A measure to declare a city-wide state of emergency allowing marijuana to be used for medical purposes has been struck down by San Francisco city officials. The proposal, spearheaded by city Board of Supervisors member Tom Ammiano, was introduced following a raid by state narcotics officers on the San Francisco Cannabis Buyers’ Club. On the advice of the city’s District Attorney Terence Hallinan and Director of Health Sandra Hernandez, a Board of Supervisors committee backed off from the declaration. Many officials claimed that approving such a controversial measure could jeopardize the city’s needle-exchange program that currently operates under an emergency declaration. The decision came one day after Mayor Willie Brown withdrew his support for the proposal. ,p> “If it were up to me, I would have a state of emergency, but given the [advice], it doesn’t look a state of emergency is going to fly,” said Ammiano.
Brown said that he also felt a declaration of a medical marijuana emergency could legally endanger the clean needle program. He added that city officials were attempting to work out an agreement with the state attorney general’s office to let another organization distribute marijuana to patients.
“If they say that it can’t be done [by the San Francisco Cannabis Buyers’ Club and] it has to be done [by] some other organization that’s free of any taint, then we’ll do that,” Brown said at his bi-weekly press conference.
“My interest is to get [medical marijuana] to an organization that has no history with legal or illegal use of marijuana,” added police commissioner Pat Norman. “[This] should not be a political issue; it should be provided as treatment.”
Responding to the possibility that city officials may attempt to procure an outside entity to distribute medical marijuana, San Francisco Cannabis Buyers’ Club founder Dennis Peron told the San Francisco Chronicle that he would support any and all efforts to viably get medical marijuana to the sick.
For more information, please contact Mark Capitolo of Californians for Medical Rights @ (916) 457-5546 or Dale Gieringer of California NORML @ (415) 563-5858. For the latest information on the status of the San Francisco Cannabis Buyers’ Club please contact Californians for Compassionate Use @ (415) 621-3986.