Urgent! Medical MJ Alert for Tuolumne County

Dear Medical Marijuana Advocate-

I just got word that Tuolumne County will be voting
next Tuesday on whether or not to join San Diego and
San Bernardino in the lawsuit against the State of
California which is an attempt to overturn proposition
215. The suit has been lodged because San Diego is
claiming that California’s medical marijuana laws
are preempted by the federal Controlled Substances
Act, this is a fallacy because in a Federalist system
of government, state law is allowed to conflict with
federal law. It would be a great misappropriation of
Tuolumne County’s limited resources to entangle
itself in this costly lawsuit against the state which
is not based on any legitimate legal grounds.
The supervisors will also be voting on whether or not
to implement the California medical marijuana ID card
program. The ID cards would be voluntary for patients
and caregivers to obtain through the county and would
serve to further protect them from arrest.
Please call and email your supervisor immediately
urging them not to join the lawsuit and to immediately
implement the ID card program, as required by state
law.
Also, it would be greatly beneficial to get as many
patients and activists out to the board meeting as
possible. Please come show your support for medical
marijuana and the California ID card program. If you
want additional information about the meeting, feel
free to contact me at fa_smith [at] yahoo.com or (707)
291-0076.

Board Meeting Time and Location:
Tuesday, Feb. 14th – 9:00am
Tuolumne County Administration Center
2 S. Green Street
Sonora, California 95370

I have provided contact info for your county
supervisors as well as talking points below:

You can find your supervisor using this district map:
http://portal.co.tuolumne.ca.us/psp/ps/TUP_SUPERVISORS/ENTP/h/?tab=TUP_BOS_MAP_TAB

Contact information for supervisors:
District 1: Supervisor Liz Bass
Email: lbass [at] co.tuolumne.ca.us
Phone: (209) 533-5521
FAX: (209) 533-6549

District 2: Supervisor Paolo Maffei
Email: pmaffei [at] co.tuolumne.ca.us
Phone: (209) 533-5521
FAX: (209) 533-6549

District 3: Vacant – Contact Paolo Maffei (Board
Chair)
Email: pmaffei [at] co.tuolumne.ca.us
Phone: (209) 533-5521
FAX: (209) 533-6549

District 4: Supervisor Mark Thornton
Email: mthornton [at] co.tuolumne.ca.us
Phone: (209) 533-5521
FAX: (209) 533-6549

District 5: Supervisor Richard "Dick" Pland
Email: rpland [at] co.tuolumne.ca.us
Phone: (209) 533-5521
FAX: (209) 533-6549


Talking Points against the San Diego lawsuit:


• This lawsuit is not base on legitimate legal
grounds. California’s counties, as subdivisions of
the state are required by our State Constitution to
uphold state law over federal law. This has been
confirmed by legal precedence dating back over 100
years.

• Proposition 215 has already been to the Supreme
Court three times and has never been overturned.

• California voters overwhelmingly support our
state’s medical marijuana laws. It is the job of our
representatives to uphold the will of the voters. This
lawsuit is not only an injustice to our democratic
system but a huge slap in the face to the
hundreds-of-thousands of legitimate medical marijuana
patients in our state.

• This lawsuit is costly and Tuolumne County should
not be wasting its limited resources engaging in such
a lost cause.



Talking Points in favor of California’s Medical
Marijuana ID Card Program:

• The Medical Marijuana ID Card is mandated by law.
Voters approved the Compassionate Use Act (Prop. 215)
in 1996 because they felt that seriously ill patients
should not be arrested for using marijuana as
medicine. In order to further advance the will of the
voters and secure patients from arrest, the state
legislature enacted SB 420 which requires counties to
administer a voluntary statewide ID card program for
patients and caregivers. Refer to California Attorney
General’s opinion, published last July:
http://www.aaronsmith.org/ag_opinion_mmic.pdf
• An ID card program will greatly assist
law-enforcement and dispensary operators in
distinguishing patients with legitimate medical
marijuana recommendations from those who are using
false or counterfeit documentation.
• The ID card, while voluntary will be widely used
because it firmly protects patients and caregivers
from arrest. This is not only in step with the will of
California voters, but frees up our law enforcement
from pursuing cases they cannot prosecute and allows
them to focus on genuine criminal activity.
• A viable ID card program will be revenue-neutral
because the county is allowed to set its own fees to
recoup the start-up and operating costs. It is even
possible for the county to make a modest profit; for
example, the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program was able
to realize a $986,000 budget surplus after two years
of operation. (http://www.mpp.org/OR/news_8244.html)

Thank you for your support of this critical issue.


Sincerely,

F. Aaron Smith
Safe Access Now
fa_smith [at] yahoo.com
ph: (707) 291-0076
fx: (866) 204-134