cannabisnews.com: Prop. S: Challenging the Feds Prop. S: Challenging the Feds Posted by CN Staff on November 05, 2002 at 22:30:44 PT By Terence Hallinan, Special to The Examiner Source: San Francisco Examiner As a defense attorney, I once had a client named Frank Werber. He'd been the manager of the Kingston Trio; he also ran the Trident Restaurant and the old Fox Theater. In 1970, he was arrested for smuggling marijuana and hashish, and also for possession. Werber insisted to me that the best defense was the truth, certainly his truth, which was that these drugs were a means of exploring his religious beliefs, much the way Carlos Castenada used peyote to reach metaphysical heights. I was willing to try it. At trial, witnesses included Alan Watts, Tommy Smothers, and Joel Fort, who founded the National Center for Solving Special Social and Health Problems and has written extensively on alcohol abuse. All supported the argument that marijuana had many beneficial purposes and that it is a benign drug compared to alcohol. The judge was not convinced. He threw out the defense on grounds that while American Indians might be entitled to such a claim, Werber wasn't. Werber was acquitted of smuggling and given probation on the possession. In the course of that trial, I was introduced to the broader implications of marijuana use. In 1991, Dennis Peron put Proposition P on the ballot. He was a gay man who had lost his lover to AIDS, he was also founder of the S.F. Cannabis Cultivators Club. Prop. P was a medical marijuana ordinance and it won by 79.5 percent of the vote. Medical cannabis had been unavailable, even by prescription, since May 1991, when the Drug Enforcement Administration terminated its experimental medical marijuana program because of a flood of applications from people suffering the effects of cancer and HIV therapies. Peron asked for my support -- I was then a San Francisco supervisor --and I agreed to sponsor legislation, in large measure because I had begun to see that medical marijuana was a health issue, not a law enforcement issue. I was not alone. A lot of people came forward at the public hearing who told extraordinary stories -- a hemophiliac who had gotten AIDS and a police commander with cancer and other maladies. After the hearing, then-police Chief Tony Ribera and I worked out a resolution whereby simple possession of marijuana for medical purposes would become the lowest priority for police. In 1996, the California Medical Marijuana Initiative (Proposition 215) passed with 56 percent of the vote. Known as the California Compassionate Use Act, Prop. 215 changed how seriously ill patients and primary caregivers were treated by California's court system. If arrested on marijuana charges, patients could claim entitlement to an exemption from the law. Opponents of Prop. 215 argue -- I was the only district attorney in California who supported the initiative -- that this is merely a way of encouraging abuse of a drug that the federal government terms illegal. The problem with Prop. 215 was that it left doctors who prescribed marijuana in danger of being prosecuted, and perhaps losing their license to prescribe any medicines. This was partly resolved by a recent court ruling from the Ninth Circuit, which allows a physician to prescribe pot or recommend its use. However, this ruling doesn't clear up other conflicts between state and federal laws, such as how that same patient can grow, purchase or otherwise obtain the marijuana and then possess it. Today, Proposition S is on the ballot, a policy directive that would instruct officials to explore such matters as where marijuana could be grown, who would be eligible to receive it and the legal issues surrounding distribution. No doubt the measure will pass and there may be ways that The City could work with the DEA. But there is a danger. While Prop. S is another step toward decriminalizing the legitimate uses of medical marijuana, it may also be seen as a challenge to the federal government. That's a fight we cannot win. Nevertheless, Prop. S is a strong policy statement and, if it passes, those of us in city government should regard this as an expression of the wishes of San Francisco voters to make marijuana available to those legally entitled to possess and use it. That's the challenge for us. Terence Hallinan was elected district attorney of San Francisco in December 1995.Source: San Francisco Examiner (CA)Author: Terence Hallinan, Special to The ExaminerPublished: November 5, 2002Copyright: 2002 San Francisco ExaminerContact: letters sfexaminer.comWebsite: http://www.examiner.com/Related Articles: Government Gets in on Dope Dealing http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14656.shtmlSan Francisco Considers Growing Marijuana http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14640.shtmlS.F. Voters Support Marijuana Measure http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14101.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #11 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on November 06, 2002 at 10:11:24 PT Here's the correct link to the AP story http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20021106/ap_on_el_st_lo/eln_propositions_13 [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on November 06, 2002 at 10:10:44 PT What about DC? Yahoo's A.P. story on the ballot initiatives says we won in both San Francisco and Washington DC. Why haven't I heard anything about DC here? Is this just going to be Barr'ed? http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20021106/ap_on_el_st_lo/eln_pr [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by p4me on November 06, 2002 at 09:04:05 PT Alexa cannabisnews rating Yesterday cannabisnews had 147,440 hits,an increase of 25,000 over the previous record. The Alexa rating for Cnews is now 58,159.On 9/11 Cnews was rated 72,394On 10/3 it had moved up to 71,262On 10/10 it advanced to 67,521On 10/24 it was 64,596.I have not done any reading yet today but I did not really think that any state was as Republican as Nevada. The Rebublinazi incumbent got 68% of the vot for governor. Then I guess there is a block of Mormons that think the only moral thing to do is vote against anything that reforms the wicked cannabis laws.Those vacancies in the judgeships are going to be filled with more nutcases like Asscroft ready to moralize us into a new definition of American fascism.I do feel that some writers are coming here for news and that any following of the news and comments here enlightens them to the fact that it is fascism that keeps cannabis illegal. Well I have one overriding thing that I think must be said. Goddamn the Republicans and the voters they rode up on.1 [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by MikeEEEEE on November 06, 2002 at 08:09:04 PT Election Europe and many other countries hate lord Bush and company. This election will further isolate Amerika.It's too bad the baby boomers are still affected by the propaganda media. 40% Yes on question 9 is excellent, the trend is up, and the trend is our friend. Don't give up. [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by st1r_dude on November 06, 2002 at 07:53:54 PT san fran wins San Francisco voters approved a measure Tuesday to have the city study growing and dispensing marijuana for medical purposes in response to federal crackdowns on medical-cannabis clubs. The measure directs city officials such as the mayor, supervisors, district attorney, city attorney and public health chief to look at everything from where pot could be grown, how to distribute it and the liability. The next step could be enacting legislation. The measure was placed on the ballot by the Board of Supervisors at the urging of Supervisor Mark Leno, who was handily winning Tuesday night as the Democratic nominee for the state Assembly seat representing the eastern half of San Francisco. San Francisco's public health chief, Dr. Mitch Katz, supported the ballot measure, Proposition S. He prescribes marijuana to some patients in his AIDS practice at San Francisco General Hospital, saying it has benefits that other drugs can't achieve. Opponents argue the campaign for medical marijuana is a vehicle for people who have a larger aim of decriminalizing marijuana altogether. Although the measure was approved, growing and distributing marijuana remains illegal under federal law, and federal officials would likely move to shut any program. The federal Drug Enforcement Administration has raided medical pot clubs in Oakland, Petaluma, San Francisco and Santa Cruz and arrested people for possessing or distributing marijuana supposedly being used for medicinal purposes. In September, city officials in Santa Cruz allowed advocates to distribute cannabis products in the courtyard of City Hall after federal agents busted a local pot club. In early October, the San Jose police chief pulled three of his officers from a DEA task force that conducted the Santa Cruz raid saying such pot raids wasted his officers' time. Such conflicts between local and federal government increased after 1996 when California voters approved Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act, which gave state sanction to the medical use of pot. Eight other states have since adopted similar laws. State Attorney General Bill Lockyer has supported Proposition 215 and has left its implementation to local governments. The law did not specify how patients were supposed to get marijuana for medical use. Last year, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a symbolic measure declaring San Francisco a sanctuary for the use, cultivation and distribution of medical marijuana. Nine medical cannabis clubs, serving an estimated 2,000 patients a day, now operate in San Francisco with tacit approval by City Hall. The city's Department of Health has distributed about 3,700 official identification cards to medical marijuana users and their caregivers with the idea that they can avoid arrest if they possess a small amount of pot and they are stopped by an officer. Leno envisions growing cannabis on vacant city property, and has said that such a program could provide agriculture training for the city's unemployed. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by st1r_dude on November 06, 2002 at 07:51:40 PT san fran wins at least one measure passed...sheesh -http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2002/11/06/sfpot.TMP san fran wins pot prop [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by VitaminT on November 06, 2002 at 07:16:01 PT Still waiting on Boston but the numbers are solid everywhere else in Massachusetts Mass Marijuana VICTORY [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by goneposthole on November 06, 2002 at 07:07:47 PT You're not gonna win them all WAKE UP! PAY ATTENTION!HOLD YOUR TRUMP CARDSSLOUGH THE RESTSlouggins and a Phoenix risingashes to ashes dust to dustif the worms don't get us the buzzards must [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by TroutMask on November 06, 2002 at 06:44:09 PT Chin Up! I never thought that the measure in Nevada much of a chance to pass. We can't expect public opinion to change so dramatically. I still believe the most important part of the pro-MJ ballot issues this election season is the fact that the issues were discussed all over the world. The fact that a number of US states have decriminalized possession, legalized medical use and are now attempting to legalize fully lends support to countries outside the US to change their laws (Canada most importantly). Public opinion is changing and even losing these elections helps our progress.-TM [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Dark Star on November 06, 2002 at 04:31:19 PT Post Mortem It is a dark day for many of us. The usual strategy did not work. Why?Sorry folks, but this country has been swept up in a tidal wave of fascism and jingoism. People such as many of us merely do not vote in numbers. Our opponents do.The ballot measures were probably largely sunk by the fact that many of them mandated state involvement where those agencies did not wish this. Many votes were lost there.The public does understand the need for medical marijuana. The drive should continue with that. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by DdC on November 05, 2002 at 22:51:43 PT S.F. Ran Out of Ballots So Many Turned Out!!! The newz said S passed by a landslide...Up Yours Wally!DdCFor me the world is weird because it is stupendous, awesome, mysterious, unfathomable; my interest has been to convince you that you must assume responsibility for being here, in this marvelous world, in thie marvelous desert, in this marvelous time. I wanted to convince you that you must learn to make every act count, since you are going to be here for only a short while; in fact, too short for witnessing all the marvels of it. -- Don Juan in Carlos Castaneda's Journey to IxtlanCarlos Castaneda's Don Juan's Teachings http://www.prismagems.com/castaneda/ [ Post Comment ] Post Comment