cannabisnews.com: Conflicting Pot Laws Entangle User










  Conflicting Pot Laws Entangle User

Posted by CN Staff on February 08, 2003 at 08:53:33 PT
By Jocelyn Y. Stewart, Times Staff Writer 
Source: Los Angeles Times  

If he had kept quiet, nobody would ever have known about the marijuana plants growing in David Basford's living room. In the secrecy of his studio apartment in Los Angeles, he could have harvested the plants without jeopardizing his housing. Instead, honesty won out.Basford showed the apartment manager his tiny crop, and explained that he needed the herb to reduce the wasting syndrome and nausea that come with AIDS. The manager of his federally subsidized apartment listened, sympathized and said he would get back to Basford.
Then word came from the owners of the building: The plants must go.Now Basford is in a quandary, forced to weigh his housing needs against what he and his doctor consider his medical needs."I sit here very frustrated and in tears and very angry," said Basford, who has a doctor's note stating that he uses the herb for medical purposes. "Mostly it's a sense of helplessness that overwhelms me. I just want to live and live well, and I don't want to fight anymore."Basford's landlord is A Community of Friends, a nonprofit that receives millions of federal dollars to operate housing and support services for homeless, disabled and very low-income people.For the organization, the issue is a hard and fast legal one: Accepting federal money means following federal laws. Allowing Basford's crop could jeopardize funding and the well-being of other residents in the 48-unit building."He does have to stop," said Ronald Stewart, interim chief executive and chief operating officer of A Community of Friends. "Unfortunately, that's the law. Until that changes and situations change, we have to abide by the law."This is a story, however, of not one law, but two, and how the conflict between those laws can affect the most intimate aspects of a person's life.In California, possessing a small amount of marijuana is a misdemeanor punishable by a $100 fine. Cultivation is a felony.But in 1996 California voters passed Proposition 215, which permits patients to use marijuana with a doctor's note. It prompted the growth of cannabis clubs, safe places where marijuana could be bought.The federal government, however, opposes marijuana use -- for any reason -- a position upheld in 2001 by the U.S. Supreme Court.After that ruling, federal agents began raiding marijuana clubs in California, including the Los Angeles Cannabis Resource Center on Santa Monica Boulevard, where Basford had been a customer.California Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer condemned the Drug Enforcement Administration raids as wasteful and unwise.In response to Lockyer's comments, Asa Hutchinson, head of the DEA, said science has not demonstrated the medical value of marijuana, a view shared by Congress and the Supreme Court."Moreover, state 'medical' marijuana laws -- including those in California -- are being abused to facilitate traditional illegal marijuana trafficking and associated crime," Hutchinson wrote.Hutchinson also noted how the Federal Drug Administration reviews new drugs:Snipped:Complete Article: http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/cpl.htm Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)Author: Jocelyn Y. Stewart, Times Staff WriterPublished: February 8, 2003 Copyright: 2003 Los Angeles TimesContact: letters latimes.comWebsite: http://www.latimes.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:LACRChttp://www.lacbc.org/Ed Rosenthal's Trial Pictures & Articleshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/trialpics.htmMcWilliams Gives Up Hope for Federal Court http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15405.shtmlCouncil OKs Storing 1 Pound of Marijuana http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15382.shtmlMedical Pot Grower's Case a Landmark http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15066.shtml

Home    Comment    Email    Register    Recent Comments    Help





Comment #1 posted by afterburner on February 08, 2003 at 11:03:26 PT:
The "Times" They Are A Changin'
"Unfortunately, that's the [federal] law." --Ronald Stewart, interim chief executive and chief operating officer of A Community of Friends. Indeed, unfortunately. Will the law change? With more state legislatures considering medical cannabis laws, how long can the federal government stay out of step? ego destruction or ego transcendence, that is the question. Soon come. 
[ Post Comment ]




  Post Comment