Sebastopol City Council Passes Resolution Not To Inform Federal Government of Medical Marijuana Cases

The Sebastopol City Council on Tuesday voted 3-1 to pass a resolution that requires the city police department not to inform the Drug Enforcement Administration about medical marijuana cases, "affirming the council's support of the use of medical marijuana by authorized patients," the AP/Fresno Bee reports (AP/Fresno Bee, 11/20). "What the resolution is doing is affirming our support for California law. There is ample documentation for why that is important," council member Larry Robinson said (Payne, Santa Rosa Press Democrat, 11/20). Under Proposition 215, a ballot measure approved by California voters in 1996, patients with chronic illnesses such as cancer and AIDS can use medical marijuana to treat pain with a recommendation from a physician (California Healthline, 11/06). Under Sonoma County guidelines, patients or caregivers can cultivate as many as 99 marijuana plants per patient per year in an area no larger than 100 square feet, the AP/Bee reports. The Sonoma Alliance for Medical Marijuana sponsored the resolution in response to DEA raids on medical marijuana patients and caregivers, alliance spokesperson Don Knapp said. The Sebastopol Police Department has taken no position on the resolution but must adhere to policies passed by the council, a department spokesperson said. The council on Tuesday also endorsed a bill in the U.S. Congress (HR 2592) -- called the "States' Rights to Medical Marijuana Act" -- that would reduce the federal drug classification of marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule II and would allow states to administer their medical marijuana laws without federal interference (AP/Fresno Bee, 11/20).