10:00 PM PDT on Tuesday, August 26, 2008
By ZEKE MINAYA
The Press-Enterprise
San Bernardino and San Diego counties will once again team up in court in a renewed attempt to overturn California's Medical Marijuana Program Act, county authorities said Tuesday.
The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors decided during the closed session of its weekly meeting to once again take up the case, this time before the state supreme court, according to Jodi Miller, a spokeswoman with the San Bernardino County Sheriff's department.
The board took the step "at the urging of the Sheriff in his capacity as the county's chief law enforcement and public safety official," according to county spokesman David Wert.
The counties have argued that the medical marijuana program violates federal law and the state constitution.
Federal law lists marijuana as a dangerous narcotic with no medical use. San Bernardino County Sheriff Gary Penrod has said the medical marijuana program act creates ethical conflicts for his officers, who must also uphold federal law.
In 1996, California voters legalized marijuana as treatment for symptoms of illness such as cancer, glaucoma and chronic pain. Prop. 215 won the approval of 56 percent of voters.
The counties are not seeking to overturn that initiative.
But the subsequent Medical Marijuana Program Act has placed local authorities in direct conflict with the federal Controlled Substances Act, lawyers of the counties have argued. The Program law created a system for counties to investigate applicants, issue user cards and maintain records.
San Bernardino County has not issued any user cards as the case has made its way through the courts. Since 2006 Riverside County has issued roughly 1,000 cards, including annual renewals.
In July, the state's 4th District Court of Appeal in San Diego rejected the counties claim that federal statues pre-empted the 2003 Program Act. In their 3-0 opinion, the appellate judges also turned away San Bernardino County's argument that the identification card provisions of the law violated California's constitution.
Staff Writer Richard K. De Atley contributed to this report.
Reach Zeke Minaya at 909-806-3062 or zminaya@PE.com
http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_W_appeal.488e2ec.html
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