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Lake County Renews DEA Agreement
Marijuana must be removed from the U.S. Department of Justice's list of controlled substances if states are to have complete authority, under the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, to regulate use of the substance.
That was the message of Lake County Sheriff Rodney K. Mitchell during a hearing before the Lake County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, July 27. The board ultimately voted 5-0 in favor of sending a letter to the county's representatives in federal government U.S. Congressman Mike Thompson and U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein that includes a suggestion to do precisely that.
"Frankly, we'll be dealing with this debate as long as federal law is in conflict with state law," Mitchell said on Tuesday, explaining why even though Proposition 215 allows patients with a doctor's recommendation to grow and consume marijuana medically, any complaint of marijuana use must be investigated by law enforcement. "Prop. 215 provided a legal defense," Mitchell said, "but we still have to go through the process."
He added, "Congressman Thompson is one of the few federal legislators who has actually had the courage to address this issue, to ask that legislation be changed at the federal level to remove marijuana from the Schedule II narcotics list ... I don't think the board has asked our senators to do the same thing, and this has never made it out of committee."
Mitchell was before the BOS on Tuesday to request approval of a $15,000 Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Marijuana Eradication Agreement for the Year 2004. As in previous years, this money cannot be used as discretionary funding. Instead, its use toward the eradication of other types of drugs would be applicable only if initiated by an investigation into cannabis use.
The main point of a letter being drafted in Lake County will reiterate what the board has asked in preceding years: that these DEA funds be made discretionary so that they can be targeted at methamphetamine use.
Eddy Lepp, whose Medicinal Gardens in Upper Lake provide local medicinal marijuana users a place to grow and care for their own plants, urged the BOS on Tuesday to "be men" and to reject the DEA agreement. He argued that by doing so, their request for discretionary funding would be that much stronger.
But District 5 Supervisor Rob Brown said there were enough provisions in the agreement to associate it with other uses, that the money would be of benefit.
The agreement is not a grant, per sec, in that money is given to the county. Instead, it requires an up-front expenditure from general funds, for which the county then submits a request for reimbursement. It has to provide documentation of what the money was used for. Final vote on Tuesday was 3-2 in favor of authorizing Mitchell to sign the DEA agreement. Dissenting votes came from District 1 Supervisor Ed Robey and District 4 Supervisor Anthony Farrington.
State Laws in Effect
Recent laws enacted in California grant legal status to the medicinal use of cannabis, also known as marijuana. These laws are in direct conflict with U.S. government codes. A list of controlled substances, viewable online at www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov:80/schedules/listby_sched/sched1.htm, includes marijuana or cannabis among their number.
Local laws governing medicinal marijuana use include:
Senate Bill 420 Signed into law by then-Governor Gray Davis on Oct. 12, 2003. Authored by Sen. John Vasconcellos (D-Santa Clara), SB 420 creates a voluntary registry of medical marijuana patients. It requires county health departments to issue ID cards to patients who have doctors' recommendations to use marijuana.
The bill also sets possession limits of 8 ounces of dried marijuana, six mature plants and 12 immature plants. Patients can exceed the limit with a doctor's explicit recommendation, or if their county or city establishes a higher limit.
Some local medicinal marijuana users advocate the adoption of guidelines drafted by the Sonoma Alliance for Medical Marijuana (SAMM), -- http://www.samm.net/ The guidelines represent an agreement reached after four years of discussion by doctors, patients, peace officers and the Sonoma County District Attorney's office. Under SAMM guidelines, adopted by Sonoma County in May, 2001, patients or caregivers can cultivate three pounds per year, or 99 plants, per patient.
Proposition 215 Voted into law in November, 1996, "The Compassionate Use Act" or Prop. 215, allows Californians to use marijuana as medicine with a doctor's prescription.
In Lake County, the first person to evoke Prop. 215 as defense in a criminal trial was Charles E. "Eddy" Lepp, who, in December, 1998, faced charges of cultivation and possession for sale. A Lake County jury found Lepp to be not guilty.
The trial of south county resident Pam McConnell is currently making its way through the Lake County Superior Court system. McConnell is among local activists who have lobbied for creation of a patients' registry and adoption of SAMM guidelines.
"I have fought really hard to get where I am and stay there," McConnell said recently. McConnell, who has been diagnosed with multiple-personality disorder, said she tried every other prescription treatment possible before trying marijuana, but the conventional treatments left her unable to function.
"Marijuana gave me my life back."
Complete Title: Lake County Renews DEA Agreement for Pot Eradication
Source: Clear Lake Observer (CA)
Author: Cynthia Parkhill
Copyright: 2004 Clear Lake Observer American
Contact: observer@saber.net
Website: http://www.clearlakeobserver.com/
