PROTESTING FOR POT

The Medical Marijuana Controversy Heats Up In SLO County

Native American Donovan No Runner approaches his current occupation of the
San Luis Obispo County courthouse steps with historic zeal.

He spends his days beneath a sweltering sun in front of the courthouse
where he soon will appear before a judge, making a determined statement
about the benefits of medical marijuana.

Accompanied by his wife, Jami, and their infant child, No Runner, a
Blackfoot Indian from Montana, awaits his Oct. 1 court date and hopes that
in the interim he can help clarify the confused legal status of hemp use by
California's ill.

They have staked out the front steps of the courthouse in what No Runner
called a "peaceful occupation for patients' rights." A small tent perched
nearby serves as their temporary home while No Runner tries to emphasize
what he calls an inequity of enforcement by the law.

The camping couple sees their share of cynicism. As they talked to a
reporter, three well-dressed men leaving the courthouse snickered openly as
they walked past the makeshift encampment.

No Runner, 23, of Grover Beach , will answer a simple possession citation
despite holding a prescription for the drug from Northern California. No
Runner suffers from bipolar and post-traumatic disorders, he said.

"I sometimes think there's more concern about the tent than about the pot
smoking," he said.

He smokes the drug openly, whenever he feels the need. He said that last
week two local narcotics officers walked by as he fired up a joint and they
"gave the thumbs-up sign" before walking on.

By his weeks-long vigil, he said he hopes that one day soon, medical
marijuana users will get a fair shake from the law.

That probably won't be happening soon, at least in the county's biggest
city, San Luis Obispo, where No Runner was recently cited for possession of
an ounce of pot after an officer found the weed in No Runner's possession.
The marijuana was confiscated.

"I doubt if the police will be giving it back to me," No Runner said,
noting the bag of pot was worth $400.

"We generally handle these kinds of cases according to the state Health and
Safety Code," said Capt. Bart Topham of the San Luis Obispo Police
Department. "Anyone found in possession of less than an ounce would get a
ticket, and it would be up to the prosecutors to determine if the person
has a legitimate prescription."

Topham said police officers "are not in a position to even verify if a
person has a valid doctor's prescription."

"There is no way, particularly at night, to make such a determination at
the time of the incident," he said. "State laws give police officers some
discretion in these matters, but we have to go by the guidelines in the
penal code. It's up to the district attorney's office to decide if there
will be a prosecution."

Topham agreed the problem is controversial.

"But people shouldn't look to us to be judge and jury in these kinds of
situations. We enforce the law."

Patrol supervisor Capt. Dan Blanke said the situation locally is "serious
only because it's controversial. Everyone involved, even the people who use
pot for medical purposes, are trying to figure out the best and most
appropriate way to handle this."

Blanke said possession of pot "is still against state law. But we generally
don't act unless there is a complaint."

SLO Police Chief Jim Gardiner said the policy his department follows is
similar to other law enforcement agencies in the county.

"We have worked this out with the district attorney, and the policy that is
in place now is that officers in the field will simply follow the law. The
legislation (Proposition 215) doesn't give officers many alternatives to
make decisions on this matter. The legislation says that people who have
prescriptions from a doctor can use this as a defense in court."

Widely disparate court decisions, both on federal and state levels, have
helped create a confusing situation for law enforcement, and as a result
many police jurisdictions simply issue the citations and let the justice
system sort things out.

Adding to the jumble is a California Supreme Court decision July 18 that
declared that the use or cultivation of marijuana for personal medical use
is protected from state prosecution as long as the person has a doctor's
approval.

The unanimous decision was the result of the high court's first review of
Proposition 215, which California voters approved by a 56-44 margin in
1996. Federal prosecutors have refused to recognize the California
initiative, despite its endorsement by voters. The California Supreme Court
decision widens the gap, separating state and federal applications of the
law to medical pot users.

At present, people can be prosecuted in federal courts, but the new
California court ruling means that legitimate physicians' prescriptions for
pot use cannot be held to answer in state court.

California is one of the nine states with so-called "compassionate" medical
marijuana laws. The state high court's ruling on Proposition 215 was the
first commentary on the matter. Until now, federal law has dominated
enforcement practice, with U.S. drug agents often swooping down on medical
marijuana suppliers, growers, and users with arrest warrants right in front
of local police officers.

Drug Enforcement Agency agents on Sept. 5 shut down the Wo/Men's Alliance
for Medical Marijuana (WAMM), a cooperative run by and for patients in
Santa Cruz. The city council responded by inviting WAMM to distribute
medical marijuana to patients in the city hall courtyard on Sept. 17.

No Runner said he believes the only real answer to the conflict "is in the
hands of the people."

"It's really up to individual patients and their supporters to set forth
community standards, to help establish guidelines as to what can be done
and what can't be done," he said.

One of those supporters, San Luis Obispo resident Craig Steffens, sat
nearby, shielded from the hot sun by a hat made of hemp.

"I've been talking to city council people and members of the board of
supervisors about passing a resolution to set more uniform standards for
compliance with state law," he said.

He was uncertain about his plan's future, he admitted.

"Sometimes it's hard to get anyone to talk about it," he added. His
proposed resolution seeks to "prevent costly and unnecessary law
enforcement, judicial and correctional prosecution, and to prevent
inconveniencing or placing patients and caregivers in peril."

He hopes that a "standard operating procedure for compliance" will be
established for those who have physicians' approval or recommendations for
medical use of the substance.

Meanwhile, No Runner and his family will maintain their 24-hour-a-day
vigil, with the hope, he said, that someday soon such actions will be
unnecessary.

San Luis Obispo attorney Lou Koory will represent No Runner when his court
date arrives.

"Law enforcement now has some direction from the court," said Koory. "A
defendant just has to raise a reasonable doubt in court. There's nothing
more American than what Donovan No Runner is doing."