Pubdate: Thu, 18 Dec 2003 Source: San Francisco Examiner (CA) Copyright: 2003 San Francisco Examiner Contact: http://www.examiner.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/389 Author: Alison Soltau Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal) MEDICAL MARIJUANA ACTIVISTS URGE CITY ACTION Medical marijuana advocates have called on The City to take an active role in providing cannabis to sick people now that a court ruling has blocked the federal government from prosecuting. A 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling Tuesday decreed that the federal government could not prosecute people with doctors' prescriptions for medical marijuana if they were not obtaining the drug across state lines or profiting from it. Previously, San Francisco and other Bay Area cities tussled with the U.S. Justice Department because California law provides for medical marijuana with a prescription but the Federal Government forbids it under the Controlled Substances Act. San Franciscans also passed voter initiative Proposition S in 2002, which provides for The City to investigate ways to make cannabis available to patients. Assemblymember and former supervisor Mark Leno, who sponsored Proposition S, urged The City to explore ways of increasing access to medical marijuana, adding that he favored the Santa Cruz model, which uses private contractors to manufacture medical cannabis. Leno said The City should actively debate the topic, seeking advice from the city attorney and district attorney about the legality and logistics of growing or contracting out cannabis production to a non-profit organization. But he cautioned that the threat posed by a federal raid of cannabis growers had not automatically disappeared because the ruling could be successfully appealed. "The ruling is important because it will allow people to stay alive, because this is a life or death matter," Leno said. Steve Heilig, health director for the San Francisco Medical Society, called on The City to take a role regulating the "gray market" of cannabis club pot production. Heilig described the current distribution as "semi-legal," adding that some clubs hiked prices for the drug to as much as $60 a hit, exploiting the sick. "The clubs charge the same prices as they do on the streets and that's wrong as far as I'm concerned," Heilig said. "We should be able to get it down to a few dollars." The City should also reassure mainstream physicians about the legitimacy of their role in prescribing pot, he said. Judy Appel, a lawyer with the Drug Policy Alliance in Oakland, said she thought The City would recognize widespread public support for medical marijuana and instruct city departments accordingly. "We need a lot of different ways to provide it and I'm hoping the Board of Supervisors will find the best way to provide safe medication to patients," she said. In October, Supervisor Bevan Dufty convened a hearing to explore Proposition S. At the time, city officials felt hamstrung by the Bush administration and advocated a low-key approach to Prop. S and no formal city involvement in production of marijuana. Tuesday's ruling gives The City new teeth, but supervisors and Mayor-elect Gavin Newsom could not be reached for comment Wednesday on how The City would respond. District Attorney-elect Kamala Harris said she had not yet read the court ruling but that it appeared to provide The City cover from federal raids. The City now needs legal opinion from the city attorney's office about what its next move could be, and direction from the Board of Supervisors, Harris said. "Obviously it's a step in the right direction for San Francisco and for that I am happy and feeling optimistic about not only San Francisco, but where the state and country is headed in terms of perspectives on the benefits of medical marijuana," she said. Tuesday's ruling gave two patients a temporary injunction against prosecution by the Federal Government. Attorney General John Ashcroft has not shown any sign of appealing the court's decision. However, in a press conference Wednesday, plaintiff Angel Raich, who has an inoperable brain tumor, said she foresaw an uphill struggle. "The battles are just beginning," she said. "I have no doubt that Attorney General John Ashcroft will once again try to attack the sick, disabled and dying Americans." - --- MAP posted-by: Josh