cannabisnews.com: Sheriff Still Pondering Medicinal Pot Policy





Sheriff Still Pondering Medicinal Pot Policy
Posted by FoM on January 14, 2000 at 22:12:05 PT
By Alex Breitler
Source: Record Searchlight
Shasta County sheriff's officials said Thursday that they are working on a medical marijuana policy that could set local guidelines for patients confused on how to comply with state law.Details on the new guidelines have not been released. Law enforcement, prosecutors and patients, however, are ultimately looking toward the state for legislation that would clarify the 1996 Compassionate Use Act, a voter-approved initiative.
Currently, sheriff's officials treat medical marijuana cases on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the amount of marijuana and the illness for which it's used.''Shasta County is not out of line'' for not already adopting its own rules, said Sgt. Jim Farmer, head of the Sheriff's Department Marijuana Eradication Team. ''Why are people looking at Shasta when they should be looking at Sacramento?''State officials say that county agencies are welcome to adopt their own guidelines for interpreting the law, which allows for medicinal marijuana use with a doctor's oral or written approval but does not specify how much of the drug patients may possess. Some counties — including Tehama — have adopted standards.''Law enforcement relies on having some clear guidelines on how to interpret and enforce the law,'' said Nathan Barankin, spokesman for the state attorney general's office. ''The way the initiative was written, it raised more questions than answers.''But Barankin said individual law enforcement agencies can come up with their own rules and regulations.''The attorney general's position has been to ... defer to local law enforcement until there is some clarification in the law,'' he said.Locally, the issue reached a climax in December when medical marijuana patient Richard Levin, 49, of Redding was acquitted by a Shasta County jury on charges that he grew marijuana for sale.Despite a judge's order, officials have not yet returned Levin's 41 pot plants and 1 pounds of marijuana, saying they need to make sure it would be legal to do so. A hearing has been set for Jan. 21 to decide the issue.Medical marijuana users say they prefer state standards over local ones.''Something needs to be done,'' said Chris Ward, 40, of Red Bluff, who uses marijuana to treat insomnia, anxiety, arthritis and asthma. ''I think it needs to be a state guideline worked out with doctors.''Others, including Redding defense attorney Eric Berg, support guidelines adopted by the city of Oakland, which allow 144 indoor or 60 outdoor plants per person, and 6 pounds of marijuana if the patient is growing their pot, 1 pounds if not.''The reason I would recommend that is it's the only one (guideline) arrived at by consulting with patients,'' Berg said Wednesday.Legislation intended to clear up the law stalled this summer in an Assembly appropriations committee. The bill would have created a voluntary registration system through county health departments.Medical marijuana users would receive identification cards they could display if ever questioned by law enforcement officials about their supplies.In Shasta County, Marijuana Eradication Team policy is to ask marijuana users for either their doctor's written approval or the name of the doctor so officials can call and verify the approval. They also ask patients exactly what their health problems are.Even if patients are not arrested on scene, officials sometimes file a complaint later with the district attorney's office.In the end, it's a judgment call for law enforcement.''We take our best professional assessment of the situation,'' said Ed Pecis, commander of the Shasta Interagency Narcotics Task Force.Besides the Sheriff's Department, other local authorities say they're planning no change — for now — in how they enforce the law.''We're not changing anything,'' Police Chief Bob Blankenship said Wednesday. ''If there's some sort of perceived problem, we'll call the DA's office.''I think this is a much bigger problem than just one area,'' he added. ''I'm sure the whole state has questions.''District Attorney McGregor Scott agreed.''Quite frankly, at this point, we sure would accept any guidance from the state on this,'' he said. ''Just tell us what the rules are.''Reporter Alex Breitler can be reached at 225-8344 or at abreitler redding.com.Friday, January 14, 2000© 2000 Record Searchlight - The E.W. Scripps Co. Related Articles:Legal Pot User Should Be Entitled To His Medicine-1/13/2000http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread4301.shtml Some Patients Find Pot is an Arresting Experience-1/12/2000http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread4285.shtmlPatient Doesn't Get Pot Back Yet - 1/12/2000http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread4281.shtmlPatient Will Get His Pot - 1/12/2000http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread4279.shtml 
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