Pubdate: Thu, 14 Jun 2001
Source: Daily News of Los Angeles (CA)
Copyright: 2001 Daily News of Los Angeles
Contact: http://www.DailyNews.com/contact/letters.asp
Website: http://www.DailyNews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/246
Author: David Kravets
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/ocbc.htm (Oakland Cannabis Court Case)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/props.htm (Ballot Initiatives)

FEDERAL RULING'S DONE LITTLE TO STEM MEDICAL POT USE

SAN FRANCISCO -- In the month since the U.S. Supreme Court said it's 
illegal to sell or possess marijuana for medical use, the decision 
appears to be having little effect in the eight states with medical 
marijuana laws.

"I dispense a couple pounds a month," said Jim Green, operator of the 
Market Street Club, where business has thrived even after the May 14 
ruling. "All of my clients have a legitimate and compelling need."

Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Oregon and 
Washington allow the infirm to receive, possess, grow or smoke 
marijuana for medical purposes without fear of state prosecution.

Those states have done little to change since the Supreme Court ruled 
federal law prohibits people from dispensing marijuana to the ill. 
Some states have even moved to expand marijuana laws despite the 
ruling.

State prosecutors say it's up to federal authorities, not them, to 
enforce the court's decision.

"If the feds want to prosecute these people, they can," said Norm 
Vroman, the district attorney in Northern California's Mendocino 
County, where the sheriff issues medical marijuana licenses to 
residents with a doctor's recommendation, or to people who grow the 
marijuana for them.

In Maine, "state prosecutors aren't too involved with enforcing the 
federal law," said state attorney general spokesman Chuck Dow.

In response to the high court's decision, however, Maine lawmakers 
shelved an effort to supply marijuana to the ill.

The Bush administration, which inherited the medical marijuana fight 
from President Clinton, has taken no public action to enforce the 
ruling and has been silent about its next move.

"There's generally no comment about what the government will do in 
the future in any context," said Mark T. Quinlivan, the Justice 
Department's lead attorney in the Supreme Court case.

Leslie Baker, head of a federal drug-enforcement unit in Portland, 
Ore., said last week that U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft's 
office has not given her guidance on how to respond to the ruling. 
Oregon allows caregivers to grow and dispense marijuana for patients 
who have a doctor's recommendation.

Baker declined to say what federal authorities may do in the state.

Meanwhile, Nevada lawmakers, abiding by a voter referendum, on June 4 
adopted a medical marijuana measure that Gov. Kenny Guinn said he 
would sign.
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MAP posted-by: Josh Sutcliffe