There are many patients and concerned citizens in the San Diego community who have witnessed firsthand DA Bonnie Dumanis' fierce and misguided fight against medical marijuana patients.
In response to her bid for Mayor of San Diego in 2012, many in San Diego have quickly united in opposition. The medical marijuana community sent a strong message to all supporters regarding Dumanis’ track record on the issue through social media and the internet. Most recently the ‘Dumanis Propaganda Machine’ began turning its wheels and producing misleading information about her record on the medical marijuana issue.
Dumanis has begun to recycle her old rhetoric claiming she in fact supports medical marijuana and that it is all the collectives that break the law because they are ‘selling’ marijuana. Dumanis is prepared to spend thousands of dollars on her propaganda war.
We urgently need your help to quickly mobilize opposition to the propaganda which will be put out from the Dumanis campaign in the coming weeks by helping us disseminate Dumanis true position and track record on the issue.
Take Action Against Bonnie Dumanis Today!
1. Post a negative review for Bonnie Dumanis on Yelp
2. Join the NOT DUMANIS campaign on Facebook.
Top three reasons why Dumanis is bad for San Diego compiled from dozens of responses from residents in the city of San Diego:
1. Dumanis is bad for our Community’s Safety and Welfare
Failed to protect victims' rights and has advanced her political agenda instead.
2. Dumanis is Bad for Marriage Equality
As District Attorney Dumanis has turned her back on the LGBT community by supporting anti-gay candidates and refusing to help defeat Proposition 8.
3. Dumanis is Bad for Medical Marijuana
Continues to wage a 'fierce fight' against medical marijuana patients and the protections created in the law for the sick and dying, while at the same time claiming to be for the issue.
Showing posts with label District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis. Show all posts
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Sentencing for Vista pot shop owner set for Friday
PROSECUTORS HAVE AGREED TO RECOMMEND PROBATION, NOT JAIL
By TERI FIGUEROA - North County Times
A Vista man who pleaded guilty last fall to federal charges related to his medical marijuana dispensary is set to be sentenced on Friday, with prosecutors agreeing to recommend probation instead of jail time, according to court documents.
Even with the recommendation of probation, the fate of James Stacy, 46, lies in the hands of U.S. District Judge Barry Ted Moskowitz during a sentencing hearing in the judge's San Diego federal courtroom.
Stacy had faced nine federal drug charges arising from a raid of his now-shuttered Vista dispensary, Movement in Action. In October, he pleaded guilty to a single charge: manufacturing marijuana.
Stacy's medical marijuana shop on South Santa Fe Avenue was one of 14 San Diego County shops raided by local and federal authorities Sept. 9, 2009. Read More...
By TERI FIGUEROA - North County Times
A Vista man who pleaded guilty last fall to federal charges related to his medical marijuana dispensary is set to be sentenced on Friday, with prosecutors agreeing to recommend probation instead of jail time, according to court documents.
Even with the recommendation of probation, the fate of James Stacy, 46, lies in the hands of U.S. District Judge Barry Ted Moskowitz during a sentencing hearing in the judge's San Diego federal courtroom.
Stacy had faced nine federal drug charges arising from a raid of his now-shuttered Vista dispensary, Movement in Action. In October, he pleaded guilty to a single charge: manufacturing marijuana.
Stacy's medical marijuana shop on South Santa Fe Avenue was one of 14 San Diego County shops raided by local and federal authorities Sept. 9, 2009. Read More...
Thursday, December 9, 2010
SD ASA Holiday Party Dec 15 Portugalia Restaurant
San Diego ASA has teamed up with a number of amazing organizations in town to bring you this year’s Holiday Party!
The party will be held on Wednesday December 15th 2010 form 6:30pm -9:30pm at the Portugalia Restaurant located in Ocean Beach, CA (4839 Newport Avenue San Diego, CA)
The night will be filled with Karaoke Caroling, Food, Laughter and Cheer!
WHAT: San Diego ASA Annual Holiday Party
WHEN: Wednesday, December 15, 2010 – 6:30pm-9:30pm
WHERE: Portugalia Restaurant 4839 Newport Ave SD, CA
Please bring a toy you wish you had gotten as a child for our community toy drive. This year we have teamed up with The Green Door Collective who will be bringing out the Toys for Tots Marines at 6:30pm to the restaurant to collect toys. The Green Door conducted a toy drive last year at their collective which was able to collect hundreds of toys and helped bring a positive light to our community.
$10 at the door / For more information please visit http://www.safeaccesssd.org/p/events.html
This event is proudly brought to you by: San Diego ASA, Legal Cannabis Institute, The Green Door Collective, Law Offices of Kimberly R. Simms, Association of Clinical Dispensaries, KUSH Magazine, NUG Magazine, Proteus 420, The Women of Marijuana, and The Law Offices of Melissa Bobrow, and many others!
Get Involved, get active, make a difference!
Join ASA - www.safeaccessnow.org
Join us on Facebook www.facebook.com/SanDiegoASA
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Medical Marijuana Patient Advocates Fight for New Trial in San Diego Dispensary Case
For Immediate Release: December 7th, 2010
Medical Marijuana Patient Advocates Fight for New Trial in San Diego Dispensary Case
District attorney & court use double jeopardy, deny defense to unfairly convict dispensary operator
San Diego, CA -- Medical marijuana patient advocates filed a motion for a new trial today in the case of Jovan Jackson, who was convicted on September 28th after he was tried for the second time in less than a year on the same charges of marijuana possession and sales. After District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis failed to convict Jackson the first time, she was able to block his use of a medical marijuana defense at the second trial, virtually guaranteeing his conviction. Americans for Safe Access (ASA), the country's leading medical marijuana advocacy group, argues in its motion that double jeopardy and the denial of a defense was used to unfairly convict Jackson. The motion for a new trial will be heard at Jackson's sentencing hearing, currently scheduled for December 15th at 9am before Judge Howard H. Shore.
"Embarrassed by her earlier loss and desperate for a conviction, District Attorney Dumanis manipulated the criminal justice system to unfairly try Jackson a second time," said Joe Elford, ASA Chief Counsel, and the attorney who filed Jackson's motion for a new trial. "To make matters worse, the court deprived Jackson of the defense that was used to gain an acquittal in his first trial, and a defense to which he's entitled." In December of 2009, Jackson was acquitted by a jury of marijuana possession and sales charges stemming from a 2008 arrest. By denying Jackson a medical marijuana collective defense at his second trial, the court virtually assured his conviction.
For years Jackson had operated his San Diego medical marijuana dispensary, Answerdam Alternative Care Collective, before being raided in September 2009 by a multi-agency task force dubbed "Operation Green Rx." Although more than 60 people were arrested in several raids coordinated by Dumanis in collaboration with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Jackson was one of only two defendants Dumanis chose to prosecute in state court. The case against the other defendant, Eugene Davidovich, resulted in a jury acquittal of similar charges earlier this year.
Much of the opposition to local distribution from Dumanis and other detractors like Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley, who recently lost his bid for Attorney General, is based on an interpretation which holds that patients cannot use money to obtain their medical marijuana, or that "sales" are somehow illegal under state law. This interpretation that patients must take part in the cultivation, must "till the soil," is strenuously held by a few rogue officials despite guidelines issued in 2008 by the California Attorney General's office and legal case law to the contrary. In Jackson's case, the court held that the dispensary operator must cultivate the marijuana sold by the dispensary.
"Jackson should not have been denied a defense and should not be used as a scapegoat for the District Attorney's misguided position that medical marijuana sales are illegal," said Eugene Davidovich, who also heads the San Diego chapter of ASA. In an effort to keep medical marijuana out of Jackson's second trial, Judge Shore ordered people in the audience to remove articles of clothing that displayed an Americans for Safe Access logo, including tote bags carried into the courtroom.
Notably, the San Diego City Council has been working for more than a year on a local medical marijuana distribution law, which would regulate the same activity for which Jackson was convicted. A San Diego grand jury issued recommendations in June calling on city and county governments to implement the state's medical marijuana law. In particular, the grand jury urged development of a "program for the licensing, regulation and periodic inspection of authorized collectives and cooperatives distributing medical marijuana."
Further information:
Jackson's motion for a new trial filed by ASA: http://AmericansForSafeAccess.org/downloads/Jackson_New_Trial_Motion.pdf
San Diego grand jury recommendations on medical marijuana: http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/grandjury/reports/2009-2010/MedicalMarijuanaReport.pdf
Medical Marijuana Patient Advocates Fight for New Trial in San Diego Dispensary Case
District attorney & court use double jeopardy, deny defense to unfairly convict dispensary operator
San Diego, CA -- Medical marijuana patient advocates filed a motion for a new trial today in the case of Jovan Jackson, who was convicted on September 28th after he was tried for the second time in less than a year on the same charges of marijuana possession and sales. After District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis failed to convict Jackson the first time, she was able to block his use of a medical marijuana defense at the second trial, virtually guaranteeing his conviction. Americans for Safe Access (ASA), the country's leading medical marijuana advocacy group, argues in its motion that double jeopardy and the denial of a defense was used to unfairly convict Jackson. The motion for a new trial will be heard at Jackson's sentencing hearing, currently scheduled for December 15th at 9am before Judge Howard H. Shore.
"Embarrassed by her earlier loss and desperate for a conviction, District Attorney Dumanis manipulated the criminal justice system to unfairly try Jackson a second time," said Joe Elford, ASA Chief Counsel, and the attorney who filed Jackson's motion for a new trial. "To make matters worse, the court deprived Jackson of the defense that was used to gain an acquittal in his first trial, and a defense to which he's entitled." In December of 2009, Jackson was acquitted by a jury of marijuana possession and sales charges stemming from a 2008 arrest. By denying Jackson a medical marijuana collective defense at his second trial, the court virtually assured his conviction.
For years Jackson had operated his San Diego medical marijuana dispensary, Answerdam Alternative Care Collective, before being raided in September 2009 by a multi-agency task force dubbed "Operation Green Rx." Although more than 60 people were arrested in several raids coordinated by Dumanis in collaboration with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Jackson was one of only two defendants Dumanis chose to prosecute in state court. The case against the other defendant, Eugene Davidovich, resulted in a jury acquittal of similar charges earlier this year.
Much of the opposition to local distribution from Dumanis and other detractors like Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley, who recently lost his bid for Attorney General, is based on an interpretation which holds that patients cannot use money to obtain their medical marijuana, or that "sales" are somehow illegal under state law. This interpretation that patients must take part in the cultivation, must "till the soil," is strenuously held by a few rogue officials despite guidelines issued in 2008 by the California Attorney General's office and legal case law to the contrary. In Jackson's case, the court held that the dispensary operator must cultivate the marijuana sold by the dispensary.
"Jackson should not have been denied a defense and should not be used as a scapegoat for the District Attorney's misguided position that medical marijuana sales are illegal," said Eugene Davidovich, who also heads the San Diego chapter of ASA. In an effort to keep medical marijuana out of Jackson's second trial, Judge Shore ordered people in the audience to remove articles of clothing that displayed an Americans for Safe Access logo, including tote bags carried into the courtroom.
Notably, the San Diego City Council has been working for more than a year on a local medical marijuana distribution law, which would regulate the same activity for which Jackson was convicted. A San Diego grand jury issued recommendations in June calling on city and county governments to implement the state's medical marijuana law. In particular, the grand jury urged development of a "program for the licensing, regulation and periodic inspection of authorized collectives and cooperatives distributing medical marijuana."
Further information:
Jackson's motion for a new trial filed by ASA: http://AmericansForSafeAccess.org/downloads/Jackson_New_Trial_Motion.pdf
San Diego grand jury recommendations on medical marijuana: http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/grandjury/reports/2009-2010/MedicalMarijuanaReport.pdf
Monday, November 8, 2010
San Diego Americans for Safe Access November Meeting Tuesday 7pm - 11/9
Join patients, medical professionals, scientists, and concerned citizens this Tuesday, 7pm at the La Jolla Brew House for the monthly (main) San Diego ASA meeting.
Find out the latest information on our efforts to establish permanent safe access to medical cannabis for patients in San Diego City, County, and all municipalities. Get involved with like minded individuals and help make a significant difference in San Diego.
Don’t forget to register for next Saturday’s Americans for Safe Access Certified training, “Putting Patients First”. This newly designed ASA training is an essential basic course for anyone serious about working professionally with patients in the medical cannabis field. Instructors include; Amanda Reiman PhD., Don Duncan, Lauren Payne, JD. This ASA workshop made possible through the generous support of Legal Cannabis Institute. ($75.00 per person, lunch included) Register Today: www.safeaccessnow.org/patientsfirst
Find out the latest information on our efforts to establish permanent safe access to medical cannabis for patients in San Diego City, County, and all municipalities. Get involved with like minded individuals and help make a significant difference in San Diego.
Don’t forget to register for next Saturday’s Americans for Safe Access Certified training, “Putting Patients First”. This newly designed ASA training is an essential basic course for anyone serious about working professionally with patients in the medical cannabis field. Instructors include; Amanda Reiman PhD., Don Duncan, Lauren Payne, JD. This ASA workshop made possible through the generous support of Legal Cannabis Institute. ($75.00 per person, lunch included) Register Today: www.safeaccessnow.org/patientsfirst
NOVEMBER 2010 - SAN DIEGO ASA MEETINGS
Tuesday, November 9th -- San Diego ASA Meeting (MAIN)
7:00 p.m. @ La Jolla Brew House, 7536 Fay Ave, La Jolla 92037
For more info, contact: sandiegoasa@gmail.com
Thursday, November 11th – South Bay San Diego ASA Meeting
6:00 p.m. @ 1233 Palm Ave, Imperial Beach, CA
For more info, contact: rasmwboyd@yahoo.com
Saturday, November 13th - ASA Certified Training – Putting Patients First
9:30 a.m. @ Marina Village Conference Center - 1875 Quivira Way San Diego, CA 92109
Register Today! www.safeaccessnow.org/patientsfirst ($75 per person lunch included)
Tuesday, November 23rd -- North County / Oceanside San Diego ASA Meeting
7:00 p.m. @ The Fish Joint - 514 South Coast Hwy Oceanside, CA 92054
For more info, contact: sandiegoasa@gmail.com
San Diego Americans for Safe Access
Get Involved, get active, make a difference!
Join ASA - www.safeaccessnow.org
Friday, October 29, 2010
Community Planners say No De-Facto Ban - Let the communities decide!
Community groups seek input on pot dispensaries
By Jen Lebron Kuhney
The location of medical marijuana dispensaries should be left up to individual communities rather than have to follow blanket rules set out by the San Diego City Council, according to the city’s community planning groups.
At their monthly meeting Tuesday, the groups, comprised of citizens from across the city, voted to make an official recommendation to the council to allow community groups to decide restrictions for medical marijuana shops in their areas.
The City Council is mulling a plan that would allow dispensaries in select industrial and commercial zones that have no residential uses. They would also have to be at least 1,000 feet from other dispensaries, parks, youth centers, religious institutions, day care centers and schools.
Americans for Safe Access San Diego chapter coordinator Eugene Davidovich said the city is placing a de facto ban on dispensaries due to the stringent nature of the restrictions.
“It doesn’t allow for facilities near patients,” Davidovich said. “Folks who need their medicine to function would have to find other ways to get their medicine and could go to the black market.”
If the current rules were approved, areas such as Ocean Beach, La Jolla and Hillcrest would be completely zoned out, despite their planning group representatives saying they are open to having strictly regulated dispensaries in their neighborhoods.
Joe LaCava, the president of the La Jolla Planning Association, said there are already about a half dozen dispensaries in his neighborhood, and they have been good neighbors.
The City Council does not have plans to bring up the issue of zoning medical marijuana shops before the new council is in place in December.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/oct/28/community-groups-seek-input-pot-dispensiaries/
San Diego Americans for Safe Access
www.SafeAccessSD.org
Get Involved, get active, make a difference!
Join ASA - www.safeaccessnow.org
By Jen Lebron Kuhney
The location of medical marijuana dispensaries should be left up to individual communities rather than have to follow blanket rules set out by the San Diego City Council, according to the city’s community planning groups.
At their monthly meeting Tuesday, the groups, comprised of citizens from across the city, voted to make an official recommendation to the council to allow community groups to decide restrictions for medical marijuana shops in their areas.
The City Council is mulling a plan that would allow dispensaries in select industrial and commercial zones that have no residential uses. They would also have to be at least 1,000 feet from other dispensaries, parks, youth centers, religious institutions, day care centers and schools.
Americans for Safe Access San Diego chapter coordinator Eugene Davidovich said the city is placing a de facto ban on dispensaries due to the stringent nature of the restrictions.
“It doesn’t allow for facilities near patients,” Davidovich said. “Folks who need their medicine to function would have to find other ways to get their medicine and could go to the black market.”
If the current rules were approved, areas such as Ocean Beach, La Jolla and Hillcrest would be completely zoned out, despite their planning group representatives saying they are open to having strictly regulated dispensaries in their neighborhoods.
Joe LaCava, the president of the La Jolla Planning Association, said there are already about a half dozen dispensaries in his neighborhood, and they have been good neighbors.
The City Council does not have plans to bring up the issue of zoning medical marijuana shops before the new council is in place in December.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/oct/28/community-groups-seek-input-pot-dispensiaries/
San Diego Americans for Safe Access
www.SafeAccessSD.org
Get Involved, get active, make a difference!
Join ASA - www.safeaccessnow.org
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Jovan Jackson Second Trial - DAY 3 - Court Support Alert
Please come out tomorrow morning at 9am on Wednesday, September 22, 2010 for Jovan Jackson’s second Medical Marijuana Trial, Day 3.
The prosecution is close to being finished presenting their case in chief, and the Jury needs to see now more than ever the community supporting Jovan in the courtroom. The trial is held in Department 15 and is open to the public at 9am.
Please come out and show your support for Jovan and against this injustice and unfair trial!
WHAT: COURT SUPPORT
WHEN: Wednesday, September 22, 2010 – 9am-4:30pm
WHERE: San Diego Superior Court, 220 W Broadway
Eugene Davidovich
T: 619-621-8446
San Diego Americans for Safe Access
Get Involved, get active, make a difference!
Join ASA - www.safeaccessnow.org
Monday, June 14, 2010
COURT SUPPORT TODAY FOR JAMES STACY
Join Steph Sherer, Executive Director and Don Duncan the California Director of Americans for Safe Access in Federal Court today to support James Stacy in his federal Medical Marijuana Trial.
What: Federal hearing on whether dispensary operator James Stacy can use medical marijuana and state law as a defense at trial
When: MONDAY, June 14, 2010 at 2:00pm
Where: Courtroom 15, U.S. District Court, 940 Front Street, San Diego, CA
James Stacy will be in court today for a final hearing to determine what type of defense he will be allowed to present in Federal Court. Stacy’s dispensary was raided on September 9, 2009, by a multi-agency narcotics task force, and will be the first such case to go to trial after the Justice Department issued its enforcement policy in October 2009, a month after the raid. Stacy's trial date will be scheduled Monday June 14th during a hearing at which Stacy will argue he's entitled to admit evidence of state law compliance, something routinely denied federal defendants.
Stacy's dispensary, Movement in Action, was raided along with more than a dozen other San Diego County dispensaries as part of local-federal enforcement actions called, "Operation Green Rx," which resulted in more than 30 arrests. Only Stacy, and one other medical marijuana dispensary operator Joseph Nunes, were charged federally as a result of the raids. Nunes has since pleaded guilty and was recently sentenced to a year in prison.
Because of the government's continued efforts to prosecute medical marijuana patients despite a new Justice department enforcement policy, advocates are urging Members of Congress to pass HR 3939, the Truth in Trials Act, which would allow defendants to use a medical or state law defense in federal court. The Truth in Trials Act currently has more than 30 Congressional cosponsors.
Further Information:
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder's recent statements before Congress: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMCHmU-nFAM
Truth in Trials Act: http://www.safeaccessnow.org/downloads/TruthinTrials.pdf
Join ASA – www.safeaccessnow.org
Visit San Diego Chapter of ASA – www.safeaccesssd.org
What: Federal hearing on whether dispensary operator James Stacy can use medical marijuana and state law as a defense at trial
When: MONDAY, June 14, 2010 at 2:00pm
Where: Courtroom 15, U.S. District Court, 940 Front Street, San Diego, CA
James Stacy will be in court today for a final hearing to determine what type of defense he will be allowed to present in Federal Court. Stacy’s dispensary was raided on September 9, 2009, by a multi-agency narcotics task force, and will be the first such case to go to trial after the Justice Department issued its enforcement policy in October 2009, a month after the raid. Stacy's trial date will be scheduled Monday June 14th during a hearing at which Stacy will argue he's entitled to admit evidence of state law compliance, something routinely denied federal defendants.
Stacy's dispensary, Movement in Action, was raided along with more than a dozen other San Diego County dispensaries as part of local-federal enforcement actions called, "Operation Green Rx," which resulted in more than 30 arrests. Only Stacy, and one other medical marijuana dispensary operator Joseph Nunes, were charged federally as a result of the raids. Nunes has since pleaded guilty and was recently sentenced to a year in prison.
Because of the government's continued efforts to prosecute medical marijuana patients despite a new Justice department enforcement policy, advocates are urging Members of Congress to pass HR 3939, the Truth in Trials Act, which would allow defendants to use a medical or state law defense in federal court. The Truth in Trials Act currently has more than 30 Congressional cosponsors.
Further Information:
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder's recent statements before Congress: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMCHmU-nFAM
Truth in Trials Act: http://www.safeaccessnow.org/downloads/TruthinTrials.pdf
Join ASA – www.safeaccessnow.org
Visit San Diego Chapter of ASA – www.safeaccesssd.org
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Bonnie’s Raids and Persecutions on Medical Marijuana in San Diego Continue
By: Dan Murphy, San Diego ASA
Many in the community thought that since losing twice at a Jury trial, San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis’ office would reconsider further prosecuting and arresting legitimate medical marijuana patients. Unfortunately this is far from the case.
Laura Reindel of Encinitas is being charged in state court for cultivation and possession of Cannabis, despite her status as a medical marijuana patient. Although raided almost two months ago, Laura has lived with the dread of not knowing if she will be charged until just a couple days ago when she received the letter on District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis' letterhead, charging her with two counts.
Laura was raided by the multijurisdictional narcotics task force headed by the DA's office to eradicate medical marijuana from San Diego. She was detained and questioned for many hours as well as having all her medical cannabis and related property seized.
While Laura was alone and confused, being questioned by detectives, several local activists were trying diligently to find her, to voice our discontent. She did not know this at the time but her spirits lightened to see so much Facebook activity after her ordeal was over. People trying to find her to help however they can. She has since become more active in the community by providing court support for several San Diegans persecuted for medical cannabis.
Laura is a spiritual person and is thankful for the support she has received from the community. She looks for the good in people and situations and is currently seeking the silver lining of her current situation. Laura and a co-defendant are scheduled to be arraigned on the 10th of May in San Diego superior Court Department 12. This is another citizen that needs our help. 1:30 to 3:30 please come out and show your support.
This is one of North County's own, so I want to start hearing chatter of carpools to get as many of her neighbors in the court room as necessary.
Laura is now seeking the guidance of council and will be represented in court on the 10th.
A valuable asset that Laura has is her son, who is a documentary film producer and she plans to document her entire process through court.
San Diego elected officials continue to persecute the sick and the kind hearted. Unwilling to respect or observer state laws they target care providers following state laws and guidelines and deprive the patients of their medicine. This is cruel and unusual.
Laura admits that she has considerable anxiety over the outcome of the case even though she was in compliance with state law. She was startled by the police announcing their presence that fateful morning. The police separated Tim and Laura and questioned them both before their eventual release. There were many clones there as there was a cloning class the day previous. There were multiple recommendations on site to justify the number of plants, complying with current guidelines and precedent.
COURT SUPPORT – MAY 10, 2010 – 1:30pm – 3:30pm San Diego Superior Court Department 12, 220 W Broadway, San Diego CA 92101
San Diego Americans for Safe Access
www.SafeAccessSD.org
Get Involved, get active, make a difference!
Join ASA - www.safeaccessnow.org
Many in the community thought that since losing twice at a Jury trial, San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis’ office would reconsider further prosecuting and arresting legitimate medical marijuana patients. Unfortunately this is far from the case.
Laura Reindel of Encinitas is being charged in state court for cultivation and possession of Cannabis, despite her status as a medical marijuana patient. Although raided almost two months ago, Laura has lived with the dread of not knowing if she will be charged until just a couple days ago when she received the letter on District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis' letterhead, charging her with two counts.
Laura was raided by the multijurisdictional narcotics task force headed by the DA's office to eradicate medical marijuana from San Diego. She was detained and questioned for many hours as well as having all her medical cannabis and related property seized.
While Laura was alone and confused, being questioned by detectives, several local activists were trying diligently to find her, to voice our discontent. She did not know this at the time but her spirits lightened to see so much Facebook activity after her ordeal was over. People trying to find her to help however they can. She has since become more active in the community by providing court support for several San Diegans persecuted for medical cannabis.
Laura is a spiritual person and is thankful for the support she has received from the community. She looks for the good in people and situations and is currently seeking the silver lining of her current situation. Laura and a co-defendant are scheduled to be arraigned on the 10th of May in San Diego superior Court Department 12. This is another citizen that needs our help. 1:30 to 3:30 please come out and show your support.
This is one of North County's own, so I want to start hearing chatter of carpools to get as many of her neighbors in the court room as necessary.
Laura is now seeking the guidance of council and will be represented in court on the 10th.
A valuable asset that Laura has is her son, who is a documentary film producer and she plans to document her entire process through court.
San Diego elected officials continue to persecute the sick and the kind hearted. Unwilling to respect or observer state laws they target care providers following state laws and guidelines and deprive the patients of their medicine. This is cruel and unusual.
Laura admits that she has considerable anxiety over the outcome of the case even though she was in compliance with state law. She was startled by the police announcing their presence that fateful morning. The police separated Tim and Laura and questioned them both before their eventual release. There were many clones there as there was a cloning class the day previous. There were multiple recommendations on site to justify the number of plants, complying with current guidelines and precedent.
COURT SUPPORT – MAY 10, 2010 – 1:30pm – 3:30pm San Diego Superior Court Department 12, 220 W Broadway, San Diego CA 92101
San Diego Americans for Safe Access
www.SafeAccessSD.org
Get Involved, get active, make a difference!
Join ASA - www.safeaccessnow.org
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Oppose AB 2650 – Protect patients’ access statewide!
April 10th, 2010, Posted by Don Duncan
On Tuesday (April 13, 2010) , the California Assembly Committee on Public Health will discuss AB 2650, bill that would require that medical cannabis collectives, cooperatives, and growers be located at least 1,000 feet away from a laundry list of “sensitive uses” everywhere in the state. The bill was introduced unexpectedly this week by Assembly Member Joan Buchanan (D-Alamo). AB 2650 is sponsored by the Peace Officers Research Association of California (PORCA), a law enforcement lobby organization that opposes medical cannabis, and mirrors a controversial ordinance recently adopted in the City of Los Angeles.
ASA opposes AB 2650, and we are calling on our members in California to tell their Assembly representatives on the committee to vote no. Find out if your Assembly representative is on the Public Health Committee, and tell him or her to oppose AB 2650!
AB 2650 requires legal collectives and cooperatives to be located more than 1,000 feet from schools, parks, libraries, places of worship, child care facilities, youth centers, drug treatment centers, and other collectives or cooperatives. This is unnecessary to protect public welfare, and will make finding a location for a legal collective or cooperative unduly burdensome in most jurisdictions. It also serves to usurp the authority of city and county government to make ordinary land use decisions based on the local circumstances.
ASA is the nation’s largest organization of patients, medical professionals, scientists and concerned citizens promoting safe and legal access to cannabis for therapeutic use and research. We work in partnership with state, local and national legislators to overcome barriers and create policies that improve access to cannabis for patients and researchers. Crime statistics and the accounts of local officials surveyed by ASA indicate that crime is actually reduced by the presence of a collective; and complaints from citizens and surrounding businesses are either negligible or are significantly reduced with the implementation of local regulations.
In Oakland, where collectives have been licensed since 2004, City Administrator Barbara Killey, notes that “The areas around the dispensaries may be some of the safest areas of Oakland now because of the level of security, surveillance, etc…since the ordinance passed.” In the City of Los Angeles, Police Chief Charlie Beck told reporters and the City Council that the claim that patients’ associations attract crime “doesn’t really bear out.” In fact, the overall crime rate in Los Angeles dropped during the proliferation of collectives and cooperatives in that city. Given that effective local regulations address public safety concerns, there is no public safety rationale for a statewide policy keeping collectives and cooperatives away from sensitive uses.
This is not just an issue of public safety. Most of California’s legal medical cannabis patients rely on dispensing collectives or cooperatives to obtain the doctor-recommended medicine they need to treat the symptoms of HIV/AIDS, cancer, Multiple Sclerosis, chronic pain, and other serious illnesses. These patients’ associations are legal under California law, and California Attorney General Jerry Brown published guidelines in August 2008 that state “a properly organized and operated collective of cooperative that dispenses medical marijuana through a storefront may be lawful under California law,” provided the facility substantially complies with the guidelines. It is already hard enough to find a location for a legally organized and operated medical cannabis association. AB 2650 will make this task even more difficult – thus diminishing safe and legal access to medicine in communities statewide.
A restriction like that imposed by AB 2650 may be motivated by a misunderstanding about the state law concerning patients’ associations or by ambivalence about medical cannabis use in general. ASA calls on members of the Public Safety Committee to look past the stigma that sometimes underlies the debate about medical cannabis regulations, and to vote no on AB 2650 – a bill that is unnecessary for public welfare, interferes in local regulation, and is harmful to legal medical cannabis patients.
Find out if your Assembly representative is on the Public Safety Committee and what you can do to help.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
San Diego MMTF Meeting Friday 3/19 at 9am
The San Diego Medical Marijuana Task Force meets again this Friday 9am -11am
202 C St. San Diego A 92101 (map)
City Council Committee Room, 12th floor of the City Administration Building.
The task force is working on recommendations to the San Diego City Council with regards to medical marijuana regulations and zoning ordinances. This Friday it is critical that we get the community out to the meeting.
Friday 3/19/2010 MMTF Agenda:
Your input is needed and encouraged. Come to the meeting, fill out a public comment sheet, and let your voice be heard!
San Diego Americans for Safe Accesswww.SafeAccessSD.org
Get Involved, get active, make a difference!
Join ASA - www.safeaccessnow.org
202 C St. San Diego A 92101 (map)
City Council Committee Room, 12th floor of the City Administration Building.
The task force is working on recommendations to the San Diego City Council with regards to medical marijuana regulations and zoning ordinances. This Friday it is critical that we get the community out to the meeting.
Friday 3/19/2010 MMTF Agenda:
- ITEM 1 – Proposed recommendations regarding packaging, labeling and transport of medical marijuana
- ITEM 2 – Adoption of a statement of concern to forward to City and County officials
- ITEM 3 – Adoption of a statement regarding medical marijuana use by juveniles
- ITEM 4 – Agenda items for next meeting (if time permits)
Your input is needed and encouraged. Come to the meeting, fill out a public comment sheet, and let your voice be heard!
San Diego Americans for Safe Accesswww.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/
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/
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
San Diego Medical Marijuana 'Raid Rumors' Update
Today we have received confirmation that California's Finest Meds Collective located at 1133 Broadway in San Diego was in fact closed down. According to eyewitness testimony, several unmarked vehicles pulled up to the collective yesterday, March 16, 2010 and proceeded to confiscate paperwork, medicine, as well as a number of other items inside the facility.
It was reported that the San Diego County Integrated Narcotics Task Force (NTF) is responsible for this raid. Detective Decastro, the mastermind of Operation Green Rx, is reportedly in charge of this investigation as well.
Mr. Decasstro is also the chief investigating officer in my case, and although he has been present for every minute of every day of my trial, on Tuesday, March 16, he was noticeably absent from the courtroom in the morning. However he did return in the afternoon for the remainder of the proceedings.
This morning, we have received reports that a home was also raided in Encinitas, CA a suburb of San Diego County. This raid was also executed by the NTF and spearheaded by the DEA as part of the ongoing Operation Green Rx investigations and medical marijuana eradication efforts. It is reported that the individual who resides at the home in Encinitas was not arrested but all his property was seized.
We have NOT received any more reports of raids, or arrests. Currently and based on the information available today, it seems that the NTF is ramping up for more raids. It would also seem that this time, unlike in the last round of raids of 9.9.9, the NTF is doing them one at a time rather than a sweep.
This is the time when everyone in San Diego needs to read up on the laws, and ensure that you are doing everything possible to stay in full compliance with the law. Remember, Proposition 215 is the law, Senate Bill 420 is the law, medical cannabis is here to stay, and your efforts of continuing to provide safe access to the San Diego Community are critically important to many thousands here in San Diego.
Here are a few suggestions for staying safe:
Three Police Interaction Levels and Three Safe Ways To handle Them (courtesy of Marcus Boyd)
BE PREPARED:
Visit the Raid Preparedness section of the San Diego ASA website for a comprehensive raid preparation guideline:
http://www.safeaccesssd.org/p/raid-preparedness.html
San Diego Americans for Safe Access - www.SafeAccessSD.org
Get Involved, get active, make a difference!
Join ASA - www.safeaccessnow.org
It was reported that the San Diego County Integrated Narcotics Task Force (NTF) is responsible for this raid. Detective Decastro, the mastermind of Operation Green Rx, is reportedly in charge of this investigation as well.
Mr. Decasstro is also the chief investigating officer in my case, and although he has been present for every minute of every day of my trial, on Tuesday, March 16, he was noticeably absent from the courtroom in the morning. However he did return in the afternoon for the remainder of the proceedings.
This morning, we have received reports that a home was also raided in Encinitas, CA a suburb of San Diego County. This raid was also executed by the NTF and spearheaded by the DEA as part of the ongoing Operation Green Rx investigations and medical marijuana eradication efforts. It is reported that the individual who resides at the home in Encinitas was not arrested but all his property was seized.
We have NOT received any more reports of raids, or arrests. Currently and based on the information available today, it seems that the NTF is ramping up for more raids. It would also seem that this time, unlike in the last round of raids of 9.9.9, the NTF is doing them one at a time rather than a sweep.
This is the time when everyone in San Diego needs to read up on the laws, and ensure that you are doing everything possible to stay in full compliance with the law. Remember, Proposition 215 is the law, Senate Bill 420 is the law, medical cannabis is here to stay, and your efforts of continuing to provide safe access to the San Diego Community are critically important to many thousands here in San Diego.
Here are a few suggestions for staying safe:
- Keep Medicine Inventory Levels low.
- Patient Records should be kept offsite as to protect the patient's confidentiality from the NTF and DEA. All bank statements, as well as accounting paperwork should also be kept offsite at a secure location, so that it can later be used by you rather then the NTF to prove the not for profit operation.
- Watch out for fake recommendations, ensure that there is both an expiration date, as well as all the other required information. Ensure that EVERY recommendation is verified with the phycisian prior to allowing the member to join the collective.
- NO GUNS. Do not keep any firearms inside your home or the facility.
- Be Prepared and know your rights. Without a search or arrest warrant, you do not have to let the NTF or any other officials into your facility. If they do come, be polite, respectful, and quiet. You do not have to speak with anyone, it is your right to remain silent and to seek the advice of an attorney during ALL questioning.
Three Police Interaction Levels and Three Safe Ways To handle Them (courtesy of Marcus Boyd)
- Casual Conversation: Ask if youre being detained. If not, walk away!
- Detention: If you are detained, ask why! Be sure to remember what they say to you.
- Arrest: Say "I choose to remain silent and I want to see a lawyer". Remain Silent. Dont answer any questions, just politely repeat your assertion and rmember you have now envoked your right to remain silent. Exercise it.
BE PREPARED:
Visit the Raid Preparedness section of the San Diego ASA website for a comprehensive raid preparation guideline:
http://www.safeaccesssd.org/p/raid-preparedness.html
San Diego Americans for Safe Access - www.SafeAccessSD.org
Get Involved, get active, make a difference!
Join ASA - www.safeaccessnow.org
Friday, March 12, 2010
Are you Cannabis Deficient?
by The Medicine Hunter
If the idea of having a marijuana deficiency sounds laughable to you, a growing body of science points at exactly such a possibility. Scientists have known that the active psychoactive compound in marijuana is THC, which is short for tetrahydrocannabinol.
If the idea of having a marijuana deficiency sounds laughable to you, a growing body of science points at exactly such a possibility. Scientists have known that the active psychoactive compound in marijuana is THC, which is short for tetrahydrocannabinol.
In August 1990, researchers reported in the journal Nature the discovery of receptors in the brain that specifically accommodate the cannabinoids in pot. Cannabinoids bind to particular neurological sites in the brain, as though the brain was specifically designed to utilize this plant. Did nature toss cannabinoid receptors into the brain by random chance? Are cannabinoid receptors part of an intelligent design for deriving maximum benefit from cannabis? Is cannabis a divine elixir of sacred communion for which we are ideally suited? Actually, a more sober answer seems likely. When there are receptors in the brain for a particular type of compound, that compound is made in the brain. This is true of many important agents that work to transmit brain messages of all types. So a hunt began to find such a compound.
In that vein, in 1992 researchers in Israel isolated the cannabinoid anandamide in the human brain. Unlike THC, anandamide is manufactured in the brain, and is therefore an endogenous cannabinoid. This agent, anandamide, is the compound that attaches to the built-in cannabinoid receptors in our brains. The name anandamide is based on the Sanskrit word ananda, which means bliss. Anandamide is a bliss molcule, enhancing greater well being and emotional satisfaction.
Ever since the pioneering work of Dr. William O’Shaughnessy on cannabis and pain compiled in the 1840’s a growing body of science has shown that cannabis offers relief for various types of pain. In the brain, the endogenous agent anandamide also plays a role in mitigating inflammation and pain. So both cannabinoids from inside and outside the body play a role in pain reduction. More recent studies show pain relief among sufferers of multiple sclerosis when cannabis is consumed.
Anandamide also plays a role in proper appetite, feelings of pleasure and well-being, and memory. Interestingly, cannabis also affects these same functions. Cannabis has been used successfully to treat migraine, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome and glaucoma. So here is the seventy-four thousand dollar question. Does cannabis simply relieve these diseases to varying degrees, or is cannabis actually a medical replacement in cases of deficient anandamide?
At least one author, medical doctor Ethan Russo, believes in the possibility of endocanabinoid deficiency, and suggests that such a deficiency might actually be a significant cause of the types of health problems listed above. His paper “Clinical Cannabinoid Deficiency,” published in Neuroendocrinology Letters in 2004, delved deeply into the various ways that cannabinoids function in the body, and how a deficiency in cannabinoids can lead to a broad range of diseases. Since the publication of that paper, a number of studies have further confirmed the effectiveness of cannabis for many health disorders.
The idea of clinical cannabinoid deficiency opens the door to cannabis consumption as an effective medical approach to relief of various types of pain, restoration of appetite in cases in which appetite is compromised, improved visual health in cases of glaucoma, and improved sense of well being among patients suffering from a broad variety of mood disorders. As state and local laws mutate and change in favor of greater tolerance, perhaps cannabis will find it’s proper place in the home medicine chest.
Monday, March 8, 2010
People V. Davidovich – Day 2 of Trial - Court Support
By: Eugene Davidovich
On March 9, 2010 at 9am in Department 55 at the San Diego Superior Courthouse, day 2 of my trial will begin. District attorney Bonnie Dumanis’ office has filed a mountain of motions in limine with the court, all of which will be heard on the 9th in front of Judge So. Motions in limine are requests made by both sides to the Judge before the start of a trial that certain evidence may, or may not, be introduced to the jury.
The heap of in limine motions includes three that I believe are most troubling. The first is a request by the DA that the Judge not to allow me to use the medical marijuana defense, even though an official subpoena from the doctor who recommended the use of medical cannabis to me, was received and accepted into the record by the court at my preliminary hearing months ago. These records clearly prove to the court that I am a qualified patient, which even prompted the Judge at my prelim to say “there is evidence here that Mr. Davidovich is a qualified patient”, yet nothing fazes the prosecutor’s fierce fight.
The second troubling request is to ban the Jury from hearing any details about my four years of honorable military service with the United States Navy, including a request for a complete ban on mentioning that I was in the military at all. After my arrest in February of 2009, the DA’s office had no problem mentioning my military service in the Operation Endless Summer news coverage. Since then, it would seem that she changed her tune and now wants to conceal the fact that I was in the Navy.
Finally, the DA filed motions to exclude two character witnesses from testifying at my trial. These two individuals have known me for over fifteen years and are prepared and willing to testify about their opinions of my truthfulness and character. Theresa Pham the prosecuting DA cited in her filings that to hear from the character witnesses would be an unnecessary burden on the courts time. The DA wants to ensure that nothing positive is said about me and that only their side of the story is heard.
In addition to the disingenuous in limine motions, it would seem that Theresa Pham, Dumanis’ prosecuting puppet, has received a green light to do “anything it takes” to win this case. This green light seems to have allowed the puppet to insult my attorney in court, cry and whine to the judge when a ruling doesn’t go her way and use stalling tactics in an attempt to buy more time to investigate above and beyond the year and a half long investigation already conducted.
I anticipate that on the 9th the DA will pull a few more tricks out of the prosecutorial sleeve to add to the propaganda and misinformation filled, politically motivated prosecution. I ask that members of our community come to court to support me on Tuesday, March 9 2010 in Department 55 at 9am. Witness the relentless, political war being waged against patients in San Diego yourself.
MY STORY
I am a twenty year resident of San Diego, a medical cannabis patient, and a victim of Operation Green Rx and San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis’ brutal ambition to overturn California’s Compassionate Use Act.
After having served four years in the Navy, including two deployments to the Gulf, medals, commendations and an honorable discharge I began to experience serious medical symptoms. With the use of medical cannabis I found relief from the symptoms without the debilitating side-effects I’d experienced with prescription drugs. During my treatment I was able to complete a Bachelors Degree then a Masters in Business Administration, all while building a successful career as a project manager in software development field.
Then, as a result of law enforcement’s lack of training in California law or its unwillingness to follow that law, all collectives dispensing medical cannabis in San Diego were targeted and systematically closed. After reading the newly provided State Attorney General’s (AG) guidelines for cannabis collectives I formed my own collective and began to lawfully cultivate, and collectively distribute medical cannabis to other members of this collective on a non-profit basis according to the state law of Proposition 215, SB420 and the help of the AG guidelines.
In November of 2008, I received a call from a man calling himself Jamie Conlan and asking to join the collective. After a rigorous qualification process where Mr. Conlan presented both a driver’s license and a medical recommendation which he lied to a doctor to obtain, I was duped into allowing his participation.
Some months later, my Mission Valley apartment was raided by an armed narcotics team and I was taken to the police station where I met Conrado DeCastro who revealed Operation Green Rx. I was to discover later through the prosecutor’s discloser that the officers of the operation were targeting collectives from CA NORML’s website and posing as legitimate patients to obtain cannabis recommendations from doctors and then entrap collectives. I was shown two large binders with names and told “we are gonna’ bring all you medical pot people down.” Charged with four felonies, I was taken to jail, for legally providing a patient 120.00 worth of medical cannabis. I didn’t think things could get much worse.
Imagine my shock to find that the DA held a news conference of manufactured lies, touting the success of what they now referred to as Operation Endless Summer, depicting me as a dangerous dealer of large amounts of heroin, meth, marijuana, as well as trotting out the “don’t mess with the military” and the “streets of navy housing” mantra that the San Diego DA Bonnie Dumanis has been maintaining ever since. The evening news quickly picked up the story showing video footage of me at the arraignment hearing, and again listing drugs which did not exist nor with which I had any involvement, let alone charged with selling.
As a result of the false press conference, the police refusal to follow the law and the prosecutor attempting to deny the court evidence that I am a patient protected by medical cannabis laws, I am in the fight of my life. The amount of resources being spent on this case is unbelievable. Aside from the year long NTF investigation, the DA has put together a top notch team of prosecutors and law clerks as well as has recruited the famous anti marijuana activist Steve Reed to testify as an expert against me.
I am represented by attorneys Michael J. McCabe and Bahar Ansari who have been working tirelessly on my case and have provided me with exceptional representation throughout this process. They have been able to both help steer me through the legal system in my trial, as well as protect me from the constant threats and intimidation of the DA for speaking out about my situation.
This video was provided courtesy of the San Diego DA's office as part of the discovery in my case. It shows the delivery of medicine to the undercover officer who earlier had called, provided all his information, and was verified with his physician.
For more information about my case please visit www.eugenedavidovich.com
To get more involved in the community and to help bring this ‘fierce fight against patients’ to an end, join Americans for Safe Access and get involved.
Visit www.SafeAccessSD.org for the latest updates and news about medical marijuana in San Diego, come to the monthly ASA meetings, and get active.
On March 9, 2010 at 9am in Department 55 at the San Diego Superior Courthouse, day 2 of my trial will begin. District attorney Bonnie Dumanis’ office has filed a mountain of motions in limine with the court, all of which will be heard on the 9th in front of Judge So. Motions in limine are requests made by both sides to the Judge before the start of a trial that certain evidence may, or may not, be introduced to the jury. The heap of in limine motions includes three that I believe are most troubling. The first is a request by the DA that the Judge not to allow me to use the medical marijuana defense, even though an official subpoena from the doctor who recommended the use of medical cannabis to me, was received and accepted into the record by the court at my preliminary hearing months ago. These records clearly prove to the court that I am a qualified patient, which even prompted the Judge at my prelim to say “there is evidence here that Mr. Davidovich is a qualified patient”, yet nothing fazes the prosecutor’s fierce fight.
The second troubling request is to ban the Jury from hearing any details about my four years of honorable military service with the United States Navy, including a request for a complete ban on mentioning that I was in the military at all. After my arrest in February of 2009, the DA’s office had no problem mentioning my military service in the Operation Endless Summer news coverage. Since then, it would seem that she changed her tune and now wants to conceal the fact that I was in the Navy.
Finally, the DA filed motions to exclude two character witnesses from testifying at my trial. These two individuals have known me for over fifteen years and are prepared and willing to testify about their opinions of my truthfulness and character. Theresa Pham the prosecuting DA cited in her filings that to hear from the character witnesses would be an unnecessary burden on the courts time. The DA wants to ensure that nothing positive is said about me and that only their side of the story is heard.
In addition to the disingenuous in limine motions, it would seem that Theresa Pham, Dumanis’ prosecuting puppet, has received a green light to do “anything it takes” to win this case. This green light seems to have allowed the puppet to insult my attorney in court, cry and whine to the judge when a ruling doesn’t go her way and use stalling tactics in an attempt to buy more time to investigate above and beyond the year and a half long investigation already conducted.
I anticipate that on the 9th the DA will pull a few more tricks out of the prosecutorial sleeve to add to the propaganda and misinformation filled, politically motivated prosecution. I ask that members of our community come to court to support me on Tuesday, March 9 2010 in Department 55 at 9am. Witness the relentless, political war being waged against patients in San Diego yourself.
MY STORY
I am a twenty year resident of San Diego, a medical cannabis patient, and a victim of Operation Green Rx and San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis’ brutal ambition to overturn California’s Compassionate Use Act.
After having served four years in the Navy, including two deployments to the Gulf, medals, commendations and an honorable discharge I began to experience serious medical symptoms. With the use of medical cannabis I found relief from the symptoms without the debilitating side-effects I’d experienced with prescription drugs. During my treatment I was able to complete a Bachelors Degree then a Masters in Business Administration, all while building a successful career as a project manager in software development field.
Then, as a result of law enforcement’s lack of training in California law or its unwillingness to follow that law, all collectives dispensing medical cannabis in San Diego were targeted and systematically closed. After reading the newly provided State Attorney General’s (AG) guidelines for cannabis collectives I formed my own collective and began to lawfully cultivate, and collectively distribute medical cannabis to other members of this collective on a non-profit basis according to the state law of Proposition 215, SB420 and the help of the AG guidelines.
In November of 2008, I received a call from a man calling himself Jamie Conlan and asking to join the collective. After a rigorous qualification process where Mr. Conlan presented both a driver’s license and a medical recommendation which he lied to a doctor to obtain, I was duped into allowing his participation.
Some months later, my Mission Valley apartment was raided by an armed narcotics team and I was taken to the police station where I met Conrado DeCastro who revealed Operation Green Rx. I was to discover later through the prosecutor’s discloser that the officers of the operation were targeting collectives from CA NORML’s website and posing as legitimate patients to obtain cannabis recommendations from doctors and then entrap collectives. I was shown two large binders with names and told “we are gonna’ bring all you medical pot people down.” Charged with four felonies, I was taken to jail, for legally providing a patient 120.00 worth of medical cannabis. I didn’t think things could get much worse.
Imagine my shock to find that the DA held a news conference of manufactured lies, touting the success of what they now referred to as Operation Endless Summer, depicting me as a dangerous dealer of large amounts of heroin, meth, marijuana, as well as trotting out the “don’t mess with the military” and the “streets of navy housing” mantra that the San Diego DA Bonnie Dumanis has been maintaining ever since. The evening news quickly picked up the story showing video footage of me at the arraignment hearing, and again listing drugs which did not exist nor with which I had any involvement, let alone charged with selling.
As a result of the false press conference, the police refusal to follow the law and the prosecutor attempting to deny the court evidence that I am a patient protected by medical cannabis laws, I am in the fight of my life. The amount of resources being spent on this case is unbelievable. Aside from the year long NTF investigation, the DA has put together a top notch team of prosecutors and law clerks as well as has recruited the famous anti marijuana activist Steve Reed to testify as an expert against me.
I am represented by attorneys Michael J. McCabe and Bahar Ansari who have been working tirelessly on my case and have provided me with exceptional representation throughout this process. They have been able to both help steer me through the legal system in my trial, as well as protect me from the constant threats and intimidation of the DA for speaking out about my situation.
This video was provided courtesy of the San Diego DA's office as part of the discovery in my case. It shows the delivery of medicine to the undercover officer who earlier had called, provided all his information, and was verified with his physician.
For more information about my case please visit www.eugenedavidovich.com
To get more involved in the community and to help bring this ‘fierce fight against patients’ to an end, join Americans for Safe Access and get involved.
Visit www.SafeAccessSD.org for the latest updates and news about medical marijuana in San Diego, come to the monthly ASA meetings, and get active. Operation Green Rx must come to an end, and we will help bring it to an end.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
People v Davidovich - Day 1 of Trial Update
Today I also learned the name of the new witness that the prosecution has placed on the witness list against me! It is a superstar witness that a lot of us have seen on TV! Many of us have come to know him as the “poster child” of medical marijuana eradication efforts from Showtimes famous documentary “In Pot We Trust”.
San Diego County Sheriff and member of the Cross Jurisdictional Narcotics Task Force Steve Reed will be testifying in my trial supposedly as an expert on indoor cultivation of medical marijuana. In the movie he says he has a vision disorder that allows him to see different shades of green better. Apparently h has wrapped himself around the “fierce fight” and has made it his life’s mission.
Watch the movie “In Pot We Trust” and join me in court to ask for his autograph.
Here is a link to the full version of the movie:
SHOWTIME'S "In Pot We Trust"
Friday, February 26, 2010
Jovan Jackson Second Trial To Move Forward
By: Eugene Davidovich
This morning Jovan Jackson again went to San Diego Superior court for a preliminary hearing on the second medical marijuana trial related to the Operation Green Rx Raids orchestrated by Bonnie Dumanis in cooperation with DEA through the Integrated Narcotics Task Force.
San Diego ASA membership turned out in numbers to support Mr. Jackson today filing more than half of the courtroom with supporters.
In December of 2009, Mr. Jackson was dragged through the judicial system on charges related to the first, August 2008 raid on Answerdam, which resulted in a jury trial and Mr. Jackson being vindicated on all five medical marijuana related charges. Chris Lindbergh the prosecutor in the case was scolded by the jury for bringing such a case to trial.
Charges related to the 9/9/9 raid are considered a separate case as this time the "buy" was on a different date then the "buy" in the original case where Mr. Jackson was found not guilty by the jurors.
Today in court in front of Judge Albert Harutunian, the prosecutor Chris Lindbergh argued to have the medical defense excluded for Mr. Jackson even thought Jackson’s physician’s statement was admitted into evidence.
Lindbergh also argued that patients who buy marijuana can technically be charged as "conspirators" to an illegal operation and that since Mr. Jackson did not subpoena 1600 people to testify for him today, that he could not prove that this was a collective.
Following the statement in the last paragraph, a chill ran through the courtroom as everyone collectively realized that what Linbergh was saying is that now the DA is considering charging members of collectives (non founding members) as co conspirators to illegal operations.
What happened to Dumanis’ promise not to go after patients?
In the hearing Linbergh also talked about what most in our community have come to understand as the "Group Farm" fallacy. Lindbergh explained that if all 1600 Answerdam patients first actually came together and hung out for a bit with each other (this would satisfy them having to associate), then together decided to grow medical marijuana, all chipped in some with money others with actual labor (this would satisfy the cultivate), then maybe that would be a defense.
Lindbergh confirmed several times that it was definitely the intent of Prop 215 that terminally ill, physically disabled, and immobilized patients participate in the cultivation effort.
We also heard testimony from Detective Mark Carlson who proclaimed on the stand at first to be an expert on medical marijuana laws, then went on to explain that he is a Federal Agent and technically all cultivation is illegal. Carlson was designated as the state medical law expert chief investigator by Lindbergh in this case.
Today's witness testimony also included the infamous Pierre Tiberius Uggla (aka Mike Mendez) who went to Answerdam and upon completing his membership agreement for the collective, wrote his real name (Mike Mendez) on the form rather than his undercover alias and as a result almost fumbled the DA’s entire investigation into Answerdam exposing to the members the fact that they were continuing this illegal persecution of patients through investigations.
In July of last year shortly after Mendez’s visit to Answerdam and as part of the continued efforts of the Stop Operation Green Rx campaign and San Diego Americans for Safe Access, members of San Diego ASA went to the San Diego City Council and delivered a copy of the form Mike Mendes completed with his real name to the San Diego City Councilmember asking them to intervene in this situation and bring these prosecutions to an end. The video of that speech can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OQ3YR133hQ
Unfortunately our pleas have gone unheard since then. Operation Green Rx is still in full force and today Mendez went on to explain that as part of his duties, he regularly goes to local doctors and lies. He explained that he went to see a doctor in Mission Valley last year, lied about a serious back injury that cause chronic pain which he told the doctor he suffered from. After presenting the doctor with a slew of symptoms related to the injury and receiving a physical examination from the doctor; he was issued a recommendation letter for medical marijuana and has since joined multiple collectives and bought medical cannabis from them on numerous occasions.
We also heard from testimony from cancer survivor, medical cannabis patient, and member of the Answerdam Collective, Paul Ford. Who testified that not only did the cannabis he obtained in Answerdam help alleviate his symptoms, no medicine out there has helped him more than cannabis obtained from Answerdam. Mr. Ford also explained that he was very well aware that he was a member not customer of Anwerdam and it was clear to everyone in the court that all his contributions in exchange for the medicine went directly towards the continued support of the cultivation effort /collective of Answerdam.
Unfortunately the judge ruled that there was enough evidence for Mr. Jackson to stand trial again, and that since this was the preliminary hearing, the prosecution did not have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt, just raise potential for guilt. The case was bound over for trial, and Mr. Jackson’s arraignment on the charges in his second medical marijuana trial is scheduled for mid March.
Operation Green Rx continues and today in court it was clear that the efforts of DA Bonnie Dumanis to continue the persecutions and medical marijuana eradication efforts in San Diego are not only continuing, they are escalating, and will continue to intensify as she is gearing up for her next election.
Mr. Lance Rogers, attorney for Jovan Jackson did an excellent job representing his client and fought as hard as he could to get the case dismissed. Although the case was bound over, Mr. Jackson will still get to present and argue the Murgia Motion (prosecutorial discrimination). Hopefully the next judge will see the absurdity of this trial and dismiss it.
Thank You Jovan for continuing to stand up for our rights, and not allow these persecutions to be swept under the rug through plea deals.
The perpetrators of these this continued efforts to subvert state law and persecute patients both in the DA’s office and in the integrated narcotics will not be left unnoticed. The voters and juries will hold you accountable for your actions.
This morning Jovan Jackson again went to San Diego Superior court for a preliminary hearing on the second medical marijuana trial related to the Operation Green Rx Raids orchestrated by Bonnie Dumanis in cooperation with DEA through the Integrated Narcotics Task Force.
San Diego ASA membership turned out in numbers to support Mr. Jackson today filing more than half of the courtroom with supporters.
In December of 2009, Mr. Jackson was dragged through the judicial system on charges related to the first, August 2008 raid on Answerdam, which resulted in a jury trial and Mr. Jackson being vindicated on all five medical marijuana related charges. Chris Lindbergh the prosecutor in the case was scolded by the jury for bringing such a case to trial.
Charges related to the 9/9/9 raid are considered a separate case as this time the "buy" was on a different date then the "buy" in the original case where Mr. Jackson was found not guilty by the jurors.
Today in court in front of Judge Albert Harutunian, the prosecutor Chris Lindbergh argued to have the medical defense excluded for Mr. Jackson even thought Jackson’s physician’s statement was admitted into evidence.
Lindbergh also argued that patients who buy marijuana can technically be charged as "conspirators" to an illegal operation and that since Mr. Jackson did not subpoena 1600 people to testify for him today, that he could not prove that this was a collective.
Following the statement in the last paragraph, a chill ran through the courtroom as everyone collectively realized that what Linbergh was saying is that now the DA is considering charging members of collectives (non founding members) as co conspirators to illegal operations.
What happened to Dumanis’ promise not to go after patients?
In the hearing Linbergh also talked about what most in our community have come to understand as the "Group Farm" fallacy. Lindbergh explained that if all 1600 Answerdam patients first actually came together and hung out for a bit with each other (this would satisfy them having to associate), then together decided to grow medical marijuana, all chipped in some with money others with actual labor (this would satisfy the cultivate), then maybe that would be a defense.
Lindbergh confirmed several times that it was definitely the intent of Prop 215 that terminally ill, physically disabled, and immobilized patients participate in the cultivation effort.
We also heard testimony from Detective Mark Carlson who proclaimed on the stand at first to be an expert on medical marijuana laws, then went on to explain that he is a Federal Agent and technically all cultivation is illegal. Carlson was designated as the state medical law expert chief investigator by Lindbergh in this case.
Today's witness testimony also included the infamous Pierre Tiberius Uggla (aka Mike Mendez) who went to Answerdam and upon completing his membership agreement for the collective, wrote his real name (Mike Mendez) on the form rather than his undercover alias and as a result almost fumbled the DA’s entire investigation into Answerdam exposing to the members the fact that they were continuing this illegal persecution of patients through investigations.
In July of last year shortly after Mendez’s visit to Answerdam and as part of the continued efforts of the Stop Operation Green Rx campaign and San Diego Americans for Safe Access, members of San Diego ASA went to the San Diego City Council and delivered a copy of the form Mike Mendes completed with his real name to the San Diego City Councilmember asking them to intervene in this situation and bring these prosecutions to an end. The video of that speech can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OQ3YR133hQ
Unfortunately our pleas have gone unheard since then. Operation Green Rx is still in full force and today Mendez went on to explain that as part of his duties, he regularly goes to local doctors and lies. He explained that he went to see a doctor in Mission Valley last year, lied about a serious back injury that cause chronic pain which he told the doctor he suffered from. After presenting the doctor with a slew of symptoms related to the injury and receiving a physical examination from the doctor; he was issued a recommendation letter for medical marijuana and has since joined multiple collectives and bought medical cannabis from them on numerous occasions.
We also heard from testimony from cancer survivor, medical cannabis patient, and member of the Answerdam Collective, Paul Ford. Who testified that not only did the cannabis he obtained in Answerdam help alleviate his symptoms, no medicine out there has helped him more than cannabis obtained from Answerdam. Mr. Ford also explained that he was very well aware that he was a member not customer of Anwerdam and it was clear to everyone in the court that all his contributions in exchange for the medicine went directly towards the continued support of the cultivation effort /collective of Answerdam.
Unfortunately the judge ruled that there was enough evidence for Mr. Jackson to stand trial again, and that since this was the preliminary hearing, the prosecution did not have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt, just raise potential for guilt. The case was bound over for trial, and Mr. Jackson’s arraignment on the charges in his second medical marijuana trial is scheduled for mid March.
Operation Green Rx continues and today in court it was clear that the efforts of DA Bonnie Dumanis to continue the persecutions and medical marijuana eradication efforts in San Diego are not only continuing, they are escalating, and will continue to intensify as she is gearing up for her next election.
Mr. Lance Rogers, attorney for Jovan Jackson did an excellent job representing his client and fought as hard as he could to get the case dismissed. Although the case was bound over, Mr. Jackson will still get to present and argue the Murgia Motion (prosecutorial discrimination). Hopefully the next judge will see the absurdity of this trial and dismiss it.
Thank You Jovan for continuing to stand up for our rights, and not allow these persecutions to be swept under the rug through plea deals.
The perpetrators of these this continued efforts to subvert state law and persecute patients both in the DA’s office and in the integrated narcotics will not be left unnoticed. The voters and juries will hold you accountable for your actions.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Eugene Davidovich - 995 Hearing Today - Court Support Needed
I am currently facing a Jury Trial which is scheduled to start Next Week on the 2nd of March. The trial is related to the February 2009 (Operation Endless Summer / Green Rx) raids, orchestrated by District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis and her Cross Jurisdictional Narcotics Task Force (NTF).
Today I go to court for a 995 hearing, which is an attempt to get one of the charges against me dropped.
If you are able, please come out for court support as well as to see for yourself how medical cannabis patients are treated in court in San Diego.
220 W Broadway San Diego CA – Department 55 – 1:30pm
Originally I was charged with 4 felony counts, one of which about a month ago we were able to get dismissed by a judge bringing down the total charges to 3.
When my house was raided and I arrested in February of 2009, the NTF seized, 1.1 ounce of dried flowers and 14g (1/2 oz) of condensed kief (concentrated cannabis). Originally I was not charged with the possession of concentrated cannabis as clearly that amount is well within state/ city limits, as well as a very reasonable amount for any medical cannabis patient to have. One week before my trial was supposed to start in January and Theresa Pham (Deputy DA prosecuting my case) came back with another count. “Possession of Concentrated Cannabis”
As a result my trial has been moved to March 2 and today my attorneys will argue to get the Concentrated Cannabis Charge dismissed.
For more information about my story and to see the video of the delivery of medicine to the undercover narcotics task force officer posing as a legitimate patient please visit www.eugenedavidovich.com
Regards,
Eugene Davidovich
T: 619-621-8446
San Diego Americans for Safe Access
www.SafeAccessSD.org
Get Involved, get active, make a difference!
Join ASA - www.safeaccessnow.org
Today I go to court for a 995 hearing, which is an attempt to get one of the charges against me dropped.
If you are able, please come out for court support as well as to see for yourself how medical cannabis patients are treated in court in San Diego.
220 W Broadway San Diego CA – Department 55 – 1:30pm
Originally I was charged with 4 felony counts, one of which about a month ago we were able to get dismissed by a judge bringing down the total charges to 3.
When my house was raided and I arrested in February of 2009, the NTF seized, 1.1 ounce of dried flowers and 14g (1/2 oz) of condensed kief (concentrated cannabis). Originally I was not charged with the possession of concentrated cannabis as clearly that amount is well within state/ city limits, as well as a very reasonable amount for any medical cannabis patient to have. One week before my trial was supposed to start in January and Theresa Pham (Deputy DA prosecuting my case) came back with another count. “Possession of Concentrated Cannabis”
As a result my trial has been moved to March 2 and today my attorneys will argue to get the Concentrated Cannabis Charge dismissed.
For more information about my story and to see the video of the delivery of medicine to the undercover narcotics task force officer posing as a legitimate patient please visit www.eugenedavidovich.com
Regards,
Eugene Davidovich
T: 619-621-8446
San Diego Americans for Safe Access
www.SafeAccessSD.org
Get Involved, get active, make a difference!
Join ASA - www.safeaccessnow.org
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Senator Mark Leno Issues Statement on New Medical Cannabis Report
Wednesday, February 17, 2010SACRAMENTO – Researchers from the University of California’s Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research (CMCR) today issued a report showing that there is “reasonable evidence that cannabis is a promising treatment” for some specific, pain-related medical conditions.
CMCR’s findings, which were presented today to the California Legislature and public, are included in a report that is available on the CMCR website: www.cmcr.ucsd.edu.
Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) issued the following statement in response to today’s report:
“For too long the full evaluation of the therapeutic value of medical marijuana has been hindered by the lack of high quality scientific studies,” said Senator Leno. “Thanks to the vision and foresight of Senator John Vasconcellos in 1999, the California State Legislature sought to break through those roadblocks to study the potential benefits of medical cannabis. Today we have solid, scientific research that will benefit patients in California and across the globe.”
http://tinyurl.com/ydcam29
Read the full report here:
PDF of REPORT
Medical Cannabis Report, Commissioned by State, to be Released
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
http://tinyurl.com/ydsv54j
SACRAMENTO – In 1999, the California Legislature and Governor enacted Senate Bill 847 (Vasconcellos), which commissioned the University of California to establish a scientific research program to expand the scientific knowledge on purported therapeutic usages of medical marijuana. The legislation passed with a strong bi-partisan vote and was supported by former Attorney General Dan Lungren as well as a coalition of statewide public safety and health organizations.
Pursuant to the new law, the University of California-San Diego established the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research (CMCR) in 2000. The Legislature appropriated a total of $8.7 million to CMCR that has been used during the ensuing years to conduct clinical and pre-clinical trials of cannabis, including smoked medical marijuana, to provide evidence one way or the other to answer the question, “Does medical marijuana have therapeutic value?”
To achieve its objectives, CMCR funded a variety of carefully designed studies, and is prepared to release a report summarizing its research.
When: Wednesday, February 17, 2010, 10 a.m.
Where: State Capitol, Room 3191
Who:
Senator Mark Leno
Senator John Vasconcellos (ret), author of SB 847
Igor Grant, MD, Director, CMCR
J. Hampton Atkinson, MD, Co-director, CMCR
Barth Wilsey, MD, Clinical Professor, UC-Davis Health System
http://tinyurl.com/ydsv54j
SACRAMENTO – In 1999, the California Legislature and Governor enacted Senate Bill 847 (Vasconcellos), which commissioned the University of California to establish a scientific research program to expand the scientific knowledge on purported therapeutic usages of medical marijuana. The legislation passed with a strong bi-partisan vote and was supported by former Attorney General Dan Lungren as well as a coalition of statewide public safety and health organizations.
Pursuant to the new law, the University of California-San Diego established the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research (CMCR) in 2000. The Legislature appropriated a total of $8.7 million to CMCR that has been used during the ensuing years to conduct clinical and pre-clinical trials of cannabis, including smoked medical marijuana, to provide evidence one way or the other to answer the question, “Does medical marijuana have therapeutic value?”
To achieve its objectives, CMCR funded a variety of carefully designed studies, and is prepared to release a report summarizing its research.
When: Wednesday, February 17, 2010, 10 a.m.
Where: State Capitol, Room 3191
Who:
Senator Mark Leno
Senator John Vasconcellos (ret), author of SB 847
Igor Grant, MD, Director, CMCR
J. Hampton Atkinson, MD, Co-director, CMCR
Barth Wilsey, MD, Clinical Professor, UC-Davis Health System
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