Pubdate: Tue, 11 Jun 2002 Source: Union, The (CA) Copyright: 2002 Nevada County Publishing Company Contact: http://www.theunion.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/957 Author: Jay R. Cavanaugh, Ph.D. MEDICAL MARIJUANA LAWS FUNNY? To those severely ill patients who need medical cannabis to keep their AIDS medications down or to those with chronic pain trying to avoid narcotics, the medical marijuana laws are not funny. The law should be a life saver, but confusion rules due to the lack of "guidelines." Attorney General Bill Lockyer has told the counties it's up to them to assist implementation of this necessary but vague law. I sat on a panel with District Attorney Mike Ferguson at the Arts Center last year during our "medical marijuana" school. He is working hard to separate the good guys from the bad guys. He is getting expert help in establishing local guidelines, which we hope will be adopted soon. Local patients and caregivers are assisting Mike and the sheriff in establishing these guidelines. Such guidelines should be based on science and reason like the ones in Sonoma, Del Norte, and many other counties. The Board of Supervisors should assist in maintaining an open dialogue on this issue, and the sheriff needs to train and instruct officers appropriately. Many patients are too sick or otherwise unable to grow their own medicine and thus rely on caregivers. Let the DA inspect, permit, and protect such patient cooperatives while directing law enforcement to the serious problems of hard drugs and crime. Jay R. Cavanaugh, Ph.D. National Director American Alliance for Medical Cannabis - --- MAP posted-by: Beth