MEDICAL MARIJUANA LOCALIZATION

Pot-head. Druggie. Burner. These names have been synonymous with marijuana
use since the 1960's.

But in November of 1996, more than 55 percent of California voters said yes
to Proposition 215, which permitted marijuana use for medical purposes.

Since that time, the application and enforcement of the law has been
erratic and the subject of intense criticism, according to Attorney General
Bill Lockyer of the California Department of Justice.

In January of this year, the Attorney General formed the Medical Marijuana
Task Force in order to develop recommendations for responsible
implementation of Proposition 215.

The 29-member task force is comprised of representatives from groups of
patients, police officers, sheriff deputies, narcotics officers, district
attorneys, doctors and local government officials in California.

According to Lockyer, the task force has met regularly in an effort to
reach the broadest possible agreement on a safe, fair and enforceable set
of recommendations for Proposition 215.

"This was not an easy issue. For the past three years law enforcement,
doctors and seriously-ill Californians have struggled to find an
appropriate manner to respect the will of the voters and protect public
safety," said Lockyer. "The task force's recommendations will help
legislators and others clarify the shortcomings in Proposition 215 while
protecting the interests of law enforcement and the seriously ill."

Some of the major provisions of the task force's recommendations include:

- -- Establishing a registry identification program to be administered by the
Department of Health Services in conjunction with county health departments
for the purposes of identifying individuals authorized to engage in medical
use of marijuana

- -- Recommendation to the Department of Health Services be responsible for
determining what amount of medical marijuana is appropriate for patients

- -- Permitting the regulated operation of cooperative cultivation projects
and provide regulations be developed for the operation and supervision of
such cooperatives

- -- Clarifying those cases where medical marijuana use may be authorized and
requires the patient's personal physician make the recommendations

The task force's recommendations were amended into Senate Bill 848 and were
heard in the Assembly Health Committee, where it was passed. The bill now
goes before the Assembly Appropriations Committee, but the date it will be
heard has not been confirmed, according to the Department of Justice.