House Bill Proposes to Stop Federal Forfeiture Actions
Nine Co-Sponsors Introduce HR 6335 To Protect State-Authorized Businesses Federal property forfeiture actions targeting state-authorized medical cannabis businesses would be stopped if a new House bill becomes law. HR 6335, the States’ Medical Marijuana Property Rights Protection Act, was introduced August 2 by Rep. Barbara Lee (D, CA-9) with eight initial co-sponsors representing districts in Massachusetts, Oregon, New York, and California. The bill comes in response to escalating forfeiture actions <continued on page 5 >		Study: Synthetic THC Analogue Mitigates Diabetic Neuropathy, Is 'Well Tolerated' In Patients Calgary, Canada: The oral administration of the synthetic THC analogue nabilone (brand name: Cesamet) mitigates neuropathic pain and is well tolerated, according to clinical trial data published online by the scientific journal Pain. <continued on page 4 > ___________________________________________ Most Statewide Marijuana Initiatives Leading In Polls, Former DEA Heads Urge Justice Department To Oppose the Will Of The People Washington, DC: Four of the six states with statewide marijuana initiatives appearing on the November 2012 ballot are solidly favored among likely voters. Those in Arkansas, Colorado, Massachusetts, Montana, Oregon, and Washington will be deciding on will be deciding on marijuana- <continued on page 3 >	Montana: Supreme Court Says Patients Possess No Fundamental Right To Cannabis Helena, MT: Members of the Montana Supreme Court ruled 6 to 1 on Tuesday that patients do not possess a fundamental right to access and consume cannabis for therapeutic purposes. The decision reverses a District Court ruling enjoining the state from enforcing various <continued on page 4 > _______________________________ First New Jersey Distribution Center to Open in September After more than two years of delays by Governor Chris Christie, medical cannabis should be available to New Jersey patients through a state-regulated distribution center in September. Greenleaf Compassion Center, the first of six slated to operate in the state, expects to begin serving <continued on page 5 >
	* Volume 9, Issue 9 * September * 2012 * www.MercyCenters.org *

* The MERCY News *
_____________________ The MERCY News Report is an all-volunteer, not-for-profit project to record and broadcast news, announcements and information about medical cannabis in Oregon, across America and around the World. For more information about the MERCY News, contact us. Via Snail Mail: The MERCY News 1745 Capital St. NE, Salem, Ore., 97301 503.363-4588 E-mail: Mercy_Salem@hotmail.com Or our WWW page: www.MercyCenters.org Check it out! ___________________________ MERCY On The Tube! in Salem, Oregon area thru Capital Community Television, Channel 23.   Call In – 503.588-6444 - on Friday at 7pm, or See us on Wednesdays at 06:30pm, Thursdays at 07:00pm, Fridays at 10:30pm and Saturdays at 06:00pm. Visit – http://mercycenters.org/tv/	About MERCY – The Medical Cannabis Resource Center MERCY is a non-profit, grass roots organization founded by patients, their friends and family and other compassionate and concerned citizens in the area and is dedicated to helping and advocating for those involved with the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program (OMMP). MERCY is based in the Salem, Oregon area and staffed on a volunteer basis. The purpose is to get medicine to patients in the short-term while working with them to establish their own independent sources. To this end we provide, among other things, ongoing education to people and groups organizing clinics and other Patient Resources, individual physicians and other healthcare providers about the OMMP, cannabis as medicine and doctor rights in general. The mission of the organization is to help people and change the laws.   We advocate reasonable, fair and effective marijuana laws and policies, and strive to educate, register and empower voters to implement such policies.   Our philosophy is one of teaching people to fish, rather than being dependent upon others. Want to get your Card? Need Medicine Now? Welcome to The Club! MERCY – the Medical Cannabis Resource Center hosts Mercy Club Meetings every Wednesday at - 1745 Capital Street NE, Salem, 97301 – from 7pm to 9pm to help folks get their card, network patients to medicine, assist in finding a grower or getting to grow themselves, or ways and means to medicate along other info and resources depending on the issue. visit – www.MercyCenters.org - or Call 503.363-4588 for more. The Doctor is In ... Salem! * MERCY is Educating Doctors on signing for their Patients; Referring people to Medical Cannabis Consultations when their regular care physician won't sign for them; and listing all Clinics around the state in order to help folks Qualify for the OMMP and otherwise Get their Cards. For our Referral Doc in Salem, get your records to – 1745 Capital Street NE, Salem, 97301, NOTE: There is a $25 non-refundable deposit required. Transportation and Delivery Services available for those in need. For our Physician Packet to educate your Doctor, or a List of Clinics around the state, visit – www.MercyCenters.org - or Call 503.363-4588 for more. Other Medical Cannabis Resource NetWork Opportunities for Patients as well as CardHolders-to-be. * whether Social meeting, Open to public –or- Cardholders Only * visit: http://mercycenters.org/events/Meets.html ! Also Forums - a means to communicate and network on medical cannabis in Portland across Oregon and around the world. A list of Forums, Chat Rooms, Bulletin Boards and other Online Resources for the Medical Cannabis Patient, CareGiver, Family Member, Patient-to-Be and Other Interested Parties. * Resources > Patients (plus) > Online > Forums * Know any? Let everybody else know! Visit: http://mercycenters.org/orgs/Forums.html and Post It!
2 mercycenter@hotmail.com *

Volume 9, Issue 9 * September * 2012
	<continued from MARIJUANA INITIATIVES LEADING IN POLLS, page 1 > specific ballot measures this November. In Massachusetts, voters will decide on Question 3, a statewide proposal that seeks to allow for the physician-recommended possession and state-licensed distribution of cannabis for therapeutic purposes. Arkansas voters will decide on a similar measure, the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Act of 2012. Montana voters will decide on Initiative Referendum 124, which is a referendum on Senate Bill 423 - a 2011 measure that seeks to restrict the state's 2004 voter approved medical cannabis law. Colorado voters will decide on Amendment 64, which immediately allows for the legal possession of up to one ounce of marijuana and/or the cultivation of up to six cannabis plants by those persons age 21 and over. Longer-term, the measure seeks to establish regulations governing the commercial production and distribution of marijuana by licensed retailers. Oregon voters will decide on Measure 80, the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act, which provides for the state-licensed production and retail sale of cannabis to adults. The measure does not impose state-licensing or taxation requirements upon those who wish to cultivate cannabis for non-commercial purposes. Finally, in Washington, voters will decide on Initiative 502, which seeks to regulate the production and sale of limited amounts of marijuana for adults. The measure also removes criminal penalties specific to the adult possession of up to one ounce of cannabis for personal use. According to the most recently available polling, several of these measures hold firm leads among likely voters. In Colorado, 51 percent of respondents say that they are backing Amendment 64, according to the latest SurveyUSA telephone poll of 615 likely voters. In Massachusetts, a strong majority of likely voters support Question 3. A newly released Suffolk University/7News poll of 600 likely voters finds that 59 percent of respondents support the initiative versus 35 percent who oppose it. In Montana, a majority of likely voters do not support enacting limits on the state's medical marijuana law, according to a just-published poll of 656 likely voters. And in Washington, nearly six out of ten voters say they intend to decide in favor of I-502, according to a Survey USA poll released late last week. Fifty-seven percent of respondents said that they will vote 'yes' on the measure, versus only 34 percent who said they would vote 'no.' Nine percent remain undecided. In Oregon, a July poll not specific to the initiative conducted by Public Policy Polling reported that only 43 percent of Oregonians believed that	cannabis use should be legal, versus 46 percent who endorsed it remaining illegal. A more recent Survey USA poll of 552 likely voters reported that 37 percent of respondents favored Measure 80, while 41 percent said that they opposed it. Democrat voters said that they backed the measure by a vote of 2 to 1, while Republicans opposed it by a margin of 4 to 1. No recent polling is available for Arkansas. NORML has additional details about this November's statewide and municipal ballot proposals here: http://norml.org/about/smoke-the-vote. _____________________________________________________________ Former DEA Heads Urge Justice Department To Oppose Statewide Marijuana Initiatives Washington, DC: Nine former directors of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) sent a letter last week to US Attorney General Eric Holder urging his office to actively oppose several statewide ballot measures that seek to depenalize the personal use and possession of cannabis by adults. "We urge you to oppose publicly Amendment 64 in Colorado, Initiative 502 in Washington, and Measure 80 in Oregon," the letter states. "To continue to remain silent conveys to the American public ... a tacit acceptance of these dangerous initiatives." Signatories include every former director of the DEA since the agency's inception. Amendment 64, the Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act, Initiative 502, and Measure 80, the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act, all seek to amend state law to allow for the limited possession and distribution of cannabis to adults. Both Amendment 64 in Colorado and Initiative 502 in Washington hold solid leads among likely voters. This week, a Survey USA poll of Washington voters showed I-502 ahead by a margin of 57 percent to 34 percent. The DEA letter did not specifically address separate state initiatives in Arkansas, Massachusetts, and Montana that seek to regulate the physician-recommended use and distribution of cannabis. <continued on next page>
	503.363-4588 * www.MercyCenters.org 3

* The MERCY News *
	<continued from previous page> Holder's office previously spoke out in 2010 against Proposition 19 in California after receiving a similar letter from past chiefs of the DEA. That measure sought to allow for the limited possession and cultivation of cannabis for adults. The measure was defeated at the polls by a vote of 46.5 percent to 53.5 percent. For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director at (202) 483-5500. NORML has additional details about this November's statewide and municipal ballot proposals here: http://norml.org/about/smoke-the-vote. _____________________________________________________________ <continued from STUDY: SYNTHETIC THC ANALOGUE MITIGATES DIABETIC NEUROPATHY, IS 'WELL TOLERATED' IN PATIENTS, page 1 > Investigators at the University of Calgary, Department of Neurosciences assessed the use of nabilone versus placebo in patients with diabetic neuropathy (nerve pain) in a randomize, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Researchers administered daily oral doses of nabilone to 37 participants in combination with their existing medications for a period of four weeks. Twenty-six of the initial 37 subjects achieved pain relief greater than 30 percent during this period. Those subjects who responded favorably to nabilone treatment continued to receive either treatment or placebo for an additional five-week period. Researchers reported that nabilone treatment of 2.9mg per day significantly reduced subjects' pain compared to placebo, as well as participants' level of anxiety. Improved sleep and patients' overall quality of life was also positively associated with naboline treatment. Authors concluded: "[N]abilone ... was effective in relieving diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain (DPN) symptoms, improving disturbed sleep, quality of life, and overall patient status. Nabilone was well tolerated and successful as adjuvant in patients with DPN." Neuropathy is a difficult to treat pain condition that is estimated to effect between five and ten percent of the population. A literature review of clinical trials data published in The Clinical Journal of Pain in March reported that cannabis and its organic compounds have been demonstrated to be safe and modestly effective treatments for neuropathy and	other chronic pain conditions. Other studies have also reported that the use of cannabis augments the analgesic effects of opiates, potentially allowing users to eventually reduce their use of opioid drugs. For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, at: paul@norml.org. Full text of the study, "An enriched-enrolment, randomized withdrawal, flexible-dose, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel assignment efficacy study of nabilone as adjuvant in the treatment of diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain," appears online in the journal Pain. _____________________________________________________________ <continued from MONTANA: SUPREME COURT SAYS PATIENTS POSSESS NO FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT TO CANNABIS, page 1 > provisions of a 2011 state law that limits the public's access to medical marijuana. "In pursuing one's health, an individual has a fundamental right to obtain and reject medical treatment," Justice Michael Wheat opined for the majority. "But, this right does not extend to give a patient a fundamental right to use any drug, regardless of its legality." He added, "A patient's 'selection of a particular treatment, or at least a medication, is within the area of government interest in protecting public health,' and regulation of that medication does not implicate a fundamental and sparked an outcry from local and state officials. constitutional right." The Court further opined that a patient's "right to privacy does not encompass the affirmative right of access to medical marijuana." The majority concluded, "[T]he plaintiffs cannot seriously contend that they have a fundamental right to medical marijuana when it is still unequivocally illegal under the (federal) Controlled Substances Act." The Court's decision allows for the state to fully implement Senate Bill 423, a 2011 law that sought to significantly limit the use, production, and distribution of cannabis among patients who possess a physician's authorization to consume the substance. Montana voters will decide in November on Initiative Referendum 124, which seeks to repeal SB 423. Montana voters in 2004 approved patients' use of medical cannabis for qualified illnesses by a vote of 62 percent. <continued on next page>
4 mercycenter@hotmail.com *
Volume 9, Issue 9 * September * 2012
	<continued from previous page> Full text of the decision, Montana Cannabis Industry Association et al. v State is available online at: http://missoulian.com/montana-supreme-court-ruling-on-medical-marijuana/pdf_af1ddf04-fc7e-11e1-9a80-001a4bcf887a.html. _____________________________________________________________ <continued from HOUSE BILL WOULD STOP FEDERAL FORFEITURE ACTIONS, page 1 > and threats against landlords of licensed medical cannabis businesses. In July, federal prosecutors served an asset forfeiture lawsuit against one of California’s largest dispensaries, Harborside Health Center, which operates in Oakland and San Jose. The action by U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag is the latest in a series targeting state-compliant facilities in California Federal prosecutors have sent letters threatening forfeiture to more than 300 property owners in California, as well as landlords in Colorado and other states with medical cannabis programs. The threats have resulted in the closure of more than 400 dispensaries in California alone, including nine recently in San Francisco. HR 6335 would prohibit the Justice Department from using the civil asset forfeiture statute, 21 U.S.C. 881(7), against real property owners only if their tenants are in compliance with state medical cannabis law. While property owners have an opportunity to retrieve seized property in civil court, they are not afforded many of the constitutional rights granted to criminal defendants, such as the right to an attorney and a jury trial. In addition, the burden of proof is on the property owner to show their innocence rather than the government having to prove their guilt. Source = Americans for Safe Access (ASA) Monthly Activist Newsletter - Volume 7, Issue 9 - for SEPTEMBER, 2012 * Americans for Safe Access * 1322 Webster Street, Ste. 402 * Oakland, CA 94612 * info@AmericansForSafeAccess.org* 510-251-1856 * AmericansForSafeAccess.org _____________________________________________________________ Republican Vice Presidential Nominee Vacillates On Medical Marijuana Issue Colorado Springs, CO: Republican Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan (R-WI) has expressed conflicting views in recent days	regarding his position on the state-authorized use of cannabis for therapeutic purposes. Speaking with a local Colorado Springs television station on Friday, Ryan said that he personally opposed the use of cannabis for any purpose, but also acknowledged that the issue "is up to (each individual state) to decide." Seventeen states - including Colorado - and the District of Columbia have enacted laws that allow for the limited legalization of cannabis for therapeutic purposes. Immediately following Ryan's public remarks, however, campaign aids told reporters that Ryan "agrees" with Presidential candidate Mitt Romney views opposing any liberalization of cannabis prohibition. Romney has previously stated: "I would not legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes. ... I know there are some on the Democratic side of the aisle who will be happy to get in your campaign. But I'm opposed to it, and if you elect me president, you're not going to see legalized marijuana. I'm going to fight it tooth and nail." In Congress, Rep. Ryan in May voted against legislation that would have limited the federal government from interfering in states that allow for the physician-authorized use of cannabis. As a Presidential candidate in 2008, President Obama pledged to cease utilizing "Justice Department resources to try and circumvent state laws" - a position he has failed to uphold while in office. Obama's running mate, Vice President Joe Biden, sponsored legislation as a Senator to institute the Office of National Drug Control Policy, among other anti-drug laws and drug sentencing provisions. For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director at (202) 483-5500. NORML has additional details about the federal Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates here: http://norml.org/about/smoke-the-vote _____________________________________________________________ North Dakota: Statewide Medical Cannabis Proposal Will Not Appear On 2012 Ballot Bismarck, ND: A statewide proposal to allow for the possession and state-licensed distribution of cannabis for therapeutic purposes will not appear on the November 2012 ballot, the Associated Press reported this week. The measure was one of two citizens initiatives rejected by the Secretary of <continued on next page>
	503.363-4588 * www.MercyCenters.org 5

* The MERCY News *
	<continued from previous page> States office on Monday. According to the AP, paid petitioners falsified thousands of names that they purported to have collected from registered voters. Eight players on North Dakota State University's football team are facing charges of petition fraud for their participation in the alleged scheme. The citizens initiative, proposed by North Dakotans for Compassionate Care, sought to eliminate statewide criminal and civil penalties regarding the physician-recommended use, possession and/or cultivation of cannabis for various qualifying medical conditions, including cancer, Crohn's disease, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Voters in six states - Arkansas, Colorado, Massachusetts, Montana, Oregon, and Washington - will be deciding on marijuana-specific ballot measures this November. In Massachusetts, voters will decide on Question 3, a statewide proposal that seeks to allow for the physician-recommended possession and state-licensed distribution of cannabis for therapeutic purposes. Arkansas voters will decide on a similar measure, the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Act of 2012. Montana voters will decide on Initiative Referendum 124, which seeks to repeal amendments enacted by lawmakers in 2011 to restrict the state's 2004, voter approved medical cannabis law. Colorado voters will decide on Amendment 64, which immediately allows for the legal possession of up to one ounce of marijuana and/or the cultivation of up to six cannabis plants by those persons age 21 and over. Longer-term, the measure seeks to establish regulations governing the commercial production and distribution of marijuana by licensed retailers. Oregon voters will decide on Measure 80, the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act, which provides for the state-licensed production and retail sale of cannabis to adults. The measure does not impose state-licensing or taxation requirements upon those who wish to cultivate cannabis for non-commercial purposes. Finally, in Washington, voters will decide on Initiative 502, which seeks to regulate the production and sale of limited amounts of marijuana for adults. The measure also removes criminal penalties specific to the adult possession of up to one ounce of cannabis for personal use. NORML has additional details about this November's statewide and municipal ballot proposals here: http://norml.org/about/smoke-the-vote.	<continued from FIRST NEW JERSEY DISTRIBUTION CENTER TO OPEN IN SEPTEMBER, page 1 > qualified patients at its Montclair location this month. The center is producing the medicinal plants in a secure 5,000 square-foot warehouse in a secret location. Another center, the Compassionate Care Foundation, expects to open by November, but finding suitable locations to operate for the other four has proven difficult, in what has turned into a battle over land use with local zoning officials. State lawmakers want answers on why implementation of the program has been so delayed from the original July 2011 projected launch. Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D-Trenton) in July called for hearings. Gov. Jon Corzine signed the Compassionate Care Act in January 2010. Source = Americans for Safe Access (ASA) Monthly Activist Newsletter - Volume 7, Issue 9 - for SEPTEMBER, 2012 * Americans for Safe Access * 1322 Webster Street, Ste. 402 * Oakland, CA 94612 * info@AmericansForSafeAccess.org* 510-251-1856 * AmericansForSafeAccess.org _____________________________________________________________ Study: Non-Psychotropic Cannabinoid "Proven To Be Safe" In Humans London, United Kingdom: The oral administration of the non-psychotropic cannabis plant constituent cannabidiol (CBD) is safe and well tolerated in humans, according to clinical trial data published online by the journal Current Pharmaceutical Design. Investigators at Kings College in London assessed the physiological and behavioral effects of CBD and THC versus placebo in 16 healthy volunteers in a randomized, double-blind, crossover trial. Investigators reported that the oral administration of 10 mg of THC was associated with various physiological and behavioral effects - such as increased heart rate and sedation - whereas the oral administration of 600 mg of CBD was not. They concluded, "There were no differences between CBD and placebo on any symptomatic, physiological variable. ... In healthy volunteers, THC has marked acute behavioral and physiological effects, whereas CBD has proven to be safe and well tolerated." A previous review of the use of CBD in human <continued on next page>
6 mercycenter@hotmail.com *

Volume 9, Issue 9 * September * 2012
	<continued from previous page> subjects, published in the scientific journal Current Drug Safety last year, similarly concluded that the compound was safe, non-toxic, and well tolerated. Separate investigations of CBD have documented the cannabinoid to possess a variety of therapeutic properties, including anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, anti-epileptic, anti-cancer, and bone-stimulating properties. In recent years, patients in states that allow for the use of cannabis therapy, particularly California, have expressed an interest in plant strains that contain uniquely high percentages of the compound. Cannabidiol is presently classified under federal law as a schedule I prohibited substance. Such substances are required by law to possess "a high potential for abuse," "a lack of accepted safety ... under medical supervision," and "no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States." For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, at: paul@norml.org. Full text of the study, "Acute effects of a single, oral dose of d9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) administration in healthy volunteers" appears online in Current Pharmaceutical Design. _____________________________________________________________ California Supreme Court Dismisses Dispensary Ban Case as Moot, Court prohibits municipalities from using Pack v. City of Long Beach to ban dispensaries The California Supreme Court has voided an appellate court ruling some municipalities had used as the basis for banning medical cannabis dispensaries. The Court threw out the controversial decision in Pack v. City of Long Beach, which previously held that federal law preempted some forms of dispensary regulations. The California Supreme Court voided the appellate decision as moot because the Long Beach City Council had replaced the original contested ordinance with an outright ban on dispensaries and abandoned their federal preemption argument. "The Court has pulled out the rug from under local officials who have used the Pack decision to deny access to thousands of qualified patients across the	state," said Joe Elford, ASA Chief Counsel. "Pack is now a dead letter and, because of the California Rules of Court (Rule 8.528), it is disingenuous for any public official to contend that the Court of Appeal decision is somehow reinstated." The Pack decision has been used by several municipalities, including Los Angeles, to suspend or ban the distribution of medical cannabis. Several other cases concerning medical cannabis distribution remain before the state Supreme Court, including one in which ASA has filed an amicus brief arguing that local governments cannot ban dispensaries that state law permits. Source = Americans for Safe Access (ASA) Monthly Activist Newsletter - Volume 7, Issue 9 - for SEPTEMBER, 2012 * Americans for Safe Access * 1322 Webster Street, Ste. 402 * Oakland, CA 94612 * info@AmericansForSafeAccess.org* 510-251-1856 * AmericansForSafeAccess.org _____________________________________________________________ Advocates File Referendum to Overturn Los Angeles Dispensary Ban The Los Angeles ban on medical cannabis dispensaries is on hold after medical cannabis advocates filed petitions for a voter referendum. Less than a month after the Los Angeles City Council reversed itself and replaced the city’s regulatory ordinance with an outright ban on dispensaries, a coalition called the Committee to Protect Patients and Neighborhoods filed more than 50,000 signatures opposing the change. The City Council has up to 30 days to either rescind the ban or call a special election and put the decision to Los Angeles voters early next year. Depending on timing, the city may be forced to hold a separate election in addition to the March primary and May mayoral election. "The California Supreme Court has said the ban has no legal foundation," said ASA California Director Don Duncan. "The city should work with patients instead of shutting the door on them." The legal basis for a ban is in question after the California Supreme Court voided the court decision on which it was predicated, Pack v. City of Long <continued on next page>
	503.363-4588 * www.MercyCenters.org 7
	<continued from ADVOCATES FILE REFERENDUM TO OVERTURN LOS ANGELES DISPENSARY BAN, previous page> Beach, which previously held that federal law preempted some forms of dispensary regulations. The Los Angeles City Council's decision to adopt an outright ban came after more than four years of failed attempts to regulate distribution of medical cannabis. The Council received more than 10,000 letters from Angelenos supporting sensible regulations and opposing a ban. The Council enacted a regulatory ordinance for medical cannabis dispensaries in April 2010, but the measure was quickly mired in legal challenges that city officials had not followed proper procedures. A judge ruled that portions of the ordinance were unconstitutional, forcing the city to amend the rules. The Los Angeles City Council has directed the city attorney to draft an ordinance that would regulate a limited number of facilities. Source = Americans for Safe Access (ASA) Monthly Activist Newsletter - Volume 7, Issue 9 - for SEPTEMBER, 2012 * Americans for Safe Access * 1322 Webster Street, Ste. 402 * Oakland, CA 94612 * info@AmericansForSafeAccess.org* 510-251-1856 * www.AmericansForSafeAccess.org _____________________________________________________________ Arizona Lottery Picks Dispensary Operators, State to Try to Shut Them Arizona health department officials conducted a lottery August 7 to award dispensary licenses, and the next day the governor asked the state’s attorney general to try to shut them all down. The Department of Health Services used a lottery to pick operators for medical cannabis distribution centers in the 77 regional areas that had multiple applicants; 22 areas had only one. State law allows up to 126 distribution centers, with the total for each area based on population.	On August 8, Gov. Jan Brewer authorized the state's attorney general to pursue closing all dispensaries in the state under the legal theory that the state cannot authorize activities illegal under federal law. Implementation of the state’s dispensary program, authorized by voter initiative in 2010, was stopped by Gov. Brewer over concerns about federal threats to state officials implementing the law but was restarted after a federal court dismissed the state’s challenge to the law. Source = Americans for Safe Access (ASA) Monthly Activist Newsletter - Volume 7, Issue 9 - for SEPTEMBER, 2012 * Americans for Safe Access * 1322 Webster Street, Ste. 402 * Oakland, CA 94612 * info@AmericansForSafeAccess.org* 510-251-1856 * www.AmericansForSafeAccess.org _____________________________________________________________ Michigan Supreme Court Bars Bans, Lawmakers to Vote on Changes The Michigan Supreme Court in August said local officials cannot use zoning rules to ban medical cannabis distribution centers. The court ruled that state law allowing distribution to qualified patients preempted the local ordinance prohibiting land uses that violate federal law. The court said that cities cannot prohibit what state law permits. Meanwhile, state legislators are preparing to vote on several bills that would modify the state medical cannabis law. The four measures have passed the state house as well as senate committees and are awaiting a vote by the full senate. The bills would variously restrict what qualifies as a doctor-patient relationship required for medical cannabis cardholders, allow law enforcement officers or other officials to access patient information, and regulate the transportation of medical cannabis in vehicles. Source = Americans for Safe Access (ASA) Monthly Activist Newsletter - Volume 7, Issue 9 - for SEPTEMBER, 2012 * Americans for Safe Access * 1322 Webster Street, Ste. 402 * Oakland, CA 94612 * info@AmericansForSafeAccess.org* 510-251-1856 * www.AmericansForSafeAccess.org
	* The MERCY News > mercycenter@hotmail.com > (503) 363-4588 < www.MercyCenters.org *