* Tuolumne County Action Alert *
Dear medical marijuana supporter,
Next week, the Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors will be conducting a hearing on the implementation of the statewide medical marijuana ID card program.
Once the voluntary program is made available, local patients will have the opportunity to obtain the ID cards through the county's Health Department. The program provides further protection from detainment, arrest or the seizure of medicine for those who choose to become cardholders.
[b]If you live in Tuolumne County,[/b] please take a few minutes to contact the Board of Supervisors to express your support for this important program.
Please email or call the following board members, politely urging them to direct staff to begin accepting applications for the ID cards. Feel free to use the sample email message, posted at the bottom of this communication.
Tuolumne Co. Board of Supervisors:
District 1 - Liz Bass - lbass@co.tuolumne.ca.us
District 2 - Paolo Maffei - pmaffei@co.tuolumne.ca.us
District 3 - Teri Murrison - tmurrison@co.tuolumne.ca.us
District 5 - Richard "Dick" Pland - rpland@co.tuolumne.ca.us
Board phone: (209) 533-5521
The hearing will take place on Tuesday, March 13 at 10:00am in Sonora, CA. Please attend this important meeting to show your support for California's medical marijuana ID program and patients' rights in Tuolumne County.
Meeting details:
Tuesday, March. 13 - 10:00am
County Administration Center
2 South Green Street
Sonora, CA 95370
Map: http://tinyurl.com/2r58o6
The board chamber is located on the 4th floor.
(This is a professional meeting, please dress and act accordingly.)
Thank you for taking action to protect Tuolumne County's medical marijuana patients. Feel free to contact me for more information.
Sincerely,
Aaron Smith
Safe Access Now
safeaccessnow@gmail.com
[b]------sample email message-----[/b]
Honorable Members of the Board of Supervisors,
I am writing you today to ask that you cast a vote directing the Public Health Department to implement the statewide medical marijuana ID card program in Tuolumne County.
The county's implementation of this program is a requirement of state law and it's the board's responsibility to ensure the county moves into compliance. Once the program is in place, the cards will be of great benefit to both patients and law enforcement in our county.
Local patients have already waited far too long for the county to comply with state law. I am counting on your vote to implement state law and protect the seriously ill from unnecessary arrest.
Thank you,
[name]
[city/town of residence]
TUOLUMNE COUNTY
AAron:
Thanks for doing some of the legwork for me on this one. I will DEFINITELY be at that meeting at the BOS Chamber. I look forward to opening a dialogue with the BOS and Health Department here just as we did in Santa Clara County.
I will urge all patients that I have already met up here to attend as well but it is difficult to garner support in this right wing Republican area up here.
Folks like to keep to themselves and in three months I have only met four patients--unusual for me since I am always out and about.
Regards,
Christine Marie Flora
Spokesperson and Board Representive
SVCPU-Silicon Valley Cannabis Patients Union
Santa Clara County Chapter of Compassionate Coalition
408-509-7656
svcpu@hotmail.com
www.compassionatecoalition.org
Tuolumne County-YES on State ID Card
Hello to All Patients, Caregivers, Physicians, and Advocates:
Another victory has come in the progress of implementing the State ID Card Program within All Counties.
Today, the Tuolumne Cunty Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 to implement the program as mandated by the law and outlined in SB420.
The Public Health Officer spoke about the progam as outlined and supplied a very thorough report of the findings of the Tuoulumne County Medical Society in relation to the implementation of such a program within the County.
Aaron Smith of Safe Access Now, Kim Cue of Calaveras County and ASA, Royal Garrison of the Sonora Cannabis Co-op and life time resident of the County, and myself as a Representative of the Board of Compassionate Coalition, a Patient, and Advocate all spoke in favor of the program. There were four people who spoke in opposition of the program fearing federal interference.
The motion was brought to implement the program by Supervisor Bass and seconded by newly-elected Supervisor Murrison. Another motion was proposed for additions to the program by Supervisor Maffei, but died due to no second by any other members. Discussion by the Board included the DA Segerstrom and Sheriff Mele being asked to comment from the law enforcement side of the issue since they were in attendance. I was quite impressed with their thorough interpritation of the law of Prop 215 and SB420 and although they did not support it one way or another,they did both indicate that it would be a great tool for the law enforcement officers in the county and useful while in the field.
Supervisor Murrison was quite impressive as well. She has actually taken the time since last October, prior to being elected to the Board, to research and read any and all information she could on the issue of MMJ within the State and the laws of it.
In the end, it seems that all are in agreeance that no matter what their own personal beliefs are, they are required to uphold State law and as such the vote was taken 3 for (Bass, Murrison, Maffei) and 2 against (Pland, Thornton).
I want to take the opportunity to thank all those who came out to support this important issue and all those that could not be there but were there in spirit. It was such a pleasure to meet Aaron, Kim, and Royal and be able to celebrate such a sweet victory with a fabulous lunch--Thank you Aaron.
It is suspected that the program will be in full operation within the next 60-90 days.
More will be posted here as the issue progresses. So, we can add one more County to the list of those using the State ID Card Program. On to the next County until the entire State is using the program as mandated by SB420.
peace out and continue to fight for your right to safe access.
Christine Marie Flora
Secretary and Treasurer of the SVCPU
Spokesperson and Board Representive
SVCPU-Silicon Valley Cannabis Patients Union
Santa Clara County Chapter of Compassionate Coalition
svcpu@hotmail.com
www.compassionatecoalition.org
Hurray for Tuolumne County
Congrats you guys!! Its always good to hear some good news like this and I want to thank all the folks who went out to fight for their patient rights!!
Sincerely,
Linda Jimenez
Chairman of The Board
The Compassionate Coalition
707-635-3752
Tuolumne County Union Democrat Article
A copy of the article from The Union Democrat newspaper in Sonora and Tuolumne County regarding the Board meeting yesterday. Great work by Royal and Kim!! You guys are fabulous. I look forward to working closely with both of you to further educate the community for the patients right to safe access of there medicine.
peace out,
Christine Marie Flora
Secretary and Treasurer of the SVCPU
Spokesperson and Board Representive
SVCPU-Silicon Valley Cannabis Patients Union
Santa Clara County Chapter of Compassionate Coalition
svcpu@hotmail.com
www.compassionatecoalition.org
***************************************
Pot program to be put in place
Published: March 14, 2007
By ALISHA WYMAN
The Union Democrat
An identification card system for Tuolumne County medical marijuana patients will soon be in place.
The Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 to approve the program, with Supervisors Mark Thornton and Dick Pland dissenting.
In 1996, California voters approved the "Compassionate Use Act," which allows doctors to prescribe marijuana for medical use. A later bill was enacted to clarify the act and requires counties to set up programs for card issuance.
The Tuolumne County Narcotics Task Force, local law enforcement, county counsel, the district attorney and the county Health Department participated in drafting Tuolumne County's version.
The program sets up the process for issuing cards, the costs, and denial and appeal processes. It's a volunteer program through which participants would receive a card validating their right to legal marijuana.
Opinions on the program's validity varied, even among medical marijuana advocates.
Christopher DeMars, who along with his father has been a vocal backer of medical marijuana, raised concerns about the card program. He fears holding a card could amount to self-incrimination.
The only group that supports such programs are marijuana dispensaries, he said, which don't want to follow normal pharmacy procedures.
"They want to act like a convenience store," DeMars said. "You slap your ID on the table, they'll slap you as much booze and cigs as you like."
But medicinal marijuana patient Royal Garrison IV said the program will help him avoid going to a doctor in Modesto in order to get needed documentation.
"I don't see why I have to drive 63 miles, when I could go right over to the Public Health Department," he said.
It will also make it easier for law enforcement in the field to distinguish authentic patients from recreational users, Garrison said.
Now, officers rely on printed recommendations from doctors or cards from cannabis buyer's clubs in other areas.
Kim Cue, a medical marijuana patient and a patient advocate from Calaveras County, urged the board to adopt the program for legal reasons.
Feelings about the drug's medicinal use shouldn't be a factor in the board's decision, she said.
"The time of changing that law is already past," she said. "We are at the phase of implementing this."
Supervisor Liz Bass agreed and colleague Teri Murrison seconded her comments: "This issue is not about how I feel about marijuana," Murrison said. "This issue is about if the county is going to be in compliance with the law."
Supervisor Paolo Maffei voted for the program, but asked for a provision that would require the destruction of the documents after patients apply, to protect them from federal prosecution. But the board declined to act on his recommendation.
Pland and Thornton opposed it for differing reasons.
Thornton worried about patients' privacy and disapproved of making them register for a medication. He also objected to marijuana's use for medical purposes.
A program is simply not needed, Pland said.
"They already got their right to use marijuana, and I don't see it adds anything, except expense to the county," he said.
Contact Alisha Wyman at awyman@uniondemocrat.com or 588-4529.