POT RULING GETS A TEST

SB County: Follow Fed Law

Citing a conflict between state and federal medical marijuana laws,
San Bernardino County is asking an appellate court to reject a ruling
that upholds California's law legalizing marijuana use by the chronically ill.

Attorneys from San Bernardino and San Diego counties filed papers
Friday asking the Fourth District Court of Appeal to reject a ruling
that upheld medical marijuana guidelines following the passage of
Proposition 215. They contend that counties should not adhere to
state laws that are weaker than federal laws.

Californians voted for the initiative in 1996 that requires counties
to issue medical marijuana cards allowing chronically ill patients to
grow and smoke the drug. But the state law is in conflict with
federal law, which considers marijuana an illicit drug, according to
the counties.

David Wert, San Bernardino County spokesman, said the goal of the
appeal is not to overturn Proposition 215, but to get clarity in the law.

"People who have medical marijuana cards have been arrested for doing
what state law allows them to do," Wert said. "It's not just a
problem for law enforcement but for people who are using marijuana
for medicinal purposes."

Officials say counties are in a sticky situation because Proposition
215 requires counties to issue medical marijuana identification
cards, but the cards in no way shield users from federal prosecution.

Wert said San Bernardino County has avoided the problem by not
issuing the cards.

"Both sides of this debate have a lot of empathy for people who are
genuinely sick, who use medical marijuana," Wert said. "But there's
nothing more inhuman than to imply to people in that situation that
if they have a card, they're safe from prosecution."

A system issuing the cards is in place in Los Angeles and Riverside
counties. But the cards sometimes mean little to local or federal law
enforcement.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department does not recognize
medical marijuana cards.

"We are upholding federal law," said sheriff's spokeswoman Arden
Wiltshire. "The sheriff believes the federal law supersedes state law."

However, the identification cards are a defense medical marijuana
users can use in court, said Alan Hostetter, deputy police chief in Fontana.

"(The cards) do not preclude law enforcement officers from arresting
them," he said. "It's not a 'get out of jail free' card."

Hostetter said many medical marijuana users think the cards shield
them from arrest and prosecution.

"It'd be very helpful if state and federal laws weren't conflicting," he said.

Oral arguments in the case are expected later this year.