cannabisnews.com: Clubs May Shift Focus To Home Cultivation 





Clubs May Shift Focus To Home Cultivation 
Posted by FoM on May 15, 2001 at 11:14:35 PT
By Chris Smith and Ucilia Wang, The Press Democrat
Source: Press Democrat
Monday's U.S. Supreme Court setback for marijuana-as-medicine clubs likely will have little impact on the North Coast and throughout California, but it could encourage the clubs to cut back on distributing the leafy drug and to focus more on teaching clients to grow their own.The ruling does not order states or local governments to stop allowing the use of marijuana, a federally outlawed substance, as medicine. Rather, the ruling declares marijuana buyers' clubs may face federal charges if they distribute the drug.
"We're not overly worried about it," said Mary Pat Beck of Cazadero, a member of Sonoma Alliance for Medical Marijuana. The group works with four Sonoma County groups that grow marijuana for people who are ill.Beck noted the ruling does not change the state law allowing seriously ill Californians to possess or grow their own marijuana for use as medicine. Although clubs and cooperatives that grow marijuana for patients are now theoretically more at risk of federal prosecution, Beck said she doubts U.S. drug officers will make a priority of busting such operations.In Mendocino County, the director of the Ukiah Cannabis Club, Marvin Lehrman, said his group will continue to get marijuana to patients."I was disappointed but not surprised" by the decision, he said. He doubted the federal government will go on the offensive against cannabis clubs."I hope they don't want to do that or else it will be revolution," he said.Monday's decision matters only to California, where voters passed a medical marijuana initiative -- Proposition 215 -- in 1996, and to eight other states that allow some seriously ill and injured people to use marijuana to relieve symptoms. For those nine states, the ruling solidifies the confusion that's implicit when the federal government calls a substance an illicit drug and a state rules it can be useful medicine.The ruling "points out the anomaly of a state initiative which purports to legalize something that is clearly illegal under federal law," said Sonoma County District Attorney Mike Mullins."Every time users of marijuana as medicine do what they're doing, they're violating federal law," he said.Mullins, who earlier this year lost a significant case in which he sought drug convictions against the owner of a medicinal marijuana nursery in Petaluma, said the Supreme Court decision does not affect state or local policies.What it does do, he said, is serve as one more reminder that Sacramento needs to grapple with the confusion and to pass laws that establish clear guidelines on how qualified patients can obtain marijuana."I guess I'm sounding like a broken record," Mullins said. "But legislation should be passed, so everybody has some direction."In Sacramento, Attorney General Bill Lockyer criticized the Supreme Court for dictating to the state on a public health issue."It is unfortunate," he said in a statement, "that the court was unable to respect California's historic role as a 'laboratory' for good public policy, and a leader in the effort to help sick and dying residents who have no hope for relief other than through medical marijuana."He said he'll require some time to decide if he will make any recommendations for new state laws.The founder of the American Medical Marijuana Association, Steve Kubby, said the only effect of the decision may be to encourage buyers' clubs to protect themselves by moving away from distribution and instead helping patients to cultivate their own pot."In fact," he said from Dana Point, "this decision is expected to create a huge boom in home cultivation."Advocates of medical marijuana in Mendocino County said the ruling may empower the federal government to seek court injunctions against more medical marijuana clubs, but it won't stop people from getting the drug.David Nelson, attorney for the Ukiah Cannabis Club, said he is concerned about the club's future, particularly given President Bush's recent appointments of a conservative attorney general and a punishment-favoring drug czar.The ruling "took away the club's defense against any federal actions," he said. "But it will be a long process. Every time they shut one down, another will pop up."Mendocino County District Attorney Norman Vroman and Sheriff Tony Craver said the ruling will not change how they enforce the state's medical marijuana law."We are talking about people who are seriously ill. If it gives them comfort to smoke a little pot, what the heck," Craver said.Vroman said it won't be up to his office to decide what to do with the Ukiah club."The court decision says it's a violation of federal law" for a club to distribute marijuana, Vroman said. "But I don't prosecute federal crime."Note: Decision likely to force state groups to move away from distribution, help patients grow their own. Source: Press Democrat, The (CA) Author: Chris Smith and Ucilia Wang, The Press DemocratPublished: May 15, 2001Copyright: 2001 The Press Democrat Contact: letters pressdemo.com Website: http://www.pressdemo.com/ Related Articles & Web Site:American Medical Marijuana Associationhttp://americanmarijuana.org/Justices Bar Distribution of Pot for Medicinal Usehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9728.shtmlUkiah Couple's Marijuana Club Survives Four Years http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9314.shtml
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Comment #8 posted by freedom fighter on May 16, 2001 at 17:46:13 PT
Just my 2 tax cents, J.R. Dobbs and Imprint
Average Joe the taxpayer does not know that Amerika is spending 50 billion $$ on drug war this year. 200 billion $$ so far in last 20 years. Only if they knew... And if only we could let them know..Average Joe does not know what is like when armed human beings break the door and pull weapons on anything and everybody over a plant sitting in a closet.Average Joe could not possibly believe that armed human beings demanding the father to turn his son into a snitch..Average Joe would not know if liberty bit him.In short, how do we kick average joe's dull brain into action??How do we explain to average joe that watching some stranger take a piss into a cup is just so perverted?I do not know.I only can pray he will wake up in time.B4 it is too late..ff
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Comment #7 posted by Imprint on May 15, 2001 at 16:31:04 PT
JR Bob Dobbs
J.R.Throw out any dollar amount you want but the fact is Americans aren’t feed up yet. Believe me I don’t want a single penny spent on this whole thing but the sad fact is the average American is driven by money. Even though there is a huge budget for the drug war the average American isn’t affected by it. As soon as they hear things like; sorry we can’t build that new freeway because we need the money for the drug war or sorry we can’t build that playground for your kids because we need the money for the drug war these people won’t budge. When their lives are affected they will want a change. These folks aren’t listening to the facts about marijuana but they will listen to lack of money.  It’s a bummer but that’s what we have to work with; most Americans are selfish. Congress won’t do a thing until the citizens yell loudly. Citizens will yell loudly when their lives are disrupted. Now, as far as the ill person unable to protect their garden, you are absolutely right (pot is worth more than gold and legalization is the best answer). Further, they could be subject to a police raid, which could be even more brutal. Civil disobedience comes with a price. Again, this is what we presently have to work with. In the present climate if I were seriously ill and my options were either to suffer “period” or to take a chance and grow some plants for relief, I would opt for the possible relief.  It’s not right and it’s not fair but until the climate/laws change this is what we have to work with. I’ll tell ya, I sure don’t enjoy being a POW. I sure didn’t enjoy the brutality brought upon me by the police but the fact is I had marijuana in defiance of the law and I’m paying the price for it. It’s not fair and it’s not right but this is what I have to work with; this is the reality of the current climate. I constantly write my congressmen, governor and anyone else that might help us. I donate money to organizations working to legalize every month and I will promote as much civil disobedience as I can muster. This is what I have to work with and I will use what I have. I think we are working towards the same thing. Legalization is the answer but the fact is legalization isn’t going to happen today or tomorrow for that matter.  But, It will happen when the voice of America becomes loud enough for Congress to listen. Congress will not just listen to the pot smokers, we also need non-pot smokers to speak up as well. We can’t just bang our spoon and fork against the table and demand it; legalization will come but it will come with a cost. Sorry but this is the reality.  
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Comment #6 posted by J.R. Bob Dobbs on May 15, 2001 at 15:35:24 PT
To Imprint
>>If someone is too ill to tend to a garden then someone can come to their house and help.  If someone is too ill to tend a cannabis plant, how are they going to be able to defend their cannabis plant when street thugs learn there's someone in a wheelchair growing a plant that they can sell for more than the price of gold? There's only one way to eliminate that problem - full legalization, which would drop the price so much that it would no longer be a target. Plus, then sick people wouldn't have to grow their own plants.>>At some point Americans will get fed up with their tax dollars being wasted and will demand a change that will free us all.  If we're not fed up enough at the $40,000,000,000 they spend already, how much would it take??
What every grower needs - seeds!!
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Comment #5 posted by Imprint on May 15, 2001 at 14:56:23 PT
buy it / grow it - more the better
Thanks for the link J.R.. I enjoyed the transcripts from the Politically Correct Show. It shows Dr. Drew for the ass he is. As far as ill people growing there own marijuana. It might be a good thing. It makes it more difficult for the government to pinpoint. I hope the folks that promote growing for one’s self will make coming to the patents house and help them part of the movement. If someone is too ill to tend to a garden then someone can come to their house and help. This way the government will have to try to track down many more; they wouldn’t be able to go to a single location and perform a single raid that has a negative effect on many. Supporters of medical marijuana and legalization will need to find as many ways as possible to dilute the effectiveness of the government. Forcing even more money to be spent on the efforts to stop marijuana. I believe money is the key. At some point Americans will get fed up with their tax dollars being wasted and will demand a change that will free us all. I hope that both distribution centers and home growing will continue to grow in popularity. 
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Comment #4 posted by Ethan Russo, MD on May 15, 2001 at 13:41:12 PT:
Worse Than That, Greenfox
Joe is gonna die from his disease due to lack of effective antiemetic medicine.The Supreme Court is allowing genocide of PWAs for the sake of maintaining cannabis prohibition. It's time to really get active on this issue. Demonstrations may have their place, but the most effective methods will be constant letters and visits to your elected officials, letters to the editor, talking to your friends, relatives, physicians and co-workers. A lot of clandestine users, medical or otherwise, need to come out of the closet and confront every anti with their complicity in the discrimination and genocide. It is that serious. Confront, confront, confront! Put a human face on the suffering and death that prohibition fosters.
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Comment #3 posted by greenfox on May 15, 2001 at 13:18:43 PT
Regarding growing medical marijuana
Hello all you wonderful readers of cannabisnews.com! Once again, I, greenfox, will help show you, (the loyal readers of cannabisnews.com,) how the federal government isn't making sense...again.Let's start with the obvious: the supreme court says that you can't buy pot from a club. That leaves the user with two choices: 1) BUY from the street, or 2) GROW your own marijuana.Looing at this as is, we can already rule out the possibility of purchasing marijuana from the street dealers. This is simply because most people that NEED the weed can't walk, or move, or do much of anything else for that matter.OK, so buying pot is out of the question. Now, let's cover growing one's own.Despite the fact that it IS a weed, (and a fairly hearty one that will grow in spite of you,) there are still many complications to growing it. Especially if you are growing for the first time. Now let's put it all together.Joe Shmoe has HIV/AIDS. Joe spends most of his day vomiting into a trash can. The few moments he isn't puking, he's trying to "catch a buzZ" (as the antis would have it) and eat, therefore staying alive. However, now Joe has to grow his own. spidermites, mold, overfertalizing, underfertalizing, overwatering, underwatering, low harvest weight, and legal ramifications are just a few things that will hinder Joe on the way. Not to mention a MINIMUM of a three month wait before that harvest finally comes in. (HEMP cannot grow much faster, unfortunately). So what's that mean for Joe?SUFFERINGP{A)I(N)AGONYand more....(and that's just getting started)The feds fucked us again. God how I love Amerkiia.gf
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Comment #2 posted by Ethan Russo, MD on May 15, 2001 at 11:44:07 PT:
J.R.!
Your suggestion that free speech still means something is seditious! I'd watch out if I were you.All this makes me wonder what Thoreau and his kind would do if they faced this kind of assault on their freedom? Civil disobedience is definitely indicated in our War on the War on Drugs (WOWOD). 
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Comment #1 posted by J.R. Bob Dobbs on May 15, 2001 at 11:27:11 PT
Grow Your Own
  To learn how to grow medical marijuana, download Todd McCormick's book in PDF form from his web site:
http://www.growmedicine.com/
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