California lawmakers are tip-toeing toward giving cities and schools broad new authority to ask voters those questions.

The City Council passed an ordinance last year prohibiting medical marijuana facilities. But last week the Galt Wellness Center marijuana dispensary opened at 520 Lincoln Way.

On Tuesday, the city filed for a temporary restraining order in Sacramento Superior Court, seeking the court's order for the shop to close.

He wound up with chronic pain.

"When I tried to get up one morning and could not move my legs without excruciating pain...I kind of panicked," he says.

The Galt City Council passed an ordinance last year prohibiting medical marijuana facilities. But last week an operation called the Galt Wellness Center set up shop at 520 Lincoln Way.

On his tiny, hardscrabble plot, he tends to apple trees, radishes, bell peppers, tomatoes, crookneck squash - and a few dozen marijuana plants.

He grows for medical pot users on a farm federal agents spent years trying to seize over a couple of ounces of weed.

The owner of Unity, a Sacramento medical marijuana clinic, said his experience dealing with government bureaucracy has convinced him local leaders can't regulate even limited, medical marijuana use, and he has no confidence state leaders can perform better.

Apparently, the thinking is that if we call them "medical marijuana dispensaries," no one will know what's really going on. Like many of you, I support medical marijuana. If a patient needs it for pain relief, glaucoma, depression, whatever — they should have access to
it. Doctors can give it to them, directly, they can get it via the Internet, or have it shipped up from San Francisco or Napa where they think these "drug" stores are hip.

"We don't want Sacramento to become like Los Angeles," which has been overwhelmed by a rampant proliferation of medical marijuana operations, said Don Johnson, director of Unity Non-Profit Collective, a dispensary with 3,100 members that opened in March 2009.

On his tiny, hardscrabble plot, he tends to apple trees, radishes, bell peppers, tomatoes, crookneck squash – and a few dozen marijuana plants.

The Public Policy Institute of California poll out Wednesday found that 49 percent of likely voters support legalization and 48 percent oppose it. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/05/15/2752073/ballot-watch-the-race-for-assembly.html#ixzz0oIoJrhid

"I think that at this point, we should just legalize it and let anybody that wants to grow it grow it," said Richard, who asked to be identified only by his first name.

The operation, called the Marin Wellness Center, is the second medical-marijuana collective that has opened in unincorporated Marin and is under scrutiny by Marin County officials.

The Drug Enforcement Administration says agents seized more than 4,300 plants, about $83,000 in cash and one vehicle during a two-day sweep.

The California Bus Association issued a written statement opposing the November ballot measure that would virtually decriminalize pot possession and sales on grounds it would put bus passengers in peril.

Those recommendations on the proposed ordinance for regulations will now go to the Sacramento City Council to be heard.

The city of Sacramento soon will find out.

Secretary of State Debra Bowen confirmed Wednesday that voters will decide in November whether to legalize and tax marijuana use for Californians 21 and over.

The City Council declared a 45-day moratorium in February. John Driscoll, city manager and attorney, said a recent California Supreme Court decision eliminating restrictions on the amount of marijuana a qualified patient can possess had created an impossible situation for police attempting to enforce operating requirements and restrictions for dispensaries. He said an ordinance adopted in 2006 allowing medical marijuana dispensaries in the city would have to be revised to reflect recent court decisions

There is a huge wildcard in that math equation -- the federal government.

Secretary of State Debra Bowen confirmed Wednesday afternoon that voters will decide in November whether to legalize and tax marijuana use for Californians 21 and over.

The two men were financial officers working for separate firms when the mortgage meltdown hit. Their livelihoods sank with the collapsing economy.

“We randomly picked 12. That’s the reality,” explained Michelle Heppner, project manager charged with crafting the ordinance.

The city of Sacramento soon will find out.

Quite earnestly, Sacramento officials are wading into the business of regulating the marijuana dispensaries popping up like fresh buds in a Humboldt County meadow.

Harris, meeting with The Bee's Capitol Bureau, said she does not support efforts by San Francisco Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, to permit marijuana to be sold and taxed much like liquor.

On Tuesday morning, San Joaquin Superior Court Judge Lesley Holland granted the City of Manteca a preliminary injunction and a temporary restraining order against Quick N’ Easy Cooperative Markets – a business at 311 W. Yosemite Avenue that police officials believe is operating as a marijuana dispensary.

The case was seen as a test of how much marijuana can legitimately be carried for personal medical needs, The Sacramento Bee reported Wednesday.

The California company, Statewide Insurance Services, is the first ever to do so.

Sara Sinclair, who owns Sara Jane, a medical marijuana shop, says "It's an incredible thing to be able to come somewhere in the morning where I know I'm going to be able to make a positive impact on people's lives..This is a regular business just like any other and should be insured."

He cleared security with another stash in his pants.

On Tuesday, the ex-deep sea diver – who says he has used marijuana to treat his pain since crushing vertebrae in an oil platform accident – went on trial in Sacramento Superior Court on felony charges that could land him in prison for four years.

But the state Board of Equalization says all pot store transactions are treated the same as taxable sales.

Or was he a medical user, entitled to take his stash from Sacramento to New Orleans under California law and a Mendocino County physician's recommendation that said he could possess as much as five pounds and 25 plants?

According to the "Sacramento Bee," the coverage includes medical marijuana dispensaries, operations of marijuana growing, general liability, workers' compensation and even pot spoilage.

Yountville Councilman Lewis Chilton said in an interview Wednesday that creating a clear ordinance was an important move — especially considering that dispensaries are illegal under federal law, legal under state law, and prosecuted at the county level.

An Arizona Department of Public Safety officer pulled over the driver of a pickup truck for speeding Sunday on Interstate 40 near Williams.

The officer smelled the odor of burnt marijuana and the two men admitted they had been smoking it and had medical marijuana licenses. But the officer determined the licenses were valid only in California.

Two men were in a black Chevrolet sedan, which a deputy pulled over for following a vehicle too closely.

The 4-3 vote by the Assembly Public Safety Committee was the first in the nation by a legislative body supporting recreational use of the drug. But several of the lawmakers who voted for the plan said they did so only to extend debate.

Federal law says pot is illegal. It's also illegal under California law, except when it's "medical pot." Then users and sellers are given legal cover, with certain stipulations.

Storefronts selling pot have popped up like mad in Sacramento, and no one is certain if all are complying with the law. For example, these places aren't supposed to turn a profit. Do you really believe they aren't?

Patrick McGuire, the applicant and owner of Old Sacramento’s Capital Ink and Body Piercing, said he’ll try to find another location for what would be the first tattoo and piercing shop in Elk Grove.

The family tried every kind of pharmaceutical medication to treat the child's condition but nothing worked.

As FOX40 News showed viewers Tuesday, marijuana for medical use is pretty easy to get in California. But that doesn't mean that smokers have an easy time.

The recommendation gets you in the door - allows you access - but it's not carte blanche.

California's medical marijuana law is one of the most liberal in the nation. So how easy would it be to game the system? The first step to our FOX40 News investigation was simple: get a doctor to write a prescription. Legally, however, doctors must call pot prescriptions a "recommendation."

The council unanimously voted to prohibit medical marijuana dispensaries within the town limits at a special meeting on Nov. 3.

Council members were in agreement that there are cases where medical marijuana is appropriate, but they showed solidarity in their opinions that having a dispensary in Loomis would not set a good example for the town youth.

Members of the California Assembly Committee on Public Safety called for the hearing, entitled "Examining the Fiscal and Legal Implication of the Legalization and Regulation of Marijuana." The hearing was chaired by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco), sponsor of Assembly Bill 390, the Marijuana Control, Regulation, and Education Act.

State Rep. Tom Ammiano, the chairman of the Assembly Public Safety Committee, has introduced bills in the past to legalize pot. He said the hearing in Sacramento was meant to gather information for use in developing a bill he intends to introduce in January, the Contra Costa (Calif.) Times reported.

Society puts its trust in government regulatory agencies like the Food and Drug Administration, Environmental Protection Agency and Drug Enforcement Agency, which have ignored the medicinal value of cannabis, branding it as a gateway drug.

Whether the community at large was truly welcome at this meeting is debatable.

There was no notice of this meeting on the City’s official website, cityofsacramento.org. One cannabis advocate was told by city staff that she may not attend the meeting, because it was for, “dispensary operators only.”

The court last month refused to review an appellate court ruling that had found for the rights of a seven-patient collective in Paradise.

It is a game with expensive and potentially deadly consequences that law enforcement is forced to play with criminals in San Joaquin County.

The following is an example of a catch and release among hundreds that occur each month in Manteca.

The extension came on a 4-1 vote after the council held a public hearing on Tuesday. Councilwoman Becky Hill was the opposing vote.

The first new measure would legalize pot for those 21 and older and allow it to be regulated and taxed.

Police raided a pot house in East Sacramento...A neighborhood known for it's quiet streets and pretty trees....not marijuana plants.

Investigators have been scoping out this house for quite some time. Today, they sent their helicopter over the home, noticed suspicious plants and went in for the bust.

With the state currently in financial crisis and the general population clamoring for reformed drug laws, politicians are finally adjusting their preconceived notions regarding medical marijuana laws and criminal marijuana laws.

I think it's time for a debate. I think we ought to study very carefully what other countries are doing that have legalized marijuana…
With any revenue ideas, people say you have to think outside the box, you have to be creative, and I feel that the issue of decriminalization, regulation and taxation of marijuana fits that bill.
We couldn't make this drug any more available if we tried…
The level of prestige held by the politicians in Sacramento who believe that medical marijuana and legalized marijuana is impressive.

An advisory board for the California Emergency Management Agency is expected to decide today whether to channel $33 million in federal money to narcotics task forces around the state that have proved particularly adept at apprehending drug criminals.

Weedmaps is a founder of The Dispensary Defense Group, headed by Richard Cowan, former Director of The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).

"The city's looking at ways to be creative in creating revenue and it's something that we'll have to look into. Right now, it remains to be seen if that is going to be a viable option," said Joaquin McPeek, spokesman for Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson.

Assistant City manager Gus Vina told city council members the 45-day moratorium does two things.

“It’s kind of a time-out so that staff has the time to really do some research and bring some recommendations to council. Secondly, it requires that existing establishments register with the city within 30-days of adoption of this ordinance.”

Medical marijuana stores have started springing up all over Sacramento.

The City Council is getting ready to vote on an emergency cap on pot-shops, similar to a moratorium passed in West Sacramento last week.

It happened on Rio Verde Way in the North Highlands area early this morning.

The city does not have any dispensaries operating within its limits, but city leaders received several inquiries over the past month about opening them.

The 2-1 decision by the Third District Court of Appeal in Sacramento was the first in the state to allow a patient or grower to sue claiming that their rights to cultivate and use medical marijuana have been violated. Those rights are protected by state law but banned by federal law.

"The Obama Administration has indicated a willingness to change federal policy regarding medical marijuana, but details of that plan have not yet been released," said Senator Leno, D-San Francisco. "Meanwhile, patients and providers in California remain at risk of arrest and prosecution by federal law enforcement and legally established medical marijuana cooperatives continue to be the subjects of federal raids," he said. "When passed, this resolution will clearly state the Legislature´s opposition to federal interference with California´s medical marijuana law and support for expanded federal reform and medical research."

Marijuana would be sold and taxed openly in California to adults 21 and older if legislation proposed this week is signed into law.

California Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, a San Francisco Democrat, said his bill could generate big bucks for a cash-starved state while freeing law enforcement agencies to focus on worse crimes.

Marijuana would be sold and taxed openly in California to adults 21 and older if legislation proposed Monday is signed into law.

Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, said his bill could generate big bucks for a cash-starved state while freeing police to focus on worse crimes.

The board followed the strong recommendation of its county counsel, who worried supervisors could face un-winnable litigation. Sacramento Sheriff John McGinness also had dropped his earlier opposition.

In a 4-1 vote the board approved the resolution. Supervisor Roberta MacGlashan was the lone no vote. In March the supervisors had shot down a similar resolution to begin issuing the cards, which are mandated by a 2003 state law. At that time McGinness had opposed the cards, saying they contradicted federal laws that still classify marijuana as an illegal drug. Supervisors MacGlashan, Don Nottoli and Susan Peters had voted against the measure.

Since that time, however, a state appeals court upheld the ID card program, which San Diego and San Bernardino counties had challenged through a lawsuit. The California Supreme Court in October declined to hear the case.

Based on that decision, County Counsel Robert Ryan advised the board to OK the cards or risk facing a lawsuit the county couldn't win. McGinness also advised supervisors to follow state law.

More than a dozen medical marijuana using patients and advocates showed up at the meeting to support the resolution. Many talked of the relief marijuana provided; others questioned why the county would invite a costly lawsuit.

"To me the testimony is compelling," Supervisor Roger Dickinson said before voting. "The issue here today is whether we follow the law."

The cards will cost $166 for patients without MediCal and $83 for those with the insurance. The cards will be good for one year from the date of issuance and need to be renewed annually.

The board followed the strong recommendation of its county counsel, who worried supervisors could face unwinnable litigation. Sacramento Sheriff John McGinness also had dropped his earlier opposition.

In a 4-1 vote, the board approved the resolution. Supervisor Roberta MacGlashan cast the dissenting vote.

The board followed the strong recommendation of its county counsel, who worried supervisors could face un-winnable litigation. Sacramento Sheriff John McGinness also had dropped his earlier opposition.

In a 4-1 vote the board approved the resolution. Supervisor Roberta MacGlashan was the lone no vote. In March the supervisors had shot down a similar resolution to begin issuing the cards, which are mandated by a 2003 state law.

The news briefing will be held just outside the Board of Supervisors meeting (700 H St., Suite 1450) TUESDAY, at 2:30 p.m. The BOS will take up the matter at its meeting Tuesday at 2:45 p.m.

That's the message Sacramento County's attorney has sent the Board of Supervisors, which once again is debating whether to issue state-mandated medical marijuana ID cards to patients.

The board today will reconsider a resolution to issue the cards nine months after shooting down a similar measure and five months after an appeals court upheld the state law requiring such a program.

A hearing is set for 2:45 p.m. Monday before the BOS to reconsider its position.

In San Francisco there are more registered pot clubs than middle schools, police stations or Taco Bells, according to the federal government.

And in Sacramento, state and federal officials recently announced the eradication of 2.9 million marijuana plants being grown around California. They said it was a record haul.

In the latest raids, which took place Wednesday, police served warrants on 12 houses in Elk Grove and Sacramento. Five of the houses, all in Elk Grove, contained indoor marijuana-growing operations.

The measure by Assemblyman Mark Leno would overturn a ruling issued by the state Supreme Court last January.

The San Francisco Democrat's legislation would bar employers from punishing employees solely because they use marijuana under Proposition 215. That 1996 initiative allows people to use marijuana to ease a health problem with a doctor's recommendation.

About $5 million to $6 million worth of marijuana and $60,000 to $70,000 worth of methamphetamine were seized when the men were arrested July 30, officials said.

Authorities said the suspects are illegal Mexican immigrants who grew the plants on federal and state lands.

State and local officers swooped down on multiple locations Wednesday in El Dorado, Placer, Stanislaus, San Joaquin and Sacramento counties, making 21 arrests. In addition to the marijuana, agents seized about 3 pounds of crystal methamphetamine, confiscated about $10,000 in cash and took firearms from suspects during several arrests, officials said.

Pursuing the tip, officers visited Woodall's home on the 2200 block of E Street shortly after 10 p.m. July 15, said Sgt. Matt Young, a police spokesman.

"We had received information that marijuana was being cultivated in the home, and the tip proved to be accurate," he said.

Just before being led out of a Sacramento courtroom in handcuffs, Richard James Marino told a judge, "I'm a victim of a law that is backward and unfair."

He was referring to the federal Controlled Substances Act, which outlaws marijuana for any purpose.

Just before being led out of a Sacramento courtroom in handcuffs, Richard James Marino told a judge, "I'm a victim of a law that is backward and unfair." He was referring to the federal Controlled Substances Act, which outlaws marijuana for any purpose.

As California's wildfires overwhelm the resources to fight them, federal and state agents – hundreds of them – have been sweeping through Humboldt County and a sliver of Mendocino County in pursuit of commercial pot growers.

The five-bedroom, three-bath home in a gated community is listed at $387,000 "as-is" or $437,000 with repairs.

The low price – and the need for repairs – stems from the house's use as an indoor marijuana farm. Last fall, police hauled out 865 plants.

Daren Glosser, 33, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and his wife Shannon Selle, 30, was sentenced to just under four years in prison by U.S. District Judge Garland Burrell.

Hundreds of officers took part in serving up 29 search warrants Tuesday, ending a two year investigation into large marijuana growing operations.

Assembly Bill 2279 would make it illegal for employers to discriminate against medical marijuana patients. It would allow patients to bring lawsuits against employers who have fired or not hired them because of their status as medical marijuana patients.

But that didn't keep the Carmichael resident from being fired for doing so.

Ross is at the epicenter of a fight pitting the rights of more than a quarter-million medicinal marijuana users against those of business owners.

AB 2743 from Lori Saldana, D-San Diego, now sits in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. It would instruct local governments and law enforcement agencies to “not assist in federal raids, arrests, investigations, or prosecutions” of medical marijuana patients or providers.

That year, in what was the local equivalent of a political revolution, Pat Melarky beat incumbent Leslie Wood to win a seat on the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors. His colleague, Ted Sheedy, also beat incumbent Frank O’Brien that year.

Jeffre Sanderson and Alice Wiegand said they grew pot for medical and spiritual purposes, but the federal government doesn't recognize California's medical marijuana law, which allows people to legally grow and use marijuana for medical purposes.

Jeffre Sean Sanderson and his wife, Alice Jean Wiegand, were arrested in 2006 on federal marijuana charges.

Surveillance video from March 29th shows two men entering Hugs Alternative Care on Stockton Blvd. looking to buy medical marijuana.

A card-carrying member of the club gained entrance to the security gate of the store about 10:30 a.m. Thursday, and was followed inside immediately by two young men carrying firearms.

One of the robbers carried a semi-automatic pistol and the other had a sawed-off, double-barrel shotgun, police said.

At issue is the medical marijuana ID card program, mandated by a state law passed in 2003. This program is good for everyone involved: patients, law enforcement and the larger community.

Obviously, this “war” is as successful as the one on “terror.” Instead of a decrease in drug use and a drop in addiction rates, we see more Americans imprisoned. People like Fry and Schafer do not belong in prison. Neither do the other casualties of the “drug war.”

Dr. Mollie Fry and Dale Schaffer were convicted of growing and selling medical marijuana in the small Sierra town of Cool. Fry prescribed the drug through her clinic. Schafer often taught patients how to grow marijuana.

Dr. Marion "Mollie" Fry, and her husband, Dale Schafer, were convicted in August.

Fry and Schafer were charged with growing and selling in their hometown of Cool.

U. S. District Judge Frank C. Damrell Jr. said federal law left him with no choice but to impose the mandatory minimum sentence in each case.

Tuesday's 3-2 vote was instead in step with the position of Sacramento County's law enforcement officials that implementing the program would invite residents to violate federal law.

California voters approved the law in 1996 that allows sick and dying patients to grow and smoke the drug to relieve chronic symptoms. The state requires counties issue identification cards for medical marijuana users and maintain a registry of people who apply for the cards.

The 3-2 vote reflected a deeply divided Board. "It's about whether we follow state law which says we'll take applications and issue identification cards to those who have a legitimate referral," said Supervisor Roger Dickinson. Supervisor Roberta MacGlashan disagreed, saying ID cards would encourage illegal behavior, adding, "The possession, use and sale of marijuana is still a federal crime."

The Board of Supervisors will debate this afternoon whether to implement a state program calling for the issuance of such cards.

Proponents said such cards are long overdue in Sacramento County, but opponents claim the program offers a chance for abuse of pot.

And Tuesday, when the Board of Supervisors takes up the issue of medical marijuana ID cards, the reason for that will become clear. The supervisors are divided on a central question:

Should Sacramento County follow the will of the people of California, which approved using marijuana for medicinal purposes in a statewide ballot? Or should the county yield to the federal government, which hasn't authorized its use?

U.S. District Judge Frank C. Damrell Jr. was not pleased.

Co-defense counsel Laurence Lichter informed the judge that Serra was in Stockton waiting for a jury to return a verdict in a "shaken-baby murder case."

U.S. District Judge Frank C. Damrell Jr. was not pleased.

Co-defense counsel Laurence Lichter informed the judge that Serra is waiting in Stockton for a deliberating jury to return a verdict in a "shaken baby murder case."

Dr. Mollie Fry and her husband, attorney Dale Schafer, were to be sentenced Thursday morning on federal marijuana cultivation and distribution charges. The couple runs the Medical Research Center in Cool, and their case has been a rallying cry for medical marijuana advocates who say the federal government should not interfere with the state's medicinal marijuana law.

The decision has been criticized as part of an unfair county targeting of med-pot patients.

The county Board of Supervisors, on a 4-1 vote Tuesday, upheld the county treasurer-tax collector's decision not to renew a business license for the Medical Marijuana Caregivers Association of El Dorado County, which operates a medical marijuana dispensary on Alhambra Drive in Cameron Park. Matt Vaughn, the association's founder and chief executive officer, said he would sue the county, arguing that the county's action violates the Compassionate Use Act approved by California voters in 1996.

Matt Vaughn, CEO of the Medical Marijuana Caregivers Association of El Dorado County, has been in business since 2004. MMCA, a non-profit, provides marijuana to patients eligible under Prop. 215, the 1996 voter initiative that allows Californians with a doctor's recommendation to possess the drug.

It's thought by attorneys to be the first case tried in Butte County Superior Court under California Senate Bill 420, which allows people with medical marijuana prescriptions to form a cooperative or collective to grow for their recommended use.

Brett Eric Johnsen was arrested May 30 after sheriff's officers found marijuana plants hanging from a bedroom ceiling and in an elaborate garden they found in a locked basement at his house on West First Street in Chico.

The officers obtained a search warrant, and Johnsen wasn't home at the time, said A.J. Haggard, deputy district attorney.

In recent weeks, DEA agents have sent letters to their landlords warning them of jail time, stiff fines and even forfeiture of their property if landlords allow tenants to peddle pot.

The letters have "definitely caused a panic," said Nathan Sands, a spokesman for the Compassionate Coalition, a medical marijuana education group.

Sacramento-based agents of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration have sent nearly a dozen letters out in the last month to dispensaries' landlords in the latest effort against medical marijuana.

However, medical marijuana advocates - who saw about 200 DEA letters roll out near Los Angeles this summer - say federal officials are being too heavy-handed against something California voters approved a decade ago.

Documents show that after being contacted by Butte County sheriff's officers, federal prosecutors obtained a lien against Patricia Hatton's two-bedroom residence under a separate asset-forfeiture action in U.S. District Court in Sacramento.

Documents show that after being contacted by Butte County sheriff's officers, federal prosecutors obtained a lien against Patricia Hatton's two-bedroom residence under a separate asset-forfeiture action in U.S. District Court in Sacramento.

Though Hatton said she still doesn't feel she committed a crime, she agreed to plead guilty to pot cultivation in exchange for receiving a 20 percent share of the sale of her 6893 Lunar Lane house, which the ridge woman said was recently appraised at $190,000.

After a man's body was discovered in the backyard of a rural Tracy home Monday afternoon, detectives from the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office uncovered a marijuana growing operation inside the house, investigators said.

Deputy Les Garcia said about 600 small- to medium-sized plants — with an estimated street value of about $900,000 — were pulled from the house.