January 3, 2013 – For years, law enforcement officials have been blaming Mexican “cartels” for illegal marijuana growing in California’s national forests. For years, Cal NORML has told the press that there is no evidence of any organized “cartel” involvement in domestic MJ production. Rather, production is highly disorganized, with many teams of Mexicans – …
Jan 1, 2013: This New Year marks the 100th anniversary of the war on cannabis in California. In 1913, the state Board of Pharmacy led the legislature to pass a bill outlawing possession of “Indian hemp.” The law was the opening shot in a century-long prohibitionist campaign that has cost the state millions of arrests …
California NORML Release — December 11, 2012 Reported marijuana arrests dropped sharply as California’s new decriminalization law took effect in 2011, but the apparent decline is deceptive because it doesn’t count thousands of minor possession offenses that are no longer reported under the new law. Newly released data from the state Criminal Justice Statistics Center …
December 7 – A California Appellate Court has reversed a trial court decision declaring a child to be a dependent of the court, as well as an order that the father undergo drug testing and parenting courses because of his medical marijuana use. In re Drake A. case# B236769, Division Three of the Second Appellate …
UPDATED NOVEMBER 8, 2012 November 7 – Election day started strong for marijuana reformers when Massachusetts became the 18th state to legalize medical marijuana, with 63% in favor and just 37% opposed. Arkansas nearly passed its own medical marijuana law, in a surprisingly close race from a state that went to Romney. As the polls …
November 1 – The California Medical Association House of Delegates has passed measures supporting marijuana rescheduling and decriminalization, and is considering another regarding medical marijuana use in hospital settings. Resolution 103-12 “Petition the Governor to Petition the DEA Reschedule Cannabis,” authored by Dr. Donald Abrams and Dr. Larry Bedard, passed unanimously at the 141st annual …
California NORML Release Washington DC, Oct 16th – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit will hear oral arguments in a case challenging the Drug Enforcement Administration’s rejection of a petition to remove marijuana from Schedule I, the most dangerous category of drugs for which no medical use is recognized. The …
Oct. 5 – The 41st annual NORML conference is happening this week at the Omni Hotel in the heart of Downtown Los Angeles (in the same plaza as MOCA, the Museum of Contemporary Art and next to the historic Angels Flight cable car). A good time is being had by all, despite the hotel’s clampdown …
From CalNORML’s August Newsletter (get your copy!) August 2012 – Medical marijuana farmers and other supporters–and opponents–are showing up by the hundreds at meetings where cultivation ordinances are being considered. Cal NORML Legal Committee attorneys are involved in challenging ordinances and representing plaintiffs. After Lake County’s Measure D failed to carry at the voting booth, …
Voters Have Chance to with Fix with MMRCT 2012 January 31, 2011 – Medical marijuana patients who want to keep their jobs are out of luck again this year, as California Senator Mark Leno has declined to bring his employment rights bill SB129 to a floor vote. At issue was a clause in the bill …