At Last! Medical Cannabis Expense Gets to Washington1 DC!

"How can we be the cause of precisely what is perhaps the most dramatic legal disparities in medical cannabis thus far? The issue of non-profit ""sale"" of medical cannabis to qualified patients via collectives and cooperatives. There's nothing else such as this dispute. What do the pros say about this anyway?

Steve Cooley, The Los Angeles District Attorney, disagrees with Jerry Brown, the California State Attorney General.

How could two prominent state-employed attorneys visit wholly different conclusions for the answer? First the Los Angeles District Attorney claims ""all sales are illegal"". The California State Attorney General was sure enough to create in the guidelines that ""storefront collectives might be legal under state law"". How could this be? After all, each attorney is looking on the same task, right?

So precisely what is the answer? What does the law say?

COMPASSIONATE-USE ACT 1996

Proposition 215 that was approved by a most of Californians in 1996 plus it became called the Compassionate-Use Act. The statute itself will not say anything about ""sales"" but it does mention ""possession"", ""cultivating"", obtaining medical cannabis, about affordability and ""distribution"".

It does claim that qualified patients along with their primary caregivers won't be victim to criminal issues:

""(B) To ensure that patients and their primary caregivers who obtain and use marijuana for medical purposes upon the recommendations of the physician usually are not susceptible to criminal prosecution or sanction.""

And in addition, it pushes governments to assist ensure ""safe and affordable access"" to medical cannabis for ""all qualified patients"".

""(C) To encourage the federal and state governments to implement a plan for the safe and affordable distribution of marijuana to all or any patients in medical need of marijuana.""

The Los Angeles District Attorney, Steve Cooley, had State and Federal police officers agents raid a medical cannabis collective and arrest at least 3 people, the week before Christmas. He insists ""all sales are illegal"". This seems to be from the letter and spirit of regulations, not the mention the spirit of the season.

Also if all ""sales"" are illegal, each and every the Compassionate-Use Act say ""affordable""? If the patients are financially responsible for your cannabis, how does Cooley expect the currency being exchanged? What's wrong with incremental reimbursements?

MEDICAL MARIJUANA PROGRAM OF 2004

The Medical Marijuana Program (MMP) arrived to law in 2004 over the legislative approval of Senate Bill 420. It was the state's attempt ""to implement a plan for the safe and affordable distribution of marijuana to all or any patients in medical necessity of marijuana,"" as the Compassionate-Use Act of 1996 (Prop 215) encourages the State and Federal government to perform.

The MMP improves usage of medical cannabis for qualified patients by approving collectives and cooperatives.

""(3) Enhance the access of patients and caregivers to medical cannabis through collective, cooperative cultivation projects.""

What Steve Cooley doesn't seem to understand is non-profit storefront Medical Cannabis Dispensing Collectives/Cooperatives will be the distribution part of ""cultivation projects"". Just like a collective cultivation farm wouldn't have customers visit the farm to obtain their tomatoes, they would have to have their collective tomatoes with a farmer's market or distribution location-- that's how medical cannabis collective cultivations occur. Grown a single position for safety as well as other reasons, then distributed at another location.

The MMP procedes speak about each of the criminal statutes that qualified patients and primary caregivers are exempt from. In section 11362.765, it says: ""shall not subject, on that sole basis, to criminal liability under Section 11357, 11358, 11359, 11360, 11366, 11366.5, or 11570.""

Let's take a look at all these 1 by 1:

11357: [possession],

11358: [cultivation],

11359: [possession for sale],

11360: [""transports, imports into this state, sells, furnishes, administers, or gives away""- or purports to or attempts to perform any of those],

11366: [Every individual that opens or maintains any place for that reason for unlawfully selling, offering, or using any controlled substance]

11366.5 [Managing an area for manufacture, storage and/or the distribution of a controlled substance]

11570 [Every building or place used for your function of unlawfully selling, serving, storing, keeping, manufacturing, or giving away any controlled substance, precursor, or analog specified in this division, and each building or place wherein or where those acts come about, is a nuisance which shall be enjoined, abated, and prevented, as well as for which damages might be recovered, whether it is really a public or private nuisance.]

The Health and Safety Code section 11360 specifically says ""sells"". Not only that, in addition, it says: ""gives away"" and ""furnishes"". How come the LA District Attorney's office says ""all sales are illegal"" and non-profit storefront medical cannabis dispensing collectives/cooperatives are banned?

In that same bill,

""11362.775. Qualified patients, persons with valid identification cards, as well as the designated primary caregivers of qualified patients and persons with identification cards, who associate within the State of California to be able collectively or cooperatively to cultivate marijuana for medical purposes, shall not solely on the basis of that fact be at the mercy of state criminal sanctions under Section 11357, 11358, 11359, 11360, 11366, 11366.5, or 11570.""

Again, it says that patients can collectively cultivate cannabis and distribute it amongst themselves for non-profit. Again, the distribution of medical cannabis is separate from the cultivation just like the manufacturing of my vicodin is situated separate from my pharmacy.

The Medical Marijuana Act also calls for the State Attorney General to deliver guidelines linked to medical cannabis:

""The bill would need the Attorney General to formulate and adopt guidelines to be sure the security and non-diversion of marijuana grown for medical use, as specified.""

And that exactly what State Attorney General, Jerry Brown did in the late summer of 2008.

GUIDELINES FOR THE SECURITY AND NON-DIVERSION OF MARIJUANA GROWN FOR MEDICAL USE August 2008

To fulfill his mandate, the State Attorney General release the following tips to help law enforcements do their jobs as outlined by State law and to help patients understand those laws.

The guidelines state non-profit storefront Medical Cannabis Dispensing Collectives and Cooperatives may be legal under state guidelines whenever they followed the rules as well as the above laws.

""It could be the opinion on this Office that the properly organized and operated collective or cooperative that dispenses medical cannabis by having a storefront could possibly be lawful under California law""

The State Attorney General confirms what regulations says. The Attorney General is the highest-ranking legal employee with the State of California. His office also taken care of immediately the problems raised in Los Angeles by City Attorney's office.

According towards the New York Times on October 17: Christine Gasparac, a spokeswoman for State Attorney General Jerry Brown, declared that after Mr. Trutanich's comments in Los Angeles, police force officials and advocates from throughout the state had called seeking clarity on medical marijuana laws.

Mr. Brown has issued guidelines that allow for nonprofit sales of medical marijuana, she said. But, she added, with laws being interpreted differently, ""the final answer may ultimately come from the courts.""

So exactly what do the courts say?

PEOPLE v. MENTCH

The District Attorney's office would have you believe the Mentch decision outlaws non-profit storefront Medical Cannabis Dispensing Collectives/Cooperatives and makes ""all sales illegal"" but that decision has to do with the definition of ""primary caregiver"" not sales.

Mentch had 82 marijuana plants growing in his home and he sold the medicine to 5 people that stumbled on his home using the primary function of buying cannabis. The majority of the plants in Mentch's home belonged to him while he testified. Their operations was not a collective or perhaps a cooperative nor a storefront. Mentch owned Hemporium, a for-profit care giving and consultancy business, not only a non-profit collective or a cooperative.

Based over evidence the courts figured that Mentch's operation was primarily a for-profit commercial venture and had not been a primary caregiver for those he supplied medical cannabis to from his home-based business. I've written about it comprehensive here.

So there you've got just what the courts say, just what the State Attorney says, and just what the laws say; all confirm non-profit storefront dispensing of medical cannabis can be legal under State law.

Now the Los Angeles District cbdforsalenearme.com Attorney must obey regulations as well as the will from the people and stop wasting time and resources to hurt medical cannabis patients especially ahead of Christmas. Especially when you'll find over 7,000 untested rape kits the District Attorney statements to donrrrt you have the resources to take care of.

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