|
Judge Barbara Roberts is sitting in the hot seat right now, private
legal strategy consultant Gordy Dise said after the judge did not
make a ruling Friday about whether it's legal to sue regarding the
way the medical marijuana law is being prosecuted.
The case, David Williams versus Butte County, was put under
submission until September, which means the judge did not decide
whether the lawsuit can continue, and a new court date was scheduled.
The case is the first of its kind in California.
Williams, of Oroville, sued after a Butte County sheriff's deputy
threatened to arrest the man if he didn't destroy all but 12 of the
41 marijuana plants he reportedly was growing for a seven-member collective.
The legal amount of pot in a co-op is six mature plants, 12 immature
plants and eight ounces of dried marijuana per patient, according to
state Legislature's Senate Bill 420 enacted a few years ago.
District Attorney Mike Ramsey established written guidelines that
allow a larger one-pound threshold limit of pot per patient and
requires members of a co-op to post their doctors' recommendations
and "actively participate in the cultivation process" if their health
allows.
But if the Legislature cannot modify or change Proposition 215 --
which passed in 1996 allowing medical marijuana with a doctor's
recommendation -- then who is Butte County to modify the law, Dise said.
"Butte County Sheriff and county municipal policies are trying to
promulgate an illegal underground regulation contrary to the people's
will and the law of this state," he said. "They have to enforce the
law whether they like it or not."
The District Attorney's Office reportedly issued the guidelines to
"end any confusion" and prevent growers from using Proposition 215
as a cover.
Joseph Elford, Williams' San Francisco attorney for Americans for
Safe Access, is challenging Ramsey's policies. He is suing the county
on William's behalf in a civil suit claiming the deputy did not have
the right to tell Williams to destroy the plants.
Judge Roberts has heard arguments from both sides, and was scheduled
to issue a written ruling Friday.
In the Chico Courthouse, Roger Wilson showed up to represent Butte
County, and Elford listened to the judge announce the submission
through a conference call.
He mentioned over the speaker phone that Roberts should take notice
of O'Connell versus the city of Stockton, which ruled Thursday in the
Superior Court of California that local jurisdictions cannot
establish guidelines that contradict state laws.
"It's a polite way of saying, we have more law in our favor right
now," Dise said.
Dise said Williams is going to win, and fighting over legislation
that passed in 1996 is ludicrous. Police didn't barge into people's
homes to check for alcohol 11 years after prohibition ended.
The next court date is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Sept. 21.
Newshawk: http://www.drugsense.org/donate.htm
Pubdate: Sat, 28 Jul 2007
Source: Chico Enterprise-Record (CA)
Webpage: http://www.chicoer.com/ci_6486316
Copyright: 2007 The Media News Group
Contact: http://www.chicoer.com/feedback
Website: http://www.chicoer.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/861
Note: Does not print letters from outside circulation area
Author: Karen McIntyre, Staff Intern
Cited: Americans for Safe Access http://www.americansforsafeaccess.org |
