cannabisnews.com: House Gives Initial Approval To Implementing Plan





House Gives Initial Approval To Implementing Plan
Posted by FoM on April 03, 2001 at 09:24:46 PT
By Steven K. Paulson, Associated Press Writer
Source: Associated Press
Patients who take advantage of a new law allowing the medical use of marijuana still have to figure out where to get their first crop.The House gave tentative approval Monday to House Bill 1371 implementing Amendment 20 passed by voters last November, allowing people in pain to avoid prosecution by getting a doctor's permission to use marijuana and an identity card from the state.
However, it will still be illegal for anyone to give them the drug. Violators could face up to 6 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.People who abuse the right to use marijuana for medicinal purposes could be sentenced to up to 18 months in jail and fined up to $5,000.The state Board of Health has already approved a plan to charge $140 for an identification card allowing patients to grow small amounts of marijuana for physician-approved medical use. The amendment allows patients to grow their own. They are limited to having three mature plants and 2 ounces of marijuana.Voters in November approved the constitutional amendment requiring the state to set up a system to allow medical use of the drug and to set penalties for abuse of the system, which must be in place by June 1.Under the bill by Rep. Mark Cloer, R-Colorado Springs, who opposed the constitutional amendment, it would be a misdemeanor to present false information in an attempt to get a medical-marijuana identification card, to counterfeit a card or to use someone else's card.It also would make it illegal to release names of people issued the cards.The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard arguments in an appeal of a decision to allow California cannabis clubs to provide marijuana to patients under a law similar to the Colorado amendment.Julie Roche, who sponsored Colorado's amendment, said the state's new law avoids that issue by requiring doctors to issue a recommendation instead of writing a prescription, and keeping it a crime for someone to provide or sell marijuana to the patient."Unfortunately, marijuana is still a Schedule 1 drug. People are going to get it where they always get it. Once patients do get a supply, they're not going to have to go to the streets and back alleys to get it," she said.Roche said she expects 1,000 patients to ask for the drug once the amendment goes into effect.Complete Title: House Gives Initial Approval To Implementing Marijuana Plan Source: Associated PressSteven K. Paulson, Associated Press WriterPublished: April 3, 2001Copyright: 2001 Associated PressRelated Articles & Web Site:Coloradans For Medical Rights http://www.medicalmarijuana.com/Marijuana Use Rules Spelled Out http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9202.shtml Marijuana ID Card To Cost $140 http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9117.shtml
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