cannabisnews.com: Measure B Plant Limits Can't Be Enforced





Measure B Plant Limits Can't Be Enforced
Posted by CN Staff on August 15, 2008 at 06:18:38 PT
By Ben Brown, The Ukiah Daily Journal 
Source: Ukiah Daily Journal
California -- Less than three months after it was approved by voters, one section of the contentious medical marijuana initiative Measure B has been stayed by the court.Mendocino County Superior Court Judge John Behnke ruled last week that the medical marijuana plant limits set forth in Measure B cannot be enforced because they are unconstitutional in light of the ruling by the California Appellate Court in People v. Kelly.
"If the Kelly decision stands, Measure B's specific limits on the amount of marijuana a qualified patient or his primary care giver may possess constitute an amendment of the CUA (compassionate use act), without consent of the statewide electorate and the specific limits section of the new ordinance is therefore unconstitutional," Behnke wrote in his ruling.Measure B, which was approved by voters in June, set medical marijuana possession limits in Mendocino County at six mature or 12 immature plants and eight ounces of marijuana, the same as the state limits.Those limits were enacted by the California Legislature in Senate Bill 420, which amended the voter-approved CUA which legalized the possession of marijuana for medical purposes, but contained no possession limits.The limits set forth in SB 420 were found to be unconstitutional by the California Appellate Court in May of this year. The appellate court ruled that the Legislature cannot amend an initiative like the CUA unless the initiative gives the Legislature the authority to do so. According to the Kelly ruling, the CUA does not give that authority."The limits section of Measure B seeks to modify the CUA in the same terms that Kelly found to be an unconstitutional amendment of the CUA," Behnke wrote in his ruling.Behnke found that if the state Legislature cannot amend a statewide initiative with a proposition, then Mendocino County cannot amend the initiative with a local ordinance or initiative.The effect of Measure B as it relates to plant counts will remain stayed unless and until the Kelly decision is overturned, Behnke said in his ruling. The California Supreme Court announced Wednesday that it would be reviewing the decision but did not set a hearing date.In addition to setting medical marijuana limits, Measure B also repealed Measure G, which was approved by Mendocino County voters in 2000 and instructed law enforcement to make the prosecution of anyone growing 25 or fewer marijuana plants the lowest possible law enforcement priority.Behnke said that portion of Measure B would stand.Complete Title: Measure B Plant Limits Can't Be Enforced, Judge RulesSource: Ukiah Daily Journal (CA)Author: Ben Brown, The Ukiah Daily Journal Published: August 15, 2008Copyright: 2008 Ukiah Daily JournalContact: udjrb pacific.netWebsite: http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/Related Articles: Marijuana Law Changes Soughthttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread24107.shtmlJudge Hears Measure B Argumentshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread24085.shtmlMendocino County Won't Enforce Pot Measurehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread24056.shtml
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Comment #5 posted by OverwhelmSam on August 16, 2008 at 06:25:23 PT
Silly Stubborn Marijuana Prohibitionists
They should just let it go already and regulate marijuana. Don't they ever get tired of their own crap? Ask the next prohibitionist you meet, "Is your whole life a lie?" Their ideology is fast going the way of the dinosaurs, the grave. However, they are one of our endangered species we should assist in their speed to extinction.
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on August 15, 2008 at 14:04:57 PT
 josephlacerenza
I'm really not sure. I think the way they test for marijuana is wrong. It should at least be as accurate as an alcohol test. I think alcohol tests determine the amount of impairment but I don't know for sure. If a person only needs 8 hours to pass an alcohol test shouldn't it be the same if we have to have testing at all for marijuana?
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Comment #3 posted by josephlacerenza on August 15, 2008 at 14:00:19 PT
THC Test
FOM I saw your link to the story about the THC test developed by Purdue. I was wondering if it has a time limit? For example, can it tell if I smoked 5 min. ago ,or if I smoked 2 days ago. This new test kind of puts the law enforcement industry in a corner, they have been saying that a major reason that Marijuana should be illegal is there is no field test like the BAC test.
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on August 15, 2008 at 11:51:31 PT
konagold 
Thank you for the link. That seems like a good thing to me.
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Comment #1 posted by konagold on August 15, 2008 at 11:24:14 PT:
deprioritizing pot put on ballot Hawaii County
http://www.westhawaiitoday.com/articles/2008/08/14/local/local04.txt#blogcomments
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