Americans for Safe Access Activist Newsletter
Defending Patients’ Access to Medical Marijuana
September 2007
ASA Argues for Return of Patients' Unlawfully Seized Marijuana
Ruling from state appellate court could end years of local law enforcement violations
ASA's Return of Property campaign reached
a pivotal point this month. Chief Counsel Joe
Elford appeared before a state appeals court
to argue that any California
patient whose medical mar-
ijuana is seized in a law
enforcement encounter has
a right to get that cannabis
back as soon as the patient
demonstrates that the mari-
juana is lawfully possessed
underCalifornia law. Joe Elford
State law says any wrongfully seized proper-
ty must be returned, but some law enforce-
ment agencies have argued that they cannot
give back medical marijuana because doing
so would violate federal law, even though
Program for Seniors Considers Medical Marijuana
Poll Shows Nearly All Viewers Support Safe Access
Medical marijuana was the subject this
month of a news magazine program on the
country's largest television network devot-
ed to retired Americans. The "Viewpoint"
program on Retirement Living Television
(RLTV), a cable channel that boasts 29 mil-
lion viewers, included interviews with
patients, medical researchers, dis-
pensary operators, and federal
officials.
Among those featured in the pro-
gram were Florida medical mari-
juana patient Irv Rosenfeld, who
receives his medicine free from the
federal government; Dr. Bertha
Madras, the Deputy Director of the
White House Office of National
Drug Control Policy; and Dr. John
Benson, one of the co-investigators
for the 1999 Institute of Medicine report,
which concluded that there are medical
uses for marijuana. ASA's Director of
Government Affairs, Caren Woodson, was
part of an RLTV promotional program that
aired the day before.
The focus of the RLTV programs was "the
relationship between seniors living with
Americans for Safe Access • 1322 Webster Street, Suite 402 • Oakland, CA 94612
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the state Attorney General has said other-
wise. California court rulings have split on the
issue, with some judges ordering the return
of medical marijuana and some refusing.
The appeals court is considering two cases.
The first is that of Felix Kha, a Garden Grove
patient who had eight grams of medical
marijuana confiscated. A Superior Court
judge ordered the return of his medicine, but
the city of Garden Grove not only refused, it
appealed the order. The second case is that of
Jim Spray, a Hunt-ington Beach patient who
was denied a court order by a different judge
in the same Court that issued Kha's order.
"It is bad enough to have your medicine
seized by police,” said Elford. “But to then
chronic pain and their choice to use medical
marijuana to alleviate their constant dis-
comfort," according to RLTV, which offers
additional information at www.rl.tv.
A poll of RLTV viewers found that only one
person did not support access to medical
marijuana with a physician's recommenda-
tion. This is consistent with a December
2004 poll conducted by the American
Association of Retired Persons (AARP),
which found that 72% of their membership
"agree that adults should be allowed to
legally use marijuana for medical purposes
if a physician recommends it." Nearly one-
third said that they smoked marijuana.
Volume 2, Issue 9
be denied its rightful return shows a blatant
disregard for the law."
Over the past two years, ASA has had success
getting law enforcement agencies such as
the California Highway Patrol to change
their policies and has even helped patients
get cash compensation for medicine that was
destroyed or lost before it could be returned.
ASA Chapter Focus
Front Range ASA, CO
Front Range ASA (FRASA) chapter members
have been pioneers with their organizing
tactics to ensure safe access for Coloradoan
patients. Working with one of ASA's
Medical Advisory Board members, Dr. Bob
Melamede, the chapter has used both sci-
ence and activism to improve access for
patients. Just this year, one of FRASA's lead-
ers and a medical cannabis researcher, Matt
Schnur, filed two petitions with the
Colorado Department of Health to expand
the list of conditions for which cannabis is
approved. The petitions cite research indi-
cating diabetes mellitus and anxiety and
depression can be treated with cannabis.
The chapter is waiting for a response.
FRASA has also been reaching out to the
medical community and patients groups. In
addition to distributing ASA's condition-
based booklets and research to hospitals,
patients groups, doctors' offices, and other
health associations, FRASA has contacted
the American Cancer Society and American
Diabetes Association about updating their
official public statements about medical
cannabis. The intersecting patient popula-
tions ASA shares with a variety of condi-
tion-based organizations provide unique
opportunities for collaboration.
This summer, FRASA and the Colorado
Campaign for Safe Access, a project of ASA
and Sensible Colorado, sponsored an edu-
cational seminar for El Paso County Drug
Taskforce members. This seminar on
(continued page 2)
 Los Angeles City Council Fast Tracks Dispensary Issue
LA-ASA's two years of work to establish
sound regulations for medical cannabis dis-
pensaries in Los Angeles has accelerated in
the wake of the latest DEA raids there.
The large patient protests ASA organized
have given the City Council a new sense of
urgency to complete the permanent ordi-
nance. The city's medical cannabis working
group has abandoned plans to start from
scratch, and is instead using the LA County
Government Must Answer for Marijuana Misinformation
ASA has taken the next step in its lawsuit to
force the federal government to tell the
truth about medical marijuana and admit
that many doctors routinely recommended
marijuana to their patients.
On August 17, ASA filed an amended com-
plaint with the federal District Court, charg-
ing that the government's failure to answer
ASA's 2004 Data Quality Act petition violat-
ed the law and constitutes an "unreason-
able delay."
The government has 60 days to respond.
ordinance as a template.
This model ordinance, which ASA was
instrumental in helping craft, includes on-
site consumption, the distribution of med-
ical clones, and other patient-centered pro-
visions.
Since last month's raids, the Los Angeles
City Council has been working even more
closely with LA-ASA.
ASA's petition documents why the govern-
ment cannot factually say that marijuana
"has no currently accepted medical use in
treatment in the United States," and "there
have been no studies that have scientifical-
ly assessed the efficacy of marijuana for any
medical condition."
The Data Quality Act says federal agencies
must rely on sound science in the informa-
tion they disseminate.
The case will likely be heard in late 2007.
AMERICANS FOR
SAFE ACCESS
www.AmericansForSafeAccess.org
1322 Webster Street, #402
Oakland, California 94612
Phone: 510-251-1856
Fax: 510-251-2036
info@AmericansForSafeAccess.org
ASA Activists Deliver
Message on National
Congressional Drop-in Day
On August 29, ASA activists throughout the
country visited their Representatives' local
district offices to ask for Congressional
action on medical marijuana.
Activists asked their Representatives to join
others in the U.S. House who are trying to
eliminate funding for federal raids on med-
ical marijuana patients and providers.

They also asked their Representatives to

add their names to a "sign-on" letter to
NATIONAL ACTION ALERT DEA Administrator Karen Tandy from John
Olver (D, MA) and Dana Rohrabacher (R,
Write a Letter to the Editor About CA).
the Recent Attacks on Patients The letter urges Tandy to accept a judge's
With the recent DEA raids throughout California, Washington, and Oregon, it is time to recommendation that scientists at
bring these attacks to light in your community! Write a letter to the editor in your local University of Massachusetts Amherst be
paper calling on City Councils to take measures to protect patients. allowed to cultivate cannabis for federally
approved medical research.
Write a letter mentioning the following points:
In the past few months, the DEA has raided nearly 20 medical cannabis dispensaries
throughout California, as well as patients and providers in Washington, Oregon, and
New Mexico, leaving hundreds of sick patients without medicine.
(FRASA, continued from p1)
Patients need to be protected by their elected officials.
Marijuana Education and Dispensary Safety,
Local, state, and federal elected officials in medical cannabis states need to stand up or MEDS, was taught by Colorado
for the sick and dying patients that they represent.
Campaign for Safe Access' Executive
Visit ASA's tips on writing a letter to the editor for a how-to guide along with contact Director, Brian Vicente. Participating law
information for your local news source: www.AmericansForSafeAccess.org/LTE. enforcement members learned about
For more help, contact Sonnet: Sonnet@AmericansforSafeAccess.org. Colorado's medical cannabis laws and
patients' rights.

The Colorado Campaign for Safe Access and

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FRASA also worked together in August to
organize mass e-mails, petitions, calls, and
meetings with their Congressional repre-
sentatives, urging them to sign on to a let-
ter to DEA Administrator Karen Tandy, ask-
ing her to grant UMass Amherst professor
Lyle Craker a license to grow marijuana for
medical research.
FRASA has already made great strides
towards ensuring safe access in Colorado
and will continue to work towards this goal.