O.C.'s medical marijuana plan advances

Supervisors move ahead on creating regulation system after receiving
assurances of more details. Final vote is months off.


By Christian Berthelsen, Times Staff Writer
April 18, 2007


Orange County supervisors narrowly passed a measure Tuesday to move
forward with licensing guidelines for medical marijuana use, but the
proposal faces an uphill battle before it can actually become law.

On a split vote, supervisors approved an amended measure directing
staff to draft regulations for county-issued medical marijuana
identification cards and to study issues such as how other county
health departments and law enforcement agencies have dealt with
implementing the new rules.

But at best it was a lukewarm endorsement. An initial vote to simply
draw up the law failed — raising questions about whether it will have
enough support to become law when it comes back before the board in
three months.

The vote came after hours of testimony in which dozens of patients and
advocates told how marijuana had eased their symptoms and affirmed
their desire to use it despite the legal risks.

The state's Department of Health Services estimated in 2004 that there
were 16,000 patients in Orange County who would be eligible to
participate in the medical marijuana system.

"I'm a medical marijuana user, and I'm not a criminal," said Marla
Jones, 46, of Huntington Beach, who was encouraged to use marijuana by
her doctor to treat pain from necrotizing fasciitis, the flesh-eating
disease, and an amputated leg.

"An identification card would be very helpful; my husband gets my
medication from a dispensary. If he's stopped, he could get arrested
for helping me."

The proposal, if adopted, would create a system to identify patients
eligible to use marijuana for medical purposes and issue them
identification cards, as well as validate prescriptions and monitor
the qualifications of medical care providers who dispense the drug.

Thirty-two other counties in the state have already set up the system;
Los Angeles County is expected to launch its version June 1.

But most supervisors appeared hesitant Tuesday to wade into an
emotionally charged issue while the conflict between state and federal
law remained unsettled.

Supervisors Patricia Bates, Janet Nguyen and Bill Campbell voted
against the initial proposal to move forward with drafting the law,
and Chris Norby and John Moorlach voted for it; Campbell changed his
vote on the compromise proposal to give it the majority needed.

Still, Campbell said he would support a wait-and-see approach until
court decisions clarified whether counties had legal authority to
issue the cards.

San Diego County lost a court case against the state that alleged it
was being forced to violate federal law. It has appealed the decision.

Studies have found that marijuana helps patients who have cancer, HIV
and other debilitating diseases overcome pain, nausea and loss of
appetite, which contribute to wasting and which are sometimes caused
by other medications prescribed to treat illnesses.

California voters adopted Proposition 215 by 56% in 1996. It allowed
doctors to recommend marijuana to patients; the state passed a law in
2004 laying out requirements for counties to begin regulating users
and care providers.

But federal law still treats marijuana as an addictive controlled
substance with no medical value, and the U.S. has so far resisted
efforts to change the designation or give states leeway to make their
own rules.

Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas testified against the county proposal,
saying he feared it would be abused by people who wanted to use the
drug to "escape from the realities of life."

The Sheriff's Department also cautioned that the card system would not
change the way deputies handled people found to possess marijuana for
medical purposes, which includes seizing their drugs and doctor's
notes, even though they might not be arrested or prosecuted.

Norby, the board chairman, carried the proposal and strongly urged
colleagues to support it.

"If this is something that can give them relief, we need to start a
process today that can accommodate that," he said. "The feds are
really out of line on this, and I think it's up to us to lead them."

*

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