Newsletter: 27-Sep-2005 (1) CHP Policy Victory! - Significant reduction or elimination of unlawful arrests and medication
confiscation. (3) Steve Hager Update Steve Hager, longtime editor of High Times, author, and counterculture legend,
visited BPG on August 27 for a discussion and booksigning. This was his last
stop on Hager's tour for his latest book, The Octopus Conspiracy, a wide-ranging
collection of essays on everything from Rainbow Gatherings to JFK's assassination
to hip-hop culture. Check out the copy in our library, or get your own copy
at the bookstore! (4) Upcoming: An Evening with Eric Garris This month's special guest is Eric Garris, webmaster and managing editor
of www.antiwar.com who will visit us on Saturday, Sept. 17 from 5-7 p.m. Garris,
who has spent 37 years as a political activist, will present a talk, "Iraq:
Fixing Our Mistakes?" (5) Juggling Hours Change (6) Welcome Percy, Our New ASA Counselor! (7) Power to the Peaceful From the Power to the Peaceful website "This year's theme, Bring 'Em Home, seeks to remind the public that
the best way to support American troops abroad is to bring them home today.
This year's music line up includes Michael Franti and Spearhead, Jean Grae,
Saul Williams, Anti-Flag, Zap Mama's Marie Daulne, J-Boogie's Dubtronic Science
and Glide Choir. Speakers include Angela Davis, Woody Harrelson, Robert Greenwald
(filmmaker - Outfoxed, Wal-Mart), Rev. Cecil Williams (Glide Church), Paul
Rieckhoff (opTruth.org), Tim Goodrich (Iraqi Vets Against The War), and DJ
Miguel Migs."
Hello again from all of us at BPG!
This is a longish update, so I've divided it into numbered chapters
for easier scrolling.
(1a) Text of HPM 100.69
(1b) What the Victory Means to Patients
(1c) What Patients and Caregivers Need to Know
(2) Brian Epis Update
(3) Steve Hager Update
(4) Upcoming: An Evening with Eric Garris
(5) Juggling Hours Change
(6) Welcome Percy, Our New ASA Counselor!
(7) Power to the Peaceful
(1) CHP Policy Victory
GREAT NEWS! On August 28, 2005 the Los Angeles Times reported that the CHP
had abandoned their policy of confiscating all medical marijuana found during
traffic stops regardless of whether the patient has an ID card or valid doctor's
recommendation! This policy change is the DIRECT result of a lawsuit filed
by Americans for Safe Access (ASA).
Upon an encounter with a medical marijuana patient or primary caregiver, CHP
officers are to:
Examine the medical marijuana documentation presented. Accepted forms of documentation
include: ID card issued by the state, county, local government, or authorized
agency; and/or physician's written recommendation. Verify the documentation
with the appropriate authority noted on the card or recommendation. Release
the individual and his or her medication.
(1a) The text of HPM 100.69, revised August 22, 2005, reads as follows:
"If the state and medical marijuana identification.is valid,
and the individual is within the state limits designated under SB 420, (eight
ounces of dried marijuana, or the plant conversion, and no more than six mature
or twelve immature marijuana plants) the individual is to be released and
the marijuana is not to be seized."
Note that the state (SB 420) limit of eight ounces does not apply if there
is a higher limit in the locality in which the individual is stopped. "Authorized
local limits supercede the state limit."
(1b) What the change means for medical marijuana:
- Increased protection for patients' and caregivers' constitutional rights.
- CHP officers will be educated on how to handle medical marijuana encounters.
- Protocol is established that can be used by ALL California law enforcement
(not just CHP) in medical marijuana encounters.
- The will of the people of California has been officially recognized.
- Reported in over 20 newspapers, this suit clarified loud and clear in media
print that this summer's Supreme Court decision in Gonzales v. Raich in no
way overturned state laws on medical marijuana. Safe access is still the law!
(1c) What Patients and Caregivers Need to Know
1. Keep your state-issued medical marijuana ID card and/or physician's written
recommendation on you at all times!
2. Stay within limits. CHP is instructed to seize ALL marijuana and take enforcement
action if a patient or caregiver possesses more than state or local limits.
3. Don't carry large amounts of cash and medication.
4. Never consent to a search of your car or person. Keep your medicine locked
in the trunk of your vehicle during transportation.
5. DO NOT ANSWER any questions about your marijuana consumption, especially
the last time you consumed. This can and will be used against you.
6. If a CHP officer violates your rights to medical marijuana, call ASA at
(510) 251-1856 or toll free at (888) 929-4367. You may be entitled to file
a motion for return of property.
7. Drive safely and don't smoke and drive!
For more information about your rights and responsibilities as a medical patient
or caregiver, BPG recommends you contact ASA, or check out the excellent book
"Beat the Heat." We strongly encourage all patients and caregivers
to attend one of our legal trainings. The next session is set for Saturday
September 24 at 4 p.m.
If you wish to make a tax-deductible contribution to support ASA, make checks
payable to SEE/Americans for Safe Access, and send to 1322 Webster St., Suite
208, Oakland CA 94612. Or visit www.safeaccessnow.org to find other ways to
get involved in work that really makes a difference!
(2) Brian Epis Update
Brian's resentencing has been moved back to November 28, 2005. We
have put the letter-writing campaign to Judge Damrell on hold, and will restart
the drive in October. Thanks to those who have written letters
already!
Although he currently devotes his time to antiwar.com, Garris has a long history
within the movement for safe and legal marijuana access. In 1972, he was local
campaign director for Prop 19, California's first marijuana decriminalization
initiative. In 1978 he shared campaign manager duties with Dennis Peron on
Prop W (the SF Marijuana Reform Initiative), and led the 1979 campaign to
abolish the SF Vice Squad. In 1996, he became director of Republicans for
Proposition 215.
In 1999, Garris launched antiwar.com full-time in reaction to the Kosovo war.
The site is devoted to the cause of non-interventionism, and has readership
among libertarians, pacifists, leftists, greens, and independents, not to
mention those on the right who oppose imperialism. Alexa/Amazon rated it among
the top 50 news sites on the internet.
Join us as Garris shares stories from a lifetime of activism, and discusses
our disastrous presence in Iraq.
Leonidas is here, teaching juggling class on the first and third
Friday of each month at 11 a.m.-this is one hour earlier than he had been
doing it, and one extra day per month. If you're free, stop by-there's no
fee, and Leon absolutely welcomes beginners! (And maybe you can persuade him
to show off on his unicycle, too.)
If you stop by on a Tuesday, be sure to say hi to Percy, who is our
new peer counselor and ASA liaison. He'll be here each Tuesday from 1 - 3,
and is a source for legal pointers, health and wellness information, movement
news updates, and volunteer opportunities. We're glad you're part of the family,
Percy!
The seventh annual Power to the Peaceful festival is this coming
Saturday, Sept. 10, in Speedway Meadow in Golden Gate Park, in SF. Look for
the Cannabis Action Network booth while you're there!
http://www.powertothepeaceful.org
I hope this finds you well, and that we see you soon!
Peace,
Becky
Director of Member Services
Berkeley Patients Group
2747 San Pablo Ave.
Berkeley, CA 94702
(510) 540-6013