Proposition 19, Proposition 215, Senate Bill 420 and Medical Marijuana; How will this affect patients?
August 4, 20104 CommentsUncategorized
california medical marijuana,
Dr Sean Breen,
Medical Marijuana Recommendations,
proposition 19,
Proposition 215,
Senate Bill 420,
tax and regulate cannabis 2010
With November’s election approaching Californians have gained enough signatures to put proposition 19 on the ballot which would “legalize” marijuana for recreational use in the State. I have blogged pretty extensively about this in the past but I want to focus on the difference between the current laws regarding medical marijuana and what the differences will be for patients who currently hold a medical marijuana doctors recommendation.
Amounts you can possess:
Currently Patients can possess as much medicine as they need to treat their symptoms. In the past the limit was 8 ounces however the supreme court recently ruled that it is unconstitutional to put limits on the amounts of medicine patients can possess… as long as they can REASONABLY justify the amount. Without a doctors recommendation you can only possess up to 1 ounce if prop 19 passes.
Where can you medicate?
Currently patients can medicate ANYWHERE SMOKING IS LEGAL. They just can not be within 1000 feet of a school, youth or recreational center. You are also prohibited from medicating in a car, bus or boat. Without a doctors recommendation you will only be allowed to medicate in your personal residence if prop 19 passes. MORE IMPORTANTLY it will be a FELONY to medicate in the presence of anyone younger than 18 years of age. Patients with medical marijuana recommendations can medicate in the presence of anyone or any age.
Where can you purchase medication?
Currently patients can get cannabis from any legal marijuana collective/dispensary. Collectives/Dispensaries will still ONLY BE ALLOWED to take care of patients with medical recommendations EVEN IF PROP 19 passes. Recreational users will have to find legal businesses that sell marijuana. Unfortunately prop 19 leaves it up to the individual city to determine whether or not they want to allow the sale of marijuana within its limits. In San Diego they are already preempting prop 19 and have banned the sale of recreational marijuana.
How much can you grow? Currently patients can grow as many plants as they need to produce enough medicine for them to use. The limit used to be 12 immature and 6 mature plants but that was declared unconstitutional. Prop 19 only allows patients to grow in a 5′ x 5′ area which is much more restrictive.
Even if prop 19 passes the sale and possession of cannabis will still be ILLEGAL FEDERALLY. Patients using the protection of Prop 215 will never have issues federally if they are staying within the limits and guidelines.
I think it behooves patients to continue to stay as a patient status and eliminate any confusion that prop 19 is going to cause if passed.
Actually, it’s 6 mature OR 12 immature plants plus up to 8 oz. per patient. A common mistake, even amongst lawyers. And it was a STATE appellate court that ruled that the legislature cannot legally limit the amount of marijuana patients may grow or possess since that would violate their rights under Prop. 215; hence the SB 420 “limits” are unconstitutional (People vs. Kelley) May of 2008.
And Prop. 19 does not make it a felony to medicate in front of a minor, it makes it against state law and punishable by imprisonment in the county or state jail, depending on the ages in question.
To quote you, “Patients with medical marijuana recommendations can medicate in the presence of anyone or any age.” Absolutely wrong information “Dr.”, absolutely wrong.
Curious as to where in the law that states a medical marijuana patient is restricted from using it around a minor. Reply that to me if you can.
Secondly, punishable in jail sucks and implies it will be a felony
Read it for yourself: Below you will find the actual text from the law. IT WILL NOT BE PERMITTED means it will be a punishable act. Try going in front of a judge and trying to argue that saying something is not permitted is not the same as saying it is illegal. Pack some lube before heading off to court… you will be needing it.
(c) “Personal consumption” shall not include, and nothing in this Act shall permit cannabis:
(i) possession for sale regardless of amount, except by a person who is licensed or permitted to do so under the terms of an ordinance adopted pursuant to section 11301;
(ii) consumption in public or in a public place;
(iii) consumption by the operator of any vehicle, boat or aircraft while it is being operated, or that impairs the operator;
(iv) smoking cannabis in any space while minors are present.
You may be prosecuted not only for using in the presence of your own kids. A minor in this case is anyone under the age of 21 not 18. Imagine you live in an apartment or condo and your neighbor calls the police because your smoke came in their window or onto thei balcony and someone under 21 was nearby. And if think you can grow your own think about when someone under 21 gets caught with weed and it comes to light that it came from your property (it won’t matter how they obtained it) you will be prosecuted for not having had adequate security measures to have prevented it from happening. It will also be illegal to sell MJ in California unless you are licensed to do so, but they fail to tell you the guidelines for who will be allowed to sell it until after Prop 19 gets passed and then they will inform you of the ordinance regarding who can sell MJ. Do you really think YOU will be granted a license to sell? Maybe WALMART will get the license to sell and no one like you will be able to compete with them.
prop 19 is a sham and there are a lot of fake supporters of it trying to mislead all the true supporters of legalization by offering incorrect interpretations of the law. Prop 215 and SB 420 are already in place and working fine with virtually no cost to the state because the card fees pay for the cost (that’s how little it costs to run the program). Prop 19 will increase enforcement costs. The 203 million savings they claim from lack of enforcement are a farce. There will be MORE enforcement needed and that savings would only be true if ALL those costs were eliminated…MEANING that ALL enforcement would need to cease for the money to be saved AND ALL PRISONERS currently incarcerated for non-violent drug offenses would all have to be released immediately for that savings to begin. As long as those prisoners remain locked up, that cost isn’t going to magically disappear. Prop 19 says NOTHING about setting all those prisoners free and nobody is talking about that either; because it isn’t going to happen.
The tax money will not save California anymore than the cigarette tax did, anymore than Indian Gaming taxation did, anymore than raising vehicle registration did, anymore than legalizing the California Lottery did. All of those things were going to SAVE CALIFORNIA! but none of them every did. New taxes only bring more debt. That is a verifiable fact. The bureaucracy that rises up around that tax ends up costing more than it brings in because California doesn’t know how to handle money.
Cool blog! I dont think Ive seen all the angles of this subject the way youve cleared them out. Youre a true star, a rock star man. Youve got so much to say and have a lot of knowledge about the subject that I think you should just teach a class about it…HaHa!