cannabisnews.com: Calaveras Supervisors Study Medical-Pot Plan 





Calaveras Supervisors Study Medical-Pot Plan 
Posted by FoM on December 11, 1999 at 21:11:43 PT
By Francis P. Garland, Lode Bureau Chief 
Source: The Record
An Angels Camp man will ask Calaveras County supervisors Monday to establish a way to provide marijuana to patients who have a legal right to it and to protect them from "persecution and prosecution." David Jack, who uses marijuana to counteract the affects of a brain-stem tumor, said he and other medical-marijuana users in the county are tired of being forced into the "black market" to obtain legal medicine. 
The 57-year-old former social worker, who said he has gone through 30 medications since undergoing surgery on his tumor nine years ago, wants the county Health Department to establish an identification program and a way for medical-marijuana patients to obtain the drug. At least one county supervisor supports the idea. Tom Tryon, who represents Murphys, said he agrees that people with a legal right to marijuana should be able to go to the county Health Department "or some neutral third party" and obtain their medicine. "You could say that it doesn't apply to many people, and therefore it's insignificant," Tryon said. "But if it applies to you and it's critical to your life and the pain and suffering, it's pretty significant." One way to address the issue, Jack said, would be to use illegally grown marijuana confiscated by local law enforcement agents and ultimately destroyed. "We'd like to see a not-for-profit dispensary for patients to obtain this medicine," Jack said. Jack said he's not asking for the county to set up a marijuana-users club, where people could sit around and smoke joints. "That's not sending a good message to our kids or the community," said Jack, who uses a vaporizer which heats the marijuana without burning it to administer the drug. "We just want a dispensary run through the Health Department, where people can go with a picture identification card that would verify the validity of the patient's need through a doctors' note or prescription." Jack also wants the county grand jury to investigate any and all complaints by medical-marijuana patients or caregivers regarding violations of the Compassionate Use Act. That law, also known as Proposition 215, was passed in 1996 and made it legal for people suffering from certain serious medical conditions to use marijuana if they have a doctor's recommendation or approval. Although it's the law, not many of the state's counties have adopted policies or procedures for ensuring that patients have a right to the drug, Jack said. He said a recently formed group known as the American Medical Marijuana Association is beginning to call for counties to get more involved in backing the rights of medical-marijuana patients. Among the communities that have made some strides in providing access to medical marijuana is Arcata, where Police Chief Mel Brown has instituted an identification-card program. To obtain one, a person must produce proof of a doctor's recommendation, said Jeannie Buerer, the Police Department's records supervisor. However, Buerer said the card is not a license to grow a certain number of plants, nor does it tell users where they can and can't smoke marijuana. "And it's not a get-out-of-jail-free card," she said. "It's nothing more than an identification card. Officers can still cite (cardholders) if they have a bunch of plants or something that's obviously beyond personal use." Jack said one reason he wanted to bring the issue to county leaders is because he and other medical-marijuana users must endure "social sanctions" for that use that range from rude comments to being watched by local law enforcement agents. "We have the police sitting in front of our house, parked there for an hour at a time," he said. "We've had them come around our back yard. I even had the (police) chief tell my son's friend's mother not to let her son have anything to do with us because this is a drug house." Angels Camp Police Chief Bill Nuttall could not be reached Friday for comment on Jack's allegation. Sheriff Dennis Downum said the state has been working to develop guidelines for law enforcement to deal with medical-marijuana issues, and he'd rather the county wait for those guidelines than develop its own guidelines. The state law now in the works would allow medical use for people suffering from such maladies as AIDS, anorexia, arthritis, cancer, chronic pain, glaucoma, migraines, seizures and severe nausea. * To reach Lode Bureau Chief Francis P. Garland, phone 736-9554 or e-mail garnel goldrush.com Published: December 11, 1999Copyright © 1999 The RecordBoard Meeting: The Calaveras County Board of Supervisors will consider a request to establish a system for providing medical marijuana when it meets at 10 a.m. Monday in the Government Center, 891 Mountain Ranch Road, San Andreas. 
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help




Comment #1 posted by FoM on December 15, 1999 at 10:31:15 PT
Board Gets Medical Pot Issue
Board Gets Medical Pot IssueBy Jim SecklerThe Union Democrathttp://headlines.uniondemocrat.com/ Published: December 10, 1999SAN ANDREAS -- The controversial issue of marijuana for medicinal use goes before the Calaveras County supervisors Monday.Proposition 215, a state law passed in 1996, allows the seriously ill to obtain and use marijuana for medical purposes on the recommendation of a physician.Marijuana has been claimed to provide relief for patients suffering from cancer, AIDS or other illnesses.David Jack of Angels Camp who claims to be a user of marijuana for medicinal purposes, said he will ask the board to put an end to arrests of ill people who use the drug.Jack will also ask the board to direct the county grand jury to investigate any complaints made by medical marijuana patients regarding any violations of Prop 215."The facts speak for themselves," Jack stated in a letter to supervisors. "Arrests for marijuana are up 12 percent, seizures of marijuana are at record levels and patients are being arrested and jailed in record numbers."Most law enforcement officers believe that medical marijuana is just a hoax and the law is being used by drug addicts and criminals, Jack's letter added.Calaveras County Sheriff Dennis Downum said Prop. 215 is confusing and he is waiting for the state Attorney General to clarify the law."We do get people who claimed to use it for medical reasons and don't have a note from a doctor," he said.Downum said his department will confiscate the marijuana in those cases and cite or arrest the owner depending on the amount.Calaveras County District Attorney Peter Smith said he looks at each case involving marijuana use for medical purposes individually."I have to follow the law whether it is passed in my county or not," Smith said. "It's a state law and I have to follow it. I'll look very carefully at any cases that come across my desk."Published: December 10, 1999© 1999 by The Union Democrat Online
[ Post Comment ]

Post Comment


Name: Optional Password: 
E-Mail: 
Subject: 
Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message]
Link URL: 
Link Title: