LOCKYER OFFERS PLAN TO REGISTER MARIJUANA USERS

The Identification System Is Seen As A Way To Allow Law Enforcement To Halt
Illegal Traffic And Allow Patients To Continue To Get Medication

SACRAMENTO -- A statewide registration system should be established for
people who are authorized to use marijuana for medical purposes to protect
them from prosecution and help control illegal use of the drug, according
to a task force appointed by California Attorney General Bill Lockyer.

Lockyer acknowledged during a Capitol news conference Monday that some of
the task force's recommendations will be controversial. But he said they
represent "a balanced approach" to implementing Proposition 215, which
voters approved in November 1996 to legalize marijuana for limited medical
uses.

"Unfortunately, Proposition 215 was a poorly drafted initiative that raised
more questions than it answered," Lockyer said. "The task force's
recommendations will help legislators and others clarify the shortcoming in
Proposition 215 while protecting the interests of law enforcement and the
seriously ill."

Calls For Standards

The task force proposals call for the state Department of Health Services
to develop standards for county health departments to issue identification
cards to patients who have valid prescriptions for marijuana from their
physicians. Cards also could be issued to a patient's primary caregiver and
law enforcement would have access to systems that instantly verify whether
a card is valid.

Patients would have to provide documentation that they suffer from a
condition for which marijuana might provide some relief, such as cancer,
AIDS or persistent nausea.

Soon after taking office in January, Democrat Lockyer assembled his
29-member task force from law enforcement, the medical and patient
communities, and other stakeholders.

That was a significant departure from the stance of former Attorney General
Dan Lungren, a Republican who had refused to implement Prop. 215. Lungren
succeeded in shutting down about two-thirds of the clubs statewide that
were providing marijuana, arguing that not all of the recipients were ill.

And the federal government, saying the state initiative was superseded by
federal restrictions on the drug, blocked much of Prop. 215 in court.

Davis Neutral On Bill

Gov. Gray Davis, a Democrat, also opposed Prop. 215. His press secretary,
Michael Bustamante, said Monday the governor does not have a position on
the task force's recommendations.

"If good science and good medicine dictate that this is something that is
reasonable, the governor will look at this very seriously," Bustamante said.

The recommendations have been amended into a bill, SB848, by Sen. John
Vasconcellos, D-Santa Clara, co-chairman of the task force.

There were indications, however, that the bill could have tough sledding.
Assemblyman Rico Oller, R-San Andreas, said he respects the view that the
will of the voters should be followed. But the bill "could expand the use
to many people who don't" have an appropriate reason to use the drug.

"It's a civil rights nightmare," said John Entwistle of Californians for
Compassionate Use. He said he was concerned that lists of people registered
to use the drug could be used for punitive purposes.

"The courts have been interpreting Proposition 215 precisely," Entwistle
said. "That process should continue. We don't need a parallel bureaucratic
system. -- If we have to go in that direction, then a lot more public input
- -- especially from patients -- is needed to smooth (SB848) out."

Consensus Cited

But task force member Bill Zimmerman of Americans for Medical Rights said
Lockyer brought together people "who have never seen eye-to-eye on this
issue" and they succeeded in forging a consensus.

The proposals would produce "more uniform standards of medical marijuana
enforcement across the state," Zimmerman said. A registration system for
patients "is new to California," he continued, "but it is already a reality
in Oregon and Alaska."

In California, the city of Arcata and Mendocino County recently started
registration programs.

Other recommendations incorporated into Vasconcellos' bill include:

Health Services would determine what amount of medical marijuana is
appropriate for patients and how much can be possessed.

The department would write regulations for cooperative projects to grow
marijuana. Smoking of medicinal marijuana would be banned in all places
where tobacco smoke is not allowed. It also would be illegal to drive or
operate a boat while under the influence of marijuana.

If Vasconcellos' bill is signed into law, Lockyer predicted the program
could be in place by the middle of next year.