JUDICIARY SIMPLIFIES UNSETTLED WEED LAW

The California Supreme Court overturned the limit on how much medical
marijuana a patient can carry in a unanimous vote yesterday, ruling
residents can have as much as personally necessary.

The court found the former limit of six mature plants and eight
ounces of cannabis was not consistent with state law. California
voters passed Proposition 215 in 1996, allowing residents to possess
marijuana for medical use. Thursday's ruling puts a hold on a more
than decade long legal debate about the meaning of the proposition,
which said patients could possess whatever amount necessary for their
"personal needs."

Aaron Smith, California policy director for the Marijuana Policy
Project said the ruling was not a surprise.

"We support the court's ruling," Smith said. "Nothing about the state
law changed, but it just provided clarification to law enforcement
which was sorely needed."

Smith also said the ruling will provide a cohesive understanding of
the law across the state.

"We're satisfied and gratified that the court has provided law
enforcement with direction that is good for the patient and good for
law enforcement," Smith said.

Medical marijuana patients in the state of California can avoid
arrest for possession of cannabis by acquiring a doctor's
prescription and state-issued ID card. Despite California state law,
the legality of cannabis ID cards remains in question.

Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown, speaking at the County Board
of Supervisor's meeting Tuesday, said that it is not legal to carry
marijuana because it is still illegal under federal law.

"It is not possible to legalize something in this state that is a
crime in the United States," Brown said. "[The ID card] is basically
a convenience factor, and it gives an officer or a deputy that is in
the field the ability to have some information as to whether or not
he or she would exercise some discretion in that particular case."

At Tuesday's meeting, the board enacted a 45-day moratorium
prohibiting any new dispensaries within the county. Supervisors are
also considering new regulations for dispensaries, including a
potential ban on medical marijuana shops.

The supervisors' decision comes just one month after the city of
Santa Barbara established a similar ordinance banning new
dispensaries within city limits during the moratorium.

Third District Supervisor Doreen Farr said there is currently not
enough county regulation of the dispensaries.

"A dispensary could come in where a shoe store was, in effect," Farr
said. "There is a feeling that they need to have a little more
scrutiny than that."

Despite doubts from county officials, Goleta doctor and former county
supervisor candidate David Bearman said medical marijuana is a
valuable and legitimate therapy.

"I believe that they have not looked at this in a dispassionate
responsible fashion," Bearman said. "I think that the county and the
city have [a lot] to answer to. What about people with multiple
sclerosis? What about the quadriplegics? What about the people with
Parkinson's? What do they expect them to do?"