SD County attempts to pass De Facto Ban on Medical Marijuana Facilities

SAN DIEGO - Wednesday, June 23, 2010, at 9am the San Diego County Board of Supervisors will meet to discuss and vote on a proposed ordinance regulating medical marijuana facilities in the unincorporated areas of San Diego County.

The proposed ordinance severely limits patients’ access to medical marijuana in the unincorporated areas of San Diego County. Certain provisions in the proposed regulatory ordinance would not only seriously violate patient confidentiality in these facilities, but also would effectively ban all dispensaries in the unincorporated areas of the county.

Americans for Safe Access reaction to SD County Proposed Ordinance

By: Kris Hermes (ASA), Eugene Davidovich (SD ASA)

San Diego County Board of Supervisors issued a proposed ordinance that they would like to see adopted in the County of San Diego. The ordinance is supposed to provide guidelines, regulations, and zoning for medical marijuana dispensing collectives and cooperatives.

This proposed ordinance instead of helping regulate medical marijuana in the county, would work to restrict and eliminate safe reliable access for patients most in need of the medicine their physicians have recommended they use.

Americans for Safe Access has several specific concerns with the proposed ordinance:

1. Most of the recent ordinances adopted in California employ departments of health or other non-law enforcement agencies to administer their local medical marijuana dispensary laws. This is not the case with this ordinance. The licensing authority should not be the Sheriff's Department, and should be replaced by the County Department of Health or other more appropriate agency.

2. One of the main reasons for authorizing departments of health to administer such programs is that it's important to have patient needs respected and to have local laws implemented and enforced with patients needs at the heart of such laws. A perfect example of this is the provisions that allow the sheriff unfettered access (without subpoena) to: private patient records, financial transaction records, and records indicating the source of supply of medical marijuana. Such provisions place both patients and providers at risk of unnecessary local and, more importantly, federal interference. If the feds can subpoena this information (or if it's willingly delivered by local law enforcement), there is risk of arrest and prosecution. Given the track record of the sheriff and other law enforcement agencies in San Diego regarding enforcement of state law, there is every reason to believe that this authority and access to private information will be abused.

3. Another provision in this ordinance would ban edible medical marijuana. Why would the county prohibit the ingestion of medical marijuana edible products for those patients that have trouble smoking it or simply choose to eat their medicine? This is an unnecessary restriction that would otherwise provide patients with alternative methods of ingestion. Edibles are currently permitted and provided to patients at hundreds of dispensaries across the state.

4. Another provision that is unnecessarily problematic is the prohibition on anyone operating a dispensary who has been convicted of a felony. While some localities include provisions prohibiting violent felons from operating a dispensary, there is no need to exclude all persons with felony convictions, especially since many patients have criminal records based on activity that is now lawful, but was deemed illegal prior to the passage of the Compassionate Use Act.

5. Finally and most importantly, is the provision restricting dispensaries from operating within 1,000 feet from a laundry list of so-called "sensitive uses," such as schools, churches, parks, etc. While this seems to be a trend among localities that have adopted dispensary ordinances, it is a very onerous requirement that would relegate facilities to remote, outlying areas, making it difficult for patients to access their medicine, especially those with mobility issues. The restriction on locating within 1,000 feet of a residence is perhaps the most onerous provision of the ordinance, making it a de facto ban. The only other ordinance in the state that restrict the proximity to residences is that of the City of Los Angeles, and it remains to be seen whether ANY dispensaries will be able to relocate in accordance with that ordinance, leading many to call it a de facto ban.

Americans for Safe Access (ASA) as well as the San Diego Chapter of ASA are greatly concerned about this restrictive ordinance. We urge the San Diego County Board of Supervisors to develop a policy which takes into consideration patients’ needs, rather than the desires, fears, and bias of law enforcement.

Please email the San Diego County Board of Supervisors and ask that they revise the ordinance.

Greg.cox@sdcounty.ca.gov

dianne.jacob@sdcounty.ca.gov

Pam.slater@sdcounty.ca.gov

ron-roberts@sdcounty.ca.gov

bill.horn@sdcounty.ca.gov

KEY DATES:

• Public Review of Proposed Ordinance: March 3, 2010 - April 2, 2010
• San Diego County Planning Commission Vote on Proposed Ordinance: May 14, 2010
• Board of Supervisors vote on Proposed Ordinance: June 23, 2010

County Board Point of Contact:Joe Farace (858) 694-3690joseph.farace@sdcounty.ca.gov

--------------------------------------------
San Diego Americans for Safe Access

www.SafeAccessSD.org

Get Involved, get active, make a difference!

Join ASA - www.safeaccessnow.org

ATTEMPT BY SD COUNTY TO ERADICATE MEDICAL MARIJUANA

San Diego County has been at the forefront of overturning proposition 215 and SB420. This fight has included a case that made it all the way to the Supreme Court in a resounding defeat for the county. Still, the San Diego County board refuses to respect state law. In an attempt to effectively zone out and ban access to medicine for patients in San Diego, the county has issued a proposed ordinance:

READ THE PROPOSED ORDINANCE HERE:
http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/dplu/docs/POD_09-007_Medical_Marijuana.pdf

This proposed County ordinance would require that ALL transaction between patients be recorded onto video and turned over to the Sheriff. The ordinance also requires that patients names, birth dates, and other private information be turned over to the Sheriff upon request.

Please read this document carefully and write to the board with your concerns. San Diego ASA believes that if this ordinance were to pass, it would be unconstitutional and an anlawfull modification to Proposition 215 as well as Senate Bill 420.

We only have a couple days left for input as the public input ends in April on this ordinance.
The county did a good job hiding this from the public and we need to let them know, we will not stand for a defacto ban. We want safe, regulated access.

Write the Supervisors and let them know how you feel about this ordinance:
Greg.cox@sdcounty.ca.gov
dianne.jacob@sdcounty.ca.gov
Pam.slater@sdcounty.ca.gov
ron-roberts@sdcounty.ca.gov
bill.horn@sdcounty.ca.gov

San Diego Americans for Safe AccessT: 619-621-8446
www.SafeAccessSD.org

Get Involved, get active, make a difference!
Join ASA - www.safeaccessnow.org

Judge won't dismiss medical marijuana case under Obama made me do it defense.

Greg Moran, San Diego Union Tribune
Tuesday, March 16, 2010


James Stacy, the Vista medical marijuana dispensary owner facing federal drug charges, has lost an intriguing bid to have the charges against him thrown out.

Stacy had argued that President Obama, when he was Candidate Obama, had basically said he wouldn't prosecute medical marijuana providers who were complying with state law, and that Stacy had relied on that -- and later statements by Attorney General Eric Holder -- to launch his business.

He also said the prosecution violated the Tenth Amendment because it "commandeered" local law enforcement to enforce federal policy. The intriguing arguments received some attention after first being reported by San Diego CityBeat in December.

In an 11-page ruling Moskowitz said, essentially, nice try.

Comments made by Obama and one of his campaign flaks cited by Stacy "cannot be deemed representations of the federal government regarding drug-prosecution policy." There's no evidence Stacy even heard those statements or that any government official told him selling medical marijuana was OK under federal policy. Holder's statements were "vague," "loose" and did not rule out that the feds could still prosecute medical marijuana cases.

As for the Tenth Amendment argument, the judge said there was no evidence that the San Diego Sheriff's Office was forced to participate in the investigation and raids of dispensaries in the county. "Voluntary cooperation by the Sheriff's Department or other state agencies does not give rise to a Tenth Amendment claim," he wrote.

So now it looks like it is on to trial for Stacy. The judge did leave the door open a bit. He said he would decide later whether Stacy and his lawyer, Kasha Kastillo, could use the Obama-told-me-I-could argument, known as entrapment by estoppel, as a defense at trial.

Federal prosecutors are moving to head that off, filing a motion last Friday asking Moskowitz to ban that defense, as well as several others. Trial is set for April 26.

Stacy was one of two people charged federally in a sweep of dispensaries launched in the fall. He opened the Movement in Action dispensary four months or so before the raids occurred. One of the reasons he may have ended up in federal court is that investigators found a gun in the dispensary and, even under Obama guidelines relaxing prosecutions of dispensaries that comply with state law, that can lead to a federal charges being filed.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/weblogs/minute-orders-courts/2010/mar/16/judge-wont-dismiss-medical-marijuana-case-under-ob/

Law Enforcement Concerns about Medical Marijuana - COMMENTS NEEDED

According to a recent survey of several cities located in California, the major concerns regarding medical marijuana for law enforcement include:

• It violates Federal Law
• Street dealers selling at lower prices to entice patients away from dispensaries
• Non-residents coming into the city to purchase marijuana
• Marijuana DUI by people who have obtained drug from the dispensary
• Neighboring businesses have experienced a loss of customers
• Increase in unreported crime to avoid negative publicity to the dispensary
• Problem of patients selling to non-patients
• Documented cases of robbery outside marijuana dispensaries
• Dispensaries create alternative methods to sell products-such as food items
• Complaints from patients that other illegal drugs are being sold from dispensary
• Marijuana dispensaries perpetuate a sub-culture that openly supports behavior consistent with criminal activity and publishes instructional material on the web
• Management from an established dispensary told police that they cannot keep the criminal element out.

Please send your comments / rebuttals on the above soncerns to info@nugmag.com or post your comments here. A compilation of the best comments will be published in the next issue!

For more information on the magazine, check out: www.nugmag.com

Imperial Beach vs. Sounth Bay Organic Coop

Marcus Boyd a San Diego County resident recently applied with the city of Imperial Beach in San Diego for a medical cannabis coop "Southbay Organic Coop" below is an email Americans for Safe Access San Diego Chapter received detailing his struggle to obtain a legitimate business licence:

By: Marcus Boyd
Below are the Imperial Beach City Council Meeting Agenda items 6.6 for our Co-Op land use appeal and 3.1 to place a moratorium on any collective or cooperative in the city. In the 6.6 Agenda Item Staff Report the city staff outright lies, gets caught and then is completely exposed and totally admonished by my follow up request and land use appeal (see below).

If you or any of your friends or readers can offer any suggestions, insight, assistance, press coverage or… anything… please do! Can we have a web discussion or something to get others to read and offer help?

Thank you,

Marcus Boyd
……

I am writing today to respectfully request the withdrawal of my Request for Continuance. Moreover, I request consideration of the agenda order of the land use appeal item, specifically; I request the land use appeal be heard prior to the moratorium item for the following reasons:

(1) Establish land use approval prior to moratorium:

The request for a business license was contingent on land use approval; I respectfully request a fair chance to appeal the land use decision prior to any preemptive moratorium on the land use.

(2) Material misrepresentation in the 6.6 Staff Report:

Written in the 6.6 Staff Report, signed by Mr. Foltz, distributed to the general public and council members is an assertion that South Bay Organic Co-Op "may be in violation of state laws", apparently because...."there is no specific confirmation that the cooperative is duly organized and registered as a cooperative". However, confirmation was never requested by the city staff, if confirmation had been requested, Articles of Incorporation and any other requested "specific confirmation" would have been provided.

Please be advised, throughout the land use determination process, there remained, open communication via several emails and phone calls to and from myself and city staff, Tyler Foltz, in which Mr. Foltz asked for and was provided with all requested information; in fact, additional information was provided, thought relevant for our land use determination. At no time did the city staff request information that was not promptly provided.

Clearly, portions of the 6.6 Staff Report were purposefully written maliciously to unjustly represent the cooperative as illegitimate and illegal, based on a “confirmation” that was not requested or, by law even required until the cooperative actually began operating a business and “facilitating transactions”.

(3) Deliberate Deception in the 6.6 Staff Report with additional use of a play-on-words:

Whereby the staff report wordplays "means for facilitating or coordinate transactions between the members of the cooperative" to not mean "sell or sold". However, the statement used in the Staff Report was a “staff modified” excerpt of a pivotal paragraph found in the Attorney General's guidelines, the correct full text reads... "Cooperatives should not purchase marijuana from, or sell to, non-members; instead, they should only provide a "means" for facilitating or coordinating transactions between members.”

Additionally, Section D of the same guideline is entirely devoted to the "Taxability of Medical Marijuana Transactions".

Common sense tells us that "transactions" means "sales" if the transactions are subject to state sales tax! Subsequently, the use of the word “sell or sold” on the Business Tax Certificate Application does not negate or by any means detour from the non-profit or legality status of the cooperative, but rather is used to simplify the excerpt “means for facilitating or coordinating transactions” without the use of wordplay.

Please review carefully the 6.6 Staff Report and reason clearly in your mind why there was a strategic replacement of the pivotal word “MEANS” with the word “MERELY”. The word replacement noticeably misrepresents the cooperative to the city council and makes it appear as though the cooperative is operating illegally, when in actuality, the cooperative is not “in violation of state law” and is in full compliance and in accordance with state laws and guidelines. The 6.6 Staff Report replaces the pivotal word, “MEANS”, as an intentional attempt to mislead and misguide the city council, circumvent the will of the voters and to rewrite the California Attorney General’s guidelines with the ultimate goal of defending and upholding the land use determination with deliberate deception.

(4) Ex post facto; Proposition 215 is the law and is currently in use in the City of Imperil Beach:

Very much like Council Members, Prop 215 was "voted in" by the people. Any act of “voting out” Proposition 215, ex post facto, 13 years after the law was passed and while legal “collectives” currently exist in the city of Imperial Beach, without the city council allowing to fully hear an opposing side to the issue and the land use appeal prior to the 3.1 item vote would be unjust, unfair, un-American and completely thwarting the will of the voters and turning a deaf ear to the sick and dying patients who are unable to make a stand and speak for themselves.

Please process and consider this request with urgency

APPEAL OF LAND USE DETERMINATION TO CITY COUNCIL

Choosing to enact a ban on legally formed collectives and cooperatives has been found to be unlawful by California courts. Subsequently, any moratorium should be used to regulate the land use as opposed to attempting to ban the land use. Allowing at least one cooperative to exist in the city for monitoring and reporting purposes would definitely provide reliable, untainted "real data" to the city council for consideration and would prevent the law and the will of the voters from being circumvented.

Council Members, please imagine for a moment that you are a sick and dying patient who found relief in the effects of medical cannabis and your only safe legal access is voted away from you, ex post facto and without defense of your legal right or your voiced opinions about the benefits of the legal collective being heard prior to the vote. Or, imagine being voted in to your city council seat, but with a 4/5th's vote from the other Council Members you are prevented from taking or retaining your seat. Would that seem like a fair or due process to you?

The city staff has used deliberate deception, material misrepresentation and ex post facto to railroad and virtually slander the cooperative in the 6.6 Staff Report, all the while unfairly portraying a legitimate, legally formed group of patients as a group of nothing more than illicit drug dealers, furthermore, our appeal was not given forthright representation by city staff or fair due process in order to “find that this appeal is moot”. The city council members were instead given a 6.6 Staff Report absent of honest, valid due diligence reasons to uphold the land use determination. The deliberate deception, material misrepresentation and ex post facto used by the city staff should be grounds to find the Staff Report to be moot.

At this point in the land use determination, it is abundantly clear that the city staff has placed blind trust in, and is echoing the same misrepresenting, misguiding, misinformation campaign that has been provided by the same group of San Diego County medical marijuana prohibitionists that failed miserably at preventing the issuance of the San Diego County Medical Marijuana ID Card Program all the way through the California Supreme Court.

The same prohibitionists have been using verbiage similar to the wordplay verbiage made evident in the 6.6 Staff Report in order to willfully confuse local area city councils and circumvent the will of the voters countywide. It appears that although the President of the United States and US Attorney General have officially ordered an end to federal raids on state legalized medical cannabis patients and facilities, there are a still local anti-medical marijuana solders, in high positions, that have not stopped fighting, in part by relying on falsehoods to attack the credibility of opponents.

The prolonged fight by the county prohibitionists has taken on a mis-guiding, mis-leading, and outright desperate approach. With all due respect, the intentionally fabricated attack on the character of South Bay Organic Co-Op by the 6.6 Staff Report is similar in nature to how a guilty rapist defends rape charges when faced with a jury trial, by attacking the victim’s credibility and intent. The cooperative did nothing to deserve an attack to our credibility or intent, other than appeal the land use determination with a strong, legally backed, voter-approved law and guideline.

As some Council Members are aware, I approached you early-on in this land use determination to introduce myself and to outline my intentions with regard to the cooperative, additionally; there is at least one council member that has known me personally for many years as a Palm Avenue, Imperial Beach business owner, a repeat PTA Board Member and lead volunteer at one of our local schools. I do not have a criminal record, nor do I have a criminal mind or a criminal heart and I am not a criminal by California law, I also do not intend to break any laws in this city or state.

I, in fact, agree with most of the reasons outlined in the 3.1 Staff Report that seek to pass a moratorium. Many of the same reasons are why I became involved in the formation of South Bay Organic Co-Op. I too would like to eradicate “dispensaries” like those mentioned in the 3.1 Staff Report that are causing bad publicity that negatively reflects on the collectives and cooperatives that operate within the law and far above the expectations of the critics and the medical marijuana prohibitionists alike.

The bylaws for South Bay Organic Co-Op Board of Directors currently, tentatively include one open, voting seat for the City of Imperial Beach. The founding board members and I feel very strongly about non-diversion and strict patient membership guidelines and think the city would offer helpful ideas with regard to the initial planning and the ongoing operations of South Bay Organic Co-Op.

The overall non-profit plan for the South Bay Organic Cooperative is not at all like the “dispensaries” referred to in the Agenda Item 3.1 Staff Report. I feel you should know that, at a large expense to the cooperative, the cooperative has begun working with the co-founder of Americans for Safe Access (ASA), Mr. Don Duncan of Harborside Management Associates. Mr. Duncan was instrumental in the writing of the Oakland City Ordinance, the West Hollywood City Ordinance and the Attorney General’s Guidelines. The cooperative is retaining Harborside specifically because we would like to model the cooperative after non-profit organizations like those of Harborside. Harborside locations currently operate successfully, honestly and respectfully through California and offer a very different Staff Report about how their neighbors and cities feel about having a generous non-profit in their community.

The city council should be made aware that there are highly regarded non-profit organizations who are not mentioned in the 3.1 Staff Report and who are contributing a great deal to their communities by adding jobs during a struggling economy and providing financial support through non-profit donations to the financially strapped neighborhoods where they are located. I would very much like to work with the city council on drafting strict ordinance regarding the land use that could, by precedence, include significant additional city revenue by way of a city tax similar to Oakland’s $18 per $1,000 of sales/”transactions”.

The 6.6 Staff Report fabrication, replacement and misrepresentation of the California Attorney General’s guideline wording should not be ignored by the city council. Instead, the council should use the report as a constant reminder that other legal viewpoints regarding this particular land use issue must be earnestly considered.

It would only be logical for the city council to approve and provided for the opportunity to hear the legitimate “other side” of Agenda Item 3.1 by acting on Agenda Item 6.6 before acting on item 3.1 with an Urgency Measure, considering Proposition 215 passed in 1996, SB 420 passed in 2003 and the California Attorney General’s Guidelines were released August 2008. The only “urgency” is that my land use appeal item is on the same day.

Acting on 6.6 prior to 3.1 would be fair to the cooperative that caused the item to be on the agenda and the collectives that are already established in Imperial Beach, not to mention the voters who voted for Prop 215 so many years ago.

It has been said, “There are three sides to every story, your side, my side and the truth.” You’ll need to hear my side too, to help you in this land use determination.

I remain at your service,

Marcus Boyd

A More Perfect Union - SDNN.com Opinion

Eugene Davidovich: Proving my medical marijuana case

By Eugene Davidovich - 7:19 AM August 11, 2009

This week brings more harassment to collectives and patients in San Diego by our local law enforcement. There are now reports from patients that police officers are parking their squad cars outside of collectives to intimidate the members as they go inside to get their medication. This, just weeks after Pierre Tiberius Uggla (a.k.a. San Diego Green Rx Detective Mike Mendez) was caught trying to join two collectives in town and months after Jamie Conlan (a.k.a. San Diego Green Rx Detective Scott Henderson) went to a local doctor and lied to obtain a valid recommendation for medical cannabis then joined all the collectives he could reach listed on the CA NORML.

All this for Operation Green Rx; the intent to target and eliminate all medical cannabis related activity in San Diego as well as help overturn Proposition 215 voted in by the people of California. Operation Green Rx was organized by detectives from the San Diego Police Department’s Narcotics Task force in collaboration with the District Attorney’s office and has been ongoing under one name or another for years in order to thwart the will of the people.

In this operation, detectives go to local doctors, lie about their symptoms, conditions and identities to obtain recommendations for medical cannabis. With these recommendations in-hand, detectives join as many of the collectives and cooperatives they can. The operation usually includes the detectives phoning collectives, providing all pertinent information to prove their status as legitimate patients, and then requesting to join each individual collective. Keep in mind, these collective and their existence is legal under California law.

The undercover officers proceed to request deliveries, make contributions, or pick up medicine form the collectives themselves. Last November the Operation Green Rx team rented and occupied a house in Pacific Beach for this purpose, (I wonder how much that cost the taxpayers?), then three months later, raided over 15 houses, sticking true to their motto of “Let the courts sort it out” at more cost, I might add.

These same detectives are trained by the California Narcotics Officers Association (CNOA) and told that “Marijuana is not medicine.” They tout this training in court as qualified medical training. The detectives then go after, not only the collectives in town, but also the doctors recommending medical cannabis to patients.

The District Attorney’s office as well as the Narcotics Team are instructed to “fight fiercely against marijuana” and believe that “marijuana is not medicine.” These same people have been against all things related to medical cannabis.

Although the intent of Operation Green Rx may be to eradicate medical cannabis in San Diego in support of San Diego County’s fight against Proposition 215, so far this attempt has miserably failed. As of today, there are more legal collectives and coops in San Diego than there ever have been in the past. Medical cannabis has been legal and will continue to be legal in California until the laws are changed by the people as they were in 1996 when voters passed the Compassionate Use Act, not by a select few in our local government and law enforcement who believe they are on a “higher” mission.

The only result that this misguided fight has brought, is years of uncertainty and an atmosphere of fear, and hundreds of innocent lives destroyed.

While San Diego is home to thousands of medical cannabis patients, so far as announced by the District Attorney less than 200 have signed up for the county Medical Marijuana Identification Card. I wonder if the low numbers are due to District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis publicly announcing that she is keeping track of exactly how many cards are issued and Supervisor Dianne Jacobs proclamation that this is now a great list of “users” that they can monitor.

In court, the story doesn’t change much — judges refer to cannabis as dope, the police refuse to hear or acknowledge the law, and the District Attorney’s office fights hard to deny the court seeing any evidence of the patient’s qualified status in hopes of trying individuals as drug dealers — worst of all the judges agree.

This type of prejudice, harassment, outright bias by the prosecution, efforts to pass moratoriums and bans — as well as the absence of the Mayor’s office to participate in the medical cannabis task force — only adds more confusion to the already confusing and impossible to follow “serpentine road-map” that makes up our medical cannabis laws.

Will there come a time when there is clarity? Will there ever be accountability for this waste, fraud, and abuse directed at medical cannabis patients in San Diego? Or will the opponents be successful in overturning Proposition 215? These questions will continue to be asked, and the voices with which they are asked will continue to grow stronger.

Read more: http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2009-08-11/news/politics-city-county-government/eugene-davidovich-proving-my-medical-marijuana-case-3#ixzz0NszBCiUI

Please help stop this illegal operation, senseless waste, abuse, harassment of legitimate patients, and the bias of a select few by supporting me in court.

Read the Operation Green Rx Blog – http://www.operationgreenrx.blogspot.com

Join the Cause to Stop Operation Green Rx – http://www.causes.com/operationgreenrx

Eugene Davidovich

http://www.eugenedavidovich.com

Chronic City: Marijuana Moratorium -- How To Ignore The Voters And The Law

http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2009/08/chronic_city_marijuana_morator.php

By Steve Elliott in Chronic City,Government, Health

Dispensary moratorium: Latest political fad?

​One by one, across California, the lights are winking out.

In city after city, town after town, patients who had dared hope they would at last have safe access to the medicine recommended by their physicians are having those hopes dashed by political cowardice, inertia, and the status quo.

In case you haven't noticed, medical marijuana is yet another front in the culture wars. Conservative hamlets which aren't yet ready for the 21st Century notion of patients being legally allowed to treat themselves with cannabis are turning off the light of hope for those who have already waited 13 years for the hope of Proposition 215 to become a reality.

Cheering on the dispensary ban fad are our friends at the California Police Chiefs Association, who released a reefer madness-tinged "report" in April claiming that cities allowing dispensaries have reported increases in loitering, illegal drug activity, burglaries, robberies, and "other criminal activity" for good measure. Notably missing from the "report" were any actual figures. (Most towns with operating dispensaries actually report no problems.)

Conservative single-issue front groups like the Inland Valley Drug Free Community Coalition are doing their best to make meaningless the medical marijuana cards finally issued by places like San Bernardino County -- after a six-year legal battle all the way to the Supreme Court -- by shutting off legal access to medical marijuana.

"Medical fraud marijuana is a business and these operators and so-called pot docs can make millions of dollars on their sales," the Coalition says on a press release. "While the U.S. Supreme Court recently refused to hear an appeal by our county on the issuance of pot ID cards, there is no law mandating a jurisdiction to allow for pot shops."

City councils in towns like Oceanside are imposing "45-day bans" on marijuana dispensaries with "optional extensions" of nearly two years. Any idea how long two years is to, say, a terminal cancer patient? It might as well be forever.

While about 32 California cities and eight counties have regulations allowing dispensaries, according to medical marijuana advocacy group Americans for Safe Access (ASA), more than 110 cities and seven counties have outright bans on the pot stores. Three counties and 51 cities have enacted "temporary" moratoriums, according to ASA.

Civil liberties advocates worry that the bans -- often poorly planned and hastily enacted -- define "dispensary" so broadly, they could affect "a single caregiver providing medical marijuana to a single patient in the privacy of the home," as David Blair-Loy, legal director with the San Diego chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) told the Oceanside city council.

Medical marijuana patient advocates worry that the current wave of moratoriums genuinely threatens or eliminates safe access for patients in many areas.

For example, patients in Ventura County have no options when it comes to legally and locally purchasing medical marijuana, because no city or unincorporated area in the county currently allows dispensaries. Some cities, including Moorpark, Oxnard, and Thousand Oaks, have adopted "temporary" moratoriums; Camarillo just extended its ban. Simi Valley has enacted a permanent one.

In Santa Cruz County, the City of Santa Cruz is the only place in the county where dispensaries are allowed. "The city has not had problems with crime associated with the two dispensaries permitted in Santa Cruz," City Planner Juliana Rebagliati told the city council. Yet Santa Cruz just extended its "45-day" moratorium on new dispensaries to six months. City Manager Richard Wilson said Santa Cruz "is not interested in becoming a regional supplier." Sorry, rest of the patients in Santa Cruz County! Guess it sucks to be you!

Even in Sonoma County, nestled between Mendocino and Marin counties, permanent dispensary bans have been enacted in Cotati and Windsor. Santa Rosa imposes a two-club limit and mandates that each serve no more than 500 clients. (Suppose the number of patients in the area exceeds a thousand? Guess they'll be driving north to Mendocino or south to Marin. So much for convenience.)

Even having working dispensary regulations already in place hasn't stopped some cities from trying to join the fad of enacting moratoriums. In Dixon, a Solano County town which already had a dispensary ordinance passed in 2004, city staff recommended the council approve a moratorium to give staff 45 days -- which can be extended twice! -- to "evaluate" the ordinance. Could that really mean Dixon failed to "evaluate" their own ordinance before passing it five years ago, or any time since?

In any event, the council voted 3-2 in favor of a dispensary ban, but since the ordinance required a four-fifths vote, it failed to pass. Dixon is the last town in Solano County without a dispensary moratorium. (Solano County reluctantly agreed to implement a medical marijuana ID card program in June after being sued by ASA.)

The Anaheim City Council's pot dispensary ban is currently being challenged in court by the Qualified Patients Association. Judge David Thompson of Orange County Superior Court temporarily blocked Anaheim's law forbidding marijuana outlets from going into effect last month. On Sept. 28, Thompson is scheduled to decide whether to stop the law until a trial.

Elsewhere, existing dispensaries are threatened by the expansion of city limits. The West County Patient Collective Association in Sunset Beach, with 500 patients, has an uncertain future with both Seal Beach and Huntington Beach -- both of which ban dispensaries -- interested in absorbing the 1,200 resident community.

San Bernardino County is poised to extend a moratorium on new medical marijuana dispensaries for almost a year while planners claim they "need more time to put together guidelines." (You'd think maybe they should have been putting those together for the past six years, instead of fighting the state's requirement to issue medical marijuana ID cards!) The Board of Supervisors, which approved a 45-day moratorium June 23, will consider a proposal today to extend the moratorium all the way to June 19, 2010. The current moratorium there is due to expire Friday.

San Diego, with an estimated 60 dispensaries, seems to be following in the path of San Diego County municipalities like Escondido, Oceanside, Chula Vista, and National City, all of which have enacted the currently fashionable moratoriums for at least 45 days.

But that may be moot after Wednesday, when the San Diego County Board of Supervisors may impose the ever-popular "45-day" moratorium on dispensaries countywide. Joe Farace, a county planning manager, said officials will "probably" ask supervisors to extend moratorium another 10 months. Since San Diego -- along with San Bernardino -- expensively fought for six years California's requirement to issue medical marijuana ID cards until forced to do so by the U.S. Supreme Court, things don't look particularly promising.

The Right Reasons?

Don't get me wrong; there probably are towns that have instituted dispensary moratoriums in good faith, which actually do use the time thus bought to develop sensible regulations. "Research and experience teach us that regulations reduce crime and complaints, while serving to preserve access," says Don Duncan, California campaign director for ASA.

But for every city which is genuinely trying to do the right thing, there are probably at least two or three which have moratoriums in place because local politicians simply don't like pot, or because, panicked at the thought of seeming to be caught out as was the city council of Los Angeles, they want to delay the inevitable (implementation of Prop 215) as long as possible.

But it's very unlikely that the Los Angeles scenario will be repeated elsewhere. A boilerplate "hardship exemption" in the moratorium there provided a loophole through which hundreds of dispensaries opened, but cities like San Francisco and Oakland have instituted dispensary regulations which allow both safe access and protect public safety while regulating the number of dispensaries.

Okay, Let's Be Generous

While at first glance it would seem that cities have had 13 years (since the passage of Prop. 215) to get their acts together regarding medical marijuana, let's be generous and acknowledge that dispensaries, while already popular in areas like San Francisco, weren't legally acknowledged until 2004 when the Legislature adopted SB 420, codifying legal patient collectives into law as it expanded and clarified Prop 215.

One could even argue that city governments didn't really know the lay of the land until Barack Obama (with his campaign promise not to interfere with state medical marijuana laws) was elected last November. For those skeptical of such campaign promises, all doubt was removed early this year by Attorney General Eric Holder, who re-stated his boss's campaign promise as the official policy of the administration. Reports from the ground indicate that's when city governments statewide really began receiving a flood of dispensary applications.

But all these things are now months in the past, yet city councils are still freaking out over the political hot potato that's been dropped in their laps. Even after California AG Jerry Brown's office earlier this year issued state guidelines for the operation and regulation of medical marijuana dispensaries, city councils are still scrambling for political cover by acting as if no guidance is available, when nothing could be farther from the truth. Even before Brown's guidelines, San Francisco had working, productive relationships with marijuana dispensaries for years.

Many towns such as San Bernardino County's Loma Linda have never had any dispensaries, and are now enacting moratoriums in response to inquiries from prospective dispensary operators. At a recent city council meeting there, City Attorney Richard Holdaway advanced the interesting legal theory that since Loma Linda's municipal code doesn't expressly permit dispensaries, they are not allowed. Hmm... Anything not expressly allowed is forbidden? Loma Linda's "45-day" moratorium can be extended up to two years.

Banning dispensaries is not reasonable, patient advocate Lanny Swerdlow told the council. "You cannot take away people's rights under California law by zoning them out of existence," he said, forcing medical marijuana patients "to get their medicine from black market criminals."

Donna Lambert - Victim of Operation Green Rx

Donna Lambert, Thursday August 06, 2009.

Apparently the DA is not willing to drop my case as I hoped they would after the KUSI interview. The silence from them is scary. Normally, they have responded to everything I have done with police drivebys and helicopter fly-overs, but now, nothing. Silence is deafening. I believe they are up to something serious.

After several days of refusing to respond to my attorneys emails, Deputy District Attorney Steve Walters spent fifteen minutes on the phone with my attorney Mr. Singleton. They still refuse to drop the case and they refuse to define exactly how it is they believe I broke the law.

I believe my phone is tapped because ever since I called them just over a week ago, and they put me on hold for five minutes, my phone has been dropping calls and echoing like crazy when I talk.

Below video is where Concil Member Marti Emerald asks the Police how to make sure that sales are only done to people with cards. Apparently she is unaware that the police have cards and pose as legitimate patients and then arrest anybody who will help them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GWKsq16oyM&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eyoutube%2Ecom%2Fuser%2FSanDiego420watch&feature=player_profilepage

Take Care,

Donna

-------------------------

Hi. I'm Donna. I am facing 7 felonies for trying to help out a doctor recommended verified medical patient. I definately need help and court support. See the KUSI link titled DA discusses medical marijuaan for my story. There is an short interview with me on there. Maybe together we can stand up against this tyranny. If I can be this sick, and with a judge ruling that I did not do this for profit, and have them still prosecuting me...I do not think anybody in the medical marijuana community is safe in San Diego until we demand our rights under state law. Didn't the constitution say, "by the people for the people?

http://www.kusi.com/news/goodmorning/52084742.html

-------------------------

Donna Lambert is a victim of Operation Green Rx and the district attorney's fight to overturn proposition 215 and the will of the people. Please support donna, jopin her facebook support group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=113951538449&ref=search

JOIN THE CAUSE TO STOP OPERATION GREEN RX

http://www.causes.com/operationgreenrx

SAN DIEGO COUNTY BOARD TO ADOPT URGENCY ORDINANCE ENACTING A MORATORIUM

SAN DIEGO COUNTY BOARD TO ADOPT URGENCY ORDINANCE ENACTING A MORATORIUM

COME AND SPEAK YOUR MIND ON THE ISSUE!

AUGUST 5, 2009

According to the SD County Board Calendar Meeting is at 9:00 am

http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/bos/docs/calendar2009.pdf

Item 6 on the County Board Meeting Agenda: http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/cob/bosa/index.html

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 05, 2009

Board Of Supervisors North Chamber

1600 Pacific Highway, Room 310, San Diego, California

AGENDA ITEM 6. SUBJECT:

AN URGENCY ORDINANCE ENACTING A MORATORIUM ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES (DISTRICTS: ALL)

OVERVIEW:

On June 23, 2009 (20), the Board of Supervisors directed the Chief Administrative Officer to amend the Zoning Ordinance to prohibit illegal marijuana dispensaries from operating within the unincorporated area of the county. In response, staff is developing an ordinance which will prohibit marijuana dispensaries which do not qualify under provisions of State law permitting use of marijuana for medical purposes. This letter proposes development of regulations of those medical marijuana dispensaries not covered by the Board's June 23, 2009 referral.

This letter also proposes that the Board adopt an interim urgency moratorium on the establishment of marijuana dispensaries while the new regulations are developed. Existing County codes, including the Zoning Ordinance, do not specifically address or regulate the establishment, location or operation of marijuana dispensaries. The establishment of marijuana dispensaries before appropriate procedures and regulation are enacted has the potential to cause adverse impacts to surrounding development and risks to public heath, safety and welfare of the County’s residents and the general public. The interim urgency ordinance would allow County staff the time needed to study how marijuana dispensaries should be permitted and determine the appropriate regulations for such uses before they are presented to your Board for consideration.

Official Statement from Mayor Jerry Sanders about Medical Cannabis

Wednesday July 29th, 2009 the Public Health and Human Services Committee held a meeting where the issue of re-establishing the Medical Cannabis Taskforce was raised.

The committee voted unanimously to draw up a resolution which will be presented to the entire city council for approval. The resolution will be to create the Medical Marijuana Task force in San Diego. The task force among other things would be tasked with providing clarification and suggested guidance and regulations for collectives and patients in San Diego. It was also announced that there would be three medical cannabis patients on the task force.

However Mayor Jerry Sanders' office announced that they would not allow the police department or any other department reporting to the Mayor's office to participate in the taskforce because they would like to see the task force made up of only officials and not patients (citizens).

Thursday July 30th, after we contacted the Mayor's office for comment, Mr. Ron Lacey from Mayor Jerry Sanders' office issued the following statement:

"Based on the Mayor’s philosophy he feels the City Council, working with city planners along with input from affected citizens as well as dispensary operators can formulate a plan that can address everybody’s needs.

Mayor Jerry Sanders is not opposed to medical marijuana."

We were not able to get further comment from the Mayor about why the San Diego Police department will not be sending a representative to the Task Force.

Without the direct involvement and participation of both the Mayor's office and all relevant departments, the task force's recommendation will fall on deaf ears, patients will continue to suffer, and law enforcement will continue to operate under vague laws.

My letter to Mayor Jerry Sanders:

Dear Mayor Jerry Sanders,

Thank you for the recent statement in support of Marijuana as Medicine. Although it is nice to know that in theory your office supports medical marijuana, it would be even better to actually see this support materialize into action.

This Wednesday a representative of your office at the Public Safety meeting where the task force was discussed announced that the Police Department or any other department under your authority would not be allowed to participate in the task force.

I respectfully urge you to reconsider your position on the issue and allow the Police Department and any other relevant agency / departments to have representation on the soon to be established Medical Cannabis Task Force.

The Medical Cannabis Task Force is a crucial part of providing the long awaited clarification for patients. If the departments that report to your office are not allowed to participate, especially the police department, then the fear is that the police who are tasked with enforcing these murky laws will continue to harass patients and collectives, rather than listen to the recommendations of the task force.

Patients need protections, collectives need clarity, and law enforcement needs to be properly trained on Cannabis as Medicine.

Respectfully,

Eugene Davidovich

San Diego Medical Cannabis UPDATE - Operation Green RX In Full Force

Proposition 215 also known as the Compassionate Use Act passed over thirteen years ago by California voters, was followed by Senate Bill 420 passed in 2003. SB420 not only reaffirmed the defense in court allowed to patients under Prop 215, it also mandated that counties around the state implement a voluntary ID Card program designed to give patients additional protection from arrest and prosecution. Most counties and cities in the state have long since adopted the ID card program mandated by SB420.

In the case of the City of San Diego, additional protection to patients were established by passing local ordinances allowing higher limits both on plant numbers and the amount of dried cannabis a patient could possess, transport, etc. The laws continued to evolve, and now we hav e the City of Oakland where voters approved with 80 percent support the nations first tax on “cannabis businesses”. The additional tax would asses $18 for every $1,000 of gross receipts beginning January 1, 2010, and there are even discussions and debates on a national level about decriminalization and in California outright legalization, regulation, and taxation of cannabis which the Department of Equalization last week estimated could potentially bring in over 1.4 billion in additional annual revenue to the State's general fund.

The San Diego County Board however took a strong position against Prop 215. In 2006 the City of San Diego was preparing to issue its own ID Cards to provide as much protection to patients in the city as it possibly could from the clear bias and unwillingness of the county to comply with state law. The county wouldn't have it. They filed a lawsuit against “San Diego NORML”, and pursued it all the way to the US Supreme Court, resulting in a landmark decision in favor of medical cannabis patients and at the same time putting the City's ID Card program on hold.

Today as San Diego County finally began accepting applications for the long awaited ID Cards after being forced to do so by the US Supreme court, and as a few ID cards begin arriving in the mail, our elected officials both city and county are forced to acknowledge and deal with the collective cultivation efforts and dispensing collectives opening in San Diego.

Most cities within San Diego County have quickly adopted moratorium which prevent new collectives from opening. The San Diego county however, as the first order of business after implementing the most expensive ID Card program in the state, decided to draft an ordinance that would “prohibit medical marijuana dispensaries in the Unincorporated Areas”. The County Bord's June 23 meeting agenda read “The sale and use of marijuana is illegal under Federal law for any purpose”. The item went on to discuss the negative impacts of “dispensaries” on communities and ended with “Chairwoman Jacob, Supervisor Horn, Sheriff Kolender, and District Attorney Dumanis, Direct the Chief Administrative Officer to work with County Counsel to draft an ordinance amendment to the County's Zoning Ordinance prohibiting illegal medical marijuana dispensaries from operating within the unincorporated area of the County.”

While the county is busy implementing yet another roadblock for patients, the San Diego City Council decided to take a different approach. On Wednesday July 8, 2009 at the San Diego City Public Safety and Health Committee meeting the issue of medical cannabis regulations was raised and debated. The establishment of a Medical Cannabis Task Force was discussed and planned. Testimony from law enforcement, health officials, and patients was heard and acknowledged by Chairwoman Marti Emerald and other members of the committee, council member Tony Young even extended an invitation to all those who came to speak from the public that day to his office for further discussions and dialog. The Committee will reconvene again to take action on these issues on the 29 of July.

The District Attorney's office decided to take a different approach altogether. Last year as Operation Green RX was in its early stages, the San Diego Police Department Narcotics Task Force sent detectives to local doctors to obtain valid recommendations for medical cannabis. The intent was to target and bring down all medical cannabis related activity in San Diego. With these valid recommendations in hand, detectives targeted all the collectives and cooperatives listed on the CA NORML website. The operation began with the detectives calling the collectives over the phone, providing all the pertinent information to prove their status as legitimate patients, and then requesting to join each individual collective.

The undercover officers proceeded to request deliveries of medication to a house set up in Pacific Beach for this operation to be used as their home, then three months later raided over fifteen houses, sticking true to their motto of “Let the courts sort it out”.

Several months later in February of this year, the district attorney's office held a press conference titled Operation Endless Summer, which can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsDXbX5xxt0

At the press conference there was no mention of medical cannabis, Operation Green RX, or the fact that half the people netted in the operation were medical patients that had no ties to the military or to the illegal drugs shown during the press conference. The news picked it up as a major victory in the illegal war on drugs by our District Attorney, when in fact it was a clear continued attempt to shut down collectives, and prevent any attempts made by patients to follow the law.

As court records have now revealed, this operation was in fact called Green RX and a number of detectives have already testified under oath that this operation was targeted at medical cannabis in San Diego and had nothing to do with targeting drug sales to the military or on navy bases/housing. At these same hearings, these same detectives boast about the medical cannabis training they received in Sacramento. When questioned further as to the type of training, the detectives state that the training is provided by the California Narcotics Officers Association (CNOA) and a very informative handout that they received and base their expert opinion on.

Here is a brief sample from that handout: USE OF MARIJUANA AS “MEDICINE”
Quick Facts:Marijuana, a plant from the cannabis family, is illegal and highly psychoactive.
Marijuana and its associated compounds can seriously affect the human body.Marijuana is NOT medicine.

Handout can be downloaded here from the CNOA California Narcotic Officers Association: http://www.cnoa.org/N-09.pdf

There is no mention or detailed description of any of the medical cannabis laws or related legislation anywhere in that handout. In fact the document is a clear misrepresentation of medical facts, and is clearly bias. The most troubling of this situation is that when an expert witness who helped work with the legislators on drafting and formulating Prop 215 is brought in to examine the evidence, determines and testifies that the defendant was in fact in compliance, the judge dismisses the experts testimony and sides with the 'medically' trained detectives.

Many in San Diego were under the impression that Operation Green RX was a federal effort was executed by the DEA or in collaboration with other federal and local agencies. When the Obama administration decided not to pursue medical cannabis patients, and had the Attorney General's office issue statements of the like, many were convinced that the President's position on the issue combined with the US Supreme Court's decision not to hear San Diego County's law suit, would end Operation Green RX and would allow patients to finally see the long awaited clarification from our elected officials. We all were mistaken, Operation Green RX is in full force.

Less than two and a half weeks ago, on July 7th Detective Mike Mendez from the San Diego Police Department’s Narcotics Task Force went to a local doctor here in San Diego, lied about his identity, symptoms, condition, and obtained under the name of Pierre Tiberius Uggla a valid Physician’s Statement and Recommendation for the medical use of cannabis.

On Thursday July 9th Pierre (Detective Mike Medez) called a local dispensing collective, provided all the pertinent information over the phone to prove that he is a qualified patient, then after being verified by the collective with his physician, the Detective went to the collective, completed all the required paperwork, and joined. While completing the membership agreements and other documents, the detective displayed a blatant disregard for law enforcement protocols and revealed his real name Mike Mendez on the form.

Research of news articles from the past and public records have shown, Detective Mike Mendez (Pierre Uggla) has been with the San Diego Police Department for over 20 years, and currently is assigned to the San Diego Narcotics Task Force.

Detective Mendez was reported by the collective operator as saying “Whats the good kron here?” when entering the medicine room of the collective.

According to reports from several other collectives in San Diego over the last two weeks, Mike Mendez (Pierre Uggla) and a number of others with valid recommendations made multiple attempts in join collectives around the city and county. The security staff at one of the collective attacked by Detective Mendez reported that the detectives “came in to the front check-in area, began acting belligerent, started to harassing the members waiting to check in, and actually attempted to enter the secured medication room without approval”. When asked to leave by the armed security staff and escorted outside, the detectives were heard yelling at the security staff “Who’s side are you on?”.

Further research showed that this same detective was involved in both Operation Green RX this February in which all the collectives listed on the California NORML website were targeted, as well as in Operation Green RX '06 when other collectives and doctor were targeted and shut down around the city.

Tuesday of this week I went to the San Diego City Council again asking them to intervene in this illegal operation. The video of this request can be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OQ3YR133hQ

These same detectives sit on the stand in court under oath and say that they respect medical cannabis, when at the same hearing they also testify that their knowledge of medical cannabis is based on this handout from the CNOA, which instructs the detectives to believe that cannabis is NOT medicine, is illegal and highly addictive.

The doctors targeted by these investigations, the patients, and the citizens of San Diego are demanding answers. Who is funding these investigations? Who is behind them? Why is this senseless waste of taxpayer dollars allowed to continue while other legitimate members of the narcotics and other task forces around the county are being laid off as a result of the budget crisis and the economy?

This type of behavior, harassment, and continued prosecutions based on a complete misrepresentation and disregard for the laws already in place is both shocking, and additional proof that the San Diego Narcotics Task Force has made it's Top Priority to shut down all medical collective cultivation and distribution efforts in San Diego regardless of the attempts made by these patients to follow the law.

This combined with the county's continued efforts to put roadblocks in front of patients trying to follow the law only adds more confusion to already confusing and impossible to follow “serpentine roadmap” that makes up our cannabis laws as one of the Judges put it in a recent hearing of a Green RX defendant.

If the narcotics task force, the county, and the district attorney would invest even a third of the effort and funding into productive outreach to the collectives and began to actually work with patients instead of creating roadblocks and this continued harassment and bias driven prosecutions, then I am certain that all the public concerns would have already been addressed, legal zoning ordinances and permits for collectives would be an issue of the past as it is with many cities in California such as San Francisco, and patients would feel safe and have safe access.

It is crucial now more then ever for supporters, patients, doctors, law enforcement officials, and our health department to continue the dialog started by the City Council. It is also just as critical for the people of San Diego to see with transparency and demand accountability from the people behind these investigations. This continued waste and senseless harassment or in short, madness, needs to stop.

The solution is not bans, moratoriums, or prosecutions. Outright bans result in lawsuits, moratoriums in years of stalling and extensions of the moratoriums, and prosecutions result in patients and collectives having to operate so deeply underground that any potential benefit they could be bringing to the community is stifled by the environment of fear.

The solution will only be discovered through collaboration, outreach, understanding, and eduction of between all the parties involved. Until there is clarity patients will continue to suffer, our law enforcement will continue to operate under “vague laws”, and the lives of innocent law abiding citizens will continue to be destroyed by a select bias driven few.

Often I hear in our community many who want to do something to help make a difference. Here are three specific things you can do today to help stop Operation Green RX and prevent more arrests, harassment, and the bias driven prosecutions here in San Diego.

1. Write the GRAND JURY
2. Write City Council
3. Call and Write the San Diego District Attorney (Bonnie Dumanis)

Instructions and Contact Information:Writing to the Grand Jury: Follow the link below and submit a form to the grand jury asking them to investigate. Instruction on how to fill the form out, and the form can be downloaded here: http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/grandjury/forms/complaint_form.html

City Council: Please email the City Council and ask them to call for a Grand Jury investigation into Operation Green RX.
sherrilightner@sandiego.gov; kevinfaulconer@sandiego.gov; toddgloria@sandiego.gov; anthonyyoung@sandiego.gov; carldemaio@sandiego.gov; donnafrye@sandiego.gov; martiemerald@sandiego.gov; benhueso@sandiego.gov;

District Attorney (Bonnie Dumanis): Please call or write District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis and ask her office to stop prosecuting medical cannabis patients and to launch an investigation into Operation Green RX.
District Attorney:
Bonnie Dumanis
T: 619-531-4040
E: publicaffairs@sdcda.org
330 W. Broadway
San Diego, CA 92101

For more information about my case, Operation Green RX, and to see the undercover footage of the delivery of medication to the detective please visit: http://www.eugenedavidovich.com/ and http://www.operationgreenrx.blogspot.com/

HELP STOP OPERATION GREEN RX

Here are three specific things you can do today to help stop Operation Green Rx and prevent more arrests, harassment, and the bias driven prosecutions here in San Diego.

1. Write the GRAND JURY

2. Write City Council

3. CALL and Write the District Attorney

Instructions and Contact Information

1. Writing to the Grand Jury: Please go to the link below and submit a form to the grand jury asking them to investigate. Instruction on how to fill the form out, and the form can be downloaded here: http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/grandjury/forms/complaint_form.html

2. City Council: Please email the City Council and ask them to call for a Grand Jury investigation into Operation Green Rx.

sherrilightner@sandiego.gov; kevinfaulconer@sandiego.gov; toddgloria@sandiego.gov; anthonyyoung@sandiego.gov; carldemaio@sandiego.gov; donnafrye@sandiego.gov; martiemerald@sandiego.gov; benhueso@sandiego.gov;

3. District Attorney (Bonnie Dumanis): Please CALL or write District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis and ask her to DROP THE CHARGES IN MY CASE, Stop Prosecuting Medical Cannabis Patients, and launch an investigation into Operation Green Rx.

District Attorney: Bonnie Dumanis

T: 619-531-4040

E: publicaffairs@sdcda.org

330 W. Broadway

San Diego, CA 92101

Operation Green RX 09 – Investigations of San Diego Medical Cannabis Collectives Continue

By Eugene Davidovich, July 19, 2009

If you thought that Operation Green Rx only occured in the beginning of this year and only affected collectives operating prior to the Supreme Courts Decision to not hear San Diego County Board of Supervisors Law Suit and attempt to overturn Prop 215, think again!

July 7th, 2009 Detective Mike Mendez from the San Diego Police Department’s Narcotics team went to Dr. Clark’s office in San Diego, lied about his identity, symptoms, condition, and obtained under the name of Pierre Tiberius Uggla a valid Physician’s Statement and Recommendation for the medical use of marijuana.

Here is a picture of his Valid California Driver's License, he used to obtain the Recommendation:

On Thursday July 9th Detective Mike Medez went to Answerdam (a medical cannabis collective in San Diego), provided a copy of the recommendation along with a valid CA Drivers License #N3267614 shown above, and successfully joined the collective. When completing the appropriate paperwork to join the collective, “Pierre Uggla” accidentally wrote his real name Mike Mendez on the form.

As research on line (UT Article) and public records has shown Detective Mike Mendez (Pierre Uggla) has been with the San Diego Police Department for over 20 years, and currently is assigned to the San Diego Narcotics Task Force.

It was also reported that Mike Mendez said “Whats the good kron here?” when entering the medicine room of the collective.

Detective Mike Mendez (Pierre Ugla) arrived at Answerdam on Thursday July 16th in a light blue 2005/06 Toyota Avalon) driven by Detective Mark Carlson (Sterner Vs. Carlson) also of the San Diego Police Departments’ narcotics team that was involved in Operation Green Rx (http://www.EugeneDavidovich.com) in February where another Detective of the San Diego Police Department (Scott Henderson) called and joined all of the collectives then listed on CA NORML.

To see the undercover footage from Operation Green Rx of February of this year, please visit http://www.eugenedavidovich.com

Both Detective Mike Mendez (Pierre Uggla) and Detective Mark Carlson were accompanied by two more detectives driving a Silver Van. These detectives have not yet been identified, however interviews with Top Quality Collective security staff have revealed that the two detectives driving the silver van went into the collective and attempted to join without the proper paperwork. It is reported that the detectives began to act belligerent and began to harass the members arriving, when asked to leave the premises, the were reported telling the security staff “who's side are you on?”.

According to reports from several other collectives in San Diego, Mike Mendez (Pierre Uggla), Mark Carlson, and the two detectives in the Silver Van, have made several attempts in the past few weeks to join multiple collectives here in San Diego.

This is both shocking, and additional proof that The San Diego Narcotics Task Force has made it's Top Priority to shut down all collective cultivation / distribution efforts in San Diego, regardless of the attempts made by collectives to follow the law.

The 'war' on the San Diego Medical Cannabis community by a select few has not ended. The people of San Diego should demand a STOP to Operation Green RX, these senseless investigations, and the continued harassment of collectives in San Diego by the select bias driven few in the Narcotics Task force.

(Detectives: Mike Mendez, Mark Carlson, Conrado Decastro, Scott Henderson)

Please write the San Diego City Council and ask them to call for an immediate stop to Operation Green Rx, and a full Grand Jury investigation.

Email all the council members:

sherrilightner@sandiego.gov; kevinfaulconer@sandiego.gov; toddgloria@sandiego.gov; anthonyyoung@sandiego.gov; carldemaio@sandiego.gov; donnafrye@sandiego.gov; martiemerald@sandiego.gov; benhueso@sandiego.gov;

Or email them individually:

District 1

Councilmember Sherri Lightner

E-mail: sherrilightner@sandiego.gov;

District 2

Council President Pro Tem Kevin Faulconer

E-mail: kevinfaulconer@sandiego.gov;

District 3

Councilmember Todd Gloria

E-mail: toddgloria@sandiego.gov;

District 4

Councilmember Tony Young

E-mail: anthonyyoung@sandiego.gov;

District 5

Councilmember Carl DeMaio

E-mail: carldemaio@sandiego.gov;

District 6

Councilmember Donna Frye

E-mail: donnafrye@sandiego.gov;

District 7

Councilmember Marti Emerald

E-mail: martiemerald@sandiego.gov;

District 8

Council President Ben Hueso

E-mail: benhueso@sandiego.gov;

Eugene Davidovich, eugene.davidovich@gmail.com

http://www.eugenedavidovich.com / http://www.operationgreenrx.blogspot.com

Prevent another Operation Green Rx. Do something to make a difference

Dear Supporters,

Often I hear in our community that there are many who want to do something to help make a difference in the fight.

Here are two specific things that you can do that I beleive will truly make a difference and help prevent another Operation Green Rx as well as help me with my case.

1. Write San Diego City Council

2. Call and Write to the San Diego District Attorney

(please see contact info and further explanation on how)

WRITING CITY COUNCIL

If you feel comfortable doing so, I would greatly appreciate it if you could write the San Diego City Council. Please send them an email asking them to launch a Grand Jury investigation into Operation Green Rx! After all we all were told that Medical Cannabis patients would not be targeted and that it was not top priority for San Diego Law enforcement.

District 1

Councilmember Sherri Lightner

E-mail: sherrilightner@sandiego.gov

District 2

Council President Pro Tem Kevin Faulconer

E-mail: kevinfaulconer@sandiego.gov

District 3

Councilmember Todd Gloria

E-mail: toddgloria@sandiego.gov

District 4

Councilmember Tony Young

E-mail: anthonyyoung@sandiego.gov

District 5

Councilmember Carl DeMaio

E-mail: carldemaio@sandiego.gov

District 6

Councilmember Donna Frye

E-mail: donnafrye@sandiego.gov

District 7

Councilmember Marti Emerald

E-mail: martiemerald@sandiego.gov

District 8

Council President Ben Hueso

E-mail: benhueso@sandiego.gov

WRITING THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY

Please CALL or write District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis and ask her to drop the charges in my case, Stop Prosecuting Medical Cannabis Patients, and launch an investigation into Operation Green Rx.

District Attorney: Bonnie Dumanis

T: 619-531-4040

E: publicaffairs@sdcda.org

330 W. Broadway

San Diego, CA 92101

I sincerely thank you for you support and for doing something to make a difference. The time has come to say enough is enough, patients deserve respect, safe access, and a stop to these senseless prosecutions that do nothing for the public good, rather destroy innocent people's lives and clog up our already bankrupt and problematic legal system.

Respectfully,

Eugene Davidovich

GW Receives Commercial Manufacturing Licence for Sativex®

GW Receives Commercial Manufacturing Licence for Sativex®
FROM: http://www.gwpharm.com/
16/07/2009


GW receives commercial manufacturing licence for sativex®

Porton Down, UK, 16 July 2009: GW Pharmaceuticals plc (GWP:AIM) today announces that it has passed a Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) inspection by the UK regulatory authority of its new in-house commercial manufacturing facility for Sativex®, enabling the facility to act as the primary manufacturing site for the anticipated European commercial launch of Sativex.

Prior to now, GW has sub-contracted the final step in the bulk GMP manufacture of Sativex to a contract manufacturing partner. GW has previously announced that it had decided to upgrade its in-house facility with a view to taking over responsibility for GMP commercial finished product manufacture from its sub-contracting partner in time for European commercial launch. This upgrade has been completed on time and on budget. This means that GW now controls each step in the manufacturing supply chain for Sativex.

GW’s new in-house facility was recently inspected by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and a GMP Certificate and Manufacturer’s/Importer’s Licence has now been issued to allow for commercial manufacture. This commercial licence adds to GW’s previous licences to manufacture clinical trials materials and to manufacture product for named patient supply.

The new GW facility is initially able to produce quantities of Sativex sufficient to treat 25,000 patients per year. In addition, GW has put in place arrangements at its manufacturing site to expand this capacity in order to respond to increased demand in the coming years.

In May, GW filed a regulatory submission for Sativex for the treatment of spasticity due to Multiple Sclerosis in the UK and Spain under the European decentralised procedure. It is expected that an outcome of the regulatory submission will be known towards the end of 2009 / early 2010. Upon approval, Sativex will be marketed in the UK by Bayer HealthCare, and in the rest of the European Union by Laboratorios Almirall S.A.

Mr Justin Gover, GW’s Managing Director, said, “We are pleased to have passed this important step in preparation for the anticipated European commercial launch of Sativex. We now have full control of the manufacturing supply chain for Sativex, which will benefit the company strategically as well as in terms of our gross margin.”

Enquiries:

GW Pharmaceuticals plc (Today) + 44 20 7831 3113
Dr Geoffrey Guy, Chairman (Thereafter) + 44 1980 557000
Justin Gover, Managing Director

Financial Dynamics + 44 20 7831 3113
Ben Atwell / John Dineen

Investec Bank plc + 44 20 7597 4000
Patrick Robb


Notes to Editors


Sativex MS Spasticity Regulatory Submission
In May 2009, GW announced that it had filed a regulatory submission for Sativex for the treatment of spasticity due to Multiple Sclerosis. This submission followed the announcement in March 2009 of a positive Phase III trial in this indication. The regulatory submission has been filed in the UK and Spain under the European decentralised procedure. The UK regulatory authority, the MHRA, is acting as Reference Member State and has validated the application. It is expected that an outcome of the regulatory submission will be known towards the end of 2009 / early 2010.

Following approval in the UK and Spain, submissions for approval will made in additional European countries during 2010 under the mutual recognition procedure.

About GW
GW was founded in 1998 and listed on the AIM, a market of the London Stock Exchange, in June 2001. Operating under license from the UK Home Office, the company researches and develops cannabinoid pharmaceutical products for patients who suffer from a range of serious ailments, in particular multiple sclerosis and cancer pain. GW has assembled a large in-house scientific team with expertise in cannabinoid science as well as experience in the development of both plant-based prescription pharmaceutical products and medicines containing controlled substances. GW occupies a world leading position in cannabinoids and has developed an extensive international network of the most prominent scientists in the field.