ганжа из букв

Chaotic and Contradictory Marijuana Laws for Medical Marijuana Patients Ganja Farmer s, EMERALD TRIANGLE NEWS ~Marijuana News, Roots and Culture~

MARIJUANA NEWS, ROOTS, AND CULTURE FROM HUMBOLDT AND MENDOCINO COUNTIES .. ~EMERALD TRIANGLE NEWS AGENCY 2011~ EMERALD TRIANGLE, CALIFORNIA

Chaotic and Contradictory Marijuana Laws for Medical MarijuanaPatients

The local, state and federal laws regulating medical marijuana in California grew even hazier with the Obama administration s recent memo that threatened to prosecute anyone in the business of growing or supplying pot to patients.

The memo represented a significant departure from its sensible October 2009 guidelines that essentially assured dispensaries and patients that the federal government was not interested in going after operations that complied with state law.

Now the clinics are put in the untenable position of wondering whether the next knock on the door might be from federal agents.

The state of the law could not be more chaotic and contradictory. Marijuana remains classified as an illegal drug under federal law, period. California voters sanctioned the use of marijuana for medical purposes in 1996, but the state has all but looked the other way about where and how those dispensaries have been obtaining bulk quantities of the drug. The voter-approved initiative offered little guidance other than expressly allowing cultivation for personal use and elected leaders in Sacramento have largely avoided the supply question.

Some cities, notably Oakland, have tried to fill the void by legalizing large-scale indoor growing operations but backed off when the U.S. attorney warned that it would be in violation of state and federal law.

Meanwhile, dispensaries have proliferated in many cities, classified ads for friendly doctors are abundant, and patient ID cards are not much more difficult to obtain than a box of Sudafed. Personal possession of less than an ounce of marijuana without a doctor s recommendation has been reduced to an infraction, with a $100 fine.

California voters wisely rejected Prop. 19 last year, which would have legalized marijuana without sufficient controls and restraints. It would have made no sense to replace one form of chaos with another and almost certainly would have attracted an aggressive federal response.

source