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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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US CA: Medicinal Pot Law Fits Laid-Back Town
ccguide Thursday 30 Mar 2000 Pubdate: Thu, 30 Mar 2000 Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA) Copyright: 2000 San Jose Mercury News Contact: Address: 750 Ridder Park Drive, San Jose, CA 95190 Fax: (408) 271-3792 Website: http://www.sjmercury.com/ Author: John Woolfolk, Mercury News Staff Writer MEDICINAL POT LAW FITS LAID-BACK TOWN Santa Cruz, where downtown stores stock hookahs and bongs and tie-dye is still fashionable, has never exactly frowned on marijuana. But if you're sick and could use a toke, you now have the city's blessing. By unanimous vote this week, the Santa Cruz City Council approved an ordinance sanctioning medicinal marijuana collectives that provide free pot to members whose illnesses could be aided by the illicit drug. ``This will certainly be a comfort to many people,'' said Tim Fitzmaurice, the city's vice mayor, who co-authored the law with Councilman Mike Rotkin. The law was aimed at sanctioning the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana, a collective based in the Santa Cruz Mountains whose 200 members suffer from cancer, AIDS, epilepsy and other ailments. But other groups organized the same way could benefit as well. Even before the new law, police in the laid-back town had backed away from busting ailing tokers. Since state voters in 1996 overwhelmingly passed Proposition 215 to allow medicinal marijuana use, local authorities have developed rules for recognizing legitimate patients. But city leaders said the law gives police a clearer policy. And they said it could help medicinal marijuana users beat a drug rap by federal authorities, who maintain that U.S. law still bans marijuana under any circumstance. ``It offers security,'' said Valerie Corral, who founded the medicinal marijuana alliance and uses marijuana to calm seizures. ``This action creates a union between patients, doctors and our city government.'' The law, which faces final approval April 11 and would take effect 30 days later, is already a hit. Corral's phone rang constantly Wednesday from callers interested in joining. At least two other people have already proposed forming similar organizations. That's not too surprising in a town where High Times magazine is on the rack at local grocery stores and downtown jewelers sell cannabis-shaped earrings. Coincidentally, an inn opening in a downtown Victorian next month is billing itself as the first ``bed, bud and breakfast'' where medicinal marijuana use will be openly encouraged. The Compassion Flower Inn, with a marijuana-leaf mosaic on the front walk, is already booked for its scheduled April 20 debut. ``We're trying to get medical marijuana patients to enjoy their stay here,'' said owner Maria Mallek-Tischler, who's also an activist for legalizing the drug. ``I don't think a hotel or motel would allow them to smoke marijuana. They can be comfortable here. They don't have to be in the closet.'' Santa Cruz's ordinance was modeled after one passed by Oakland in 1998, and follows language in a state law passed in the wake of the 1996 initiative, City Attorney John Barisone said. The Oakland law was aimed at legitimizing the Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative, a medicinal marijuana supplier since closed by federal authorities. That matter is under appeal in federal court, and is being watched by several cities, including Berkeley, considering their own medicinal marijuana laws. ``We're waiting to see the outcome of that before we decide,'' said Berkeley City Attorney Manuela Albuquerque. ``I think there is an interest in the city in fostering a provision for medical marijuana to the extent that it's legal.'' Federal drug authorities also are watching Oakland's case. They're hoping the court will guide them in dealing with the conflicting federal and state laws, said Joycelyn Barnes, spokeswoman for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in San Francisco. Until then, federal agents aren't looking to raid a few sick smokers, Barnes said. They'd rather go after the big street dealers. ``If we don't get information that it's being sold for profit or on the illegal market, it's not something we'd actively look into,'' Barnes said. Santa Cruz leaders thought recent rulings in the Oakland case indicate such laws could be defensible. They had their law reviewed by Santa Clara University law Professor Gerald Uelmen, who defended the Oakland club. Last fall, a panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the Oakland buyers club didn't get a fair chance to make its case of medical necessity. It ordered the trial judge who closed the club to reconsider the issue. While the ruling didn't directly uphold Oakland's law, it suggested the buyer's club could have a valid defense. The Justice Department must now decide whether to appeal that ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court or proceed with its case, Uelmen said. Like Oakland's law, Santa Cruz's doesn't require a doctor's written prescription for marijuana, City Attorney Barisone said. Patients need only show they're being treated for an illness, such as cancer, glaucoma or AIDS, for which marijuana is considered potentially helpful. John Woolfolk covers the city of Santa Cruz. Contact him at - --- MAP posted-by: Derek Rea
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