cannabisnews.com: Half a Loaf on Medical Marijuana!





Half a Loaf on Medical Marijuana!
Posted by FoM on July 13, 1999 at 09:08:51 PT
Kubby Announce
Source: The Kubby Files
Friends, Only the OC Register has the courage to tell it like it is: "SB 848 talks of "problems and uncertainties in the act, when the real problem is that some police agencies and district attorneys have resisted complying with Prop. 215 and a few have even targeted medical patients."
The shocking truth is that the Legislature and Attorney General have lost control of law enforcement and must now negotiate which laws prosecutors and police will enforce and how. Although SB 848 is touted as voluntary, law enforcement has already refused to support SB 848 unless the word "voluntary" was removed wherever it appeared in the bill. All references to the word "voluntary," have since been deleted, although the backer of SB 848 tell us their bill still will be a voluntary program. Yeah right, SB 848 will become a license to loot for police once they find a patient who can't produce a card. The City and County of San Francisco oppose SB 848 as unnecessary and so do I. The intent seems clear to gut Prop. 215, force patients to give up their medical rights and register with the state. Unfortunately, every experience we patients have had with law enforcement has taught us that the police and district attorneys cannot be trusted and will stop at nothing to raid and loot sick, disabled and dying people. SB 848 is a shameful sell-out to law enforcement that will only endanger patients further. Gandhi once said, "Non-cooperation with tyranny is a duty. SB 848 represents nothing less than a craven surrender to tyrants and I urge all who still believe in our Constitution and Bill of Rights to vigorously oppose it.Let Freedom Grow, Steve Pubdate: Tuesday,July 13,1999Source: Orange County Register (CA)Copyright: 1999 The Orange County RegisterContact: letters link.freedom.com Website: http://www.ocregister.com/ Half a Loaf on Medical Marijuana July 13, 1999 California's task force on medical marijuana, convened by Attorney General Bill Lockyer and co-chaired by state Sen. John Vasconcellos and Santa Clara County District Attorney George Kennedy, has issued its report and put it in the form of a bill, SB 848. The bill is, as Sen. Vasconcellos put it, "a remarkable compromise after one of the most elegant collaborative processes I've enjoyed in my 33 years in the Legislature." The process may have been elegant but the result, like most compromises, is a mixed bag. It puts in place more government supervision than is necessary or was contemplated by Proposition 215, passed by California voters in 1996. It postpones important details until December of 2000 when the Department of Health Services is required to issue regulations and procedures. And it offers no protection for patients from federal harrassment. The heart of the plan is a voluntary registration system, to be administered by county health departments, whereby patients and caregivers can receive certification and ID cards. The registration system would be linked to the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System so a law enforcement officer could confirm the legitimacy of a card 24 hours a day. An important provision is that it would immunize both patients and caregivers from arrest not only for possession and cultivation of marijuana, but also for transportation and delivery. Recognition of the reality that if Prop. 215 is to be effective legal transportation must be permitted is welcome. On the down side, the procedure for issuing cards is needlessly bureaucratic and intrusive and the requirement that they be renewed annually is ridiculous. SB 848 talks of "problems and uncertainties in the act," when the real problem is that some police agencies and district attorneys have resisted complying with Prop. 215 and a few have even targeted medical patients. And while it's possible that "emergency" regulations could be issued earlier, clarification of important details like how many plants a patient may grow without being hassled could wait 18 months. The act also ignores the 800-pound gorilla in the picture -- the federal government. Federal resistance to Prop. 215 is a major source of uncertainty. A provision for the state to provide representation or a dispute-resolution mechanism for certified California patients who run afoul of federal agents would have been welcome. SB 848 would improve matters for most patients. Although we recognize that it represents a delicate compromise, a little tinkering would improve it.THE KUBBY FILEShttp://www.kubby.com/Monarch Bay Plaza #375 Dana Point, Ca 92629 DON'T GET LEFT OUT OF THE LOOP:Subscribe: Kubby-Announce-on list.kubby.orgUnsubscribe: Kubby-Announce-off list.kubby.org 
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