LET'S BE COMPASSIONATE - ALLOW DISPENSARIES FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Referring to a recent front-page headline, "Top cop wants pot shops
barred," what connection -- if any -- exits between rising metropolitan
crime statistics and non-existent, in rural Nevada County, medical
marijuana dispensaries?

Police Chief John Foster seems to me uninformed on the subject of
medical marijuana and Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act of
1996, which decriminalized the cultivation and use of marijuana by
seriously ill individuals upon a physician's recommendation.

Why does the Chief Foster hate sick people?

Chief Foster also seems confused about the Senate Bill 420, the
medical marijuana program act which became law in Jan. 1, 2004, which
among other things, requires the state Department of Public Health to
establish and maintain a program for the voluntary registration of
qualified medical marijuana patient and primary caregivers through a
statewide ID card system.

This medical marijuana card is intended to help law enforcement
officers identify and verify that cardholders are able to cultivate,
possess, and transport certain amounts of medical marijuana, without
being subject to arrest under specific conditions.

Having a medical marijuana nonprofit co-op here in Nevada County,
following the very clear guidelines set by our state Attorney General
Gerry Brown, would be the smart and compassionate way to handle this
issue.

It would also keep much-needed money in the immediate community, which
has been hard hit by the recession. It would create jobs, one being
security, which could be filled by returning vets, or retired police.

In addition, the taxes collected would help the local
government.

Now is the time to get real and move ahead with this Prop. 215
program. The day is coming soon for decriminalization, and we are
going to need regulations here in Nevada County instead of emergency
moratoriums.

Let's stop throwing away taxpayer money trying enforce prohibition
against marijuana when everyone is aware of the real drug problem --
meth! Prohibition has never worked.