This story was reported for San Diego News Network on June 16, 2009.
After months of battle from the county’s board of supervisors to reject state medical marijuana laws and three court losses, Tuesday marked a change in course — at least for the medical marijuana community that rallied together.
At the supervisor’s weekly meeting — which did not have the issue of medical marijuana ID cards on the agenda — 15 San Diegans visited the county building to urge leaders to quickly issue the IDs.
However, the controversial item was not on the agenda as expected.
“Unfortunately, I feel like they (county government) try to keep it all under wraps so supporters won’t come out,” said a member of the San Diego Marijuana Organization, who did not want to release her name. “We just want to let them know we are ready to cooperate and get our medical ID cards.”
The battle over medical marijuana began in 2006 when the county’s supervisors declined to issue IDs, claiming that although state laws made it legal, they were abiding my federal laws. Attorney General Eric Holder then made an announcement earlier this year stating medical marijuana laws now had authority over federal. The Supreme Court rejected the county’s hearing on May 18 of this year, with the San Diego Superior Court rejecting it in 2006 and the state Supreme Court rejecting it in 2008. The IDs, which are now mandated for issuance, would allow patients to carry cards proving that they can legally take the herb.
In support of the case, advocates attended the first board meeting since the Supreme Court ruling — to ensure their voices would be heard. The 15 advocates then ventured off to the city of San Diego’s civic center to garner support from councilmembers.
However, their hope was slightly deterred when they discovered the issue of IDs was not on the agenda as expected — many of the members said the supervisors were inconsiderate of the patients.
But Jennifer Stone, spokesperson for supervisor and chair Dianne Jacob (District 2), said the county, in the past, simply wanted the courts to define the gray area between state and federal laws.
The county board of supervisors still intends on discussing the IDs June 23 and implement the program July 6. Holly Crawford of the county’s Health and Human Services Department also said the item was not for the June 16 agenda and had been planned for next Tuesday.
Eugene Davidovich, a medical marijuana patient currently being prosecuted by the district attorney’s office, was present during the rally. Despite his disappointment that it wasn’t an agenda item, he said it wasn’t a major problem as long as the county still issues the IDs by the due date. He did say that it was necessary to implement clear county guidelines immediately.
The San Diego Marijuana member agreed with Davidovich. She also said the county needed to implement a task force to assist the community.
“Patients are unable to get the herb,” she said. “It’s important to get natural medication without side effects. We need to be able to take care of ourselves.”
Progress may be seen at the city level, however. Two councilmembers — Todd Gloria and Donna Frye — have said their staffs are jointly working on implementing a task force that would clarify the bewildering laws.
Hoa Quach is the political editor for the San Diego News Network.