[ASA Field]

ASA California Weekly Alert: May 25, 2007
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> *Weekly Round Up*
> 1. Ed Rosenthal Rally/Trial Update; Riverside Raid Update; Tod
> Mikuriya: A Memorial
>
> *Take Action!*
> 2. It's a Holiday Weekend: Petition Your Communities!
>
> *ASA Chapter and Affiliate Meetings
> *3. Tuesday, June 5, Sacramento: Sacramento ASA Meeting
> 4. Thursday, June 7, San Mateo: San Mateo ASA Meeting
> *
> City and County Hearings
> *5. Tuesday, May 29, Fairfield: Fairfield City Council to Vote on
> Dispensary Ban
> *
> Court Support*
> 6. Tuesday, May 29, San Francisco : Ed Rosenthal Federal Trial Final
> Arguments
> 7. Friday, June 1, Sacramento: Status Hearing for Louis Wayne Fowler
> 8. Monday, June 4, Placerville: State Criminal Trial for Don Kearney
> Begins
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Weekly Round-Up California Logo
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> *
> 1. Ed Rosenthal Rally and Federal Trial; Riverside Raid Update; Tod
> Mikuriya: A Memorial*
> /
> Ed Rosenthal Rally and Federal Trial Update/
>
> Medical marijuana advocate and author Ed Rosenthal told the U.S.
> District Court on Wednesday that he would be presenting no witnesses
> in his defense against federal charges of marijuana cultivation and
> distribution, saying the government had failed to prove its case.
>
> Several witnesses have refused to testify for the prosecution against
> Rosenthal. At an earlier, pre-trial hearing on the matter, Assistant
> U.S. Attorney George Bevan, Jr. told the court that he did not think
> that even incarcerating the "recalcitrant" witnesses for contempt
> would be likely to compel their testimony, since their reluctance to
> testify against Mr Rosenthal was "cause related." Judge Breyer noted
> that as a matter of law the remedy must be designed to elicit the
> testimony sought, so without an expectation of compliance, he cannot
> legally jail them.
>
> Rosenthal is fighting a retrial on three charges related to
> cultivating medical marijuana, as well as two additional counts
> related to distribution of marijuana to patients.
>
> This Wednesday 100 medical marijuana activists gathered together to
> show their support for the medical cannabis advocate. Taking place in
> front of the San Francisco Federal Building, the ASA-sponsored and
> organized rally lasted over an hour in the warm mid-day sun. ASA's
> Executive Director, Steph Sherer, MC'd the event, which opened with Ed
> Rosenthal addressing the crowd and calling on them to join him on
> Tuesday, May 29th at 9:00am for the prosecution's closing arguments.
> Other speakers at the rally included one of Rosenthal's Attorneys,
> Shari Greenberger, and San Francisco ASA Chapter's Alex Franco, who
> read a statement by San Francisco Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi. Following
> the scheduled speakers, several community members spoke about the
> importance of this trial and the impacts it has had will have in the
> medical marijuana movement.
>
> Thank you to all the East Bay ASA Chapter members who took time out of
> their busy schedules to make signs, slogans, and calls to get people
> to come out to the rally this past Monday. Without your help we
> couldn't have had such a successful rally!
>
> /
> Riverside Raid Update/
>
> Last Tuesday Riverside Police Department raided California Caregivers
> Association-Riverside with a warrant from a local judge. No one was
> arrested, however, Riverside PD also raided the house of a collective
> member.
>
> The police stole all of the collective's resources and medicine. Local
> authorities cited edible cannabis preparations as the reason for the
> raid. Edibles are legal in the state of California and ASA assumes
> that the recent increase in edible cannabis enforcement is just law
> enforcement's newest excuse to harass medical cannabis providers.
> Unconfirmed reports from witnesses at the scene show local law
> enforcement may have stolen confidential records belonging to
> collective members.
>
>
> /Tod Mikuriya: A Memorial
> /
> This past Sunday, the Medical Cannabis Movement lost one of it's
> founders and great champion, Dr. Tod H. Mikuriya. Dr. Tod died from
> complications of cancer at his Berkeley home, his family said. He was 73.
>
> According to Valerie J. Nelson's article in the Los Angeles Times, Dr.
> Tod was one of the co-authors of Proposition 215, the state ballot
> measure that legalized marijuana for the seriously ill who have a
> doctor's recommendation, Dr. Tod had written approvals for almost
> 9,000 patients.
>
> Dr. Tod had studied the marijuana's therapeutic potential since the
> 1960s and briefly directed marijuana research at the National
> Institute of Mental Health. He left when he realized the government
> only "wanted bad things found out about marijuana," he told the online
> newsmagazine AlterNet in 2004.
>
> In 1999, Mikuriya founded the Society of Cannabis Clinicians to
> educate colleagues about the plant's medical uses. He wrote books on
> the subject and kept a list of medical conditions that had been eased
> by cannabis; among the 285 ailments were many cancers, insomnia and
> stuttering.
>
> Tod Hiro Mikuriya was born in 1933 in Bucks County, Pa., to the former
> Anna Schwenk, a German immigrant, and Tadafumi Mikuriya, a Japanese
> samurai. His mother taught special education and his father was a
> civil engineer who often designed bridges.
>
> Growing up, he attended Quaker schools and paid his way through
> college by folk singing. He graduated from Reed College in Portland,
> Ore., in 1956 with a bachelor's degree in psychology and served as an
> Army medic before earning a medical degree from Temple University in
> Philadelphia in 1962.
>
> While at Temple, he came across a reference to the medical use of
> marijuana in a pharmacological text, which triggered his lifelong
> interest.
>
> Dr. Tod specialized in psychiatry at Oregon State Hospital in Salem
> and completed his training at Mendocino State Hospital. By 1970, he
> had moved to Berkeley and entered private practice. He has had a
> positive impact in so many activists' and patients' lives. Dr. Tod's
> work has help build the foundation of the Medical Marijuana movement.
> His memory will forever be ingrained in this movement.
>
> "We have lost a great leader and pioneer in the medical cannabis
> movement. Dr. Tod will continue to be in our hearts and minds as we
> push forward to have safe and accessible medicine for patients all
> over the United States," said ASA's Executive Director, Steph Sherer.
>
> A memorial service will be held at 4:30 p.m. today at Quaker Berkeley
> Friends Church, 1600 Sacramento St., Berkeley. Memorial contributions
> may be made to Reed College <http://www.reed.edu>.
>
> Read Dr. Tod's obituary in the LA Times.
> <http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-mikuriya25may25,0,6466480.story?coll=la-home-obituaries>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Take Action! Federal Advocacy
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> *
> 2. It's a Holiday Weekend: Petition Your Communities!*
>
> Take advantage of the 3-day weekend to petition at your holiday
> events, festivals, and local parks.
>
> Background: In 1999, the Institute of Medicine recommended that
> additional medical cannabis research be conducted and that the use of
> smoked cannabis be permitted for patients with debilitating symptoms
> who met a specific set of conditions. Recently, long-overdue research
> was published in Neurology indicating that smoked cannabis effectively
> reduces chronic neuropathic pain as well as acute pain for people
> living with HIV/AIDS. Despite the IOM recommendations, federal
> agencies discourage medical cannabis research like this study on
> neuropathic pain.
>
> That is why ASA is petitioning Congress to hold hearings to conduct
> congressional oversight hearings to investigate why federal agencies
> have resisted full implementation of the Institute of Medicine's 1999
> recommendations on medical cannabis. Please download a PDF of the
> petition
> <http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/asa/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=494>and
> circulate in your communities.
>
> This is your chance to call on Congress to hold hearings on medical
> cannabis!
>
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> ASA Chapter and Affiliate Meetings Activist Fist
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> *
> 3. Tuesday, May 5, Sacramento : Sacramento ASA Meeting
>
> *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 <mailto:cannacare@earthlink.net>*
>
> *
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> *
> 4. Thursday, June 7, San Mateo: San Mateo ASA Meeting
>
> *A new chapter of ASA has been formed in San Mateo. Please join them
> for their third public meeting to discuss dispensary regulations, law
> enforcement issues, protecting patient and collective growers, and
> establishing an emergency response plan. Get active locally to
> protect safe access!
>
> DATE: Thursday, June 7, 2007
> TIME: 7:30-8:30
> PLACE: PCRC, 164 South Blvd. San Mateo, CA
> Finger foods, desserts, coffee, tea, water
>
> For more information or to get involved, please contact Brent:
> brent_saupe@yahoo.com <mailto:brent_saupe@yahoo.com>
> *
> *
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> City and County Hearings Activist Fist
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> *5. Tuesday, May 29, Fairfield: Fairfield City Council Votes on
> Dispensary Ban*
>
> Fairfield City Council will be meeting and voting on whether they will
> ban dispensaries in Fairfield or not next Tuesday, May 29. Please come
> out and show your support for medical marijuana. Download ASA's
> talking points on dispensaries.
> <http://www.safeaccessnow.org/downloads/dispensary.ban.talking.points.pdf>
>
> Tuesday, May 29th at 7:00pm
> Fairfield City Hall
> City Council Chambers
> 1000 Webster Street
> Fairfield, CA
>
> For more information on the hearing please contact Linda Jimenez:
> linda4spg@compassionatecoalition.org
> <mailto:linda4spg@compassionatecoalition.org>.
>
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> Court Support Patients Rights
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> *
> **6. Tuesday May 29, San Francisco: Ed Rosenthal Federal Trial Closing
> Arguments
> *
> An appeals court last year overturned Rosenthal's 2003 conviction. The
> U.S. Attorney's Office brought new charges against Rosenthal last
> October, but Judge Breyer dismissed the bulk of them as "vindictive
> prosecution." If convicted of the remaining marijuana charges,
> Rosenthal faces no time or other penalty, as he has already served his
> one-day sentence and three years of supervised release. The Federal
> re-trial began on Tuesday May 15th and closing arguments are on
> Tuesday, May 29th beginning at 9:00am.
>
> Medical Cannabis activists are encouraged to show their support for Ed
> Rosenthal by attending the trial.
>
> San Francisco Federal Building
> Courtroom of U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, 19th Floor
> 450 Golden Gate
> San Francisco, CA
>
> For trial updates go to Green Aid. <http://www.green-aid.com/>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> *7. Friday, June 1, Sacramento: Status Hearing for Louis Wayne Fowler*
>
> The DEA and Sheriff conducted a raid on Sacramento County dispensary
> operator Louis Fowler, 51, on July 7, 2005. In addition to the raid on
> the Alternative Specialties dispensary, allegedly as a result of
> operating without a business license, three other locations were
> raided by the DEA and Sheriff where two indoor gardens allegedly with
> more than 800 plants were found. Fowler was charged federally with
> manufacture of marijuana and illegal possession of weapons. Fowler is
> released pending trial in Sacramento.
>
> Friday, June 1st @ 10:00am
> Courtroom of Judge Edward Garcia
> U.S. District Court
> 501 I Street
> Sacramento, CA
> *
> *
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> *
> 8. Monday, June 4, Placerville: Don Kearney State Criminal Trial Begins
>
> *Monday, June 4 Don Kearney's state criminal trial goes before Judge
> James Wagoner at the El Dorado County Superior Court
> <http://eldocourtweb.eldoradocourt.org/addresses.html>. El Dorado
> County Sheriffs raided his private patient collective cultivation site
> and arrested disabled U.S. veteran and chronic pain and glaucoma
> patient Don Kearney on July 13, 2005. Kearney is being charged with
> cultivation and possession with intent to sell more than 900 plants.
> The District Attorney has refused to dismiss the case and intends to
> try him. Additionally, the federal government is proceeding with asset
> forfeiture on Don's house.
>
> Please come out to Don's trial to show the jury that he is part of our
> community and we stand behind him.
>
> June 4, 2007 at 8:30am
> El Dorado County Superior Court
> <http://eldocourtweb.eldoradocourt.org/addresses.html>
> 495 Main Street, Placerville, CA.