San Mateo County Supervisor Mike Nevin will meet with state Attorney General Dan Lungren on November 14 to discuss a proposal to distribute medical marijuana through county-run facilities.
“It just makes sense,” Nevin told The San Francisco Chronicle. He suggested that local hospitals and pharmacies dispense medical marijuana in order to eliminate the need for private Cannabis Buyers’ Clubs which are not uniformly regulated.
“We already have in place a secure system where people can receive medication,” he added. Presently, the county has a local ordinance prohibiting the establishment of Cannabis Buyers’ Clubs.
Legal analysts note that the proposed policy would likely run contrary to federal law unless the marijuana was supplied by a branch of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Presently, federal law prohibits state entities from distributing marijuana unless it is mandated for “research purposes” only. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, several state boards of health distributed marijuana to certified patients under this provision. In all cases, the marijuana was provided by the federal government.
NORML Executive Director R. Keith Stroup said that it is unlikely the federal government would supply marijuana for such a program at this time.
For more information, please contact either Dale Gieringer of California NORML @ (415) 563-5858 or Allen St. Pierre of The NORML Foundation @ (202) 483-8751. A report outlining the history of state-run medical marijuana research programs is available from The NORML Foundation upon request.