cannabisnews.com: Pot Ruling To Have Little Local Impact 





Pot Ruling To Have Little Local Impact 
Posted by CN Staff on July 20, 2002 at 08:48:38 PT
By  Mary Callahan, Staff Writer
Source: Press Democrat
A state Supreme Court ruling hailed as a victory for medical marijuana patients will have limited impact in Sonoma County, where local authorities already recognize the right of such people to use the drug, officials and advocates said.And because it fails to address inconsistencies in how counties handle such cases and has no bearing on federal authorities, who don't recognize any medical right, it leaves unresolved two of the state law's major obstacles.
Thursday's unanimous ruling protecting patients from prosecution if they have a doctor's recommendation to use marijuana will be felt most strongly in conservative counties, where authorities still arrest and prosecute patients with regularity, officials and advocates said.Sonoma County no longer prosecutes individuals who appear to have a viable medical claim. The turnabout came after acquittals in two high-profile cases involving more than 100 plants, District Attorney Mike Mullins said.Under subsequent countywide guidelines, patients with physician approval may have up to 99 plants or 3 pounds of dried marijuana. In neighboring Mendocino County, patients may have 25 plants or 2 pounds."This ruling backs up the admirable work that this county has already done," said Mary Pat Jacobs, a spokeswoman for the Sonoma County Alliance for Medical Marijuana. "Our district attorney and local law enforcement, and the Sonoma County Peer Review: Congratulations to them for being ahead of the curve here."District Attorney-elect Stephan Passalacqua noted that the diabetic man whose case prompted the state high court decision would never have been tried here.But the ruling would streamline any cases that do go to court, averting trials by allowing judges to hear about medical need beforehand, Mullins said.It also eases the burden on defendants, requiring they merely raise reasonable doubt that the pot in their possession was not intended for legitimate medical use.Mendocino County District Attorney Norman Vroman said prosecutors also may shy away from filing cases they might otherwise have pursued because the shifting burden makes it harder to prove someone is growing large quantities of pot under bogus medical claims."It doesn't give us as much as we asked for," said Alliance spokeswoman Jacobs, who was among many advocates hoping for a stronger ruling barring authorities from arresting and charging patients in the first place. "But now it looks like they are starting to look toward the bar to prosecution."The ruling arose from a 1997 case in which a blind and seriously ill Tuolumne County diabetic named Myron Mower was tried for growing marijuana that his physician recommended to control nausea and help maintain his weight.While Tuolumne County policy would have allowed him three plants, Mower had 31, the court ruling says.His attorneys appealed his conviction, claiming he was completely immune to arrest and prosecution under the 1996 state initiative giving Californians the right to use medicinal marijuana.The California Supreme Court ruled that while he did not have complete immunity, he did have the right to present his medical claim at a pretrial hearing and seek a dismissal of charges.The court also said that while authorities believed Mower was growing more marijuana than was required to meet his medical needs, Mower need only raise reasonable doubt about the truth of that assertion to go free.The ruling moves patients beyond the point where they only were guaranteed a right to raise a medical defense at trial. So "it is seen as progress," said another Alliance spokesman, Doc Knapp.But it fails to address the larger problems associated with the compassionate use law.There are still no statewide guidelines governing its use. Attorney General Bill Lockyer has refused to set limits on how much an individual or caregiver may possess or grow for medical use, so there is no consistency in how counties handle such cases.In any case, patients in even the most permissive counties are still subject to arrest and prosecution by federal authorities.Federal prosecutors are mounting cases against two key members of the Aiko Compassion Center in Santa Rosa, for instance. The West College Avenue dispensary was closed after it was raided by federal authorities in late May."You're still taking your chances with the feds," Mullins said.Jacobs said the Alliance recommends no one grow more than 99 plants because of federal rules. Under federal law, anyone growing 100 plants or more can be imprisoned for five to 10 years. With 99 plants or fewer, one may only get probation, she said.Overall, said Vroman, the ruling "is just a further step down the line to totally legalizing it (marijuana), and I just wish they'd do it and get it over with. It would save everybody a lot of trouble."Note: Sonoma County already recognizes rights of medical marijuana users. Source: Press Democrat, The (CA) Author: Mary Callahan, Staff WriterPublished: July 20, 2002Copyright: 2002 The Press Democrat Contact: letters pressdemo.com Website: http://www.pressdemo.com/ Related Articles & Web Site:Medicinal Cannabis Research Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/research.htmCourt: Medicinal Marijuana is Legalhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13469.shtmlCalifornia High Court Backs Medical Marijuana http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13466.shtmlState's Top Court Rules on Medical Pot Law http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13465.shtml
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