cannabisnews.com: County Joins Medical Marijuana Lawsuit





County Joins Medical Marijuana Lawsuit
Posted by CN Staff on January 25, 2006 at 07:41:40 PT
By Tracie Troha, Staff Writer
Source: Daily Press 
San Bernardino, CA -- The County of San Bernardino has joined a lawsuit against the state to clarify the legality of medical marijuana. The lawsuit was filed in federal court by the County of San Diego in an effort to address the confusion between state and federal laws regarding the drug.San Bernardino County Counsel Ron Reitz said under federal law, it is illegal to be in possession of marijuana, regardless of whether it is designated as "medical" or not.
For nearly 10 years Californians have had the right to use medical marijuana if recommended by their doctor. In 2003, California Legislature enacted a requirement that counties must issue identification cards to patients authorized to use medical marijuana or the patient's caregiver."The federal and state governments put us in a conflicting situation," Third District Supervisor Dennis Hansberger said. "We need to get a single answer so the state can get in accordance with federal law. Let's make it consistent."Board Chairman Bill Postmus said the county is in opposition to state's medical marijuana laws because of the problems faced by law enforcement officers. "There needs to be clear resolution because its difficult for the sheriff and deputies to do their job," Postmus said. "I for one am against it (medical marijuana). By joining in the lawsuit, we looking for a resolution to this."Reitz said Sheriff Gary Penrod will also be adding his name to the lawsuit."I refuse to have law enforcement encounter more crime in implementing this (state) ordinance," Fifth District Supervisor Josie Gonzales said. "I don't want law enforcement to be trapped between a rock and a hard place."Gonzales said she was also concerned about the identification card requirement and the possibility of fraud. Reitz said so far San Diego and San Bernardino are the only two counties filling a lawsuit against the state in the medical marijuana matter.Note: San Diego County files suit against state over legality of drug program.Source: Daily Press (Victorville, CA)Author: Tracie Troha, Staff WriterPublished: Wednesday, January 25, 2006Copyright: 2006 Daily PressWebsite: http://www.vvdailypress.com/Contact: http://www.vvdailypress.com/contact/Related Articles:Groups Want To Oppose County's MMJ Lawsuithttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21516.shtmlMarijuana Advocates File Challenge To San Diego http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21513.shtmlMarijuana Patients Serve San Diego Supervisorshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21512.shtml
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help




Comment #18 posted by FoM on January 26, 2006 at 10:51:57 PT
Max Flowers 
You're right but we have to deal with this. If states don't do what the Feds say they can cut funding for highway maintenance. How do we change that? I wish I knew. No drug testing no highway funds. The Feds pull the strings at least in my husband's profession.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #17 posted by Max Flowers on January 26, 2006 at 10:47:22 PT
whig / FoM
Thanks whig, I will read it. FoM, you said: - I don't think that we really have many states rights because of the way the government pushes itself on states when it doesn't suit their financial agenda. -I'm sure that has something to do with it, but I think a huge reason is that over the last 100 years the states have lost any real sense of the independence and sovereignty that once characterized them. In other words, they have lost touch with their statehood and have forgotten that under the US Constitution (not to mention their own state Constitutions), they are separate, sovereign "nations", not some kind of extension of the federal government. And most state citizens have lost touch with that too, which is at the heart of the problem. The feds do all this stuff to us mainly because we let them! Oh and of course power-drunk judges help a lot too.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #16 posted by afterburner on January 26, 2006 at 08:13:55 PT
ot: The Psychedelic Pioneers
Humphrey Osmond had a goal to solve the riddle of schizophrenia. He left England for Saskatchewan to study psychedelics as a window to his theory that schizophrenia was a form of self-intoxication by the overproduction of certain brain chemicals.The Psychedelic Pioneers.
Pot-TV.
History Television.
Running Time: 30 min. 
Date Entered: 25 Jan 2006.
Viewer Rating: 0.00 (0 votes). 
Number of Views: 1. 
Description:
This documentary, showing the earliest days of LSD, originally aired on The History Channel, but only in Canada. Here's the whole show. Tune in, turn on and enjoy!
http://www.pot.tv/archive/shows/pottvshowse-4130.htmlDr. Mikuriya's Medicine 
Posted by CN Staff on November 03, 2004 at 23:11:34 PT
By Peter Gorman, AlterNet 
Source: AlterNet 
http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/19/thread19768.shtml{Mikuriya's love affair with cannabis began by accident while he was in medical school at Temple University, when he read an unassigned chapter about it in a book in pharmacology class during his sophomore year.{"It was March 1959, and by that summer I'd read everything in the medical school library on cannabis," he says. "My curiosity wasn't something I shared with classmates. I kept my interest quiet and made it my personal obsession. But after I'd read everything I thought I'd culminate my experience and try some out. So I went to Mexico that same year and bought joints from a street dealer. I had him pick one out of the group and light it up and take some hits before I did, just to see that it wasn't poison. And once I assumed it was safe to give it a try I said goodbye and embarked on the laboratory portion of my experience."{He quickly became a voracious reader of cannabis literature and its medical uses. When the chance came a few years later to work with Humphrey Osmond – the man who coined the word "psychedelic" – he jumped at it. Mikuriya became director of the Drug Abuse Treatment Center at the New Jersey NeuroPsychiatric Institute where Osmond was director of Research and Neurology in Psychiatry.{"Humphrey was an international treasure, a charming man and one of the most well-read scientists I ever met," Mikuriya says. "He pursued the idea that certain psychoactive drugs could mimic certain mental illnesses, like schizophrenia, with the hope that metabolites of those psychoactives would be diagnostic of mental illness. It was a little heady for me at the time. But he was also fun to be around. He'd have these wonderful garden parties with people like Tim Leary and the Diggers – interesting folk."}High on Science 
Posted by CN Staff on December 23, 2005 at 17:32:03 PT
By Annalee Newitz 
Source: Vue Weekly 
http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/21/thread21409.shtml {Canada -- My favourite news bump of the past couple of months started in one of my favourite Canadian cities: Saskatoon. Researchers there at the University of Saskatchewan recently demonstrated that marijuana rejuvenates cells in the hippocampus, an area of the brain associated with learning and memory. Neuroscientist Xia Zhang and his team injected rats with a superpotent chemical synthesized to resemble a chemical found in a typical puff of pot. And, under the influence of this mega-marijuana, the rats started growing new brain cells. {Please tell me this means that all those annoying American PSAs with Rachael Leigh Cook smashing things and talking about “your brain on drugs” will have to be rethought—or possibly just erased from the nation’s cultural memory. Then again, with all those new brain cells we’ll be growing, it might be hard for us to forget.}
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #15 posted by FoM on January 26, 2006 at 07:12:38 PT
State's Rights
Maybe this will help determine if individual states have any rights or are we just run by the federal government. I don't think that we really have many states rights because of the way the government pushes itself on states when it doesn't suit their financial agenda.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #14 posted by OverwhelmSam on January 26, 2006 at 04:32:02 PT
Let The Games Begin
It's a numbers game. The more people we have running for office, the more people we get elected. The prohibitionists will never know what hit them. Isn't everyone tired of the government spending gross amounts of money to intentionally subvert the will of the people?
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #13 posted by whig on January 26, 2006 at 03:44:25 PT
Remember Max
It's always darkest just before the dawn.The Octopus will show itself.This is the year of revelations.Make Love, not War.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #12 posted by whig on January 26, 2006 at 02:01:27 PT
Max
Since you're interested in law, you might find the case of Ex Parte Milligan 71 U.S. 2 (1866) instructive.
Findlaw: Ex Parte Milligan
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #11 posted by Max Flowers on January 26, 2006 at 00:37:54 PT
Federal lackeys disguised as state officials?
I don't know about the rest of you, but I view all these prohibitionists who are attempting to subvert the will of state voters, and bring the feds in on matters where they have no actual jursidiction, as being traitors to their home state (in this case, the California Republic) and as being in gross violation of the oaths they swore to California. I don't even care if as part of that oath they swore to uphold the US Constitution---their primary allegiance is to the California Constitution and the people of California.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #10 posted by OverwhelmSam on January 25, 2006 at 18:03:59 PT
The Feds Had To Do Something
If they are to deter the rest of the states like New Mexico from legalizing medical marijuana.I think it's time for the citizens of San Diego to do something about their county elected officials. Send them a message loud and clear that the people will not put up with representatives disobedience.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #9 posted by charmed quark on January 25, 2006 at 14:57:07 PT
Recall?
I wonder if the county voters can start a recall. The board members are severely misusing county funds in this. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #8 posted by FoM on January 25, 2006 at 12:36:55 PT
Press Release from The Drug Policy Alliance
Reform Groups Challenge Attack on California Medical Marijuana LawWednesday, January 25, 2006The Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Americans for Safe Access (ASA) have filed a motion to intervene in a federal lawsuit by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, which seeks to overturn Calfornia's ten-year-old medical marijuana law, the Compassionate Use Act (Proposition 215).The ACLU sent two letters to the Supervisors demanding that they drop their lawsuit against the state; the three groups reiterated this demand publicly at a January 24 meeting of the Board of Supervisors. When the supervisors refused, DPA, ACLU, and ASA filed a motion in federal district court to intervene in the county's lawsuit. The motion, if granted, would permit the three organizations, as well as medical marijuana patients, a prominent physician, and the campaign manager who helped steer Proposition 215 to electoral victory in 1996, to become named defendants to the lawsuit and to assist the California Attorney General's office in defending the law. The motion to intervene, in short, attempts to ensure that the people who are directly affected by San Diego's actions have a loud and clear voice in the legal proceedings.In its lawsuit, San Diego County claims, among other things, that Proposition 215 violates federal law, including the United States' treaty obligations under 1961 Convention on Narcotic Drugs, amended in 1972. These claims are without merit -- so much so that federal Justice Department lawyers refused to raise such claims in 1996, when California enacted its medical marijuana law, because they were sure to lose in a court of law. Even more fundamentally, the intervening organizations argue that San Diego County has no standing to sue the state in federal court. As a result, DPA, ACLU, and ASA are hopeful that San Diego's lawsuit will soon be dismissed by the court."The Supervisors' decision to continue with the suit shows blatant disregard for the law and the will of their constituents," said Margaret Dooley of DPA in San Diego.Reform groups recognize that this case is too important to leave in the hands of the state. "The stakes are too high for medical marijuana patients to depend on Governor Schwarzenegger and the Department of Health Services to defend their interests in court," said Allen Hopper, senior staff attorney with the ACLU Drug Law Reform Project. "These patients and their doctors need to know that someone is looking out exclusively for their interests."Thanks to the intervention, DPA, ACLU, and ASA will be able to do just that. 
http://www.drugpolicy.org/news/012506sandiego.cfm
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #7 posted by Max Flowers on January 25, 2006 at 11:57:46 PT
Here's a question
Can a lawsuit be filed against counties who file unecessary and abusive lawsuits which seek to go around the will of the voters? The main cause of action being that they are trying to subvert the jurisdiction of the state and hand power to the federal government in matters which belong expressly to the state of California (the sovereign republic of California that is). That seems to me to be a form of treason against the California Constitution in that California officials are duty-bound and sworn to follow CALIFORNIA law (not federal).If they want to file that kind of a suit, then I think we should file THIS kind of suit in response.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #6 posted by ekim on January 25, 2006 at 11:00:32 PT
1938-2006-68yrsStop Fiddling While The Earth Burns
http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread21490.shtml
A fascinating alliance across party lines has emerged behind AB1147 Hemp Growing Bill for CA.By Michael McCarthy Environment Editor
Published: 16 January 2006
http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article338878.eceBy Geoffrey Lean, Environment Editor
Published: 15 January 2006
http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article338689.ecePublished: 16 January 2006
http://comment.independent.co.uk/commentators/article338830.ece
The writer is an independent environmental scientist and Fellow of the
Royal Society. 'The Revenge of Gaia' is published by Penguin on 2 Februaryhttp://www.jackherer.com/chapter03.htmlNew Billion-Dollar Crop Popular Mechanics, February 1938 American farmers are promised new cash crop with an annual value of several hundred million dollars, all because a machine has been invented which solves a problem more than 6,000 years old. It is hemp, a crop that will not compete with other American products. Instead, it will displace imports of raw material and manufactured products produced by underpaid coolie and peasant labor and it will provide thousands of jobs for American workers throughout the land. The machine which makes this possible is designed for removing the fiber-bearing cortex from the rest of the stalk, making hemp fiber available for use without a prohibitive amount of human labor. Hemp is the standard fiber of the world. It has great tensile strength and durability. It is used to produce more than 5,000 textile products, ranging from rope to fine laces, and the woody "hurds" remaining after the fiber has been removed contains more than seventy-seven per cent cellulose, and can be used to produce more than 25,000 produces, ranging from dynamite to Cellophane. Machines now in service in Texas, Illinois, Minnesota and other states are producing fiber at a manufacturing cost of half a cent a pound, and are finding a profitable market for the rest of the stalk. Machine operators are making a good profit in competition with coolie-produced foreign fiber while paying farmers fifteen dollars a ton for hemp as it comes from the field. From the farmers' point of view, hemp is an easy crop to grow and will yield from three to six tons per acre on any land that will grow corn, wheat, or oats. It has a short growing season, so that it can be planted after other crops are in. It can be grown in any state of the union. The long roots penetrate and break the soil to leave it in perfect condition for the next year's crop. The dense shock of leaves, eight to twelve feet about the ground, chokes out weeds. Two successive crops are enough to reclaim land that has been abandoned because of Canadian thistles or quack grass. The Most Profitable and Desirable Crop That Can be Grown Mechanical Engineering, February 26, 1937 "Flax and Hemp: From the Seed to the Loom" was published in the February 1938 issue of Mechanical Engineering magazine. It was originally presented at the Agricultural Processing Meeting of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in New Brunswick, NY of February 26, 1937 by the Process Industries Division. Flax and Hemp:From the Seed to the Loom By George A. Lower Paint and lacquer manufacturers are interested in hempseed oil which is a good drying agent. When markets have been developed for the products now being wasted, seed and hurds, hemp will prove, both for the farmer and the public, the most profitable and desirable crop that can be grown, and one that can make American mills independent of importations. Recent floods and dust storms have given warnings against the destruction of timber. Possibly, the hitherto waste products of flax and hemp may yet meet a good part of that need, especially in the plastic field which is growing by leaps and bounds. 
http://www.jackherer.com/chapter03.html
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #5 posted by potpal on January 25, 2006 at 10:06:55 PT
P-U
I smell a fed. Bet there be some coercing behind the scenes, some palm greasing. They have to fight from some where, CA is the leader, cut off the head and ... not quite, the dominoes are stacked in our favor.Anyway, check out the final draft of the proquiz. Same questions though, final look, is all. Oh yeah, I purchased my first domain name ever, http://www.gotestyourself.com Presently, the proquiz is the index page until there be more content/quizes...etc.Cheers.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #4 posted by Zandor on January 25, 2006 at 09:30:56 PT
What confusion?
San Bernardino gets all its authority from the "State of California". Its existence is granted by the "State" constitution.San Bernardino and San Diego are bound by constitution to follow the "State law" at all times.There is NO confusion if you remember whom you work for and who gives you the authority to be a city in the first place.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #3 posted by Toker00 on January 25, 2006 at 08:59:43 PT
Government disrespect for the People.
"I refuse to have law enforcement encounter more crime in implementing this (state) ordinance," Fifth District Supervisor Josie Gonzales said. "I don't want law enforcement to be trapped between a rock and a hard place." You don't know it yet, but you just put yourself between a rock and a hard place. THIS IS NOT ABOUT LAW ENFORCEMENT!!!! This is about changing laws that do harm. I'TS ABOUT THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE OF THE SEVERAL STATES TO DECIDE WITHIN THEIR STATES WHAT LAWS TO ENFORCE. This is ABSLUTELY putting the government will before the will of the people, and it will NEVER fly.Wage peace on war. END CANNABIS PROHIBITION NOW!
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #2 posted by FoM on January 25, 2006 at 07:56:56 PT
Related Article from Snipped Source
San Bernardino Board Votes To Join S.D. Suit***By Leslie Wolf BranscombJanuary 25, 2006 While activists yesterday begged the county to drop its suit challenging the state's medical marijuana laws, the Board of Supervisors received unexpected support from colleagues to the north. The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors is joining San Diego County in its suit. 
 
San Diego County filed suit in federal court Friday seeking to overturn Proposition 215, the voter-approved Compassionate Use Act, which allows possession and use of marijuana for medicinal purposes in California. The county also wants the court to void a later law passed by the state Legislature that requires counties to create and maintain a database of medical marijuana users and issue identification cards. The county says the state laws permitting medical marijuana conflict with federal drug laws. It also says California is in violation of a 1961 international treaty signed by the United States that puts responsibility for halting the flow of illegal drugs on each participating nation. San Bernardino County officials said yesterday that they want a judge to decide the matter before they proceed with issuing identification to medical marijuana users. "There is a conflict between state and federal law that must be resolved by the courts before the county feels it can move forward," according to a statement issued by San Bernardino board Chairman Bill Postmus. Its county counsel, Ron Reitz, issued a one-paragraph statement following the unanimous, closed-session vote, saying the board had chosen to join San Diego County's lawsuit. The American Civil Liberties Union also jumped into the fray yesterday, filing a motion to intervene in federal court, as promised, on behalf of patients who use marijuana to alleviate symptoms. The ACLU contends that the county's analysis is flawed and the legal standard under which federal law would pre-empt state law has not been met. The ACLU also says the county has no standing to file suit against the state in federal court. County Counsel John Sansone said: "We don't agree. The court will have to take it from there." Snipped:Complete Article: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20060125-9999-1m25pot.html
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #1 posted by dongenero on January 25, 2006 at 07:53:27 PT
will of the voters
If the federal government and now state governments will not abide by the will of the voters, perhaps it is time for governmental reform.Board Chairman Bill Postmus says, "I for one am against medical marijuana".Well Bill, you did have an opportunity to vote did you not?
Great, well now your job is in service of the public bub.
Get to it. I assume you are in your position because you are smart as a whip. Figure out how to serve the will of the voters.....even if the voted differently than you did.....or just step down if it is a irreconcilable problem for you.Bunch of arrogant bastards.
[ Post Comment ]


Post Comment