admin @ Tue, 2005-10-25 17:46
(AP) SANTA CRUZ City officials were set to debate Tuesday whether to create a city department to dispense medical marijuana.
The City Council was scheduled to discuss an ordinance co-sponsored by Mayor Mike Rotkin that would create the Office of Compassionate Use, a five-member advisory board that would coordinate medical marijuana distribution within the city.
Officials said the move will help Santa Cruz better ensure that qualified patients get the drug as local and federal authorities battle over the legality of medical marijuana.
Following the passage of Proposition 215 by California voters in 1996, state and local laws have allowed medical marijuana use.
But the U.S. Supreme Court ruled this summer that the federal government can continue to prosecute users.
"It's really a shame we should be in this position," said Councilwoman Emily Reilly, another sponsor of the legislation.
"The people in this state made it clear medical marijuana is something we want."
If the ordinance is approved, Rotkin and Reilly said they will seek approval by the federal government, which could mean a long legal fight.
Rotkin said he was approached about the idea by the American Civil Liberties Union and a local cooperative, Wo/Men Alliance for Medical Marijuana, a 200-member group that was raided by federal agents in 2002.
The groups said they view the proposal as a way to test state control over medical marijuana distribution.
Rotkin said the office will coordinate with a local pharmacy to sell marijuana.
"I don't think anybody's upset with the idea that a pharmacy can sell codeine," he said. "Why wouldn't medical marijuana be distributed the same way?"
This is cache, read story here