City apologizes for worker’s unlawful drug, alcohol tests

By THOMAS J. MORGAN
JOURNAL sTAFF wRITER
PAWTUCKET — The City of Pawtucket has agreed to apologize to one of its employees and to pay her legal fees after she sued over its drug-testing policy.
Romana Ramos, a police matron and interpreter for 17 years, contended that she was unlawfully required to submit to a random urine test for drugs and a chemical breath test for alcohol. The penalty for refusal was a 30-day suspension. Both tests proved negative, according to the Rhode Island affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union.
The ACLU on Thursday announced the settlement of the case, which was handled by volunteer attorney Richard A. Sinapi.
The ACLU said that state law allows drug testing in the workplace, but reasonable suspicion is required. Random testing is not allowed, the organization said in a news release.
In the settlement, the ACLU said, the city agreed to pay $5,000 in legal costs and to take steps to bring its testing policy into line with state law.
Sinapi said that the ACLU will take action against other employers if they require testing not approved by state law.

Arizona Business Gazette

It isn’t even legal yet. And it won’t be unless voters approve it.
But more than a dozen companies are setting up shop in Arizona hoping to get into the business of selling marijuana.
It has become a land rush of sorts because the initiative, if passed, will permit just 120 dispensaries in the entire state. That’s far different from California, where that state’s medical-marijuana law has no limit.
The Arizona law does require that the dispensaries be set up as non-profit corporations. But that isn’t deterring would-be marijuana sellers who hope to snare one of those 120 licenses.
Among the first in line is Allan Sobol.
He has been hired by Medical Marijuana Dispensaries of Arizona, one of 15 firms that has filed the necessary paperwork with the Arizona Corporation Commission, to get the business up and running and help clear any legal hurdles.
The company is already open for business, although there isn’t any marijuana to sell.
The firm’s website is signing up prospective buyers and doctors who might be interested in referring their patients.
“We call it pre-emptive marketing,” he said. “The company that gets the jump start on this and gets the mailing list of the potential patients is going to be the Number 1 dispensary in Arizona for the future. We decided to go after it.”
That’s where the website and preregistration drive fit in.
“Once the law passes, we’ll provide you with information on how to get your (medical marijuana) card,” Sobol said.
But in soliciting doctors, Sobol is working both sides of the equation.
Proposition 203, if approved, will allow those with a state-issued card to obtain up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana every two weeks.
But to get that card, a patient needs a written recommendation from a doctor who, according to the measure, will have to do a full assessment of that person’s medical history.
Sobol said that should make Arizona’s operation different from California, where dispensaries actually advertise they can get a doctor’s certification on site. But he said some people will still need to find a doctor sympathetic to their health needs.
So, Sobol mailed information to about 10,000 Arizona doctors, giving them information about the initiative and about the company and asking if they would recommend their patients.
He said several already have responded. Although he won’t share their names, Sobol said the plan is to make the list available if and when Prop. 203 becomes law.
“Out of all the ones we’ve sent out, we’ve only had one doctor who said, ‘Please take me off the list,’ ” Sobol said.
“I think the medical profession is somewhat favorable to this. They want to be able to offer alternatives to patients.”
How many potential patients are out there is unclear.
Legislative budget staffers predicted that 39,600 Arizonans are likely to have the medical-marijuana cards by 2013, with an additional 26,400 people licensed by the state as caregivers, or those who can buy the drug for someone else.
Opposition to the initiative is coming largely from law enforcement and prosecutors, including Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Pima County Attorney Barbara LaWall.
Both said they see this a first step to legalizing the drug for everyone.
But the proposal also is being panned by the state’s top health official.
Will Humble, interim director of the Arizona Department of Health Services, said there probably are some people who would benefit by being able to inhale the now illegal substance. These include those who have nausea stemming from chemotherapy and individuals who need an appetite stimulant to keep from wasting away.
But, he said, the initiative is based on the flawed premise that marijuana can alleviate pain.
The result, he said, is likely to be abuse of the law, both by individuals who want legal access to marijuana and physicians who may, for whatever reason, be less than attentive to what will really help their patients.
Andrew Myers, manager of the Prop. 203 campaign, says there is evidence that marijuana can alleviate pain.
What Humble fails to say is that the alternative for many people would be much more addictive and dangerous drugs, like OxyContin and other opiates, Myers added.

New Jersey Patients Fume Over Medical Marijuana Law Delays

One of outgoing Gov. Jon Corzine’s last acts before leaving office in January was to sign New Jersey’s Compassionate Use Act Medical Marijuana Act, allowing qualified patients in the Garden State to use medical marijuana. The law was supposed to go into effect on July 1, and if Corzine had remained governor, most everyone involved in the process agrees that would have happened.

NJ patients share victory hug after medical marijuana bill passes, January 2010 (courtesy cmmnj.org)

But New Jersey voters chose to replace the Democrat Corzine with Republican Gov. Chris Christie, who has been dragging his feet. This summer, Christie asked for a six to 12-month delay in implementing the bill. The legislature gave him three months, until October 1.
That means only that the state Department of Health will then begin drafting regulations. It will have another 90 days after that to do so, pushing the law’s effective date to January 1. But even that date is a chimera; given that registered patients will have to get their medicine from a state-licensed dispensary, or alternative treatment center, and given that marijuana takes a minimum of roughly three months to grow, even if potential dispensary operators are ready to go on January 1, it will be sometime in the spring of 2011 at the earliest before New Jersey patients are able to take advantage of the law.
Christie has also been floating proposals to change various aspects of the law. Last month, he proposed making Rutgers University the monopoly supplier. That proposal disturbed patients and advocates, but ultimately went nowhere when Rutgers declined the invitation, citing concerns about federal law. Christie has also raised concerns about New Jersey suffering the same allegedly dire experience California has gone through with its Wild West medical marijuana experience.
But the New Jersey law is already one of the strictest in the nation. It limits access to medical marijuana to people with a specified list of diseases, it limits the amount of marijuana patients can possess to two ounces per month, and it does not allow patients or their caregivers to grow their own medicine. Instead, at least six state-licensed alternative treatment centers, two in each region of the state, will grow and distribute medical marijuana.
Patients and advocates are watching uneasily as the state moves at a leisurely pace toward implementation. They are not happy with the tightness of the law, they are not happy with the delays, and they are casting a suspicious eye on Christie.
“Even in a best case scenario, patients won’t be getting medical marijuana in New Jersey until maybe March or April of 2011 from these alternative treatment centers,” said Ken Wolski of the Coalition for Medical Marijuana-New Jersey, the primary patient advocacy group in the state.
“Christie has been dragging his feet,” said Wolski. “He had to appoint a new health commissioner, so he asked for a six to 12-month delay. He said he doesn’t want New Jersey to turn into California, but we don’t see how that could happen because the New Jersey law is so tight and the alternative treatment centers will be so strictly regulated by the Department of Health. A majority of the legislature accepted his reasons, but only gave him three months.”
“The governor asked for an extension of six months to a year, and we fought that off,” said Roseanne Scotti of the Drug Policy Alliance New Jersey office, which also lobbied for passage of the bill. “There was talk then of other changes; Christie was saying he needed changes in the law to be able to let Rutgers do it, and we’ve heard rumors of other changes. But our sponsor, Sen. Scutari, has been very adamant. The law doesn’t need any more changes. It is the law, and they need to implement it,” she said.
“We did not support the idea of a monopoly at Rutgers or anywhere else, and that continues to be our position,” said Scotti. “When we talked to the health department, they seemed to be leaning toward trying to limit it in some way, which we are fighting against. You can’t just decide on your own you’re going to limit the people who do this.”
The Teaching Hospitals of New Jersey floated a proposal in which they would become the sole dispensers of medical marijuana. The Drug Policy Alliance also opposed that.
“We met with them and asked them how they think they could legally do that, since they would be violating federal law,” said Scotti. “They didn’t have any answer for that. If they want to be a dispensary, even if they want to open several, we are not opposed to that, but we are not in favor of any kind of monopoly.”
While the Christie administration talks about opening six dispensaries across the state, there is no limit on the number of dispensaries potentially allowed. The bill specifies only at least six.
“We’re advocating that competition is good, that anyone who is capable of producing a good product and meeting the understandable security needs of the state should be able to provide services to patients in need,” said Scotti. “The Christie administration seems to be latching onto the six, but that isn’t the law.”
Marta Portuguez of Roselle Park is one of the law’s potential beneficiaries. The 49-year-old woman suffers from 10 different illnesses, including gastroparesis, fibromyalgia, and chronic fatigue syndrome. Her symptoms include muscle spasms, attacks of nausea, and severe pain.
“The diseases are my constant companions,” she said. “I’m on pain medications, and the doctors don’t allow me to work. Not that I could — I find it impossible to sit for more than half an hour.”
Portuguez turned to medical marijuana on the advice of a family member who knew someone very ill whose doctor had recommending trying it. “I didn’t really know anything about it, but the more research I did, the more clear it became that it would be a great help. My stomach is dead, and I needed medication I don’t have to take orally,” she explained.
“They brought some to me and it was like a miracle,” Portuguez exclaimed. “I went from horrific pain 24-7 even with morphine, to almost no pain, almost immediately. I could be rolled up in a ball shaking and puking my guts out, and when I use it, that immediately starts dissipating. It’s quite remarkable. I can sit down with my husband and children and enjoy a movie. I have a little bit better quality of life; I’m not always so sick.”
But because marijuana is illegal, Portuguez is unable to get regular access to it. “I don’t have it all the time,” she said. “It’s sporadic. I’m not comfortable with the fact that it’s illegal, that’s why it’s so important for it to be legalized. It’s about compassion and helping your fellow human beings.”
Portuguez has been waiting for the law to be implemented, and when informed that it would be next spring at the earliest before medical marijuana would be available in New Jersey, she didn’t take the news well.
“I think that’s outrageous,” she said, her voice quivering. “I get very upset. The governor is not doing the right thing. I understand that there are things that need to be followed, but how can somebody get up there and say he’s going to try to stop the law we passed? How can they keep delaying and not consider the suffering they are making people go through? I think he’s doing it because he doesn’t have anyone ill in his family. Then, and only then, will he really understand. It’s the Compassionate Use Act, but they’re not acting very compassionate.”
While the delay in implementing the law is painful, it is not a surprise, said Scotti. Nor is it a surprise that patients and advocates are keeping the heat on.
“I’ve seen lots of regulations in New Jersey and other states take this long,” she said. “It’s not unusual, but we are constantly checking in with the health department and with legislators and talking to Sen. Scutari about keeping the pressure on. Our patients are very vocal and active.”
Although patients and advocates are pushing hard to get the Compassionate Use Act up and running, they are also quick to point out its flaws. “While we’re happy that marijuana is officially recognized as medicine in the Garden State, the law has a lot of shortcomings,” said Wolski. “The legislature was very wary of allowing medical marijuana in New Jersey and went with the most restrictive law in the nation.”
“The main problem is that home cultivation was taken out, which means that patients are unable to grow their own like they are in the 13 other states,” said Wolski. “We see that as an important part of health care reform. Home cultivation would take the pharmaceutical and health insurance industries out of the equation and empower patients to help themselves.”
Wolski also cited the quantity limits as inadequate for some patients. “The two ounce a month limit will be adequate for maybe half the patients,” he said. “Hospice patients have tremendous needs for the constant medical care marijuana can bring to them, and limiting chronic pain patients to two ounces a month is not enough.”
The number of conditions qualifying for medical marijuana use has shrunk, too, Wolski explained. While the final version of the bill includes seizure sufferers, cancer patients, glaucoma patients, HIV/AIDS sufferers, and people with multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gerhrig’s Disease), it does not include other neurological disorders, nor does it cover mental or emotional conditions.
“The Assembly Health Committee limited the law to three neurological conditions, but if medical marijuana is neuroprotective, it should be neuroprotective for all neurological conditions,” said Wolski, a registered nurse. “And bipolar disease, ADHD, PTSD, anxiety disorders, they don’t qualify, and that’s a real shame. I think the Department of Health will address the issue of qualifying conditions, but we have our work cut out for us.”
“Our fondest hope is that the law will be implemented the way it was written, and that the Department of Health’s regulations will reflect the wording of the law to establish at least six nonprofit alternative treatment centers,” said Wolski. “Our expectation is that this is what’s going to happen, but there are fears the governor is trying to take over the medical marijuana industry,” he said, alluding to Gov. Christie’s abortive plan to have Rutgers University monopolize production.
New Jersey has a medical marijuana law. It may not be the best medical marijuana law, but it is a medical marijuana law and it will provide protection to at least some patients. Warts and all, New Jersey patients and advocates are working as hard as they can to get it up and running as soon as they can.

NJ

United States

Could drug trafficing bill lead to prosecutions of Americans who get high in Amsterdam


A bill headed to the House floor today has drug law reformers in a tizzy. Critics of the ominously named Drug Trafficking Safe Harbor Elimination Act of 2010 argue that passage of the bill could require American citizens to cancel their drug-fueled visits to Amsterdam, and perhaps prevent them from sampling the rich oily hashish of Northern Morocco.
“[This bill] seeks to authorize U.S. criminal prosecution of anyone in the U.S. suspected of conspiring mwith one or more persons, or aiding or abetting one or more persons, to commit at any place outside the United States an act that would constitute a violation of the U.S. Controlled Substances Act if committed within the United States,” the Drug Policy Alliance wrote on its Facebook page. “These penalties apply even if the controlled substance is legal under some circumstances in the other country.”
The bill’s architects beg to differ.
“If you go to Amsterdam on vacation and smoke a doob, you’re fine,” a senior House Judiciary committee staffer told The Daily Caller. “So long as it’s legal in the country where you’ll be.”
Sponsored by hard-line drug warrior Texas Republican Rep. Lamar Smith, and cosponsored by California Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, the Drug Trafficking Safe Harbor Elimination Act of 2010 will likely pass tomorrow despite the DPA’s argument that broad language in the bill could one day serve as an excuse to prosecute Americans for possessing drugs outside the U.S. The bill also has a counterpart in the Senate.
“An American treatment provider working with doctors in England, Denmark, Germany, or Switzerland to provide heroin-assisted treatment and sterile syringes to heroin users in those countries could face arrest. As could an otherwise law-abiding American planning with some friends to use marijuana legally in the Netherlands. Even though this bill references drug trafficking in the title, it also criminalizes conspiring to possess and use marijuana or other drugs in other countries if more than one person is involved — even if drug use is decriminalized in that country,” the DPA’s Facebook note warns.
The Judiciary Committee staffer says the DPA’s fears are overblown.
“So what? I say to someone, ‘I’m going to [possess] a dime bag of marijuana when I get to Amsterdam’?” the staffer said. “I can’t technically say that’s not within the four corners of the Controlled Substances Act. But how is a law enforcement officer supposed to know that?”

Alabama Patient Facing 10 Years for a Gram of Medical Marijuana

Activists in Alabama have been trying for years to get a medical marijuana bill passed there. Last year, for the first time, a bill made it out of committee. Next year, they will try again, but even if they succeed, it will be too late for Michael Lapihuska.

http://stopthedrugwar.org/files/michael-lapihuska.jpg

Michael Lapihuska, facing camera, wearing Alabamans for Compassionate Care t-shirt

Lapihuska, cursed with depression and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), grew up in Alabama, but left the state after serving 13 months for possessing five grams of marijuana in 2003. The now card-carrying medical marijuana patient from California was arrested on marijuana possession charges again on December 15 in Anniston, Alabama, as he visited his family for the holidays.
Lapihuska was stopped by a police officer and accused of hitch hiking as he walked down a road. The officer demanded he be allowed to search Lapihuska, and he complied. The search came up with a prescription bottle containing one gram of marijuana. Lapihuska explained that he was a registered California medical marijuana patient and produced a patient ID card.
But Alabama justice doesn’t recognize medical marijuana, and Lapihuska was charged with his third marijuana possession offense, this one worth between two and 10 years in state prison. Under Alabama law, a first marijuana offense is a misdemeanor, but a second possession offense is a felony punishable by a year in prison. A third possession offense is a felony punishable by two to 10 years in prison.
“Alabama is a terrible, terrible place when it comes to drug laws,” noted Loretta Nall, a long-time Alabama drug reform activist and leader of Alabamians for Compassionate Care, a medical marijuana activist group that has taken up Lapihuska’s cause.
Lapihuska’s public defender is urging him to cop a plea in which he would be sentenced to one year, with the sentence suspended and two years probation. But that deal also includes drug testing, and that’s a deal-breaker for him. “Everyone says just take the probation, but if I did that, I’d end up in prison anyway for failing the drug test,” he said.
“This is Anniston, Alabama,” said Laiphuska. “There is no way I’m going to win this case. But my doctor told me this was my recommended medicine. If I was prescribed Oxycontin, or morphine, or Xanax and was walking down the road, they would have had to give my medicine back. I broke the law, but I think the law is wrong. I’m looking at two to 10 years for a gram of marijuana prescribed by my doctor?”
Lapihuska has been stuck in Alabama since December while awaiting trial. It hasn’t exactly been fun, he said. “I’ve been miserable and anxious. I just want to go someplace where my medicine is safe and legal and I’m not at risk for using the medicine that works best for me.”
In addition to repeated stints behind bars for using marijuana, Lapihuska has been hospitalized for mental health reasons 20 to 30 times, he said. “I’ve been on all sorts of medication. Most of my life has been eaten up with anxiety. They’ve tried Xanax, Thorazine, all kinds of things. They even gave me an anti-Parkinson’s disease medicine and told me I would have to take it the rest of my life. I would sleep 16 hours a day on those meds, I’d be shaking,” he recalled.
“But now, I feel better than I’ve ever felt,” he said. “I ride my bicycle 50 to 150 miles a day. And now they’re arresting me for the thing that cures me.”
Unless he or state prosecutors relent, Lapihuska goes to trial October 28. If it comes to that, the Alabama medical marijuana community will do what it can, just as it has been beating the bushes to publicize the case already.
“Here in Alabama, our only hope of helping Michael out if this goes to trial is to do some jury nullification work,” said Nall. “When he goes to trial, myself and other members of ACC will do some handouts at the courthouse to inform people about the true nature of the situation, that he was not just some guy smoking weed. We hope to find one person on the jury to vote to nullify.”
Nall and ACC, for whom Lapihuska has been volunteering while he awaits trial, have been laying the groundwork for that by getting the story out. “We got a great article in the Anniston Star,” she said. “That generated nothing but wonderful comments on the web site and three letters to the editor, all positive. We’ve been getting a lot of positive feedback on Facebook, too.”
Lapihuska’s plight may help the cause of advancing medical marijuana at the statehouse. Rep. Patricia Todd, sponsor of last year’s medical marijuana bill, said she would reintroduce it for the session that begins in March. She would try to make it more palatable to law enforcement, she said.
“I’ll pre-file the bill after the first of the year,” Todd said. “We plan to sit down with law enforcement and health people, and may make some changes to appease law enforcement. I think the bill will start out with three dispensaries around the state, to be regulated by the health department. I think patients being able to grow will be part of it. The main heartburn the health department has is how to regulate it, how to know who’s growing what.”
While movement on medical marijuana in the legislature has been painfully slow, Todd expressed guarded optimism that her bill would move next year. Last year, for the first time, it got out of a House committee. But much depends on the outcome of the November elections.
“If the Republicans take over the legislature, the bill is going nowhere,” she said. “If the Democrats keep control, it’ll still be an uphill battle. We got it out of committee last year; this year, I hope we can get it to a floor vote.”
“It should be coming up very early in the session,” Todd said. “Attitudes are changing. Legislators watch the news, and we have a pretty good grassroots effort going. The main fear last year was that we don’t want to be like California, with a dispensary on every corner, and I think we will have addressed that.
Todd said that had her bill passed last year, Lapihuska wouldn’t be facing the problems he is. “Our bill has the reciprocity clause in, and that would protect Michael and people like him,” she said.
“It’s totally ridiculous,” said Todd. “He had a card that identified him as being able to use medical marijuana. I’m trying to change this, but this is the Deep South,” she sighed.
If Lapihuska is sent to prison, it will be a tight squeeze. Alabama’s prisons are at 180% of capacity, Todd noted.
“Our corrections commissioner makes the point to the legislature each year that he wishes we would quit passing laws to incarcerate more people,” she said. “But I’m the only one who ever votes against them. Most of our elected officials are afraid they will be perceived as soft on crime, but the war on drugs isn’t working, we have more people addicted than ever before. I think marijuana should be legal, and I’ll keep on fighting.”
So, it appears, will Michael Lapihuska — unless he can persuade prosecutors to offer a sweeter deal. “I would accept two years of unsupervised probation in California, but for me to have to stay here and do drug rehab for my doctor approved medication, that’s ridiculous. And with drug testing, if I use my medicine, I violate probation.”

Anniston, AL

United States

Medical marijuana dispensary ban fails

By KIMBERLY EDDS
The Orange County Register

A proposed 45-day moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries in unincorporated Orange County failed by one vote Tuesday as the county prepares for the possibility of even more marijuana distribution if the drug is legalized by voters in November’s statewide election.
County supervisors expressed frustration at the county’s lack of rules and regulations governing medical marijuana dispensaries, and the prospect that the aggravation could be magnified if Prop. 19 – which would legalize marijuana in California – is approved by voters and the county doesn’t have a system already set up to oversee dispensaries.

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“We are going to be inundated potentially in 120 days by folks who now cannot only do medical marijuana but any kind of marijuana and we’re going to say we have no rules,” said Supervisor Pat Bates, who voted for the temporary ban.
The county ordinance, which would have immediately banned new dispensaries and already existing dispensaries without the proper permits, needed to be approved by 4/5 of the board of supervisors.
Supervisors John Moorlach and Shawn Nelson voted against the emergency ordinance, arguing there wasn’t a crisis to warrant immediate adoption of the freeze on dispensaries.
Instead county staff was ordered to come up with an ordinance by Nov. 9 which would regulate medical marijuana cooperatives and plan ahead for the possible legalization of marijuana in the Nov. 2 election. Staff was also directed to plan for the potential tax ramifications of Prop. 19 which would allow cities and counties to tax marijuana.
County staff proposed the emergency ban in order to come up with a comprehensive strategy to deal with medical marijuana dispensaries as well as the possible fallout if marijuana becomes legal for people over the age of 21, said Orange County Public Works Director Jess Carbajal.
California voters legalized medical marijuana in 1996, making it the first medical marijuana state, but the law did not police dispensaries or set up a system to hand out the drugs.
In 2003, the state Legislature passed the Medical Marijuana Program Act, which set up an identification system for medical marijuana users that allowed qualified patients and their primary caregivers to obtain medical marijuana.
According to county staffers, an estimated 11 medical marijuana dispensaries are operating in unincorporated Orange County. None of the cooperatives is permitted under county land use permits, according to a county staff report. Only one applied for a permit, but quickly withdrew the application, Carbajal said.
But without rules in place, the county has little teeth to dictate what can and cannot be done about dispensaries, Carbajal said. County staffers are also concerned that by rejecting the ban could open the door for already existing dispensaries to be grandfathered in.
“It seems like no one starts with well the people voted for it, how do we accommodate it? It’s always the opposite,” Nelson said. “The people voted for it. Therefore how do we exert out will and stop it.”
While several Orange County cities have adopted their own laws when it comes to dispensaries, county CEO Tom Mauk admitted the county is behind the power curve in addressing the issue of regulating medical marijuana dispensaries.
The county’s lack of action has created an opportunity in unincorporated Orange County where cooperatives are setting up shop without strict rules and regulations, he said.
Still at issue, however, is how the inherent conflicts with federal law – which bans the use, possession and sale of marijuana – will be resolved.

Dozens smoking marijuana on MBTA train in Beverly

When Beverly Police responded a report last Saturday that approximately 20-30 people taking the MBTA train to Boston for Hempfest were smoking marijuana on the train at the Beverly station, they ended up issuing three citations for civil infractions.
Beverly Police Public Information Officer April Clarizia said that around 10:31 a.m. last Saturday, MBTA officials called police to report that about 30 people were on the train at the station smoking marijuana.
The MBTA held the train at the station and the police dispatched several cruisers. When police arrived on scene, they estimated between 20-30 people had been smoking “pot” and numerous bags of marijuana were on the floor of the train car along with some paraphernalia. They searched all the suspects and found that three people still had small bags of marijuana in their possession. All three received citations for civil violations of the marijuana laws.
Aside from being a little bit rowdy, Clarizia said, the group caused no problems on the train.

Palm Springs marijuana collective grows quickly

One of three legal medical marijuana dispensaries in Palm Springs has grown to more than 1,300 members, despite being in business for less than three months, the collective’s president announced today.
“We started out with only six members, and I never could have imagined we would grow so quickly,” said Gary Cherlin, president of Desert Organic Solutions at 19486 Newhall St.
The dispensary boasts 1,380 members, with a goal to reach 3,000 by the end of the year, according to Cherlin.
“We have a large percentage of patients with cancer, HIV and multiple sclerosis, and I’ve been getting tremendous feedback from them in terms of just how necessary this facility is to their overall well being,” he said.
The nonprofit opened June 5 after receiving a permit from the Palm Springs City Council to operate legally in the city.
Membership is open to patients with a physician’s recommendation that the person qualifies under the Compassionate Use Act of 1996.
CannaHelp, 505 E. Industrial Place, opened in May, and Organic Solutions of the Desert, 560 Williams Road, is expected to open sometime next month.
In March 2009, the council voted to allow two collectives, or cooperatives, in compliance with state law to operate within the city’s three industrial zones. That ordinance was amended in June to allow a third dispensary to open.

Arizona Cardinals donate $10,000 to fight Med. Marijuana

By: Michael Whitney Tuesday September 21, 2010 12:44 pm
In just six weeks, Arizonans will vote on Prop 203: an initiative that will bring medical marijuana to Arizona. But not if the Arizona Cardinals have anything to do with it. The NFL football team donated $10,000 of the team’s money last week to opponents of Prop 203 and medical marijuana in Arizona. To be clear: it’s not the owner’s money, or the money of people associated with the team. The team’s president, Michael Bidwill, donated $10,000 of the Cardinals’ money to “Keep AZ Drug Free.”

The Arizona Cardinals are opposing Proposition 203 which could make medical marijuana legal in the state and let chronically ill or severe pain patients buy small amounts of pot from state licensed clinics with a doctor’s approval.
The Cardinals gave $10,000 to Keep AZ Drug Free today, according to the Arizona Secretary of State’s office.
That group opposes 203 saying it could lead to more illegal drug use.
Cardinals team President Michael Bidwill is listed by the anti-203 group as one of the main Valley leaders opposed to medical marijuana legalization. USA Basketball Chairman Jerry Colangelo also is part of the Keep AZ Drug Free group’s efforts.

We need to fight back the Cardinals’ attacks on cancer patients. Click here to sign Just Say Now’s petition condemning the Cardinals for standing between Arizona patients and their doctors.
Who are the Arizona Cardinals fighting with their contribution? Meet Heather Torgerson, co-chair of Yes on Prop 203. She’s a 28-year-old brain cancer survivor whose best relief from pain is medical marijuana.

Heather Torgerson wrote a college paper against the use of medical marijuana. Today, however, she says what once seemed so wrong then is the reason she’s survived brain cancer.
She almost had to stop treatment after chemotherapy and radiation left her nauseated and fatigued. When prescriptions and homeopathic remedies didn’t reverse her weight loss, she turned to marijuana.
Torgerson said her appetite returned within five minutes.
“I owe my life to it,” she said.
As chair of the Arizona Medical Marijuana Policy Project, Torgerson says many Arizonans would benefit if voters approve Proposition 203, a ballot measure that would legalize the medical use of marijuana.

With this contribution, the Arizona Cardinals and team President Michael Bidwill have sided against Arizona’s seriously ill, using money from loyal fans to get between patients like Heather and their doctors.
It’s especially ironic considering the team has no problem serving alcohol by the barrel to fans at each home game. Yet team president Michael Bidwell decided to use the Cardinals’ money from fans – not his own – to oppose medical marijuana. It’s unfair to Cardinals fans and, most importantly, it’s unfair to Arizona patients.
Prop 203 is up in the polls, and Arizonans have already passed medical marijuana in the state twice. Voters approved medical marijuana ballot initiatives in 1996 and in 1998, but both times the state legislature blocked the will of the people. There is no sign that the state legislature would again block medical marijuana if Prop 203 passes in November, but we can’t let our guard down.
If we’re going to bring medical marijuana to Arizona and help patients like Heather, we need to fight back against the Cardinals’ attacks on cancer patients and medical marijuana. Click here to Just Say Now’s petition condemning the Cardinals’ contribution.