cannabisnews.com: Police Officially Alter Medical Marijuana Policy Police Officially Alter Medical Marijuana Policy Posted by CN Staff on September 23, 2004 at 08:54:55 PT By Steve Irsay, Staff Writer Source: Grunion Gazette The Long Beach Police Department has revised it policy on medical marijuana to include more oversight of field officers who encounter purported patients or caregivers possessing the drug.Previously, the department had a zero tolerance policy under which a self-professed medical user would be subject to citation or arrest as in any other narcotics case. Medical marijuana advocates complained that this approach clashed with a state law legalizing medical marijuana and in June the City Council required the police department to revise its policy.The revisions, which officially take effect today (Thursday), have been implemented since July, said Chief of Police Anthony Batts.“The policy has been working very well,” he told the council Tuesday, adding that a recent case tested the guidelines and that “officers took the appropriate action.”The old policy essentially left the decision to cite or arrest a suspect up to the responding officer. Some advocates for reform argued that this left medical decisions in the unqualified hands of a police officer.Under the revised policy, once a person claims to be in possession of marijuana for medicinal purposes, the officer must detain the suspect and request the presence of a field supervisor.The officer and supervisor are to contact the suspect’s doctor to verify any documentation. If police deem the claim to be credible, then the marijuana will not be seized and the person will neither be cited nor arrested. Police will file an incident report detailing some of the suspect’s medical information.If the officers do not believe the medical claim is valid, they are to request that a watch commander respond to the scene to resolve the situation. Only the watch commander can authorize an arrest.Second District Councilman Dan Baker, who helped initially bring the issue to the council in June, thanked the police department for their response.“I think it’s a very reasonable policy for the city and I am happy we had the opportunity to bring this forward,” he said.Several medical marijuana advocates also thanked the police and the council for taking action on an issue that they said was ignored for too long.“Please remember that one of these patients could be your mother, your bother, your daughter, or even yourselves,” said Diana Lejins.California voters legalized medical marijuana in 1996 when they passed Proposition 215, also known as the “Compassionate Use Act of 1996.”The ballot initiative was short on rules for enforcement and this year a new bill, SB 420, addressed permissible amounts of medical marijuana and the issue of proper documentation. Currently, the only acceptable form is a doctor’s note.The law called for the state Department of Health Services to coordinate a voluntary identification card program through county and city health departments.State budget issues have held up the implementation of the program but it should be rolled out next April, according to Ron Arias, the city director of Health and Human Services.Source: Grunion Gazette (Long Beach, CA)Author: Steve Irsay, Staff WriterPublished: September 23, 2004Copyright: 2004 Grunion GazetteContact: editor gazettes.comWebsite: http://www.gazettes.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Medical Marijuana Information Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/medical.htmCompassionate and Sensiblehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19143.shtmlNo More Medical Pot Arrestshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19126.shtmlMedical Pot Smokers Sway City Councilhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19014.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #4 posted by charmed quark on September 24, 2004 at 14:54:54 PT Sounds semi-draconian to me What if my doctor is out for the weekend? According to the article, they will detain me until they can verify the information.And I really don't like the idea of the police putting my medical information into a police incident report. I realize it's so they can refer to it if they stop me again, but what is my level of privacy?The policy seems to be overkill.-Pete [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by FoM on September 23, 2004 at 13:26:06 PT Related Editorial from The Press-Telegram Advance for Medical MarijuanaSeptember 22, 2004L.B. Council makes the right decision on ending harassment.Long Beach has finally, thankfully, placed in its code of law a sensible and compassionate approach to medical marijuana. The new police policy adopted by the City Council Tuesday is a vast improvement from the previous one, where medical marijuana patients were routinely arrested and forced into costly legal battles with overzealous prosecutors.Now, legal medical marijuana patients will no longer have to fear humiliating arrests and expensive legal battles to prove their innocence.Long Beach police officers will now investigate a person's medical marijuana defense, with help from a supervising officer. The investigation may be as short as a phone call to the patient's doctor, or questions aimed at verifying whether or not a person is using marijuana under a doctor's orders. California voters in 1996 approved Proposition 215, which legalized marijuana for medical purposes. The proposition did not include guidelines or parameters on possession and cultivation, so many local law enforcement agencies, including Long Beach, stuck with an "arrest everyone and let the courts sort it out" approach. That hasn't worked. Many lawful patients have been subjected to stressful arrests, and then put through wasteful and expensive court trials.The city's new policy isn't an ideal way to implement Prop. 215. That may come soon with a statewide identification program being developed by the Department of Health Services. A state-issued ID card linked to a patient registry would be the quickest and least intrusive way for officers in the field to determine the legitimacy of a medical marijuana defense.Meanwhile, though, Long Beach will have a workable, common-sense policy on its books.It's been a long time coming. The patient advocates who lobbied the City Council, led by resident Diana Lejins, deserve credit, as do council members and Police Chief Tony Batts, who agreed that change was overdue.Long Beach patients who use medical marijuana have enough to worry about with their health problems, and shouldn't have to live with the fear of being arrested because of their medication. Finally, thankfully, they no longer will.Copyright: 2004 Los Angeles Newspaper Grouphttp://www.presstelegram.com/Stories/0,1413,204~21479~2419628,00.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by FoM on September 23, 2004 at 09:46:24 PT afterburner I did see that article and wanted to post it but it's one we must snip. Thank you for posting the link for others to read. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by afterburner on September 23, 2004 at 09:38:44 PT Too Bad US OR: Marijuana Case Ruling Overturned 21 Sep 2004 Oregonian, The (Portland, OR) http://www.mapinc.org/ccnews/v04/n1350/a02.html [ Post Comment ] Post Comment