Pubdate: Tue, 27 Nov 2001
Source: Daily Californian, The (CA Edu)
Copyright: 2001 The Daily Californian
Contact:  http://www.dailycal.org/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/597
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/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)

GROUP WANTS STATE TO HELP DISTRIBUTE MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Federal Law Complicates Issue

Tired of the haze of legal issues surrounding the distribution of medical 
marijuana, a medical rights advocacy group wants states to be directly 
involved in the distribution of medical marijuana.

Americans for Medical Rights, the organization that sponsored Proposition 
215--the medical marijuana initiative--is proposing a ballot measure to set 
up a state-controlled network of medical marijuana distributors.

The proposal has drawn wide support from Berkeley marijuana users who are 
likewise frustrated by legal complications resulting from the federal law 
that bans the drug.

Although eight states have legalized medical marijuana, the cultivation, 
sale and use of the drug remains illegal under federal law.

"We don't have a choice," said Gina Palencar, head of the initiative drive. 
"Medical marijuana patients are not going to stop using marijuana for 
medical purposes just because the federal government is trying to 
criminalize them."

Widespread support is growing in Berkeley and on the UC Berkeley campus for 
the initiative, which will likely be placed on the 2002 ballots in Oregon 
and Washington, two states that allow marijuana use for medical reasons.

The group's ultimate goal is to put the initiative before California 
voters, but it is using the other states as testing grounds.

The Berkeley City Council last spring completed the arduous task of 
devising an ordinance for the use of medical marijuana to comply with 
Proposition 215.

The ordinance, deemed too conservative by medical marijuana proponents in 
the amount of marijuana patients can possess, is generous compared to 
ordinances adopted by other California cities.

"Medical marijuana and legal access to medical marijuana is one of the most 
agreed upon of sensible drug policies--it's a common ground," said Scarlett 
Swerdlow of Students for Sensible Drug Policy at UC Berkeley.

Swerdlow added that it would only be a first step in a more open discussion 
on drug policy.

"Ultimately, the federal government needs to change its policy," she said. 
"It doesn't make sense to send anyone, sick or healthy, to jail for using 
marijuana."

By having cannabis distribution facilities that are operated and run by the 
state, a showdown between the states and the federal government is almost 
certain.

The Oakland Cannabis Buyer's Cooperative, a large marijuana distribution 
group popular with some Berkeley residents, went head-to-head with the 
Supreme Court earlier this year and lost. The club stopped distributing 
marijuana in May, after a two-year court battle.

Americans for Medical Rights, a Santa Monica-based group, is not pushing 
the ballot measure in California because it would be too expensive to 
conduct a campaign here, Palencar said.

As proposed, the measure would allow the state to distribute marijuana in 
one of two ways. One proposal calls for the state to cultivate cannabis on 
private farms. That cannabis would then be distributed by state-operated 
distribution facilities.

The other proposal would have the state acquire the cannabis from 
Mississippi, where the federal government grows it for research purposes.

There has been a long and involved effort on the part of the California 
legislature to finalize a legitimate system of distribution.

State lawmakers recently passed a bill that would have recognized the 
distribution centers under California law and established an oversight 
framework. But Gov. Davis did not sign the bill into law, Palencar said.
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MAP posted-by: Jackl