NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR THE REFORM OF
MARIJUANA LAWS
1001 CONNECTICUT AVENUE NW
SUITE 1010
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20036
TEL 202-483-5500 * FAX 202-483-0057
E-MAIL natlnorml@aol.com
Internet http://www.norml.org/
... a weekly service for the media on news items related to Marijuana Prohibition.
September 19, 1996
Los Angeles Cannabis Buyers' Club Busted
Third Raid Since August Sparks Outrage Among Cannabis Community
September 16, 1996, West Hollywood, CA:
Los Angeles county sheriffs raided the Cannabis Buyers' Club in
West Hollywood and took four employees, including two cancer
patients and an AIDS patient, into custody. The four
individuals were later released on their own recognizance.
The raid was conducted behind the backs of city officials, who
were reportedly outraged by the sheriffs' action. West
Hollywood is one of several California communities to have
adopted a resolution urging police to refrain from medical
marijuana arrests.
Officers confiscated about one pound of marijuana, pills, some
brownies, and liquid believed to contain THC, said L.A. County
Sheriffs Sgt. Robert Stoneman. Witnesses to the raid said
that items relating to Proposition 215, a ballot initiative that
would allow Californians to cultivate and possess marijuana for
medical purposes, were also seized.
This marks the third bust of a cannabis buyers' club since August
and demonstrates a definite pattern among law enforcement to
target medical marijuana organizations. "This [bust
signifies] a new low in the war on pot," said California
NORML coordinator Dale Gieringer. "Our marijuana laws
are clearly bankrupt when they let law enforcement authorities
run amok arresting people for providing medicine to the
sick. The time has come to protect Californians' right to
medicine.
According to an article that appeared in the August 9 edition of
the Philadelphia Inquirer, the club served approximately 1,000
members and did not allow smoking to take place at the
facility. Members were screened by club staffers and were
only accepted if they were referred by local AIDS treatment
organizations.
For more information, please contact Dale Gieringer of
California NORML @ (415) 563-5858 or Allen St. Pierre of NORML
@ (202) 483-5500.
(Meanwhile) Alternative Therapies Group
Distributes Medical Marijuana
To San Francisco's Sick
September 13, 1996, San Francisco, CA:
A group that specializes in providing nontraditional remedies to
AIDS sufferers worldwide has begun distributing marijuana to
patients out of the Metropolitan Community Church in San
Francisco.
"This was not an easy decision," said Curtis Ponzi of
the Healing Alternatives Foundation (HAF), the organization
responsible for the distribution. "It was very stormy,
very emotional. But we're filling a void."
The foundation, founded in the early l980s, provides a variety of
herbal remedies and non-FDA approved drugs at-cost to seriously
ill patients. The organization makes no therapeutic claims about
its products and urges buyers to discuss therapies with a doctor.
Patients purchasing marijuana from the foundation must provide a
note from their doctor stating that they have a legitimate
medical need for cannabis. The foundation then double
checks with the physician, a process that takes about a
week. The verification process is thorough enough to discourage
recreational users from attempting to purchase marijuana, stated
Ponzi.
Community reaction to the program appears positive.
"Both Mayor [Willie] Brown and I think this is a sound
program," said Dean Goodwin, an aide to the San Francisco
mayor. "They're concentrating on the people who really
need [the marijuana.]"
In addition, the San Francisco Police Department seems ready to
exercise a policy of benign neglect with regard to the renewed
distribution. "We would only be interested in this if
it became obvious that they were selling [marijuana] to people
who weren't sick," said narcotics division Sgt. Kurt
Bruneman.
Metropolitan Community Church pastor Jim Mitulski said he is
allowing his church to be used for the foundation's marijuana
sales because medical cannabis is essential to the well-being of
many congregation members. The current program is expected
to operate on a weekly basis.
"We are not distributing it -- the foundation is,"
Mitulski said. He notes that at least three additional
churches may also participate in medical marijuana distribution
in the near future.
In the meantime, state law enforcement officials claim they will
watch and wait. "We're looking at it and we're aware
of [marijuana being distributed by the HAF,]" said Steve
Telliano, press secretary for state Attorney General Dan
Lungren. "We're just keeping an eye on the situation
to see what's happening."
For more information, please contact Dale Gieringer of
Calfornia NORML @ (415) 563-5858 or Californians for
Compassionate Use @ (415) 621-3986.
Washington State Supreme Court To Tackle Medical Marijuana Issue
September 19, 1996, Tacoma, WA:
Cancer patient and medical marijuana activist Ralph Seeley will
argue before the state Supreme Court on September 25 that the
state's constitution requires marijuana to be available as a
prescription substance.
In 1995, Seeley won a declaratory judgment from trial court Judge
Rosanne Buckner that Washington's ban on medical marijuana
violates the state's constitution's reliance on "fundamental principles."
Under guidelines agreed upon by both Seeley and the state
Attorney General's Office before the trial, the losing party
would seek a direct review of the decision in the state Supreme Court.
An amicus brief in support of medical marijuana, prepared by
Attorney Michael Cutler of Boston, Massachusetts, has been filed
by NORML's Amicus Curiae Committee. Additional briefs
on behalf of Seeley have been filed by the American Civil
Liberties Union (ACLU) and The Drug Policy Foundation
(DPF). "A positive verdict in this case would further
bolster the growing public support for access to medical
marijuana both in Washington state and nationally," said NORML
Deputy Director Allen St. Pierre. St. Pierre noted that on
March 30, 1996, Washington State Governor Mike Lowry signed into
law a state budget allocating $130,000 to medicinal marijuana
research, including investigating ways of cultivating marijuana
to be used for medicinal purposes.
For more information, please contact Attorney Michael Cutler
of NORML's Amicus Curiae Committee @ (617) 439-4990.
California Polls Show Voters Strongly Favor Medical Marijuana Initiative
September 19, 1996, California: Two
separate California polls released today indicate that voters
strongly favor Proposition 215, a statewide initiative that would
allow patients with a physician's recommendation to possess and
cultivate marijuana for medical purposes.
According to the results of a Field Poll reported by the San
Jose Mercury News and San Francisco Chronicle, among
those likely to vote, 62 percent said they would vote for
Proposition 215 and 29 percent said they would vote against it;
nine percent were undecided. Among all registered
California voters, 61 percent favor the measure and 30 percent
are opposed. The survey of 291 respondents has a margin of
error of six percentage points.
In a separate telephone poll conducted by the Los Angeles
Times, 53 percent of respondents said they would vote for the
proposal and 31 percent said they would vote against it; 16
percent were undecided.
"This is overwhelming support," said Steve Hopcraft of
Californians for Medical Rights. "California voters
cannot accept that their doctors can prescribe morphine for
cancer, AIDS, and other [serious illnesses] but not
marijuana. This is great news.
"These findings, coupled with the results of similar polls
conducted both in California and nationally, demonstrate that
there is ample support for the legalization of medical marijuana
among the voting public," said NORML Deputy Director
Allen St. Pierre.
The results of the two recent California polls are the latest in
a series of surveys indicating strong support for medical
marijuana. A 1995 survey conducted by the American Civil
Liberties Union (ACLU) demonstrated that 83 percent of the
American public agreed that patients who find marijuana an
effective therapeutic agent should be able to use it
legally. In addition, nine state polls have shown that a
strong majority of Californians support medical marijuana.
For more information, please contact either Allen St. Pierre
of NORML @ (202) 483-5500 or Dave Fratello
of Californians for Medical Rights @ (310) 394-2952.
Los Angeles County AIDS Commission Rebukes
U.S. Drug Czar
Endorses Proposition 215
September 12, 1996, Santa Monica, CA:
Calling Proposition 215 a "conservative, common-sense
solution," the Los Angeles County Commission on HIV Health
Services passed an emergency resolution criticizing U.S. Drug
Czar Barry McCaffrey for speaking out against the California
Medical Marijuana Initiative.
The commission reaffirmed its support for Proposition 215 in
today's resolution, joining the California Academy of Family
Physicians, San Francisco Medical Society, California Nurses Association,
and AIDS Project Los Angeles among the major medical groups and
patient advocacy groups that have endorsed Proposition 215.
The AIDS commission's resolution urged McCaffrey, who on
September 12 held a press conference in Los Angeles attacking the
initiative, to "stop marginalizing people with AIDS and other
seriously ill Californians in an effort to enhance President
Clinton's image.
The resolution was passed by a vote of 31-0, with four
abstentions.
For more information, please contact Dave Fratello of
Californians for Medical Rights @ (310) 394-2952.
Sheriff May Have Violated Election Laws While Opposing NORML Ballot Initiative
September 19, 1996, Traverse City, MI:
A state Attorney General official said Grand Traverse County
Sheriff Harold Barr's decision to allow jail inmates to help put
out flyers opposing a NORML ballot initiative to
decriminalize marijuana possession in Traverse City may have violated
state election laws. The assertion comes nearly one month
after Traverse City NORML President Bill Bustance, who helped to
spearhead the initiative, filed a complaint with the secretary of
state alleging that taxpayers dollars were used to influence a
political campaign. According to Michigan law, an
organization that knowingly violates campaign finance rules could
be fined $20,000.
Michigan Attorney General spokesman Chris Dewitt said the use of
inmates "certainly would be questionable under Michigan's
law."
Marijuana law isn't any more important than election law and we
are appalled that [those against the initiative] had to break the
law to beat us," said Bustance, who is seeking a new election.
"What would have happened if they hadn't used taxpayer's
dollars against the taxpayers?"
Voters narrowly rejected the proposal this past August.
For more information, please contact Bill Bustance of Traverse
City NORML @ (616) 264-9565.
Mass/Cann NORML Rally Expected To Draw More Than 50,000
September 19, 1996, Boston, MA:
Mass/Cann NORML will hold its seventh annual "Freedom
Rally" at Boston Commons on September 21. The event is
expected to draw at least 75,000 people.
"This is not a celebration of marijuana," said attorney
and NORML board member Richard Evans. "This rally is
about the preservation of American freedom."
Speakers at this years event include Evans, former Boston City
Council member Mel King, Prison Life Magazine editor Richard
Stratton, Steve Hager of High Times Magazine, and others. Musical
acts include Letters to Cleo, Bim Skala Bim, Sam Black Church,
and more.
Organizers note that the event has grown in popularity over the
years and estimate that last year's festival was attended by
nearly 50,000 people. A Boston radio station that helps to promote
the marijuana reform rally, WBCN, is anticipating attendance in
excess of 100,000.
For more information, please contact Bill Downing of NORML
Mass/Cann (617) 944-CANN.
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