [>>>]

Photos From Tuesdays Raid at Mission Caregivers

San Francisco, Ca Oct 4, 2006 -- Fifteen arrested in actions in Oakland and The City; lawyer deems events ‘outrageous’

Federal drug [>>>]

San Francisco, CA Oct 4, 2006 -- Federal agents went after a major Bay Area marijuana club Tuesday, raiding eight locations in San Francisco and Oakland, arresting 15 people including the group's leader and seizing nearly 13,000 plants.

The target [>>>]

San Francisco, CA Oct 3, 2006 -- Federal drug enforcement agents Tuesday raided a medical cannabis dispensary in San Francisco's Mission District.

The raid [>>>]

Opponents of Basic Orthodox Culture demand legalization of marijuana

Marijuana initiative qualifies for ballot

Two People Refuse Offer of Immunity, Continue to Resist Medical Marijuana Grand Jury in Connection with Ed Rosenthal

Oakland, CA Aug 31, 2006 -- Two people subpoenaed to a grand jury, in connection with medical marijuana author and cultivator Ed Rosenthal, invoked their constitutional rights today and refused the federal government's offer of immunity. The two individuals, who for the moment are choosing to remain anonymous, had refused to testify in a hearing last week. The prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney George Bevan, ordered them to appear again on September 14 at 10am, at which time the government may charge the two with civil contempt or seek indictments against them. The recently convened grand jury in Oakland is supposed to be investigating new information surrounding the prior indictment of Ed Rosenthal.

Rosenthal was [>>>]

Rosenthal and Watts Appear In Court

California Seeks to Clear Hemp of a Bad Name

Coachella Valley, CA Aug 17, 2006 -- Time Warner Cable Desert Cities has pulled the plug on three ads promoting medical marijuana that were scheduled to debut Friday on four popular cable channels in the Coachella Valley.

The ads [>>>]

Cathedral City Aug 17, 2006 -- Lynette Shaw, Libertarian Party candidate for California attorney general, will be the featured speaker at a meeting of the Marijuana Anti-Prohibition Project 3 p.m. Sept. 3 at the Cathedral City Library, 33-520 Date Palm Drive. Shaw is the owner and manager of the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana, a northern California dispensary that has been in operation for nine years.

She co-authored [>>>]

Las Vegas, NV Aug 15, 2006 -- The trial of a medical marijuana user went up in smoke Monday when the defendant suddenly decided to plead guilty.

After an [>>>]

Densapar, Bali Aug 15, 2006 -- Schapelle Corby's final appeal appeal against her drug smuggling conviction and 20-year prison sentence has been put back a week.

The hearing [>>>]

Chicago, IL Aug 11, 2006  -- The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the country's largest public service workers' union, passed a resolution endorsing medical marijuana at its national convention in Chicago Tuesday. AFSCME thus becomes the latest major civic organization to advocate for access to therapeutic cannabis.

Passed on [>>>]

Sioux City Falls, SD Aug 11, 2006 -- A judge will hold a hearing next week on whether the wording of a South Dakota ballot measure seeking to legalize medicinal marijuana should be more neutral.

A Deerfield [>>>]

San Leandro, CA Aug 10, 2006 -- Sheriffs arrested Joseph McWoodson, a 20-year-old resident of Oakland, on murder and robbery charges on Monday. McWoodson is suspected in the armed robbery of “A Natural Source” marijuana shop at 16360 Foothill Blvd. on August 19, 2005.

McWoodson was [>>>]

San Pablo, CA Aug 10, 2006 -- Not in our town.

That was [>>>]

Santa Barbara, CA Aug 10, 2006 -- The first reported armed robbery of a medical marijuana distribution center took place at Santa Barbara Hydroponics, 3128 State Street.

Owner Jack [>>>]

Los Angeles, CA Aug 8, 2006 -- LAPD officers have been closing medical cannabis collectives and cooperatives in the North Hollywood area. The officers have used dubious code violations and intimidation to close at least two collectives and threaten one that was to have opened this week.

The North Hollywood Neighborhood Council will be discussing the collectives at its meeting on Wednesday, August 9. LAPD officers may be trying to use this elected body to generate opposition to medical cannabis in the community and bolster their case. We must have patients and loved ones there to defend safe access. Please come show your support and help prevent collective closures in LA.

North Hollywood Neighborhood Council Wednesday, August 9 at 7:00 PM SENDAK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL; 11414 TIARA STREET, NORTH HOLLYWOOD, CA 91607-3202

[Webmaster's Note:  I usually don't post such garbage,  but I thought you might want to know how our NIMBY neigbors think.]

San Fracisco, CA Aug 05, 2006 -- Since Proposition 215 passed by 56 percent of California Voters 10 years ago, the controversy regarding the medical use of cannabis (or marijuana) has raged on. Most of the concern centers upon the prolific increase of Medical Cannabis Dispensaries in residential areas.

This past [>>>]

Medford, OR Aug 7, 2006 -- Medford police Lt. Tim George remembers the good old days when a cop could simply chop down a marijuana plant and ask questions later.

Now, eight [>>>]

Redding, CA Aug 5, 2006 -- "This is to keep Big Brother out of my exam room," says Philip A. Denney, MD, explaining the civil suit that attorney Zenia Gilg filed on his behalf Aug. 3 in the U.S. District Court for Eastern California. Denney had been sent documents by a sympathizer revealing that in the Fall of 2005, two individuals -an agent of the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Bureau, and an informer controlled by the Redding Police Department- had obtained his approval to medicate with cannabis by providing false histories. The documents also made reference to a "DEA case number," apparently from another investigation of his practice.

"Doctors have  [>>>]

San Diego, CA Aug 4, 2006 -- Medical marijuana advocates and patients will be allowed to oppose a lawsuit filed by San Diego County seeking to overturn a state law legalizing medicinal use of the drug, a state court judge ruled Friday.

The county [>>>]

Torrance, CA Aug 5, 2006 -- For such an unremarkable storefront with nary a clue to indicate what's inside, Torrance's only medical marijuana dispensary has attracted a lot of attention.

This week [>>>]

Juneau, AK Aug 4, 2006 -- Alaska Attorney General David Márquez said the State of Alaska has filed a notice of appeal with the Alaska Supreme Court last week asking the court to overrule a recent decision by Juneau Superior Court Judge Patricia Collins upholding a challenge to the marijuana provisions of the HB 149 ­ the drug bill that was passed this past legislative session.

"The majority [>>>]

Alameda County, CA Aug 2, 2006. -- Alameda County public health officials said that on Tuesday they began processing medical marijuana identification cards for eligible county residents.

The Medical [>>>]

San Francisco, CA Aug 3, 2006 -- A Board of Supervisors committee voted Wednesday to relax the city's new medical marijuana regulations to give pot clubs operating in residential neighborhoods a grace period before they have to shut down and relocate.

An ordinance [>>>]

Fort Bragg, CA Aug 3, 2006 -- A defendant was perched next to the district attorney at a not-very-relaxing first meeting of the Mendocino Medical Marijuana Advisory Board Friday in Fort Bragg.

In a [>>>]

London, England July 21, 2006 -- In two separate trials, one beginning this week and one beginning next week, British authorities are prosecuting medical marijuana providers under the country's drug laws, the Guardian reported. The continued prosecution of medical marijuana providers comes despite the government's downgrading of marijuana from a Class B drug to the less serious Class C in 2004.

Four members

San Diego, CA July 21,2006 -- The DEA shut down San Diego's remaining medical marijuana clubs today.

Clubs that [>>>]

Pleasanton, CA July 19, 2006 -- The City Council on Tuesday stopped short of banning medical marijuana dispensaries in Pleasanton, and sought more information on the impact dispensaries have had in other communities.

"I kind [>>>]

San Luis Obispo, CA July 19, 2006 -- The county Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 on Tuesday to direct staff to draft an ordinance that will allow medical marijuana dispensaries in unincorporated areas of the county.

The proposed [>>>]

San Francisco, CA July 14, 2006 -- A pot club seeking to set up shop near Fisherman's Wharf was denied a permit by the San Francisco Planning Commission in a 4-2 vote Thursday night.

The Green [>>>]

San Diego, CA July 10, 2006 -- The men were arrested last week during a multi-agency sweep aimed at catching offenders prosecutors said were abusing Proposition 215, California's 1996 medical marijuana law.

Prosecutor Dana [>>>]

Juneau, AK July 11, 2006 -- A judge on Monday struck down part of a new Alaska law criminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana, saying it conflicts with past constitutional decisions made by the Alaska Supreme Court.

That means [>>>]

San Diego, CA July 8, 2006 -- The dragnet that was dropped over San Diego County medical marijuana dispensaries Thursday has prompted deepening concern among patients who rely on the plant to relieve their symptoms.

Most of [>>>]

July 1, 2006 -- The House of Representatives recently voted down an amendment to a spending bill that would have prevented the Justice Department from spending Federal tax dollars on medical marijuana investigations and enforcement actions in those States that have decriminalized marijuana for medical use. From the perspective of a person with a serious illness whose doctor has recommended the medical use of cannabis, the congressional vote was an unfortunate 259 to 163 against common sense.

Of course, [>>>]

July 1, 2006 -- Marijuana-like chemicls are part of our physiology; usurping their cellular pathways for medical research and treatment is decades old.

In the [>>>]