cannabisnews.com: Santa Cruz Council OKs Cultivation Of Marijuana





Santa Cruz Council OKs Cultivation Of Marijuana
Posted by FoM on April 21, 2000 at 11:21:14 PT
The Time Has Come For Medical Marijuana!
Source: Record Searchlight 
Santa Cruz says it has a message for the rest of the country: The time has come for the legal use of medical marijuana. Last week the Santa Cruz City Council unanimously approved an ordinance making the city the fist in the nation to legalize the production and sale of medical marijuana without a doctor’s prescription, as long as it is sold at cost or given away.
The ordinance, which takes effect May 11, is Santa Cruz’s attempt to put in effect Proposition 215, the medical marijuana initiative that California voters approved in 1996.The city’s new law will allow the medical use of marijuana with a doctor’s note certifying that the patient has a condition for which marijuana is considered helpful. Those conditions include AIDS, cancer, multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, anorexia, chronic pain and arthritis. Santa Cruz’s law also protects doctors who have been threatened with the loss of their licenses by the federal government if they prescribe medical marijuana. It allows them to write a note stating the patient suffers from a serious condition that marijuana has been known to alleviate. The hope, Mike Rotkin, a City Council member who helped draft the ordinance, is that Santa Cruz’s law could serve as a model for other cities and states that have approved the use of medical marijuana only to find themselves in conflict with federal law enforcers.After the state initiative passed, then-Attorney General Dan Lungren, as well as the federal government – whose position is that any use of marijuana is illegal – continued to prosecute those who grew or used the drug for medicinal purposes, including numerous medical marijuana clubs in Northern California.Decisions to prosecute marijuana patients vary from county to county. In December a Shasta County Superior Court jury acquitted 49-year-old Richard Levin of Redding on a charge of growing marijuana for sale. In a separate case, Lydia Hall, 62, and her son, Jim Hall, 38, were acquitted of cultivation of marijuana, but convicted of conspiracy to cultivate pot. Jim Hall was also acquitted of possession of marijuana for sale.After the acquittals Shasta County Sheriff Jim Pope released local guidelines suggested by the state Department of Justice. Those guidelines allow two outdoor plants, six indoor plants and possession of no more than 1.3 pounds of marijuana.Last week, Levin and his attorney Eric Berg of Redding, met in Sacramento with David DeAlba, a special assistant attorney general to state Attorney General Bill Lockyer.De Alba said in a telephone interview that he told Berg and Levin that the state has no guidelines and the information that sheriffs’ department say was distributed by the Department of Justice was contained as a footnote in a law enforcement information bulletin.“It was discussion or a note about how much a plant might yield. I don’t believe that can be fairly categorized as a guideline. If it were to be construed as a guideline, that was (former attorney general) Dan Lungren’s view, not Bill Lockyer’s.”Berg called a press conference Wednesday to report his meeting with DeAlba. The sheriff’s guidelines “imply that anybody growing more than that will be arrested, whether he has a doctor’s recommendation or not,” Berg said. “It’s completely ignoring the Compassionate Use Act. De Alba says his office has no guidelines and did not intend to create guidelines, so claiming to have the consent of the attorney general’s office (to back the local guidelines) is wrong,” Berg said. Interpretation of the Compassionate Use Act is controversial statewide. The medical marijuana movement was essentially shut down through lawsuits by state and federal officials. That situation has eased since Lockyer became attorney general last year.Published: April 20, 2000Copyright: 2000 Redding Record Searchlight - E.W. ScrippsRelated Articles & Web Sites:WAMMhttp://www.wamm.org/The Compassion Flower Innhttp://compassionflowerinn.com/Medical Pot Users Welcome, Says New Inn http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread5470.shtmlCalifornia Inn Seeking Users Of Marijuana http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread5456.shtmlInside the Remote Farm That Supplies M. Marijuanahttp://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread5423.shtmlCannabisNews Articles From The Redding Record Searchlight:http://google.com/search?q=cannabisnews+record+searchlight+site%3Acannabisnews.com
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Comment #8 posted by Mark Tide on April 22, 2000 at 20:12:39 PT:
Photos are Wonderful
It's great to see these photos, and beautiful cannabis-art pieces. Good picture of Valerie. too. Thanks for all your good works, FoM. Hope you can visit us in Ca. one of these days.Justice, Peace & Love
Arcata Journal
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on April 21, 2000 at 23:41:06 PT
Pictures From The Compassion Flower Inn
Why Thank You Mark! I hope you like how I'm trying to put together pictures as they become available on The Compassion Flower Inn. Some of the news articles pictures are in bitmap and they don't upload correctly. So until I figure that out I can't add anymore but I will when I figure how to change them.Peace, FoM!Pictures from The Compassion Flower Inn in Santa Cruzhttp://homepages.go.com/~marthag1/cfinn.htm 
Pictures from The Compassion Flower Inn in Santa Cruz
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Comment #6 posted by Mark Tide on April 21, 2000 at 19:35:36 PT:
one more thing or two
Sorry for the absence of word "think" in comment just below (I can spell commentary, too), when that's precisely what I'm trying to help you all to do. Reference was:"I don't that the physician - related information in this news article is correct. Take a look at this ordinance (and analysis / commentary / letter), and see for yourself."You should check it out (we have the only copy online, as far as I'm aware), several news reports have this aspect wrong, and another issue is that the ordinance actually seems to remove ability to work with physicians' "oral" recommenation / approval, per P215.Much more of interest with ACTUAL ORDINANCE TEXT online at LINK BELOW.FoM : The City Editor for Redding Record-Searchlight and I have been emailing together for a few months. The paper is interested in several matters over here on the coast (this -P215 - being one of them). This Editor is coming over for a visit soon, and I'm giving the tour. It should work well for promotion of good implementation media in Redding (the largest and most important city in N. Valley of Ca.). We'll do something special for you & Cannabisnews.com
Arcata Journal
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Comment #5 posted by Mark Tide on April 21, 2000 at 19:12:37 PT:
VIEW THE ACTUAL ORDINANCE
Arcata Journal has this new Santa Cruz P215 Implementation Ordinance online, at the (present) top of center "recent features" file. It is accompanied by an Analysis - Commantary, and a 4/20/2000 Letter to Arcata City Council. Just use link below to access.I don't that the physician - related information in this news article is correct. Take a look at this ordinance (and analysis / commentary / letter), and see for yourself.This is very important. Very Important. We need to keep focused on details, however, to succeed in moving this forward. Please send Arcata Journal any comments you may have.Many Thanks Go Out to FoM & Cannabisnews.com (and its sponsors), for keeping the people informed.
Arcata Journal
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Comment #4 posted by dddd on April 21, 2000 at 18:24:43 PT
WEST
Looks like some of you Easterners on the right coast,may now consider that being left out west might not be that bad. I dont mean this to sound like a snotty challenge,I'm just happy to see that Santa Cruz is breaking new ground in being bold enough to directly confront the small,and well entrenched opposition. This is big news...........I am glad.................May Jah shine on you all.........dddd
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Comment #3 posted by Damian on April 21, 2000 at 13:52:00 PT
We shall overcome!
way to go Santa Cruz! we're on our way to save the human spirit from fascism.
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Comment #2 posted by Puritan on April 21, 2000 at 13:00:45 PT
Santa Cruiz
Caution...how will the Feds react to this?
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #1 posted by freedom fighter on April 21, 2000 at 12:49:35 PT
Victory and Power
to the People of Santa Cruz!
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