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THE STATE
 

Lawmakers to feds: Hands off cannabis shops

In a dramatic reply to the four U.S. attorneys who last October declared war on California’s medical marijuana industry, members of the Bay Area’s Congressional delegation and lawmakers from across the country have issued a letter demanding P

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THE STATE

 

Lawmakers to feds: Hands off cannabis shops

In a dramatic reply to the four U.S. attorneys who last October declared war on California’s medical marijuana industry, members of the Bay Area’s Congressional delegation and lawmakers from across the country have issued a letter demanding President Obama to end the federal crackdown on dispensaries.

The congressional letter, sent to the White House in December, describes the ongoing crackdown as “unconscionable” and calls for the U.S. Justice Department to “cease and desist” its efforts to shut down for-profit medical pot shops. Among the lawmakers who signed it were Bay Area representatives Barbara Lee (D-Oakland), Sam Farr (D-Carmel), Rep. Pete Stark (D-Fremont), Mike Thompson (D-Napa) and Lynn Woolsey (D-Marin), along with Bob Filner (D-San Diego) and Steve Cohen (D-Memphis, Tenn.).

Ongoing federal raids on dispensaries, the letter stated, “directly interfere with California’s 15-year-old medical cannabis law by eliminating safe access to medication for the state’s thousands of medical marijuana patients.” Joining the Democratic representatives in penning the letter was Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach), a conservative congressman who over the years has emerged as a proponent of the right of states to enact medical marijuana programs.

But conspicuously absent from the signatures was that of U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), who was a key supporter of Proposition 215—the 1996 voter-approved initiative that lifted legal penalties on medical cannabis use in California. A spokesperson for Pelosi told reporters that, while the Speaker failed to sign the letter, her position in support of medical cannabis programs “has not changed.”

 

Federal judge refuses to stop dispensary crackdown

Even as she expressed sympathy for qualified medical marijuana patients seeking their medicine, a federal judge in Oakland rejected an effort by three local pot dispensaries to halt efforts by U.S. attorneys to shut their establishments down.

“The Court is sensitive to the desires of individuals to use medical marijuana with a doctor’s recommendation, as permitted under California law,” Oakland U.S. District Court Judge Saundra Armstrong ruled Nov. 30. “Nonetheless, marijuana remains illegal under federal law, and in Congress’ view, it has no medical value.”

The ruling effective permits efforts by the U.S. Justice Department to permanently close the dispensaries—San Francisco’s Divinity Tree and Medithrive and the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana in Marin. While Divinity Tree and Medithrive have already closed, the three outlets had asked Armstrong to issue a temporary restraining order against the crackdown. The plaintiffs had claimed the Justice Department’s actions against them represented an unconstitutional disregard for state law.

But in her 27-page decision, Armstrong ruled the plaintiffs were unlikely to prevail in federal court, given recent rulings against medical marijuana rights by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeal and the U.S. Supreme Court.

 

Attacks on pot shops costing jobs, millions in taxes

The ongoing federal assault on medical cannabis shops in California has already cost the state millions of dollars in lost tax revenue and is putting thousands of people out of work, a national labor union announced in December.

Citing government statistics and reports from within the industry, the United Food and Commercial Workers’ national medical cannabis division said about 2,500 people have lost good-paying jobs since late September as a result of federal efforts to shutter dispensaries. Dozens of those jobs—most related to dispensary operations—were lost in the Bay Area, including 50 in San Francisco alone.

Representatives of the union, which has been welcoming medical cannabis workers into its ranks since early 2010, said more than 20 percent of the state’s cannabis outlets have shut their doors since the crackdown began. The job losses weren’t relegated to dispensaries: Businesses that relied on income from the cannabis industry have also suffered, including construction companies, accounting and architectural firms, security services and advertising outlets.

More worrisome for California, the UFCW division reports, was the loss of millions in tax dollars as a result of the closures. The state’s medical cannabis industry generated some $100 million in sales tax revenue in 2010 alone.

 

THE NATION

East, West Coast govs call for marijuana rescheduling

Representing opposite ends in American politics and geography, the governors of Washington and Rhode Island have petitioned the Drug Enforcement Administration to reclassify cannabis as a Schedule II narcotic to allow states to regulate it as a medicine.

Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire, a Democrat, and her Republican-turned-independent counterpart in Rhode Island, Lincoln Chaffee, have both faced significant political static from the federal government over their states’ medical cannabis program. Last year, Gregoire was virtually threatened by the Justice Department with arrest when lawmakers in her state considered regulating the drug. That and other forms of federal pressure prompted Chaffee to abandon efforts to set up rules for controlling his state’s burgeoning cannabis dispensary industry.

Rescheduling cannabis from a Schedule I drug—a classification reserved only for the hardest narcotics, like heroin—to Schedule II would allow states to adequately regulate their programs, the governors argued in their petition. Schedule II narcotics are viewed by federal authorities as holding at least some medicinal value, whereas Schedule I drugs are considered to have no medical benefit at all.

“Patients across Rhode Island and across the United States, many of whom are in tremendous pain, stand to experience some relief,” Chaffee said in a statement to the press.

 

Wisconsin: The 17th Compassionate State?

Wisconsin residents might find themselves with something else to puff up about besides beer, cheese and football: A bill just introduced in the legislature would—if passed—make the state the 17th star in the union to legalize the medicinal use of marijuana.

Titled the Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act after a Wisconsin medical cannabis activist, the bill by Democratic Rep. Mark Pocan would remove state criminal penalties for patients cultivating up to 12 cannabis plants and possessing up to 3 ounces of the drug for medicinal use. A state registry would be set up and qualified patients issued ID cards.

But Badger State citizens might want to hold off on asking their doctors for referrals any time soon: Even Pocan, a longtime medical cannabis proponent, agrees the bill’s chances of clearing the Republican-controlled Wisconsin Legislature are slim to none. But Pocan insists a hearing on the bill, which he’s introduced twice before in recent years, will help lawmakers gauge public support for medical cannabis and soften the ground for future legalization efforts. Some 77 percent of Americans support legalizing pot for medical use, according to a recent survey.

 

THE WORLD

Toronto City Council moves to investigate vapor lounges

Toronto’s elected leaders may be the last Canadians in the city to know what goes on inside a vapor lounge, but that doesn’t mean it’s too late for them to find out.

The Toronto council passed a motion last month directing city officials to investigate “the legality and impact” of local vapor lounges—basically coffee houses where patrons are allowed to vaporize and inhale their favorite vapor-friendly substances. Such establishments have existed in Toronto and other Canadian cities for years, but Toronto’s councilors—as city council members are called there—appear to have suddenly grown alarmed by them.

The council also voted to stop issuing permits to new vapor lounges until its investigation is completed.

Canada has taken a decidedly less tolerant approach to all things cannabis since the ruling Conservative Party made major gains in the country’s House of Commons this year. The party, led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, is spearheading legislation that includes mandatory prison sentences for minor cannabis offenses.

Supporters of Safe Streets and Communities Act say the bill is needed combat crime, while critics point out that crime rates in Canada are at their lowest in nearly 40 years.

 

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