[ASA Field]

*Weekly Roundup*

1) Prosecutor to Retry Ed Rosenthal; Trial Date Set & ASA on California
Sales Tax

*ASA Chapter & Affiliate Meetings*

2) Saturday, April 14th, Santa Barbara: 1st Santa Barbara ASA Meeting!
3) Sunday, April 15th, Birds Landing: Solano Patients' Group Meeting
4) Tuesday, April 17th, Sacramento: Sacramento ASA Meeting
5) Thursday, April 19th, Guerneville: Sonoma ASA Meeting
6) Thursday, April 19th, Newport Beach: Orange County ASA Meeting
7) Saturday, April 21st, Hollywood: Los Angeles ASA Meeting
8) Tuesday, April 24th, San Francisco: San Francisco ASA Meeting
9) Wednesday, April 25th, Oakland: East Bay ASA Meeting

*City & County Hearings*

10) Tuesday, April 17th, Santa Ana: Orange County Supervisors to Vote on
MMJ ID Card Implementation
11) Tuesday, April 17th, Pleasanton: City Council to Vote on Banning
Medical Cannabis Dispensaries
12) Wednesday, April 18th, Ridgecrest: City Council to Vote on Banning
Medical Cannabis Dispensaries
13) Tuesday, April 24th, Pleasant Hill: Planning Commission to Hold
Hearing on Banning Dispensaries

*Court Support*

14) Friday, April 20th, Fresno: Status Hearing for California Healthcare
Collective Defendants
15) Monday, April 23rd, Sacramento: Re-sentencing Hearing for Brian Epis
16) Wednesday, April 25th, Los Angeles: Hearing on Lawsuit Against Local
Police Cooperation with Feds

*Special Events

*17) Wednesday, April 18th, Nevada City: Nevada County DA's Medical
Marijuana Forum
18) Friday, April 20th, Hollywood: Monte Carlo Night Benefit for ASA

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*Weekly Roundup*
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*1) Prosecutor to Retry Ed Rosenthal; Trial Date Set & ASA on California
Sales Tax*

/Federal Prosecutor Proceeds with Marijuana Charges in Rosenthal Case/

Earlier today, Assistant US Attorney George Bevan said he would retry Ed
Rosenthal on marijuana charges, even after Judge Breyer had urged him
not to proceed with the case after additional charges had been ruled
vindictive. Judge Breyer demanded to know who had decided to continue
prosecuting Rosenthal, and Bevan claimed that newly appointed US
Attorney Scott Schools had made the decision. Part of the reason Judge
Breyer questioned this decision is because even if Rosenthal is
convicted, the prosecutor has stated he would not seek additional
punishment beyond the one-day sentence for Rosenthal's previous conviction.

Rosenthal was re-indicted after his 2003 conviction was overturned in
April 2006 by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. After finding out that
medical marijuana evidence had been excluded from the 2003 trial, a
majority of the jurors that convicted Rosenthal recanted their verdict.
Due at least in part to public outcry, Rosenthal was sentenced to one
day in jail. The government was relying on the new charges of tax
evasion and money laundering to justify the second prosecution of
Rosenthal. But on March 13, Federal District Court Judge Charles Breyer
ruled that Rosenthal was vindictively prosecuted, and dismissed charges
of tax evasion and money laundering. ASA Chief Counsel Joe Elford was
the author of the successful vindictive prosecution motion.

Rosenthal's trial date has been set for May 14th.

***

/ASA on California Sales Tax, by Kris Hermes, ASA Legal Campaign Director/

ASA has been working on the issue of sales tax in California since 2005,
when the Board of Equalization (BoE) began deliberating the issue and
trying to reconcile collecting sales tax for conduct that is illegal
under federal law. During 2005, the BoE held hearings to decide whether
or not to tax the sale of medical marijuana (these were public hearings
that we announced at the time). ASA testified at multiple hearings and
submitted a position paper opposing the sales taxation of medical
marijuana <http://www.safeaccessnow.org/downloads/taxposition.pdf> from
the standpoint that patients would invariably bear the most significant
financial brunt of the policy change. We used a variety of arguments
against sales taxation, not the least of which is the threat to
patients' and providers' right against self-incrimination that arguably
is violated by forcing applicants to divulge what they are selling.

The BoE voted to adopt its new policy in October 2005, with a vote of
the Business Taxes Committee, which comprised the entire Board. The new
policy is embodied in an Issue Paper found on their website at:
http://www.boe.ca.gov/meetings/pdf/cannabisclubsip.pdf. Essentially, the
BoE decided in October 2005 to issue seller's permits to any applicants
providing medical marijuana.

Fortunately, the BoE adopted a policy that takes into account the
applicants right against self-incrimination by allowing the exclusion of
certain information from the application. When applying for a seller's
permit (Application for Seller's Permit, form BOE-400-SPA), in order to
avoid self-incrimination, lines 38 and 68 can be omitted. The applicant
then completes an Incomplete Application Waiver form to justify the
absence of information. The Application for Seller's Permit can be
obtained on-line at: http://www.boe.ca.gov/pdf/boe400spa.pdf. It remains
to be seen whether this method will, in fact, avoid self-incrimination.

Other people have raised possible exemption issues, and while the BoE
Issue Paper mentions "retail sales" in numerous places, it is still
unclear what constitutes "retail sales." What is pretty clear at this
point, is that the sales at all dispensing collectives/cooperatives are
subject to a sales tax, and that operators are obligated to apply for a
seller's permit or potentially face consequences. The BoE sent out a
notice <http://www.boe.ca.gov/news/pdf/medseller2007.pdf> to all
publicly operating dispensing facilities in February 2007, and has
visited a number of facilities. It is still unclear, however, what type
of action they will take with a refusal to pay/cooperate.

The BoE also appears to be interested in back taxes if there is evidence
of past medical marijuana transactions prior to the application for a
seller's permit. ASA is currently engaged in discussions with BoE Board
member Betty Yee (SF) about this specific issue. We have argued, which
also appears in the Sacramento Bee article, that if dispensing
facilities are required to apply for a seller's permit, they should at
least not have to pay back taxes prior to the application period. This
will remove hardship and ensure better compliance with the state (since
that's ultimately what they're looking for). A likely compromise will be
the collection of back taxes to the adoption of the new policy (circa
October 2005). As a minor concession, the BoE also "allows" sellers to
work out payment plans as necessary.

Beyond dispensing facilities, the issue of BoE enforcement is completely
unknown at this point. It is unclear as to what mechanism the BoE
intends to use or the capacity of the BoE to go after providers across
the state. Regardless of anyone's interpretation of the tax code, the
BoE expects all "point-of-sale" transactions involving medical marijuana
to be sales taxed, but its capacity to enforce thousands of such
transactions is unclear. What's clearer is that the most visible are the
most vulnerable to scrutiny by the state, namely the dispensing
collectives that operate store-front businesses. As has already been
suggested, if you operate a dispensing facility, and it can be afforded,
that an accountant familiar with these issues be hired.

So that information about taxation is as clear as possible and coming
directly from the source, ASA has put pressure on the BoE to draft a
"Frequently Asked Questions" paper that can widely distributed. This FAQ
is currently in the works by the BoE, which will be disseminated as soon
as it's done.

In the meantime, there appear to be a number of providers across the
state that want to try to challenge this new sales tax requirement.
Because the medical marijuana community is somewhat divided on this
issue, and because of the fervent desire by the state to collect some of
the revenue from sales, it portends to be a murky legal and political
environment, with no easy victories.

Regarding the issue of whether sales tax information can be used
federally against people, it clearly can. So, complying with the state
does not provide you protection from the federal government. However, in
the long term, as the state becomes more dependent on the revenue (if
they are not successfully challenged legally or politically), the state
may defend these facilities from the feds with more vigor that it
currently does.

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*ASA Chapter Meetings*
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*2) Saturday, April 14th, Santa Barbara: 1st Santa Barbara ASA Meeting!*

A new ASA chapter has been formed in Santa Barbara! Please join us for
the first meeting on April 14th. At this meeting, we will continue the
strategizing begun at the March 31st town hall. Join Santa Barbara ASA
to protect safe access!

3:00-5:00 p.m.
Room 203
Antioch University
801 Garden Street
Santa Barbara, CA

For more info, contact Jennifer: jenniferln@gmail.com

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*3) Sunday, April 15th, Birds Landing: Solano Patients' Group Meeting*

The SPG is working with medical marijuana patients and activists
throughout California to defend patients' rights.

3:00 p.m. @ 2145 Collinsville Road in Birds Landing
For more info, call (707) 635-3752

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*4) Tuesday, April 17th, Sacramento: Sacramento ASA Meeting*

The Sacramento ASA chapter has moved to a new site and date. Please join
Sac ASA to plan for the future of safe access locally, statewide, and
nationally!

7:00 p.m.

Crusaders Hall
320 Harris Avenue, Suite H
Sacramento, CA

For more information or to get involved, please contact Lanette:
cannacare@earthlink.net

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*
**5) Thursday, April 19th, Gureneville: Sonoma ASA Meeting
*
When: Thursday from 7pm-9pm
Where: Marvin's Gardens 15025 River Road (towards Guerneville)

Please join Sonoma's chapter of American's for Safe Access. Patients,
supporters, caregivers and friends are
welcome to come share their opinions on what should happen locally,
statewide, and nationally. More info 707-332-6556

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*
6) Thursday, April 19th, Newport Beach: Orange County ASA Meeting*

The Orange County Dept of Health has been dragging its feet in the
process of issuing the SB 420 ID Card Program. Now that the Courts have
given hesitant counties the guidance they need, we need to make our
voices heard!

7-9 PM
Law Offices of WENTWORTH, PAOLI & PURDY, LLP
4631 Teller Avenue, Suite 100
Newport Beach, CA 92660

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*7) Saturday, April 21st, Hollywood: Los Angeles ASA Meeting*

Join the Los Angeles Chapter of ASA to be a part of the local effort to
implement medical cannabis laws and defend our rights! LA ASA is
currently working on getting LA County ID cards issued, passing sensible
regulations for collectives, stopping police harassment and confiscation
of medicine, raising public awareness, and much more.

1-3 pm @ California Patients Group
6208 Santa Monica Blvd., LA

Local ASA meeting open to all medical cannabis supporters. All welcome!
Call 323-464-7719 or email Chris@SafeAccessNow.org

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*8) Tuesday, April 24th, San Francisco: San Francisco ASA Meeting*

Join SF ASA to discuss and plan for local, state and national issues.
Get active locally to protect safe access!

7:00 p.m.
CA Marijuana Party Bookstore
223a 9th St. @ Howard in San Francisco

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*9) Wednesday, April 25th, Oakland: East Bay ASA Meeting*

Join East Bay ASA to discuss strategies for responding to raids, Oakland
dispensary regulations, court support, and more.

Please join us and make your voice heard! Refreshments will be served.

* Wednesday, April 25th @ 7 pm*

Americans for Safe Access Headquarters
1322 Webster Street, Suite 402, Downtown Oakland
Just a couple blocks from the 12th Street BART station!

For more information or to get involved, contact Rebecca:
Rebecca@SafeAccessNow.org or 510-251-1856 x 308

Please spread the word and pass this on to your East Bay neighbors!

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*City & County Hearings*
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*
10) Tuesday, April 17th, Santa Ana: Orange County Supervisors to Vote on
MMJ ID Card Implementation*

Next Tuesday, April 17 at 10am, the Orange County Board of Supervisors
will be conducting a hearing on
the local implementation of the medical marijuana ID card program.

In order to ensure that the board makes the right decision by voting to
uphold state law, it is critical that local patients and supporters show
up to support this important program. Participation in the program would
be entirely voluntary for qualified patients and caregivers; however the
county is required, by law, to make the program available.

If the program is implemented, Orange County patients and caregivers
will be able to obtain the ID cards
through a confidential program administered by the county's Health
Services Agency. The ID program works
to protect cardholders from unnecessary arrest, detainment or seizure of
their medicine by state and local law enforcement-which conduct 99% of
marijuana arrests.

Please join us on Tuesday morning to express your support for patients'
rights in Orange County and the medical marijuana ID card program.

Orange County Board of Supervisors
Tuesday, April 17 -- 10:00am
333 W. Santa Ana Blvd.
Santa Ana, CA 92701
Map: http://tinyurl.com/3b65rx
**This is a professional meeting, please dress and act accordingly.**

Also, if you live in Orange County and have not contacted the
supervisors yet, please visit
http://www.safeaccessnow.org/OCIDcardaction to send an email to the
board members.

Thank you for supporting safe access in Orange County. Only with your
help, can we make full implementation
of California's medical marijuana laws a reality. Feel free to contact
me at any time for more information.

I hope to see you on Tuesday!

Sincerely,
Aaron Smith
SafeAccessNow@gmail.com

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*
11) Tuesday, April 17th, Pleasanton: City Council to Vote on Banning
Medical Cannabis Dispensaries*

Pleasanton currently has a moratorium on medical cannabis dispensaries,
and they are considering passing a permanent ban! Please attend this
hearing and speak out for safe access!

Download ASA talking points
<http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?list=type&type=212> on dispensary
regulations, moratoriums and bans.

7:00 p.m.
City Council Chambers
200 Old Bernal Avenue.
Pleasanton, CA

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*12) Wednesday, April 18th, Ridgecrest: City Council to Vote on Banning
Medical Cannabis Dispensaries*

On Wednesday, April 4th, the Ridgecrest City Council introduced an
ordinance banning medical cannabis dispensaries. This ordinance will be
coming up for a final vote on April 18th. Please attend this hearing and
speak out for safe access!

Download ASA talking points
<http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?list=type&type=212> on dispensary
regulations, moratoriums and bans.

6:30 p.m.
City Council Chambers
100 West California Avenue
Ridgecrest, CA

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*
13) Tuesday, April 24th, Pleasant Hill: Planning Commission to Hold
Hearing on Banning Dispensaries*

Pleasant Hill currently has a moratorium on dispensaries and is
considering permanently banning dispensaries. Please attend this hearing
and speak out for safe access!

You can also submit comments before the hearing. Written comments on the
proposed Negative Declaration must be submitted to the Planning
Commission no later than 5:00 p.m. Friday, April 20, at 100 Gregory
Lane, Pleasant Hill, CA. 94523.

Download ASA talking points
<http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?list=type&type=212> on dispensary
regulations, moratoriums and bans.

7:30 p.m.
City Council Chambers
100 Gregory Lane
Pleasant Hill, CA

(The next hearing on this issue will be held on May 7th at 7:30 p.m.
before the full City Council.)

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*Court Support*
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*14) Friday, April 20th, Fresno: Status Hearing for California
Healthcare Collective Defendants*

Status hearing at 9am before Judge Anthony W. Ishii in U.S. District
Court, 2500 Tulare Street, Fresno, CA. After the City of Modesto failed
to shut down the California Healthcare Collective by banning
dispensaries, the DEA was called in. On September 27, 2006, the
collective was raided and four people were arrested (two operators and
two staff) on charges of distribution of marijuana and conspiracy to
distribute. The two operators were also charged with possession of
firearms and money laundering. Later, an additional five people were
indicted, bringing the total to nine people being prosecuted by the
federal government. In the raid, the DEA allegedly seized more than 100
pounds of marijuana, one thousand plants, multiple firearms, and more
than $200,000 in cash. The raids were the result of a 15-month
investigation between the DEA and the Modesto Police Department. All
defendants have been released on bail pending trial.

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*
15) Monday, April 23rd, Sacramento: Re-sentencing Hearing for Brian Epis*

Re-sentencing hearing at 9:30am before Judge Frank C. Damrell, Jr. in
U.S. District Court, 15th Floor at 501 "I" Street in Sacramento. Bryan
Epis was the first medical marijuana patient convicted in federal court
after the passage of California's Proposition 215. Epis was arrested
June 25, 1997, after Butte County sheriff's officers discovered
marijuana plants growing in the basement of his home in Chico. Epis was
released on bail August 9, 2004, pending his appeal, and is currently
awaiting his re-sentencing by the District Court.

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*
16) Wednesday, April 25th, Los Angeles: Hearing on Lawsuit Against Local
Police Cooperation with Feds*

/MAPP sponsored lawsuit seeks to prevent local police from working with
the DEA on medical marijuana enforcement/

The Marijuana Anti-Prohibition Project (MAPP) has sponsored a lawsuit,
with cooperating attorney Ken White, to end the cooperation between
local enforcement and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). MAPP
states that, "The lawsuit seeks to permanently enjoin the California
Attorney General from performing any marijuana investigation or
enforcement activity under the color of the federal Controlled
Substances Act without adequately protecting the rights of qualified
persons under California's Compassionate Use Act and Medical Marijuana
Program unless an appellate court declares such laws unconstitutional."

If successful, the lawsuit would end the practice of local police
working with the DEA and other federal police agencies to arrest medical
marijuana patients. The lawsuit was filed partially in response to the
raid by the DEA of the home of medical marijuana patient Gary Silva.
During the raid Gary was permanently disabled when he was thrown to the
floor as he was opening it for police. MAPP contends that information
leading to the raid on Gary's home was provided to the DEA by the
Riverside County Sheriff's office -- information that the Sheriff's
office knew was false and misleading.

The lawsuit, "Kenneth Michael White v. The Honorable Bill Lockyer" (Case
No. BC362858) has a hearing on the Defendant's (Brown's) motion to
dismiss (Demurrer) for failure to state facts sufficient to constitute a
cause of action. The hearing for this motion is scheduled for April
25th at 8:30 a.m. in Department 24 at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in Los
Angeles (111 North Hill St., Los Angeles 90012).

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*Special Events
*
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*
17) Wednesday, April 18th, Nevada City: Nevada County DA's Medical
Marijuana Forum*

The Nevada County District Attorney's Office invites the public to
attend a forum regarding the medical marijuana exemption on April 18,
2007 at 6 p.m. The meeting will be held at City Hall in Nevada City, at
317 Broad Street.

The passage of the Compassionate Use Act in 1996 authorized seriously
ill Californians to obtain and use marijuana for medicinal purposes. The
Act left counties, law enforcement and marijuana users struggling with
how to determine what use of marijuana was permitted, especially as
federal law does not recognize any medicinal exceptions. The purpose of
the forum on April 18th will be to seek community input before
implementation of a revised memorandum of understanding between the DA's
Office and local law enforcement agencies establishing criteria for
applying the medical marijuana exemption.

Health and Human Services Director **** Brown will also be available to
discuss the State's Medical Marijuana Identification Card Program and
Nevada County's planning efforts directed toward local implementation.

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*18) Friday, April 20th, Hollywood: Monte Carlo Night Benefit for ASA*

A Benefit for Americans For Safe Access

Tickets are $20 per Qualified Patient
$50 Ticket gets unlimited trips to the Hash Bar all night!!!

We'll be giving away a Volcano Vaporizer and many more prizes!!!
Best Dressed Competition!!!
Vapor Bar and Hash Bar open all night!!!
Dispensary open until Midnight!!!

Music, Games, Prizes, Free House Joints, and a Vapor Lounge All Night!!!

Get Your Tickets at:

California Patients Group
6208 Santa Monica Blvd
Corner of Santa Monica & Vine
Hollywood, CA

THIS IS A PATIENTS ONLY EVENT!!!ONLY 150 TICKETS WILL BE SOLD!!! THIS
WILL SELL OUT!! GET YOUR TICKETS EARLY!!

9:00 p.m.-1:00 a.m.
California Patients Group
6208 Santa Monica Blvd
Hollywood, CA

For more info, call (323) 464-7052.