cannabisnews.com: Medical Pot Clubs Thrive Discreetly 





Medical Pot Clubs Thrive Discreetly 
Posted by CN Staff on June 08, 2003 at 08:16:54 PT
By Janine DeFao, Chronicle Staff Writer
Source: San Francisco Chronicle 
When federal officials shut down the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative in 1998, Angel McClary Raich faced what she considered a "life-threatening situation." "I could die in 45 days without medical marijuana. It literally keeps me alive," said Raich, 37, an Oakland resident who suffers from an inoperable brain tumor, seizures, wasting syndrome and chronic pain.
For Raich, it wasn't difficult to find another source for the marijuana she relies on daily to quiet her pain and seizures and stimulate her appetite. What was harder, she said, was to quell the fear that federal agents would break down her door, seize her stash and even jail her. Such is the state of Proposition 215, the medical marijuana initiative passed by California voters in 1996. A high-profile federal crackdown on medical marijuana has resulted in the closure of clubs throughout the state, raids on growers and arrests of activists including Ed Rosenthal, who was convicted of cultivating marijuana but spared a prison sentence last week. But activists say the crackdown has not curtailed access to medical marijuana in the Bay Area, and the number of cannabis clubs and other providers is growing to meet the needs of thousands of patients. Still, many providers and patients alike live in fear of federal prosecution and so have kept their activities under the radar. "It seems the more the federal government puts pressure on dispensaries, the more that pop up," said Don Duncan, director of the Berkeley Patients Group, one of many innocuously named medical marijuana providers. But "it's a good idea not to provoke a lot of attention. We're worried all the time the (Drug Enforcement Administration) could come crashing into Berkeley." "There's a risk involved, but it's important to take that risk," he said. There are at least 35 medical pot clubs in the state, nearly all of them in Northern California and more than half in the Bay Area, said Dale Gieringer, coordinator of the California chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. Snipped:  Complete Article: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/06/08/BA160808.DTL    Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)Author: Janine DeFao, Chronicle Staff WriterPublished: Sunday, June 8, 2003Copyright: 2003 San Francisco Chronicle - Page A - 23 Contact: letters sfchronicle.comWebsite: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/Related Articles & Web Sites:O.C.B.C.http://www.rxcbc.org/CaNORMLhttp://www.canorml.org/Marin Alliance For Medical Marijuanahttp://www.cbcmarin.com/Ed Rosenthal's Pictures & Articles http://freedomtoexhale.com/trialpics.htmTwist Ends Medical Marijuana Case http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16545.shtmlMedical Marijuana Activist Free http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16533.shtml U.S. Judge Rules Against Medical Pot Patients http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15690.shtml
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on June 09, 2003 at 11:17:52 PT
News Brief -- Associated Press
Ukiah Pediatrician has Issued 619 Medical Pot Cards June 09, 2003 The Associated PressA Mendocino pediatrician has authorized medical marijuana identification cards for 619 people since April of 2002.Records obtained by the Eureka Times-Standard newspaper show that Doctor Richard White accounts for nearly half the cards issued in Mendocino County since the medical marijuana program began back in 1999.The 63-year-old doctor says he believes in the medical benefits of marijuana and recommends pot as an alternative remedy to conventional prescription drugs.White sees many of his patients at the Ukiah Medical Caregivers Clinic, a medical marijuana dispensary where he rents space.Public Health Officer Doctor Marvin Trotter says White recommends marijuana at a much higher rate than the fifteen other physicians in the county who endorse pot use for their patients.
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Comment #3 posted by freedom fighter on June 08, 2003 at 18:16:57 PT
Always so glad to hear
from an old friend. E.J., I tried to keep my mouth shut but hey, it's good to see you again. Cnews could use your touch! I remembered many witty things you wrote. Take care.pazff
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on June 08, 2003 at 11:00:50 PT
E_Johnson 
I don't want to make a fuss but it is good to see you.
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Comment #1 posted by E_Johnson on June 08, 2003 at 10:49:28 PT
A call for Fox editor to resign
Write Fox News Watch at newswatch foxnews.com and complain about Fox New implying that large scale marijuana growers can't be charged under federal law and are walking free because the state laws are too lax:http://www.vasilisa.com/FoxNewsLies.htmlWas this an accidental error, due to laziness and incompetence, or was it a deliberate error showing that Fox editors are colluding with local prosecutors in a campaign to change state marijuana laws in California?
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