cannabisnews.com: Medical Marijuana Task Force Debates Amount 





Medical Marijuana Task Force Debates Amount 
Posted by FoM on August 24, 2000 at 09:37:32 PT
By Francis P. Garland, Lode Bureau Chief 
Source: Stockton Record
Members of a task force developing guidelines for Calaveras County medical marijuana users don't see eye to eye with users over what's enough marijuana to meet patients' needs. The county's Medical Marijuana Task Force on Tuesday night endorsed guidelines allowing patients to keep six plants and 1.3 pounds of marijuana on hand at any time. But local medical marijuana user and task force member David Jack said that amount will not meet his needs -- and will leave others who count on cannabis to provide relief from debilitating illnesses searching for solutions. 
The task force -- made up of doctors, pharmacists, health-care workers and law enforcement officials -- will present its recommendations to the Board of Supervisors Sept. 5. The task force was established to develop guidelines after some medical marijuana users claimed they were being targeted for prosecution for doing something legal. Proposition 215, approved by the state's voters in 1996, legalized marijuana use by those with certain medical conditions upon approval or recommendation by a doctor. The county's guidelines are meant to clarify what constitutes legal, personal possession vs. illegal possession or cultivation. Jack said Wednesday he was disappointed in the guidelines approved Tuesday because the group earlier set the limit at 30 plants and four pounds of processed marijuana. But both District Attorney Peter Smith and Sheriff Dennis Downum objected to the larger amount, and Smith asked Jeanne Boyce, the county's health director, to revisit the numbers at Tuesday's meeting. Downum said he could support the allowance of six plants and 1.3 pounds of marijuana because those are guidelines established by the state Department of Justice. "For me, personally, it's the best we can do," Downum said. But reducing the accepted amount to six plants -- three flowering and three non-flowering -- and 1.3 pounds of processed marijuana won't meet some medical marijuana patients' needs, Jack said, including himself. "I thought 30 plants and four pounds was reasonable," he said. "This is going to be very difficult for patients." Task-force member Dr. Jakob Jabby opposed reducing the amount of marijuana a legitimate patient should be allowed because plant yields vary and so do patient needs. "If we do set a guideline with regard to quantity, we need to be absolutely certain every patient who is on medical marijuana is covered for what he or she needs," he said. Jack has helped establish a congregational caregiver program to provide marijuana to those with a legitimate right to it. The program was thrust into the spotlight earlier this month when law enforcement agencies raided the Northern Lights Church in Wallace -- a church Jack is affiliated with -- and destroyed 287 plants there. Smith has yet to file charges in the case. * To reach Lode Bureau Chief Francis P. Garland, phone 736-9554 or e-mail garnel goldrush.com "I thought 30 plants and four pounds was reasonable. This is going to be very difficult for patients." -- David Jack, Medical Marijuana Task Force Member Published Thursday, August 24, 2000 Source: Record, The (CA)Copyright: 2000 The RecordContact: editor recordnet.comAddress: P.O. Box 900, Stockton, CA 95201Fax: (209) 547-8186Website: http://www.recordnet.com/Related Articles:Stockton Man Wants Medical-Marijuana Site http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6492.shtmlS.J. Pot Laws Ignore Ailing, Advocate Says http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6215.shtmlCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archives:http://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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