Steve McWilliams was a medical marijuana activist from San Diego, California who protested the treatment of people under anti-cannabis laws. He committed suicide in 2005.
Steve McWilliams was a medical marijuana activist from San Diego, California who protested the treatment of people under anti-cannabis laws. He committed suicide in 2005.
Steven McWilliams was a "former cowboy" who attended Western State Colorado University and the University of Colorado. [1] [2] In 1992, McWilliams was in a motorcycle accident and sustained a head injury, and afterwards suffered from chronic pain and migraines, which he said he found relief from with medical marijuana. [3]
After California passed Proposition 215 in 1996, which allowed certain patients to be recommended cannabis by a doctor, McWilliams opened multiple medical marijuana collectives in San Diego to provide cannabis for patients, including Shelter from the Storm and Valley Center Cannabis Club. [3] [4]
In January 1998, Valley Center Cannabis Club was raided and McWilliams was arrested for possession. [4] That March he was arraigned for growing, selling, and transporting cannabis, which led to the first widely publicized case about the enforcement and limits of Proposition 215. [4] The District Attorney declined to press charges due to lack of information. [4]
In 2002, McWilliams protested obstruction of Proposition 215 by standing in front of San Diego City Hall by smoking and handing out cannabis to patients. [1] [5] [6] He also showed up weekly to Town Council meetings, sometimes carrying a live marijuana plant, to convince the local government to make clear local regulations regarding medical marijuana in San Diego. [1] [7]
McWilliams was arrested in 2002 by federal law enforcement for growing about two dozen cannabis plants at his home in Normal Heights. [8] [9] [10] In early 2003, United States District Judge James Fitzgerald sentenced him to six months in federal prison. He was not allowed to use cannabis as part of his bail terms. [11] There was speculation McWilliams was targeted with a harsh sentence due to his activism. [9] [12] Not long after, the Supreme Court ruled that federal cannabis laws superseded local laws, which meant McWilliams' appeal would be denied and he would go to prison. On July 12, 2005 on his 51st birthday, McWilliams committed suicide by overdosing on methadone, an opioid he'd been prescribed for pain. [1] [3] [8] In his suicide note, he said that he was in pain and hoped his death might convince the government to respect people's right to cannabis. [13] He also called out Reuben Brooks, the federal judge who had ruled he could not use medical marijuana while out on bail. [14] [15]
After his death, more than a dozen cities in the United States held memorial services in his honor. [16]
Edward "Ed" Rosenthal is an American horticulturist, author, publisher, and Cannabis grower known for his advocacy for the legalization of marijuana use. He served as a columnist for High Times Magazine during the 1980s and 1990s. He was arrested in 2002 for cultivation of cannabis by federal authorities, who do not recognize the authority of states to regulate the use of medical marijuana. He was convicted in federal court, but the conviction was overturned on appeal. Rosenthal was subsequently convicted again, but was not re-sentenced, since his original sentence had been completed.
Proposition 215, or the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, is a California law permitting the use of medical cannabis despite marijuana's lack of the normal Food and Drug Administration testing for safety and efficacy. It was enacted, on November 5, 1996, by means of the initiative process, and passed with 5,382,915 (55.6%) votes in favor and 4,301,960 (44.4%) against.
Mary Jane Rathbun, popularly known as Brownie Mary, was an American medical cannabis rights activist. As a hospital volunteer at San Francisco General Hospital, she became known for baking and distributing cannabis brownies to AIDS patients. Along with activist Dennis Peron, Rathbun lobbied for the legalization of cannabis for medical use, and she helped pass San Francisco Proposition P (1991) and California Proposition 215 (1996) to achieve those goals. She also contributed to the establishment of the San Francisco Cannabis Buyers Club, the first medical cannabis dispensary in the United States.
Steven Wynn "Steve" Kubby was a Libertarian Party activist who played a key role in the drafting and passage of California Proposition 215. The proposition was a ballot initiative to legalize medical marijuana which was approved by voters in 1996. Kubby was known as a cancer patient who relied on medical cannabis. He authored two books on drug policy reform: The Politics of Consciousness (1995) and Why Marijuana Should Be Legal (2003). He was the Libertarian Party of California candidate for Governor of California in 1998 receiving 0.9% of the vote. In 2008, he declared his candidacy for the Libertarian Party's 2008 presidential nomination and received significant support for the nomination, but was eliminated after the second ballot. Although various media reports have described him as a "felon" and "fugitive", Kubby's legal status was resolved on July 3, 2008, when California Superior Court Judge, David Nelson, dismissed all charges against Kubby, clearing his name and record of any criminal activity.
The Oregon Medical Marijuana Act, a law in the U.S. state of Oregon, was established by Oregon Ballot Measure 67 in 1998, passing with 54.6% support. It modified state law to allow the cultivation, possession, and use of marijuana by doctor recommendation for patients with certain medical conditions. The Act does not affect federal law, which still prohibits the cultivation and possession of marijuana.
Oaksterdam is a cultural district on the north end of Downtown Oakland, California, where medical cannabis is available for purchase in cafés, clubs, and patient dispensaries. Oaksterdam is located between downtown proper, the Lakeside, and the financial district. It is roughly bordered by 14th Street on the southwest, Harrison Street on the southeast, 19th Street on the northeast, and Telegraph Avenue on the northwest. The name is a portmanteau of "Oakland" and "Amsterdam," due to the Dutch city's cannabis coffee shops and the drug policy of the Netherlands.
California Senate Bill 420 was a bill introduced by John Vasconcellos of the California State Senate, and subsequently passed by the California State Legislature and signed by Governor Gray Davis in 2003 "pursuant to the powers reserved to the State of California and its people under the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution." It clarified the scope and application of California Proposition 215, also known as the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, and established the California medical marijuana program. The bill's title is notable because "420" is a common phrase used in cannabis culture.
In the United States, the non-medical use of cannabis is legalized in 23 states and decriminalized in 8 states, as of May 2023. Decriminalization refers to a policy of reduced penalties for cannabis offenses, typically involving a civil penalty for possessing small amounts, instead of criminal prosecution or the threat of arrest. In jurisdictions without penalty the policy is referred to as legalization, although the term decriminalization is sometimes used for this purpose as well.
In the United States, increased restrictions and labeling of cannabis as a poison began in many states from 1906 onward, and outright prohibitions began in the 1920s. By the mid-1930s cannabis was regulated as a drug in every state, including 35 states that adopted the Uniform State Narcotic Drug Act. The first national regulation was the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937.
Cannabis in Oregon is legal for both medical and recreational use. In recent decades, the U.S. state of Oregon has had a number of legislative, legal, and cultural events surrounding use of cannabis. Oregon was the first state to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of cannabis, and among the first to authorize its use for medical purposes. An attempt to recriminalize possession of small amounts of cannabis was turned down by Oregon voters in 1997.
In the United States, the use of cannabis for medical purposes is legal in 38 states, four out of five permanently inhabited U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia, as of March 2023. Ten other states have more restrictive laws limiting THC content, for the purpose of allowing access to products that are rich in cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychoactive component of cannabis. There is significant variation in medical cannabis laws from state to state, including how it is produced and distributed, how it can be consumed, and what medical conditions it can be used for.
Cannabis in California has been legal for medical use since 1996, and for recreational use since late 2016. The state of California has been at the forefront of efforts to liberalize cannabis laws in the United States, beginning in 1972 with the nation's first ballot initiative attempting to legalize cannabis. Although it was unsuccessful, California would later become the first state to legalize medical cannabis through the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, which passed with 56% voter approval. In November 2016, California voters approved the Adult Use of Marijuana Act with 57% of the vote, which legalized the recreational use of cannabis.
Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana (WAMM) is a not-for-profit medicinal cannabis dispensing collective located in Santa Cruz, California. WAMM was founded in 1993 by Valerie Leveroni Corral and her then-husband Michael Corral. Valerie Corral is also the executive director of Raha Kudo: Design for Dying Project, a non-profit corporation that provides education and research to support persons facing death and their caregivers. Members of WAMM receive organic medicinal cannabis at cost while volunteers trade work for cannabis. There is a compassion program for those unable to afford the full cost of medical cannabis. WAMM was the first medical marijuana collective to receive non-profit status from the United States Government.
Scott Feil is an American medical cannabis rights activist, complex aircraft pilot, and businessman. Most known for his involvement in the continuing court case involving Los Angeles Police Department illegal seizure of 209 pounds of medical marijuana, 21 pounds of hashish, 12 pounds of marijuana oil and amounts of U.S. legal tender amounting to $186,416.00 from his Los Angeles based United Medical Caregivers Clinic medical cannabis dispensary, UMCC LLC.
The legal history of cannabis in the United States began with state-level prohibition in the early 20th century, with the first major federal limitations occurring in 1937. Starting with Oregon in 1973, individual states began to liberalize cannabis laws through decriminalization. In 1996, California became the first state to legalize medical cannabis, sparking a trend that spread to a majority of states by 2016. In 2012, Washington and Colorado became the first states to legalize cannabis for recreational use.
The Florida Medical Marijuana Legalization Initiative, also known as Amendment 2, was approved by voters in the Tuesday, November 8, 2016, general election in the State of Florida. The bill required a super-majority vote to pass, with at least 60% of voters voting for support of a state constitutional amendment. Florida already had a medical marijuana law in place, but only for those who are terminally ill and with less than a year left to live. The goal of Amendment 2 is to alleviate those suffering from these medical conditions: cancer, epilepsy, glaucoma, positive status for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Crohn's disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, chronic nonmalignant pain caused by a qualifying medical condition or that originates from a qualified medical condition or other debilitating medical conditions comparable to those listed. Under Amendment 2, the medical marijuana will be given to the patient if the physician believes that the medical use of marijuana would likely outweigh the potential health risks for a patient. Smoking the medication was not allowed under a statute passed by the Florida State Legislature, however this ban was struck down by Leon County Circuit Court Judge Karen Gievers on May 25, 2018.
Elvy Musikka is an American cannabis rights activist.
Rudy Reyes is an American teacher, actor, archaeologist, cannabis rights activist, and chef. Reyes was a contestant in the reality television competition, MasterChef, on the show's fourth season.
Scott Tracy Imler (1958-2018) was an American activist who advocated medical marijuana use in California. He worked with Dennis Peron, a fellow cannabis activist, during the movement for the legalization of marijuana in the 1990s. He was a co-author of Proposition 215 or the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, the law permitting medical marijuana in the state.