cannabisnews.com: Lockyer Offers Plan to Register Marijuana Users!





Lockyer Offers Plan to Register Marijuana Users!
Posted by FoM on July 13, 1999 at 06:25:34 PT
By Stephen Green
Source: Hot CoCo
SACRAMENTO A statewide registration system should be established for people who are authorized to use marijuana for medical purposes to protect them from prosecution and help control illegal use of the drug, according to a task force appointed by California Attorney General Bill Lockyer.
Lockyer acknowledged during a Capitol news conference Monday that some of the task force's recommendations will be controversial. But he said they represent "a balanced approach" to implementing Proposition 215, which voters approved in November 1996 to legalize marijuana for limited medical uses."Unfortunately, Proposition 215 was a poorly drafted initiative that raised more questions than it answered," Lockyer said. "The task force's recommendations will help legislators and others clarify the shortcoming in Proposition 215 while protecting the interests of law enforcement and the seriously ill." Calls for standardsThe task force proposals call for the state Department of Health Services to develop standards for county health departments to issue identification cards to patients who have valid prescriptions for marijuana from their physicians. Cards also could be issued to a patient's primary caregiver and law enforcement would have access to systems that instantly verify whether a card is valid.Patients would have to provide documentation that they suffer from a condition for which marijuana might provide some relief, such as cancer, AIDS or persistent nausea.Soon after taking office in January, Democrat Lockyer assembled his 29-member task force from law enforcement, the medical and patient communities, and other stakeholders.That was a significant departure from the stance of former Attorney General Dan Lungren, a Republican who had refused to implement Prop. 215. Lungren succeeded in shutting down about two-thirds of the clubs statewide that were providing marijuana, arguing that not all of the recipients were ill.And the federal government, saying the state initiative was superseded by federal restrictions on the drug, blocked much of Prop. 215 in court. Davis neutral on billGov. Gray Davis, a Democrat, also opposed Prop. 215. His press secretary, Michael Bustamante, said Monday the governor does not have a position on the task force's recommendations."If good science and good medicine dictate that this is something that is reasonable, the governor will look at this very seriously," Bustamante said.The recommendations have been amended into a bill, SB848, by Sen. John Vasconcellos, D-Santa Clara, co-chairman of the task force.There were indications, however, that the bill could have tough sledding. Assemblyman Rico Oller, R-San Andreas, said he respects the view that the will of the voters should be followed. But the bill "could expand the use to many people who don't" have an appropriate reason to use the drug."It's a civil rights nightmare," said John Entwistle of Californians for Compassionate Use. He said he was concerned that lists of people registered to use the drug could be used for punitive purposes."The courts have been interpreting Proposition 215 precisely," Entwistle said. "That process should continue. We don't need a parallel bureaucratic system. … If we have to go in that direction, then a lot more public input -- especially from patients -- is needed to smooth (SB848) out." Consensus citedBut task force member Bill Zimmerman of Americans for Medical Rights said Lockyer brought together people "who have never seen eye-to-eye on this issue" and they succeeded in forging a consensus.The proposals would produce "more uniform standards of medical marijuana enforcement across the state," Zimmerman said. A registration system for patients "is new to California," he continued, "but it is already a reality in Oregon and Alaska."In California, the city of Arcata and Mendocino County recently started registration programs.Other recommendations incorporated into Vasconcellos' bill include:Health Services would determine what amount of medical marijuana is appropriate for patients and how much can be possessed. The department would write regulations for cooperative projects to grow marijuana. Smoking of medicinal marijuana would be banned in all places where tobacco smoke is not allowed. It also would be illegal to drive or operate a boat while under the influence of marijuana. If Vasconcellos' bill is signed into law, Lockyer predicted the program could be in place by the middle of next year.Pubdate: July 13, 1999http://www.hotcoco.com/news/statfront/kdr31853.htm
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