State rejects Lassen's medical marijuana ID request

State rejects Lassen's medical marijuana ID request


Posted on Tuesday, August 14 @ 10:12:51 PDT


Lassen County News Headline Aug. 14, 2007 — Lassen County may not alter state medical marijuana ID cards with the stamp “not valid under federal law.”

Supervisor Jim Chapman insisted on stamping the statement on the cards in red ink when the board approve in June a resolution establishing the medical marijuana ID card program, established in 1996 by Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act.

Chapman made the motion on June 26 to approve the resolution only if it stated the board was resolved to add the “not valid under federal law” stamp to any cards issued for Lassen County. His motion passed unanimously.

However, District 4 Supervisor and Board Chairman Brian Dahle immediately added, “We’ll see that again in a couple of weeks.”

About a week later the county received “a verbal statement from the state saying that we could not alter the card,” Assistant County Administrative Officer Kevin Mannel said on Tuesday, Aug. 7. He asked county staff to verify the verbal statement.

“I asked staff to get that in writing,” Mannel said, “because if we need to go back to the supervisors, we need to verify the person making the statement from the Department of Health Services.”

The staff now has a copy of a written statement from the state. Mannel said he plans to take the letter back to the board and ask if its members plan to continue with the resolution requiring the stamp — to which “it appears we cannot comply,” he said — or if the board will agree to pass the original resolution, which complied with state law. Mannel said he expects to have the issue back on the board agenda by the second week of September.

The letter dated July 24 from Karen Parr, the chief of the medically indigent services section of the California Department of Public Health, states the cards, or MMICs, are produced through a contracted vendor “and the production price of the MMIC specified within the contract is based on the current design, therefore, it cannot be changed.”

It said any design changes would increase the card costs and any increase “must be passed on to the counties. Furthermore, in order to assist law enforcement in verifying valid medical marijuana patients or caregivers the information contained on the MMICs must be consistent statewide.”

The medical marijuana ID card application informs patients they are not protected from prosecution under federal law, Parr’s letter said, providing “sufficient notification to patients and primary caregivers of possible federal prosecution.”

Chapman said the board could reconsider the program if the state rejected the stamp.

There is no provision for individual counties alter the cards under the process established by Senate Bill 420, which implements Prop 215 and became law in January 2004. SB 420 specifies a patient, who has documentation from a physician verifying the client suffers from a serious medical condition and the use of medical marijuana is appropriate, must pay a fee. The board’s resolution set that fee at $150, or $117 for those served by MediCal.

The county must verify the address of the person applying for a card by checking proof of residency and a government-issued photo ID. The state issues the card after the county health department screens the application and reviews it for completeness. If anything is missing the state automatically denies the application.

Once the application is entered into a computer the state will issue a card within five days. The county will notify the user when the card is available for pickup.

Saying the state coerced the counties into approving the program, Chapman said it would be easy to go to the local office supply store and have a stamp made. He added SB 420 does not prohibit the stamp being added to the card.

“Let the state say, ‘No you can’t do that, and if that’s the case let them come up with a way to revise it,’” Chapman said in June.

At the June 25 meeting, Mannel agreed SB 420 conflicts with federal law. But he said more than half the state’s counties have already implemented the ID card program, including Shasta and Plumas counties. He said approval of the program does not take any authority away from the sheriff’s department to enforce DUI laws.

Sheriff Steve Warren said his deputies would continue to arrest anyone suspected of driving under the influence regardless of whether they carried a medical marijuana card.

http://www.lassennews.com/News_Story.edi?sid=4128&mode=thread&order=0



DaBronx

Salinas City Council Considers Ban on Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

Salinas City Council Considers Ban on Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

Last Update: Aug 14, 2007 10:11 AM

Video Watch This Video





SALINAS, Calif. - Monday, the Salinas City Council will talk about a proposed ban on medical marijuana dispensaries.

While most council members want to keep the pot clubs out of the city, one of them says that she believes in them.

Jyl Lutes says she lost her husband to bone cancer 23 years ago and she's seen first hand what wonders medicinal marijuana can do.

Council member Sergio Sanchez was also in favor of the dispensaries in the beginning, but now he says he supports a ban because Salinas isn't ready for a pot club.

http://www.kion46.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=b63a6c1b-df42-4023-8a2c-e25943b95164&rss=172


DaBronx

Giuliani softens his position on medical marijuana raids

Giuliani softens his position on medical marijuana raids


Granite Staters for Medical Marijuana
http://www.GraniteStaters.org

From: Stuart Cooper, GSMM campaign manager


Here is this week's update on Granite Staters for Medical Marijuana's campaign to press the presidential candidates to take public, positive positions on medical marijuana access. This week, I confronted former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) about his opposition to ending the federal raids on medical marijuana patients.


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1. Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani admits his information on medical marijuana is outdated

2. Make a difference today

3. Help GSMM fight for medical marijuana access

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1. Rudy Giuliani admits his information on medical marijuana is outdated

During the three previous conversations we've had with former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, he repeatedly told us with confidence that marijuana had no medical value and that the entire campaign to protect medical marijuana patients was really a campaign to legalize marijuana.

However, on July 31, during a town hall meeting in Rochester, New Hampshire, I reminded Mayor Giuliani of his past statements and asked if he could cite a single doctor or medical organization that supported his position of raiding and arresting the seriously ill. I also asked if his administration would ignore the 78% of the American people and the many medical organizations, such as the American Nurses Association and the American Public Health Association, that believe that marijuana has medical value and ought to be available for the seriously ill.

Mayor Giuliani backtracked, saying, "The reality is, no one is suggesting that people who are sick be in prison."

I immediately corrected him, saying, "If you raid them, then you're going to imprison them."

Mayor Giuliani continued to soften his position, saying, "No one is suggesting that people who are sick should go to prison. And the second fact is, that all of the experts I have ever talked to about this -- my knowledge of this goes back about eight to ten years, I haven't really looked at it in that period of time, or during the time when I was U.S. Attorney dealing with marijuana cases -- is that, just about everything you want to do for pain can be done with other legal prescribed medications."

Mayor Giuliani then pledged to take a second look at recent medical marijuana data, saying, "I'd be happy to take a look at the literature you are talking about ... I haven't looked at it in about eight to ten years. So it's probably worth taking a look at it again. Give me a week or two, I'll probably be back here, you'll ask your question again. After I look at the material, I'll give you another answer, maybe the same, maybe different."

2. Make a difference today

Without our volunteers putting constant pressure on Mayor Giuliani as he campaigned throughout New Hampshire, he probably never would have taken the time to take a second look at the available data on marijuana's medical value.

We've have already told you about how, with your help, our work has led 10 of the 17 presidential candidates to pledge to end the federal raids on medical marijuana patients and their caregivers. And with your continued support, I am confident that we can continue to pressure Mayor Giuliani and the five other candidates who support the raids to reconsider their previous positions and pledge to protect our nation's seriously ill.

In fact, this week Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) will be holding town hall events on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday in Merrimack, Wolfeboro, and North Conway. The last time we spoke to him, he flip-flopped on medical marijuana (after first saying that he would let states decide, he then said he would continue the federal raids). This week's town hall events offer the perfect opportunity for us to pressure him to respect states' rights and protect the seriously ill who use medical marijuana with approval from their states and doctors.

If you would like to help us pressure Sen. McCain, please call me at (603) 703-1411, or e-mail me at Stuart@GraniteStaters.com and I will let you know how you can help.

3. Help GSMM fight for medical marijuana access

In June and July, the DEA conducted extensive medical marijuana raids in several California counties and in Oregon, including raids on at least 10 Los Angeles sites in late July. Most were aimed at medical marijuana dispensaries operating legally under state and local laws, and in several cases individual patients were detained and terrorized.

Recently, the DEA also began threatening the owners of buildings used for medical marijuana activities with seizure of their property. Called "a deplorable new bullying tactic" by The Los Angeles Times, this DEA action has occurred even where medical marijuana is legal under state law and specifically authorized by voters.

By putting constant pressure on the candidates to pledge to stop using DEA agents to raid and arrest sick and dying medical marijuana patients, we can ensure that our next president ends these raids once and for all. But to do this, we will need your help!

Would you please visit http://www.GraniteStaters.com/donate to donate to our work today so that we may continue pressuring the presidential candidates to take stronger, positive positions on medical marijuana use by the seriously ill?

Thank you for your continued support of our efforts, and please look for our weekly updates.

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Please visit http://www.GraniteStaters.org. Our mailing address is GSMM, P.O. Box 357, Manchester, NH 03105.


DaBronx