Eastern Sierra News
Written by Tom Woods Thursday, 04 February 2010 16:30
Mono narcotic agents have made a third arrest related to growing and selling marijuana in Mammoth Lakes. Two of the people arrested had medical marijuana cards.
One of the alleged growers arrested last week did have a medical marijuana recommendation. Thursday, February 4th, MONET agents arrested 18-year-old Neil Herman, for allegedly selling marijuana out of his dorm room at the community college. Like the 20-year-old man arrested last week, officers say that Herman had a medical marijuana recommendation.
The law says that a person with a medical marijuana card can have six mature plants and twelve immature plants, but Mono Narcotics Agent Paul Robles explained that a doctor can recommend that a patient have more.
With the prevalence of medical marijuana these days, it may seem tricky to figure out what’s legal and what is not, but the law is actually pretty simple to understand. While a person with a valid doctor's recommendation can possess and grow certain amounts of marijuana, all sales are illegal. “You can have a valid recommendation, but as soon as you start selling,” the person is breaking the law, Robles explained. It’s not even legal for a person with a valid medical card to sell to another person with a medical card. “It’s 100% illegal to sell marijuana,” he says.
These cases may be a headache for officers, but Robles says, “As long as people are selling it, they are still in violation of the law.”
Sold as the compassionate use of marijuana when voters approved Proposition 215 in 1996, Robles says that officers are not seeing, “people with grave illnesses.” He says that in all the marijuana cases that he has seen in recent years he has, “not run across one person who has had a medical marijuana recommendation who is not between the ages of 19 and about 25.”
Whether these people have real illnesses or not the valid recommendations do carry some weight. Robles says that it’s common for officers in Mono County to see marijuana possession and small grows by people with recommendations, but, he says, “we are leaving them alone.”
Subscribe to this comment's feedwritten by upthecreek , February 04, 2010
now if you can only find a prison that will keep these crinimals in jail, without letting them go because they have no budgets to keep them..
welcome to Taxifornia
written by amazed , February 05, 2010
written by laskier , February 05, 2010
written by BFG , February 05, 2010
And I'm sure upthecreek is aware that these cops will receive over $200,000 a year in pension. That's where your friggin' tax dollars are going, genius.
written by Wayne Deja , February 05, 2010
written by bltnmammoth , February 05, 2010
To encourage the federal and state governments to implement a plan to provide for the safe and affordable distribution of marijuana to all patients in medical need of marijuana.
Encourage NOT require.
written by Friar Tuck , February 05, 2010
written by Steve , February 05, 2010
written by WA , February 05, 2010
written by Rick O'Brien , February 06, 2010
written by Dave , February 07, 2010
written by BFG , February 05, 2010
...
And I'm sure upthecreek is aware that these cops will receive over $200,000 a year in pension. That's where your friggin' tax dollars are going, genius.
Oh please .... "over $200,000 a year in pension"? Please post a source for that "fact". It's absurd.
I would also like to know why upthecreek seems to include some comment about police pensions in so many articles, no matter what the subject. Traditionally, public service jobs have included good pensions and benefits in order to offset generally poor salaries and working conditions compared to the private sector. Why would anyone begrudge a police officer or firefighter a decent pension? (not &200,000)
written by Tourbillon , February 08, 2010
According to the Orange County Register, in 2008, the average salary for a federal government employee was $79,197. The average salary for a private employee in the United States was $49,935. They note that
Sacramento isn't much better. Even before the age of 50, employees in the state Capitol have three health-care plan options that require no employee contributions at all – the state pays the premiums entirely.
The Register also notes that many California employees get free dental and vision; free life insurance policies; paid leave up to three months for a new mother or one month of "paid parental bonding leave" for a new father; massive pension benefits; 12-15 days off for holiday observances; another 12 days off for sick leave; up to six weeks of vacation; and subsidized transportation benefits. And these benefits are all on top of their salaries that likely top equivalent jobs outside of government.
Closer to home, take the local area police forces. It is not at all impugning them to note that a junior officer costs the public about $120K a year in salary and benefits. How many local private sector jobs, much less at a junior level, pay that much? And those lower-paid private sector taxpayers who foot the bill will do so in perpetuity owing to the generous retirement packages the public sector unions have traditionally imposed on them.
Sometimes tradition needs to change with the times.
written by Rob , February 08, 2010
written by bltnmammoth , February 08, 2010
written by great , February 08, 2010
Signed,
Great
P.S. I got the "Doogie" right, it's close to "Doobie".
written by Dave , February 09, 2010
Did the Orange County Register offer any insight into how California police officers managed to have their benefit packages raised to the level described? Other than "the unions did it"?
While there are always exceptions, typically governments do not give away the store unless it is to solve a serious problem of being able to recruit and retain qualified employees. There is a huge investment in a police officer in the first few years in training and equipment. If there is a constant drain of those resources to other agencies, or particularly other states because it is too expensive to live in California, it becomes even more expensive to provide for public safety.
I would like to see some figures on how many California police officers have left to work in neighboring states such as Arizona and Nevada as those states have grown in population. If an officer in southern California has to drive 100 miles each way to work because they cannot afford to live closer to the city, there had better be some other incentives to work there.
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Text of Prop. 215
Compassionate Use Act of 1996
Health and Safety Code Section 11362.5
Sec. (1) a-b The people of the State of California hereby find and declare that the purposes of the Compassionate Use Act of 1996 are as follows:
(A) To ensure that seriously ill Californians have the right to obtain and use marijuana for medical purposes where the medical use is deemed appropriate and has been recommended by a physician who has determined that the person's health would benefit from the use of marijuana in the treatment of cancer, anorexia, AIDS, chronic pain, spasticity, glaucoma, arthritis, migraine, or any other illness for which marijuana provides relief.
(B) To ensure that patients and their primary caregivers who obtain and use marijuana for medical purposes upon the recommendation of a physician are not subject to criminal prosecution or sanction.
(C) To encourage the federal and state governments to implement a plan to provide for the safe and affordable distribution of marijuana to all patients in medical need of marijuana.
(2) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to supersede legislation prohibiting persons from engaging in conduct that endangers others, nor to condone the diversion of marijuana for nonmedical purposes.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no physician in this state shall be punished, or denied any rights or privilege, for having recommended marijuana to a patient for medical purposes.
(d) Section 11357, relating to the possession of marijuana, and Section 11358, relating to the cultivation of marijuana, shall not apply to a patient, or to the patient's primary caregiver, who possesses or cultivates marijuana for the personal medical purposes of the patient upon the written or oral recommendation or approval of a physician.
(e) For the purposes of this section, "primary caregiver" means the individual designated by the person exempted under this act who has consistently assumed responsibility for the housing, health, or safety of that person.
Sec. 2. If any provision of this measure or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the measure which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this measure are severable.