Pubdate: Mon, 16 Aug 2004
Source: Eureka Reporter, The (US CA)
Copyright: 2004 The Eureka Reporter
Contact:  http://www.eurekareporter.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3289

MEDICAL MARIJUANA PATIENTS COORDINATE MASS COURT ACTION

On Tuesday, more than three dozen patients across the state will be in 
their respective county courthouses filing motions for return of nearly a 
million dollars' worth of marijuana. Humboldt County's Courthouse will most 
likely be one of them.

Medical marijuana patients want their "medicine" back and Tuesday they will 
demand it, according to a news release from Americans for Safe Access.

According to a report by an advocacy group released Monday, local and state 
law enforcement agencies are seizing the marijuana to which patients are 
legally entitled under state law - and not giving it back. Humboldt County 
is one of 36 counties named in the report.

In November 1996, California voters approved Proposition 215 "to ensure 
that seriously ill Californians have the right to obtain and use marijuana 
for medical purposes."

However, according to the report, some agencies have misinterpreted the 
law, known as the Compassionate Use Act, leaving patients and caregivers 
vulnerable to arrest and the loss of the medicine, even though the CUA 
states that its intent is "to ensure that patients and their primary 
caregivers . are not subject to criminal prosecution or sanction."

In 2003, Senate Bill 420 was passed by the California Legislature. It set a 
statewide minimum for medical marijuana patients of six mature plants or 12 
immature plants and up to 8 ounces of processed cannabis flowers. SB 420 
also allows local governments to set their own guidelines, using its 
standards as a minimum.

SB 420 also implemented a statewide voluntary ID card system for the 
estimated 75,000 medical marijuana patients in California, according to the 
report.

"Those with a state card and in possession of quantities of marijuana 
within certain guidelines are guaranteed freedom from arrest . ," the 
report states.

The report and mass court action have been put together by California-based 
Americans for Safe Access, the largest national advocacy group working 
solely on medical marijuana.

"The law protects these patients," said the group's legal coordinator, Kris 
Hermes. "But we've uncovered a culture of resistance within law 
enforcement. Many agencies across the state just don't comply with the law. 
Patients are being arrested or having their medicine seized in nearly every 
police encounter."

A recent Field poll shows that Proposition 215 today has the support of 
four in five voters.

Nonetheless, a three-month study conducted by Americans for Safe Access 
found property and rights violations in more than half the counties in the 
state. And even the California Highway Patrol has seized marijuana from 
authorized patients and refused to return it.

Eureka Police Chief Dave Douglas previously told The Eureka Reporter that 
the county's recent passage of its ordinance conforming to SB 420 would not 
affect the police department, a statement that is cited in ASA's report.

"The goal is to see where federal folks are coming from, and we'll go 
forward from there. We're not changing our standards," he told The Eureka 
Reporter last month.

The study involves more than 100 patients and caregivers who experienced 
recent arrest, prosecution and/or the seizure of their medicine. The ASA's 
study alleges that patients and caregivers had their rights violated in 62 
percent of counties statewide.

Medical marijuana patients in California are being forced to file motions 
for return of property in criminal court to reclaim their marijuana. If the 
marijuana has been destroyed or has deteriorated, the local government is 
responsible for compensating the patient for the value of the property lost 
or rendered unusable. The value of the property being sought Tuesday is 
estimated at nearly $1 million.

"Losing their medicine is obviously hard on the patients," Hermes said. 
"But it's also costing taxpayers money. Better law-enforcement policies or 
any policies at all, can fix this."

The report estimates the cost of an arrest is $732; and the expense of 
prosecuting one person is $9,250.

"The cost . is unnecessary since law enforcement can choose not to arrest 
medical marijuana patients," the report states.

The study found that most law-enforcement agencies in California do not 
have policies for identifying patients legally entitled to have marijuana. 
The estimated annual cost of compensating patients whose marijuana is 
seized is more than $4 million statewide.
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart