cannabisnews.com: Ideas Will Be Sent to City Council Ideas Will Be Sent to City Council Posted by CN Staff on June 21, 2002 at 10:00:26 PT By Ray Huard Source: Union Tribune Guidelines on who should be allowed to grow marijuana for sick people and how much they could legally grow will be developed by a citizens task force for consideration by the San Diego City Council in August. City Councilwoman Toni Atkins said guidelines are needed quickly to put patients at ease and to give police clearer direction in dealing with those who possess and grow marijuana to alleviate symptoms of various illnesses. "We're not talking about recreational use. We're talking about medical use," said Atkins, chairwoman of the Natural Resources and Culture Committee. The committee voted 3-1 this week to give the Medical Cannabis Task Force the job of preparing guideline proposals. Councilman Brian Maienschein was opposed and Councilman George Stevens was absent. The City Council created the task force a year ago to implement Proposition 215, a 1996 state measure allowing the medical use of marijuana. Maienschein, a lawyer, said he's against any city action to enable the medical use of marijuana because marijuana use is still against federal law. "I can't, in good conscience, vote for something that I believe is illegal," Maienschein said. Task force chairwoman Juliana Humphrey, a lawyer, warned that there may be disagreement between the task force and police in developing the guidelines. Atkins said the need for prompt action was underlined by a police raid in May on the City Heights garden of Dianne Vesprini, a medical marijuana patient. Vesprini said she had been growing marijuana at her home for herself and three other patients. Police Chief David Bejarano, in a June 14 memo to the council committee, said police followed proper protocol in removing the marijuana plants from Vesprini's garden. He said he couldn't go into detail because police investigative files are exempt from public record laws. Bejarano said the case was referred to the District Attorney's Office, which has declined to pursue criminal charges. Humphrey said the task force this week issued a call for social service agencies to submit proposals on developing an identification card program for medical marijuana users. She said the goal is to begin issuing the cards later this year. The council in February voted to establish the ID card program to allow sick people to use marijuana on their doctor's recommendation without fear of arrest. Source: San Diego Union Tribune (CA) Author: Ray Huard, Union-Tribune Staff Writer Published: June 21, 2002Copyright: 2002 Union-Tribune Publishing Co. Contact: letters uniontrib.com Website: http://www.uniontrib.com/ Related Articles & Web Site:Medical Marijuana Information Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/medical.htmGroup Sought To Manage Marijuana Programhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13174.shtmlID Cards Approved for Medical-Pot Users http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread12005.shtmlSan Diego Council Approves Pot ID Cards http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11996.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #6 posted by The C-I-R-C-L-E on June 21, 2002 at 21:24:11 PT Who appointed YOU president? The hardest part of that whole response to the article was referring to GWBush as president.I heard a better reference today on Democracy Now: Precedent Bush [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by BGreen on June 21, 2002 at 16:32:13 PT The C-I-R-C-L-E Check out this website for html formatting. It's helped me tremendously.You can even test your post in a screen before you post here. HTML: An Interactive Tutorial for Beginners [ Dave's HTML Guide ] [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by FoM on June 21, 2002 at 15:39:16 PT The C-I-R-C-L-E Welcome to C News and that's ok. Happens to most of us at one time or another. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by The C-I-R-C-L-E on June 21, 2002 at 15:27:14 PT: **sorry** Okay, the post below was my first one on this site. Sorry bout all the words crammed together. This is my test post to make sure I can indent, etc. Hopefully this line is indented....And hopefully this one is a couple lines below... [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by The C-I-R-C-L-E on June 21, 2002 at 12:51:26 PT: Misguided and Outdated Beliefs Here is the email I just sent to letters uniontrib.com in response: Clueless Councilman Represents Outdated Beliefs Councilman Brian Maienschein, as a lawyer, leaves much to be desired. He seems completely unaware that his position as an attorney and elected representative requires him to be aware of our state constitution, especially when it comes to the cannabis laws. In regards to the current conflict with federal law, the California Constitution Article 3 Sec. 3.5(c) reads: "An administrative agency...has no power to declare a statute unenforceable, or to refuse to enforce a statute on the basis that federal law or federal regulations prohibit the enforcement of such statute unless an appellate court has made a determination that the enforcement of such statute is prohibited by federal law or federal regulations." To date there has been no such appellate court ruling. When he states "I can't, in good conscience, vote for something that I believe is illegal," he makes it clear that he holds outdated beliefs. Someone of his stature who still misunderstands and refuses to support the medical cannabis law, after six years and counting, should be recognized as a threat to democracy here in California and a threat to the freedom we as Californians hold dear to use cannabis as medicine. The law is very clear as to what his legal responsibilities are. At the very least he should recognize his ethical responsibility to the citizens he represents. Claiming that federal law inhibits his support for state law makes me wonder what he would have said during the fight for civil rights - "I'm sorry, I can't help you. I believe the freedoms you want are outlawed." Thank God attitudes like his fade away with the test of time or America would still be in the dark ages. For the record, George W. Bush has stated his belief that medical marijuana should be left to the states to decide if it's legal or not. The state of California has already made that decision. So I ask you, Mr. Maienschein, are you with the president and the people you're elected to represent or are you against them? Martin Webb Director of The Cannabis Information Resource Center - Legally Entitled Penn Valley, Nevada County, CA [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by E_Johnson on June 21, 2002 at 11:25:17 PT This is the right idea City Councilwoman Toni Atkins said guidelines are needed quickly to put patients at ease Exactly -- sick people don't need to spend all their time defending themselves.Maienschein, a lawyer, said he's against any city action to enable the medical use of marijuana because marijuana use is still against federal law."I can't, in good conscience, vote for something that I believe is illegal," Maienschein said.Then go back to law school and take another course in the Constitution.The law in America is designed to respond to the needs of Americans. The law in America is designed to be arguable and changeable and mutable and transformable and evolvable, so that it can better respond to the needs of the citizens for whom the laws exist.And medical marijuana is an example. Citizens want this law to change. And so it must change. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment