cannabisnews.com: County Out of Fight Over Marijuana





County Out of Fight Over Marijuana
Posted by CN Staff on December 16, 2006 at 07:03:39 PT
By Corinne Reilly 
Source: Merced Sun-Star
California -- Merced County will begin issuing identification cards for medical marijuana users after a state judge recently rejected its challenge to California's medical marijuana law.The Board of Supervisors announced the decision Tuesday, saying the county would not appeal the week-old ruling.
"After reviewing a number of options and having received the ruling from the court, we are now positioned to move forward with the implementation of (a medical marijuana identification card) program," board chairman Mike Nelson said.John Volanti, the county's director of public health, said the county will likely begin issuing the cards by February.To get a card, county residents will be required to submit an application and a prescription for the drug, Volanti said.The county will verify the prescription, take a digital photo of the applicant and mail the applicant's information to the state. The state's health department will issue the card.Volanti said the cost of the card program will be covered by those who participate. The county has yet to set its per-card fee, but Volanti said it will be similar to fees in other counties.In San Francisco County, for example, a card costs $50.Merced will be the 25th of California's 58 counties to begin issuing medicinal marijuana identification cards, as required by a 2003 state law that clarifies Proposition 215.California voters became the first in the country to legalize medicinal marijuana when they passed the proposition in 1996. Since then, 10 states have followed.Medical marijuana advocate Aaron Smith, of Safe Access Now, praised the county's decision to begin issuing cards."People who are sick and dying shouldn't have to worry about getting arrested simply for having the medicine a doctor has prescribed them," Smith said. "We're still not sure why the county needed to go to court to understand that this is the law."The county joined the lawsuit, brought by San Diego County, earlier this year after repeated pleas from Merced resident Grant Wilson to begin issuing the cards.Wilson, who suffers from Hepatitis C, was arrested last year after police discovered pot plants growing in his home."I just don't want to be arrested again," Wilson said Thursday. "I hope the county actually follows through with this."I don't want anyone else to have to go through all this just to have their medicine."Members of the board said when the county joined the suit that they weren't necessarily seeking to overturn the state law. Rather, the board said it only sought guidance as to which law -- state or federal -- it should follow.The counties argued that because federal law prohibits all uses of marijuana, counties shouldn't be held to state laws requiring them to accommodate medical marijuana users.San Diego Superior Court Judge William R. Nevitt Jr. upheld the state's law, ruling that counties would not be breaking federal law by issuing the cards.The board initially indicated it might appeal the ruling, saying it "didn't fully address" whether the county should comply with state or federal marijuana laws.County attorney James Fincher said the county decided not to appeal the ruling after San Diego County announced it would.If San Diego's appeal is successful, the ruling will apply to all California counties, regardless of Merced County's involvement.But that outcome is unlikely, Fincher said."It's a rarity for an appellate court to overrule a lower court's ruling," he said. "... As it stands now, the law says we have to implement the (identification card) program."Rather than spend more money in court, we're implementing the program."Fincher said the county spent about $1,000 on the initial lawsuit.He added that private citizens and advocacy groups have threatened to sue the county if it didn't begin issuing the cards.Even after the county begins issuing them, identification cards won't be mandatory for medicinal marijuana users.Those who have a valid prescription and are complying with the state's possession limits -- eight ounces of usable marijuana and six mature plants per patient -- shouldn't have trouble with the law.Still, county law enforcement officials say they hope local medicinal marijuana users will get a card to make it easier to determine who is using the drug legally."For people with a real medical need who are following the law, I hope they'll get a card," said District Attorney Larry Morse II. "That makes it easier for everyone -- both for users and for law enforcement."But both Morse and officials with the sheriff's department say they're still looking for more clarification on medicinal marijuana laws.All marijuana users can still be prosecuted under federal law.Morse said local law enforcement officials are currently abiding by state law. He said when a medical-use claim comes into question, the District Attorney's Office either prosecutes the case or refers it to federal prosecutors.In November, Merced resident Dustin Costa -- also known as Rev. D.C. Greenhouse -- became the first person in three years to be prosecuted under federal drug laws, claiming medicinal use.Costa was convicted for growing and selling marijuana, and could face a life prison sentence.Note: Medicinal pot cards will likely be issued in February. Source: Merced Sun-Star (CA)Author:  Corinne Reilly Published: December 16, 2006Copyright: 2006 Merced Sun-StarContact: editor mercedsun-star.comWebsite: http://www.mercedsun-star.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Americans For Safe Accesshttp://www.safeaccessnow.org/Courts Give Some Victories To The Peoplehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread22446.shtmlCounty: Ruling on Pot Lackinghttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread22445.shtml 
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Comment #28 posted by Dankhank on December 18, 2006 at 18:39:42 PT
dollar vs pound
the marketoracle story has an obvious error.Glaring is the comment:"The dollar used to be worth more than six British pounds; now, it's worth about half of a pound."The British Pound for centuries was a very strong one, and never weakened enough to trade even one-for-one, much less the rate that is implied ... It has always cost more than a dollar to buy a pound.http://eh.net/hmit/exchangerates/pounda.phpnot sure what else is wrong, the Swiss franc claim is probably right.
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Comment #27 posted by mayan on December 18, 2006 at 13:21:27 PT
Interesting
Here's one man's take on the situation...http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article170.htmlThe switch is undereway...Iran to replace dollar with euro in foreign deals:
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/12/18/061218095123.sn4s0vlu.html
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Comment #26 posted by mayan on December 18, 2006 at 12:24:29 PT
Remember
Rumsfeld announced that the Pentagon couldn't account for over a TRILLION dollars on the day before 9/11/01. Pocket change.
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Comment #25 posted by FoM on December 17, 2006 at 13:43:13 PT
potpal
Thank you for the news from the UK. I hope this war stops soon everywhere.
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Comment #24 posted by potpal on December 17, 2006 at 13:26:44 PT
over there
From the bbchttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/6183637.stm 
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Comment #23 posted by goneposthole on December 17, 2006 at 11:27:29 PT
Amount of daily currency transactions
Total some 2.9 trillion dollars everyday.Approximately 1.6 trillion of the total dollar exchange is all US dollars.A part of that total is drug money. A 400 billion dollar drug economy each day equals about 1.1 billion dollars per day in drug money exchanges each day.A trillion US dollars that the Chinese own and could dump in one day would be a blip on the graph. A minuscule glitch in the total transactions of foreign currency exchanges.It is analogous to an ounce of weed bought from the 25,000 metric tons bought and sold in the US each year.
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Comment #22 posted by FoM on December 17, 2006 at 09:49:02 PT
goneposthole
It's all very complicated to me. I watched a really good program on National Geographic last night. Every minute over 150 new babies are born in the world. They will need food, clothing and shelter and I wonder how the demand will be met. One business man told me one time that the only thing that is worth anything is something we need to have more then one time. 
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Comment #21 posted by goneposthole on December 17, 2006 at 09:41:31 PT
one more thought
"If gold were minted into US coin, the only real legal tender is gold and silver minted coin, the paper fiat currency is just legal in name only, then the gold market wouldn't have any legs."Got to finish the sentence. Ich vergesse.
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Comment #20 posted by goneposthole on December 17, 2006 at 09:35:34 PT
supply and demand
Going short. The gold market is cornered. It fell 11 dollars per troy ounce on Friday. If gold were minted into US coin, the only real legal tender is gold and silver minted coin, the paper fiat currency is just legal in name only.If gold coin were the coin of the realm, there would be no gold market. It wouldn't exist at all. The gold would be in the form of coin that is in circulation. Since it hasn't been in coin form since 1932 or so, the gold stocks are a virtual monopoly for those who control the market.If you dump a million ounces for sale onto the spot market, you can make the price drop. It did on Friday. Maybe in fear of those dollars being dumped onto the market. Believe me, those dollars may lose value, for sure, I don't argue with that; however, the slack will not last for long. Dollar buyers will see a bonanza, buy them all, and when the price increases for the value of the dollar, those dollar buyers will have made a killing.The OPEC nations decreased production of oil by 500 000 barrels per day last week. The price of oil increased by about a dollar per barrel. The shortfall in revenue from the drop in production is quickly recovered in about a day or so. After that, the increase in revenue for oil sold will be some ~39 million dollars per day.The oil market and the gold market can be manipulated. So can the currency exchange market. The Chinese gov. will get skinned alive. The market mavens play for keeps. They are not fools.The markets act independently of the expenditures of the US gov. The US gov can go broke and the markets won't go away.The war in Iraq is a good example of governments not having a clue.People must eat, wear clothing, live in homes, etc. The market is ready made as long as there are people. Supply and demand. Governments are helpless without it.Cannabis is in great demand. Plenty of supply. The US government is whistling in the dark when it comes to the markets. They actually help support the black market in cannabis by their ridiculous and feckless laws prohibiting the use of cannabis. It's medicine. People are going to use it and their is nothing that can be done to stop its use.The Chinese government is clueless too when it comes to how the markets operate. It is a rigged game. Manipulated... big time.Google 'Leo Wanta' You will find out how much trouble the US government really has on their hands. Americans, run of the mill, regular old 'Great Unwashed' normal Americans will be ok, come what may. Not so for the US government.Not only has it become clueless, it is also witless. You can thank the Neocons for that 'mistake.'
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Comment #19 posted by rafael on December 17, 2006 at 09:02:02 PT
comment #16
Hereīs the way I see it:If the Chinese government trades 1 trillion dollars from their reserves, that means more dollars entering the market, so the dollar value will fall.If they start buying dollars, that means less dollars in the market, so itīs value will rise.I donīt understand much about economy, but thatīs how I think it works (very simplistic(sp?) view of course).
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Comment #18 posted by FoM on December 17, 2006 at 08:36:33 PT
OT: What is This About?
US Army Might Break Goodyear Strikehttp://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16226231/
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Comment #17 posted by FoM on December 17, 2006 at 08:28:00 PT
goneposthole
I don't understand economics. I do understand what it means to own a home though. I love to watch a show called Flip This House. I like it because I like to watch construction work. Where we live real estate hasn't gone up much or down at all because we live in such a rural area. When I see the prices of homes on the east or west coast I am shocked. I feel sorry for people who paid lots of money for a house in those areas. I am like the tortoise and not like the hare. Slow and steady is my motto.
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Comment #16 posted by goneposthole on December 17, 2006 at 08:18:23 PT
The dollar will rise in value
If China dumps theirs. They will have less of them, if not any of them. Very unwise decision. Period.The dollar is rising against the Euro. The Euro will fall in value if they are traded for the dollar by the Chinese.It was 1.33 US dollars for one Euro about a week ago, today it is 1.30 USD to buy a Euro. It is expected to fall even more down to 1.16 USD for a Euro. More Euros in the hands of the Chinese means a greater value for the dollar.I hope the Chinese do spend their dollars for Euros. The dollar has more value than the Chinese really would want to believe. Their economy would crash, not the US economy. The problem: Disposable income is on shaky ground.Too many dollars are required to pay debt, putting fewer dollars in the pockets of consumers. Prices fall, the dollar increases in value.Those skyscrapers that are being built in China are called 'see through' buildings. They are so shoddily built, no potential renters want to occupy them. Those are the facts.How many Chinese Yuan do you own? I don't have any, I have dollars.Capital is what rules the value of the US dollar, not how many someone has.  'Marijuana... the reason man discovered fire'California housing crash:http://patrick.net/housing/crash.htmlThe dollar buys more today, not less.
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Comment #15 posted by whig on December 16, 2006 at 19:10:04 PT
Did someone say?
640K ought to be enough for anyone.It's not, we've outgrown our old limits. Some people still run DOS, though.
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Comment #14 posted by whig on December 16, 2006 at 19:07:26 PT
Just saying.
640,000 years is a long time.You do not remember your history that far back.
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Comment #13 posted by whig on December 16, 2006 at 18:51:39 PT
Supervolcano
from Wiki:Yellowstone Caldera is the largest volcanic system in North America. It has been termed a "supervolcano" because the caldera was formed by exceptionally large explosive eruptions. It was created by a cataclysmic eruption that occurred 640,000 years ago that released 1,000 cubic kilometers of ash, rock and pyroclastic materials (this was 450 times larger than Mount St. Helens' 1980 eruption), forming a crater nearly a kilometre deep and 30 by 70 kilometres in area (18 by 43 mi) (the size of the caldera has been modified a bit since this time and has mostly been filled in, however). The welded tuff geologic formation created by this eruption is called the Lava Creek Tuff. In addition to the last great eruptive cycle there were two other previous ones in the Yellowstone area.
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Comment #12 posted by mayan on December 16, 2006 at 16:05:25 PT
Unconfirmed
CHINA TO DUMP ONE TRILLION IN U.S. RESERVES:
http://www.halturnershow.com/ChinaToDumpUSDollars.htmlIf anyone hears anything more, please post!This is also alarming...Yellowstone domes rising at 'really pronounced' pace:
http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2006/12/15/news/state/25-dome.txt
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Comment #11 posted by FoM on December 16, 2006 at 14:40:58 PT
Toker00
And a big Merry Christmas to you and your family. You really do good work.
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Comment #10 posted by Toker00 on December 16, 2006 at 14:07:30 PT
FoM
Thank you so much. You are so Loved. Stick, you too, k? :) Toke.
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Comment #9 posted by Toker00 on December 16, 2006 at 14:05:18 PT
FoM, ALL AMERICANNABISTS, AND WORLDCANNABISTS
I want you all to know you make my life more worth living. I love you all, and I want us all to have a safe and happy Holiday Season. Let them not doubt our commitment to Peace, whether it be the sign, or the movement, and let us all be grateful for Cannabis, and Reverent to the hands that Created It.PEACE/LOVE/MERRY CHRISTMAS/HAPPY NEW YEAR!/THANK YOU GOD FOR CANNABIS!WAGE PEACE ON WAR. END CANNABIS PROHIBITION NOW! 
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Comment #8 posted by FoM on December 16, 2006 at 13:48:48 PT
Toker00
I have 6 up now and will get the others uploaded soon. Very nice! http://gallery.marihemp.com/album56
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on December 16, 2006 at 13:34:38 PT
Toker00
I downloaded them and will try to get them up on Marihemp. I'll post the link as soon as I get it done. They look really good. I might have missed one so after I get these up I'll try to figure out which one I missed.Thanks! Ho Ho Ho!
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Comment #6 posted by whig on December 16, 2006 at 13:11:15 PT
FoM
What herbal medicine can be prescribed?
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Comment #5 posted by whig on December 16, 2006 at 13:10:56 PT
Toker00
Oooh. Can't wait to see.
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Comment #4 posted by Toker00 on December 16, 2006 at 13:08:19 PT
FoM
Pics at Greendale. :)Toke.
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on December 16, 2006 at 10:27:31 PT
About a Prescription
I don't think that as far as herbal medicine goes that a prescription can be written. That is one of the reason I don't understand why Cannabis is illegal when other herbs are legal.
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Comment #2 posted by whig on December 16, 2006 at 10:15:26 PT
Storm Crow
We don't need it to be a prescription -- if a recommendation is sufficient legal protection we don't want doctors to have to specify precisely how much cannabis we are to take each day, of what precise strain, etc. Doctors can still recommend these things, even saying that an indica or sativa might be best for a patient's condition in the doctor's opinion or whatever, but it's micromanagement and the patient is going to figure it out most likely within a little while what helps most. Since there's no risk of overdose, why issue restrictive prescriptions?
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Comment #1 posted by Storm Crow on December 16, 2006 at 09:11:07 PT
When will they get it straight???
It is a recommendation, NOT a prescription!! If a doctor gave out a prescription for cannabis, s/he'd lose their license! I wish it WAS a prescription- when it is finally a real prescription, not just a doctor's recommendation, we will have won! Marijuana is medicine!(sorry, if you toke just for fun, but I'm kind of focused on the medical end of use. You want it. We NEED it!) And good on Merced for FINALLY coming to their senses!
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