Sac County MMJ Ordinance Hearing 2-8-05 @ 2:15pm

Legal marijuana sales banned in Sacramento, for now

Cities scramble to regulate medicinal use

By CHRISTIAN DANIELSEN

Posted 10/29/2004

Sacramento County renewed a temporary ban on medical marijuana dispensaries last week in order to draft rules for the controversial facilities. The 10-month ban is an extension of a 45-day ban started on Sept. 21 in response to a request by Sacramento resident John Ambrosini to open a dispensary. Ambrosini's request was denied by the Sacramento Planning Department on zoning grounds, a decision he is challenging through administrative appeal. The use of marijuana for medical purposes has been legal under state law since 1996, when Californians passed Proposition 215, the Medical Marijuana Act. Since then the law has remained in a legal gray area, as the possession, use or distribution of marijuana for any reason is still illegal under federal law. "It's a very complicated situation," said Ambrosini's lawyer Jeffery Kavitz. "But, the fact is, there is no system for people to receive their medication in a lawful manner. If there isn't a place where they can get it, then the intent of the law is thwarted." While disappointed the board did not act immediately, Kavitz said he was pleased they established a task force that will report back with recommendations for regulating the legal sale of marijuana. "At the hearing, one of the supervisors even told a story about one of her friends who uses marijuana for medical relief," Kavitz said. Despite repeated attempts, none of the supervisors could be reached for comment on any opposition to allowing regulated dispensaries. Kavitz noted that establishing regulations would only be a first step towards a system that would fulfill the intent of Proposition 215. The law also mandated that counties establish a special identification system for people who are using marijuana for medical purposes. No county has done that, he said, leading to the inadvertent arrests of people who are allowed to possess the drug under state law. The Davis City Council extended their own 45-day moratorium to 10 more months on Sept. 14, asking staff to return with regulation recommendations within three months. The cities of Auburn, Citrus Heights and Elk Grove all have ordinances that regulate the sale of medical marijuana. UC Davis junior Danny Kelley has a doctor's recommendation for medical marijuana to treat pain from scoliosis and shoulder surgery. He said the drug provides him relief without using drugs he doesn't trust. "I don't really like taking chemicals," he said. "I prefer this because it's pretty much natural, and it definitely works." As for groups that deny that marijuana has any medical value, Kelley shrugs them off. "Don't knock it until you've tried it," he said. CHRISTIAN DANIELSEN can be reached at city [at] californiaaggie.com.

After attending the Sac County Bored of Supervisors meeting i left feeling sad for the lack of education available to law enforcement personal about medicinal marijuana/cannabis..

The first public speakers to address the Bored were the Sheriff and DA. Both voiced strongly biased opinions against allowing the medicinal marijuana dispensary to exist in Sac County. They also brought up that cannabis possesion is still a federal crime and warned the bored that they would be disobeying the federal government if they allowed medicinal cannabis to enter east of Rio Sacramento..

Two Bored members who weren't as boring as the other three questioned the logic of the Sheriff/DA, asking if anyone knew how many other states had decriminalized cannabis for medicinal use..

"ten"

Following the stern glares of the Sheriff/DA dynamic duo, we were fortunate to have a representative of the pharmaceutical corporations grace our presence with fancy medical terminology about FDA "drug" labeling guidelines. His concern was that medicinal cannabis is not labeled and therefore very, very, dangerous (add scowl and frown for emphasis). The non-boring Bored member then asked the pharma guru about the over the counter herbal plants that were also unregulated. "These are also very dangerous", he said. Of course, only petrochemically concocted pharmaceutical products are really safe, after all, they are tested on animals. Those nasty herbal supplements from real plants are a threat to pharmaceutical business. Hmm, what is more expensive to make/produce, a plant that already contains all the needed biochemicals from natural evolution or buying corporate factory produced petrochemicals that attempt to mimic biological molecular compounds found in natural plants..

After the pharma guru was asked to join the knowledge gathering "task force", several patient rights advocates stepped 2 the mike and told their side of the story. A medicinal provider from Hayward mentioned that the community didn't even know the cannabis dispensary was there, the only criminal activity was vandalism when someone threw a rock through the window..

Other issues mentioned by patient advocates were the risks patients were taking when medicinal cannabis wasn't available. Some cannabis bought on the street is laced with PCP and this can be very dangerous for someone who needs cannabis for it's healing quality. Methamphetamine is another dangerous toxic drug that crosses paths with cannabis on the streets. Ironically, another DA spokesperson towards the end felt there wasn't really a meth epidemic in Sac County, at least no more than a cannabis epidemic..

Hello? Comparing coked up drain cleaner to a plant that was used over millenia by many cultures for healing?

My concern was we need to investigate the funding of cannabis prohibition. When a plant that was used for healing for thousands of years is suddenly declared illegal by a corporate influenced government, we need to examine the initial financial backers of cannabis prohibition. Let's start with timber magnate William R. Hearst and petrochemical corporations owned by the DuPonts..

http://www.moravek.net/ovisnosti/hemp/prohib.html

http://www.zpub.com/sf/history/will2.html

http://www.hempevolution.org/history/history.htm

The meeting ended with agreement to postpone the dialogue until further info comes along. Please email the Sac Bored of Supervisors and let them know how u feel..

Some other info on medicinal cannabis;

The cannabinoids active in the cannabis plant are over 200, THC being the most active but not the only one. The unsuccessful efforts of the pharmaceutical corporations to duplicate the effect of cannabis in their "Marinol" experiment will leave u dry since there are many missing cannabinoids left out of the petrochemical recipe. Marinol only contains delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol..

http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/hemp/marinol.htm

http://www.marijuana.com/wiki/Marinol

New research shows that people who exhibit symptoms of what psychiatrists term "schizophrenia" may benefit from a cannabis like substance called anandamide (Sanskrit 4 bliss) found in human cerebrospinal fluid. The article goes on to claim that people with schizophrenia have more frequent and severe episodes than those who don't. The authors believe this is because the THC makes the anandamide receptors less sensitive. Other factors the authors leave out is that cannabis is powerful medicine and some people may need guidance and support with understanding the effects of THC. Like peyote, a trained healer may help guide the patient through the journey..

NORML features anandamide article;

http://www.norml.org.nz/article477.html

Well, my life improved with careful and responsible use of cannabis. Nutrition is also important in healing. For three years as a teenager i was force medicated in a state psychiatric hospital with an array of pharmaceutical tranquilizers and anti-depressents. Some of the side effects are/were drooling, weight gain, severe acne (my nickname was "pizza-chest"), Tardiff dyskenisia (when the neck/shoulders become paralyzed in uncomfortable positions), and others..

Upon release, i stopped taking the pharmaceutical products and began cannabis consumption. My mood, social life and awareness of environment improved greatly from by zombified state as a teenager. Finally i could read a book and actually remember what i read. No more spending all day laying on the couch in the pharma haze daze, i could walk and admire the wonders of nature..

So today i thank the Great Spirit for bringing me the healing wisdom of cannabis, Mama Ganja, U saved my life!!