cannabisnews.com: San Diego Council To Debate Legal Use of Marijuana San Diego Council To Debate Legal Use of Marijuana Posted by CN Staff on February 04, 2003 at 10:20:20 PT By H.G. Reza, Times Staff Writer Source: Los Angeles Times San Diego -- A proposal to be taken up today by the San Diego City Council would make marijuana use legal here for as many as 3,000 seriously ill people. Although advocates say pot would ease the pain and suffering of the sick, opponents say the measure is merely a dodge around federal laws that forbid medicinal use of marijuana.Members of a task force that studied the issue for almost two years say the city needs an ordinance so patients can use as much as 3 pounds of cannabis a year without fear of arrest. The legal guidelines, drafted under the auspices of Proposition 215, have been attacked by federal drug agents and San Diego Police officials, who reluctantly served as advisors to the task force on orders from the City Council.The debate will make San Diego, long a paragon of law-and-order politics, the latest flash point in the debate between the U.S. government and California voters over a ballot measure that legalized medicinal use of pot.The courts are equally divided on the issue. In 1999, a federal appeals court ruled that so-called "cannabis clubs" can distribute marijuana to sick patients. That ruling was struck down two years later by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that medical necessity cannot be used as a legal defense to distribute marijuana. But the court did not rule on the constitutionality of Proposition 215.Last year, the California Supreme Court ruled that Proposition 215 gives users of marijuana for medicinal purposes limited immunity from prosecution. Weeks later, a federal appeals court ruled that U.S. officials may not revoke the licenses of doctors who recommend marijuana to patients.Scarcely a week has passed in California in recent months when the state and federal governments' dueling policies on medical marijuana have not collided. On Friday, author and cannabis activist Ed Rosenthal was found guilty of federal marijuana cultivation and conspiracy laws. Rosenthal has written books on how to grow marijuana and avoid the law. Snipped:Complete Article: http://freedomtoexhale.com/lap.htm Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)Author: H.G. Reza, Times Staff WriterPublished: February 4, 2003 Copyright: 2003 Los Angeles TimesContact: letters latimes.comWebsite: http://www.latimes.com/ Related Articles & Web Site:Medicinal Cannabis Research Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/research.htmProtesters Say Limits Are Set Far Too High http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15326.shtmlPass The Pot Proposal http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15319.shtmlMedical-Pot Panel Meeting Ousted From Officehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15248.shtml Guidelines Might OK Less Than 3 Poundshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15240.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #3 posted by The GCW on February 04, 2003 at 16:43:11 PT FoM - cannabis IS NOT a drug. The last sentance of the News Brief from Your comment #1 illustrates part of the problem.Quote: Those against medical marijuana say they fear it is a step toward legalization of the drug and that the guidelines would lead to increased availability. Fact is, cannabis IS NOT drug.It is food, plant, herb, medicine etc. but to be a drug, it must be man made, which cannabis is not. People take herbs and otherstuff etc. and create drugs.Cannabis may be used as medicine, or in place of drugs with severe side effects.This statement from another post here at cannabisnews helps make the point. "People put marijuana down because it was looked at as a drug at one time, but it's not," Johnson said. "It's 100-per-cent herb." (Pot Now Available for Minor Illnesses http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread15367.shtml)When We do all things correct, We will eliminate the derogatory misleading use of the word "drug", to identify cannabis.It is the same thing with the word "marijuana", which achieves a derogatory mindset when the word is even brought up. The Government knows this and refuses to call it cannabis. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by afterburner on February 04, 2003 at 14:19:55 PT: Is Lying Taught at DEA School or Can't They Read? A quote from the snipped-off part of the article:"There has never been a study that showed marijuana has any medicinal value whatsoever," Vigil said. [Michael S. Vigil, head of the Drug Enforcement Administration office in San Diego]Just one example of the many studies affirming the medical benefits of marijuana (cannabis):Study Shows Therapeutic Benefits http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10581.shtml "Missoula, MT: A battery of medical tests on a cohort of chronic, legal medical marijuana smokers reveals no significant physical or cognitive impairment attributable to marijuana, according to preliminary results of a recent study. [Dr. Ethan Russo headed the study.] All four patients examined in the study are participants in the FDA/NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse) Compassionate Investigational New Drug (IND) program, and have been smoking government-grown pot daily for more than a decade....In addition, the study affirmed pot's therapeutic value for a variety of symptoms. The results demonstrate clinical effectiveness in these patients in treating glaucoma, chronic musculoskeletal pain, spasm and nausea, and spasticity of multiple sclerosis, the study's authors wrote. They maintain that all four patients are stable with respect to their chronic conditions, and are taking many fewer standard pharmaceuticals than before they began using medical cannabis."ego destruction or ego transcendence, that is the question.Jury Nullification is the solution to the Schedule One Lie. The people must assume control of out-of-control paid liars masquerading as responsible federal agents. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by FoM on February 04, 2003 at 10:36:09 PT News Brief from KFBM -TV City Hall Protest Scheduled Against Medical Marijuana 02-04-2003A protest is scheduled today at City Hall against expanded medical marijuana guidelines being taken up by the San Diego City Council. Members of the council will weigh a task force recommendation today that would allow the sick, with a doctor's note, to grow up to 90 plants and have up to three pounds of the weed. The guidelines are aimed at implementing Proposition 215, the state law that permits patients to grow and smoke pot to relieve symptoms of their disease. Those against medical marijuana say they fear it is a step toward legalization of the drug and that the guidelines would lead to increased availability. http://www.kfmb.com/topstory13574.html [ Post Comment ] Post Comment