cannabisnews.com: Task Force Issues Its Cannabis Proposals





Task Force Issues Its Cannabis Proposals
Posted by CN Staff on October 16, 2002 at 08:32:14 PT
By Ray Huard 
Source: SignOnSanDiego.com 
Sick people who use marijuana under a doctor's advice could keep up to 3 pounds of the drug without fear of arrest from San Diego police under guidelines proposed by a citizens task force.The city's Medical Cannabis Task Force recommendations also would allow patients to grow as many as 72 marijuana plants for their own use. Caregivers who grow marijuana for others could keep as much as 12 pounds of marijuana and grow as many as 90 plants under the guidelines. 
The guidelines will be reviewed by the City Council Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee at 2 p.m. tomorrow in a public hearing in the City Administration Building, 202 C St. The recommendations must be approved by the City Council.The guidelines and a proposed city identification-card program for medical marijuana users are intended to provide patients, those who care for them and police with a sense of how much marijuana can be legally grown and stored, said Juliana Humphrey, chairwoman of the Medical Cannabis Task Force.Humphrey said guidelines and cards would offer no protection against arrest by federal drug agents. Use and possession of marijuana for any purpose is still against federal law.The City Council created the 12-member task force in 2001 to implement Proposition 215, a 1996 state measure allowing the medical use of marijuana."There are people who want to think this isn't for real, that there's no such thing as medical marijuana patients, that anything more than a couple of joints (and) someone's having too much fun," Humphrey said. "Frankly, that's not the case."Humphrey said the typical person who would be affected by the guidelines is a cancer patient who uses marijuana to ease the side effects of chemotherapy.Critics say the guidelines are too ambiguous and allow people to grow and keep too much marijuana. They say the guidelines send a message to young people that smoking marijuana is acceptable."We're not saying no. We're just saying let's be responsible about this," said John Redman, executive director of the San Diego Prevention Coalition. "I don't think the coalition, myself or the city of San Diego are trying to deny people in need."Redman said the guidelines go too far in allowing sick people to smoke marijuana in public. If marijuana use is allowed, it should be used at home and not in public, he said.Redman said tighter definitions are needed as to who qualifies to be a caregiver and grow marijuana for others. For example, he said people with a history of drug abuse, minors and convicted felons should not be allowed to grow marijuana.Humphrey said the task force set 3 pounds as an acceptable amount based on a survey of San Diego doctors who recommended marijuana to their patients. The survey showed that the typical dosage ranged from three to five marijuana cigarettes per day, the task force said. The task force said 3 pounds of marijuana would be about a one-year supply for someone using four cigarettes a day.The task force said patients may have to keep a one-year supply on hand because marijuana plants grown outdoors are harvested once a year. She said as many as plants would be needed to produce about 3 pounds.Among California cities and counties that have adopted guidelines for the medical use of marijuana, the task force said the amount of marijuana allowed ranges from a half-pound in Arcata and Marin County to 3 pounds in Oakland and Sonoma and Tehema counties.Although the guidelines are meant to protect patients from arrest by police, they cannot provide protection arrest by federal drug agents, who have been cracking down on medical marijuana growers.San Diego medical marijuana activist Steve McWilliams was arrested last week on federal drug charges. He has pleaded innocent and was released on bond.McWilliams had been a member of the task force but resigned because he said it wasn't moving fast enough. He also disagreed with some of the limits the proposed guidelines would set.Police policy in deciding when to make an arrest is determined on a case-by-case basis. Some medical marijuana users have complained that police have arbitrarily taken away their plants.Humphrey said the proposed guidelines were drafted with an eye toward the federal law because the limits the guidelines set for possession and cultivation were intentionally kept below those that would require mandatory prison terms upon conviction in federal court.Note: Patients would be allowed to keep 3 pounds of pot.Source: SignOnSanDiego.com (CA)Author: Ray Huard Published: October 15, 2002Website: http://www.signonsandiego.com/Contact: http://www.signonsandiego.com/about/ut/contacts.htmlRelated Articles & Web Site:Medicinal Cannabis Research Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/research.htmSupervisors Oppose City's Plan to OK Marijuana http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14337.shtmlThe Proposition 215 Dilemmahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14336.shtmlSupervisors Vote To Oppose Med. Marijuana Use http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14324.shtml
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on October 16, 2002 at 15:33:33 PT
News Article from KFMB-TV
CITY COMMITTEE TO REVIEW GUIDELINES FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA USE(10-16-2002) - A San Diego City Council committee will review a report from the city's Medical Cannabis Task Force Wednesday. The report details proposed law enforcement guidelines for the use of medical marijuana. The public is also expected to speak out about a recent federal law enforcement raid on the home of local medical marijuana activist Steven McWilliams. Federal agents uprooted 25 marijuana plants from the front yard of McWilliams' Normal Heights home three weeks ago. He was arrested on federal drug charges last Friday. Now, the 48-year-old is free on bond. McWilliams is due back in court Friday for a motions-setting hearing. He faces a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The proposed city guidelines include giving special identification cards to people who have been deemed to need marijuana for medical purposes - something the Board of Supervisors voted to oppose earlier this month. The guidelines would also allow patients to have no more than one year's supply of processed marijuana or three pounds, whichever is less. Caregivers would not be allowed more than 12 pounds. Additionally, patients also would be allowed as many as 72 indoor plants or 20 outdoor plants in a secure area. Caregivers would be allowed 90 plants, indoors or outdoors. Proposition 215, passed by California voters in 1996, allows people to use marijuana with permission from a doctor, but federal drug laws make no exceptions for state statutes. Medical marijuana advocates say cannabis helps relieve pain and other symptoms for patients with AIDS, cancer and other conditions. Direct Link: http://www.kfmb.com/topstory11587.html
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Comment #4 posted by WolfgangWylde on October 16, 2002 at 12:27:01 PT
Dutch Prime Minister Balkendnde...
...who promised to close the coffeeshops has resigned. Good riddance.
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Comment #3 posted by darwin on October 16, 2002 at 10:21:02 PT
Dutch center/right collapse.
Just read in the BBC that the center/right coalition in the Dutch government has collapsed. Does that mean that the anti-cannabis factions have lost their teeth?
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Comment #2 posted by Ethan Russo MD on October 16, 2002 at 10:18:13 PT:
Unrelated
The NY Times is apparently in partnership with the ONDCP in distributing a propaganda curriculum to schoolkids:http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/NIE/focusonmarijuana/PDF of the curriculum:http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/NIE/focusonmarijuana/Book.pdfI have quickly scanned this, and would offer the following criticisms:1) The addiction drum is being beat, but they make no reference to the NYT article on Aug. 2, 1994, p. C3 in which Jack Henningfield of NIDA and Neal Benowitz of UCSF rated addictive symptoms of cannabis vs. other commonly used drugs including heroin, alcohol and cocaine. Overall, to summarize, Mary Lynn Mathre said in her book, Marijuana in Medical Practice (p. 179), "Marijuana was ranked lowest for withdrawal symptoms, tolerance, and dependence (addiction) potential; it ranked close to caffeine in the degree of reinforcement and higher than caffeine and nicotine only the degree of intoxication."
  We laso fail to see a reprint of the NYT Sunday magazine article circa 1996 or 1997 about Prop. 215 in California and its positive spin on medical marijuana.   There is also no reference to this article:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12084124&dopt=Abstract that seriously draws into question any true addiction to cannabis.2) In a similar fashion, these materials imply permanent memory loss, learning deterioration and brain changes with social cannabis usage, when current data shows no such thing. This is reviewed in the Chronic Use Study:http://www.montananorml.org/docs/ChronicCannabisUseStudy.pdf and Pope's articles:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11576028&dopt=Abstract http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11879116&dopt=Abstract 3) Damage due to smoking is equated with tobacco. This is spurious. Again see the Chronic Use Study. Additionally, cannabis has never caused a case of pulmonary cancer. It may be relatively protective:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11245634&dopt=Abstract Cannabis does not cause emphysematous deterioration:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=9001303&dopt=Abstract4) Effects of driving by cannabis are equated with alcohol. Most recent surveys have shown a low relative risk. An excellent summary is contained in the Canadian Senate Report:http://www.parl.gc.ca/Common/Committee_SenRecentReps.asp?Language=E&Parl=37&Ses=1 5) The gateway effect is trumpeted, although this has been totally discredited.6) The potency issue is presented as a danger. There is no substantial evidence that average cannabis is much stronger than in former years:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=10641915&dopt=Abstract http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=3292744&dopt=Abstract Stronger cannabis means that the person smokes less to gain the desired therapeutic or recreational effect. It does not ensure greater dysfunction, addiction or other sequelae.7) The amotivational syndrome is presented as fact, rather than a disproved propaganda item.8) The material continually derides Jay Leno and Sex in the City for attitudes toward cannabis not considered appropriate. Interestingly these are shows on networks not affiliated with the owner of the NYT. Additionally, there is no mention of Murphy Brown, and how her use of cannabis helped her to continue life-saving chemotherapy.9) The materials enlist students in the propaganda battle of the War on Drugs by having them write their own ads.10) There is nothing about therapeutic cannabis usage.11) The materials are not written by NYT staff but were released under their by-line. For this, they should assume responsibility for the content. None of the authors is an MD or pharmacologist.Please feel free to forward this to anyone you like.
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Comment #1 posted by Ethan Russo MD on October 16, 2002 at 08:54:38 PT:
Juliana Humphrey
I have posted on this subject before. Juliana is a public defender, and is extremely well-informed on this entire issue. You can be sure that a great deal of consideration went into the framing of this proposal.
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