cannabisnews.com: SF Votes to Explore City Pot Growing Program 





SF Votes to Explore City Pot Growing Program 
Posted by CN Staff on November 06, 2002 at 10:06:51 PT
By Angela Watercutter, Associated Press Writer 
Source: Associated Press
A measure approved by nearly two-thirds of San Francisco voters could put the city in the pot business. Upset at raids by federal authorities on medical marijuana distribution centers, voters approved a measure Tuesday making it official city policy to explore the establishment of a marijuana growing and distribution program. With all precincts reporting, the ballot proposal won 63 percent of the vote. The measure was the first of its kind in the country. 
"I think it speaks very strongly to the city's interest in pursuing the idea further," said supervisor Mark Leno, who proposed the measure. "At the core of that interest is concern for the health and well-being of many thousands of patients who depend upon safe and reliable access to their medicine." It does not mean that San Francisco immediately will start growing marijuana, but rather that city officials will have the right to explore various possibilities. Leno said the next step would involve the formation of a committee to research options and hold public hearings. Within a year, that committee will make its recommendations to the Board of Supervisors. Dr. Mitch Katz, the city's public health chief, supported the ballot measure. Katz, who says pot has benefits other drugs don't, prescribes marijuana to some patients in his AIDS practice at San Francisco General Hospital. The measure was intended to be a "sense of the voters" that would send a message to the federal Drug Enforcement Administration that marijuana should be made available to sick people. The measure comes after the DEA raided several medical marijuana distribution centers in California. Marijuana is illegal under federal law, but legal under California law and San Francisco ordinance if it's part of a medical treatment. It is likely, though, that federal officials would work to shut down any program the city tried to put in use. Source: Associated Press Author: Angela Watercutter, Associated Press Writer  Published: Wednesday, November 6, 2002  Copyright: 2002 Associated Press Related Articles & Web Site:Medical Marijuana Information Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/medical.htmVoters Back City Pot Distribution http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14672.shtmlProp. S: Challenging the Feds http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14669.shtmlSan Francisco Considers Growing Marijuana http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14640.shtml
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