Pubdate: Tue, 3 Jan 2006
Source: Santa Barbara News-Press (CA)
Copyright: 2006 Santa Barbara News-Press
Contact:  http://www.newspress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/393
Author: Hildy Medina, News-Press Staff Writer
Cited: Santa Barbara County Sheriff http://www.sbsheriff.org
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

MEDICINAL POT LAWS HAZY FOR AUTHORITIES

One thing is clear about California's medicinal marijuana law -- how 
unclear it is to those who enforce it.

"This is all new," said Cmdr. Don Patterson, who heads the Santa 
Barbara County Sheriff's narcotics unit. "The real challenge is 
trying to understand the law and how it applies in real life and on 
the street."

That challenge was put to the test earlier this month when sheriff's 
narcotics detectives raided a Mission Hills home after getting a tip 
that the person living there was growing and selling marijuana.

The lengthy search and seizure on Dec. 8 was unusual for the 
Sheriff's Department. The search stretched for 12 hours -- double 
what a typical raid would last. A good portion of the time was spent 
combing through documentation that would back up Danielle DiSimone's 
assertions that she was growing marijuana for medicinal purposes. Ms. 
DiSimone was allowed a visit by an attorney while the raid was in 
full swing, unheard of in typical pot busts.

In the end, detectives left behind 30 plants out of 112 and some 
growing equipment. Detectives said they confiscated 8 pounds of pot 
leaves and 2 pounds of marijuana buds. Ms. DiSimone was booked for 
cultivation of marijuana and possession of marijuana for sale.

The 50-year-old former Marine, who is expected to enter a plea in the 
case on Monday, called the raid at her Montrose Place home a "witch hunt."

Ms. DiSimone says she grows marijuana for medicinal purposes, for 
herself and for other clients, and keeps detailed records of her 
patients, including more than 70 letters of recommendation from their 
physicians. Ms. DiSimone also has a marijuana patient identification 
card, she said, because of chronic pain she suffers from an injury 
she received while in the Marines.

During the raid, detectives called patients to verify that she was 
their primary caregiver. Of the 74 letters found by investigators, 43 
were considered not valid because patients lived in other counties. 
Another 25 letters were disqualified because they were more than a 
year old, according to the Sheriff's report. Of the remaining six 
patients, detectives were able to reach four who qualified as 
"current" patients, the report said.

Under state law, patients and caregivers with a doctor's 
recommendation letter may possess up to 8 ounces of dried marijuana 
and grow up to six mature plants or 12 sprouts.

Detectives weren't satisfied that Ms. DiSimone was a legitimate 
caregiver, at least not for the amount of pot she was growing.

Ms. DiSimone says she was complying with the law and says her patient 
list is much more extensive, but she did not want patients' names in 
the hands of authorities.

"It's this type of thing that patients fear the most, losing their 
privacy," said Ms. DiSimone. "Most people don't want others to know 
what medications they use."

The bust comes as law enforcement officials find themselves caught in 
a web of federal, state and local laws and by a range of attitudes 
about marijuana.

California's Proposition 215, which voters passed in 1996, allows 
patients with a doctor's recommendation to grow, possess and use 
marijuana for medical reasons. Meanwhile, federal law doesn't 
recognize any legitimate use for marijuana, so it remains outlawed 
alongside other so-called Schedule 1 drugs like PCP, LSD and Ecstasy.

In the middle of this federal-state tussle, identification cards, 
which are not mandatory, let local law enforcement officials know 
medicinal marijuana users are in legitimate possession of the drug. 
Caregiver cards identify individuals who grow marijuana and sell it 
to patients.

Ms. DiSimone claims she tried numerous times times to apply for a 
caregiver card but was given conflicting instructions. A caregiver 
must apply in person with the patient. There is currently no limit on 
the number of patients a caregiver can have.

Some public health officials, marijuana advocates and law enforcement 
officials agree that the caregiver designation is murky.

"It's not really clear, not a black-and-white law," said Cmdr. 
Patterson. "We're still trying to figure out the nuances. When we run 
into someone who is a caregiver, we do everything we can to make sure 
that we're following the law."

Joshua Braun, who opened the cannabis club HortiPharm five months 
ago, says he has nearly 1,250 patients, some of whom live out of the county.

"My attorney is of the opinion that Proposition 215 does not say you 
can only be a local caregiver," said Mr. Braun. "I accept patients 
out of the county; I would have to turn away patients."

There currently is no language in the state law on dispensaries or 
cooperatives. Local governments are left on their own to decide how 
to deal with them.

In the city of Santa Barbara, there are at least four pot clubs and 
cooperatives, including the Compassion Center of Santa Barbara 
County, the Santa Barbara Patients Group and HortiPharm. Santa 
Barbara city police have so far left them alone.

In Lompoc, the city council adopted a different approach, and banned 
pot clubs for two years.

"It's just an awkward situation and just not a good system" said 
William Brown, Lompoc's police chief and president of the California 
Police Chiefs Association. "Basically, we don't want a plethora of 
people hanging out a shingle saying we're a marijuana dispensary."

Ms. DiSimone sees the recent raid as a blow to her clients, who she 
says don't have any where else to go.

She also claims she was singled out by detectives. In a search 
warrant affidavit dated Dec. 6, Detective Troy Marino notes that he 
saw Ms. DiSimone at La Cumbre Plaza and recognized her from a 1993 
arrest for growing marijuana. She pleaded out to cultivation of 
marijuana and served time under house arrest.

Ms. DiSimone says there is no way the detective could have recognized 
her as the person he arrested years earlier -- at that time she was a 
man. The former Michael DiSimone underwent a sex change operation in 2002.

"Would you recognize me?" asked Ms. DiSimone, holding up an old 
wedding photo of himself in a suit with his fourth bride. "This raid 
is just a Gestapo (tactic) and malicious."

As local marijuana advocates and law enforcement officials interpret 
the law and set up their own guidelines, they will likely be facing 
another hurdle next month.

The Public Health Department wants to pass its responsibility for 
issuing ID cards to the state as early as February. So far, the 
county has issued 362 patient and 22 caregiver cards.

If the Board of Supervisors approves the move, scheduled for a vote 
today, law enforcement officials would need to rethink how they 
handle ID cards from residents living outside of the county. 
Currently, local authorities use the county's database to verify the 
legitimacy of a card, and those from outside the county aren't in the system.

"With the changeover to the new system, we'll have to change how we 
handle everything and learn the new program all over again," said 
Cmdr. Patterson.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake