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HomeMy WebLinkAbout4/30/2003 - STAFF REPORTS (3) y 30-D3 sue. U� OD UNIVISION �`` C+71 41-601 Corporate Way Palm Desert, CA 92260 te1 760.341.5837 fax 760:341.0951 RADIO j RONLIkN TICAN AN 2 4 2003 April 22, 2003 City of Palm Springs P.O. Box 2743 Palm Springs, CA 92263 Attention: Will Kleindienst, Mayor Dear Mayor Kleindienst: Your city is invited to be a part of the Hispanic Community Broadcast News Calendar. This weekly news service for our community will provide vital information from your city to Hispanic residents regarding pertinent matters. All of Entravision properties (KVER-TV Univision, KEVC-TV Telefutura, Galavision Channel 60 and Radio Romantica 94.7 FM) in the region will be broadcasting this calendar. The news team from KVER-TV Univisi6n, the most watched news team in the region, will coordinate this Community Broadcast News Calendar. It would give us great pleasure to team with your city in order to provide your residents with this very important service. What is even more enticing is the fact that all costs related to the production and broadcast of this service will be absorbed by our company. Please call Graciela Munoz at (760) 341-5837 to arrange an appointment to provide you with additional information about the program. Thank you for your attention and we hope you join the many other cities already participating in this wonderful community service. Sincerely, Tony Bit, G.M. TB/tb P.S.: Please distribute a copy of this letter to all of your council members. � ENTRAVISION COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION Proposal for Creation of a ";J �r�o�I Palm Springs Medical Marijuana Task For e Purpose, Composition, Selection, Operation, Gd4l Meetings, Schedule, Report Contents Submitted by Lanny Swerdlow Marijuana Anti-Prohibition Project PO Box 739, Palm Springs CA 92263 760-799-2055 mappnow@hotmail.com 1. Purpose The purpose of the Palm Springs Marijuana Task Force is to assist authorities in the implementation of Health and Safety Code 11362.5 and to study the issue of whether the city of Palm Springs should promulgate guidelines for medical marijuana users on the amount of marijuana they may possess and cultivate. The guidelines will give directions to the Palm Springs Police on how they will respond when they are in the presence of tine medicine used by medical marijuana patients whether in dry form or under cultivation. The only guidance provided by the Riverside County District Attorney's office has been a statement made by Deputy Prosecutor Cynthia Brewer who maintains "The law is clear, people can only possess what is necessary to receive medicinal benefit." The Task Force will examine how the Palm Springs guidelines can accommodate these perimeters as well as look at guidelines utilized by other cities and counties to determine if any of those guidelines could work effectively for the city of Palm Springs. 2. Composition The PS Task Force shall be composed of representatives of the communities that will be impacted by the issuance of guidelines. The Task Force should emulate the San Diego Medical Marijuana/Cannabis Task Force which was comprised of doctors, patients, caregivers, healthcare industry professionals, public interest legal advocates, and representatives from nonprofit organizations providing direct services to cancer, HIV, and other compassionate use patients. 3. Selection of the Task Force Two people should be selected by the council to organize the first meeting. At that meeting volunteer representatives from affected groups and interested citizens would attend. If citizen interest in very high and the number of volunteers would make for too many representatives on the Task Force, then a list of names would be drawn up and submitted to the Palm Springs City Council members who would each choose a specific number of task force members. Riverside Press-Enterprise, Saturday, September 28, 2002 4. Method of Operation The Task Force will hold public hearings for the purpose of soliciting testimony on all aspects of the issue. The Task Force will seek the testimony of experts in the field and encourage all individuals and organizations to present their views on how guidelines will impact on patients, police and the community, the quantities patients may possess and cultivate, methods of enforcement and their costs,,entanglement with other legal entities and any other issue that the Task Force feels should be of concern. 5. Meetings The Task Force will schedule meetings as needed to obtain the information. 6. Time Schedule The 'fask Force should be organized within 30 days of its creation by the Palm Springs City Council. During the next three months, the Task Force will hold hearings. At the conclusion of the hearings, the Task Force will prepare a report to the City Council to be submitted within 90 days of its last hearing. 7. The report should contain: Proposed amounts of marijuana a patient could possess and cultivate before it is deemed that the quantity before law enforcement would consider the amounts excessive. How law enforcement will determine if the amount of marijuana they have is excessive. I low patients demonstrate to the satisfaction of law enforcement that they are bona tide patients. The positive and negative impacts guidelines will have on the Palm Springs community. Any other information the Task Force should be considered by the Palm Springs City Council in making their determination on the issuance of guidelines. 2 Proposed Guidelines (pending Governor Davis signing SB 187, or similar legislation) for: MEDICINAL CANNABIS INTRODUCTION: History Hemp has been known for at least 10,000 years. The cannabis plant has been used comercially medicinally and recreationally for thousands of years. It likely wasn't until the early 19th century that the medicinal use of cannabis spread from China and the Middle East to the population of Europe and then to America in the middle of the 19th century. Tincture of cannabis preparations were popular patent medicines from the 1880s to the 1920s. They were manufactured by such firms as Eli Lily, Squibb, Merck, Parke-Davis, and the Smith Brothers. They decreased in favor because the product was hard to standardize and had a relatively short shelf life and the labeling requirements of the 1906 Pure Food &Drug Act. THC was isolated in 1964. The first formal physiologic research was done at Harvard by Dr. Andrew Weil in 1968. Animal studies at the University of Jerusalem, McGill, Brown, UCSF, Texas, Minnesota and UCI have documented many of the medicinal claims made for cannabis. Recent double blind human research in the UK and at UCSF scientifically confirms several of the historical medicinal uses. The state of California has allocated three (3) million dollars for a medical marijuana cannabis institute at UCSD. Recently the FDA has approved research protocols for four (4) studies under UCSD's direction, and nine (9) additional study protocols are in review. • Constituents and Chemical Characteristics: Marijuana contains 483 chemical compounds. The active ingredients in cannabis are called cannabinoids. There are many cannabinoids synthesized by the plant including tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabiol, cannabidiol, cannabinolidic acid, cannabigerol, and cannabichromene. The main psychoactive substance is generally believed to be delta-9- tetrahydrocannabinol (hereafter referred to as THC), but at least 65 other cannabinoids (C21-containing compounds) have been identified in the pyrolysis products. Delta-8-THC is similar in potency to delta-9-THC, but is present in only small concentrations. Cannabinol and cannabadiol are the other major cannabinoids present. The former is slightly psychoactive, but not in the amounts delivered by smoking marijuana. The average content of delta-9-THC in marijuana plants usually ranges from 0.3% to 4% based on the climate, soil, growing conditions, and handling after harvest, but values as high as 20% have been achieved in some preparations. • Anandamide Receptor: At present, it is felt that a combination of cannabinoids affect receptors found both in the brain and in the peripheral nervous system, These central receptors are in the limbic system, which is in the midbrain and includes the nucleus accumbens and the substancia nigra. These receptors are also receptor sites for an endogenous transmitter made by the brain called anandanide. There are also peripheral receptor sites and cannabis binds to them as well. Exactly how cannabis works is not yet clear, but it does act at different binding sites than opiate medication and likely slows down or decreases some neurotransmissions. WHAT DOES PROPOSITION 215 MEAN • Medicinal Cannabis Made Legal in Californialby Prop 215 In November 1996 the people of California approved Proposition 215, initiative with 56% of the popular vote statewide. Under the law, patients or their primary caregivers who possess or cultivate marijuana for medical treatment recommended by a physician are supposed to be exempted from criminal prosecution, although most D.A.s see the medicinal use as only an affirmative defense to prosecution. The treatment may be for "cancer, anorexia, AIDS, chronic pain, spasticity, glaucoma, arthritis, migraine, or aM other illness for which marijuana provides relief." In accord with Proposition 215, physicians may not be penalized in any way for making the recommendation, which may be either written or oral. • No Statewide Guidelines Yet The interim guidelines are needed because no statewide guidelines exist for implementing Prop 215. Even though the state legislature has twice passed implementing legislation in SB 848 and SB 187, neither Governor Davis nor Governor Wilson signed these bills into law. This is why Prop 215 has been implemented in an inconsistent manner throughout California. The guidelines differ, depending upon the local political situation. With the state attorney general's office currently unable to provide direction, cities and counties either formally or defacto have set their own criteria and/or guidelines on medical marijuana use. The medicinal use of cannabis ',is legal in California, however many ill people are fearful because of arbitrary, capricious and differing criteria of what constitutes an appropriate amount for personal use. In order to facilitate adherence to the law, interim guidelines by local jurisdictions are required to fill the gap left by the governor's failure to act for over six(6) years. PROPOSED INTERIM CITY OF GOLETA GUIDELINES There have been several jurisdictions who have adapted various guidelines as to the amount of cannabis a person, who has a medical recommendation that is consistent with the Compassionate Use Act of 1996 and Health and Safety Code 11362.5, can legally possess with the assumption that it is for personal use. If they possess or cultivate this designated amount or less, then either there are NO grounds for being arrested, the charges will be dismissed before a preliminary he after confirmation of the recommendation). These amounts vary widely among the jurisdictions which have initiated them. A good point of departure is that',the federal government provides seven (7) pounds of cannabis per year to the seven remaining patients enrolled in the federal Industrial New Drug (IND) program. Law Enforcement Guidelines for Persons Meeting Certain Conditions: I. Introduction A. Persons who come in contact with law enforcement will not be cited, detained longer than necessary to verify their status, or arrested, and cannabis in their possession will not be seized or destroyed, if all of the following conditions are met. Nothing in these guidelines is intended to shield anyone who is breaking the law, nor are these guidelines intended to abrogate or expand any rights created by state law. A patient whose physician has recommended use of medicinal cannabis in amounts greater than those contained in this section may be issued a Medicinal Cannabis Voluntary Verification card; however, possession of medicinal cannabis in amounts which exceed those stated in Section I will be handled by the Goleta Police Department (e.g., Santa Barbara County Sheriffs under contract to the City of Goleta) in accordance with the provisions of Section II of these guidelines. The following are the conditions which must be met in order to qualify for "safe harbor" treatment by the Goleta Police Department. B. Patient and Caregiver Definition 1. Status as a Medicinal Cannabis Patient The person must be in lawful possession of a current valid letter from a physician approving or recommending the medicinal use of cannabis. 2. Caregiver A "primary caregiver" means the individual designated by a patient who has consistently assumed responsibility for the housing, health or safety of that person. Please note that this is written in the disjunctive, meaning that a caregiver need only assume responsibility for one of the listed concerns: housing or health or safety of the patient. A primary caregiver may be a person whose only responsibility for the patient's health care is the provision of medical cannabis so long as the relationship between them is consistent, that is, the primary caregiver is the patient's sole provider of medical cannabis. A primary caregiver may be reimbursed for his/her services by the patient. II. Amount of Cannabis A. Plants 1. • Outdoor/Greenhouse Plants We need to recognize that if a person is cultivating cannabis outside they will have one crop a year. Therefore in that circumstance a yield of seven pounds of flowering tops would be one person's yearly medical supply, of cannabis. Outdoor plants generally produce more cannabis per plant then indoor, usually 1-2 oz. and on occasion (with 15-20 ft. tall plants) under ideal growing conditions, potentially up to a pound. This is why an outside guideline is better served by a square footage rather than counting plants -- some are male, some female, some will die of root rot, other plants, attacked by insects. Some plants will flourish and other plants will be stunted. The square footage most often suggested is 100 sq. ft. (e.g., 10 ft. x 10 ft. plot). Growing areas must be enclosed and secured. 2. • Indoor For indoor plants the growing season is about three months. A good horticulturist can raise plants which produce about 1/4 oz. of THC, that is 1/4 oz. of the flowery tops which is the portion of the plant containing most of the cannabinoids. Therefore with an indoor grow if a person were to use at the federal standard of about 9 oz. per month of cannabis they would require harvesting 36 mature plants per month. There would need to be another 36 growing for the next month and 36 to be harvested in 2 months and 36 clones to be harvested in three months for a total of 144 plants. Oakland allows 48 mature plants indoors (as opposed to the 36 suggested here) and 96 total plants (as opposed to 144) if less than 48 are flowering. Ventura allows for one (1) dried pound of medicinal cannabis. The amount of mature indoor plants necessary to produce this amount by the average grower is 64 plants. Since indoor plants produce on average 1/4 oz. of medicinal cannabis, the number of plants required in order to harvest 9 oz. of cannabis on a monthly basis, is 144 plants. I suggest that Goleta allow 90 total indoor plants of which 30 can be mature in a growing area of no more than 100 sq. ft. 3. • Combination Indoor and Outdoor Plants Patients and caregivers may utilize both indoor and outdoor cultivation areas; however, the maximum combined number of plants may not exceed 90 and growing areas may not exceed the permissible square footage detailed in sections II.A.1. and II.A.2. above for each category of cultivation. B. Processed Marijuana The following are permissible amounts of medicinal cannabis. These amounts would be presumed to be for personal use representing a "safe harbor" from arrest or long-term detention by the Goleta Police Department for a person possessing a valid current letter from a physician unless there was solid evidence to the contrary: So at a primary residence or the place of cultivation of the patient or primary care giver, a patient can have either 90 plants indoors or 1Ox10 (100 sq.ft.) plot outdoors or a combination per II A3 above. (1) And the home or primary residence or place of cultivation or transported directly between those two places,. A patient may possess the total amount of processed marijuana, regardless of growing method, recommended by his/her physician for the length of time recommended by the physician, not to exceed a one year's supply or three pounds, whichever is less. (2) At a transient hotel, motel, trailer, or,rented campsite -- three ounces. (3) At a public place or event, or a private place open for public attendance ''/2 oz. or 14.3 gins. (4) At a school, event or gathering intended for juveniles or is attended mostly by juveniles --NONE. A person could possess more than that but they may be required to explain why prior to or at a preliminary hearing or at trial. III. Possible Exceptions/Special Circumstances A. -Sales There are some signs that a person is selling. Obviously the best evidence is staking out the house and observing the sales. While circumstantial evidence is just that, circumstantial, it may be sufficient to at least hold a preliminary hearing. Possible circumstantial markers would include (1) an unusual amount of unexplained cash; (2) illegal firearms; (3) prior conviction for drug sale; 4) having the drug divided into multiple standard weight packages; (5) pay/owe slips. If a person had three (3) or more of these markers it might warrant a charge for sale. B. -Other Of course, driving under the influence, and direct evidence that cultivation or possession related to actual selling would fall outside of these proposed guidelines. C. -Compliance with Smoking Laws Patients who wish to avail themselves of the "safe harbor" described by this ordinance are not permitted to smoke medicinal cannabis under any circumstances in which the smoking of tobacco is currently prohibited by state or local law. IV. Law Enforcement Guidelines for Persons Not Meeting These Conditions A. -No change in rights provided by HSC 11362.5(d) Nothing in these guidelines is intended to reduce or expand the rights of a patient or primary caregiver otherwise authorized by Health and Safety Code § 11362.5(d). Under state law, it is possible that physicians may recommend, and patients may possess, amounts of marijuana greater than the amounts specified in these guidelines depending upon the circumstances of each case. Further, state and local law does not require patients or caregivers to possess voluntary verification cards in order to exercise their rights to use or provide medicinal marijuana. B. -Assessment of larger amounts All instances of possession of marijuana greater than the amounts detailed in Section C I of these guidelines in which medical necessity or caregiver status is asserted will be evaluated by the Goleta Police Department and/or the D.A. on medicinal cannabis letter a case by case basis, taking into account facts such as whether the person is in possession of a current valid medicinal cannabis letter and whether the amount possessed is consistent with a physician's recommendation. In instances of possession of marijuana by a person not able to produce a valid physician's letter, but in which medical necessity or caregiver status is asserted, officers will utilize reasonable discretion, taking into account the totality of the circumstances. V. -Seizure of Plants: Waiting Period In any event, cannabis plants within the amounts stated in these guidelines in the possession of a person asserting medical necessity or caregiver status will not be seized for at least 72 hours following a detention. During this 72 hour period, police will investigate the medical necessity or caregiver status claim with all deliberate speed. Police may photograph plants, take samples, and take other reasonable steps that will not interfere with the viability of the plants or the availability of medicine. Police may, at their discretion, immediately seize plants which exceed the number permitted under Section I of these guidelines. VI. • Registry It is proposed that no voluntary patient registry be kept or a committee be set up and decide the issue. I suggest that a committee of doctors, patients, lawyers, and law enforcement meet to decide whether or not the'city should issue patient ID cards and, if so, under what guidelines and criteria such a registry would be admitted. VII. The criteria to receive a bonafide doctor's recommendation as per Prop. 215: • The patient is presently under a doctor's care • In the doctor's medical opinion and from purely a medical perspective: (1) use of marijuana is appropriate for the patient's condition; and (2) such use is recommended for the treatment of the patient's condition; • the physician does not intend to encourage the patient to engage in illegal activity, and is only providing her/his opinion, based upon understanding of currently available medical and scientific evidence, of the potential efficacy of marijuana use for the patient's condition. DISCUSSION: • Affirmative Defense Although the law created by Proposition 215 provides an affirmative defense for patients in criminal cases, it is not a long-term solution for the problem it addresses, because the federal government will not allow authority, over drugs to revert to the states. Nevertheless, similar laws have been adopted in Oregon, Arizona, Washington, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Nevada, Colorado and Washington D.C. These votes signal a growing public impatience with the present legal obstacles to medical cannabis. According to a 1995 poll conducted by the American Civil Liberties Union, 85% of Americans believe that marijuana should be available as a medicine, a 1997 ABC poll found 69% favor legal medicinal marijuana. In the fall of 1999 the Washington D.C. Marijuana Initiative passed with 70% of the popular vote. Other states which have approved medicinal use of cannabis include AZ, NV, HI, CO, ME, WA, OR. The recent Mowrer decision by the California Supreme Court (July 19, 2002) found that people who use medicinal marijuana and are arrested on drug charges can use their status in their defense before a trial starts. The court ruled if their cases do go to trial, the burden to show they have valid prescriptions is reduced. The ruling also applies to primary caregivers of medical marijuana users. Gerald Uhleman, former Dean of Santa Clara School of Law and current professor there said, "They (the California Supreme Court) ruled that medical marijuana is medicine in California. You don't have a lower legal standard than if you had a prescription for another medicine." And finally State Attorney General Bill Lockyer, who's office prosecuted the case, supported the decision. He said in a written statement that "As a supporter of Proposition 215, I believe that the court's decision strikes an appropriate balance in helping to ensure that truly needy patients whose doctors have recommended medical marijuana to alleviate pain and suffering related to serious illnesses will have access to this medicine under California law." • Dose The effective dose of THC is usually considered to be between 2 and 40 mg. when smoked, and between 20 and 90 mg. when taken orally. GW Pharmaceuticals, who has done extensive double blind studies on tincture of cannabis using six different strains of cannabis, say the dose is for 2 mg. - 80 mg of THC. Solvey the makers of drabinol (Marinol) say that the single dose can be up to 15 mg./m2 of body surface, 4-6x per day-- roughly up to approximately 100 mg./day of A9THC. Under normal smoking conditions, 16 to 19% of the THC in the joint is consumed, the rest is pyrolysed. The lethal dose is not known. Tests with animals indicate that the relation between the lethal and the effective dose can be estimated at 4,000-40,000. For comparison, the amounts that have corresponding relation for alcohol is 4-10. The government in their IND program provided the amount of cannabis necessary to obtain a therapeutic result. This is 7 lbs. per year. For example a 1 gm. cannabis cigarette containing 10% THC cannabis, has 100 mg. of THC. However this is not the amount which is delivered to the patient. If smoked cannabis cigarette delivers no more than 30% of the THC in the cigarette to blood stream. Agyerethe in 1986 found that smoking destroys 30% of THC. An additional amount is lost to air and left in the butt, stub (roach). Nevertheless per 9th report of the House of Lords, a Select Committee on Science and Technology smoked cannabis is more efficient than oral-consumed cannabis, so a smaller dose is required for the same effect if the cannabis is smoked. • Half-Life When THC enters the blood stream, it is rapidly absorbed by the fatty tissue (half life 30 mins.). It then returns gradually to the blood, is metabolized, and is eliminated in urine and feces (half life: a few days!). Repeated use leads to accumulation in fat and liver, but not in the brain. As a result, THC metabolites can still be found in the urine weeks after use in the chronic user. • Onset of Affects When smoked, the acute effects begin to appear after a few minutes. The plasma concentration peaks after 7 to 10 minutes, but the peak effect is only felt after 20 to 30 minutes. Some effects may last for 2 to 3 hours.i When consumed orally, it only takes effect after 1 to 2 hours, and the effect lasts for 5 to 12 hours. After oral administration, dronabinol (Marinol) has an onset of action of approximately 0.5 to 1 hours and peak effect at 2-4 hours. Duration of action for psychoactive effects is 4 to 6 hours, but the appetite stimulant effect of dronabinol may continue for 24 hours or longer after administration. WARNINGS: • Patients should talk with your doctor before you use if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. • Patients should tell your doctor or dentist that you are taking cannabis before having any kind of surgery. • This medicine can give you a sense of well-being (make you "high") or make you dizzy or drowsy. Also pay particular attention to this side effect if you are taking any other medicines that cause drowsiness such as antihistamines, narcotic pain medicines, sedatives, tranquilizers, or tricyclic antidepressants such as Elavil0, Tofranil0, or SinequanO. Be careful when driving a car or operating machinery. Before driving or operating heavy equipment determine effect of cannabis on your ability to do so. POTENTIAL EFFICACY OF CANNABINOIDS: A partial list of some of the conditions for which cannabis has been shown to be of value includes, but is not limited to: • migraines • seizures • muscle spasm • nausea and vomiting • side-effects of AIDS • side-effects of cancer chemotherapy • multiple sclerosis • chronic pain • asthma *Attached is a list of other jurisdiction's guidelines. HUMBOLDT COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY' S HEALTH & SAFETY CODE §§ 11357 - 11360, PROSECUTION GUIDELINES INTRODUCTION: Health & Safety Code §§ 11357 through 11360 provide generally that it is illegal to possess, cultivate, transport, distribute, or import marijuana in or into the state of California. Health & Safety Code § 11362 . 5 (Also known as Proposition 215 and/or the Compassionate Use Act of 1996) provides limited immunity from the prosecution of possession and cultivation of marijuana. The stated purposes of section 11362 .5 are : (i) To ensure that seriously ill Californians have the right to obtain and use marijuana for medical purposes where that medical use is deemed appropriate and has been recommended by a physician who has determined that the person' s health would benefit from the use of marijuana in the treatment of cancer, anorexia, AIDS, chronic pain, spasticity, glaucoma, arthritis, migraine, or any other illness ----- for which marijuana provides relief, (Herein medical marijuana . ) (Health & Safety Code § 11362 .5 (B) , Emphasis added_ ) (ii) To ensure that patients and their primary caregivers who obtain and use marijuana for medical purposes upon the recommendation of a physician are not subject to criminal prosecution or sanction. (Health & Safety Code § 11362 .5 (B) , Emphasis added. ) The goal and the purpose of these guidelines are: (i) To provide for the public safety and, security of the people of Humboldt County. (ii) To fairly and consistently apply the law equally to all people of Humboldt County. (iii) To ensure that the right of anyone with a recommendation from a physician to obtain and use marijuana for medical purposes (herein patients) is honored and respected in Humboldt County. Humboidt County District Attorney' s Health & Safety Code 55 11357 - 11360_ rnrnSarntinn 11i A-lin— (iv) To, ensure that patients an6 their primary caregivers are not subject to unnecessary criminal prosecution or sanction for legal cultivation and/or possession of marijuana . M To provide guidelines regarding medical marijuana to all concerned: patients; caregivers, physicians and law enforcement agencies so that Mutual rights; privileges and responsibilities may be mutually understood, honored and respected. The Humboldt County District Attorney' s Office will not prosecute patients whose use and possession of medical mdrijuana are within these guidelines . GUIbELINES GENERALLY: it is presumed; based on various govethment and non- governmental sources; that a patient will use up to three (3) pounds of processed usable marijuana per year. 1 Therefore, these guidelines -are intended to allow for the cultivation and bse of up to three (3) pounds of marijuana pet year. Outdoor cultivation provides the opportunity for only one (1) hatvest per year while indoor cultivation provides the opportunity for up to three (3) harvests per year. These guidelines distinguish between outdoor and indoor cultivation, presume three (3) indoor harvests per ', year and treat outdoor and indoor harvests differently; but with the goal to provide for the use and cultivation of up to three (3) pounds of dried usable marijuana for patients per year whether through outdoor or indoor cultivation. 1 The federal Investigational New Drug (IND) program provides patients with 10 to 12 medical marijuana cigarettes pet day - from 5 . 6 to 7 .23 pounds per 'year of processed usable marijuana which amounts to 8 .24 grams ',per day, or 6. 63 pounds per year. OUTDOOR CULTIVATION; Patients or their caregivers cultivating marijuana in an area within one hundred (100) square feet cumulatively measured by the vegetative canopy of the plants and who have ninety-nine (99) plants or less, including starts, shall be deemed within the District Attorney' s prosecution guidelines and will not be prosecuted. This limit applies to marijuana grown in a greenhouse, provided it is without the benefit of artificial light sources of any kind. In measuring canopy diameter to determine compliance, the following approximate figures may be used 3: Plant Canopy Approximate Approximate Diameter (Width Square feet number of plants in feet) of equal square feet in 100 square feet 1 1 99 2 3 33 3 7 14 4 13 7 i 5 20 5 6 28 3 7 38 2 8 50 2 9 64 1 10 79 1 11 95 1 Z Actual Square foot per diameter: Area = diameter squared x M 854, e .g. Plant Diameter = 30", Area = (30 x 30) x 0 . 7854, Area = 900 x 0 ,7854, Area = 706. 86 square inches, Area = 706.86 _ 144, (144 square inches per square foot) , Area 4 . 9 square feet . 3 To arrive at plants of equal size per 100 square feet divide 100 by square feet of plants, e . g. , 30" plant diameter = 4 . 9 square feet, 100 _ 4 . 9 = 20 . 40 plants of 30" diameter in 100 smiarP feet . 4, Measuring Diameter Diameter Summary, Patients or their caregivers cultivating marijuana outdoors pursuant to Health & Safety Code § 11362 .5, will not be prosecuted if the cultivation : i . Is within 100 square feet cumulatively measured by vegetative', canopy; and ii . Contains 99 plants or less, including starts. INDOOR CULTIVATION: Patients or their caregivers cultivating marijuana in an area Within one hundred (100) square feet cumulatively measured by the vegetative canopy of the plants and who ninety-nine (99) plants or less, including starts, and who are using one and one half (1.5) kilowatts (1500 watts) or less of illumination by artificial growing lights of any kind shall be deemed Within the District Attorneys prosecution guidelines and will not be prosecuted. Summary Patients or their caregivers cultivating marijuana indoors pursuant to Health & Safety Code § 11362 . 5, will not be prosecuted if the cultivation: i. Is within 100 square feet cumulatively measured by vegetative canopy; and ii . Contains 99 plants or less, including starts; and Is using 1 . 5 kilowatts (1500 watts) or less of illumination by artificial growing lights of any kind. PROCESSED MARIJUANA: Patients or their caregivers who possess three (3) pounds or less of processed useable marijuana will be deemed within the District Attorney' s prosecution guidelines and will not be prosecuted. Unharvested plants are not to be included in this weight. The District Attorney' s Office recognizes that possession of certain amounts of cannabis product such as baked goods, tinctures, concentrated cannabis, infusions, salves and other cannabis derivatives may be consistent with medicinal use. However, such possession must necessarily and will be treated on a case by case basis with deference to state laws which prohibit possession of those products. DOCUMENTATION: A prompt and noninvasive determination of whether cultivation and/or possession is legal or illegal can best be accomplished with the cooperation of all parties involved. Thereforer the District Attorney' s Office recommends that physician recommendations and/or other supporting documentation be conspicuously posted at cultivation sites and that such documentation or a copy of the documentation be carried with the patient and caregiver at all times . Failure to post and carry such documentation may result in unnecessary legal fees and costs and/or criminal prosecution. The District Attorney' s Office recognizes that under Health Safety Code § 11362.51 an individual may qualify as a patient by an oral recommendation. However, a prompt and noninvasive determination of whether cultivation and/or possession is legal or illegal is best accomplished with a written recommendation. Therefore, the District Attorney' s Office recommends that patients and caregivers obtain written recommendations.4 4 The Humboldt County Public Health Department has a patient card program. Participation in the program is voluntary and is not required by law or these guidelines . However, obtaining a card may enable a patient and caregiver to avoid arrest, legal fees and costs and prosecution. PHYSICIAN RECOMMENDATIONS.- The District Attorney' s office recognizes that citizens have the right to choose their physicians and that their communications with them. are privileged. Therefore, the District Attorney' s Office will honor, the possession of a valid physician' s recommendation regardless of whether that physician resides in Humboldt County. Further, disclosure of confidential physician-patient communications will not be deemed a waiver of the physician-patient privilege by the District Attorney' s Office. ENFORCEMENT OPTIONS: The District Attorney' s office does not regulate or advise law enforcement except as is explicitly provided by law. The following are suggestions to minimize the risk of unnecessary governmental destruction of private property and intrusion. Health d Safety Code § 11362 . 5 provides that a physician can recommend marijuana Use for "any illness for which marijuana provides relief:" Physician-patient communications are privileged. Inquiry into the patient' s physician-patient communications should be avoided unless necessary to obtain medical care for the patient . Both the United States and the California Constitutions prohibit governmental taking without due process and compensation. Therefore, if an officer or officers believe marijuana cultivation and/or. possession is pursuant to Health d Safety Code § 11362.5y but that the , cultivation and/or possession exceeds these guidelines, the officer or officers should only seize that amount in excess of the .guidelines . These guidelines nullify any existing , guidelines and shall remain in effect until further clarified by statute, case law or written revision by the District Attorney' s Office. NOTICE: These guidelines and the policy they embody reflect the position of the Humboldt County District Attorney' s Office only. Persons using or considering the use of marijuana, its possession, transportation or recommendation must be aware that the policies of other counties within may differ . More significantly; the federal government ' and other states crlminallze marijuana and all activities associated with its Possession, cultivation, use, transportation, distribution and sale . These guidelines offer no protection against actions brought by other agencies . Dated: gy, // Paul V. Gallegos District Attorney, Humboldt County