cannabisnews.com: San Francisco Puts Growing Marijuana on Ballot










  San Francisco Puts Growing Marijuana on Ballot

Posted by CN Staff on July 23, 2002 at 21:33:07 PT
By Evelyn Nieves 
Source: New York Times  

The city that helped create the proposition in 1996 that made California the first state to legalize medical marijuana may start growing its own.In a move toward making San Francisco the first city to defy openly the federal ban on growing marijuana for any reason, the Board of Supervisors approved a ballot measure on Monday that would explore growing marijuana on public property as a way around the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration's continual closing of medical marijuana clubs.
The measure was drafted by Supervisor Mark Leno, a Democratic candidate for the State Assembly who said he was fed up watching federal agents shut clubs that dispense marijuana for seriously ill and dying people."Our clubs have been continuously intimidated and assaulted," Mr. Leno said, adding that one club had closed because of fear of federal prosecution.If voters pass the measure on Nov. 5, the supervisors would be able to explore the hows and wheres of growing marijuana. Mr. Leno suggested that vacant city property might be used and that the program could be agricultural job training for the unemployed. Federal authorities were not amused. "Unless Congress changes the law and makes marijuana a legal substance, then we have to do our job and enforce the law," said a spokesman for the regional office of the Drug Enforcement Administration. The measure has a strong chance of passing. San Francisco has long been in the forefront of expanding medical marijuana rights. The district attorney has made the issue a chief cause. The chief of the Public Health Department has prescribed marijuana for AIDS patients to ease side effects of medications, and medical marijuana clubs have openly operated in residential neighborhoods without problems.Last year, the city declared itself a sanctuary for the use, cultivation and distribution of medical marijuana, a symbolic defiance of an expected federal crackdown. The state attorney general, Bill Lockyer, who has supported the state's medical marijuana law, has left its use to local jurisdictions. A spokeswoman suggested that Mr. Lockyer would do the same if San Francisco began growing medicinal marijuana. Complete Title: San Francisco Puts Growing Medicinal Marijuana on the BallotSource: New York Times (NY)Author: Evelyn NievesPublished: July 24, 2002Copyright: 2002 The New York Times Company Contact: letters nytimes.com Website: http://www.nytimes.com/ Related Articles & Web Site:Medical Marijuana Information Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/medical.htmSan Francisco Eyes Marijuana Farminghttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13512.shtmlS.F. Considers Growing its Own http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13505.shtmlSupes To Feds: Pot OK in The Cityhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11453.shtml

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Comment #8 posted by mayan on July 24, 2002 at 16:58:04 PT
Hee-Hee!!!
The Feds should've never gone after San Fran. Look what they've done! Hee-Hee!!!
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Comment #7 posted by Industrial Strength on July 24, 2002 at 09:57:59 PT
a quandry
If this passes, yeehaw, things can sure get intresting.
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Comment #6 posted by Dark Star on July 24, 2002 at 07:49:20 PT
Just Do It
Should SF go ahead with this plan, the Feds would have only two choices: 1) let it slide, which will never happen, or 2) squelch it in their inimitable tendency toward fascistic overkill, which should not happen.Either way, the movement wins. Then it will be time for Cascadia/Ecotopia to become a reality. 
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Comment #5 posted by TroutMask on July 24, 2002 at 07:23:34 PT
A plus.
On the plus side, these "heroes" are helping advance the breeding of cannabis strains that are harder to detect; just like they helped boost potency over the years. Great job guys!Gosh, it must be getting hard to be a prohibitionist these days...-TM
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Comment #4 posted by BGreen on July 24, 2002 at 07:03:55 PT
Meanwhile, In Ashcrofts' Hometown Newspaper
I really hate what these son of a bitches do. Look at the picture of the big bad piggies ready to go after the evil plants.
Drug busters gang up on marijuana
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Comment #3 posted by Windminstrel on July 24, 2002 at 06:18:54 PT
Now this is getting interesting
How will the Feds try to enforce this? Are they going to arrest everyone in SF who voted for this measure, or seize the assets of the city? Should get interesting. What will happen if the SF cops try to protect the city's crops?
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Comment #2 posted by E_Johnson on July 23, 2002 at 23:30:49 PT
Curious choice
The newspaper of record puts this on the front page but ignores the California Supreme Court. What gives?
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Comment #1 posted by john wayne on July 23, 2002 at 22:30:33 PT
between the lines
Federal authorities were not amused.Correction: feral authorities were embarrassed as red-faced hell."Unless Congress changes the law and makes marijuana a legal substance, then we have to do our job and enforce the law,"Translation: "we can't get enough of embarrassing ourselves, and we'd love to dig ourselves in deeper."
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