An Invaluable Lesson
SB 443 would have prevented police from keeping any property seized under asset forfeiture law if there was no conviction. As it stands now up to 80% of people whose property is seized under asset forfeiture laws are never even charged with a crime let alone convicted.
It is such a reasonable and fair proposition that the bill sailed through the California Senate 38 – 1 (the only Senator opposing it was Connie Leyva in, you guessed it, San Bernardino Co.). The bill was expected to meet little resistance in the Assembly – that is until law enforcement freaked out at the thought of losing tens of millions of dollars and mounted a full fledged assault and panicked our state assembly members with tales of drug trafficking run amuck if so much as a dime was removed from their gravy train of asset forfeiture money seized from innocent people.
The onslaught worked as the bill that was so overwhelmingly passed in the Senate failed in the assembly 24 – 44 with 12 members not even casting a vote. The author of SB 443 Senator Holly Mitchel, D-Los Angeleswas aghast at the bill’s failure and was not hesitant to place the blame squarely where it belonged:
“This grab-and-grip practice thwarts our democratic process, violates the right to due process, disrespects property rights and reeks of corruption. It’s simple: No conviction, no confiscation. The lengths to which law enforcement is willing to go to defend this odious practice and to evade our state laws that protect property owners are outrageous.”
Checking the vote of state assembly members in the Inland Empire finds that every single member, save one, voted against the bill.
The one member from the IE who had the decency, common sense and intestinal fortitude to stand up to the cops was Chris 
Holden, D-41st Assembly District.You know if you have a minute, I would strongly encourage you to contact his office and congratulate him for his courageous vote in favor of SB 443.
To send him an email CLICK HERE or if you prefer you can call him at (916) 319-2041. You can call him right now as if the office is not open, you can leave a voice mail. Even if you are not a constituent please let him know he voted the right way. Mr. Holden is the Floor Leader in the Assembly for the Democrats, most likely with sights on higher office so hearing from others that he did the right thing is of value.
Now to the invaluable lesson. Shortly after SB 443 went down in defeat in the state Assembly, I learned that Assemblyman Eduardo Garciawas holding an open meeting at the Democratic Headquarters in the Coachella Valley. Mr. Garcia is a principled man with strong progressive values. He is also a Latino in a heavily Latino district and is well aware of the racist enforcement of drug laws that have so negatively impacted the Hispanic Community.
That’s why I was so shocked and disappointed to see that he had voted to continue to allow law enforcement to fleece innocent people and not take a stand against one of the most egregious programs of the War on Drugs.
At the meeting I was able to sit down with Assemblyman Garcia and asked why he voted against SB 443. He stated that he fully understood the policy implications of asset forfeiture laws but had become convinced that the reform of asset forfeiture laws under SB 443 would deny law enforcement the money they need to combat drug crime especially in his district which includes Imperial County and a long stretch of the border with Mexico.
I pointed out that most people whose assets are seized are never even charged with a crime let alone convicted and asked if he was OK with people losing their homes, cars and money even if they are innocent in order to provide law enforcement with money to continue the War on Drugs.
He didn’t say he was OK with that but reiterated his concern that law enforcement needed the money if it was to meet the challenge of enforcing our drug laws and fighting the crime associated with it. “We are going to have to agree to disagree” was the conclusion to our discussion.
He did point out that his office did not receive a single call or email on SB 443. He didn’t say so, but I could tell that no calls meant not much community concern. I really feel bad about this. I was not following this bill as I was so wrapped up in the AB266 imbroglio that it went under the radar for me and just about everyone else it seems.
Assemblyman Garcia understands the issue, but unless he hears about it from constituents and knows that they are at his back – he will be reluctant to take on cops, DAs and prison guards especially if the only side he hears is the cop's side.
I honestly believe Assemblyman Garcia remains open on this issue and his no vote this time is not irrevocable to the ends of time. It can be changed and so can lots of other elected officials votes on issues of importance to us, but it’s not going to happen if they do not hear from us.
This is the invaluable lesson I learned Saturday. Elected officials are listening to us and giving serious consideration to what we say. They didn’t use to, but if we don’t talk to them then they won’t be listening to us even if they want too.
I have looked into the history of how other groups from gun owners to gay rights advocates achieved their success and a common denominator was a coordinated community outreach program to elected officials. Although we have done that, it has been done more in fits and spurts than an organized ongoing effort.
There are no guarantees that because we regularly visit the offices of our elected officials they will switch to our viewpoint. There is a guarantee that what we want is unlikely to ever happen if we don’t. At the MAPP meetings this month I want to talk about organizing standing committees to put this program together to locate patients and consumers in their community and convince them of the importance of taking a couple hours every now and then to schedule an appointment and pay a visit at an elected officials office.
This is basic grassroots organizing. We have people out there everywhere and we need to get them up and out of their comfort zone for a few minutes so that we can protect medical marijuana access with something far better than AB 266 and end marijuana prohibition with a reasonable, rational and humane drug policy.
A new state legislative session starts soon and since most parts of AB 266 don’t take effect until 2017, there is time for change for the better, but it ain’t gonna happen if our state legislators don’t hear from us over and over and over again.
Detailed below is the October MAPP meeting schedule. We will be discussing establishing local community outreach programs at each meeting, but check below for special speakers and programs for the meeting nearest you.
Saturday, Oct. 3 at 12 noon
Crystal Fantasy, 268 N. Palm Canyon, Palm Springs,CA 92262
Palm Springs/Coachella Valley MAPP meeting:
Special guest speaker – Geoff Kors, candidate for Palm Springs City Council.
(The Brownie Mary Democratic Club meeting takes place at 11:30 a.m. before the MAPP meeting. Everyone is invited to attend both meetings.)
Saturday, Oct. 3 at 3 p.m.
Beatnik Lounge, 61597 Twenty-Nine Palms Hwy., Joshua Tree 92252
Morongo Basin/Joshua Tree MAPP meeting:
Special discussion on how AB 266’s 100 sq. ft. canopy restrictions impact on SB County grow ordinance.
Wednesday, Oct. 7 at 7:30 p.m.
THCF Patient Center, 647 Main St. Unit 4D, Riverside 92501
Riverside/Western IE MAPP meeting
Speaker #1 Attorney Jason Thompson speaking on AB266 and how it affects patients and the new licensing structure.
Speaker #2 - Rory Murray on transferring Aaron Sandusky from prison in Texas to prison in Calif.
The Brownie Mary Democratic Club meeting takes place at 6 p.m. before the MAPP meeting. Featured speaker is Riverside Co. Democratic Party chairperson Howard Katz. Everyone is invited to attend both meetings.
from quiet advocacy to national notoriety
on Internet Radio Show
Even with cannabis friendly Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, Orange County is not a friendly county for medical marijuana. Bans, moratoriums and police actions seem to rule the day but fighting mightily for the rights of patients are Marla and David James. From early advocacy with OCNORML to national notoriety when arrested and humiliated by cops at a dispensary in Santa Ana, the James will tell all on this revealing episode of Marijuana Compassion and Common Sense atwww.blogtalkradio.com/marijuananews
The James are patients who understand the importance of the availability of marijuana for their health and the health of others and they are willing to work for it. Although not exactly working in the background, their hard and successful work had gained little attention outside Orange County circles until they were arrested by police at a Santa Ana dispensary.
Unbeknownst to the cops, they were videotaped by a secret surveillance systemand the video of them during the raid eating marijuana brownies and talking about how they would like to kick the nub of Marla James’ amputated leg went viral resulting in stories from the L.A. Times to the Washington Times. Arrested with 11 other patients and volunteers, the James provide insider details on what happened that fateful day and how the whole incident has backfired on the cops and the city of Santa Ana.
Listen to the James episode and review all past episodes right now - just CLICK HERE or go to:www.blogtalkradio.com/marijuananews.
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