Feature Archives

On April 2nd, law enforcement agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, and the U.S. Marshals Service raided the businesses and home of licensed medical cannabis provider and activist Richard Lee in Oakland. Americans for Safe Access (ASA) put out a call for patients and advocates to go to Oaksterdam University in downtown Oakland to protest the raids and support the victims. At least two people were arrested in the street while the raid continued. Richard Lee called the raid a "senseless act of intimidation."

Hundreds of people turned out at San Francisco City Hall on Friday, June 17th, to participate in the "Communities Rising to End the Drug War and Mass Incarceration" rally and march to protest the 40-year "war on drugs" and continued criminalization of the poor, the addicted, and communities of color. The protest then marched to the state and federal buildings nearby.

A new film, Medical Cannabis and Its Impact on Human Health, exposes the lies about the medical use of marijuana that led the San Diego City Council to enact a virtual ban on medical marijuana dispensaries in the city. Director James Schmachtenberger, who works at a local dispensary, appeared with the film on April 30th at a showing sponsored by Activist San Diego. The film is a bit dry, and even Schmachtenberger describes it as not especially entertaining, but it lays out the facts about marijuana's medical uses and makes the case for allowing the substance to be used to treat disease and preserve health.

April 20, aka 420, is the international day to gather with friends and strangers to celebrate cannabis. Thousands of people converged on Porter Meadow at UC Santa Cruz. People adapted to the drizzle throughout the afternoon and took shelter in the woodlands and under redwoods surrounding the meadow. As in past years, UCSC police and administration restricted access by only allowing people with UCSC identification to drive onto campus.

The San Diego City Council spent nearly six hours on March 28th listening to public input and debating a proposed permit process for medical marijuana dispensaries. The Council passed a measure that dispensary members and their supporters say amounts to a virtual ban. Though public speakers in support of medical marijuana far outnumbered opponents at each stage of the process, the Council enacted an ordinance that would make it virtually impossible for dispensaries to locate anywhere in the city of San Diego.

A new poll released Thursday by the Public Policy Institute of California shows Proposition 19 — the statewide initiative to control and tax cannabis (marijuana) — leading 52-41, with just 7 percent of likely voters still undecided. "Controlling and taxing cannabis is polling higher than anything else on California's ballot, including the gubernatorial and Senate candidates, as well as all the other initiatives," said Richard Lee, a proponent of Prop. 19.

On August 28th, the new Santa Cruz County chapter of Americans for Safe Access (ASA) held a fundraiser in Felton, CA. It was the local chapter's first public event. ASA, based in Oakland, is the largest member-based organization of patients, medical professionals, scientists and concerned citizens working to ensure safe and legal access to cannabis for therapeutic uses and research.