cannabisnews.com: New Panel Faces Medical Pot Issue New Panel Faces Medical Pot Issue Posted by FoM on February 02, 2000 at 12:48:17 PT By Jim Seckler Source: The Union Democrat Calaveras County supervisors Monday appointed 12 people to a task force to study guidelines for medical marijuana users.The county formed the panel to come up with guidelines for following Proposition 215, which went into effect in 1996. The law allows seriously ill patients, with a doctor's support, obtain and use marijuana.Four doctors -- Roger Orman, Jacob Jaggy, Ryan Thompson and Paul Jacobson -- were named to the team. Pharmacists Gary Duda and Ray Guidi were also appointed. Representing law enforcement will be Sheriff Dennis Downum, Angels Camp Police Chief Bill Nuttall and District Attorney Peter Smith.Jeanne Boyce, director of the Health Services Agency and Dr. Robert Marshall, county health officer, were also named.County counsel Skip Batchelder will be an adviser to the task force.David Jack, who suffers from a rare brain tumor, was the lone civilian named to the task force. He had asked that more patients be appointed to but was denied.Supervisors Terri Bailey and Paul Stein voted against the task force. They argued that the state, not the county, should set guidelines for dispensing the drug and determining who is qualified to receive it."I still believe it's a state issue," Bailey said. "If each county has different guidelines, then you will have hundreds of guidelines throughout the state. If you leave Calaveras County, then you'll have a different set of guidelines in the next county."Stein suggested an alternative legal drug, Marinol. The substitute is a synthetic version of marijuana."People shouldn't be allowed to grow their own plants," Stein said. "If you do this, then you should let people grow coca plants to make cocaine."Jack, who tried using Marinol, said the substitute drug does not relieve his symptoms as well as marijuana. Marinol also costs about $13 a pill and his prescription calls for four pills a day, he said.San AndreasPublished: February 1, 2000© Copyright 2000 Western Communications, Inc.Related Articles:Jury Acquits Medical Marijuana Growerhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread4558.shtmlMedical Pot Law Tested in Local Court Casehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread4524.shtmlCannabis News Medical Marijuana Archives:http://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #3 posted by richard porter on March 29, 2001 at 13:52:46 PT: marijuana users I THINK THAT EVERYONE SHOULD BE ABLE TO SMOKE IF THEY WOULD LIKE.JUST AS LONG AS THEY DONT GET CARRIED A WAY WITH IT. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Doctor Dave on February 02, 2000 at 20:01:22 PT Brilliant! This was a brilliant decision by the Supervisors. The board is primarily stocked with doctors, the ones who are ultimately responsible for the medical care of their patients -- and reflects that this is a MEDICAL ISSUE, not a $30-billion/year drug war prohibitionist ideology decision. Like David Jack, I also regret that more patients were not on the board. I sincerely wish that patients be brought before the panel. The panel MUST be made realize how their decisions will ultimately affect the people governed by those decisions. They should be exposed to the diverse group of people that this medical issue affects, from the 19 -year-old boy dying of AIDS, to the 82-year-old grandmother afflicted with glaucoma and arthritis pain.I'll be closely watching these developments!Doctor Dave [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by kaptinemo on February 02, 2000 at 13:57:10 PT Another step closer. And another nail in the coffin of prohibition. I'll bet McCaffrey and Company are sweating bullets right now. This is exactly the kind of thing he and his cronies are terrified of. Medical people on boards deciding the medical validity of MMJ instead of unqualified, unlicensed political lackeys. Yep, this should get real interesting. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: