Marijuana advocates rally at county building

Comment by: AB390 Posted: June 16, 2009, 8:16 pm

Marijuana should be legal not only for medical patients but for adults who prefer to relax with something healthier than alcohol.

California Assembly Bill 390 would legalize marijuana for adults.

If you want marijuana to be legalized, taxed, and regulated for adults, YOU can make it happen. Tell your legislators to support California Assembly Bill 390. It’s easy. Visit yes390.org

Comment by: blackbike Posted: June 18, 2009, 1:44 pm

“…clarify the bewildering laws.” Are you kidding? Here’s the link: http://ag.ca.gov/cms_attachments/press/pdfs/n1601_medicalmarijuanaguidelines.pdf
It’s about ten pages long, written in very simple language (It would only be about four pages, because there is some legalese and references). It outlines the simple steps to take to legally access marijuana. No one who follows these steps has ever been arrested, cited, or prosecuted.
If you want to smoke pot, just read the guidelines, take the proper steps, and you can smoke as much and as often as you want to.

Comment by: blackbike Posted: June 18, 2009, 2:03 pm

AB390, I can already buy pot more cheaply from the drug dealer on my block than I can buy it from my “caregiver.” Now, please explain to me how, if pot is legalized, anyone would buy it over the counter at the 7-Eleven, when they can get it cheaper in the parking lot? The guy I used to buy weed from is ecstatic about AB390, because it won’t put him out of business; he’ll be selling even MORE weed, and won’t face any criminal penalties for it! Legalizing/Taxing will generate very little in tax revenue…not even enough to cover the hiring of a whole bunch more cops(Revenue Agents) to track down the drug dealers who then become “tax cheats.” Plus, we get saddled with additional costs for treatment of more addicts, plus the crimes committed by people under the influence of weed. Yeah, you get to smoke your weed…but the taxpayers get saddled with MORE costs.
That’s why President Obama already recognized that Legalizing/Taxing is NOT the solution we need. The math doesn’t work.

Comment by: greenbike Posted: June 18, 2009, 9:21 pm

Just to clarify a few things about the AG Guidelines. Blackbike is mistaken in saying that they are clear. According to a San Diego judge the medical marijuana laws are like a “serpentine roadmap” and “the laws are very complex”, etc. Try starting up an actual medical collective which attemts to follow the law, and see how far you get. Looks like ANYONE who has EVER attemted it, and has been relatively public about it, has been shut down and/or arrested.

About the caregiver issue. It has been made clear by the CA Supreme Court that simply providing marijuana is not enough to justify being called a caregiver.

After slamming the network that published this article, you went on to slamm Ms. Lambert who is (last time i checked we still live in the US) entitled to innocence until proven guilty, and you do this displaying some sort of clear knowledge of the case, so either you are with the DA’s office and working against her, a cop who has a bias towards this, or are just a misinformed hate filled kretin who obviously lets your own misguided bias owerwhelm reason, proven medical research, and actual fact.

It is amazing that you go out of your way to write multiple posts to slam someone. Obviously judging by your post time entries, you spent a good 30-40 minutes just writing this stuff…i wonder how many hours you spent coming up with the lies. Hmmm i wonder how many more hours you will spend defending your self and your lies…and trying to ruin more lives.

Now, lets talk a little about the current cast of charachters we have in San Diego who are because of their hate and bias using our taxpayers money to Investigate for months, and spend HUNDREDS of man hours, and thousands upon thousands of taxpayer dollars to impose their own personal will on the San Diego community.

So I think the real answer to “Why was I arrested?” is Because of a select few in our law enforcement and leadership, who have something against marijuana and its medical use, and are on a mission to shut down ALL medical marijuana distribution both legal and not in San Diego.

DA Lindbergh: DA’s local guru on how to prosecute medical cannabis patients. DA in charge of Operation Green Rx (Endless Summer) Prosecutions. Quated as saying “its obviously for profit” and “why else would anyone get into this activity” when talking about Collective Cultivation attemts by patients.

Narc. DeCastro: has been investigating and arresting medical cannabis patients for several years. Has never recommended to the city to DA to provide clarification on the law, has been quoted numerous times saying “medical marijuana is a sham” and “Im taking down ALL you People”.

Narc. Henderson “Jamie Conlan”: Lied to a CA licensed physician about his ailments and received a medical marijuana recommendation. Is the undercover who posed as a patient and attemted to bring down ALL medical marijuana collectives last year in Operation Endless Summer.

Comment by: Paul Posted: June 19, 2009, 12:56 am

comment on blackbike at 1:37 PM
The policy quote from the USA Attorney General was carried in mainstream press. It was not quit4e the same as paraphrased above. Google it.

Comment by: Paul Posted: June 19, 2009, 1:13 am

Blackbike at 1:54 PM has incorrect information in it, and is most unfair. I have known Donna Lambert for years. There is no way those accusations are correct. I will comment in more detail about why I belive my statement to be true after I post some overall information about the whole case.

Comment by: Paul Posted: June 19, 2009, 2:02 am

This comment is promptedby the post from blackbike at 1:54 PM and anyone else who woinders what really happened.

I do not know how much background you have read about the Operation Endless Summer raids and arrests,including Donna Lambert, but here is my impression of it.

In San Diego in February District Attorney Dumanis and law enforcement officials had a press conference and announced they had a sting operation and had arrested 33 persons on felony charges and were seeking 19 more persons in a sweep to make military housing safer. They also put on display seven guns, and claimed they had seized 2 pounds of meth, 6 pounds of marijuana 1 gram of heroin, 100 ecstasy pills and about $19,000.Just reading the local paper one would say fine. However this included my friend, Donna Lambert, and at least 12 to 20 others that are legal marijuana users who have absolutely nothing to do with hard drugs or selling to military personnel. The military housing mentioned was nothing but a normal looking house in Pacific Beach that was owned by the military and was rented to the police for a sting. Not being able to find enough people to arrest in the sting they gave two undercover officers medical marijuana cards and doctor letters to make them look like legal users and buyers of marijuana. They came to the meetings of a medical marijuana support group open to the public and held openly in a public building and got acquainted and pretended to need it. They finally got some persons individually, including Donna, to bring them some to this house they rented in Pacific Beach that was not identified as military housing where they had hidden cameras set up. So they had video of her handing the guy some amount within the legal limit that they sent to her attorney. They did not show the part of the video where she had examined his paperwork and vetted it. The laws are somewhat confusing perhaps to non-professionals and maybe to them too, but a look at code 11362.765 talks about the caregiver is protected from sales prosecution, and about any individual who helps someone who has a card will be protected from prosecution for sales unless making a profit. So if they are just recovering their own cost it is not a sale for profit.
Donna was normally careful to share only with her regular patients, and maybe agree to take on a new patient.

Comment by: Paul Posted: June 19, 2009, 2:42 am

Donna Lambert, being a legal user, and due to finding it difficult to find MMJ and sometimes seeing scary characters selling it, and knowing some of the sick and injured persons who found relief from MMJ she felt she was doing a good deed, especial for single women to be a provider to them. She had inquired to local and federal officials on several occasions for guidelines, and made suggestions for reducing the illegal use of Marijuana. Some days her own pain, including the rhumatoid arthritus in her hands was so bad the only reason she got up was to go takecare ofand help her own MMJ patients.
In view of her motivation to help suffering persons, for her to be tricked and deceived by the undercover cop who had real papers showing he was a legal user, and then publically humiliated by having her home invaded by a large gang of armed men who made a mess of things, broke things and took away some of her needed money and other property, and being announced and named in the newspaper article about Operation Endless Summer as if she were one of the persons who was selling illegal hard drug, put in jail, and charged with five felonies nearly destroyed her. But she has decided to continue and be even more an activist against this injustice to herself and many others, and is fighting the unjust charges against her. Those charges should all be dropped,but may haver to be taken to trial.

Comment by: Paul Posted: June 19, 2009, 3:09 am

blackbike at 1:54 PM June 18, wrote “Her alleged actions violated the spirit, the intent, and the letter of Prop 215…” Well the fact is that is what you would think by reading the allegations.
The allegations are wrong. Her actions and motivation were completely in accordance with the spirit, intent, and letter of Prop 215.

Comment by: Paul Posted: June 19, 2009, 3:43 am

I also understand that at Donna’s preliminary hearing, her attorney brought out testimony from the undercover agent that Donna had indeed asked to see his medical marijuana card and the doctor letter before she sold him anything. And also very important, the price involved was ruled to be so low as to NOT be chargable as a “sale for profit”. It was below the amount allowed for permissible reimbursement under the law and prior court cases. ALL charges should be dropped! They all really came about because certain elected officials and police officials refused to follow state law until the recent US Supreme Court refusal to hear San Diego Count’s case.

Comment by: Donna Lambert Posted: June 19, 2009, 10:48 pm

I have attended month meetings at “Americans for Safe Access” in San Diego since I was on Chemotherapy in 2005. Prior to that I was in a serous car accident and had related surgeries. I have stage 3/4 cirrhosis due to Hepatitis C, I also have Sjoegrens disease (I believe caused by the chemo) which is an autoimmune disorder. I get sick very easily, and while others may be better in a day or two, a cold for me means being bedridden for 2-3 weeks. I also have skin cancer and my grandfather died of it. I have had two actual surgeries for the skin cancer as well as multiple burn-offs. I need continuous medical care. MY FRIENDS ARE THE OTHER MEDICAL MARIJUANA PATIENTS that I have met at groups like ASA, and another called Hope Unlimited.
Many medical marijuana patients have visible injuries. I am no longer even remotely shocked at amputations, or wheelchairs, or any other medical problem. I see the people beyond that. And like I said, these people are my friends.
To look at many people you might assume somebody to be healthy and when you talk to them you may find out they have a metal plate in their neck, or a brain tumor. In five years I have not met a single person who told me that there was nothing wrong with them but they just wanted a marijuana card. Not One.
What I have seen and experienced firsthand, is a community of San Diego citizens, who happen to be sick or disfigured living in fear. We are villified and scoffed at by certain people who are against medical marijuana. I also noticed they use animal analogies to talk about human beings. “preying”, “wolves in sheeps clothing”, etc. These people have full time staff whose sole job is to think of slanderous names to call its own citizens. I am deeply offended, and want the name calling to stop.
Month after month I have sat in the ASA meetings and heard patient after patient with similar stories, for example, a man with a cane and a broken back who has a very visible limp;
“The police kicked in my door. I told them I had a doctors permit. I had it on the wall, I had it posted. They shoved me down on the ground. They destroyed and took my lights and ripped out my plants and then arrested me.”
This is common.
This happens regularly in SAN DIEGO.
In fact, then when the patient gets into court they are denied the medical marijuana defense.
The fact is, the law is very confusing. But if they want to drop the charges If I passed a lie detector test, I would be willing to do so. On these two questions;
1)Did I 100% believe I was following the law?

Comment by: Donna Lambert Posted: June 19, 2009, 11:08 pm

Answer to number 3)
Yes
4)Was my money my motivation for doing this?
No

The real truth is that I have spent four months reading the law since I was arrested and it is no clearer now than when I started.
I know with 100% certainty that I was acting with compassion and the people that I feel it would be morally wrong not to help others.
I will publicly say that I do agree with one comment made by the prosecutor Chris Lindberg. He said that anybody who wants to help other people with medical marijuana should see a lawyer first. I do agree with that. Not because I believe a acted wrongly, but because the stress that I have experienced with being arrested and waiting for a trial are taking their toll on my stress level and causing my autoimmune problems to flare up so that I am extreme pain even typing this.
I have real concerns about my physical and mental health. I have even greater concerns about catching something getting very ill or dying
if they put me in jail. I also cannot morally sign a paper saying that I am a “gang/ narcotics offender” when I know that I am not a criminal. I have no criminal record. I was trying to do something good. For this I am being destroyed.
So what do I do? Blackbike says “quit whining”. I am doing the only thing I can think of that is morally right, and that is to try to make people aware that medical marijuana is a PLANT. It has been used in the medical books for over 5,000 years. There has never been a single recorded overdose death in the history of the world. Marijuana was made illegal in 1937 for purely political reasons.
In 1996 the voters in California voted to change that. In 2004 this was expanded. There are very powerful people in San Diego and I hope that they can understand that medical marijuana patients are San Diego citizens. Many are veterans. They are school teachers, nurses, police officers and they are your brothers, sisters, children and parents. We are human, we are people, and we are struggling with illness and pain.
Many stay in the closet out of concern for their jobs, or for exactly what is happening to me. Many medical marijuana patients live in fear. I am hoping that can change.
I do not know my future, and I am scared. I don’t know what else I can do, except try to let people know. I also have a facebook page which I am posting my feelings about this situation.
Sincerely, and thank you much for the people that are supportive and know the truth.
Donna Lambert

Comment by: Mel Posted: June 23, 2009, 5:03 pm

How can a dispensary sell marijuana legally if they are making a profit on it? I though a caregiver could not profit. Are we to think that they are selling for cost? Then how do they stay open? Is there a max that can be charged? Can anyone be a caregiver and if so, can caregivers possess more than normal users? Thanks!

Comment by: medi_420 Posted: July 15, 2009, 10:00 pm

There was a law passed 13 year ago legalizing marijuana for medical use. The government needs to stop arresting and start taxing!

Comment by: Ned Posted: September 3, 2009, 10:08 am

This is why I love the internet! We all know there are lots of people like Blackbike out there who will use the internet to promote their personal agendae by spreading lies, hoping those lies will “go viral.” They’ve learned from some of our more nefarious public leaders (public bleeders?)that, if one shouts a lie long and loud enough, the public will eventually believe it, just because they’ve heard it so much.

What they DIDN’T realize was that the same internet makes an equally good platform for DEBUNKING the “viral lie” efforts of bull$#!++ers like blackbike.

Kudos to all that responded to his numerous but otherwise factually vacuous posts. The volume, variety and above all quality of the contradictory responses has pretty much relegated him to a cyber-corner with a big ol’ DUNCE cap on his head.

Comment by: Dave Posted: September 10, 2009, 1:21 pm

that fool sounds like a cop or nark or someone stupid