cannabisnews.com: Doctor's Visit To Red Bluff Draws Fire





Doctor's Visit To Red Bluff Draws Fire
Posted by FoM on February 28, 2000 at 18:51:56 PT
By David Benda
Source: Record Searchlight
Dr. Tod Mikuriya never thought he'd write medical marijuana recommendations in a room full of stuffed animals. But the Berkeley psychiatrist, who treats patients from San Diego to the Oregon border, was in the bedroom of an east Red Bluff home Saturday after being evicted from the Independent Order of Odd Fellows hall the day before. 
Mikuriya, who testified in the marijuana trial of Redding mother and son Jim and Lydia Hall, saw about 20 patients inside the home Saturday. Many of them were members of the Humboldt Cannabis Club in Arcata, between 20 and 50 years old and suffering from chronic pain. They brought medical records to back up their claims.Patients sat around a coffee table in the home's living room while they waited to see Mikuriya. Each visit lasted between 10 and 30 minutes. "I am looking forward to the day when my flights up here will be superfluous, when all community doctors will be doing this," said Mikuriya, who conducted a similar clinic at another Red Bluff residence six months ago. He said police broke up that visit. "The upshot from that is they were unhappy I didn't have a Red Bluff business license, which I have subsequently obtained so I am legitimate," Mikuriya said. "Legally, I can practice medicine within the city limits, so I thought everything had been arranged."Chris Ward, who worked to bring Mikuriya to Red Bluff last week, said the doctor and his patients were evicted Friday evening by Richard Atchison, the Red Bluff Odd Fellows' noble grand and administrator. "He came over and was upset marijuana was being sold on the premises. That wasn't happening at all," said Ward, who said he uses medical marijuana and lives in Red Bluff. "The very last patient was kicked out." Mikuriya also said no pot was sold during the clinics. Ward said he had agreed to pay the Odd Fellows $300 to rent the hall for Friday and Saturday.Mikuriya, who has written at least two books on medical marijuana and see most of his patients at cannabis clubs, was dumbfounded by Atchison's reaction. Mikuriya estimates he handed out 45 medical marijuana recommendations before leaving Saturday afternoon. Atchison, who knew what Mikuriya was doing inside his hall, said complaints from neighboring merchants prompted him to take action. "There were people smoking (cigarettes) outside and there were some things being done that just were uncouth," Atchison said. Odd Fellows treasurer John Ennis of Red Bluff disagreed. "I have no idea why he did what he did," Ennis said of Atchison. "We talked about this and Richard gave us the go-ahead. We spent $200, $#00 to get the room repaired" before Mikuriya's arrival. Corky Kramer, who co-owns Antiques & Moore next door, was upset Mikuriya was seeing patients next to his Oak Street business. "It's not a good thing that you can tell people to come to downtown Red Bluff and get a prescription," Kramer said. Author: David Benda, dbenda redding.com Pubdate: Sun, 27 Feb 2000Source: Redding Record Searchlight (CA)Copyright: 2000 Redding Record Searchlight - E.W. ScrippsSIDEBAR:More on marijuana:To learn more about medicinal marijuana, or to read California's Compassionate Use Act:Check Out These Web Sites: Home page of Proposition 215 co-author, Steve Kubby, and American Medical Marijuana Association.http://www.kubby.com/ Essays and information from a doctor who recommends marijuana for thousands of patients.http://www.igc.org/althealth/ www.mikuriya.com/althealth The Institute of Medicine's 1999 Report on Medical Marijuana:http://www.prop1.org/thomas/iom_report/iomlv.htmNews Article Courtesy of MapInc.URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n285/a02.htmlMAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk CannabisNews MapInc. Archives - New:http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/list/MAP.shtmlPair Guilty of Conspiracyhttp://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread4836.shtmlGrandma Says She Used Pot To Ease Painhttp://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread4637.shtml 
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help




Post Comment


Name: Optional Password: 
E-Mail: 
Subject: 
Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message]
Link URL: 
Link Title: