San Diego City Council Committee Approves Guidelines for Medical Marijuana Use
A San Diego City Council committee yesterday approved guidelines for medical marijuana use, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. The Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee voted 4-1 to approve guidelines submitted by the San Diego Medical Cannabis Task Force with some revisions (Huard, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10/17). The committee established the task force last May to develop recommendations for implementation of Proposition 215, a ballot measure approved by California voters in 1996 that allows patients with chronic illnesses such as cancer and AIDS to use medical marijuana to treat pain. Under the guidelines, individuals with chronic illnesses and a recommendation from a physician could possess as much as three pounds of marijuana and cultivate as many as 72 marijuana plants for their personal use. The guidelines also would allow caregivers who cultivate marijuana for individuals with chronic illnesses to store as much as 12 pounds of the drug and cultivate as many as 90 marijuana plants (California Healthline, 10/15). The committee added a provision that would ban medical marijuana use in public places; near schools, recreation centers or youth centers; and in the operation of a motor vehicle or a boat. The committee also included a provision that would not allow minors, individuals on parole or probation and those with "serious or violent" felony convictions to receive classification as a caregiver. The guidelines, which the City Council must approve, would take effect as a pilot program for 24 months, at the end of which time the council would review the program. Committee Chair Toni Atkins said that she hopes the council will consider the guidelines in December (San Diego Union-Tribune, 10/17).
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