MEDICAL USE MARIJUANA ADVOCATES LAUNCH OFFENSIVE FOR ENFORCEMENT OF PROP. 215

Advocates of medical marijuana use went on the offensive this week against
what they claim is an aggressive campaign by the Placer County Sheriff's
Department to arrest ill people with a legal right to use the drug.

In a petition filed with the county Board of Supervisors Monday, the
recently formed American Medical Marijuana Association says county
officials are violating state law by refusing to enforce Proposition 215,
an initiative approved by state voters that also is known as The
Compassionate Use Act of 1996.

The law's intent is to exempt medical marijuana patients from criminal
prosecution if they grow and cultivate the drug for their personal use.

The association has launched a statewide drive aimed at convincing local
authorities to enforce the act.

Placer County Sheriff Ed Bonner could not be reached for comment Tuesday
and Lt. Dan Hall, the department's public information officer, declined
comment on the issue.

Anita Yoder, a county spokeswoman, said officials haven't decided how to
handle the petition yet, noting they just received it Monday. "So, no one
has had a chance to review it or anything else," she said.

The issue of how to enforce the 1996 act is troublesome for local law
enforcement authorities.

In an interview with another publication Monday, Bonner was quoted as
saying the 1996 act was poorly drafted. He also bemoaned the lack of state
guidelines on how to proceed and noted that marijuana is still on the
federal government's list of most dangerous drugs.

In its petition, the association attacks the last point, noting no one has
mounted a legal challenge to Proposition 215 based on any conflict with
federal laws or regulations.

Steve Kubby, a former Placer County resident who is a leader in the battle
for medical marijuana use, charged Tuesday that Placer County officials
have ignored the 1996 law so they could continue an aggressive arrest
campaign.

"They are considered the most aggressive jurisdiction in California," he said.

Kubby, the Libertarian Party candidate for governor in 1998, was arrested
with wife Michele in January during a police raid at their Olympic Valley
home.

The couple has pleaded innocent to felony drug charges, saying Steve Kubby
uses the dug to treat a rare form of adrenal cancer. The case is set to go
to trial Feb. 15.

The petition specifically asks supervisors to:

- - Adopt guidelines used by the city of Oakland to protect sick people from
arrest.

Those guidelines say a patient should be allowed to possess a three-month
supply of medicinal marijuana, grow a three-month supply indoors and grow a
one-year supply outdoors. Caregivers are allowed the same amounts for each
of their patients.

- - Give patients and caregivers the option of getting identification cards
through a county-funded program managed by county or state health
departments. The petition emphasizes such a program should protect the
privacy of participants and not involve law enforcement agencies.

- - Support grand jury investigations of complaints alleging violations of
the Compassionate Use Act.