General Meeting Minutes: 1-22-08

The meeting was called to order at 7:30 pm by Brent who facilitated the meeting.
 
The group then went around the room and each person in attendance introduced themselves to the group.  Approximately 30 people were in attendance.  Later in the meeting, the members of the core and advisers were introduced to the group.
 
Sarah then explained our rules for conducting oneself at our meetings:
     1.  Do not interrupt.
     2.  Raise your hand if you wish to speak.
     3.  Be respectful of others, especially with those with whom you disagree.
     4.  Assume others' best intentions.
 
Sarah then gave two announcements.
     1.  Tip of the Month--How to handle law enforcement encounters while in you vehicle--how to avoid a DUI.  A yellow half-sheet was handed out with the details.
     2.  The national ASA would like us to call our U. S. Senators to support having the DEA permit medical cannabis research on the federal level, now that a DEA judge has ruled that such research is legally permissible.
Alex then gave a talk about the Newsom campaign.  She encouraged the group to call, email, and fax Mayor Newsom to encourage him to speak out against the letters that the DEA has sent to medical cannabis dispensaries' landlords threatening asset forfeiture.  Even if you have already sent a letter or a fax or made a phone call, additional contact with Newsom's office was encouraged.  Now that Mayor Ron Dellums of Oakland has spoken out against the DEA intimidation tactics, it s time for Mayor Newsom to follow suit.  The contacts have been going on for a month--more pressure is needed.  It was suggested that people who can catch the mayor during his daily schedule, politely ask him about this issue.  ASA has requested a meeting with the mayor.  No response from his office as of now.
It was also suggested that medical cannabis patients create a YouTube video explaining this situation.  Personnel form the Oakland ASA office are willing to help with video production.  Robert noted that Mayor Newsom may be with one of the Democratic presidential candidates at City Hall on Feb. 5th--details to follow.  A letter was passed out for people to sign and to turn in to the Mayor's office
 
Brent then led a discussion of events planned during Medical Marijuana Week--the week that includes the date 2-15 (in memory of Proposition 215 from 1996 which legalized medical cannabis in California).  This is the week of 2-10 through 2-16.
 
He gave a history of the event in past years.  Similar events will take place this year.
 
1.  Tues 2-12:    Know Your Rights Training
This will take place at 223 9th Street at 7:30 pm.
 
2.  Thur, 2-14:  Spread the Love
This will take place at City Hall and the Civil Center complex.  It will involve the planting of seeds and clones in this area.  This may become an act of civil disobedience, but it will be a noticed media event, and it may get Mayor Newom's attention.  Donations of seeds and clones for this event are welcome.  A sign-up sheet for volunteers was passed around.  Joe urged us to bring spoons for the planting aspect at this event.
 
3.  Fri, 2-15:  This is the tentative day for an ASA party to celebrate this week.  Details to follow.
 
Jahan announced that on Sunday, 2-10, there will be speakers for Medical Marijuana University.  The following topics were announced:  Cannabis and the Law,  CBD and Breast Cancer suppression.  A session on Asset Forfeiture and a Q & A session were also suggested as appropriate topics for the event.  This will take place at the Women's Building in San Francisco.
 
Charlie from the Divinity Tree dispensary offered to have a movie showing on Saturday, 2-9 in Oakland at 47th Street and Telegraph (about a 10 block walk from the MacArthur BART station).  Bring chairs.  Details to follow.
 
Kris, the media director for ASA then spoke.  He went over the following issues:
 
1.  State Senator Carole Migden has introduced a resolution in the California State Senate stating the following:
A..  The DEA is unwelcome in California.
B.   The state of California is perfectly capable of handling its own laws related to medical cannabis.
C.  The U. S. Congress needs to remedy this situation with the DEA intimidating and shutting down medical cannabis dispensaries throughout the state.
 
Getting this resolution passed will probably take several months.
 
Chris also mentioned statewide legislation affecting the back taxes owed by medical cannabis dispensaries is in process.  In addition, he mentioned that Rep. John Conyers, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee may hold hearings this spring on the DEA tactics against medical cannabis dispensaries and patients.  ASA national is working to make these hearings happen.  As of now, no asset forfeiture in the Bay Area has been institute against any dispensaries.  However, since the DEA letters have been sent, about 36 of the 200 dispensaries in the LA area have closed, and 4-5 dozen of the dispensaries out of 300 in Northern California have ceased operations.  If a landlord ignores a letter from the DEA, they can be prosecuted under Federal law.
 
Jahan then gave his Science Corner talk.
 
From the Journal of Neural Pharmacology:  Two groups were given injections of pure THC in three different doses:  0 mg, 2.5 mg, and 5 mg.,  the latter similar to the dose of the pill Marinol.  The control group was a diverse mixture of people in the age range 18 to 40, whose cannabis consumption was no more than 11 times per year.  The other group of test subjects were strictly white males between the ages of 18 and 30.  These users were those who used cannabis no more than once daily.  The groups were quite different in their composition, which may explain the differences noted in the study's results.  The second group was much more likely to protected from the "undesirable effects" of cannabis.  The study's authors claim that this difference is a genetic difference--without proof of this assertion.  The study also neglects the fact that no ordinary user of cannabis injects pure THC into themselves.
 
We were reminded to cal our Senators for a drop in meeting.  It was suggested that we send Senator Feinstein a binder with research on medical uses of cannabis to help educate her further on this subject.
 
Sarah made a pitch to get more of us in attendance to join ASA officially.  The cost annually is $35, with a $15 membership offered for low income folks.  Application forms for ASA membership were distributed.
 
ASA thanked the Bernal Heights dispensary for fronting $140 for the pizza and soft drinks for the evening.  Green Cross and CCA also contributed to the meeting.
 
Under general announcements:
 
There will be a hearing at City Hall on Friday, 2-8 for the Green Acres dispensary.  Details to follow.
 
The next general meeting of ASA SF will be on Tuesday, February 5th at Bowzers Pizza at 7:30 pm.  The second meeting of the month will be on Tues, February 26 with the location to be announced.
 
The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 pm.