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SoCal Counties Lose Bid To Resist Legal Medical Marijuana

sfgate.com — San Diego and San Bernardino counties lost their latest court battle to resist issuing ID cards to qualified medical marijuana patients. A 3-judge panel of the 4th District Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that federal law does not preempt California's medical marijuana law. The counties argued that issuing legal pot ID cards violated federal laws.

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  • HxChris91, on 08/01/2008, -8/+7FINALLY! the Feds are actually going by the Constitution and what our founding fathers proposed! Limited federal powers and more decision making for local and state governments!
    • alapoet, on 08/01/2008, -1/+20This decision was made by a California state court, rather than a federal one.

      The Feds will likely appeal the decision to the California Supreme Court.
    • Surferess, on 08/01/2008, -1/+17Totally wrong HxChris91. The Feds will never give this fight up and neither will the DEA. They are clinging to it as if their very existence depends on it. Maybe it does.

      It has only been 3 days since the DEA raided a Orange County dispensary and took all their medicine.
      This fight is far from over.
      • jcaino, on 08/02/2008, -0/+9Lets see...
        - Gestapo tactics - check
        - Fighting a loosing battle - check
        - Causing undue stress on our court systems - check
        - Causing undue stress to numbers of innocent people and families - check

        ***** the RIAA.
        ***** the DEA.
      • richgustavson, on 08/02/2008, -0/+4"Totally wrong HxChris91. The Feds will never give this fight up and neither will the DEA. They are clinging to it as if their very existence depends on it. Maybe it does."

        Umm, of course their existence depends on it! Legalize marijuana and there goes most of their work!
      • trestevenson, on 08/02/2008, -0/+8Legalize pot, and they could more aggressively pursue meth or crack-cocaine.
      • HonestAbe, on 08/02/2008, -0/+4But but! Pursuing meth and crack is dangerous!
      • sodade, on 08/02/2008, -1/+1Not if they put cute little hippie chicks who sell pot to their friends on the line for their drug war.
      • rearlgrant, on 08/02/2008, -0/+1I used to believe in the line "if you create a government agency to find purple aliens, it will find purple aliens," and then the Department of Homeland Security was created and left the US on Orange Alert for 7 years. Isn't Green the goal guys...
    • richgustavson, on 08/02/2008, -0/+3Article VI, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution (commonly known as the Supremacy Clause), states:

      "This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding."

      Meaning: federal laws supersede state laws. Cali can pass all the laws they want, but until the feds decriminalize cannabis, the DEA is still going to raid these dispensaries.

      Don't get me wrong, I think the fed should have a LOT less power and the people of the states should have the right to vote in laws they want for their state, but the law is the law. Until we change it at the federal level, there's not much the state of California (or any other for that matter) can do.
      • johndi, on 08/02/2008, -0/+3Don't forget the "and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof" part of that. Federal law only supersedes state law if the law is authorized by the Constitution. Some laws that may not appear to be directly authorized by the Constitution may still be valid but only in federal jurisdictions.
    • absurdist, on 08/02/2008, -0/+1A: This was not the Feds involved in any way. This was the boards of supervisors in San Diego and San Bernadino Counties appealing in State court. If the appeal goes to the State Supreme Court, there is already precedent to uphold this decision.

      2: The court has ruled repeatedly in these cases that these counties are agents of the State of California, not the Federal Government, and as such, enforcing Federal law is not their job.

      Does anyone here bother to read the articles before commenting any more?
      • nj10ii, on 08/02/2008, -0/+1How does your alphabet go? A 2 C 4 , or A 2 3 D.....
      • absurdist, on 08/02/2008, -0/+1A, 2, iii, d, V... of course. ;)
  • diggality, on 08/01/2008, -2/+15ID for pot, cool
    • use2bacanadian, on 08/02/2008, -9/+1So - I guess you are going to imagine some disease now so you can get your pot legally. This is exactly why this is law will never hold under Federal law.
      • mrmayor92, on 08/02/2008, -2/+2chronic headaches
      • Halsfield, on 08/02/2008, -1/+1the current drug laws contradict themselves, so if anything should happen in a federal sense, they need to reform their drug policies. redo the schedules to really only include in schedule I only drugs that truly cannot be used medically.

        instead, they are trying to avoid following even their own laws, and the state laws of california, simply to stop people from smoking a substance that is thousands of times less deadly than smoking cigarettes or drinking alcohol
      • use2bacanadian, on 08/02/2008, -2/+1You are self delusional Halsfeld and probably high on pot to make such a stupid statement as that. The drug policies are fine, they legalize safe and effective drugs that are proven scientifically to work and outlaw harmful and deleterious drugs, like pot and cocaine and heroin that are only used by criminals, in a black market, that contributes to terrorism and gang warfare, and are used for recreational purposes to alter ones mind devoid of any professional management.
  • VKMO, on 08/01/2008, -3/+18Now if only Washington will issue a state medical marijuana ID.

    Medical pot is already legal here also, and I could worry a lot less about my husband getting harassed by pot-hating cops if there were a quick a simple way to prove you were a legal patient.
    • VivaCalligula, on 08/02/2008, -0/+3Most cops don't really hate pot, the arrest just looks good to their superiors. Cops just want to get a promotion like the rest of us, and they get one by making arrests, just like they get vacation time for writing tickets. At least that's how it works in my town, which is overrun with cops for its size.
    • Jacob, on 08/02/2008, -0/+2My understanding is that most places in Washington state have marijuana possession as the lowest priority for the police, to the point of only charging people if they are being either extremely blatant and dumb about it or if the person is getting charged for other offenses and they have the pot on them. And if it is medical and you can prove that after the arrest the charges would be dropped.
      • alapoet, on 08/02/2008, -0/+1But even if the charges are dropped (which they usually are), you don't get your pot back.

        My friend Martin Martinez recently had 12 ounces of his medicine taken by the Seattle Police Department.

        He asked them to give it back, since it's legal for him to have up to 24 ounces under the Washington medical marijuana law.

        They dragged their feet until the Federal goons of the DEA stepped in, went into the evidence bin and seized Martin's medicine.

        http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/372968_potbust ...

    • SmokinWeed, on 08/02/2008, -0/+0You can get a piece of paper that shows you can possess marijuana.. my brother has one and has gotten pulled over with a couple ounces of weed and got off before.
    • yttrium39, on 08/02/2008, -0/+0My dad is on medical marijuana in Oregon and he has an ID card. I was surprised Washington and California don't.
      • tomarocco, on 08/02/2008, -0/+1We opted for the sales tax in lieu of the medical cannabis ID card.
  • solidcube, on 08/02/2008, -3/+8Resistance is futile.

    We are going to win this thing. The fact that they are fighting it tooth and nail shows how absolutely corrupt the government is.
    • tomarocco, on 08/02/2008, -0/+1...and after you win you will still be stoned.
      • BarneyXP, on 08/03/2008, -0/+1Winning or losing doesn't change a thing.
  • frelk, on 08/02/2008, -2/+12"lose bid to resist"? There's got to be a better way to say this.
    • scoottie, on 08/02/2008, -1/+2maybe something like "were ordered to issue"
  • hollyminkowski, on 08/02/2008, -0/+5It needs to be legal for all adults to use as they see fit.
    Much safer than alcohol or tobacco, it should be made available in inhaler form (like asthma inhalers) and sold in liquor stores and pharmacies.
    • Halsfield, on 08/02/2008, -1/+1one step at a time. i think trying to jump from decriminalization to legalization is too big of a step for mid-west america.
  • mystafreaze, on 08/02/2008, -1/+3***** WIN!
  • scoottie, on 08/02/2008, -1/+5it wont be over until this gets to the supreme court
  • thrallie, on 08/02/2008, -1/+3im so happy if I can finally get more selection of medical marijuana here in san diego county. we still have a dispensery at medical marijuana of san diego, so its not illegal here in san diego.
  • CJ117, on 08/02/2008, -1/+7Did anyone else see at the bottom
    "The court didn't really get to the key issue," said Thomas D. Bunton, senior deputy county counsel in San Diego. "(Federal law) clearly regulates medical practices. It says marijuana has no currently accepted medical use."

    Yep. Because pain relief for the chronically afflicted and appetite control for HIV patients is totally useless to society!
  • oooeeeoooaahaah, on 08/02/2008, -1/+5Finally.. Reducing pain, reducing harm.. Nothing wrong with the laws in California.
  • Epistaxis, on 08/02/2008, -1/+1Sometimes I think California should just secede. What has the rest of the country done for us lately?
    • huszar02, on 08/02/2008, -1/+1That issue was settled 140 years ago. Nobody is going anywhere.
  • Halsfield, on 08/02/2008, -1/+2very good news, i hope this goes through in other states as well. we dont need to be filling up our jails with people like this.
  • infodoc1, on 08/02/2008, -0/+2This country needs to get over its reefer madness and just legalize the plant already. We readily manufacture and distribute much more harmful drugs (tobacco, alcohol). It's time to put an end to the hypocrisy.
    • tomarocco, on 08/02/2008, -0/+1Wow, I never thought of it that way before.
  • bobbothegod, on 08/02/2008, -0/+1This is a small step forward for California.

    The quote at the end worries me...

    "The court didn't really get to the key issue," said Thomas D. Bunton, senior deputy county counsel in San Diego. "(Federal law) clearly regulates medical practices. It says marijuana has no currently accepted medical use."

    ...the federal government does not respect states' rights and will not give up their "crusade" anytime soon, if ever. It is unfortunate that the feds will still be busting people, even with cards. The cards might even make it easier for them to find legal medical users to bust, as they will be put into an easily accessible database.

    California is on the right track, more states need to follow their lead. When all 50 states make a stand...maybe, just maybe, our government will get it.
  • TheMidnighter, on 08/05/2008, -0/+0Screw the federal law, seriously!
    It's not up to them to tell us what heals (or at least helps to cope with) our ailments.

    I'm a Canadian, this doesn't affect me in many ways, but it'd be a damn shame to see the Federal Government tell you guys that you can't smoke, just because they don't like it.
  • hichnii, on 10/30/2008, -0/+1Much safer than alcohol or tobacco, it should be made available in inhaler form (like asthma inhalers)
    http://howlongdoescocainestayinyoursystem.com/
  • JHarrison23, on 11/30/2008, -0/+0If only more states would follow and do the same.
    http://www.Total-Cleanse.org
  •  

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