Pubdate: Thu, 14 Jul 2005
Source: California Aggie, The (UC Davis, CA Edu)
Copyright: 2005sThe California Aggie
Contact:  http://www.californiaaggie.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2725
Author: Lauren Becker , Aggie City Editor
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

DAVIS TACKLES MEDICINAL MARIJUANA

City Staff Recommends Banning Dispensaries

Patients looking for medicinal marijuana in Davis may face 
difficulties as city staff members attempt to ban dispensaries that 
would carry the drug.

On June 5 the Supreme Court case Gonzales v. Raich ruled that the 
federal government can override state laws that allow the use of 
medicinal marijuana. There are currently 10 states that allow 
patients to obtain the drug through dispensaries, including California.

Nathan Sands, chair of the Board of the Compassionate Coalition, a 
group of Central Valley volunteers, doctors and attorneys based in 
Sacramento, said the group's goal is to defend the rights of 
medicinal-marijuana patients.

"We would like to see the end of the federal prohibition on medicinal 
marijuana," Sands said. "We would like to see this drug treated like 
any other medicine."

Sands noted that since the Supreme Court case, the federal government 
has conducted several raids on medicinal marijuana dispensaries 
throughout the state, including one in Sacramento.

"Every single city we've gone to has been uninformed on the issue," 
Sands said. "They have old propaganda and do not see marijuana as 
medicine. They see it as something that hurts people."

Sands added that marijuana, used for medicinal purposes, can suppress 
nausea that occurs in patients with illnesses such as cancer and 
AIDS. In addition, marijuana can be used with other medications and 
has no known interactions with other drugs.

"The federal government will only allow the exploration of the 
negative aspects of the drug and not the positive sides," Sands said. 
"Their only defense is ignorance."

Davis staff members, as well as the Davis Police Department, have 
worked together over the past year to gain additional information on 
the decision to add a medicinal marijuana dispensary to the city.

Last August, the DPD contacted 25 to 30 agencies in different 
California cities that ran dispensaries.

DPD Chief Steve Pierce led the study and found the conditions of most 
dispensaries less than satisfactory.

The research showed that dispensaries were located predominately in 
unappealing areas, according to Pierce. "A lot of crime happened in 
and around many of them," he said.

Pierce noted that some cities reported an increase in hand-to-hand 
drug sales around the dispensaries, as well as patients who would 
illegally sell their medicinal marijuana to others.

In addition, many dispensaries would accept cards that permit 
patients to obtain medicinal marijuana that were fraudulent.

However, Pierce added that many dispensaries offered other kinds of 
treatment for pain management, including yoga and massages.

After the Supreme Court ruling, the DPD, along with city staff 
members, decided a dispensary in Davis would not be recommended due 
to the crime it would invite to the city.

"Our feeling is that the federal law is clear, and it is a violation 
to dispense medicinal marijuana," Pierce said. "Whether we agree or 
disagree, it is the current law of the land."

Pierce noted that the DPD felt it would be sending Davis citizens 
mixed signals by developing a medicinal marijuana dispensary within the city.

"We don't want to bring that kind of activity to our community and 
make people think that this is permitted in the city," Pierce said. 
"We don't want to make people think that this is OK, and that they 
are safe when they could be persecuted."

Planning Commission Staff Liaison Katherine Hess said commission 
members held a meeting last night to discuss the option of a 
medicinal marijuana dispensary within the city.

"One of our big concerns is that we don't want people getting the 
idea that something is going to be permitted when the federal 
government has the ability to shut it down and throw people in jail," she said.

Hess noted the response from the community has been mixed.

"There has not been specific opposition, but we have had a series of 
inquiries from residents within the community," Hess said. "There are 
people who think it's a fine idea and others who think it's 
inappropriate for Davis."

Councilmembers are looking to reconcile the conflict between the 
federal government and state law.

"The difficulty is that it doesn't matter on the local level because 
the federal government has made a decision and they are bigger than 
us," Hess said. "We don't want to be implying to someone that 
something is OK when there is a great deal of risk involved."

Hess added that although city staff members will propose that 
medicinal marijuana dispensaries be prohibited, the Planning 
Commission has the power to change this recommendation before it is 
presented to councilmembers.

The Planning Commission will present its recommendation to the city 
council at its July 26 meeting.
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MAP posted-by: Beth