Californians Helping to Alleviate Medical Problems, Inc. - Page 19




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          marijuana.  Petitioner was regularly and extensively involved in            
          the provision of caregiving services, and those services are                
          substantially different from petitioner’s provision of medical              
          marijuana.  By conducting its recurring discussion groups,                  
          regularly distributing food and hygiene supplies, advertising and           
          making available the services of personal counselors,                       
          coordinating social events and field trips, hosting educational             
          classes, and providing other social services, petitioner’s                  
          caregiving business stood on its own, separate and apart from               
          petitioner’s provision of medical marijuana.  On the basis of all           
          of the facts and circumstances of this case, we hold that                   
          petitioner’s provision of caregiving services was a trade or                
          business separate and apart from its provision of medical                   
          marijuana.                                                                  
               Respondent argues that the “evidence indicates that                    
          petitioner’s principal purpose was to provide access to                     
          marijuana, that petitioner’s principal activity was providing               
          access to marijuana, and that the principal service that                    
          petitioner provided was access to marijuana * * * and that all of           
          petitioner’s activities were merely incidental to petitioner’s              
          activity of trafficking in marijuana.”  We disagree.                        
          Petitioner’s executive director testified credibly and without              
          contradiction that petitioner’s primary purpose was to provide              
          caregiving services for terminally ill patients.  He stated:                







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Last modified: November 10, 2007