Pot times
Court Ruling Vexes Medical Pot Users
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n1074/a06.htmlNewshawk: Richard Lake
Pubdate: Mon, 04 Jul 2005 COURT RULING VEXES MEDICAL POT USERS
Source: Ventura County Star (CA)
Copyright: 2005 The E.W. Scripps Co.
Contact:
letters@venturacountystar.com
Website: http://www.staronline.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/479
Author: Teresa Rochester
Cited: California NORML http://www.canorml.org
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm
(Marijuana - Medicinal)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?232
(Chronic Pain)
The pace of phone calls coming into the office of Ventura County Alliance of
Medical Marijuana Patients has quickened in the past four weeks.
Patients are fearful of arrest, unclear about how they can get cannabis and
unsure of the legality of what they are doing, because the Supreme Court ruled
earlier this month that the federal government can prosecute them for using even
if it is legal in California.
Lisa Cordova Schwarz, alliance founder, answers the calls, offering advice on
everything from understanding the law and growing cannabis to providing
referrals to medical marijuana dispensaries and issuing identification cards to
verified patients.
"We have been inundated with calls," Schwarz said. "I don't
think ( the decision ) set the movement back at all. I think it wreaked
psychological havoc on patients."
Legally, the ruling essentially maintains the status quo, but it has made
Schwarz rethink one of her goals for the nonprofit resource center, because she
feels it would make it vulnerable to federal prosecution.
"We had planned on having a dispensary," she said, "but with the
federal decision coming down we figured it wasn't our time yet."
Two weeks ago, federal drug agents raided more than 20 dispensaries. Three
of the raided pot clubs in San Francisco were alleged to be fronts for an
international drug trafficking ring.
A Simi Valley man backed out of a plan to open a dispensary in that city in the
wake of the court decision. When he first proposed the idea, the city
reacted by imposing a temporary moratorium on dispensaries.
In Moorpark, the City Council is readying itself to vote this week on its own
temporary moratorium.
In the nine years since voters approved the Compassionate Use Act, legalizing
medical marijuana, only one dispensary has ever opened in Ventura County.
The Rainbow Country Ventura County Medical Cannabis Center closed in March of
1998, six months after it opened. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's
Department confiscated owner Andrea Nagy's marijuana and cultivating equipment.
Dale Gierigner, the head of the California office for the National Organization
for the Reform of Medical Marijuana Laws, said about a dozen medical cannabis
suppliers have asked to be taken off the group's referral list for
"whatever reason."
Locally, law enforcement officials said they would proceed as they always have.
"The ( California ) attorney general has issued an edict that nothing is
going to change," Chief Deputy District Attorney Jeff Bennett said.
"We have local guidelines. We will follow the law as it is written in
California, but people have to remember it is is still a crime under federal
law."
Schwarz, who suffers from chronic back pain, migraines and other problems,
started the alliance after she was arrested in 1999 for marijuana cultivation.
Prosecutors dismissed the charges in 2001.
Ventura County Alliance of Medical Marijuana Patients has nearly 400 members,
said Schwarz, a former nurse. Membership is $50 a year, but those on
limited incomes or receiving Medi-Cal, are only charged $25 and seniors and
veterans pay $35.
Standing in the alliance's window-lined hallway recently, Schwarz listed the
things she'd like to offer at the center: a full-time social worker, a pain
management class, and care packages for people who have just received diagnoses
are just a few.
As part of the membership, the organization keeps an attorney on retainer to
assist when needed in court cases.
The group also supplies packets of information about medical marijuana-related
law for public defenders who might represent arrested patients.
Derek Wengeler, a 24-year-old real estate agent and father of two from San Luis
Obispo who has chronic pain from several injuries, is facing his own court date.
He was recently arrested for possession, though he had his identification card
and doctor's letter. He took the day off work to meet with Schwarz to
discuss his situation.
"I might have one of my patients up there come and be with you,"
Schwarz said to Wengeler about his court date.
"I've never been arrested before," he said. "I'm not a
criminal. My knees were shaking."
While talking about the court case, Wengeler and Schwarz also discussed growing
their marijuana plants. Growing a small amount of marijuana for medical
use is permitted under California law, but growers could face prosecution by
federal authorities.
"I shut it down because of the federal thing," Wengeler said.
"I'm afraid of the government coming in and ruining my life."
They discussed using marijuana in cooking oils. Schwarz described her
desire to provide marijuana in edible forms to patients, particularly those who
cannot grow their own because of illness or age.
They agreed that using marijuana for their physical ailments is the only thing
that has brought them relief.
"People don't understand it," said Schwarz. "They think
we're all potheads."
