PROTESTERS SEEK MEDICAL CARE, NOT JAIL

Group Wants County to Allow Medical Marijuana Use Under Terms of Prop. 215

SAN BERNARDINO -- A handful of people carrying signs reading "Give us
our medicine" and "Stop the war on patients" protested outside
Tuesday's meeting of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors.

The group was opposed to San Bernardino County's continued policy of
arresting marijuana users, even those using the drug for medical purposes.

"We're hoping to get medical i.d. cards reinstated in the county,"
said Richard McCabe, of Johnson Valley. "They're trying to make
criminals out of sick people."

The protesters believe a state law allowing medical marijuana use
trumps a federal law prohibiting the drug in all circumstances.

Proposition 215, passed by California voters in 1996, allows " ...
seriously ill Californians have the right to obtain and use marijuana
for medical purposes..."

The Board of Supervisors is joining San Diego County in suing the
state for adopting Prop. 215, arguing that it violates federal law
which makes no allowances for using marijuana growing, posessing or
using it are illegal in the U.S.

A county official affirmed Tuesday that the supervisors' stance has
not wavered. The county is still planning to join San Diego County in
its lawsuit, the official said.

Chris Laue of Joshua Tree said marijuana eases the pain of his severe
arthritis. Unlike the painkillers his doctor initially prescribed,
Laue said, he found marijuana to be effective and relatively non-addictive.

Besides chronic pain, marijuana also is used to treat asthma and
glaucoma, and to aid stroke patients. Laue said he believes state law
takes precedence over federal law, and is lobbying to have San
Bernardino County issue medical marijuana i.d. cards, as is done in
other parts of the state.

McCabe said he uses marijuana for arthritis, and said with the i.d.
cards he knows he's buying high-quality drugs, rather than the mixed
bag available on the street.

"Why can't we be like the rest of the state?" he asked.

Sunshine Laue, Chris Laue's wife, said marijuana eases the
aftereffects of a massive stroke she had 35 years ago. She said she
wishes the police were on her side, not adversaries, because she
feels vulnerable in her marijuana use while it is considered illegal.

"It has helped me tremendously," she said of the drug. "It has calmed
me down ... it has made me feel normal again."

"What's the big deal? It's an herb. It grows in the ground," Sunshine
Laue said. "God gave it to us."

Bobbi Jo Janssen of Johnson Valley, said she is caretaker for her
husband, who she has an extremely bad back. Marijuana "helps
tremendously," she said.

"I think we havve the right to use the medication that is best for
our body," Janssen said. "MD's legal doctors recommended this
medication. But we're not allowed to use it."