WeedTRACKER

**cllindner** · 10-01-2009, 10:59 PM

I appreciate Greenbud's report. Like altogether too many other threads, the reaction here are responders screaming about the injustice of it all, hating politicians and ragging on lawyers. In other words, other than blowing off some psychological stress for the writer....useless.

Don Duncan, the SoCal head of ASA, and I had a long phone conversation this evening, and the two of us, who probably know more about the City Council's machinations than anybody else on Weedtracker, are very very worried that this bizarre ordinance will be passed, more or less in its current form.

If you want to make an intelligent and necessary contribution to stopping this proposed ordinance, do this: if you are in the City of Los Angeles (and yes, that includes the Valley), dial "311" and you will get a City Hall operator. If you do not know who your councilman is, give the 311 operator your address, and he/she will tell you which member represents you. Then, politely, and I mean really politely, ask to be connected with the Council Member's office. If you are a patient, you will eventually be connected with a staff member.

Tell the staff member that you are a medical marijuana patient and are very concerned that the new proposed marijuana dispensary ordinance allows the police to look through patient records without any warrant or other judicial order, i.e., more or less at their whim. Below is the pertinent language that you want to object to (identify it as Section 46.71):

SEC.46.71. INSPECTION AUTHORITY AND ENFORCEMENT. The Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety and the Los Angeles Police Department shall have the right to enter the Medical Marijuana Cooperative/Collective from time to time unannounced for the purpose of making reasonable inspections to observe and enforce compliance with this Article and all laws of the City and State of California. An outstanding Order to Comply from the Department of Building and Safety shall constitute a violation of this Code.

Physician's Recommendations in California are the equivalent of medical prescriptions. Patients possessing physician recommendations should not be subject to law enforcement officers invading their privacy without seeking permission from a judicial officer, e.g., possessing a court order, a search warrant or a valid subpoena issued subject to a motion to quash on privacy or search and seizure grounds.

This section is in direct conflict with Article 1, Section 1 of the California Constitution. which states:

“All people are by nature free and independent and have inalienable rights. Among these are enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety, happiness, and privacy.”

This ordinance permits the police at their whim to go through, copy, and/or seize patient records from the medical marijuana collectives without any finding of probable cause to believe that a crime has been committed, or a finding by a judge based on a sworn affidavit by a police officer that a review of a particular record is necessary.

Since the staffer will be pretty clueless about this subject dear to your hearts, you should add that marijuana dispensaries are defined as "providers" under the federal HIPAA medical privacy laws, and that you believe this ordinance invades your medical privacy rights under federal law, and that you object to an attempt by a local city council to sidestep medical privacy protections........, and that you don't think that that is right.

I suspect that roughly 30 to 40 percent of the average clinic's patient population can be categorized as "stoners" who have been able to obtain a physician's recommendation (yeah, I know, you're legit...but then I represent a lot of stoners who blow it and end up getting prosecuted anyhow). If you are a real medical patient with a very real condition, take the time to protect your privacy rights. If you are stoner, please try to pull it together and politely object to this proposed law, even if the reason to smoke is to quell your insomnia and help you to add weight through pizza and ice cream cravings. Oh, and I have been smoking longer than you have been alive, so please don't get real self-righteous, OK?

We actually may get stuck with this law in the very near future, unless objections are heard and council members start thinking about the tradeoffs in capping down on the proliferation of clinics. Please help out constructively. Thank you.

Charles L. "Chuck" Lindner
Attorney at Law
Santa Monica

Cubed · 10-01-2009, 11:30 PM

I will be making that call.

I hope everyone in LA realizes it's crunch time and this is our lifeline. Either we get proactive now or face possible loss of precious access.

Don't take it for granted that someone else can do it for you! This is a must for anyone who uses collectives or wants to build a better future.

ShiningSkull · 10-01-2009, 11:49 PM

Thanks for providing the terrific info, cllindner.
All of us in the City of Los Angeles should make the call.

Here's the script:

If you are in the City of Los Angeles, dial "311" and you will get a City Hall operator.

If you do not know who your councilman is, give the 311 operator your address, and he/she will tell you which member represents you.

Politely ask to be connected with the Council Member's office. If you are a patient, you will eventually be connected with a staff member.

Tell the staff member:

I'm a medical marijuana patient and I'm very concerned that the new proposed marijuana dispensary ordinance will allow the police to look through patient records, without any warrant or other judicial order. Specifically, I'm objecting to Section 46.71.

Go as far as you want with any or all of the rest of this...

In California, Physician's Recommendations are just like medical prescriptions.

Patients like me, who have a physician's recommendation should not be subject to law enforcement officers invading our privacy, especially when they have no court order, search warrant or a valid subpoena.

Section 46.71 is also in direct conflict with Article 1, Section 1 of the California Constitution, which states:
“All people are by nature free and independent and have inalienable rights. Among these are enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety, happiness, and privacy.”

This ordinance will permit police, at their whim, to go through, copy, and/or seize patient records from medical marijuana collectives.

Police will be able to seize patient records without any finding of probable cause to even believe that a crime has been committed.

Federal HIPAA medical privacy laws define marijuana dispensaries as "providers." Therefore, I believe this ordinance invades my medical privacy rights under federal law.

I object to the attempt by a local city council to sidestep medical privacy protections through SEC.46.71.

Here it is for reference:
SEC.46.71. INSPECTION AUTHORITY AND ENFORCEMENT. The Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety and the Los Angeles Police Department shall have the right to enter the Medical Marijuana Cooperative/Collective from time to time unannounced for the purpose of making reasonable inspections to observe and enforce compliance with this Article and all laws of the City and State of California. An outstanding Order to Comply from the Department of Building and Safety shall constitute a violation of this Code.

cllindner, any edits you would make? anything to add or change?

VooDoo Chile · 10-02-2009, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShiningSkull

Thanks for providing the terrific info, cllindner.
All of us in the City of Los Angeles should make the call.

Here's the script:

If you are in the City of Los Angeles, dial "311" and you will get a City Hall operator.

If you do not know who your councilman is, give the 311 operator your address, and he/she will tell you which member represents you.

Politely ask to be connected with the Council Member's office. If you are a patient, you will eventually be connected with a staff member.

Tell the staff member:

I'm a medical marijuana patient and I'm very concerned that the new proposed marijuana dispensary ordinance will allow the police to look through patient records, without any warrant or other judicial order. Specifically, I'm objecting to Section 46.71.

Go as far as you want with any or all of the rest of this...

In California, Physician's Recommendations are just like medical prescriptions.

Patients like me, who have a physician's recommendation should not be subject to law enforcement officers invading our privacy, especially when they have no court order, search warrant or a valid subpoena.

Section 46.71 is also in direct conflict with Article 1, Section 1 of the California Constitution, which states:
“All people are by nature free and independent and have inalienable rights. Among these are enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety, happiness, and privacy.”

This ordinance will permit police, at their whim, to go through, copy, and/or seize patient records from medical marijuana collectives.

Police will be able to seize patient records without any finding of probable cause to even believe that a crime has been committed.

Federal HIPAA medical privacy laws define marijuana dispensaries as "providers." Therefore, I believe this ordinance invades my medical privacy rights under federal law.

I object to the attempt by a local city council to sidestep medical privacy protections through SEC.46.71.

Here it is for reference:
SEC.46.71. INSPECTION AUTHORITY AND ENFORCEMENT. The Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety and the Los Angeles Police Department shall have the right to enter the Medical Marijuana Cooperative/Collective from time to time unannounced for the purpose of making reasonable inspections to observe and enforce compliance with this Article and all laws of the City and State of California. An outstanding Order to Comply from the Department of Building and Safety shall constitute a violation of this Code.

cllindner, any edits you would make? anything to add or change?

Great info guys! Imma make my call on Monday! For anyone who lives in Canoga Park like I do: your councilmen is Dennis Zine!

***Holistic Harvest*** · 10-02-2009, 06:08 PM

good postings!! Maybe the Script/tips should be created in a thread all by itself reminding everyone it is CRUNCH TIME and encouraging patients to participate.

**cllindner** · 10-02-2009, 06:13 PM

VooDoo.... Your synopsis is fine, and I am grateful that it provides clarity. If there are any Weedtracker monitors, staff, etc. following this thread, it would be highly beneficial to the Los Angeles MMJ community to put this "script" in prominent places on WT. We need to get the City Council's attention, and going down to City Hall to speak for 1 minute doesn't work. A phone call results in an individual contact, a report of the call, and eventually a concern that something might be wrong.

Chuck Lindner

ShiningSkull · 10-02-2009, 06:19 PM

I made the script.

I will clean it up further and post it in its own thread with the subject title, "LA Citizens: MAKE THIS CALL MONDAY!"

Whaddya think? Then maybe WT can place a banner at the top pointing to the thread.

Dieselworks · 10-02-2009, 09:19 PM

Great job Chuck keep their feet to the fire.

Are they "planning" on inspecting SPINACH FARMERS AND FARMERS MARKETS? Probably not, soo...yet another double standard.

Double standards are inherently unequal, unfair, and un-AMERICAN!

VooDoo Chile · 10-02-2009, 10:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cllindner

VooDoo.... Your synopsis is fine, and I am grateful that it provides clarity. If there are any Weedtracker monitors, staff, etc. following this thread, it would be highly beneficial to the Los Angeles MMJ community to put this "script" in prominent places on WT. We need to get the City Council's attention, and going down to City Hall to speak for 1 minute doesn't work. A phone call results in an individual contact, a report of the call, and eventually a concern that something might be wrong.

Chuck Lindner

Hey Chuck, Shining Skull wrote the script, not I.Although it's tempting, I can't take credit for his excellent work.

**cllindner** · 10-05-2009, 06:50 AM

My apologies to Shining Skull, who should have received the credit for the City Council phone call script. Things are going to get very bad w/in the next 30 to 60 days. There is an overwhelming likelihood that LAPD will conduct raids on clinics w/in its jurisdiction on the basis of profiteering in violation of 215 and 420. I consider this prediction to be in the 90 plus percent.

10-01-2009, 10:59 PM	#1 (permalink)
cllindner Banned Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Santa Monica Co-Op: NO Vendor: NO Patient: YES Posts: 67 Rep Power: 0	Response to 9/29 PLUM Meeting rpt I appreciate Greenbud's report. Like altogether too many other threads, the reaction here are responders screaming about the injustice of it all, hating politicians and ragging on lawyers. In other words, other than blowing off some psychological stress for the writer....useless. Don Duncan, the SoCal head of ASA, and I had a long phone conversation this evening, and the two of us, who probably know more about the City Council's machinations than anybody else on Weedtracker, are very very worried that this bizarre ordinance will be passed, more or less in its current form. If you want to make an intelligent and necessary contribution to stopping this proposed ordinance, do this: if you are in the City of Los Angeles (and yes, that includes the Valley), dial "311" and you will get a City Hall operator. If you do not know who your councilman is, give the 311 operator your address, and he/she will tell you which member represents you. Then, politely, and I mean really politely, ask to be connected with the Council Member's office. If you are a patient, you will eventually be connected with a staff member. Tell the staff member that you are a medical marijuana patient and are very concerned that the new proposed marijuana dispensary ordinance allows the police to look through patient records without any warrant or other judicial order, i.e., more or less at their whim. Below is the pertinent language that you want to object to (identify it as Section 46.71): SEC.46.71. INSPECTION AUTHORITY AND ENFORCEMENT. The Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety and the Los Angeles Police Department shall have the right to enter the Medical Marijuana Cooperative/Collective from time to time unannounced for the purpose of making reasonable inspections to observe and enforce compliance with this Article and all laws of the City and State of California. An outstanding Order to Comply from the Department of Building and Safety shall constitute a violation of this Code. Physician's Recommendations in California are the equivalent of medical prescriptions. Patients possessing physician recommendations should not be subject to law enforcement officers invading their privacy without seeking permission from a judicial officer, e.g., possessing a court order, a search warrant or a valid subpoena issued subject to a motion to quash on privacy or search and seizure grounds. This section is in direct conflict with Article 1, Section 1 of the California Constitution. which states: “All people are by nature free and independent and have inalienable rights. Among these are enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety, happiness, and privacy.” This ordinance permits the police at their whim to go through, copy, and/or seize patient records from the medical marijuana collectives without any finding of probable cause to believe that a crime has been committed, or a finding by a judge based on a sworn affidavit by a police officer that a review of a particular record is necessary. Since the staffer will be pretty clueless about this subject dear to your hearts, you should add that marijuana dispensaries are defined as "providers" under the federal HIPAA medical privacy laws, and that you believe this ordinance invades your medical privacy rights under federal law, and that you object to an attempt by a local city council to sidestep medical privacy protections........, and that you don't think that that is right. I suspect that roughly 30 to 40 percent of the average clinic's patient population can be categorized as "stoners" who have been able to obtain a physician's recommendation (yeah, I know, you're legit...but then I represent a lot of stoners who blow it and end up getting prosecuted anyhow). If you are a real medical patient with a very real condition, take the time to protect your privacy rights. If you are stoner, please try to pull it together and politely object to this proposed law, even if the reason to smoke is to quell your insomnia and help you to add weight through pizza and ice cream cravings. Oh, and I have been smoking longer than you have been alive, so please don't get real self-righteous, OK? We actually may get stuck with this law in the very near future, unless objections are heard and council members start thinking about the tradeoffs in capping down on the proliferation of clinics. Please help out constructively. Thank you. Charles L. "Chuck" Lindner Attorney at Law Santa Monica

10-01-2009, 11:30 PM	#2 (permalink)
Cubed Dotz: 4 patients by patients! Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Santa Cruz <--> SoCal Co-Op: NO Vendor: NO Patient: YES Posts: 98 Rep Power: 2913	Re: Response to 9/29 PLUM Meeting rpt I will be making that call. I hope everyone in LA realizes it's crunch time and this is our lifeline. Either we get proactive now or face possible loss of precious access. Don't take it for granted that someone else can do it for you! This is a must for anyone who uses collectives or wants to build a better future.

10-01-2009, 11:49 PM	#3 (permalink)
ShiningSkull real real gone Join Date: Mar 2008 Co-Op: no Vendor: no Patient: yes Posts: 1,238 Rep Power: 129898	Re: Response to 9/29 PLUM Meeting rpt Thanks for providing the terrific info, cllindner. All of us in the City of Los Angeles should make the call. Here's the script: If you are in the City of Los Angeles, dial "311" and you will get a City Hall operator. If you do not know who your councilman is, give the 311 operator your address, and he/she will tell you which member represents you. Politely ask to be connected with the Council Member's office. If you are a patient, you will eventually be connected with a staff member. Tell the staff member: I'm a medical marijuana patient and I'm very concerned that the new proposed marijuana dispensary ordinance will allow the police to look through patient records, without any warrant or other judicial order. Specifically, I'm objecting to Section 46.71. Go as far as you want with any or all of the rest of this... In California, Physician's Recommendations are just like medical prescriptions. Patients like me, who have a physician's recommendation should not be subject to law enforcement officers invading our privacy, especially when they have no court order, search warrant or a valid subpoena. Section 46.71 is also in direct conflict with Article 1, Section 1 of the California Constitution, which states: “All people are by nature free and independent and have inalienable rights. Among these are enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety, happiness, and privacy.” This ordinance will permit police, at their whim, to go through, copy, and/or seize patient records from medical marijuana collectives. Police will be able to seize patient records without any finding of probable cause to even believe that a crime has been committed. Federal HIPAA medical privacy laws define marijuana dispensaries as "providers." Therefore, I believe this ordinance invades my medical privacy rights under federal law. I object to the attempt by a local city council to sidestep medical privacy protections through SEC.46.71. Here it is for reference: SEC.46.71. INSPECTION AUTHORITY AND ENFORCEMENT. The Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety and the Los Angeles Police Department shall have the right to enter the Medical Marijuana Cooperative/Collective from time to time unannounced for the purpose of making reasonable inspections to observe and enforce compliance with this Article and all laws of the City and State of California. An outstanding Order to Comply from the Department of Building and Safety shall constitute a violation of this Code. cllindner, any edits you would make? anything to add or change?

10-02-2009, 06:08 PM	#5 (permalink)
*Holistic Harvest* WT Regular Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: 3511 W.Olympic Blvd. #204 Los Angeles, CA.90019 Co-Op: yes Vendor: no Patient: yes Posts: 213 Rep Power: 2025	Re: Response to 9/29 PLUM Meeting rpt good postings!! Maybe the Script/tips should be created in a thread all by itself reminding everyone it is CRUNCH TIME and encouraging patients to participate. Holistic Harvest says..Loving our Patients at Holistic Harvest! To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

10-02-2009, 06:13 PM	#6 (permalink)
cllindner Banned Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Santa Monica Co-Op: NO Vendor: NO Patient: YES Posts: 67 Rep Power: 0	Re: Response to 9/29 PLUM Meeting rpt VooDoo.... Your synopsis is fine, and I am grateful that it provides clarity. If there are any Weedtracker monitors, staff, etc. following this thread, it would be highly beneficial to the Los Angeles MMJ community to put this "script" in prominent places on WT. We need to get the City Council's attention, and going down to City Hall to speak for 1 minute doesn't work. A phone call results in an individual contact, a report of the call, and eventually a concern that something might be wrong. Chuck Lindner

10-02-2009, 06:19 PM	#7 (permalink)
ShiningSkull real real gone Join Date: Mar 2008 Co-Op: no Vendor: no Patient: yes Posts: 1,238 Rep Power: 129898	Re: Response to 9/29 PLUM Meeting rpt I made the script. I will clean it up further and post it in its own thread with the subject title, "LA Citizens: MAKE THIS CALL MONDAY!" Whaddya think? Then maybe WT can place a banner at the top pointing to the thread.

10-02-2009, 09:19 PM	#8 (permalink)
Dieselworks Om namah shivaya Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: In an Collective Illusion Co-Op: No Vendor: No Patient: Yes Posts: 778 Rep Power: 25508	Re: Response to 9/29 PLUM Meeting rpt Great job Chuck keep their feet to the fire. Are they "planning" on inspecting SPINACH FARMERS AND FARMERS MARKETS? Probably not, soo...yet another double standard. Double standards are inherently unequal, unfair, and un-AMERICAN! Dieselworks says.."Change your words into truths and then change that truth into love" Stevie Wonder

10-05-2009, 06:50 AM	#10 (permalink)
cllindner Banned Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Santa Monica Co-Op: NO Vendor: NO Patient: YES Posts: 67 Rep Power: 0	Re: Response to 9/29 PLUM Meeting rpt My apologies to Shining Skull, who should have received the credit for the City Council phone call script. Things are going to get very bad w/in the next 30 to 60 days. There is an overwhelming likelihood that LAPD will conduct raids on clinics w/in its jurisdiction on the basis of profiteering in violation of 215 and 420. I consider this prediction to be in the 90 plus percent.

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