ASA CA Weekly Alert

*1) Saturday, February 25th, Dos Palos: Merced County Patients Coalition
Meeting
2) Saturday, February 25th, Garden Valley: El Dorado County AAMC Meeting
3) Sunday, February 26th, Fairfield: Solano Patients' Group Meeting
4) Monday, February 27th, Riverbank: City Council to Consider Regulating
or Banning Dispensaries
5) Tuesday, February 28th, San Francisco: SF ASA Meeting
6) Tuesday, February 28th, San Marcos: City to Hold Second Vote on
Banning Dispensaries
7) Wednesday, March 1st, Sacramento: Compassionate Coalition Meeting
8) Thursday, March 2nd, South San Francisco: Planning Commission to Vote
on Permitting Dispensaries!
9) Friday, March 3rd, Auburn: Court Support for Steve Kubby
10) Thursday, March 9th, Sacramento: Sac ASA Meeting

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1) Saturday, February 25th, Dos Palos: Merced County Patients Coalition
Meeting*

Topics for the agenda include: court support- organizing-website
material and content- donations-clothes drive for February. The meeting
will begin at 1:30pm, on February 25th, 2006.

Contact Nick Osborne, MCPC Representative, for more info: 209-261-5758,
Nick [at] Compassionatecoalition.org http://www.merccountypc.com

The address for the meeting is:
8859 West Almond ST.
Dos Palos Ca,93620
Merced County

Please join us and help support the POWs, and others who need our
support and encouragement to keep up the good fight in this ridiculous
"War on Drugs" aka," War on the Sick". Dustin Costa, Joe Fortt, Steve
Kubby, Thunder Rector, and others can not be forgotten, and should not be.

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*2) Saturday, February 25th, Garden Valley: El Dorado County AAMC Meeting*

The El Dorado chapter of the American Alliance for Medical Cannabis
meets on the 4th Saturday of each month at the Garden Valley Grange,
4940 Marshall Road, Garden Valley, California. Meetings are
traditionally held between 2:15 and 4:20 p.m.

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*3) Sunday, February 26th, Fairfield: Solano Patients' Group Meeting*

Solano Patients' group will meet on Sunday, February 26th, at 12 noon,
at 3516 Nantucket, in Fairfield, California. This group meets every two
weeks at the same time and location. For information on the Solano
Patients' Group please contact: Linda - 510-684-8321 Galen -
415-573-8362 http://www.solanopatientsgroup.org
<http://www.solanopatientsgroup.org>

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*
**4) Monday, February 27th, Riverbank: City Council to Consider
Regulating or Banning Dispensaries

*The City of Riverbank is considering regulating or banning
dispensaries. The mayor is concerned, due to recent bans and moratoriums
passed in surrounding localities: "I don't want Riverbank getting
hammered because all the other doors in the county are closed."

We know that this fear is unfounded and call on the patient community to
speak out at this hearing. Ask the council to consider regulating
dispensaries, instead of banning them, either permanently or
temporarily. Please visit our website for talking points
<http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?list=type&type=212> on ordinances,
moratoriums and bans.

The Riverbank City Council scheduled the study session on medical
marijuana and the draft massage ordinance for its Feb. 27 meeting. The
council is scheduled to have a 6:30 p.m. study session and 7 p.m.
meeting. It will be in the council chamber, 6707 Third St, Riverbank, CA.

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*5) Tuesday, February 28th, San Francisco: SF ASA Meeting

*It's more important than ever that San Francisco patients join together
to ensure regulations that protect patients' access, rights and privacy.
Join SF ASA to plan for the future of medical cannabis in San Francisco.

7:30pm

223A 9th St.
San Francisco

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*6) Tuesday, February 28th, San Marcos: City to Hold Second Vote on
Banning Dispensaries

*Two weeks ago, the San Marcos City Council voted to ban any future
dispensaries in the city, while allowing the current dispensary to
continue operating. While this decision is preferable to an outright
ban, it could endanger patient access in the future. If the dispensary
were to shut down, San Marcos patients would have to travel elsewhere
for their medicine.

Please come to encourage the city to reverse their decision and adopt
reasonable regulations for dispensaries. Please download ASA's talking
points
<http://safeaccessnow.org/downloads/dispensary.ban.talking.points.pdf>
on why dispensary bans prevent safe access.

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*7) Wednesday, March 1st, Sacramento: Compassionate Coalition Meeting

*The National Compassionate Coalition will meet on Wednesday, March 1st,
at 7pm, at River City Patient Center, 1512 C El Camino Avenue (cross
street is Van Ness), Sacramento, California. Agenda topics include:
reports from D.C., Steve Kubby, Bryan Epis, Lawtons cases, Solano County
updates, and more. For information please contact Nathan Sands at
916-709-2483.

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*7) Thursday, March 2nd, South San Francisco: Planning Commission to
Vote on **Permitting** Dispensaries!

*South San Francisco may become the first city in San Mateo County to
permit and allow dispensaries to operate! The planning commission will
be voting on regulations, even in the face of opposition from the
county, whose DA is strongly opposed to allowing dispensaries.

Please come out to show your support for fair regulations. South San
Francisco is about to go out on a limb for patients, and we must support
them. Please download ASA's talking points
<http://safeaccessnow.org/downloads/general.ordinance.talking.points.pdf>
on dispensary ordinances to use at the meeting.

Help bring safe access to the South Bay!

7:30 p.m.
Municipal Services Building
33 Arroyo Drive

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*8) Friday, March 3rd, Auburn: Court Support for Steve Kubby

*From Compassionate Coalition:

Internationally known cancer patient and stalwart medical marijuana
advocate Steve Kubby will be in court on Friday, March 3rd, at 8:30am,
at the Placer County Superior Courthouse, 2775 Richardson Drive, in
Auburn, California.
Steve Kubby recently requested his attorney table the motion to furnish
medicinal cannabis to him while in prison, and now the court is turning
its attention to addressing the issue of the probation violation that
allegedly occurred with his failure to return from Canada. On Wednesday,
E.D. Lerman, acting for Kubby's new attorney J. David Nick, requested
that the proceedings be heard by Judge Cosgrove. (Cosgrove is the
original judge who handed down a light sentence to Kubby before one of
the charges against him was bumped up to a felony by the ruling of an
appeals court.) On February 17th, the defense was granted the request
for Judge Cosgrove, even though he is now retired and hears only a few
selective cases.

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*9) Thursday, March 9th, Sacramento: Sac ASA Meeting*

Sacramento ASA has begun meeting again and they're busy strategizing on
ways to effect local, state and national policies.

The Sacramento medical marijuana community was once extremely active
with Americans for Safe Access. Sac ASA met regularly, organized a huge
rally for Bryan Epis at the Capitol, and did all they could to protect
patients' rights.

Patients and advocates in the Sacramento area are coming together again
to reinvigorate ASA. Please join them at their bi-weekly meetings:

Thursday @ 6:00 p.m.
Capitol Wellness Collective
2400 14th Street, Sacramento

Patients and non-patients are welcome. This is a great opportunity to
get involved with ASA and to work on both local and national campaigns.

For more information, please call 916-325-9000.

--
Rebecca Saltzman
Field Coordinator
Americans for Safe Access
p (510) 251-1856
f (510) 251-2036
http://www.safeaccessnow.org