420

Despite an array of obstacles, California's medical marijuanamovement is still going strong. That was the message at a communitydiscussion hosted by Drug Policy Alliance Southern California earlierthis week. The group invited leaders in the medical marijuana movementto explore the evolution of the movement since the passage ofProposition 215, which permits medical use of marijuana on a doctor'srecommendation, ten years ago.
Over dinner, more than 100 community members listened to a moderatedpanel discussion followed by an open question and answer session.During the first segment, the group highlighted major achievements--forexample, the fact that ten other states have passed medical marijuanalaws since the watershed passage of Prop 215 in California. They alsodiscussed the road blocks facing the movement: a number of Californiacities have banned dispensaries, and a few counties are suing to strikedown Prop 215. However, the panelists met these obstacles withoptimism. The prevailing sentiment was that the movement is makingimportant progress and will win its current battles.
The question and answer period gave the floor to an engaged audiencerepresenting a cross-section of the medical marijuana movement, fromicons who have been involved for years to younger college students justgetting started. Margaret Dooley with DPA Southern California, whomoderated the panel, said, "It was exciting to see movement veteransoptimistic about the state of medical marijuana in California and thenation. You could see how energizing this was to the audience memberswho are more recent to the movement."
The diverse backgrounds of the panelists brought a range ofperspectives to the issue. Dale Gieringer, state coordinator ofCalifornia NORML, reflected on how far the law has come in ten yearsand gave a positive forecast for the next decade. Steph Sherer,executive director of Americans for Safe Access, talked about thegrowing movement of patient activists and the importance of creatingpressure from the federal level down to the most local. Don Duncan,long-time dispensary operator and organizer, shared best practices fordispensary operators, who he said must be both business people anddiplomats. Rebecca Bernhardt, senior staff attorney with the AmericanCivil Liberties Union, elaborated on important legal precedents, andenlightened the group on the importance of forcing representatives andthe justice system to abide by those precedents.
The event took place at DPA's Southern California office in Los Angeles, and was coordinated by DPA's Yazmin Trujillohttp://www.nooked.com/news/itemtrack...0dacec791a0c06

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