cannabisnews.com: Berkeley's Pot Limit Is 2.5 Pounds 





Berkeley's Pot Limit Is 2.5 Pounds 
Posted by FoM on March 28, 2001 at 06:14:37 PT
By Tyche Hendricks, Chronicle Staff Writer
Source: San Francisco Chronicle 
The Berkeley City Council settled the burning question last night of how much stash is too much stash for medical purposes. By an 8-to-1 vote, the council allowed a "qualified patient" to possess as many as 10 marijuana plants and 2 1/2 pounds of dried marijuana, disappointing more than two dozen medical marijuana activists who had urged the council to adopt a more liberal limit. 
"As one who has seen medical marijuana work and who has also been witness to illegal use of marijuana, it's hard to say which way we should go," said Councilwoman Margaret Breland, one of four council members who initially favored the generous limit but accepted the lower amount because they lacked a majority vote. California's Proposition 215, passed by voters in 1996, allows marijuana cultivation and use by qualified patients for "personal medical purposes" but does not set any limits on how much pot a patient can keep. Last night, the council mulled two options: -- The city manager's recommendation, which sets the limit at 10 growing plants and 2 1/2 pounds of dried marijuana, unless a doctor allows more. The limit for a collective of patients would be 50 plants and 12 1/2 pounds. -- A recommendation by Berkeley's Community Health Commission, favoring 144 plants and six pounds of pot per person, and no limit on the quantity kept by a collective. Arnold Pouncy, 65, a retired Berkeley instructor of school bus drivers who uses marijuana for a spine injury, said he felt the council had failed him. "Last year, I had six plants and they all went down with worms," he said. "I had no medication unless I went to the Cannibis Club, but that becomes very expensive on a fixed income." The city manager and the commission have been at loggerheads for the past two years during an attempt to balance California's "compassionate use initiative" against concerns about crime and public safety. Neither the state Legislature nor the attorney general's office has clarified the issue for local communities. The commission, appointed by the City Council, proposed the higher amounts based on Oakland's medical marijuana ordinance. But the Berkeley city manager's report says Oakland's rules "provide for an inordinately large number of marijuana plants -- 20 times more than the average number of plants allowed in other jurisdictions across the state"-- and should not be followed. Marin County allows a patient as many as 12 marijuana plants and as much as a half pound of dried marijuana. Mendocino County allows 18 plants and two pounds of dried pot. Nevada County allows 10 plants and two pounds of pot. San Francisco and the counties of San Mateo, Alameda and Contra Costa have no quantified limits but decide whether a person has too much pot for their own use on a case-by-case basis. "There's an adage, 'You know it when you see it,' " said Contra Costa's chief deputy district attorney, Dale Miller. "You have to look at each case individually. The facts are never the same." "Allowing 144 plants per person for 'personal use' and allowing unlimited plants and dried marijuana by Medical Marijuana Collectives will generate large surpluses that can easily be diverted to illegal use and illegal sales," wrote Berkeley City Manager Weldon Rucker in a report to the council. "This in turn may give rise to neighborhood theft, fears and violence. . . At $4,500 per pound, a crop of this size would be worth $54,000 per patient." Outside the meeting room last night, Don Duncan, a member of the Berkeley Patients Group, a medical marijuana collective, said the city's concern about large quantities of marijuana promoting crime is misplaced. "Some people have lots of jewelry or cash in their house," he said. "It's necessary for patients to protect their medication and their privacy." From a health standpoint, Dr. Poki Namkung, Berkeley's health officer, reviewed current research on medical marijuana dosages and determined that 2 1/2 pounds of marijuana is an ample year supply for medical purposes, Namkung said. Berkeley has avoided endorsing pot clubs with nonpatient staff, like Oakland's Cannabis Buyers Club, which has been ruled illegal in state court. The Oakland case is currently being heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. E-mail Tyche Hendricks at:  thendricks sfchronicle.comNote: Council compromise on medical marijuana Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)Author: Tyche Hendricks, Chronicle Staff WriterPublished: Wednesday, March 28, 2001 Copyright: 2001 San Francisco ChronicleAddress: 901 Mission St., San Francisco CA 94103Contact: letters sfchronicle.comWebsite: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/Forum: http://www.sfgate.com/conferences/Feedback: http://www.sfgate.com/select.feedback.htmlRelated Articles & Web Sites:Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Co-ophttp://www.rxcbc.org/USA V. OCBC & Jeffrey Joneshttp://www.druglibrary.org/ocbc/Berkeley Council To Vote On Medical Marijuana http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9178.shtmlBerkeley Weighs Marijuana Limitshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9155.shtml
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