cannabisnews.com: Officials Issue Medical Marijuana Statements 





Officials Issue Medical Marijuana Statements 
Posted by FoM on July 20, 2000 at 07:36:40 PT
By Carla Martinez & Jacob Lehman
Source: The Times-Standard
On Wednesday, the Humboldt County District Attorney's Office and Sheriff's Department publicized written guidelines regarding the medical use of marijuana.When California voters approved Proposition 215, the medicinal use of marijuana became legal in the state. However, 215 left it up to law enforcement agencies and prosecutors to decide how and if to make allowances for medical marijuana use.
Under federal law, marijuana cultivation and use are illegal.A qualified medical marijuana patient, the district attorney's statement said, may possess or cultivate a combination of 10 marijuana plants or two pounds of processed marijuana without being prosecuted."Each jurisdiction has the right to their own enforcement guidelines," District Attorney Terry Farmer said. "It's important to us to comply with the spirit of the law."Wednesday's statements will not cause any change in the way deputies act in the field, Sheriff Dennis Lewis said, but will formalize and publicize what has been the unofficial policy in Humboldt County for years.Farmer drafted the original policy as a memo for law enforcement agencies about what medical marijuana cases his office would and would not prosecute.Law officers can seize plants they believe to be in excess of a person's needs without pursuing a criminal drug conviction. Lewis said that deputies must make a judgment call when they encounter a medical marijuana garden, based on the person's illness and on how much the deputy thinks the plants will yield.Lewis expressed hope that the state Legislature will soon pass laws clarifying the vague wording of Prop. 215, lifting responsibility from his deputies."I have some very fine officers, but I don't think any of them are licensed to practice medicine," he said.Lewis said that he did not think that a medical marijuana ordinance drafted for the Board of Supervisors, by a board-appointed committee, would help the issue."The county does not have any authority to set policy for the Sheriff's Department," he said.Lewis was one of the original members of the ordinance-drafting committee, but stopped attending meetings after differences of opinion.County Counsel Tamara Falor said that her office is researching the ordinance's legality. She declined to comment on the ordinance's future until the research into the thorny and contradictory world of medical marijuana law was finished.In its present wording, the ordinance is a more comprehensive and defined standard than the guidelines made public on Wednesday, Supervisor John Woolley said.The ordinance will be discussed by the board next Tuesday morning.The formal statements made a distinction between medical and recreational use of marijuana."We have more important things to do than prosecute cancer patients for smoking dope," Farmer said.Also, the District Attorney's Office takes into consideration a person's use of medical marijuana when a local, primary-care physician makes the recommendation.E-mail: jlehman times-standard.comE-mail: cmartinez times-standard.comContact Information:http://www.times-standard.com/dir/editorial.htmlEureka, Calif.Published: July 20, 2000©2000 Times-Standard Related Article:Deputies Seize Medical Marijuana http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6460.shtmlCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archives:http://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
END SNIP -->
Snipped
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help




Comment #2 posted by fivepounder on July 21, 2000 at 06:51:55 PT
lewis
Yes Dennis Lewis is elected. He has been reelected once and has 2 years left on that 2nd term. He was reelected after the pepper spray/headwaters debacle. If we could not get rid of him after that its hard to see when we will. There's alot of stoners here in Humboldt but there's alot of republican yahoo types who love him and his anti pot retoric. He's the ultimate PIG. The problem here is that to be elected sheriff you have to already be in law enforcement. That weeds out those who are not indoctrinated.
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #1 posted by Dan B on July 20, 2000 at 09:17:00 PT:
Smug Sheriff
"Wednesday's statements will not cause any change in the way deputies act in the field, Sheriff Dennis Lewis said, but will formalize and publicize what has been the unofficial policy in Humboldt County for years."In other words, Sheriff Dennis Lewis will continue to circumvent the will of the people of California. This statement will have no impact on his continued persecution of the sick and dying. This man is truly pathetic. I wonder how long it will take the people of Humboldt County to vote him out. Or is the sheriff position an elected office in Humboldt County? If not, maybe that's why he feels so smug.
[ Post Comment ]

Post Comment


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