cannabisnews.com: Berkeley Council To Vote On Medical Marijuana Berkeley Council To Vote On Medical Marijuana Posted by FoM on March 27, 2001 at 18:33:57 PT Breaking News Section Source: BayArea.com After years in the making, a city ordinance comes before the Berkeley City Council tonight that would legalize possession and use of marijuana for medical purposes.Berkeley Mayor Shirley Dean said this morning that the city's medical marijuana ordinance ``is a response to the state-approved initiative (Proposition 215) which mandated that marijuana should be available for medical purposes. So it's the law that we have to come up with some way to do this.'' Dean said prospective users must first get approval from a physician -- approval which can be acquired either in writing or orally, making legal pot use only a phone call away.``And that's what the law provides,'' Dean said, adding, ``once you get that approval, then the issue is how much you can have.''Dean said the council is still undecided on the amount of cultivated marijuana and plants the ordinance will allow. Two versions sit before the council, one from city staff and another from an ad hoc commission of Berkeley citizens.The staff version is more conservative, allowing an individual to possess no more than 2 1/2 pounds of dried pot at a given time, and to grow no more than 10 outdoor or indoor marijuana plants at a time. The commission's version, on the other hand, allows an individual to possess up to six pounds of cultivated pot, and to grow as many as 60 outdoor plants, and 144 indoor.All of those limits can be increased so long as a doctor's approval is obtained.Although Dean would not speculate on the ordinance's chances before the council tonight, it seems likely to pass given the publicly expressed approval by such council members as Kriss Worthington and Miriam Hawley.``I think we're making a good move here to make life easier for a number of patients who need this,'' Hawley said this morning.Hawley said she was ``inclined to go with the staff (version) ... I think we need to take it by small steps because there are the safety issues (such as crime and lung disease) to worry about.''Asked whether the ordinance might serve as a cover for drug dealers, Dean said, ``I suppose there's always that possibility. This has been the worry all along.''Nonetheless, she said, ``The voters of the state approved allowing the use of marijuana for medical purposes, so we have to respond in some kind of balanced way, so that's what we're attempting to do.''The mayor acknowledged that the ordinance limits the capacity of police to arrest people for marijuana possession.``If there's a doctor at the end of the phone, who says 'this person is entitled to unlimited medical marijuana because of a medical problem,' then we have no recourse than to allow that,'' she said.Hawley agreed that the ordinance could lead to increased illegal pot trafficking and use.``I think that sometimes you can't take care of every contingency,'' she said. ``We'll have to deal with these issues as they come up.''The council meeting begins at 7 p.m. It will be held at Berkeley City Hall, 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way. Complete Title: Berkeley Council To Vote On Medical Marijuana Measure TonightSource: BayArea.comBreaking News SectionPublished: Tuesday, March 27, 2001 Contact: http://www.bayarea.com/c/rc/support/email.htmRelated Articles:Berkeley Weighs Marijuana Limitshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9155.shtmlHealth Comm. Asks Council To Pass MMJ Regulations http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread8500.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #2 posted by sm247 on March 28, 2001 at 04:28:53 PT My hat of to all I commend the people of Berkley in their bravery to stand up for the rights of the people this has been so long coming you truly deserve a standing ovation . If only the people of my state had the spirit of yours. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Cuzn Buzz on March 27, 2001 at 18:47:11 PT NICE TACK! Good to see a public official tack so well on the winds of change!In the sea change those who do not read the waters are doomed to be swamped by negative public opinion.When the tidal wave finaly quenches the drug war it'll be interesting to see who surfs and who drowns. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: