Pinch
Well-Known Member
Ashland, OR - No agreement on medical marijuana exists between Oregon and California, so traveling across state lines with prescribed pot is actually bordering on illegal
Although medicinal marijuana laws are on the books in Oregon and California, the laws are not honored as people cross the border between the two states.
David Fay, a 36-year-old quadriplegic who lives in Yreka, Calif., got a quick education in the regulations surrounding medicinal marijuana when he and his cousin were stopped on Nursery Street near North Main Street at 3:21 a.m. April 24. They learned their California cards are not valid in Oregon when approximately a half-pound of marijuana was confiscated from the pair, both of whom are valid California medicinal marijuana cardholders.
"I didn't really know you couldn't have it up there," Fay said from his home in Northern California during in a phone interview Tuesday.
Medicinal marijuana cards issued by the state of California do not have the same restrictions as Oregon licenses do, according to Ashland Police Department Sgt. Teresa Selby.
"Basically, you have to have a debilitating condition outlined in the statute," Selby said, explaining a physician licensed in Oregon must also sign off on the medicinal cannabis permit in the state. "Their card may not have the same restrictions our cards do."
Under California's medicinal marijuana law, registration is voluntary and each county establishes its own procedure to register medicinal marijuana users. The Oregon law, which was approved by voters in May 1999, requires users gain approval from the Department of Health and Human Services, the state agency that maintains a database of all medicinal marijuana cardholders in Oregon, according to Rep. Peter Buckley (D-Ashland). The Senate Human Services Committee heard testimony in the about the law during a work session Thursday to further revise and clarify the law.
"There is no current agreement with another state or country," Buckley said, explaining the state legislature is trying to better-define the existing law before determining how to work with other entities, such as California. "It's coming from discussions between law enforcement agencies, patients that are making use of the program, caregivers that buy marijuana and physicians."
"You can use (medicinal) marijuana so long as you're not under the influence of marijuana while you're driving the car," said Medford lawyer Peter Carnini, who frequently defends motorists cited for driving under the influence of marijuana.
Differences
A dozen states allow seriously ill individuals to grow and use marijuana. In Oregon, medicinal marijuana users are allowed to have three mature plants and possess 1 ounce of marijuana per mature plant.
"People are going to be very careful that the program evolves in a way that people are comfortable with," Buckley said. "The focus is still right now to make sure that Oregon's medicinal marijuana program is established the way we want it to. We need to get our system down, then we can turn to California to figure out how the systems match up together."
California was the first state in the union to OK marijuana use for medicinal purposes. Voters approved the Compassionate Use of Marijuana Act of 1996, paving the way for three other states to give the nod to medicinal cannabis use by 2002. Unlike other states with medicinal marijuana laws, though, California does not provide for state implementation of its law and has not delegated authority to a state agency or established a statewide patient registry. In addition, California law does not prescribe a specific amount of marijuana that can be possessed for medical purposes. Still, Fay jumped through the legal hoops in Siskiyou County to grow his 10 plants and cultivate additional medicinal marijuana plants for other licensed cardholders in the state.
Three years ago, Fay was OK'd by the state of California to grow cannabis in his garden and use the marijuana the plants produced. He lost the use of his arms and legs in a 1986 car accident and had been using marijuana illegally since then to relieve the pain and control the body spasms he suffers from. Once a year, Fay, who has regained some use of his arms but not his hands, must see his doctor to review his condition, then have a second doctor sign off on the findings and issue a prescription for the drug. While officers routinely stop by his home in Northern California, Fay has not been cited and he wasn't aware his California license to use medicinal marijuana was not valid beyond the state's borders.
"They've been excellent down here," Fay said. "I haven't had a problem once."
Fay, who was on his way to the Oregon coast, wasn't cited for possession of a controlled substance when APD officer Theron Hull stopped him and his cousin. Hull informed the pair of the law and the gravity of the situation, according to Fay, but did not cite or arrest them following the confiscation.
"I'm still legal, at least down here," Fay said.
However, the situation Fay experienced Sunday in Ashland stemmed from the lack of federal provisions that would protect medicinal cannabis users. Oregon laws are very specific, according to an Ashland attorney, but do not apply in other states. The lack of a full faith and credit honoring system between states with medicinal marijuana laws means valid cardholders traveling outside the state they're licensed in can be cited for possession of marijuana, which is a federal offense because it's a Schedule 1 drug, according to Selby. In 2001, the U.S. Supreme Court that distributors of medicinal marijuana could be prosecuted and the court is expected to rule on the legality of medical uses of the drug this year.
Source: Ashland Daily Tidings
Copyright: 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers
Contact: Jennifer Squires at 482-3456 x 3019 or jsquires@dailytidings.com.
Website: https://www.dailytidings.com/2005/0430/043005n1.shtml
Although medicinal marijuana laws are on the books in Oregon and California, the laws are not honored as people cross the border between the two states.
David Fay, a 36-year-old quadriplegic who lives in Yreka, Calif., got a quick education in the regulations surrounding medicinal marijuana when he and his cousin were stopped on Nursery Street near North Main Street at 3:21 a.m. April 24. They learned their California cards are not valid in Oregon when approximately a half-pound of marijuana was confiscated from the pair, both of whom are valid California medicinal marijuana cardholders.
"I didn't really know you couldn't have it up there," Fay said from his home in Northern California during in a phone interview Tuesday.
Medicinal marijuana cards issued by the state of California do not have the same restrictions as Oregon licenses do, according to Ashland Police Department Sgt. Teresa Selby.
"Basically, you have to have a debilitating condition outlined in the statute," Selby said, explaining a physician licensed in Oregon must also sign off on the medicinal cannabis permit in the state. "Their card may not have the same restrictions our cards do."
Under California's medicinal marijuana law, registration is voluntary and each county establishes its own procedure to register medicinal marijuana users. The Oregon law, which was approved by voters in May 1999, requires users gain approval from the Department of Health and Human Services, the state agency that maintains a database of all medicinal marijuana cardholders in Oregon, according to Rep. Peter Buckley (D-Ashland). The Senate Human Services Committee heard testimony in the about the law during a work session Thursday to further revise and clarify the law.
"There is no current agreement with another state or country," Buckley said, explaining the state legislature is trying to better-define the existing law before determining how to work with other entities, such as California. "It's coming from discussions between law enforcement agencies, patients that are making use of the program, caregivers that buy marijuana and physicians."
"You can use (medicinal) marijuana so long as you're not under the influence of marijuana while you're driving the car," said Medford lawyer Peter Carnini, who frequently defends motorists cited for driving under the influence of marijuana.
Differences
A dozen states allow seriously ill individuals to grow and use marijuana. In Oregon, medicinal marijuana users are allowed to have three mature plants and possess 1 ounce of marijuana per mature plant.
"People are going to be very careful that the program evolves in a way that people are comfortable with," Buckley said. "The focus is still right now to make sure that Oregon's medicinal marijuana program is established the way we want it to. We need to get our system down, then we can turn to California to figure out how the systems match up together."
California was the first state in the union to OK marijuana use for medicinal purposes. Voters approved the Compassionate Use of Marijuana Act of 1996, paving the way for three other states to give the nod to medicinal cannabis use by 2002. Unlike other states with medicinal marijuana laws, though, California does not provide for state implementation of its law and has not delegated authority to a state agency or established a statewide patient registry. In addition, California law does not prescribe a specific amount of marijuana that can be possessed for medical purposes. Still, Fay jumped through the legal hoops in Siskiyou County to grow his 10 plants and cultivate additional medicinal marijuana plants for other licensed cardholders in the state.
Three years ago, Fay was OK'd by the state of California to grow cannabis in his garden and use the marijuana the plants produced. He lost the use of his arms and legs in a 1986 car accident and had been using marijuana illegally since then to relieve the pain and control the body spasms he suffers from. Once a year, Fay, who has regained some use of his arms but not his hands, must see his doctor to review his condition, then have a second doctor sign off on the findings and issue a prescription for the drug. While officers routinely stop by his home in Northern California, Fay has not been cited and he wasn't aware his California license to use medicinal marijuana was not valid beyond the state's borders.
"They've been excellent down here," Fay said. "I haven't had a problem once."
Fay, who was on his way to the Oregon coast, wasn't cited for possession of a controlled substance when APD officer Theron Hull stopped him and his cousin. Hull informed the pair of the law and the gravity of the situation, according to Fay, but did not cite or arrest them following the confiscation.
"I'm still legal, at least down here," Fay said.
However, the situation Fay experienced Sunday in Ashland stemmed from the lack of federal provisions that would protect medicinal cannabis users. Oregon laws are very specific, according to an Ashland attorney, but do not apply in other states. The lack of a full faith and credit honoring system between states with medicinal marijuana laws means valid cardholders traveling outside the state they're licensed in can be cited for possession of marijuana, which is a federal offense because it's a Schedule 1 drug, according to Selby. In 2001, the U.S. Supreme Court that distributors of medicinal marijuana could be prosecuted and the court is expected to rule on the legality of medical uses of the drug this year.
Source: Ashland Daily Tidings
Copyright: 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers
Contact: Jennifer Squires at 482-3456 x 3019 or jsquires@dailytidings.com.
Website: https://www.dailytidings.com/2005/0430/043005n1.shtml
