Santa Cruz Ganjarama

[DdC]

Marijuana-rama By Leyna Krow
Metro Santa Cruz February 01, 2006 Santa Cruz, Calif.  
Will locals vote to put pot-related enforcement at the bottom of the cops' to-do list? The city of Santa Cruz sure does love its dope. At least that's the assumption Santa Cruz Citizens for Sensible Marijuana Policy are banking on as they work to get an initiative on November's ballot that would make marijuana-related crimes the lowest enforcement priority for Santa Cruz police.
Read More... http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread21552.shtml

WAMM

Groups Restate Case on Medical Pot By Brian Seals  
Santa Cruz Sentinel February 01, 2006 Santa Cruz, CA 
An area medical marijuana cooperative should be free from harassment by federal agents as should the city's recently enacted ordinance that would establish a compassionate use office for the drug, an amended federal court complaint filed this week contends. Attorneys for the city and county of Santa Cruz and the Wo/men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana filed the amended complaint in U.S. District Court in San Jose.
Read More... http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread21549.shtml

Santa Cruz, ACLU Renew Fight for Medical Marijuana

Cannabis News Search: Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz Proposes Medical Marijuana Department

[DdC]

Santa Cruz Marijuana Measure Could Face Challenges By Shanna McCord
CN Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel July 20, 2006  

Santa Cruz -- A Santa Cruz police officer would be forced to crack down on littering before arresting someone for selling pot to an adult in a private parking lot if a ballot measure to make marijuana crimes the lowest priority for police becomes law.
The littering scenario was cited in a letter from City Attorney John Barisone to the City Council this month that warns of possible legal tangles the city could face if an ordinance is adopted that eases up on adult marijuana offenses.

Santa Cruz voters will vote on the marijuana ordinance Nov. 7, if the City Council decides Tuesday to put the measure on the ballot, which it is expected to do.

Proponents say the measure will give police more time and resources to fight serious crimes, like the recent surge in violence in the Beach Flats and on the Westside. The measure is not meant to allow "potheads to smoke on every corner," supporter Andrea Tischler said.

Barisone's letter points out that state law — in which marijuana is considered an illegal drug except in some medical cases — would override the proposed city ordinance, and police officers are sworn to enforce all state and federal laws.

Police officers could also run into problems with the proposed cannabis ordinance when subpoenaed by the county District Attorney's Office to testify in criminal prosecutions of adult marijuana offenses. According to Barisone, officers would be in violation of the ordinance if they testified in marijuana cases; however, disobeying a district attorney's subpoena would conflict with state law.

The ordinance also prohibits police officers from cooperating with state and federal agents investigating marijuana crimes. But Barisone said the state attorney general is authorized to appoint local officers to assist with regional criminal marijuana-related operations — a violation of the proposed city ordinance.

"This would put an undue burden on officers for simply doing what they're sworn to do," police spokesman Zach Friend said. "The usage of marijuana is prolific throughout the city, but someone taken to jail for having marijuana is rare."

Police records show 254 citations in 2005 for possession or use of marijuana in amounts less than an ounce, though Friend said "the vast majority" of those cases resulted in the person being released at the scene.

Not everyone agrees the proposed ordinance would be a problem.

Gerald Uelmen, a law professor at Santa Clara University, said the measure is legal.

"Every community can say where they want their police resources allocated," Uelmen said. "I don't read it as police should close their eyes to marijuana. All they're saying is they don't want their police department to allocate a lot of resources to it."
Exceptions in the proposed marijuana initiative include minors, sale or use on public property and driving under the influence.
Similar ballot measures are being considered in Santa Monica and Santa Barbara.

Barisone's letter is a "conservative interpretation" of the measure, said proponent Craig Reinarman, a sociology professor at UC Santa Cruz.

If the council chooses not to put the marijuana question on the ballot, proponents could sue the city.

"Marijuana is already the lowest priority in Santa Cruz," Councilman Mike Rotkin said. "We either have to adopt the measure or put it on the ballot, otherwise they could take us to court."

Complete Title: Santa Cruz Marijuana Ballot Measure Could Face Legal Challenges

Contact: editorial@santa-cruz.com * Website

SC Citizens for Sensible Marijuana Policy
Initiative To Relax Pot Rules Headed To Ballot

Santa Cruz Marijuana Ballot Measure Could Face Legal Challenges?

The greatest enemy of the truth is very often not the lie--
delierate, contrived, and dishonest, but the myth persistent, peruasive, and unrealistic. Belief in myths allows the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.
John F. Kennedy (1917 - 1963)

Denver Is First City To Legalize Pot

Alcohol-Marijuana Equalization Initiative
WHEREAS, according to the National Institutes of Health, an average of
317 Americans die annually as the result of alcohol overdoses; and
WHEREAS, there has never been even a single fatal marijuana overdose
recorded in the medical literature, as noted by the British Medical Journal in September 2003; and
WHEREAS, according to U.S. Department of Justice, “About 3 million crimes
occur each year in which victims perceive the offender to have been drinking at the
time of the offense. Among those victims who provided information about the
offender’s use of alcohol, about 35% of the victimizations involved an offender who
had been drinking”; and
WHEREAS, extensive research, documented in official reports by the
British government's Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs and the Canadian
Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs, among others, shows that --
unlike alcohol -- marijuana use is not generally a cause of violence or aggressive
behavior and in fact tends to reduce violence and aggression;
WHEREAS, it is the intent of this ordinance to have the private adult use
and possession of marijuana treated in the same manner as the private adult use
and possession of alcohol;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY AND COUNTY OF DENVER
Safer Choice



Seattle Votes To Make Marijuana Crime Low Priority

Sensible Seattle Coalition



Judge Rules Against Alaska Marijuana Law
A judge 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.

ACLU



Leaders Vote To 'Leave The Pot Smokers Alone'

San Francisco and Oakland have passed similar rules. But unlike those cities,
West Hollywood lacks its own police force. Instead it contracts with the county
sheriff for police services.

WeHo 'Decriminalizes' Marijuana Use
West Hollywood -- In a controversial move the City of West Hollywood became
the first in the Southland to decriminalize the possession and private smoking
of marijuana in small amounts.

City of West Hollywood

We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts,
foreign ideas, alien philosophies and competitive values. For a nation
that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market
is a nation that is afraid of its people.
John F. Kennedy (1917 - 1963)



Santa Cruz Low LEO Initiative Headed to Ballot!
Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel April 21, 2006 Santa Cruz  

Supporters of an initiative to reduce police enforcement of recreational pot use turned in more than the required number of signatures to place the measure on the November ballot.

"This measure offers a sensible alternative to the failed federal war on drugs," organizer Andrea Tischler wrote in a statement. "Santa Cruz citizens don't want our police to waste their time and our tax dollars arresting, jailing and prosecuting nonviolent marijuana users."

The group, known as Santa Cruz Citizens for Sensible Marijuana Policy, needs to collect signatures of 3,423 registered voters to bring the issue to a vote. They turned in more than 6,000.

The number of signatures required to force a vote was different for the marijuana initiative than the minimum wage initiative, whose supporters also filed Thursday, because the number of registered voters fluctuates.

The signatures need to be counted and verified by county elections officials within the next 30 days before the measure can officially qualify for the ballot.
Marijuana is an illegal substance under federal law, but allowed for medical use in California.

The group's initiative includes cutting off federal drug-enforcement resources to ensure the proposed city policy is followed.

Marijuana enforcement in Santa Cruz would still apply to driving under the influence, sales to minors and use or sale in public.

City Attorney John Barisone and local police officials have questioned the legality of the proposal.

Contact: editorial@santa-cruz.com * Website

Marijuana Advocates Push Proposal

Advocates Push Proposal (Thread)

SC Citizens for Sensible Marijuana Policy



420 by Peter Koht

Federal Court Could Allow City To Create MMJ Shop By Shanna McCord
CN Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel June 24, 2006 Santa Cruz

A federal judge will decide if medical marijuana patients and a proposed city-owned dispensary should be protected from federal prosecution.

American Civil Liberties Union attorneys and other lawyers presented arguments to a San Jose federal court Friday in a case aimed at forcing the U.S. government to recognize California's 10-year-old medical marijuana law and to allow Santa Cruz to establish an Office of Compassionate Use — the nation's first government-owned medical pot shop.

The lawsuit against U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and the Drug Enforcement Administration began after a federal raid of the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana in 2002. The case since has grown to include the city and county of Santa Cruz.

Justice Department attorney Mark Quinlevin asked the court to dismiss the case, which would leave the state's medical marijuana law intact but leave users and providers vulnerable to arrest by federal agents.

No decision was made Friday by federal Judge Jeremy Fogel. His verdict could come in several months to a year.

"The federal government seeks to limit access to medical marijuana," said Graham Boyd, director of the ACLU Drug Law Reform Project. "The government needs to accept that, at least for some people, this is the only medicine keeping them alive."

City leaders voted in October to create a new department to distribute marijuana to seriously ill patients, but only if the federal government guaranteed the operation would be allowed to run without federal interference.

The city's effort to form a compassionate-use office tests the state's right to enact the medical marijuana law that voters passed in 1996, Proposition 215, which allows some patients to use marijuana. Santa Cruz aims to provide the drug to qualified patients at a reasonable price, proponents say, in a safe environment.

"If it were legal we might contract with Longs pharmacy," Councilman Mike Rotkin said. "They provide morphine, why not marijuana? This is not a recreational issue, and we wish the government would see that."

Marijuana co-op founders Mike and Val Corral were taken to federal holding cells in San Jose after the raid in 2002 and released later that day.

They contend some patients, such as those undergoing chemotherapy or treatment for HIV and AIDS, should be able to use marijuana to ease pain, reduce nausea and stimulate appetite.

"If people are dying, they have enough to worry about," Mike Corral said. "This case is really important for America in general. It has far reaching and broad impacts for life in America."

The federal government has been steadfast in viewing marijuana as a dangerous and illegal drug, and has challenged its use and distribution, shutting down medical co-ops and confiscating marijuana.

In June 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that medical marijuana users can be prosecuted by the federal government.

Complete Title: Federal Court Could Allow City To Create Medical Marijuana Shop

Contact: editorial@santa-cruz.com * Website

ACLU * WAMM

WAMM Raided By DEA

Pot Shop Gets Green Light

Santa Cruz Okays City-Run Marijuana Distribution


CNN's Frank Buckley reports on a demonstration by a Santa Cruz, California,
cooperative to hand out marijuana for medical purposes. (September 18, 2002)

MOVE TO BLOCK DEA MEDICAL MARIJUANA RAIDS
HEADS FOR HOUSE FLOOR VOTE NEXT WEEK

"I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country ... corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed. I feel at this moment more anxiety for the safety of my country than ever before, even in the midst of war."
-- Abraham Lincoln,
letter to Col. William F. Elkins, Nov 21, 1864.
Reference: The Lincoln Encyclopedia, Archer H. Shaw (Macmillan, 1950, NY).

Santa Cruz Makes Its Mark On The World

Why is a U.S. County suing the Federal Government?
Drug Policy Alliance, together with the prestigious law firm Bingham McCutchen, is representing the City and County of Santa Cruz and seven seriously ill and dying patients in a lawsuit against John Ashcroft and the DEA for the right to grow and use marijuana for sick and dying patients. The plaintiffs claim that the constitution prevents the feds from interfering with patient's rights


WAMM patient, Robert Anton Wilson,
picks up his weekly supply of Medical Marijuana in front of Santa Cruz City Hall
and millions of people around the world.

Santa Cruz City Council Targets Bush

"Dissent is the highest form of patriotism"
-- Thomas Jefferson --

Santa Cruz Sues Feds Over Medical Marijuana Raids

McMahon KU OK, FU 2 Feds 4 Ed! SCruz Joins WAMM!

"Government is not reason; it is not eloquence;
it is force! Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master."
-- George Washington.

Newsmaker Of The Year: Valerie and Mike Corral

The Secret Garden

"A little rebellion now and then...
is a medicine necessary for the sound health of government."
 Thomas Jefferson

Santa Cruz 420 Lowest LEO Priority Initiative Off to Ballot!


Medical Marijuana: Nearly a Thousand Rally in Santa Cruz 7/22/05

Santa Cruz Low LEO Initiative Continued...!