cannabisnews.com: Council Passes Proposal Supporting Med Marijuana Council Passes Proposal Supporting Med Marijuana Posted by CN Staff on November 20, 2002 at 07:48:20 PT By The Associated Press Source: Associated Press The city council here passed a resolution making it police department policy not to report medical marijuana cases to the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and affirming the council's support of the use of medical marijuana by authorized patients."Simply, what this is doing is affirming our support for California law," said Councilman Larry Robinson, who voted for the resolution, which passed 3-1. One council member was absent at Tuesday's meeting. Bob Anderson, the sole dissenting vote, told the council he was concerned the resolution might send the wrong message about illegal - non-medicinal - marijuana cultivation and enforcement, and wanted more discussion before passing it.California voters approved the use of marijuana as medicine in 1996 with Proposition 215, and Sonoma County guidelines allow patients or their caregivers to grow an area of 100 square feet of marijuana crops, including up to 99 plants per year per patient.The resolution was brought to the council by the Sonoma Alliance for Medical Marijuana in response to several DEA raids involving medical marijuana patients and caregivers, spokesman Don Knapp said."The patients need the kind of protection from local officials we got here tonight," Knapp said. "Its the first line of defense from an oppressive federal government that is just out of line."The council also approved support of HR 2592, the "States Right To Medical Marijuana Act," which would reduce marijuana's federal drug classification from Schedule I to Schedule II, and allow states to administer their own medical marijuana laws without interference from the federal government, according to the resolution.A spokesman for the Sebastopol Police Department said the department had no position on the ordinance, but is obligated to follow the policies the city council sets.Robin Latham, 44, lives in Sebastopol and uses medical marijuana occasionally to help ease the symptoms of non-Hodgkins Lymphoma."Im thankful that youre helping us become a more compassionate culture," Latham told the council. "This is an important step for us to take." Complete Title: Sebastopol Council Passes Proposal Supporting Medical MarijuanaSource: Associated Press Published: Wednesday, November 20, 2002Copyright: 2002 Associated Press Medicinal Cannabis Research Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/research.htmCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #2 posted by afterburner on November 20, 2002 at 08:53:11 PT: Active, active, keep on marching! The council also approved support of HR 2592, the "States Right To Medical Marijuana Act," which would reduce marijuana's federal drug classification from Schedule I to Schedule II, and allow states to administer their own medical marijuana laws without interference from the federal government, according to the resolution.Write, email, fax your Representatives in the House to support this long overdue clarification of state authority for medical cannabis. Let's get it out of committee and onto the House floor.ego destruction or ego transcendence, that is the question. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by pokesmotter on November 20, 2002 at 08:28:29 PT: i love it "The city council here passed a resolution making it police department policy not to report medical marijuana cases to the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and affirming the council's support of the use of medical marijuana by authorized patients." The whole article in a nutshell right there. The question now is what is the DEA going to try to do to get around this? The marijuana debate in this country is going to be in the news (mainstream) sooner or later... [ Post Comment ] Post Comment