Pubdate: Mon, 17 Jul 2000
Source: Arizona Daily Star (AZ)
Copyright: 2000 Pulitzer Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.azstarnet.com/
Author: Jennifer Coleman

CALIF. LAW NEEDS REWRITE, BACKERS ARGUE

SACRAMENTO -(AP)- California's groundbreaking medicinal marijuana law is
being used in other states as a model of how not to write a law to allow
chronically ill patients to smoke the drug.

The Compassionate Use Act of 1996 doesn't define the specific amounts of
marijuana allowed or say if patients should be registered or required to
carry an identification card, and that has created confusion among law
enforcement officials, medical personnel, patients and lawmakers, said Gina
Pesulima, spokeswoman for Americans for Medical Rights, a group that advises
grass-roots organizations promoting medical marijuana laws.

"Proposition 215 was pretty loosely written," Pesulima said. "We help other
states draft tighter laws, which will make it easier for everyone involved."

Since California voters approved the 1996 law, voters in Alaska, Washington,
Oregon and Maine have approved similar laws.

Voters in Nevada and Colorado also approved initiatives but will vote again
on their measures this fall. Colorado's was disqualified from the ballot
after the election, and Nevada's is a constitutional amendment, which
requires approval in two successive elections.

The Hawaii Legislature recently approved a law decriminalizing marijuana for
medical purposes.

Medical marijuana advocacy groups estimate that thousands of people are
using the drug under the new laws.

Oregon has a voluntary registry that includes about 1,000 patients, Pesulima
said, but many users fear giving up their privacy and don't register.

California Sen. John Vasconcellos has sponsored a bill that would tighten
state law by establishing a registry or identification-card system and
urging consistent enforcement.

Rand Martin, a consultant from Vasconcellos' office, said he expects it to
be approved this year.

In the meantime, San Francisco District Attorney Terence Hallinan announced
last week a plan to issue city ID cards allowing sick people to use
marijuana. The cards, which cost $25 and require a doctor's note, allow
patients to avoid local prosecution if caught possessing the drug.

Today, U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer is expected to decide if an
Oakland club is allowed to distribute medicinal marijuana. He hinted last
week he may be forced to permit it because the U.S. Justice Department
hasn't rebutted evidence that cannabis is the only effective treatment for a
large group of seriously ill people.

Gov. Gray Davis has approved spending $3 million over three years to
research the benefits and efficacy of marijuana, which is used by some to
ease the pain of terminal or chronic illness.

Advocates say research could help solve problems that arose from the 1996
measure, such as how best to take the drug, how much to prescribe and how
law enforcement officials should treat those with a doctor's recommendation.

Even officers who fight drug use support the research, said John Lovell, a
lobbyist for the California Narcotic Officers Association.

There are no definitive plans yet for the research, which will be done
within the University of California system.

Possession and cultivation of marijuana remains illegal under U.S. law, and
federal officials have repeatedly told state officials that medical
marijuana users risk federal prosecution.

Federal defendants who have tried to use the state's law as a defense have
failed, said Thomas J. Ballanco, the defense attorney involved in the two
biggest cases using the defense. He lost both.

(SIDEBAR)

An initiative on the November ballot in Arizona would require the state to
set up a system for legally distributing medical marijuana.

Four years ago, Arizona voters approved Proposition 200, which allowed the
use of marijuana, LSD, heroin, angel dust and other drugs to treat diseases
and pain if prescribed by a doctor. The Legislature amended the law a year
later to eliminate all but marijuana from the list of drugs and bar its use
for medical reasons until it receives U.S. Food and Drug Administration
approval. Arizona voters backed medical marijuana again in a 1998
referendum, but patients still lack legal access.
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