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CA: Business As Usual At Local Cannabis Clubs For Smokers
Shana White | Pacific News Service | 6/9/2005

SAN JOSE, Calif -- I was having lunch with two of my friends when the topic of weed came up. Don said he was looking to get a card but wasn't sure how to go about it. Chris said he knew a guy who could get him one for a little over $100. Or, he said, Don could go to one of those clinics and just b.s. with them to get it.

The card that my classmates were strategizing over is a cannabis club membership card. It allows patients with prescriptions from their doctors to obtain marijuana under California's 1996 Compassionate Use Act. Although the card was created for those with serious medical conditions such as AIDS or cancer, it has become the easiest way for many recreational users to get weed.

Earlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision that may affect both types of cannabis club patrons. By a 6 to 3 vote, the justices ruled that federal agencies could prosecute medical marijuana users even in the 11 states where such use was legal. In the majority opinion, the judges specifically mentioned their concern that California's medical marijuana law would allow the drug to be diverted from the clinics for recreational use.

My lunch companions could hardly argue. Medical marijuana clinics are being used more and more by "patients" claiming to have medical conditions such as glaucoma or cancer, for which marijuana can be prescribed. But the only medical condition those "patients" have is the "Iwannagethigh" syndrome.

Chris, who is in his late twenties, found it easy to get his cannabis club card. He told the clinic that he had diabetes and had trouble eating, and marijuana helped his appetite. Not to make fun of him, but he doesn't look like he has a problem eating at all. When he told us what he said to get his card, we all laughed.

Even before the Supreme Court ruling, a cannabis card was no guarantee of a free ride. Rob, 21, treats his anxiety with marijuana, which, by the way, was prescribed by a real doctor. A few months ago, highway patrol officers stopped Rob. Even though he showed the cops his card and prescription they went ahead and took his marijuana -- and his card. Now he has to appear in court.

What does Rob think about the Supreme Court decision? He says the real reason behind it was that the government wasn't making any money off medical marijuana. He also says the decision wouldn't stop him from filling his prescriptions.

How about other folks who have a card but don't have an illness? Rob says it's cool because their habit could also be looked at as an illness.

As more and more people find ways to get their high through publicly endorsed programs, what happens to the neighborhood weed man?

"Joe," a 25-year-old independent weed distributor, says his sales have plummeted by 40 or 50 percent since people started getting their weed at the clinic. "The only thing good about the cannabis clubs is that they have different varieties of weed," he notes.

He says the police are still looking for marijuana users, card or not, but that having a card has made people bolder in their interactions with the law. "One guy with a card who got busted even went back to the station and recovered his weed," he recounts.

While Joe's sales may be faltering due to cannabis clubs, other dealers are turning the medical marijuana law to their advantage by using the clubs as suppliers and re-selling the weed. "People who sell weed now have a steady supplier, which means there's just more weed in the streets," says Jamal, an Oakland native.

Jack Norton, manager of the Health Care Cannabis Club in Hayward, says he and his staff are well aware of people misusing cards, and have beefed up their procedures in response. "When people come in, they have to have two forms of ID and a doctor's referral, and then we investigate the doctor's note," he says.

"The doctors are the people who need to be investigated," he adds. "They are the ones who issue the referrals."

The bottom line is that despite the Supreme Court decision, people are going to get hold of weed -- from the streets, the clubs, wherever they can.

"It might be different in each city," says Jamal, "but marijuana will always be in our communities."

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