SANTA CRUZ -- A state appeals court in Sacramento this week ruled that medical marijuana patients can sue over raids by local law enforcement, but county authorities aren't too worried as local rules spell out when and where such raids are allowed. "It's the sheriff's department's policy to protect medical marijuana patients," said Sgt. Mark Yanez with the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office. However, he said, when patients break rules or use their medical cards to cover up illegal drug sales, his department still cracks down. [continues 328 words]
SANTA CRUZ - Almost every day, someone calls the city's Planning Department for information on how to open a medical marijuana dispensary. Since the Obama administration announced in February that federal medical marijuana raids were over, Santa Cruz entrepreneurs have come to view dispensing the prescription drug - which is legal under state laws but illegal under federal ones - as a potentially safe and profitable business, said Assistant Planning Director Alex Khoury. Two applications have been filed for dispensaries on the Westside. [continues 431 words]
SANTA CRUZ -- After the Obama administration announced last week that it would only prosecute medical marijuana cases if they violate state and federal law, a Santa Cruz collective is still taking a wait-and-see approach to its own lawsuits and operations. "We're not exactly sure what's going to happen with the feds," said Michael Corral, co-founder of Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana in Santa Cruz. However, "I feel in all likelihood we will be probably be left alone." [continues 320 words]
SANTA CRUZ -- The city's first medical marijuana dispensary is hoping to build a new kitchen for its two pastry chefs so they can bake pot brownies, cookies and truffles in a controlled space at its shop. Lisa Molyneux, owner of Greenway Compassionate Relief Inc. in Harvey West, is slated to ask the city Planning Commission on Thursday to approve plans for a new, 430-square foot commercial kitchen. Now, the two chefs rent a commercial kitchen, which Molyneux said she can't watch as closely as if she had her own. [continues 394 words]
SANTA CRUZ -- City Council candidate Lisa Molyneux is best known for opening her medical marijuana shop in Harvey West in 2005. Now, the recent transplant from Boulder Creek is seeking a seat in local government. Molyneux did not return repeated calls for comment for this story, but according to her statement on the voter's pamphlet, Molyneux said she would work to increase "public and bicycle safety," provide affordable education and increase the safety of medical cannabis patients in town. Molyneux, a former broadcast engineer with Fox New Sports in Los Angeles, left her job to open Greenway Compassionate Relief Inc. in Harvey West in 2005. [continues 126 words]
SANTA CRUZ - Medical marijuana patients will once again be allowed to smoke dope in San Lorenzo Park this Saturday, after city leaders temporarily lifted a smoking ban to allow for a festival celebrating the medicinal herb. The decision came after testimony from more than 20 patients who reasoned and pleaded with the Santa Cruz City Council to allow them to inhale their medication while partaking in Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana's annual WAMMfest. Some accused council members of growing old and more conservative, while others said Santa Cruz was losing both its compassion and its weirdness. [continues 366 words]
SANTA CRUZ -- WAMMfest, the annual event where medical marijuana patients toke up in San Lorenzo Park while touting the benefits of their medicine, may be in for a major bummer. Organizers might have to throw a marijuana festival without the smoke. On Sept. 27, Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana will hold its annual WAMM Festival -- a medical pot, hemp and music celebration. The group last week requested an exception from the city's ban on smoking in San Lorenzo Park so its 200 patients could attend the event and inhale their medicine. [continues 427 words]
The smoking ban in city parks could be lifted for the second time since it passed three years ago, as city leaders are considering allowing medical marijuana patients to light up during a festival at San Lorenzo Park at the end of the month. "It's not like a recreational marijuana event," said Councilman Mike Rotkin, who supports the temporary lifting of the city's 3-year-old ordinance that bans smoking in parks. "It's not a smoke-in, it's not like the 4/20 thing up on campus," Rotkin said. [continues 432 words]
Medical marijuana advocates say this week's state appeals court ruling broadens the scope of who can legally sell marijuana and will make it easier for those who need the drug to get it. California's 6th District Court of Appeal on Wednesday overturned the conviction of Roger Mentch. The Felton man found guilty last year of cultivation of marijuana and possession of the drug for sale because he was not considered a "caregiver." Santa Cruz attorney Ben Rice said in the past, caregivers have had to prove they had regular contact with a patient and provided services beyond drug delivery. But now, "all you have to do is show some evidence of helping in some fashion with a person's health," Rice said. That help includes providing medical marijuana, and could apply to a distributor or collective. [continues 305 words]
Hemp-food sellers praise FDA for ending legal food fight Santa Cruz retailers Monday hailed the federal government's decision not to pursue a ban on food made with or from the controversial hemp plant. The decision comes three years after the Bush administration tried to stop sales of food made with hemp, which contains trace amounts of tetrahydrocannobinol, or THC, the mind-altering chemical in marijuana. "It seems ridiculous to me that it shouldn't be legal," said Kiona Pfeiffer, a vitamin sales clerk at Staff of Life Natural Foods Market in Santa Cruz. [continues 489 words]
