[Sativa]

The Criminal Justice Committee of the board of supervisors informally approved on a recommendation that the county adopt the state minimum standards for possession and cultivation of marijuana for medical purposes.

Those standards, encoded in Senate Bill 420, provide "a qualified patient or primary caregiver may possess no more than eight ounces of dried marijuana per qualified patient. In addition, a qualified patient or primary caregiver also may maintain no more than six mature or 12 immature marijuana plants per...patient."

The members of the Criminal Justice Committee declined to move its recommendations forward to the board of supervisors, pending further discussions and possible recommendations dealing with regulating medical marijuana dispensaries.

But the committee seemed clear it wanted to adopt for county purposes the minimum quantities allowed by state law. Delbar also said he wanted to have written into the proposed resolution that the amount allowed would be for one calendar year. There is no time frame given in SB420.

The draft resolution approved by the committee also provides that if a patient needs more marijuana than can be obtained under the regulations, they may do so with a doctor's recommendation.

Supervisor Michael Delbar, a member of the committee, and Second District Supervisor Jim Wattenburger, its chairman, directed County Counsel Jeanine Nadel to prepare a draft resolution that will set forth guidelines for medical marijuana dispensaries. Details of the resolution are still being hashed out.

John Sukowicz, who said he is working with the cities of Oakland and San Francisco to draft guidelines for medical marijuana dispensaries based on the cooperative model, offered to help county staff understand the model he's promoting, and supervisors directed staff to talk to Sukowicz to find out about the cooperative model.

The next meeting of the Criminal Justice Committee is scheduled for Monday, April 16, at 9 a.m.

Newshawk: CoZmO - 420Magazine.com
Source: The Willits News
Author: Mike A'Dair
Copyright: 2006 The Willits News
Website: The Willits News - HOME