Pubdate: Thu, 14 Jul 2005
Source: Oakland Tribune, The (CA)
Copyright: 2005 MediaNews Group, Inc. and ANG Newspapers
Contact:  http://www.oaklandtribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/314
Author: Josh Richman
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

FILING PROPELS DISPUTE OVER MEDICAL POT

Compassionate Use Law Is Put To The Test

Medical marijuana advocates are mounting a double-barreled attack 
this week on what they say is California's reticence to uphold its 
own compassionate use law, putting Attorney General Bill Lockyer in 
the hot seat.

On one front, Oakland-based Americans For Safe Access filed papers 
Wednesday in Alameda County Superior Court seeking an injunction to 
halt the California Highway Patrol's policy of seizing marijuana from 
qualified patients, even if those patients have county-issued ID 
cards or a doctor's recommendation.

The ASA says the CHP blatantly ignores a state Supreme Court decision 
that said an officer's probable cause to seize marijuana depends on 
facts such as presentation of documents identifying the person as a 
qualified patient.

It also notes that Lockyer -- whose office defends the CHP in this 
lawsuit -- issued a formal opinion June 23 saying cities can prohibit 
their police from seizing medical marijuana but can't automatically 
seize marijuana from or arrest people who don't have voluntary ID 
cards because that would directly contradict state law.

"The CHP policy of seizing marijuana from qualified patients even 
when they present a valid identification card is even more at odds 
with state law, since no amount of proof can avoid a mandatory 
seizure," the ASA's filing says.

And the filing says the CHP ignores bulletins Lockyer issued to 
California law enforcement agencies lastmonth after a U.S. Supreme 
Court decision upholding the federal marijuana ban. In those 
bulletins, Lockyer wrote that California's law still stands and 
police should avoid making seizures and arrests when it seems someone 
is legitimately using a medically authorized, reasonable amount of 
marijuana under state law.

So who's right, the lawyer or the client? Lockyer spokeswoman Teresa 
Schilling would only say Wednesday that the attorney general is 
duty-bound to defend the state and its agencies against lawsuits; she 
referred further questions to the CHP.

CHP spokesman Lt. Joe Whiteford said the CHP will honor only the 123 
voluntarily-sought medical marijuana identification cards issued so 
far by the Department of Health Services under a 2003 state law. 
Officers will keep seizing marijuana from anyone else. He wouldn't 
comment on the apparent conflict with Lockyer's bulletins.

Meanwhile, two other national groups -- the Drug Policy Alliance and 
the American Civil Liberties Union -- wrote to Gov. Arnold 
Schwarzenegger on Tuesday with a threat to sue the state for 
suspending the very ID card program the CHP says it's honoring.

The ID card program was just about to expand from a four-county test 
run to statewide implementation. But state Health Services Director 
Sandra Shewry last week halted it, saying the need for Lockyer to 
confirm that employees who issue the cards won't be subject to 
federal prosecution following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

The DPA and ACLU also cite Lockyer's bulletins that state officials 
"may not refuse to abide by the provisions of the Compassionate Use 
Act on the basis that this Act conflicts with federal law." DPA legal 
director Daniel Abrahamson of Oakland said it's "shameful" that court 
action might be needed to force the state to honor its own laws.

The groups' letter said they'll sue if the ID card program isn't 
reinstated by the close of business Tuesday. Schilling said Wednesday 
that Lockyer's office is working "as fast as we can" to issue an 
opinion on the program.
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MAP posted-by: Beth