MEDICAL MARIJUANA GIVEN TO MINORS

Like medical marijuana thefts, the possession of a medical marijuana
prescription by one of the high school students arrested for allegedly
stealing plants on Wednesday was not news to police.

As the Ukiah High School on-campus officer, Glenn Stark has had a
number of run-ins with such children.

One was a boy who was issued a medical marijuana caregiver card by the
county.

The boy was not himself a legal user, but was issued the card to grow
the drug for his father, with whom he lived, Stark said. He said he
became aware of the boy because he was caught in possession of
marijuana on campus.

"From that, we learned there is no age provisions on caregivers,"
Stark said.

The marijuana ultimately was returned to the family, with the
stipulation the boy would not bring it on campus, Stark said.

The boy later was arrested for possessing a different prescription
medicine without a prescription, he said.

Another boy was brought to his attention after bragging to people on
campus that he could legally possess marijuana.

The boy had a prescription but Stark wanted to make sure he did not
bring the weed to school.

"To make sure he understood, I called his mother," Stark said. It
turned out she had no idea her son had the prescription.

"She was flabbergasted," Stark said. "She was angry her son had gone
to a doctor without her permission, was seen without her consent, and
given a prescription for a condition that did not exist."

He said he doesn't recall what the alleged reason for the prescription
was, but it was a common ailment, like headaches. In any case, the
mother said it was an ailment her son did not have.

The woman also said she'd been suspicious when, just a few days
before, she'd found a receipt in her son's pocket for $100.

The receipt did not identify the recipient of the money, but Stark
believes it was from one of the doctors who occasionally come to
Ukiah, set up shop in a motel for a day, and hand out prescriptions.
He said they advertise they'll be in town ahead of time.

Stark said he's not thrilled with legalizing medical marijuana, but
he's absolutely opposed to children being given prescriptions for marijuana.

"It's a license to sell," he said.

He said it's ironic that a minor can legally use marijuana, but can't
legally have sex or drink alcohol.

Neither Sheriff Tony Craver nor District Attorney Norm Vroman, who are
responsible for the county's medical marijuana cards, could be reached
Thursday afternoon for comment about juveniles with medical marijuana
cards. However, when asked several months ago about children being
issued medical marijuana cards, Craver said he was unaware of their
existence.

Public Health Officer Dr. Marvin Trotter, who oversees the program,
has previously said he won't issue cards to minors. That means the
sheriff or district attorney would have to do so.