FILING PROPELS DISPUTE OVER MEDICAL POT

Compassionate Use Law Is Put To The Test

Medical marijuana advocates are mounting a double-barreled attack
this week on what they say is California's reticence to uphold its
own compassionate use law, putting Attorney General Bill Lockyer in
the hot seat.

On one front, Oakland-based Americans For Safe Access filed papers
Wednesday in Alameda County Superior Court seeking an injunction to
halt the California Highway Patrol's policy of seizing marijuana from
qualified patients, even if those patients have county-issued ID
cards or a doctor's recommendation.

The ASA says the CHP blatantly ignores a state Supreme Court decision
that said an officer's probable cause to seize marijuana depends on
facts such as presentation of documents identifying the person as a
qualified patient.

It also notes that Lockyer -- whose office defends the CHP in this
lawsuit -- issued a formal opinion June 23 saying cities can prohibit
their police from seizing medical marijuana but can't automatically
seize marijuana from or arrest people who don't have voluntary ID
cards because that would directly contradict state law.

"The CHP policy of seizing marijuana from qualified patients even
when they present a valid identification card is even more at odds
with state law, since no amount of proof can avoid a mandatory
seizure," the ASA's filing says.

And the filing says the CHP ignores bulletins Lockyer issued to
California law enforcement agencies lastmonth after a U.S. Supreme
Court decision upholding the federal marijuana ban. In those
bulletins, Lockyer wrote that California's law still stands and
police should avoid making seizures and arrests when it seems someone
is legitimately using a medically authorized, reasonable amount of
marijuana under state law.

So who's right, the lawyer or the client? Lockyer spokeswoman Teresa
Schilling would only say Wednesday that the attorney general is
duty-bound to defend the state and its agencies against lawsuits; she
referred further questions to the CHP.

CHP spokesman Lt. Joe Whiteford said the CHP will honor only the 123
voluntarily-sought medical marijuana identification cards issued so
far by the Department of Health Services under a 2003 state law.
Officers will keep seizing marijuana from anyone else. He wouldn't
comment on the apparent conflict with Lockyer's bulletins.

Meanwhile, two other national groups -- the Drug Policy Alliance and
the American Civil Liberties Union -- wrote to Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger on Tuesday with a threat to sue the state for
suspending the very ID card program the CHP says it's honoring.

The ID card program was just about to expand from a four-county test
run to statewide implementation. But state Health Services Director
Sandra Shewry last week halted it, saying the need for Lockyer to
confirm that employees who issue the cards won't be subject to
federal prosecution following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

The DPA and ACLU also cite Lockyer's bulletins that state officials
"may not refuse to abide by the provisions of the Compassionate Use
Act on the basis that this Act conflicts with federal law." DPA legal
director Daniel Abrahamson of Oakland said it's "shameful" that court
action might be needed to force the state to honor its own laws.

The groups' letter said they'll sue if the ID card program isn't
reinstated by the close of business Tuesday. Schilling said Wednesday
that Lockyer's office is working "as fast as we can" to issue an
opinion on the program.