Fairfield Daily Republic Article - 8/8/06
Way to go SPG!!!
Supes set timeline for medical pot discussion
By Mike Corpos
FAIRFIELD - The Solano County Board of Supervisors set a general time frame for discussing a state-mandated medical marijuana ID card program.
Members of the Solano Patients Group have addressed the supervisors at a number of meetings in the past two months, strongly urging them to implement the program.
Last week, Supervisor John Silva said the discussion is tentatively set for late September.
Initially, the group was told the discussion would take place before summer's end, but Silva said his schedule does not allow him to be present until the end of September, and he felt it was a discussion for which all board members need to be present.
Board members have shown some resistance to taking up the issue, but they have said they will begin the discussion.
"Your opinion is that of a minority, which already lost 10 years ago," said Galen Lawton of the Solano Patients Group, as he addressed the board last week.
California Voters approved Proposition 215, legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes, with a doctor's recommendation.
The statewide ID card program requires counties to administer a program wherein patients with doctors' recommendations are issued ID cards that prevent them from being arrested for possession and use of the otherwise-illegal drug.
Lawton and others have pressed the supervisors to implement the program to prevent what they call unlawful arrests of legitimate medical marijuana patients.
Reach Mike Corpos at 427-6977 or mcorpos@dailyrepublic.net.
Supes set date for pot discussion - 8/9/06
SPG is excited we have finally been given a date for the MMJ i.d. card program. We invite all activist to come support us at this very important and long awaited meeting. Once we have a set time for this meeting we will immediately announce it. This aritcle below appeared in the newspaper yesterday!!
Sincerely,
Linda Jimenez
Chairman of The Board
Compassionate Coalition
707-635-3752
linda4spg@compassionatecoalition.org
Supes set date
for pot discussion
BY MIKE CORPOS
DAILY REPUBLIC
FAIRFIELD — After weeks
pressure form a local advocacy
group, the Solano County
Board of Supervisors set a tentative
date to take up a discussion
on medicinal marijuana.
After five members of the
Solano Patients’ Group spoke,
all urging the board to address
the issue, and set a date for the
discussion, Board Chairman
John Vasquez said the likely
date will be Sept. 26.
Members of the group appeared
before the board at each
meeting for more than a month,
seeking an answer to when the
supervisors will take up the issue.
Last week, supervisor John
Silva said it would have to be
done in late September, which
the next time he’ll be able to
attend a meeting.
Citing State Senate Bill 420,
Solano Patients’ Group President
Galen Lawton, again encouraged
the supervisors to
openly discuss implementation
of a state-mandated identification
card program.
That program requires
counties to provide an ID card
to patients who have a doctor’s
recommendation to use marijuana
for medicinal purposes.
The cards are intended to
help police identify legitimate
patients, and protect those people
from prosecution.
To this point, supervisors
have not said much about the
issue in public and at one point
it was suggested that the discussion
may be held in a closed
session.
The otherwise-illegal drug
was approved for medicinal
purposes by California voters
in 1996.
Reach Mike Corpos at 427-6977
or mcorpos@dailyrepublic.net.
Fairfield Daily Republic - My Letter to the Editor - 8/11/06
Don't deny patients access to their medipot
Solano Patients' Group has been patiently waiting all summer for the mandatory medical marijuana identification program to be put on the Solano supervisors' agenda as promised earlier this summer. According to Supervisor John Silva, we will find out sometime at the end of September.
To our disappointment, we are having to wait longer and still no definite date has been announced. Is our county compassionate? I am still unable to understand why any humane person would want to deny the sick and the dying safe access to their medicine.
This entire issue has been dealt with by our county on a personal opinion level. Solano is the only county in the Bay Area that has not complied with the mandated medical marijuana ID program. Why is this?
I wish someone would explain why Solano is the only one that interprets laws differently from other counties. It's time to stop dragging our heals on the issue and it's time for Solano County to catch up with the rest of Northern California.
This is a 10-year-old law that has been swept under the rug for too long. I hope the board isn't planning on postponing the issue any further. Implementing this card program should absolutely go into effect because if it doesn't, the sick and dying will continue to suffer and more taxpayer dollars will continue to be wasted on arresting and prosecuting legitimate patients and their caregivers.
Is that what Solano County wants to be known for? Is this what we pay our law enforcement personnel to spend time doing? Arresting the sick and dying?
I want to thank all the organizations who have come out to Solano County to show their support to the patients and the caregivers with the ongoing fight for our rights. Solano Patients' Group, Safe Access Now, Americans For Safe Access & Compassionate Coalition. I also want to welcome the Compassionate Coalition National group who recently relocated from Sacramento the Solano County.
All these activist groups have been beneficial and you all have given the patients in Solano County much hope for the future. We ask the Board of Supervisors to please put great thought into the decision on the card program. There is only one logical decision to make here.
Maybe one day you or someone close to you, may need marijuana for pain or their life may depend upon it. Lets not make decisions that we will regret in the future.
Linda Jimenez, chair
Compassionate Coalition