CALIFORNIA RULING STANDS, BACKING GROWERS OF MEDICINAL POT

Once out of the hands of the Butte County Sheriff's Department, seven
people growing medical marijuana as a collective have had a
spectacular run through the courts.

The California Supreme Court on Wednesday denied review and let stand
a 3rd District Court of Appeal opinion in July upholding the right of
patients to collective growth of marijuana. The opinion also affirmed
the ability of patients to sue if their right to collectively
cultivate is violated by local law enforcement.

The 3rd District's decision upheld a 2007 ruling by Butte Superior
Court Judge Barbara Roberts that seriously ill people cultivating
collectively "should not be required to risk criminal penalties and
the stress and expense of a criminal trial in order to assert their rights."

The county had argued grower David Williams should have allowed
himself to be arrested and then sought vindication through prosecution.

Williams was forced by a sheriff's deputy in 2005 to uproot 29 of 42
plants on his Paradise property or face arrest and prosecution.
Americans for Safe Access, an advocacy group, filed a lawsuit against
Butte County in 2006 on behalf of Williams and the six other
collective members. Roberts rejected the county's argument that
California's Compassionate Use Act prohibits collective cultivation.
The case now goes back to Roberts.

ASA spokesman Kris Hermes said Thursday the plaintiffs will seek
damages and attorneys' fees from the county.