FOES PROTEST LIMITS ON MEDICAL POT

Measure Signed By Gov. Davis Will Restrict The Amount Of Marijuana That
Patients Can Possess And Allow For A Voluntary ID System.

SACRAMENTO -- A rift within the medical marijuana movement widened Monday
over a measure signed into law by Gov. Gray Davis that for the first time
establishes the amount of cannabis a patient can possess and sets up
voluntary patient identification cards.

The bill by state Sen. John Vasconcellos (D-Santa Clara) limits a patient or
caregiver to half a pound of dried marijuana and six mature or 12 immature
plants, though it leaves room for physicians to recommend more and permits
cities or counties to allow higher amounts.

The law, which takes effect Jan. 1, has angered some of the medical cannabis
movement's most passionate activists, who believe it rewrites Proposition
215. The 1996 medical marijuana ballot measure did not set limits on how
much a patient can possess.

Bill Panzer, an Oakland attorney who helped draft Proposition 215, called
the Vasconcellos legislation an "anti-medical marijuana law" that will tread
on the doctor-patient relationship, put an unrealistic limit on some
patients most in need and embolden narcotics officers who might make more
arrests in some parts of the state.

"Patients don't need protection in San Francisco, they need protection in
places like Bakersfield and Fresno," Panzer said. "This is only going to
cause more arrests in spots like those."

The more moderate wing of the medical marijuana movement has thrown its
weight behind the new law, saying it settles some of the problems that have
bedeviled the state since passage of Proposition 215.

In particular, they applauded the introduction of an identification card
system, which will provide photo documentation so patients can avoid arrest
if confronted by a police officer.

"Local cops will be able to tell bona fide patients from illegal, so-called
recreational, users," said Glenn Backes of Drug Policy Alliance, a national
drug policy reform group. "Think what that means for potential patients:
They no longer have to worry that following their doctor's recommendation
will land them in jail."

In some parts of California, police and prosecutors have tended to take a
zero-tolerance stance on medical marijuana, which can be used to combat AIDS
wasting, nausea from cancer chemotherapy, glaucoma and other illnesses.
Elsewhere, law enforcement leaders have consistently complained that their
officers have a hard time distinguishing between patients and recreational
users.

The law's backers contend the new possession limits are more a floor than a
ceiling and could be shifted upward if evidence is found to support higher
levels. In addition, they note that the law allows local municipalities the
right to establish higher limits. Doctors also can recommend that patients
grow and possess more marijuana if their medical condition so dictates.

Vasconcellos, who could not be reached for comment Monday, has called the
measure the most carefully negotiated bill he has worked on in nearly four
decades as a state lawmaker. For several sessions the veteran lawmaker has
been trying to settle the dizzying array of conflicts over Proposition 215.
Last year, a similar bill made it to the governor's desk, but it was
rejected.

Several hard-core medical cannabis activists wrote Davis asking for another
veto.

Steve Kubby, national director of the American Medical Marijuana Assn.,
Monday called the new Vasconcellos law "a disaster."

"A lot of people who are completely legal today are going to be criminals
after Jan. 1," he said.

Kubby, who smokes a dozen marijuana cigarettes a day to offset the effects
of adrenal cancer, said a prolific indoor garden with six plants can produce
less than a pound of marijuana a year. That's enough for about one cigarette
a day, he said.

Doctors, meanwhile, have grown more reluctant to wade into an area of
horticulture and drug policy fraught with problems. Several physicians are
under scrutiny by the state medical board over marijuana recommendations. In
that chilled atmosphere, Kubby said, doctors would be reluctant to recommend
higher use for fear of running afoul of authorities.

Initial drafts of the bill called for a study by the state Health Department
to scientifically determine how much pot is enough for patients. But health
officials said they had no experience conducting such research and predicted
it would be costly.

Vasconcellos countered with a possession limit. Initially, there was talk of
a 99-plant limit, but that level was slashed after law enforcement officials
complained it was too high.

Even with the lower possession cap, the California Narcotics Officers Assn.
staunchly opposed the bill this year. Officials with the group said they
wanted a mandatory card system to better identify patients.

Backers of the bill said the ID program had been made voluntary because they
remain fearful that U.S. drug agents could seize a state patient registry
and use it as a hit list for arrests.