cannabisnews.com: Raids on California's Med. Marijuana Outlets Eases Raids on California's Med. Marijuana Outlets Eases Posted by FoM on January 19, 1999 at 06:15:56 PT SAN FRANCISCOState law enforcement agents will no longer be raiding Medical Marijuana outlets in California, and the newly installed Democratic state attorney general has been talking to federal officials about changing their laws! Attorney General Bill Lockyer wishes he could do more to make practical reality of his state's 1996 Proposition 215, which authorized use of medical marijuana by patients with a doctor's recommendation. His stance is precisely opposite that of his predecessor, Republican Dan Lungren, whose agents sometimes raided marijuana co-ops that local and federal authorities didn't want to deal with. But Mr. Lockyer made it clear his election does not end this sometimes confusing battle. In fact, the status of Proposition 215 may be more muddled than ever. "I would like to do what the people want, but we can't do it completely by ourselves," he said. "As long as the federal government puts marijuana in the same class as heroin as a dangerous narcotic, 215 will never really be law." But Mr. Lockyer promises that when local law enforcement agents refuse to shut down pot clubs, he will not intervene. That's a sharp contrast to Mr. Lungren, who sent state agents to raid pot co-ops and backed federal prosecutors when they won court orders to close others. "As an example, if the San Francisco club that Lungren raided were to reopen, I would not raid it," Mr. Lockyer said. Since local district attorney Terence Hallinan is a longtime backer of medical pot, the only way that club or another one that still operates quietly in the city could be shut down would be for federal agents to move in. Mr. Lockyer said he is frustrated by federal laws that now make it illegal to grow or sell marijuana, even for medicinal purposes. He's already lobbying federal officials to change the status of pot. "The best suggestion for solving this problem is a two-parter," Mr. Lockyer said. "First, we need to find ways to tighten our law to make sure that medical marijuana doesn't become a vehicle for overall legalization. And second, the federal government needs to make it a Schedule 2 drug that can be prescribed. If we can give people morphine, why can't we give them this?" Mr. Lockyer said the roots of his support for medical marijuana are highly personal. "I watched my mother and sister die of leukemia and I know they could have used this to ease their pain," he says. "People like Lungren say medical marijuana will lead to overall legalization. But we've used morphine and other opiates for many years, and no one except strict libertarians has ever seriously suggested legalizing them for recreation." Mr. Lockyer envisions a series of medical marijuana clinics around his state, each carefully screening all customers to make sure their use of the weed is strictly according to instructions from a physician. "But these should be clinics, not cults, the way some of the marijuana clubs have seemed to be at times. "I've had talks already with the top federal law enforcement people on this, and they seem fairly receptive," he said. "They know that Alaska, Arizona, Oregon, Washington and Colorado have all passed their own medical marijuana initiatives since we passed 215. In fact, wherever it's been voted on and the ballots counted, it has passed. So it's not just crazy California by itself any more." But Mr. Lockyer realizes changing the status of marijuana for medical purposes would be a dicey political move for the Clinton administration. Noting that President Clinton has admitted smoking the weed as a youth but claimed not to have inhaled, Mr. Lockyer said "that might make it politically impossible for him to make the change." Mr. Lockyer also cautioned activists not to expect his office to jump in and help them if and when local district attorneys or federal authorities make arrests. "I'm not interested in frivolous windmill tilting," Mr. Lockyer said. "If I can think of a theory under which I can defend the state law the people passed, I will. But my inclination is toward consensus, not confrontation, with the policy-makers." Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: