Arthur Evans need not be so fearful of Tom Ammiano's proposal to make enforcement of private marijuana offenses the lowest priority for San Francisco law enforcement ("Regulate Pot," Letters, Nov. 9). Similar measures have been in force for some time in Oakland and Seattle without any of the problems Evans imagines. In Seattle, whose lowest-priority ordinance, Initiative 75, was passed by a 58%-42% vote of the people in 2003, the most vocal opponent was City Attorney Tom Carr. During the campaign, Carr voiced the same objections as Evans, alleging that police would be hamstrung. Two years later, he told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, "It hasn't been a problem." [continues 81 words]
A popular anti-drug program for youth that suffered major budget and personnel cuts last year now has the support of several community leaders who are trying to revive it. At Tuesday's City Council meeting, Fifth District Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske asked City Manager Jerry Miller and Police Chief Tony Batts to look into the feasibility of increasing police resources to expand the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education). "I want to find out if in fact we can reinstate it and get a handle on why it was cut," Schipske said. "The community seems to want to have it (back) in some format. It has been a very positive experience for a lot of school-aged children." [continues 409 words]
Patrolling some of the most remote forest roads in the north state, DeWayne Little doesn't see many speeders. So the state Department of Fish and Game warden was surprised to see a white Jeep barreling toward him on a mid-September morning. The driver didn't see Little's pickup, and Little had to swerve to avoid a collision. "Slow down," Little yelled out his window. The Jeep stopped. Little got out of his pickup and walked over to the Jeep, prepping a speech on the dangers of speeding on forest roads. When he got to the driver's window, he smelled a strong, sweet, skunky scent -- marijuana [continues 1186 words]
It's the green that draws people to spend months toiling in the north state's back corners during its blistering summers. Not the green of the marijuana they're growing, but the green of the cash they stand to reap when they bring in the harvest. The payoff can be as much as $30,000 for four months of work, said Alan Foster, a special agent with the National Park Service who is tackling the pot garden problem in Whiskeytown National Recreation Area. [continues 720 words]
Troy McCoy carries a reminder in his left forearm of how dangerous a marijuana garden can be. A deputy with the Tehama County Sheriff's Department, McCoy was shot four years ago with a .380-caliber semiautomatic handgun used by a pot grower to protect his plants. McCoy and eight other sheriff's deputies were raiding a marijuana garden early Aug. 21, 2002, in the Coast Range foothills about 10 miles west of Red Bluff, when one of the four men found in the garden shot at McCoy. McCoy shot back twice, but missed. The grower shot another six times, hitting McCoy once. [continues 1280 words]
To the people that think marijuana for medical use is bad for everyone, I have a few questions: How many deaths reported from an overdose of marijuana in the U.S. in the last 100 years? How many cases of deaths are from an overdose of drugs you buy from your drug store in the last year? How many deaths are from an overdose of any other drugs in the last month? The war on medical marijuana is from the drug makers that give hundreds of millions to put people in the White House to stop the use of medical marijuana. The drug makers can't make billions on the sale of medical marijuana. [continues 77 words]
Re "Smokescreen of medical pot clouds view of the dangers," Forum, Nov. 12: DEA agent Gordon Taylor needs to lighten up on some of society's most vulnerable citizens -- patients who benefit from doctor-approved cannabis. He wrote a commentary disseminating much medical advice, but only physicians are qualified to do that. The Institute of Medicine states, "cientific data indicate the potential therapeutic value of cannabinoid drugs, primarily THC, for pain relief, control of nausea and vomiting, and appetite stimulation." The United Kingdom classifies marijuana as a soft drug, punishable for personal amounts by a simple warning. The United States should emulate Europe. And Taylor should help our sick and dying people live, not seek to imprison them. - - Peter Gabriel Keyes, Sacramento [end]
Re "Spaced out law enforcement,". letter, Nov. 12: I think some pot advocates have been smoking too much of the stuff because they seem to have forgotten some important facts. DEA, a federal agency, is enforcing the law -- federal law. Unfortunately, in California we have a discrepancy between state and federal marijuana laws. I wonder if "we, the people of California" would have voted for Proposition 215 if we knew what we know now; that the aforementioned rub between state and federal law would cause a law-enforcement quagmire, that marijuana gardens would pop up in our neighborhoods, that it would encourage the involvement of organized crime. [continues 107 words]
Re "Economist changed the world," obituary, Nov. 17 Milton Friedman's opposition to the war on drugs had considerably more influence than your obituary suggests. Friedman was particularly opposed to prohibition of marijuana, a policy he called "disgraceful" in a 2005 Forbes magazine interview. During the period of Friedman's advocacy for reformed marijuana and drug laws, most of Europe has effectively decriminalized marijuana possession. In the U.S., growing numbers of liberals and conservatives have called for reconsideration of our marijuana laws. In California, the cities of Santa Monica, Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz just voted to make personal, adult marijuana offenses their lowest law-enforcement priority. Change doesn't always come quickly, but it does come. The world is starting to catch up with Friedman on the issue of marijuana policy. Bruce Mirken Washington The writer is communications director for the Marijuana Policy Project. [end]
Members of a federal marijuana enforcement team caught a whiff of something familiar Thursday as they walked to lunch in San Francisco - -- then confiscated about 2 pounds of pot from a passer-by. The Drug Enforcement Administration agents were near the Philip Burton Federal Building at 1:15 p.m. when a man passed them on the 400 block of Turk Street carrying a cardboard box. The box, emblazoned with the logo of a common brand of hydroponics equipment, reeked of marijuana. [continues 328 words]
California's criminal-justice system often convicts innocent people. In recognition of this fact, the state Senate created the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice. That commission is now considering the government's use of criminal informants or "snitches," a public policy that has become a disturbing contributor to the wrongful conviction problem. Snitches, of course, have powerful incentives to lie and often provide false evidence. But their unreliability is just one facet of their challenge to the justice system. [continues 906 words]
Tributes flowed last week after the death of Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman in San Francisco. The accolades lauded the "grand-master" of free-market economic theory as one of the 20th-century leading scholars of economic conservatism. But did you know that Friedman's passing was also lamented by the Washington-based Marijuana Policy Project? "Dr. Friedman was a lifetime dues-paying member of MPP and a strong advocate for ending marijuana prohibition," the organization's executive director, Rob Kampia, said in a news release. [continues 93 words]
Re "Toll mounts in Mexico's drug war," Nov. 14 For the drug war, there is a simple and relatively easy solution to end the violence caused by it: legalization. The legalization of now-illegal drugs would allow us to regulate, control and tax the in-demand products. When is the last time you had a story about a liquor dealer shooting his liquor distributor? Probably about 1933, the year that ended the disaster known as Prohibition. Our war on drugs is not winnable. Wars on poverty or drugs cannot be won. Who is going to surrender and sign the peace treaty? Kirk Muse Mesa, Ariz. [end]
What's the difference between crack cocaine and the powdered form of the same drug? Ask people who have been convicted of selling one or the other. Conviction for possession of only 5 grams of crack carries a mandatory minimum five years in prison. A drug dealer would have to be caught with 500 grams of powder cocaine to draw that same sentence. Crack is used more often in poor, minority communities; powder cocaine is found generally in affluent, white neighborhoods. So this 100-to-1 disparity in sentencing creates a racial disparity, too. Tens of thousands of low-level crack dealers, most of them brown and black, have gone to prison while more affluent, mostly white dealers of powder cocaine have drawn light sentences. [continues 168 words]
Flying in the face of federal drug laws, nearly 17,000 Santa Barbara City residents hit the polls last week and voted to make marijuana-related offenses the "lowest priority" of the Santa Barbara Police Department. Thanks to this effort, the appropriately named Measure P passed with a resounding 66 percent of the popular vote. Strongly opposed by local law enforcement, however, the measure seems destined for at least one more showdown before it can become a reality, as the City Council has requested a closed-door meeting with City Attorney Steve Wiley to discuss the various legal implications of the pro-pot directive and the possibility of an appeal. [continues 635 words]
Maverick Economist's Teachings Helped Lead 'Reagan Revolution' In one of his last interviews, with the Mercury News in late October, Milton Friedman, the Nobel Prize-winning economist, smiled and laughed frequently, reflecting with satisfaction that many of his once-maverick ideas seemed to have been validated by history, including the fall of the Soviet Union and the rise of free markets around the globe. "I started out being a very small minority," the San Francisco resident said. "I now have a lot of company. People learn from history, from experience." [continues 890 words]
A judge in San Diego indicated Thursday that he would reject three counties' challenge to California's medical marijuana law, saying the state could enforce a law allowing people to use the drug even if the federal government bans it. Federal officers are free to enforce the U.S. law prohibiting possession and cultivation of marijuana, but that doesn't prohibit California from allowing medical use of the drug under its own law, Superior Court Judge William Nevitt said. The voters did just that when they approved Proposition 215 in 1996. [continues 409 words]
In Tentative Ruling, Argument Is Called Less Than Persuasive A Superior Court judge yesterday rejected a claim by San Diego County that California's medical-marijuana laws directly conflict with federal drug statutes. The tentative ruling was issued hours before oral arguments were presented in the lawsuit that the county brought earlier this year against the state, which legalized the use of marijuana for health purposes a decade ago. Merced and San Bernardino counties later joined San Diego in the case, which is the first of its kind in California and is being closely watched by officials from Sacramento to Washington. [continues 942 words]
A San Diego County Superior Court judge appears poised to uphold the state's medical marijuana law, issuing a preliminary ruling Thursday that rejects a bid by three counties attempting to skirt the decade-old act. San Diego, San Bernardino and Merced counties sued to avoid having to issue identification cards to patients using medical marijuana, arguing that the state law conflicts with federal prohibitions against cannabis use. Judge William R. Nevitt heard oral arguments Thursday by lawyers for the counties as well as medical marijuana advocates and the state attorney general's office, which is defending the landmark law. Nevitt gave no indication when a final ruling would be issued. [end]
A San Diego County judge on Thursday issued a tentative ruling ordering California counties to comply with the state's medical marijuana law, a decision that could put new pressure on Stanislaus County to issue medical pot ID cards. San Diego County asserted that a federal ban on marijuana trumps state laws allowing people to use it with a doctor's approval. Judge William R. Nevitt Jr. rejected that argument. Merced and San Bernardino counties joined San Diego in the lawsuit. None of the three counties has issued medical marijuana cards, which are required under a 2003 state law. [continues 357 words]
SAN DIEGO -- A Superior Court judge issued a tentative ruling Thursday morning, rejecting San Diego County's controversial challenge to overturn California's 10-year old, voter-approved "Compassionate Use Act" -- the law that says seriously ill people can legally use marijuana to ease their pain and suffering. Superior Court Judge William R. Nevitt issued the tentative ruling that rejected the county's argument that the California law should be pre-empted by federal law, which says that marijuana has no medicinal benefit and is illegal in all cases. [continues 1012 words]
The county has a medical marijuana identification card program, now that the county Board of Supervisors has given its final OK. A 2003 state law requires counties to issue cards to qualified medical marijuana patients and their primary caregivers. Their names then go into an online registry that law enforcement officers can use to verify an ID card's validity. Supervisors voted unanimously without any discussion to create an ordinance that establishes a $78 fee for the ID program, which will pay for the program. People with Medi-Cal benefits will be charged $39 for an ID card. [continues 168 words]
Twenty years ago, Congress passed an unwise, unjust law mandating long prison terms for people caught with small amounts of crack cocaine. As a result, small-time users, dealers and couriers -- overwhelmingly poor black men -- are locked up for years while big-time traffickers keep cocaine supplies flowing. The law requires five years in prison for five grams of crack cocaine - -- the weight of a few sugar packets; it takes 500 grams of powder cocaine to trigger the same sentence. It's time to change the law. [continues 399 words]
IN WASHINGTON, it is easier to pass a bad bill than a good bill. Once that bad bill becomes law, then good luck trying to fix it. The science behind the bill may be discredited, its unfairness widely recognized and a judiciary commission could call for much-needed correction, yet over 20 years, no one has managed to correct a law that is oddly both draconian and ineffective. I refer to the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986. Two decades after Washington enacted the measure, including a provision that set a five-year mandatory-minimum sentence for possession of 5 grams of crack cocaine or 100 times that amount of powder cocaine, black urban users and street dealers do hard time for small quantities, while those who trade in upscale powder cocaine can trade 100 times more narcotic but serve the same sentence. [continues 664 words]
Okay, maybe we won't be fighting New Hampshire in court over use of that motto. But you can bet that as soon as the post-election punditry settles down and the news channels start looking for "Hey, Martha!"-type topics, our town will draw attention for having passed Measure Y, which reduces the enforcement priority on adult personal use of marijuana in Santa Monica. I voted in favor of the measure, and obviously so did a lot of other Santa Monica voters. Now that we've spoken, saying, I think, that we don't want law enforcement resources distracted with "busting" adults for deploying joints (with exceptions for minors, sale of marijuana, use on public property and driving under the influence) when there's a world of other things they could be doing what else have we said with the passing of Y? [continues 538 words]
ONE OF OUR MOST infamous contemporary laws is the 100-1 difference in sentencing between crack cocaine and powder cocaine. Under federal drug laws, prison sentences are usually tied to the quantity of drugs the defendant trafficked. For example, selling 5,000 grams of powder cocaine (about a briefcase full) gets a mandatory 10-year prison sentence, but so does selling only 50 grams of crack cocaine (the weight of a candy bar). Working for the House Judiciary Committee in 1986, I wrote the House bill that was the basis for that law. We made some terrible mistakes. [continues 661 words]
Merced County Man Faces a Three-Count Case in Federal Court. Testimony began Wednesday in Dustin Costa's trial, with prosecutors portraying the Merced marijuana activist as a drug dealer who violated federal law. Costa, 60, is facing a three-count indictment charging him with growing more than 100 marijuana plants with the intent to distribute. He also faces a charge of possession of a firearm "in furtherance of drug-trafficking crime." In opening statements in U.S. District Judge Anthony W. Ishii's courtroom, prosecutor Karen Escobar told jurors Costa had a "relatively sophisticated marijuana operation" at his Merced County home. She said Costa was robbed 13 times, but never called police because he knew he was in violation of the law. [continues 481 words]
A jury has been selected and opening arguments will begin today in the federal trial of Merced marijuana activist Dustin Costa, but it is unlikely there will be any debate on the hotly disputed issue of the drug's medicinal value. Before his arrest, Costa was president of the Merced Patients Group, a private cannabis club that claimed 230 members. The club helped connect people with doctors who give recommendations for marijuana and those who supply the drug. Costa, 60, is facing a three-count indictment charging him with with growing more than 100 marijuana plants, equivalent to nearly 9 pounds, in February 2004 with the intent to distribute. Costa also faces a charge of possession of a firearm "in furtherance of drug trafficking crime." [continues 420 words]
UPLAND - Marijuana sales were prohibited after a unanimous vote at Monday's City Council meeting. The plant can still be smoked by residents who have a medical need and permission from their physician, said council members, but marijuana retail outlets have been banned from the city. (The vote) is to prevent dedicated point of sales, said Bill Curley, city attorney. Based on the controversy surrounding the issue, council members have said there is tension behind the subject. State law permits it but federal law prohibits it, Curley said. [continues 61 words]
UPLAND -- Marijuana sales were prohibited after a unanimous vote at Monday's City Council meeting. The plant can still be smoked by residents who have a medical need and permission from their physician, said council members, but marijuana retail outlets have been banned from the city. "(The vote) is to prevent dedicated point of sales," said Bill Curley, city attorney. Based on the controversy surrounding the issue, council members have said there is tension behind the subject. State law permits it but federal law prohibits it, Curley said. [continues 62 words]
Once again, the medical marijuana war breaks into an open boil right here in Susanville. Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act, was passed by the people of the state of California 10 years ago last week, but the controversial issue still remains unresolved. To some seriously ill people in our community, the pungent herb is a God-given painkiller that works better than any man-made drug. But to some of our local city leaders and law enforcement officials, it's just plain old dope. [continues 1277 words]
Opponents Predict Increase In Crime, Use Of Harder Drugs San Francisco's Board of Supervisors will vote today on legislation that would set nearly all crimes involving marijuana as the lowest law enforcement priority for city police. The legislation, sponsored by Supervisor Tom Ammiano, was approved Monday by a board committee with the blessing of police officials and over the complaints of some residents. "This measure, which would legalize the unlimited growth and sales (of marijuana) on private property, will make public spitting and (leaving chewing) gum ... on the sidewalk higher priorities," said Kim Stryker, voicing opposition before the supervisors' City Operations and Neighborhood Services Committee. [continues 415 words]
Mexico City -- The death toll in Mexico's drug war has surpassed 2,000 this year, with a newspaper editor found dead in the resort city of Zihuatanejo and a police commander assassinated in Tijuana apparently among the latest victims, according to news reports. Another police commander was killed Monday in the northern city of Monterrey, and four people were reported killed in the southern state of Guerrero. No government agency keeps a running tally of the drug-related killings, but according to human rights organizations and newspapers, an average of six people are killed in the country's drug wars every day. [continues 230 words]
Local Dispensaries Facing Strict Codes PASADENA - Here, near the 10th anniversary of voter-approved medicinal marijuana in California, the going is rough for purveyors in the San Gabriel Valley. The two latest dispensaries opened and quickly shut down due to county permit violations. "Medical functions belong in a medical facility to protect the public as well as patients," said Tony Bell, spokesman for county Supervisor Michael Antonovich. "We believe these current operators' intention is to circumvent the law. We have to be vigilant, and our office will pursue every legal avenue ." [continues 569 words]
Palm Springs-Based Group Helping Spread Word In The Gay Community David Barrett knew how crystal meth destroys lives. Meth had left the Palm Springs man jobless, homeless and estranged from his family. After he pulled his life together, he became a therapist and then head of a Los Angeles anti-crystal-meth program. He heard hundreds of others tell him about the devastation it caused in their lives. Yet when a friend placed a pipe with crystal meth in front of Barrett last year, he lit it without hesitation. And his life started falling apart again. [continues 641 words]
HAYWARD -- One of two medical marijuana dispensaries in Hayward will be forced to close down next month, city officials said. "The place that is being closed down clearly violated their conditions," Mayor Mike Sweeney said. "And apparently, they violated it twice." Officials said the Local Patients Cooperative broke its three-year operating memorandum with the city by having more than 3 pounds of marijuana on the premises at one time. Police officers inspected the club in September and said they observed 30 pounds of the drug -- 10 times the city's limit. Officers returned again last month and claimed to have observed 200 pounds. [continues 435 words]
Do the people of Santa Cruz really want marijuana to be what the city is known for? That question just may be turning into a reality, especially after the passage last week of Measure K. The ballot measure passed overwhelmingly, although we still believe that a number of voters didn't really understand the full implications of the measure. It's part of a national effort by a well-funded group that's trying to overturn the nation's marijuana laws. They're going about the effort by picking off far-left towns like Santa Cruz to apparently convince the rest of the country that marijuana ought to be legalized. [continues 391 words]
In their most recent trashing of California's environment, pot growers destroyed rare plants on Mount Diablo land that conservationists are buying to protect fragile wildlife and plants. The growers sneaked onto the 208-acre ranch land in the hills above Concord to hack an opening in a thicket of desert olive, the group Save Mount Diablo said. The olive plant, a leftover from long ago when the Bay Area resembled a desert, is found only in two or three places in the county. [continues 683 words]
Through the nationally recognized Red Ribbon Week program, our local schools recently concluded the weeklong anti-drug message. They do this in a variety of ways. At some schools, students are rewarded daily with red licorice if they wear red clothing or a ribbon to school. They have assemblies with special speakers, tie ribbons on their fencing and sign contracts promising not to do drugs. Since its launch in 1988 the program has had its share of critics saying the methods have been proven ineffective and costly to taxpayers. Regardless, it's a way to teach our young people the perils of drugs and alcohol, so no amount of research saying it's useless is going to prompt a politician or education leader to speak out against it. [continues 1221 words]
One of our most infamous contemporary laws is the 100-1 difference in sentencing between crack cocaine and powder cocaine. Under federal drug laws, prison sentences are usually tied to the quantity of drugs the defendant trafficked. For example, selling 5,000 grams of powder cocaine (about a briefcase full) gets a mandatory 10-year prison sentence, but so does selling only 50 grams of crack cocaine (the weight of a candy bar). Working for the House Judiciary Committee in 1986, I wrote the House bill that was the basis for that law. We made some terrible mistakes. [continues 661 words]
SAN DIEGO - The people have approved it. Government has struggled with it. And this week, the county of San Diego will mount an attack to overturn it. It is California's 10-year-old, voter-approved "Compassionate Use Act," the law that says seriously ill people should be able to use marijuana to ease their pain and suffering. On Thursday, a Superior Court judge will weigh a San Diego County lawsuit filed nearly a year ago that seeks to overturn the law on the grounds that California's voter-approved law should be pre-empted by federal law, which says all marijuana use is illegal. [continues 1401 words]
RE: "Skepticism surrounds Santa Cruz's marijuana law" - Mike Bethke says: "It sends the wrong message to our kids, and to the rest of the country that Santa Cruz is a haven for folks who smoke pot." It's OK for adults to consume a substance less harmful than alcohol. What's wrong with that message? Thank you, Santa Cruz! That's a message the country needs to hear loud and clear! My children need to hear it too. It's important for them to know the truth about recreational drugs so when they get to be adults, they can make wise choices. [continues 55 words]
Studies Show School-Based Drug Education Programs Are Well-Intentioned -- but Highly Ineffective VICTORVILLE -- Drive by a school in the fall and you're bound to see little red ribbons tied to the fence, carefully placed there by students also wearing red. Since 1988, schools across the country have devoted one week in autumn to the Red Ribbon program -- the most farreaching and well-known drug prevention event in America. "I think red ribbon week is a wonderful thing that should be encouraged worldwide to help make the world be drug free," 13-year old Juan Lopez of Victorville said. [continues 660 words]
Pro-pot advocates often spread misinformation on the subject of so-called "medical marijuana." It's important to show the other side of the issue. In the past 10 years, California has seen a surge of organized crime groups that have moved into the marijuana industry in a big way. Heavily armed drug cartels have made a multibillion-dollar business of going into our public lands and clear-cutting our pristine forests so they can cultivate enormous marijuana crops. Sophisticated criminal syndicates are buying homes in the Sacramento region and creating indoor marijuana factories in the midst of our family-oriented neighborhoods. [continues 359 words]
Re "What a long, strange trip for state's medical marijuana law," Forum, Nov. 5: This article brought to mind how the Bush administration and other war proponents talk about "our freedoms" when defending U.S. foreign policy. The subject of this article -- Proposition 215 -- is an example of one of those freedoms, I suppose. We, the people of California, passed a law to help alleviate the suffering caused by illnesses, of which many are terminal. Yet today people seeking medical relief from such illnesses by use of one of God's creations -- cannabis -- cannot because federal DEA agents are on a rampage to rein in these menaces to society. [continues 92 words]
Can Federal Customs Agents Read or Seize a Traveler's Computer? A Judge Says No, but the U.S. Is Appealing. IT WAS BAD ENOUGH for international travelers earlier this year when security officials barred laptop computers from carry-on luggage. Now that the ban has been lifted, a new worry has replaced it: the prospect of U.S. customs agents snooping through your laptop -- and even seizing it. It doesn't happen often -- only about 1% of executives surveyed recently by the Assn. of Corporate Travel Executives said their laptops had been confiscated -- but it's enough to set off alarm bells. If your laptop holds critical banking data or operational information, the association warns, you're better off e-mailing a copy to yourself before heading to the airport. And if you have truly sensitive items, you'd better not put them on your laptop in the first place. [continues 352 words]
Schwarzenegger's Plan to Ship Some Prisoners to Out-Of-State Facilities Should Be Struck Down, and Real Reform Should Take Its Course. CALIFORNIA'S PRISONS are bursting at the seams, but Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's latest strategy for easing the pressure has hit a snag. The nonpartisan Legislative Counsel, which provides legal advice to state lawmakers, has issued an opinion (concluding that the governor's plan to ship thousands of prisoners to private prisons out of state violates California's Constitution. This opinion buoyed the anti-privatization California Correctional Peace Officers Assn. (the state prison guards union), which has gone to court to try to stop the transfers. [continues 613 words]
It's official; I spend too much time working with adults. I made that realization this week when something - call it fate or the News Messenger's assignment board - brought me in contact with students at four local schools. The plan was to visit and gather information for our story on student leadership. With Election Day coming up, I was to take a closer look at how the democratic process is applied on campus. But I learned a heckuva lot more. [continues 648 words]
MARIJUANA MEASURE PASSES; PROP. W FAILS The ballot measure to reduce the enforcement priority on adult, personal use of marijuana in Santa Monica easily passed in the November 7 voting, with over 65 percent of the voters approving the proposition, Measure Y. But Measure W, which would have repealed stringent restrictions on political contributions to city officials, was defeated by a narrow 53-47 percent vote. In other local measures, voters approved charter amendments to give the City Manager more authority in personnel matters (Measure U); passed a parcel tax for watershed management by barely the 2/3 majority required (Measure V); and overwhelmingly approved a school bond issue (Measure BB). [continues 300 words]
Vague Language In Proposition Left Doctors In Sticky Situation COOL - When Dr. Mollie Fry opened a storefront clinic next to the only post office in this Gold Country town, she did not think that telling her patients where to get the medicine she recommended for pain, depression and nausea would be a problem. The federal drug agents who raided her home and office thought otherwise. So did the grand jury that indicted Fry last year on felony charges of conspiring to distribute marijuana. [continues 831 words]
Inside California
