August 26, 2002

Honorable Bill Lockyer
Attorney General
State of California
1300 I Street
Suite 1740
Sacramento, CA 95814

Dear Mr. Lockyer,

Our organization has appreciated working with your office to help implement the Compassionate Use Act. We are strong supporters of Senator John Vasconcellos Bill SB 187 which we believe will provide a rational process to the Statewide effort to make medical cannabis safe and accessible to California patients. We appreciate the efforts of your office to present the case for States Rights in regard to medical decisions to the United States Supreme Court.

Six months ago, we wrote your office detailing serious problems that continue in California more than six years after the pioneering Proposition 215 passed. We asked your office to:

1. Issue an advisory bulletin to local law enforcement agencies to insure compliance with the provisions of the Compassionate Use Act. Respect for our medical cannabis law is lacking in many jurisdictions. Most counties still lack reasonable guidelines and State guidelines may be years away. With the Mower Decision we believe it is more important than ever to have local government adopt guidelines similar to those presented by Safe Access Now and in use in a number of counties. Some jurisdictions simply don’t understand the rights detailed in the California Supreme Court decision. A clarification of the issues involved in Mower would be most helpful. More importantly, some jurisdictions apparently believe prosecutions aren’t advisable since Mower so these few jurisdictions are forwarding potential cases to the Federal Drug Enforcement Agency for action in direct violation of provisions of the California Constitution. Sworn officers violating the California Constitution should be independently investigated and prosecuted where appropriate. Malicious prosecutions of patients, caregivers, and physicians acting in accord with the Compassionate Use Act must cease and the officials responsible for pursuing such actions should be investigated by your office and prosecuted.
2. We asked that your office move the California Medical Board to hold public hearings to establish reasonable Standards of Practice in terms of evaluating and recommending medical cannabis. The Board has not done so and continues to prosecute physicians exercising their expressed rights under the Compassionate Use Act. We at AAMC believe a good faith examination and/or a comprehensive records review should be completed by any physician prior to recommending cannabis. We also believe that it is your office’s responsibility to protect physicians exercising their legitimate medical judgment and first amendment rights.
3. Six months ago we asked for a formal letter from your office to the DEA in Washington setting forth the States position on medical cannabis. In the ensuing months a number of patients and caregivers have been arrested by the DEA with patient medicine seized and asset forfeiture instituted. We now believe that it is imperative that your office seek relief from DEA prosecutions of medical cannabis activities that are consistent with the Compassionate Use Act. We strongly ask that your office seek a restraining order or injunction in Federal Court to halt DEA activities until such time as Congress acts or the Supreme Court of the United States decides on the constitutionality of California law.

Our present Federal government is acting to deprive California citizens of their basic rights. The present administration in Washington is no respecter of States Rights as we have seen in Oregon where the DEA decided to threaten physicians acting in accord with Oregon’s Death With Dignity Act. The difference is that in Oregon the Attorney General sought and received relief in court. We expect the same from your office.

California law and the aspirations of millions of voters are in grave danger unless we have an elected official, such as yourself, champion that law and hope. We most sincerely hope that your office will act quickly to protect California citizens.

It is no exaggeration to say that many thousands of sick and disabled Californians have been materially hurt by the failure to properly implement Proposition 215 and by the Federal crusade against medical cannabis. It is past time to move decisively to protect our California law now upheld unanimously by our State Supreme Court and to protect our California patients, caregivers, and physicians.

Please advise us at your earliest opportunity how you intend to proceed on these serious matters.

Yours in service,

cc: Honorable Senator John Vasconcellos
Ryan Landers, California State Director- AAMC
Arthur Livermore, Oregon State Director- AAMC