| |
Medical marijuana users, caregivers won't be cited under new CHP policy
By Dean E. Murphy
NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE
August 30, 2005
OAKLAND ? In a turnaround, the California Highway Patrol says it is taking a hands-off approach to the possession and use of marijuana for medical purposes.
The new policy, issued last week, states an "individual is to be released and the marijuana is not to be seized" if the person qualifies under state law to possess marijuana for medicinal purposes. It also says officers "shall not conduct traffic enforcement stops for the primary purpose of drug interdiction" involving the authorized use of medical marijuana.
Although data on arrests are incomplete, medical marijuana advocates say the CHP, one of the state's biggest law enforcement agencies, had been responsible for more arrests of patients and people providing their care than any other agency in the state.
A CHP spokesman yesterday said the new rules were drafted in response to a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in June and legal action by Americans for Safe Access, an advocacy group based in Oakland that sought a court order against the CHP's previous policy of arresting patients and confiscating their marijuana.
"There were numerous field inquiries in response to the Supreme Court ruling," said spokesman Lt. Joe Whiteford. "They wanted clarification of the law, and we wanted to make sure all of our officers are on the same page."
At a news conference in Oakland called by Americans for Safe Access, patients and their advocates described the policy change as a breakthrough and predicted other law enforcement agencies would follow suit.
"It gives us renewed confidence that it is appropriate to bring these cases to court and that good things can come from doing so," said Joe Elford, a lawyer for Americans for Safe Access, adding that the group would file more lawsuits if the highway patrol "model is not replicated" across the state.
The Supreme Court, in Gonzales v. Raich, declared in June that medical marijuana patients are subject to federal prosecution even if they live in a state that allows medicinal uses of marijuana. The decision dealt a blow to medical marijuana users nationwide, but it did not overturn laws in 12 states, including California, that allow some uses of marijuana.
Reference:
CHP Revises Policy on Pot Seizures
New CHP policy now allows patients to carry medical marijuana
|
