cannabisnews.com: Pot Clinic at Fairmont Faces Many Hurdles





Pot Clinic at Fairmont Faces Many Hurdles
Posted by CN Staff on May 11, 2005 at 08:31:48 PT
Editorial
Source: Oakland Tribune
Calif. -- Good ideas don't always become reality — for practical reasons. Take Supervisor Nate Miley's proposal that Alameda County consider opening a medical marijuana dispensary at Fairmont Hospital in unincorporated Ashland. It makes sense in the ever-evolving aftermath of Proposition 215, the medical marijuana measure approved by 56 percent of Californians in 1996. The California Supreme Court has found it to be as legal and legitimate a prescription drug as any other.
"If it's medical," Miley says, "let's put it in a hospital setting. Let the county go about doing it. It just makes sense to me." And other people. Unfortunately, the U.S. government doesn't see it that way. It's against federal law to cultivate, possess and distribute marijuana. To date, there are no exceptions. The Bush administration sees it that way, and so, supposedly, does the U.S. Supreme Court, which is expected to rule this year on whether federal bans negate laws in the Golden State and nine others that allow medical pot use with a prescription. Thus, the fate of Miley's  innovative idea — Sheriff Charles Plummer called it brilliant — may ultimately be decided at another level. Supervisor Scott Haggerty indicates he's not apt to endorse such a clinic unless Congress approves it. Other board members also may not want to put workers in the untenable position of being arrested while doing the county's bidding. The idea raises other questions: * Fairmont is a public medical institution that receives federal funds through Medicare and other programs. How might having a medical marijuana facility on site affect accreditation and federal funding? * Do Alameda County residents want their county to be in the medical marijuana business? If the feds want to be nasty about it, such a facility could have implications for other programs. There have been social and legal problems with some private clinics. Plummer seems to believe that having the county own such a facility increases its chances of being operated correctly. We hope that would be true. * What would be the source of funding for such a clinic? Would it  be public or on a contract with a private vendor? From whom and how would marijuana to be dispensed be acquired? Would the county grow it? Buy it? Remember, it's illegal under federal law, and Uncle Sam's 21st century G-men may want to nip similar ideas in the bud by making an example of such an operation. There are a multitude of sticky, nuanced questions that must be pondered and answered before the county proceeds. In and of itself, it's a good idea, one we'd like to see the county seriously  consider if state law prevails. But if setting up a medical marijuana clinic in a public hospital exposes the county to federal sanctions, it may not be worth the price. The Board of Supervisors needs to figure that out. Source: Oakland Tribune (CA)Author: Richard McKeethen, Correspondent Published: Wednesday, May 11, 2005 Copyright: 2005 MediaNews Group, Inc. Contact: triblet angnewspapers.com Website: http://www.oaklandtribune.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Medicinal Cannabis Research Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/research.htmPot Club Called for at Fairmont Hospital http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20657.shtmlSupervisor Proposes County-Run Pot Clinic http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20654.shtmlPlan Puts Cannabis Club in County Hospitalhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20649.shtml 
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Comment #14 posted by GreenJoy on May 12, 2005 at 09:27:36 PT
Hope
 I'm glad you get the better meaning behind my post. I'm not so very windy these days. My brevity leaves me in danger of being misunderstood. GJ  
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Comment #13 posted by dongenero on May 12, 2005 at 08:30:49 PT
good link Jose
thanks
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Comment #12 posted by Toker00 on May 12, 2005 at 06:42:05 PT
Thanks, Jose
A mirror image of today's Cannabis Prohibition. This link provides a tremendous amount of comparrison. Bookmark, bookmark, bookmark.Vote ONLY for politicians who support the Repeal of Cannabis Prohibition. Make it THE major issue in ALL local elections. There is nothing more important for Americans to do than fight for their liberties. NOTHING!Peace. Legalize, then Revolutionize! (medicine)(energy)(nutrition)
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Comment #11 posted by jose melendez on May 12, 2005 at 03:53:33 PT
those before us faced similar fraud
http://www.hypocritae.com/?ART=123“Now I lay me down to sleep. My life and limb may Hoover keep. And may no Coast Guard cutter shell this little home I love so well. May no dry agent, shooting wild, molest my wife and infant child, or searching out some secret still bombard my home to maim and kill. When dawn succeeds the gleaming stars, may we, devoid of wounds and scars, give thanks we didn’t fall before the shots in Prohibition’s War.”http://www.hoboes.com/html/Politics/Prohibition/Notes/Intemperance.html
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Comment #10 posted by Hope on May 11, 2005 at 22:11:06 PT
GreenJoy, comment 6
I've always thought that our fight to end the destruction of this country and it's citizens is about the future generations and their lives and freedoms...to save them from this so called war on drugs and what it's costing and what it's destroying in it's foolishness and stupidity. But, after what you said, I realize that it's about the past, too. It's saving our forefather's too, in a way. It's making sure that their hardship and sacrifice was not in vain. That there are still Americans who believe in what those first Americans fought and died for. Freedom from an oppressive government and it's misled minions and blind followers. It's too precious not to care about what it was meant to be.Prohibition has already caused too much blood to be spilled. We've got to bring an end to prohibition, the Drug War, peacefully and somehow, someday, we will. God help us.
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Comment #9 posted by Hope on May 11, 2005 at 21:48:48 PT
My post was in response
to Billos's post number 5.
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Comment #8 posted by Hope on May 11, 2005 at 21:46:53 PT
It is a hideous roller coaster ride...
no doubt.I feel like crossing myself, and I'm not even Catholic.Gotta pray.
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Comment #7 posted by afterburner on May 11, 2005 at 21:00:26 PT
Sloppy Journalism Tells Half-Truths
"It's against federal law to cultivate, possess and distribute marijuana."I'm so-o-o-o tired of hearing and reading that statement!"To date, there are no exceptions."Oh, no? What about the the NIDA-sponsored marijuana [sic] farm in Kentucky? What about Irv Rosenfeld and the other four remaining grandfathered recipients of the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Investigational New Drug (IND) program? What about the DEA agents and other LEO's? What about the US government agencies that provide the tins of marijuana [sic] cigarettes to Irv and the other patients? What about NJWeedman's contention that because flowering tops of medical marijuana [sic] were legally sold prior to the passage of anti-cannabis legislation, the legality of such a medical product is grandfathered?"The Bush administration sees it that way, and so, supposedly, does the U.S. Supreme Court, which is expected to rule this year on whether federal bans negate laws in the Golden State and nine others that allow medical pot use with a prescription."The US Supreme Court case Raich vs. Ashcroft, does NOT decide "whether federal bans negate laws... that allow medical pot use"; the case will decide whether California's Compassionate Use Act allowing non-profit intrastate possession, cultivation, and distribution of medical cannabis impacts on Interstate Commerce. Neither California nor any of the states with a *workable* medical cannabis law relies on prescriptions, only recommendations.
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Comment #6 posted by GreenJoy on May 11, 2005 at 18:57:05 PT
1528
Maybe its too bad we won the revolutionary war. What representation? What freedom? A nice, perfectly good constitution...thoroughly bastardized. GJ
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Comment #5 posted by billos on May 11, 2005 at 17:26:03 PT
..................More penalties..................
Also in the news:
Congress has caught wind of devices used to cheat drug tests. One of them is the "Whizzinator" and I have seen a few more. Some sport celebrity got caught with one at the airport(they were searching his luggage)and congress has paid immediate attention to it getting ready to subpoena the manufacturers'executive officers to testify to a congressional panel.Here we go.......................................
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on May 11, 2005 at 14:15:08 PT
DPA Alert: Tell Congress To Oppose HR 1528
Wednesday, May 11, 2005We're in the fight of our lives in Washington, DC. High-ranking members of Congress want to take the war on drugs to a whole new level.They want to increase penalties for every drug offense. They want a mandatory 2-year prison term for anyone who knows someone is selling marijuana on a college campus and fails to report it to the police within 24 hours. They want a mandatory 5-year prison term for someone at a party who passes a marijuana joint to someone who has been enrolled in drug treatment at some point in their life. They want to expand the federal "three strikes and you're out" law to include new offenses, including mandating life imprisonment (with no possibility of parole) for anyone convicted a third time under the RAVE Act.Take Action Here:http://actioncenter.drugpolicy.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=26179&ms=sensen0505-ipThese and other horrible provisions are inside Congressman Sensenbrenner's H.R. 1528 entitled "Defending America's Most Vulnerable: Safe Access to Drug Treatment and Child Protection Act of 2005". You helped us derail this bill last year, but now it's back - and it's longer and more draconian.I'm not going to lie, we're up against the most powerful forces in the federal government. We hope you will continue to stand with us in this massive showdown. Some of you have already taken action in key congressional districts and it's had an impact. Once on the fast track, the bill has stalled in committee. Drug war extremists are regrouping, however, and it's only a matter of time before they strike back. We need to keep the heat on members of Congress to kill this bill.In short, we're up against Goliath. But, we have tens of thousands of "David's" like you on our side. If we all work together we can put up one hell of a fight and hopefully win.This battle - one of our most important this year - is only the beginning. In four other areas the drug policy reform movement has launched offensives to target the drug war establishment at its weak points. We're serious about taking down Goliath.There are three things you can do today:1) Urge your U.S. Representative to oppose this bill.2) Contribute money to our campaign.3) Forward this alert to your friends and family.Watch your inbox for updates in the coming weeks on medical marijuana, the Higher Education Act drug provision, bureaucratic treatment regulations, and our campaign to rein in the federal Byrne grant program, which is perpetuating the drug war across the country. We really appreciate your continued support. 
http://www.drugpolicy.org/news/051105sensenalert.cfm
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on May 11, 2005 at 10:03:32 PT
Thanks Hope
Should prescription medical marijuana be legal? Current Results: 15234 Votes Yes -- 13147 -- 86% No -- 2087 -- 14% 
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Comment #2 posted by Hope on May 11, 2005 at 09:54:49 PT
Active Poll
http://www.10news.com/health/4472065/detail.htmlleft side of page
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on May 11, 2005 at 09:29:00 PT
Canadian Poll Results
Similar Views On Marijuana Arrests In Canada, U.S. 
 May 11, 2005(Angus Reid Global Scan) – Adults in Canada and the United States believe in more lenient penalties for the handling of cannabis, according to a poll by Ipsos-Reid for the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Canada Institute on North American Issues. 59 per cent of Canadian respondents—and 57 per cent of American respondents—think the conviction of possession of marijuana should not always result in a criminal record.In November 2004, the Canadian federal government re-introduced a controversial bill that seeks "alternate penalty frameworks" for the possession of small amounts of marijuana. If the bill passes, any person caught with 15 grams of the drug or less would face fines instead of criminal charges.In July 2002, Canada became the first nation in the world to regulate the consumption of marijuana for medical reasons. Last month, the Canadian government authorized the use of Sativex—a medicine derived from cannabis. The drug will be used to provide neuropathic pain relief for people who suffer from multiple sclerosis.In the U.S., several petitions to "reschedule" marijuana and remove it from a specific category of restricted substances have been filed in the courts.Polling Data:Canadians -- Agree -- 39% 
Disagree -- 59%***Americans -- Agree -- 42%Disagree -- 57% 
Do you agree or disagree with this statement: "The conviction of possession of marijuana should always result in a criminal record." 
Source: Ipsos-Reid / Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars / Canada Institute on North American Issues
Methodology: Telephone interviews to 1,000 adult Canadians and 1,000 adult Americans, conducted from Apr. 5 to Apr. 7, 2005. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent. 
 http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewItem&itemID=7160
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