cannabisnews.com: Oakland Council To Prune Medical Marijuana Oakland Council To Prune Medical Marijuana Posted by FoM on July 25, 2001 at 07:12:18 PT By Janine DeFao, Chronicle Staff Writer Source: San Francisco Chronicle The Oakland City Council last night approved a 50 percent cut in the amount of marijuana allowed under its medicinal marijuana ordinance, one of the most liberal in California. Saying that drug dealers are using the 1998 ordinance as a cover for illegal activity, Council President Ignacio De La Fuente had proposed reducing the number of outdoor marijuana plants permissible from 144 to 10. But De La Fuente reached a compromise earlier this week with some medical marijuana advocates that allows as many as 72 pot plants to be grown indoors, in an area no bigger than 32 square feet. Twenty plants can be grown outside, down from the current 60. Outdoor plants typically yield more of the drug than indoor plants. Still, many medical marijuana supporters -- including Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley, a former city councilman -- opposed the change as too restrictive. The council approved the proposal 6 to 0, with Jane Brunner and Nancy Nadel abstaining. Under the new rules, to take effect Nov. 15, the amount of dried marijuana patients can keep also will be reduced from six pounds to three. Users will be allowed to exceed the limits with a doctor's note. "It's a reasonable compromise. It takes care of patients and makes the police able to enforce the law," De La Fuente said. Jeff Jones, executive director of the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Club, said he agreed to the compromise to stave off De La Fuente's "drastic" proposal. But he said about 20 percent of medicinal marijuana users in Oakland need more pot than the new limit allows. Oakland police said that the valuable marijuana, estimated to be worth $4, 000 to $5,000 a pound, can attract criminal activity, such as robberies and home burglaries. "The chances of these types of crimes being perpetrated upon medical users and the community increases as the allowable amounts of personal and collective growing increases," Lt. Ricky Hart of the vice and narcotics section said in a report to the council. Police cited examples in which officers who found large numbers of plants believed them to be for-profit operations, but suspects claimed a medical defense. California's Proposition 215, passed by voters in 1996, legalized personal marijuana use for medicinal purposes but did not set possession or cultivation limits. Local laws, such as Oakland's, set guidelines for police on whether to pursue criminal charges in marijuana cases. By comparison, Berkeley allows 10 plants, Marin and Mendocino counties allow six to 12 plants and Sonoma County allows a 100-square-foot growing area with no more than 99 plants. Note: City officials agree to compromises on growing, possession.Complete Title: Oakland Council To Prune Medical Marijuana Allowance Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)Author: Janine DeFao, Chronicle Staff WriterPublished: Wednesday, July 25, 2001 Copyright: 2001 San Francisco Chronicle Page A - 20 Contact: letters sfchronicle.comWebsite: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/Related Article & Web Sites:OCBC Versus The US Governmenthttp://freedomtoexhale.com/mj.htmMedicinal Cannabis Research Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/research.htmOakland May Tighten Up on Medical Pot http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10264.shtmlCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml END SNIP --> Snipped Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #4 posted by freedom fighter on July 25, 2001 at 21:45:45 PT Right out of the 1936 weefer maddness Got this 20-30 pages from my so called treatment crap...20 years of tobacco smoking equal 1 year of chronic pot smoking......I am a 15 year chronic pot smoker...I guess my lungs is worth 300 years of smokes...gish! [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by lookinside on July 25, 2001 at 20:38:08 PT: well done kap... i like the Q&A format...at least 20% of the cops who read it might understand it...definitely a step up...truthsearcher: don't tell anybody, but if industrial hemp is legalized(whispering) -all the outdoor growers in the central valley and elsewhere will have problems with pollination of their finest herb with that stuff..completely seeded substandard herb and seeds that will produce ditch weed...i propose that industrial hemp only be grown in virginia and the carolinas as a rotation crop for the tobacco farmers...and PLEASE don't tell the drug warriors about this...they may actually figure it out... [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by truthsearcher on July 25, 2001 at 19:37:51 PT yes it is simple Yes the answer is simple. Legalize it. The hard thing to figure out is why it has stayed this way for so long. They should keep industrial hemp illegal though. That stuff is as dangerous as cocaine. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by kaptinemo on July 25, 2001 at 07:40:52 PT: Duuuuh! We all know about the old adage of leading horses to water, but what about cops to the truth?"Oakland police said that the valuable marijuana, estimated to be worth $4, 000 to $5,000 a pound, can attract criminal activity, such as robberies and home burglaries.So, lets try the Socratic method. Maybe we can break through the preternatuarlly thick skulls this way:Q: Why is cannabis so valuable?A: Because it's illegal.Q: Why is it illegal?A: Beause a racist bigot suckered an easily stonkered and demonstrably ignorant Congress into passing a law based upon not a single shred of scientific evidence but on lurid, unsubstantiated tabloid tales of violent behavior it supposedly ellicited on the part of minoritiesQ: Why does it continue to be illegal when there's no truth to the reasons for it being illegal in the first place?A: Because certain groups have a vested interest in keeping it illegal, for various self-serving, anti-democratic reasons which have nothing to do with the 'public safety' so often claimed by them.Q: So, how do we rectify the situation so that police resources aren't needlessly squandered in dealing with a decidedly non-issue? A: Re-legalize it.See how simple it is? :) [ Post Comment ] Post Comment