Thursday, January 19, 2012
Medical Marijuana Activists Cheer California Supreme Court Decision to Review Dispensary Bans
Regulation & Legislation David Downs — Thu, Jan 19, 2012 at 11:17 AM
Americans for Safe Access and other medical marijuana groups in California are applauding the California Supreme Court's decision to review Pack v. Long Beach, and two other appellate cases that have led to dispensary bans in many cities and counties.
The Supreme Court's review could take up to a year, watchers say. In the meantime, more dispensaries are likely to open in San Francisco, Oakland and Richmond. San Francisco had suspended dispensary permitting since November due to Pack. The San Francisco City Attorney's office wrote in December that, “If the Supreme Court grants review, this court of appeal decision will have no effect during the pendency of the Supreme Court's review.”
- David Downs
- Dispensary under construction at 3139 Mission
Cities and counties can no longer use Pack to ban clubs, said Americans for Safe Access legal counsel Joe Elford. “We're very pleased that local governments will now be unable to use appellate court decisions to deny patients access to medical marijuana in their own communities."
Lanny Swerdlow, an activist and organizer in battleground Southern California, was more sanguine. “This means that all this raging-bull-in-a-china shop behavior that cities and counties have been going through — issuing cease and desist orders, citing collectives for zoning violations and fining them $1,000 a day — is out the window. With the acceptance by the Supreme Court, the opinion of the 4th District Court that cities can ban collectives under their zoning ordinances is rendered moot."
He contiued, "I have been told that the rapidity at which the Supreme Court took the case (they took fewer than thirty days to accept the appeal for review and could have taken ninety) demonstrates that they know what a chaotic situation has been created by the refusal of cities to license and regulate collectives — and that they need to act fast (at least fast for the Supreme Court) to end the wild west atmosphere that has been created by the deference cities have given to the cops' opposition to Prop. 215.”
San Diego-based group the California Cannabis Coalition stated, “What this means is that by accepting the cases, it sets aside all litigation that is taking place with cities and counties as to whether they can ban medical marijuana or not. And now we will have to wait for the Supreme Court decision. This is a positive move in the right direction.”
More analysis as it comes in.
Comments (3)
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Worldwide, tens of millions of people, both users and non-users, have either been killed, maimed, incarcerated or had their lives seriously disrupted. Prohibitionists are overwhelmingly responsible for an immense increase in violent crime, organized crime, international terrorism and official corruption. Add to all that, an AIDS Pandemic and a serious undermining of international security and development.
Corporate greed and individual bigotry have accelerated us towards a situation where all the usual peaceful and democratic methods, which can usually be employed to reverse such acute damage, no longer function as envisaged by our Founding Fathers. Such a political impasse, coupled with our great economic tribulation, is precisely that which throughout history has often ignited extreme social upheaval and violent revolution.
There appears to be just one last avenue left to us – Jury Nullification. If we choose not to use this peaceful means for change then a violent solution may be forced upon us:
“To function as the founders intended, our republic requires that the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure.”
- Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to William Stephens Smith, November 13, 1787
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible make violent revolution inevitable.” - John F. Kennedy
Jury Nullification is a constitutional doctrine that allows juries to acquit defendants who are technically guilty, but, due to their actions involving consensual adults only, do not deserve punishment. All non-violent 'drug offenders' who are not selling to children, be they users, dealers, and even importers, clearly belong in this category.
If you sincerely believe that prohibition is both a dangerous and counter-productive policy, then you don’t have to help to apply it. When it comes to acquittals, you, the juror, have the very last word!
*It only takes one juror to prevent a guilty verdict.
* You are not lawfully required to disclose your voting intention before taking your seat on a jury.
* You are also not required to give a reason to the other jurors for your position when voting - just simply state you find the accused not guilty.
Create what you can no longer afford to wait for - PLEASE VOTE TO ACQUIT!
like
dislikeEither marijuana should be legalized, like tobacco and alcohol, or it should be put way down on the drug schedule list. Now it is schedule 1 along with heroin! Very dopey.
Great e-book on medical marijuana: MARIJUANA - Guide to Buying, Growing, Harvesting, and Making Medical Marijuana Oil and Delicious Candies to Treat Pain and Ailments by Mary Bendis, Second Edition. This book has great recipes for easy marijuana oil, delicious Cannabis Chocolates, and tasty Dragon Teeth Mints. goo.gl/iYjPn goo.gl/Jfs61
Cheer. Finally some news on this topic that makes sense and gives me more faith in the US.
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