Live Oak trail-blazed through thickets of medical marijuana law last month where few, if any, cities have journeyed. The city of 8,600 residents became one of, if not the first city in California to ban growing medical marijuana — both indoor and outdoor — but it’s one of hundreds struggling to protect residents, allow sick people their medicine and navigate state law. James Maral, a Live Oak resident who grows marijuana for himself and his mother, is already testing the ban and state law, Jonathan Edwards reports in the Appeal-Democrat. Maral filed a lawsuit last [...]
The California Legislature will soon vote on two marijuana reform bills that seem to be more popular with the public than with the politicians in Sacramento: SB 129 by state Sen. Mark Leno, which would prohibit employment discrimination against medical marijuana patients, and AB 1017 by Assemblymember Tom Ammiano, which would allow for reduced, misdemeanor charges in marijuana cultivation cases. Both bills have strong public support according to a newly released poll of state voters by EMC Research, CalNORML Director Dale Gieringer writes in an e-mail advisory. However, both have had trouble getting through the [...]
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted unanimously to extend a temporary moratorium on new medical marijuana dispensaries for an additional 10 months and 15 days. The supervisors also added language to the ordinance that is meant to protect existing dispensaries from closure. Assistant County Counsel Carolyn Ruth said there are currently three medical marijuana dispensaries operating in the county, Megan Hansen reports in the Eureka Times-Standard. The Humboldt County Collective has a conditional use permit with no time limit, Redwood Legacy LLC has a two-year permit and the Hummingbird Healing Center has [...]
In what may be the first case of its kind in state history, a Healdsburg man whose marijuana was stolen in a home-invasion robbery will be allowed to seek restitution from the defendants. “It certainly does represent a milestone,” said Kris Hermes, a spokesman for Americans for Safe Access, an Oakland advocacy group for medical marijuana users. “I appreciate the court recognizing this as a lawful substance. Victims should be compensated.” But just how much Michael Steffens’ weed is worth will be open to debate, Paul Payne reports in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. His [...]
A Live Oak resident is suing to stop a ban on growing medical marijuana in the city that he said would force him to make “cruel choices.” James Maral is seeking an injunction in Sutter County Superior Court on to temporarily halt a ban on cultivating marijuana that the Live Oak City Council passed Dec. 21 and that took effect Friday. The suit seeking the injunction was filed Monday afternoon, Jonathan Edwards reports in the Appeal-Democrat. A judge is scheduled to hear arguments from Maral and the city of Live Oak at 3 p.m. today [...]
San Francisco has begun issuing medical marijuana dispensary licenses again, following a recent state Supreme court decision that will allow local pot dispensaries to do business — for now. The city’s Medical Cannabis Act permitting process had been on hold for several months, following a state appeals court ruling in Pack vs. Long Beach, Chris Roberts reports in The Snitch blog for S.F. Weekly. The ruling said that city or county laws regulating medical marijuana violated federal law; the decision led cities and counties throughout the state to suspend, reconsider, or repeal their regulatory schemes. [...]
On Jan. 18, the Supreme Court of California issued an order granting review of the now infamous line of medical marijuana cases of Pack v. City of Long Beach, City of Riverside v. Inland Empire Patient’s Health and Wellness Ctr., Inc., Traudt v. City of Dana Point, and People v. G3 Holistic. Unless the Supreme Court decides otherwise, this means that medical marijuana advocates can rejoice because local jurisdictions and lower courts cannot use the logic of Pack or Riverside as a vehicle to scuttle the regulatory processes that assure safe access to California’s medical [...]
The California Supreme Court has again jumped into the fray over the legality of medical marijuana laws, deciding this week to review two lower-court rulings that affect how and whether local governments can regulate pot dispensaries across the state. In their weekly closed-door session Wednesday, the justices voted unanimously to review cases from Long Beach and Riverside that dealt with the ongoing conflict between California’s 1996 voter-approved law allowing medical marijuana and federal laws barring the use or sale of the drug. The state Supreme Court’s rulings in the cases are likely to widely echo [...]
UPLAND – The California Supreme Court decided on Wednesday to review an appeal filed by an Upland medical marijuana cooperative. Counsel representing G3 Holistic in Upland filed the appeal in December following a decision in November by the Fourth District Appellate Court in Riverside siding with the city’s ban on medical marijuana dispensaries through its zoning code. “I’m totally flabbergasted,” said Roger Jon Diamond, attorney for G3. “I thought they might take it, but you never know for sure.” The co-op appealed an injunction granted by the West Valley Superior Court in August 2010 that [...]
Sacramento — The California Supreme Court issued an order today indicating its intent to review two controversial medical marijuana cases that have resulted in the suspension of several local dispensary ordinances across the state. As a result of today’s order, Pack v. City of Long Beach and City of Riverside v. Inland Empire Patient’s Health and Wellness Ctr., Inc. have both been vacated in anticipation of the High Court’s ruling. The Pack decision held that some dispensary regulations may be preempted by federal law and the Riverside decision held that localities could legally ban distribution [...]
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