IMPLEMENTING PROPOSITION 215
The
Compassionate Use Act of 1996, or Proposition 215 as it is commonly known,
essentially says that a person who suffers from a serious illness and whose
physician recommends using marijuana for therapeutic reasons may grow and
have marijuana in their possession. Prop 215 further provides that a patient
may designate a primary care-giver who may also grow or possess marijuana
for the patient.
Numerous
problems arise from the vagueness of Prop 215. For example, the proposition
does not require a written prescription from the doctor, but merely a recommendation,
which can be verbal. When law enforcement encounters a person growing or
in possession of marijuana, more often than not they cannot readily confirm
the status of that person in relation to Prop 215, which results in the
arrest of the person and seizure of the marijuana. This process diverts
resources which could be devoted to crime prevention and unnecessarily
inconveniences a person engaged in legal activity.
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in no way authorizes a person to operate a motor vehicle while under the influence of marijuana. |
To
help prevent unnecessary investigations by law enforcement and inconvenience
to patients and primary care-givers, the following pre-identification program
will provide identification cards which can be readily verified by law
enforcement to establish a valid affirmative defense, as prescribed by
law.
The
Mendocino County Department of Public Health will verify physician's recommendations
and notify the Sheriffs Office that the patient qualifies for the program
and for what length of time. The identification card will bear a photograph
of the person. A record of the Patient/Primary Care-Giver's name, address,
and other relevant information will be maintained in the Communications
Center of the Sheriffs Office for verification on a 24 hour per day basis.
The
District Attorney has determined that the following guidelines will be
used when making a decision to file charges: 1) Each person so qualified
will be allowed to possess 6 flowering plants or 12 immature plants; 2)
Each person so qualified will be allowed two pounds of processed marijuana
in their possession. In any event, the combined amount of marijuana in
possession by the patient and the primary care-giver may not exceed the
amount allowable for the patient alone. Each person so qualified may designate
a person to be their primary care-giver. The care-giver must be designated
in writing by the patient and be identified by photo ID in the same manner
as the patient.
The
patient may only designate one person as a primary care-giver. A care-giver
may provide this service for more than one patient and when so employed
will be allowed an aggregate amount of marijuana. For the purpose of this
program, "Primary Care-giver" means the individual designated by the person
exempt under Health and Safety Code Section 11362.5 (patient) who has consistently
assumed responsibility for the housing, health, or safety of that person.
These are guidelines only and are subject to change as necessary. Those persons choosing not to take advantage of this pre-identification may suffer inconvenience but will not be denied the defense provided by Proposition 215.
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RESIDENTS OF MENDOCINO COUNTY ONLY AND MAY OR MAY NOT BE VALID OUTSIDE THIS JURISDICTION. |
Authorization sheets can be obtained from the Sheriff's
Office at 589 Low Gap Rd. in Ukiah.
Office hours are 8am-12am and 1pm-5pm, Monday through
Friday.
