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Buzzby

Medical Marijuana ID Program Halted, Suit Threatened
Brendan Coyne | The NewStandard | 07/13/2005

Jul 13 - Citing a recent Supreme Court ruling that federal laws barring the use, distribution or possession of marijuana trump state statutes allowing the medicinal use of the drug, the California Department of Health Services (CDHS) halted a medical marijuana ID pilot program Friday.

The action comes a month after a five-to-four Supreme Court ruling found that federal interstate commerce laws can be used to prosecute medical marijuana users even if medical use has been legalized by the state, no monetary exchange takes place, and the plant never crosses state lines.

California's health director, Sandra Shewry, asked the state Attorney General’s office to review the state’s medicinal marijuana law in light of the decision before the Department will issue any new ID cards, the Associated Press reported Friday. According to the CDHS, cards have been issued to 123 people since the pilot program started in May.

In a statement, the Department noted it was concerned that by issuing the cards, which were meant to protect patients using marijuana at the behest of their doctors from arrest, the state was in violation of federal law and could put Californians at risk of prosecution.

"I am concerned about unintended potential consequences of issuing medical marijuana ID cards that could affect medical marijuana users, their families and staff of the California Department of Health Services," Shewry said in the statement.

Yesterday, the American Civil Liberties Union and the advocacy group Drug Policy Alliance issued a statement threatening to sue the state to reinstate the program. A letter the two organizations sent to the governor and health director states that the CDHS does not have the power to suspend state law.

"It is shameful that a court may have to order the state to reopen the doors to its medical marijuana program, but this will be the inevitable result unless the governor backs down from this unfounded assault on legitimate medical marijuana patients," the Alliance’s legal affairs director, Daniel Abrahamson, said in the statement.

In fact, California’s attorney general already sent a letter to all state law enforcement agencies in the wake of the June 6 Supreme Court ruling, stating that the ruling did not affect the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, the popularly-enacted California law that allows patients to use marijuana medicinally at a doctor’s discretion.

The new ID program was part of medical marijuana legislation signed into law by former Governor Gray Davis in October 2003. It arose out of the recommendations of a 1999 state task force commissioned by Attorney General Bill Lockyer to help implement the Compassionate Use Act.

Implementing the photo ID program was intended to aid law enforcement officials and medical professionals in separating medical marijuana users from those who are breaking the law by using or possessing the herb without a doctor’s permission, according to a statement posted to the Program’s website.

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Buzzby

I'm not sure how I feel about this. By not having a registry and ID cards the state might be protecting med pot patients from federal scrutiny. If I understand it, the way CA med pot works now is that the patient needs nothing but a doctor's written recommendation: no registry.

Yana Usdi

I'm having the same problem with it. On one hand they need regulated to legitimize them, get control of the few who are going to give the rest a bad name. On the other hand if they do better regulate it they now have a handy list of people for the feds to use.

Catch-22 it seems, I'm not sure what would be the best way to deal with it.

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Lothar121

True, but does it not take around 24 hours for law enforcement to confirm you are a patient with your doctor? At that point, they have usually destroyed patient's cultivation and taken their marijuana.

I have not done proper research, but I do know that medical privacy is a fairly powerful thing in this country. I'm not sure what kind of legal hurdles law enforcement would have by using records of I.D. cards to arrest patients, but even if there were none, that would surely backfire politically on the prohibitionists if they start arresting patients in that manner.

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Cellophane

Is there some sort of legislation that we could enact to protect the cardholder's information from the federal government?

Crazy Idea: What would happen if the state (people, law enforcement, government, whatever) would forcefully keep federal government agencies from raiding medical marijuana users/distributors?

 

Buzzby

Not at the state level. The USSC just ruled that federal laws trump state laws in regards to medical marijuana. If the feds subpoenaed the records the state would have to provide them.


How big is the California Army? How big is the US Army? You don't use force against agents of the US government unless you're willing to get your ass permanently kicked.

Seriously though, California would stand to be cut off from federal subsidies on which it depends. California has been running a budget deficit for many years and needs all the help it can get.

Cellophane

What is the USSC?

killer12382

Hey Buzzby...don't worry about the feds...they won't come after you...the state will protect you. You have a state medpot law on your side.

Lothar121

Are you sure there is not some type of Federal medical privacy statute cardholders could use to protect themselves? I thought I remembered reading something about this in an article a while back.

Lothar121

http://www.bannerofliberty.com/OS8-0...30-2000.1.html

The same thing that happened in 1958 when a governor tried it to keep blacks out of schools. The Feds will override them and enforce Federal law. The state can not prevent the Feds from enforcing Federal law, but the state doesn't have to help them. They simply can not surpress it.