cannabisnews.com: Medical Marijuana Ordinance Delayed Medical Marijuana Ordinance Delayed Posted by FoM on March 21, 2001 at 06:56:35 PT By Rhonda Parks Manville, News-Press Writer Source: News-Press Officials on Tuesday postponed an ordinance on the medicinal use of marijuana in Santa Barbara, pending clarification on the issue by the U.S. Supreme Court."It seems to me that to wait is the prudent course," said City Councilman Gregg Hart, a member of the ordinance committee. Committee members Gil Garcia and Marty Blum agreed. An ordinance would clarify how the city keeps track of people who use the drug to alleviate medical problems, with a physician's approval, and it would dictate how the police respond when questions over medical use arise.The ordinance would decriminalize doctor-advised marijuana use, while using the drug to get high would remain a misdemeanor.Though the local ordinance has been postponed, council members lauded efforts by police and medical marijuana use advocates to meet and share ideas on policy."We want to make sure that the right people are protected, and the wrong people aren't," Hart said.Californians voted to legalize marijuana use for medical reasons in 1996 with the passage of Proposition 215, also known as the California Compassionate Use Act. Proponents say marijuana helps alleviate nausea in AIDS and cancer patients, and that it reduces pain from conditions ranging from headaches to arthritis.But problems have arisen in implementing the proposition because of clashes between state and federal laws. Since federal law prohibits medical use of marijuana, some doctors are afraid that prescribing it for patients could result in the loss of their medical licenses.At Tuesday's City Hall hearing, Hart, Blum and Garcia said they support the city's efforts to decriminalize medical use of marijuana. But they don't see the point in taking steps to frame an ordinance when it could later be proven indefensible when the Supreme Court issues a ruling in United States v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative on March 28.The Supreme Court will be asked to decide if "medical necessity" can justify giving marijuana, in violation of federal law, to people who use it to relieve pain that cannot be alleviated with conventional treatment. Justice Stephen G. Breyer has recused himself from the case, an appeal from the former Clinton administration of a federal ruling in California establishing the medical necessity defense, because his brother, U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer, initially granted an injunction against the cooperative.Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon and Sheriff Jim Thomas have said they don't approve of moving forward until the Supreme Court case is resolved. They also want to wait for pending clarification on Proposition 215 from state officials.Several proponents of a Santa Barbara ordinance said the Oakland case is irrelevant because it deals with pot distribution rather than use.Community activist Bruce Rittenhouse, who is running for mayor, criticized the council for delays on the issue."Sixty percent of the people in Santa Barbara voted for this," he said. "People should be able to use (marijuana) if they need it, and their doctor recommends it."Santa Barbara resident David Pryor, who uses marijuana for arthritis and depression and grows it for 125 local patients, said he is pleased with the dialogue that has developed between himself, medical officials and law enforcement officers. He said he wants to see the meetings continue so that a fair and effective ordinance can be crafted.Source: Santa Barbara News-Press (CA)Author: Rhonda Parks Manville, News-Press Writer Published: March 21, 2001Copyright: 2001 Santa Barbara News-PressAddress: P.O. Box 1359, Santa Barbara, CA 93102Contact: editorial newspress.comWebsite: http://www.newspress.com/Related Articles:Case For Medical Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9077.shtmlMedical Marijuana Ordinance Urged http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9067.shtmlCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #1 posted by desiree roberts on March 21, 2001 at 11:10:37 PT: why should marijuana be legal? The reason why i feel that marijuana should be legalizedis because no matter how hard the goverment,the president, the state senate try to keep people from buying, selling, or smoking marijuana it is still gonna be on the streets. People are still gonna buy it. People are still gonna sell it,and smoke it.so why not just go ahead and legalize "weed" it helps out people with cancer,aids, and other health problems.don't get the wrong idea now i don't smoke or nor do i sell marijuana. i just feel that if your gonna arrest someone for drugs but then they get out on probation that's just a waste of time. that's why i feel that marijuana should be legelized. if anything should be illegal it should be cigarettes that causes cancer and a lot of health problems. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: