By SALVADOR HERNANDEZ and LOIS EVEZICH
Source: The Orange County Register

Arrests made after employees overpower armed men, but now Laguna Niguel marijuana dispensary is being investigated.

CA - LAGUNA NIGUEL – Armed men searching for marijuana and cash at an office building Wednesday instead found themselves confronted by employees ready to protect their pot.

By Mary Spicuzza
Source: ABC News

Arcata, Calif. -- When Stephen Gasparas arrived in Humboldt County in late 2004, he was driving a VW Westfalia pop-top camper on the verge of breaking down and had only $100 in his pocket.

Gasparas, who ran a flooring business in Chicago before heading west, seems to have found far greener pastures in Humboldt County's medical marijuana industry.

By Allison B. Margolin
Source: Los Angeles Daily News

CA -- Last week, California Attorney General Jerry Brown issued guidelines to regulate medical-marijuana-related activities in California.

Ostensibly, he issued these guidelines to clarify the boundaries regarding patients, caregivers, collectives and law enforcement. Ultimately, however, the vagueness of the guidelines will only further motivate law enforcement and district attorneys throughout the state who are sincerely trying to follow the laws.

By Vanessa Nelson
Source: Medical Marijuana Of America

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- Thursday was a dramatic day in the federal trial of Charles “Eddy” Lepp, a medical marijuana advocate and Rasta minister who’s charged with growing 25,000 marijuana plants on his property in Upper Lake, California. The morning started with a barrage of questions from the jury, progressed with the government using Lepp’s MySpace site against him, and finished with a gripping speech by the defendant himself. All in all, it was a whirlwind of a day in court.

So far, Lepp’s defense has been that he did not possess or cultivate any marijuana – instead, he allowed his church-members to cultivate marijuana on his land for religious use, and he also opened his land to cultivation for medical marijuana patients. In California, these patients and their care providers are protected by a voter-enacted state law, but still vulnerable under the continuing federal prohibition on marijuana. When agents for the U.S. government raided Lepp’s property on August 18th, 2004, they uprooted the largest garden of its kind in the world. Lepp believed he would have protection from federal prosecution under the Religious Freedoms Restoration Act, but a ruling from the judge shortly before trial shattered this expectation. Despite the necessary finding of Lepp’s sincerity of belief, Judge Marilyn Patel decided that there was a special risk of diversion due to the large quantity of marijuana involved in the case. It’s an unconventional application of RFRA law, which the judge referred to as “evolving,” and it left Lepp to proceed to trial.

By Justin Scheck and Rhonda L. Rundle
Source: Wall Street Journal

CA -- California Attorney General Jerry Brown issued restrictive guidelines this week for medical-marijuana sellers, bolstering his tough-on-crime credentials as he looks ahead to a possible gubernatorial bid in 2010.

Mr. Brown's guidelines say medical-marijuana dispensaries -- which operate in a legal gray area -- should operate as small nonprofits. The guidelines instruct state law-enforcement officials that "excessive amounts of marijuana" and "excessive amounts of cash" may indicate a dispensary is operating unlawfully. "There's no blank check to sell marijuana in California," Mr. Brown said in an interview, adding that he believes many marijuana sellers are "shadowy enterprises."

By Vanessa Nelson
Source: Medical Marijuana of America

SAN FRANCISCO -- In an unanticipated turn of events, the bust of the world’s largest medical marijuana grow has developed into one of the shortest trials in federal court.

Opening arguments in the United States v. Charles “Eddy” Lepp were delivered yesterday morning to a freshly assembled jury. The judge gave her own speech as well, outlining the procedures in the trial, the elements of the charges, and various reflections on the importance of jury service. The government then proceeded to call all of its witnesses and present all of its exhibits. And when it was finally done, it was almost time for lunch. This approach is a novel one for the government. The prosecution in federal medical marijuana trials is typically vigorous, with witness testimony that spans a full week or more. With this case, however, it’s as though someone has suddenly pushed the turbo button.

Source: 10 News

SAN DIEGO -- The use of marijuana for medicinal purposes has been controversial for decades.

But now a local physician, Dr. Alfonso Jimenez, has hired an attorney to represent him. Jimenez wants to prevent law enforcement from conducting undercover patient stings.

Editorial
Source: San Francisco Chronicle

California -- The hazy legality of medical marijuana just got a little clearer. Since 1996 when voters approved a measure allowing the humane use of cannabis to ease sickness and pain, California has struggled to come up with an orderly way to supply the weed.

Federal law hasn't help as Washington insisted that pot is illegal, plain and simple. And local communities have deployed varying rules to rein in the runaway profusion of loosely watched dispensaries. Neither police nor medical marijuana sponsors are happy with the confusing present-day picture.

Editorial
Source: Los Angeles Times

California -- They're more than a decade overdue, but the guidelines on medical marijuana issued this week by California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown could finally help divide the gray area in which the state's growers and dispensers operate into clearer shades of black and white.

Brown's 11-page directive is aimed at giving police the ability to distinguish between criminals and legitimate medical marijuana sellers under state law, as well as protecting patients from arrest.

By Wendy Leung, Staff Writer
Source: Daily Bulletin

California -- If state Attorney General Jerry Brown's medical-marijuana recommendations released this week were meant to clarify a muddied issue caused by conflicting state and federal law, not all local officials saw the light.

Some welcomed Brown's effort to protect legal dispensaries and patients, but others believed the guidelines released Monday were far from the final word.

By Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross
Source: San Francisco Chronicle

CA -- California Attorney General Jerry Brown has ordered a crackdown on medical pot clubs that are selling the drug for big profits.

The move puts the state a bit more in line with the feds in dealing with the explosion of questionable marijuana dispensaries since the passage of Proposition 215 more than a decade ago.

By Matt Kettmann
Source: Santa Barbara Independant

Elvy Musikka Arrives for Wednesday March to Protest Federal Government's Threat to Close Santa Barbara Dispensaries

CA - At noon on Wednesday, August 27, dozens of medical marijuana patients and proponents are expected to gather at the dolphin statue near Stearns Wharf and walk up State Street toward the County Courthouse. They’ll be protesting the recent threats by the federal government to punish Santa Barbara landlords who rent to state- and city-sanctioned cannabis dispensaries. The federal crackdown in Santa Barbara is the latest battle in the long-simmering war over medical marijuana, a state’s rights showdown in which voters and lawmakers from California and other states have deemed the drug legal for patients but the feds continue to consider an illicit, medically useless substance.

By Donna Tam, The Times-Standard
Source: Times-Standard

California -- The state Office of the Attorney General released medical marijuana guidelines Monday in hopes of ensuring that Proposition 215 is not abused, providing law enforcement -- as well has patients and caregivers -- a better understanding of the law.

Dana Simas, a spokeswoman for the attorney general's office, said the guidelines will protect all parties involved from unnecessary court proceedings.

By Jack Broom, Seattle Times Staff Reporter
Source: Seattle Times

Tumwater, Thurston County -- More than 100 activists who jammed a state Health Department hearing Monday to protest proposed medical-marijuana limits won at least a minor victory: getting more time to make their case.

Responding to concerns by advocates, Assistant Health Secretary Karen Jensen extended until 5 p.m. Friday the deadline for comments on a proposed rule to limit medical-marijuana users to possessing 24 ounces of cultivated marijuana, six mature plants and 18 immature plants.

By Eric Bailey, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
Source: Los Angeles Times

Sacramento, CA -- For the first time in the dozen years of turmoil since state voters legalized medical marijuana, California's top law enforcement official stepped into the fray Monday with new guidelines designed in part to quell the ongoing friction between the state and federal authorities.

Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown issued an 11-page directive intended to help legitimate patients avoid arrest while giving police the tools to distinguish legal medical marijuana operations from illegal cultivators and criminal middlemen.

Breaking News
Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel

CA -- California Attorney General Jerry Brown said Monday that for-profit medical marijuana dispensaries in the state are likely operating illegally, opening the way for local police to join federal authorities in shutting down such enterprises.

There are an estimated 300 so-called "storefront" dispensaries operating throughout California in various business guises and little agreement on how many are operating as for-profits.

By Pamela A. MacLean
Source: National Law Journal

California -- In the first decision of its kind, a federal judge has ruled that California's medical marijuana advocates may go forward with a claim that the federal government has a pattern of drug law enforcement intended to subvert California law in violation of the U.S. Constitution.

U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel, in San Jose, Calif., said he will allow Santa Cruz County to go forward with its claim that federal authorities deliberately are seeking to frustrate the state's ability to determine whether an individual's use of marijuana is permitted medical use, or illegal recreational use.

By Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Source: San Francisco Chronicle

California -- A federal judge breathed new life Wednesday into medical marijuana advocates' effort to ward off the federal crackdown on medical pot in California, saying enforcement of U.S. drug laws can go too far if it seeks to interfere with state authority.

U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel of San Jose denied a Bush administration request to dismiss a lawsuit by Santa Cruz city and county officials and members of a medical marijuana collective whose drugs were seized by federal agents in a 2002 raid.

By Linda Williams, TWN Staff Writer
Source: Willits News

California -- Last Wednesday the California Supreme Court unanimously agreed to hear the case of California vs Patrick Kelly to determine whether any limits imposed by the legislature to the Compassionate Use Act is constitutional.

While the California Supreme Court takes up the issue, the existing limits in the California Health and Safety Code remain in effect throughout much of California. For Mendocino County, the limits are a bit murkier as the ongoing legal challenge to the portion of Measure B, which had the county adopt the state limits may await the final Supreme Court decision.

By Roger Phelps, The Telegraph
Source: Folsom Telegraph

DEA California -- A threat from federal drug officials is forcing El Dorado County’s medical-marijuana clinic to lease a new headquarters.

The Medical Marijuana Caregivers Association of El Dorado County previously leased from a landlord who received written notice recently from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The notice said the agency had discovered the lease agreement between the caregivers association and the landlord, and warned the arrangement violated federal drug law.

By The Ukiah Daily Journal Staff
Source: Ukiah Daily Journal

California -- We understand why a local judge struck down the provisions of voter-approved Measure B limiting the number of plants a medical marijuana patient can grow.

The California Appeals Court ruled in May that the six mature, 12 immature plant limit and the eight ounce dried marijuana possession limit were unconstitutional because the California Legislature had set the limits by legislation not voter initiative. Measure B's limits were based on the California state law.

By Kenji Yoshino
Source: Los Angeles Times

California -- Just because a majority of Californians voted to make marijuana available for medical purposes does not mean it is legal. Charles Lynch, the owner of a Morro Bay medical marijuana dispensary, learned this lesson the hard way on Aug. 5 when he was convicted of violating the federal Controlled Substances Act. His lawyers defended him in part by saying his business had the blessing of elected officials in Morro County. But the jury convicted him under federal drug laws; in October, he will be sentenced to a period of five to 85 years in prison, though he has vowed to appeal.

BY TREVOR HUGHES
Source: Coloradoan

Colorado - A Larimer County couple already being prosecuted for marijuana cultivation was re-arrested Thursday after investigators in two counties seized 25 pounds of pot and more than 200 live plants.

Christopher and Tiffany Crumbliss were arrested by Larimer County sheriff's deputies after raids at four locations in Larimer County and one in Breckenridge, the Sheriff's Office said in a news release.

By Jill U. Adams, Special To The Times
Source: Los Angeles Times

USA -- Depending on whom you ask, marijuana is a dangerous drug that should be kept illegal alongside heroin and PCP, or it's a miracle herb with a trove of medical benefits that the government is seeking to deny the public -- or something in between: a plant with medical uses and drawbacks, worth exploring.

As the political debates over medical marijuana drag on, a small cadre of researchers continues to test inhaled marijuana for the treatment of pain, nausea and muscle spasms.

By Lauren McSherry, Staff Writer
Source: San Bernardino Sun

More than 20 protesters gathered Tuesday at the San Bernardino County Government Center and called for the county to start issuing medical-marijuana identification cards.

In 2003, the state Legislature required county health departments to issue medical-marijuana cards allowing chronically ill patients to obtain the drug if their doctors recommended it.

By Bob Egelko
Source: San Francisco Chronicle

California -- The state Supreme Court returned to the medical marijuana wars Wednesday, agreeing to decide the validity of a law that shields doctor-approved pot users from arrest for possessing up to eight ounces of dried marijuana or growing six plants.

The justices voted unanimously to review the issue after a prosecution appeal of a lower-court ruling in May. In that ruling, an appellate court found the 2003 law conflicted with California's 1996 medical marijuana initiative, which allows possession of an amount of marijuana "reasonably related to the patient's current medical needs," but did not set specific limits.

By Ethan Stewart
Source: Santa Barbara Independant

DEA Allegedly Tells Landlords to Evict Pot Club Tenants — Or Else

Not too long ago, critics were likening the medical marijuana movement in Santa Barbara to the cannabis culture equivalent of the Wild West: more dispensaries than Starbucks, no city oversight, and law enforcement without a clear mandate. Things have changed quickly, however, with the city stepping in earlier this spring to craft an ordinance outlining the dos and don’ts of dispensary operation. Now, just last week, the federal government’s Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and Department of Justice (DOJ) paid a visit to Santa Barbara and threatened the people who rent their properties to California-approved cannabis clubs with hefty fines, property seizure, and criminal charges for violation of federal law.

By Scott Dunn
Source: Sun Times

Crown Meaford man got licence to grow, use marijuana a month after being busted

Canada - Federal Crown attorney Clayton Conlan withdrew all drug charges Tuesday against a Meaford man who says he uses marijuana medicinally and against the man’s wife because prosecuting the charges “would not be in the public interest.”

By Dan Glaister
Source: Guardian

United States Federal agency takes on California over cannabis use for health reasons

The young woman in the bikini top and bottle tan was having a good time in the bright afternoon sun. Gyrating opposite the Muscle Beach Gym on the boardwalk at Venice beach, she chanted her mantra in an eastern European accent. "The doctor is here! The doctor is here!"

By By Dave Moller
Source: The Union

California - The arrest of two young men Wednesday in connection with five marijuana patches points to a growing problem of people abusing legal pot prescriptions, according to Nevada County Sheriff Keith Royal.

Arrested were Nicholas Sahagian and Blake Wasechek, both 24 and from Penn Valley, on suspicion of felony marijuana cultivation, according to Lt. Frank Koehler. Both suspects were free Thursday, according to a spokesman at the Wayne Brown Correctional Facility.