Pubdate: Sun, 20 Jun 2004
Source: Grunion Gazette (Long Beach, CA)
Copyright: 2004 Grunion Gazette
Contact:  http://www.gazettes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3434
Author: Steve Irsay, Staff Writer
Cited: NORML http://www.norml.org
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

COUNCIL SUPPORTS CLEAR MEDICAL MARIJUANA USE RULES 					

In response to pleas from users and patient advocates, the Long Beach 
Police Department will review and likely revise its zero tolerance policy 
regarding the use of medical marijuana.

Currently, officers treat potential medical marijuana cases the same as any 
other narcotics case: seize the drugs and arrest or cite the suspected 
offender.

Acting on complaints from medical users that this policy conflicts with 
state law, Councilmen Dan Baker (Second) and Val Lerch (Ninth) brought the 
issue to the council Tuesday.

"My concern is that we have had a state law on the books for eight years 
and it is my strong belief that we have not been following that law," Baker 
said.

California voters legalized medical marijuana in 1996 when they passed 
Proposition 215, also known as the "Compassionate Use Act of 1996." 
However, the initiative provided little in the way of rules for enforcement.

This year a new bill, SB 420, took effect, establishing guidelines for 
Prop. 215. But patient advocates and law enforcement officials, often at 
odds over the medical marijuana issue, agree that guidelines remain murky 
for both sides.

Ultimately, the council asked the police department to return by Sept. 14 
with a revised policy ready for implementation, but not before Baker and 
Deputy Chief Robert Luna clashed over the timetable, with Baker wanting 
more immediate action and Luna stressing the complexity of the issue.

"The Long Beach Police Department does not have an issue with anyone who 
needs to use medical marijuana," Luna said. "But I could fill this room 10 
times with victims of homicides and shootings because of narcotics, 
including marijuana. It's a very serious issue."

Luna and others also noted that, like patients, police officers would 
benefit from a clarified policy.

During about an hour of discussion, several members of the public made 
heartfelt pleas for the use of medical marijuana.

"I become very angry when innocent victims afflicted with a dreadful 
disease are denied anything that could ease their pain and suffering," said 
Diana Lejins, whose mother died after battling liver cancer. "To 
incarcerate these patients is a cruel travesty of justice."

Perhaps one of the most impassioned pleas came from Lerch, who recused 
himself from voting on the issue because his wife suffers from multiple 
sclerosis.

"Night after night I sit in my living room and watch my wife with extreme 
muscle spasms and nothing relieves those muscle spasms," he said. "My wife 
will probably not use medical marijuana but, damn it, she should have the 
right to."

The SB 420 bill includes guidelines regarding how much marijuana patients 
may grow and possess without being subject to drug arrests. The law allows 
for six mature plants or 12 immature plants and up to one-half pound of 
processed, dried marijuana.

Using these guidelines as minimums, counties and cities are allowed to set 
their own policies. Los Angeles County lacks guidelines altogether.

A frequent source of conflict between medical marijuana users and law 
enforcement is valid identification. Currently, the sole documentation for 
medical marijuana usage is a doctor's note, which can only be used as a 
defense in court, not at the point of arrest.

"Medical marijuana patients are out there in a position where they can be 
arrested, taken out of their homes or the hospital and have to face court 
proceedings to show they are legitimate users," said Bruce Margolin, a 
defense attorney and director of the Los Angeles chapter of the National 
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).

Luna argued that officers are often confronted with suspects who use 
deception to avoid arrest. Without a better medical marijuana 
identification system, those officers are hard-pressed to accept only a 
doctor's note as legitimate proof of medical use.

"We have police officers making medical decisions," said medical marijuana 
advocate Michael Barbee of San Diego. "In no other area do we ever ask 
police to make those kinds of medical decisions."

Fourth District Councilman Dennis Carroll, a judge in LA, asked that in its 
revised policy, the department recommend a better identification system.

One possible solution to the problem contained in SB 420 and mentioned by 
some speakers at the council meeting is a state-coordinated medical 
marijuana identification card system. Medical users would pay a 
registration fee and voluntarily sign up for an identification number and 
card from the county health department. However, some patient advocates 
have questioned whether users will want to register because of privacy 
concerns.

William Britt, who said he suffers from post-polio syndrome and other 
ailments, stood at the podium with the help of crutches and applauded the 
drug for easing his pain and allowing him to live a fuller life.

"I equate cannabis to these crutches," he said. "I can throw them away and 
live without them, but I would live with a lot more pain. Cannabis allows 
me to go out and do things." 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake