cannabisnews.com: Federal Logic has Gone to Pot Federal Logic has Gone to Pot Posted by CN Staff on October 17, 2002 at 08:09:39 PT By Peter Rowe Source: SanDiegoChannel.com Steve McWilliams, the medical marijuana activist, is more provocateur than politician. The San Diegan has smoked a pile of prescription pot – sometimes on City Hall's steps.So perhaps his judgment has been dulled by doobies. But what's the Bush administration's excuse for its contradictory reasoning? While running for president, then-Gov. Bush was asked about medical marijuana. "I believe each state can choose that decision as they so choose," he said. California, then, would appear to be Bush's Exhibit A. In 1996, the voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 215, clearing the way for doctors to prescribe pot.Last Friday, though, McWilliams was arrested for growing marijuana for patients."The DEA is not singling these people out," Donald Thornhill Jr., a DEA spokesman, told the Union-Tribune's Jeff McDonald and Marisa Taylor. "We're just enforcing the law."Would that be the state law that Candidate Bush said should govern this issue? Or the federal law that President Bush now insists is paramount?Mysteries and guidelines If Proposition 215 runs afoul of federal statutes, it also violates common sense. While it clearly intended to allow patients the right to possess and use marijuana, the law raised more questions than the first chapter of an Agatha Christie mystery.Where were these ailing people supposed to shop for marijuana?How much could they possess?Oh, and by the way, who should receive an Rx for THC? Soon after Proposition 215's passage, McWilliams showed me his list of pot-worthy ailments. As I recall, it ranged from cancer – marijuana has been used to ease the nausea that accompanies chemotherapy – to "bad day at work."Last year, San Diego established a task force to answer these questions. This body includes doctors, lawyers and cancer survivors. For awhile it included McWilliams, but he resigned this summer."This was his issue," said Juliana Humphrey, a lawyer and the task force's chair. "But once he got into a government arena, Steve didn't know what to do."If the task force was similarly confused, it found its way – slowly. Members paused often to consult with the City Attorney's Office and members of the Police Department's narcotics unit. Yesterday, all these deliberations resulted in a series of recommendations, delivered to a City Council subcommittee.But why bother if Washington is determined to declare Proposition 215 null and local implementation void?"I think this makes it even more important that we have guidelines," Humphrey said. "Our residents need to know where our police and our city government stand."Making a federal case Although McWilliams left the task force, his cooperative still followed that group's recommendations. His was a small operation of roughly 25 plants. Surely, no one would make a federal case over it.Wrong. The feds exhumed a 1999 case, in which police seized 448 plants from McWilliams' cooperative. Local prosecutors, no doubt aware of Proposition 215's inherent contradictions, had declined to prosecute.The feds, though, seized on that '99 bust to threaten McWilliams with a minimum five-year prison term. This isn't about justice; it's about muzzling an advocate."This guy is violating the law, and he's flaunting it," the DEA's Thornhill said. "He brought this whole thing on himself."This, from an administration that claims to support states' rights. If McWilliams was so confused, I'd chalk it up to too many joints. But what are the feds smoking?Source: SanDiegoChannel.comAuthor: Peter RowePublished: October 17, 2002 Copyright: 2002 TheSanDiegoChannel.comWebsite: http://www.thesandiegochannel.com/news/Contact: http://www.signonsandiego.com/about/ut/contacts.htmlRelated Articles & Web Site:Americans for Safe Access http://www.safeaccessnow.org McWilliams Out on Bail After Federal Charges http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14437.shtmlPot Grower Gets Letter of Warning from DEAhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14191.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #2 posted by afterburner on October 17, 2002 at 12:03:29 PT: Cliches and Innuendos pokesmotter:You are right. Words have power. These phrases call to mind images of degenerate, irresponsible, and out-of-control wastrels: a menace to society. This is fear propaganda that unfortunately pollutes an otherwise sound article. The real point is G. W. Bush contradicting his words with antagonistic actions.Have a heart for the sick. Let California regulate supply. The federal government has no Constitutional authority to regulate medical marijuana. Even alcohol prohibition required a Constitutional Amendment. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by pokesmotter on October 17, 2002 at 09:16:28 PT: bad cliche people on both sides of this issue need to stop using the phrase, "what have they been smoking?" i don't know why but it just bothers me. also, after watching tv for years i know that almost everyone uses pothead stereotypes because they are "funny" but do not help us at all. you know, the ones that go "dude im wasted" or "far out man." just some thoughts of mine... [ Post Comment ] Post Comment