cannabisnews.com: Medical Pot Usage Check Simplified 










  Medical Pot Usage Check Simplified 

Posted by CN Staff on June 11, 2002 at 12:09:47 PT
By Gary Klien 
Source: Marin Independent Journal  

Marin County authorities have implemented a new medical-marijuana program that allows police to confirm a patient's medical need on the spot, sparing legitimate users the possible ordeal of arrest and confiscation.Under the new policy, announced by the District Attorney's Office and the Department of Health and Human Services, medical marijuana users will be able to register with the health department and receive a special photo identification card and serial number.
Police who contact marijuana users in the field will be able to call into central dispatchers to confirm the patients' registration, but they will not have access to their personal information.Sheriff Robert Doyle, the 10 municipal police chiefs and College of Marin police Chief Charles Lacy all have agreed to abide by the new policy.Unlike medical-marijuana policies in other counties, the Marin policy will place no guidelines on how many plants or pounds or marijuana cigarettes a patient can possess."Our new policy eliminates the number of plants and bases everything on medical need," District Attorney Paula Kamena said. "If the person is contacted and they present a Marin County card to a Marin County local police officer, and they say, 'Here, here's my medical marijuana card,' the officer will have a number to call where he can verify the card number."The county had tried issuing ID cards before to accommodate Proposition 215, the voter approved initiative that endorsed medical use of marijuana to alleviate AIDS, cancer and other conditions. The ID cards were meant to dispel confusion over patients' medical authorization to use marijuana, but most medical pot users in Marin feared it would make it easier for police to bust them, and few cards were issued.The new program is voluntary, and those who choose not to participate may still be able to back up their claims with other medical documentation. But the county registration system will be less trouble for everyone involved, authorities said."What we're trying to do is make it easier for those with legitimate needs," Assistant District Attorney Ed Berberian said. "It's a way for them to quickly verify you have a documented need for the drug.""It should be problem-free," said Dr. Larry Meredith, director of the Department of Health and Human Services. "It's all very clear, it's all very consistent with the enabling legislation. It seems to be an approach that the police forces in the county are comfortable with."Twin Cities police Chief Phil Green agreed."I think it'll make it easier on everyone involved, and eliminate any unnecessary time and investigation," he said.Authorities said the ID card will not be a free pass to commit crimes. Police will still have the discretion to investigate whether a patient is selling the marijuana, or arrest patients for other suspected crimes."As far as the quantity, it would have to be some major amount for us to conduct an investigation," Green said.Lynnette Shaw, who runs the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana, the pot club in Fairfax, applauded the new initiative. Shaw, who led a recall drive last year against Kamena over her marijuana policies, said the new program may head off another recall effort in the future. The 2000 recall bid failed dramatically, but the election still cost the county about $500,000."I'm very pleased the policy has changed to accommodate all the demands and requests the medical marijuana community had made," she said. "Obviously the recall had the impact desired. ..."They were attempting to force people to manditorily register. They were taking everyone's pot, running them through the wringer and not respecting the fact they were sick."Thomas Van Zandt, the Mill Valley attorney who tried to unseat Kamena in the recall election, said the new policy appears to be "comprehensive.""It looks like it addresses some legitimate concerns, and I think it should be submitted to the Legislature for consideration as a state law," he said. "It should not be implemented on a county-by-county basis."For more information, call the health department at 499-3288.Source: Marin Independent Journal (CA)Author: Gary KlienPublished: Tuesday, June 11, 2002 Copyright: 2002 Marin Independent JournalContact: opinion marinij.comWebsite: http://www.marinij.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuanahttp://www.cbcmarin.com/Medical Marijuana Information Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/medical.htmArrests Highlight Pot Conflict http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13020.shtmlPatients Push Back After DEA Raids in Santa Rosa http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13016.shtmlPot Grower Leading Recall of Marin D.A. http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9828.shtml

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Comment #3 posted by xxdr_zombiexx on June 13, 2002 at 10:59:07 PT
Where there is a will, there is a way....
and I can see the police pulling people over every day and making the same call...just to harrass people...and to keep away from really dangerous criminals.The Federale's will have access to everything: they will have to spy on everybody now, so your phone records, shooping purchases, checks, visa purchases, faxex, posts to cannabisnews.com, EVERYthing will be available to Law Enforcement. These medical cards and thier database simply make the Fed's job much easier: remember they have few people to wage this war, so violations of the Constitution will have to be broad.We all see how closely the "War on Terror" becomes the "war on drugs" which is really just a "war on cannabis", but requires a war on the constitution to continue waging the other wars...including the war on Peaceful Peoples everywhereFREEDOM ENDURES
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Comment #2 posted by qqqq on June 12, 2002 at 06:27:59 PT
..of course the feds will have access to the list
.....after the feds are finally forced to lighten up on MMJ in the states,,,here is the scenario of my crackpot prediction.;..."ID cards",will end up being issued and required by some new federal empire mandate...(perhaps it will be part of the new homeland security department?),,,..In order to get your federally approved MMJ ID,,you will have to be approved by a federally registered doctor,,,and you will be required to provide exhaustive,and extensive information in order to be federally approved.....and Marijuana will remain a schedule 1 "drug"..... ..If you saw p4me s' link to the High Times magazine case ,that tried to reschedule Marijuana,,and you read Hutchinsons proclamations,,then you will realize,that this new empire is far worse than before.............. It is tragicly silly and absurd,,,but it's almost true to say;"Ah yes,,I remember the good old days when Slick Willy was smokin' cigars,,eatin' pizza,,and getting blow jobs in the oval office!..those were the days!"
....can you imagine if there was an inquisition of the shrub like the one Clinton endured?..I remember hearing all these fucking assholes like Asa,,Barr,,etc,,saying that they were defending the Constitution by attempting to impeach Clinton.......none of these shitheads has much to say about the Constitution nowdays,,,with the exception of people like asscroft,,who,before the morning prayer meeting, can be heard yelling from his throne,, a bejeweled justice department toilet;;;"..Hey...bring me another roll of constitution,,,uh,,I mean toilet paper.".. 
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Comment #1 posted by Industrial Strength on June 11, 2002 at 22:23:27 PT

uh oh
Better hope the Federale's dont have access to the list of names of card holders. Once they have arrested all the people who need medical marijuana, people won't be making such a stink about it. I wonder how many agents they will dispatch to deliver the forced entry warrent to an aids patient? Not putting limits on how much they can possess will mean that people may stock up on their medicine, so they can be put away for trafficking. Conspiracy to treat the sick without complex pharmaceuticals.
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