[KK420]

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/c...36-lake-forest

[gtate]

that is how they (the city of lake forest) interpret it, but that is not what the appeals court said or ruled. the ruling only allows that there can be reasonable delays or moritoriums mandated by cities in order for cities to organize and establish guidelines w/ respect to zoning codes,regulations, ordinances, etc. and obviously, an indefinite delay is not reasonable. cities such as lake forest who try to use this ruling as a legal tool for an absolute ban will only face lawsuits and eventually lose. unless they abolish prop 215 and sb 420 alltogether, cities banning safe access to mmj will continue to be sued.

the oc register are biased dipshits in the way they reported this story-very unbalanced imo

[King Smokey]

Originally Posted by gtate

that is how they (the city of lake forest) interpret it, but that is not what the appeals court said or ruled. the ruling only allows that there can be reasonable delays or moritoriums mandated by cities in order for cities to organize and establish guidelines w/ respect to zoning codes,regulations, ordinances, etc. and obviously, an indefinite delay is not reasonable. cities such as lake forest who try to use this ruling as a legal tool for an absolute ban will only face lawsuits and eventually lose. unless they abolish prop 215 and sb 420 alltogether, cities banning safe access to mmj will continue to be sued.

the oc register are biased dipshits in the way they reported this story-very unbalanced imo

As my little old Jewish grandmother used to say, "From your lips to Gods ears."

[SDbudz]

I guess Lake Forest forgot to read this Appelate court ruling,they are going to be sued,collectives will always be in lake forest​ sheriff's departments in California may have to find a new pastime to replace bullying medical marijuana growers. In a major victory for pot advocates, the California Supreme Court -- right around harvest time! -- has refused to review a landmark appellate court ruling protecting the right of medical marijuana patients and their caregivers to collectively grow weed.

The 2-1 ruling by California's Third Appellate District Court also affirmed patients' ability to take civil action when their right to collectively cultivate marijuana is violated by law enforcement. The case, County of Butte v. Superior Court, involved a private seven-patient medical marijuana collective in Paradise, California (oh! the delicious irony -- props to God or whomever is responsible).

Americans for Safe Access (ASA), a nationwide medical marijuana advocacy group, filed a May 2006 lawsuit on behalf David Williams, 56, and half a dozen other collective members after the Butte County Sheriff's Department conducted a warrantless search of Williams' home in 2005. The officers forced Williams to uproot more than two dozen plants, threatening him with arrest and prosecution if he didn't comply.

Williams was incorrectly told by Deputy Jacob Hancock that his collectively cultivated marijuana was illegal. California state law, in fact, does allow for collective cultivation.

Butte County Sheriff/Coroner Perry Reniff and his department were attempting to impose a de facto ban on medical marijuana patient collectives, according to ASA.

​"By refusing to review this case, the California Supreme Court sends a strong message that local law enforcement must uphold the medical marijuana laws of the state and not competing federal laws," said Joe Elford, ASA chief counsel, who litigated the case for Williams. According to the July 2009 appellate court ruling, the "deputy was acting under color of California law, not federal law. Accordingly, the propriety of his conduct is measured by California law."

The court went further, stating that to deny medical marijuana patients protection from warrantless intrusions and seizures by law enforcement "would surely shock the sensibilities of the voters who approved [Proposition 215]."

The landmark decision said that the Compassionate Use Act of 1996 is not simply an affirmative defense to criminal sanctions, holding that it consisted of "...an opportunity for an individual to request the same constitutional guarantee of due process available to all individuals, no matter what their status, under state state Constitution. The fact that this case involves medical marijuana and a qualified medial marijuana patient does not change these fundamental constitutional rights or an individual's right to assert them."

The appellate court ruling upheld Butte County Superior Court Judge Barbara Roberts' ruling from September 2007, in which she stated that seriously ill patients cultivating marijuana collectively "should not be required to risk criminal penalties and the stress and expense of a criminal trial in order to assert their rights. Roberts' ruling also rejected Butte County's policy of requiring all members to physically participate in the cultivation, thereby allowing collective members to "contribute financially" rather than with sweat equity.

The Butte County Sheriff's Department was already known for its zealous anti-marijuana enforcement. The first medical marijuana supplier in the state to be prosecuted in federal court after the passage of Proposition 215 was originally arrested by Butte County officers. Chico resident Bryan Epis received a 10-year sentence in federal court in 2002 for medical marijuana cultivation after Butte County officers raided his home in 1997 and seized 458 plants.

Observers of the medical marijuana scene say the court decision could have repercussions statewide in other (predominantly rural) counties with pot-phobic local law enforcement. Elford said he has received hundreds of complaints from medical marijuana patients about local anti-pot cops seizing their drugs on the logic that "we'll take it from you and let the courts sort it out."

Repeated reports of problematic behavior by Butte County law enforcement, as well as other police agencies throughout the state, resulted in the filing of the Williams lawsuit, according to ASA.

"After uncovering Butte County's de facto ban on medical marijuana patient collectives, ASA decided to pursue the case to show that collectives and cooperatives are protected under state law," said ASA media liaison Kris Hermes.

"In addition to protecting patients' rights to collectively cultivate, the Court has reaffirmed that medical marijuana patients enjoy the same constitutional rights as everyone else," said Elford, "including the ability to file civil rights actions when those rights are violated."

[DreamSmoker]

Its amazing the lengths the Cities will go to fight against Medical Marijuana and the Patients access.. Even with the same excuses other Cities used in court and lost...
They just keep spending our tax dollars to prosecute this issue.
Not one City or County has offered to work with Patients to make this right... If anything, The City of L.A. officials are pushing their power up the Patients ass and going to tell the Patient how its going to be without ever asking one Patient or Doctor about any facts... These Officials are playing God and are so ignorant of facts or the needs of the Patients....So the courts are full and the issue is obscured by All the fighting in the courts and mean while the Medical Marijuana Patient is the one who is suffering terribly and is being prosecuted by the Media, City and County Officials..
All this while the State law was very clear in trying to protect the Patients rights..
I am afraid that these Officials would not change their stand even if they new all the facts anyways....
Its obvious when I posted the Link to show the U.S. Patents on Cannabinoids.. They are very real and not new.. But the DEA and most of Congress still stand behind the lie that Marijuana is Dangerous, a gateway drug, and has no medical value...
It a Political Hot potato because they did such a fine Job Bullshitting to Public on the harms that the Marijuana Plant can do... The Religious right jumped right on this too...
I hope that the Patients in O.C. pull together and become a Political force themselves and take those City Officials and Beat their asses in Court.... Then get rid of them on the next Election...