Feds Can't Prosecute Them If They Follow State Law, Court Rules. A U.S. appeals court decided unanimously Tuesday that the federal government may not prosecute people who grow and distribute medical marijuana if they comply with state laws. Congress in the last two years has banned the federal government from spending money in ways that would thwart state medical marijuana laws. The U.S. Justice Department contended the ban did not undermine its right to prosecute growers and distributors under federal law, even in states where medical cannabis was legal. [continues 456 words]
Oakland Loses a Court Battle to Keep the U.S. From Shutting Down Harborside Health Center. SAN FRANCISCO - Oakland lost a legal fight Thursday to prevent the federal government from shutting down the nation's largest medical marijuana dispensary. In a unanimous ruling, a three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said the city had standing to sue because Oakland stands to lose tax revenue if Harborside Health Center, a warehouse-sized dispensary, is closed. But the panel also said the U.S. Department of Justice had the legal right to try to close the Oakland-based cannabis retailer. [continues 104 words]
A Judge Upholds a 1970 Federal Law Classifying Marijuana As a Dangerous Drug. SAN FRANCISCO - Efforts to legalize marijuana suffered a defeat in court Wednesday when a judge upheld the constitutionality of a 1970 federal law that classifies cannabis as a dangerous drug akin to LSD and heroin. U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller, announcing her decision at a hearing in Sacramento, said she could not lightly overturn a law passed by Congress. Mueller agreed last year to hold an extensive fact-finding hearing on the issue, raising the hopes of activists seeking to legalize marijuana and worrying opponents who consider the drug a threat to health and public safety. The hearing marked the first time in decades that a judge was willing to examine the classification of marijuana under the 1970 Controlled Substances Act. [continues 460 words]
For First Time in Years, Federal Jurist Will Rule on Constitutionality of Classifying Marijuana As a Dangerous Drug. SAN FRANCISCO - In a rare examination of federal marijuana law, a U.S. judge in Northern California has decided to rule on the constitutionality of a 1970 act that classifies marijuana as a dangerous drug akin to LSD and heroin. U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller took the extraordinary step of holding a five-day hearing on the question late last year, with final arguments scheduled for next month. Her ruling, based on testimony and thousands of pages of briefs, exhibits and declarations, is expected later this year. [continues 1024 words]
The State Supreme Court Unanimously Rules That Local Cities Can Rezone Cannabis Shops Out of Existence. SAN FRANCISCO - The California Supreme Court gave local governments the power Monday to zone medical marijuana dispensaries out of existence, a decision that upholds bans in about 200 cities but does little to solve Los Angeles' years-long struggle to regulate hundreds of storefront pot outlets. The unanimous decision provided clarity for cities and counties that want to rid themselves of the dispensaries, which sprouted up statewide after a 1996 voter-approved measure that sought to authorize medical marijuana but lacked specifics in how it would be regulated. [continues 976 words]
State Justices Seem Inclined to Support Legality of Riverside's Policy on Medical Marijuana Stores. SAN FRANCISCO - The California Supreme Court appeared inclined Tuesday to uphold municipal bans against medical marijuana dispensaries. Meeting for oral arguments, the state high court considered the legality of a ban on dispensaries by the city of Riverside. Several justices noted that the state Constitution gives cities wide policing power over land use and suggested that the state's medical marijuana laws have not undercut that authority. [continues 515 words]
Sixteen years after voters OKD medical marijuana, state high court will decide if municipalities can ban cannabis dispensaries. High court is poised to decide whether medical pot outlets can be banned. Sixteen years after Californians approved medical marijuana, the state's highest court is poised to decide whether cities and counties can ban cannabis dispensaries. The long-awaited ruling by the California Supreme Court, which hears arguments on the issue Feb. 5, follows years of contradictory decisions by the lower courts operating in a void because the state Legislature has yet to define the law or pass detailed regulations. [continues 783 words]
9th Circuit Court Rules Rules Against Use of Americans With Disabilities Act to Keep Clinics Open. Medical marijuana patients cannot use a federal disability law to prevent cities from shutting down pot dispensaries, a federal appeals court decided Monday. A three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by severely disabled medical marijuana users against Costa Mesa and Lake Forest. The suit charged that the Orange County cities were violating the Americans With Disabilities Act by closing down dispensaries that distributed medical marijuana. [continues 331 words]
Cities and Medical Pot Providers Grapple With Conflicting Rulings While Waiting for the State Supreme Court to Rule on the Issue - a Year or More From Now. Reporting from San Francisco -- Cities and medical marijuana providers, facing a series of conflicting rulings, are likely to remain in legal limbo until the California Supreme Court clarifies the ability of local governments to regulate patients' pot, analysts said Friday. "Pray that the California Supreme Court comes up with a decision as soon as possible," said Thomas Jefferson School of Law professor Alex Kreit, who has advised the city of San Diego on medical marijuana. "The lay of the land is getting more bewildering every day." [continues 499 words]
California Supreme Court Will Review Lower Court Rulings Regarding Oversight San Francisco - The California Supreme Court has decided to review whether cities and counties may ban medical marijuana stores. Meeting in closed session, the court Wednesday agreed to assess rulings by lower courts on how much oversight local governments may exert on medical marijuana operations. A ruling is probably a year or two away at least. The court's decision to review the appeals court decisions means they cannot be enforced pending a ruling by the state high court. [continues 109 words]
San Francisco's D.A. Is Under Fire for Not Checking Witnesses' Criminal Records A scandal that has shaken San Francisco's criminal justice system and rocked the race for state attorney general began with a criminalist who allegedly stole drugs from a police laboratory. Investigators said Deborah Madden, a longtime Police Department criminalist who testified for the prosecution in scores of cases, told them she skimmed cocaine from the lab to help her quit drinking. She also implicated other analysts in sloppy investigative work. [continues 814 words]
Driver's Licenses Suspended SAN FRANCISCO -- When Matt Vaughn was pulled over for speeding on the freeway in Northern California early on a Sunday morning, he had a bag of marijuana on the passenger seat. The California Highway Patrol officer smelled the weed, searched the car, took the marijuana and a pipe and gave Vaughn a sobriety test, which he passed. Vaughn showed the officer his doctor's recommendation to use marijuana for glaucoma. The officer was unimpressed. "He said, in Glenn County they don't recognize those kinds of things," said Vaughn, 55, who has a ponytail, a mustache and a beard. "He was not very friendly about it." [continues 495 words]
When Matt Vaughn was pulled over for speeding on the freeway in Northern California early on a Sunday morning, he had a bag of marijuana on the passenger seat. The California Highway Patrol officer smelled the weed, searched the car, took the marijuana and a pipe and gave Vaughn a sobriety test, which he passed. Vaughn showed the officer his doctor's recommendation to use marijuana for glaucoma. The officer was unimpressed. "He said, in Glenn County they don't recognize those kinds of things," said Vaughn, 55, who has a pony tail, a mustache and a beard. "He was not very friendly about it." [continues 830 words]
The Lawsuit Says Patients Are Unfairly Targeted for License Suspensions. When Matt Vaughn was pulled over for speeding on Interstate 5 in Northern California early on a Sunday morning, he had a bag of marijuana on the passenger seat. The California Highway Patrol officer smelled the weed, searched the car, took the marijuana and pipe and gave Vaughn a sobriety test, which he passed. An angry Vaughn showed the officer his doctor's recommendation to use marijuana for glaucoma. The officer was unimpressed. [continues 871 words]
The panel supports a jury's verdict that the LAPD and city violated the rights of the three men by arresting and charging them without adequate evidence during their division's corruption scandal. A federal appeals court upheld a $15 million jury verdict for three Los Angeles police officers who alleged they were falsely arrested and prosecuted as part of the Rampart corruption scandal. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said there was evidence to support the jury's verdict that the city and the Los Angeles Police Department violated the officers' constitutional rights by arresting and charging the men without an adequate investigation. [continues 482 words]
9th Circuit Judges Reinstate Two Other Rulings in the Case of Savana Redding, 13, Who Was Searched for Ibuprofen at School. Schools may not strip-search students for drugs based on an unverified tip, a federal appeals court ruled Friday. Overturning two other rulings, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said an assistant principal at an Arizona middle school violated the constitutional rights of a 13-year-old by ordering her to be strip-searched. He thought the honor student had prescription-strength ibuprofen; she did not. [continues 681 words]
SAN FRANCISCO -- -- The California Supreme Court weakened the effect of the state's beleaguered medical marijuana law, ruling Thursday that employers may fire workers for using physician-recommended marijuana while off duty, even if it did not hurt their job performance. Supporters of medical marijuana immediately criticized the court's 5-2 ruling, saying it undermined the 1996 law, which prohibits the state from criminalizing the medical use of the drug. Hundreds of medical marijuana users have complained that they have been fired, threatened with termination or not hired by California companies because of their drug use, according to one advocacy group. [continues 919 words]
State high court decision protects patients who carry marijuana for their own use. The action expands defense options, attorney says. SAN FRANCISCO -- People charged with transporting marijuana may avoid conviction if they can show that the drug was for their personal medical use, the California Supreme Court ruled Monday. In a 6-1 decision, the state high court said California's medical marijuana law protects patients who transport even relatively large quantities of the drug if they can show that the amount was consistent with their medical needs and recommended by a licensed physician. [continues 446 words]
The Criminal Defense Attorney Is Star-Struck, Young and Unorthodox. but Don't Be Fooled. She's Also Ivy League, Savvy and Successful. Matt Farrell, a video producer, needed an attorney after he had been charged with growing marijuana. He hired Allison Margolin, "L.A.'s dopest attorney," on a friend's recommendation. Farrell's first impression was "she was hot." His second was doubt. She looked too young to be a lawyer. Then he saw the Ivy League degrees on her wall. [continues 1856 words]
Fewer prosecutions expected after state Supreme Court's ruling (SIDEBAR) MEDICAL POT LAW EVOLVES -Medical pot users can still be arrested, but evidence of a doctor's approval can get the charges dismissed -Case may still be tried if amount of pot is considered large or doctor's approval is questionable SAN FRANCISCO - Ailling Californians who use or grow marijuana with a physician's approval are protected by state law from prosecution, the state Supreme Court unanimously decided Thursday. In its first review of the medical marijuana initiative, which was approved by voters in 1996, the court said medical users who are arrested may have the charges dismissed without a trial if a doctor has approved use of the drug. The ruling overturns the felony conviction of a blind diabetic who was arrested after police spotted 31 marijuana plants growing in the front yard of his home in Twain Harte, in Tuolumne County. [continues 774 words]
