cannabisnews.com: Post-Prop. 215 Stress Disorder 





Post-Prop. 215 Stress Disorder 
Posted by FoM on February 22, 2001 at 22:46:38 PT
By  Nick Schou
Source: Orange County Weekly 
Larry Mollat has a big idea. A self-described "reformed drug smuggler" and "ex-con," Mollat says he’s "an outlaw who’s come in from the cold"—so far into the warmth that he wants to teach the county Board of Supervisors to grow pot. It’s a compelling prospect: the Colorado transplant with long, graying hair describing for the suits on the Board of Supervisors a system he promises can produce four ounces of marijuana out of one plant after stems and seeds have been discarded. 
Under Mollat’s plan, all that pot would bud under the watchful eyes of county officials; flow into a local cannabis buyers’ club; and from there, get into the hands of the blind, the halt and the lame: medical-marijuana users qualified under 1996’s Proposition 215."I want to grow for a cannabis buyers’ club," he exclaimed at a recent Valentine’s Day mixer hosted by the Orange County Hemp Council. "I want to go to the county of Orange and say, ‘If you want control over this process, step up now and get on the same wavelength as northern California.’"But Mollat has a hard sell ahead of him. Even among friendlies—like this tiny gathering at Anaheim’s AAA Electra Gallery—support for the plan was anemic. And with good reason. They are all that survives of a once high-profile movement to provide free cannabis to terminally ill people throughout Orange County. Five years ago, that movement seemed unstoppable. But 1996’s election victory for Prop. 215 turned out to be the high point. Since then, county law-enforcement officials have made good on their promise to eviscerate the law, hounding the movement’s leaders and rank-and-file members into submission and sometimes prison.Today, the group is limited pretty much to a membership of beleaguered Hemp Council activists, whose primary goal is to promote the hemp plant’s myriad industrial applications, and a $200 operating budget. "It’s hard to get people motivated these days," said Debi Grand, the Hemp Council’s secretary. "Everybody’s so busy with their lives and people are too afraid of getting involved because they’ll be harassed by the police."There’s good reason for fear. Two of the 15 people who made it to the group’s sparsely attended meeting were Marvin Chavez and David Lee Herrick, co-founders of the Orange County Cannabis Co-op. Shortly after Prop. 215’s passage, both Chavez and Herrick were arrested and convicted of selling marijuana to terminally ill co-cop members in Orange County. In 1999, Herrick’s five-year sentence was reversed after he spent two years in state prison. Chavez, who also spent roughly two years behind bars, was released last April pending his ongoing appeal.Both men say they’ve given up their dream of providing free cannabis to sick people in Orange County. Chavez, who became the victim of an undercover police sting after he ignored an Orange County judge’s order to cease distributing cannabis to members of his organization, says he won’t make the same mistake again. He claims the cannabis co-op, which he re-christened the Orange County Patient-Doctor-Nurse Support Group, is still active, but it now provides only pamphlets about medical marijuana to sick people."The Patient-Doctor-Nurse Support Group is a clearinghouse of information and literature about the medical uses of cannabis," Chavez explained. "People are having trouble finding doctors willing to prescribe the medicine. There are only two doctors in Southern California who will—one in Santa Barbara and one in Santa Monica. So we’re urging people to educate their doctors and give them these pamphlets."In the early days, Herrick was Chavez’s partner. A onetime Vietnam combat medic, Herrick broke his back during a car accident while working as a San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy. He says he’s receiving post-traumatic stress disorder treatment from the Veterans Health Administration. His political agenda is more modest now: he wants his VA doctor to write him a prescription for cannabis. "If he does that, it’ll be the first time that happens with the VA," Herrick said.Both Herrick and Chavez—who suffers from a rare bone disorder—have written recommendations from doctors allowing them to grow medical marijuana in their homes. Chavez grows the drug, as does Bill Britt, the Hemp Council’s terminally ill vice president, who suffers from severe arthritis and uses a cane. All three men said that police have finally stopped hassling them about growing marijuana on their own property. "This is the first time I have had my own high-quality medicine," Britt said.Orange County officials were not alone in their campaign to kill Prop. 215. But other medical-marijuana organizations have fought back. In northern California, Prop. 215 activists are waging ongoing recall campaigns against local prosecutors who busted cannabis cooperatives in Placer and Marin counties after the initiative passed. The Orange County Hemp Council’s most ambitious plan is to apply for federal National Endowment of the Arts funding to expand the group’s "Mobile Hemp Museum," which currently consists of a small table stacked with hemp products and memorabilia, such as an 1870s-era doctor’s prescription for cannabis.While the members of the Hemp Council, especially activists like Chavez and Herrick, aren’t optimistic that county officials will ever allow them to distribute medical marijuana to sick people, self-proclaimed cannabis expert Mollat remains convinced he can persuade officials to allow him to do just that."It tickles my fancy that I might be able to make a small living off the legal marijuana business," Mollat explained, chuckling at the thought. "The Hemp Council doesn’t even want to use the word ‘marijuana.’ But we have the law on our side, so why do we have to pussyfoot around?"Note: The sad fate of Orange County’s medical-marijuana movement.Source: Orange County Weekly (CA) Author: Nick SchouPublished: February 23 - March 1, 2001 Address: P.O. Box 10788, Costa Mesa, CA 92627 Copyright: 2001, Orange County Weekly, Inc. Fax: (714) 708-8410 Contact:  letters ocweekly.com Website: http://www.ocweekly.com/ Related Article & Web Site:Orange County Hemp Councilhttp://ochemp.org/Redemption Song: Dave Herrick's Strange Odyssey http://cannabisnews.com/news/4/thread4032.shtmlCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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Comment #6 posted by kaptinemo on February 23, 2001 at 08:04:40 PT:
Some more ammo
These are especially noteworthy; study after study after study....Medical Information on Marijuana:http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/hemp/medical/medical.htm
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Comment #5 posted by greenfox on February 23, 2001 at 07:54:16 PT
Thanks Kap!
Well, I compiled a fat list of studies. Hopefully he'll at least LOOK at my email. (He seems rather responsive so far in that he's REPLIED to my email.) Most congressmen don't even do that. Oh well. Our voices are muffled... we cannot be heard.sly in kind, foxy in gr...er..was it the other way around?Damn I'm stoned.-gfps- homegrown IS the bomb, you see...
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Comment #4 posted by kaptinemo on February 23, 2001 at 07:50:24 PT:
Ask, and ye shall receive...
The Adobe Reader (you'll need it to read it!) .pdf file of the summary of the IoM study:http://books.nap.edu/html/marimed/marimed.pdfSome scientific studies on medicinal cannabis:http://www.lindesmith.org/library/focal2.htmlReally big guns: lots of data and links to more:http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/index.HTMDirect to the source: cannabis-only related studies:http://www.druglibrary.org/crl/Ther's so much data, I simply don't much more time to dig it up; you will have to do the rest. But there's literally a plethora of ammo here. I have to laugh when antis say 'there are no studies', if you printed out all of the data refuting them and bound it in a book, it would kill you if it dropped out of a fifth storie window and landed on your head; it would mass so much.This is why antis want to kill the Internet, or at least geld it and put a muzzle on it. 
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Comment #3 posted by dddd on February 23, 2001 at 06:35:22 PT
Fox
go to NORMLs website.it has alot of good info
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Comment #2 posted by dddd on February 23, 2001 at 06:31:51 PT
County of Orange
I have lived here in Orange County for about 20 years.I think Mollats' unique approach is a good way to try and make adifference.If nothing else,it ruffles feathers,and enhances the visibility of the subject.The details of prop 215 remain quite nebulous in implimentation,and enforcement.County to county policy,and enforcement varywidely.In Orange County,2 plants is the limit for medical use.When I hear of a guy like this making waves down here in my ownlocale,it makes me feel kindof ashamed that I'm not more active inspeaking out,and annoying my way into the news with some provacativeand high profile campaign...I should be out there stirrin' up the pot,(*),,rabble-rousingand causing discomfort to the establishment,,,edifying the mis-informed,,and irratating law enforcement....spreading peace and love......I've been a bad and lazy hippie.I remember the old days...The days when one could speak out in dissent and activism,and gettingarrested wasnt that big of a deal.The days before the formation of the drug war industry....Back then,things were closer to normal.If you got caught smokin' weed,or with a lb. in your car,it was bad,,but it was nowhere near the insanity of today........Todays bust is truly a life changing experience.Depending on the level of your "offense",you can expect to be "marked for life",as one who was guilty of being a "drug offender"..........  It's too scary to draw attention to yourself nowdays..It's even gettin' kinda spooky to speak out on the internet.......dddd(*)No pun intended
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Comment #1 posted by greenfox on February 23, 2001 at 06:19:34 PT
OFF SUBJECT: BUT PLEASE READ!!!
OFF SUBJECT but PLEASE READ as you can HELP change things (MAYBE):Recently I wrote a letter to my congressman. I urged him to support mmj and this was the response:Dear Doug:   Thanks for your note on the medical marijuana bill. I do not support such legislation and would not sponsor such a bill. I have not seen medical evidence to suggest that there is anything medicinal value to marijuna.Hope we can agree on the next issue, so please keep in touch.Thank you for sharing your views with me.I then decided that I would write him back. My letter is as follows:Hello and thank you for writing back to me. I just wanted to comment on this by saying that there are many medical reports (by conservative medical groups) that I can cite on request. One that comes to mind was the recently published IOM report. This report was sponsered, in part,by the federal government and indicates (in multiple instances) that there IS indeed medical potential for marijuana. If that were not enough, personalaccounts from people with illnesses in states where medical marijuana bills HAVE passed also adds to my arguement.As stated, I can site other reports if you'd like, (complete with sources). Looking forward to hearing your personal reply.he THEN replied the following:From: James P. Trakas Dear Douglas:   Thank you for your response. I'd be interested in seeing those reports. Please let me know if they are available.Now this is where you guys come in: OBSERVER, KAPTINEMO, FOM....HELP ME!!!!I know you guys know your stuff. Now let's show this guy we know what the hell we're talking about!! Can I have some reports to cite to this guy? Thanks in advance.-gf
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