BILL NUMBER: AJR 13 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
RESOLUTION CHAPTER 64
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE JUNE 19, 2003
ADOPTED IN SENATE JUNE 16, 2003
ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 24, 2003
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 22, 2003
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 27, 2003
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Leno
MARCH 10, 2003
Assembly Joint Resolution No. 13--Relative to medical cannabis.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AJR 13, Leno. Medical cannabis.
This measure would urge the President and Congress of the United
States to take specified actions relating to the use of cannabis for
medicinal purposes.
WHEREAS, In 1970, Congress passed the Comprehensive Drug Abuse
Prevention and Control Act of 1970 (Chapter 13 (commencing with
Section 801) of Title 21 of the United States Code), classifying
cannabis as a "Schedule I" controlled substance, which means that the
drug or other substance has a high potential for abuse, the drug or
other substance has no currently accepted medicinal use in treatment
in the United States, and there is a lack of accepted safety for use
of the drug or other substance under medical supervision; and
WHEREAS, In the intervening 33 years since cannabis was classified
as a Schedule I controlled substance, studies have indicated that
cannabis is therapeutic in the treatment of a number of serious
ailments, and is less toxic and less costly than many conventional
medicines for which it may be substituted; and
WHEREAS, A well-established medicinal use of cannabis is as an
antinauseant for chemotherapy for cancer treatment for patients who
do not respond well to other antinausea medications; and
WHEREAS, A federally commissioned 1999 report by the National
Academy of Sciences determined that the active components of cannabis
are potentially effective in treating pain, nausea, and AIDS
wasting, as well as symptoms associated with other conditions,
including multiple sclerosis; and
WHEREAS, The use of cannabis alleviates nausea, vomiting, and loss
of appetite experienced by many AIDS patients, without accelerating
the rate at which persons who are HIV positive develop clinical AIDS
or other illnesses; and
WHEREAS, A 1982 report by the National Academy of Sciences
suggested that cannabis reduces interocular pressure in patients
suffering from glaucoma, which is the leading cause of blindness in
the United States; and
WHEREAS, Clinical evidence also points to the effectiveness of
cannabis as a therapeutic agent in the treatment of a variety of
spastic conditions, such as multiple sclerosis, paraplegia, epilepsy,
and quadriplegia; and
WHEREAS, The 1999 National Academy of Sciences report noted that
cannabis seems to alleviate muscle spasms associated with multiple
sclerosis; and
WHEREAS, Researchers from the University of San Francisco have
found that the use of cannabis modulates pain signals in much the
same way as morphine and other opiates, and the report from the
Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences concluded
that cannabis use can produce significant analgesic effects; and
WHEREAS, The results of this research have led the Society for
Neuroscience to pronounce that cannabis could relieve the pain of
tens of millions of Americans each year; and
WHEREAS, Research indicates that cannabis compounds may protect
brain cells during a stroke, and researchers at the National
Institute of Mental Health have called compounds in cannabis potent
antioxidants, which are relied on by doctors to protect stroke
victims from toxic levels of a brain chemical called glutamate; and
WHEREAS, Despite the legal prohibition against physicians
prescribing cannabis, many medical oncologists accept cannabis's
medical use in treatment and therefore recommend it to patients to
ease their pain and suffering; and
WHEREAS, The 1999 National Academy of Sciences report concluded
that cannabis is "promising for treating wasting syndrome in AIDS
patients," and that for patients who are undergoing chemotherapy and
who suffer simultaneously from severe pain, nausea, and appetite
loss, "cannabinoid drugs might offer broad-spectrum relief not found
in any other single medication," and that "(t)here will likely always
be a subpopulation of patients who do not respond well to other
medications"; and
WHEREAS, Between 1978 and 1996, legislatures in 34 states and the
District of Columbia passed laws recognizing the therapeutic value of
cannabis, and 23 of those laws remain in effect today; and
WHEREAS, Since 1996, nine states have accepted the medical use of
cannabis in treatment and have passed laws allowing a seriously ill
patient with a recommendation from his or her physician to possess
and use cannabis for medicinal purposes; and
WHEREAS, The eight states that have adopted compassionate medical
cannabis laws by voter initiative include California, Alaska,
Arizona, Colorado, Maine, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington; and
WHEREAS, The Legislature of the State of Hawaii passed a similar
medical cannabis law; and
WHEREAS, On November 5, 1996, the people of the State of
California adopted the Compassionate Use Act of 1996 (Proposition
215), codified in Section 11362.5 of the Health and Safety Code, in
order to allow seriously ill residents of the state who have the oral
or written recommendation of a physician to use cannabis for
medicinal purposes without fear of criminal liability under state
law; and
WHEREAS, These laws do not legalize cannabis or alter criminal
penalties regarding the possession or cultivation of cannabis for
recreational use, they do not establish a legal supply for patients
to obtain the drug, and they do not authorize physicians to prescribe
cannabis, which remains classified as a Schedule I drug under
California law; and
WHEREAS, These laws merely provide a narrow exemption from
prosecution for patients who use cannabis for medicinal purposes; and
WHEREAS, Although these laws protect patients and physicians from
state criminal penalties, they do not shield patients or their
physicians from federal prosecution; and
WHEREAS, Despite the adoption of this initiative in California, a
terminally ill patient may be prosecuted under federal law for
possessing cannabis for medicinal use; and
WHEREAS, A majority of Americans support legalizing the medicinal
use of cannabis for seriously ill patients, and the results of a
March 26, 1999, Gallup poll show that 73 percent of Americans support
making cannabis available to doctors so they may prescribe it; and
WHEREAS, Compassion demands that we allow seriously ill citizens
of the United States to gain access to, possess, and use cannabis to
alleviate their pain and suffering; and
WHEREAS, Medical professionals in our society should not be
required to subject themselves to the threat of federal criminal
prosecution in order to treat patients with a substance that has been
widely accepted by their profession as an effective treatment for
certain symptoms or conditions; and
WHEREAS, The Los Angeles Cannabis Resource Center (LACRC)
operated, pursuant to a resolution of the City Council of West
Hollywood and in accordance with California law as a patients'
cooperative that provides medical cannabis to bona fide patients,
many of whom are too ill to grow cannabis themselves for medical use;
and
WHEREAS, The LACRC operated in cooperation and conjunction with
the duly elected Mayor and City Council of the City of West
Hollywood, and with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and
its duly elected sheriff, in order to provide seriously ill, bona
fide patients with cannabis to be used for medicinal purposes; and
WHEREAS, The United States Drug Enforcement Administration, in
violation of the will of the California voters, entered the LACRC
premises on October 25, 2001, closed down the clinic, and seized
property and the confidential medical records of registered patients;
and
WHEREAS, The United States Attorney subsequently convened a grand
jury to indict the patient-operators of the LACRC, to the detriment
of several hundred seriously ill Californians who must now rely on
unregulated black-market sources if they wish to access cannabis to
treat their symptoms; and
WHEREAS, In July of 2002, Bryan Epis, who was associated with the
Chico Medical Marijuana Caregivers, was sentenced to 10 years in
prison after a trial in which the federal court judge excluded
medical evidence, and Mr. Epis was convicted of conspiracy to grow
cannabis; and
WHEREAS, On September 5, 2002, armed agents of the United States
Drug Enforcement Administration entered onto the private premises and
home of Valerie and Mike Corral, threatening the Corrals and other
sleeping patients of the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana in
Santa Cruz, California; and
WHEREAS, Federal agents arrested the Alliance directors,
handcuffed handicapped patients at gunpoint, and destroyed a cannabis
crop intended for the medical treatment of the approximately 250
gravely ill patients of the nonprofit, patient-run cooperative; and
WHEREAS, In February 2003, Edward Rosenthal was convicted in a
federal court in California, and thus he could be sentenced to many
years in federal prison for growing cannabis starter plants for
people who were too ill to start the plants themselves, in violation
of federal laws, by a jury whose members have said subsequently that
had the federal court allowed discussion of state law and Mr.
Rosenthal's deputation by the City of Oakland, they would not have
convicted him; and
WHEREAS, There appears to be an ever-quickening pace of arrest,
intimidation, and harrassment of bona fide patients, providers,
physicians, and caregivers in our state, by the agents of the federal
government; and
WHEREAS, Federal authorities have already arrested, detained, or
confiscated the property of over 40 California residents, many of
whom were working in cooperation with local elected leaders and law
enforcement officials under rights given to them under Proposition
215; and
WHEREAS, The federal attorneys and judges responsible for
prosecution of California residents and adjudication of medical
cannabis cases under federal law have kept from juries evidence that
the use of cannabis for medical purposes in certain cases has been in
accordance with state statutes and case law; and
WHEREAS, Members of juries comprised of California residents have
expressed outrage at the conduct of the federal attorneys and judges,
whom the jury members believe actively mislead them, causing them to
hand down inappropriate verdicts against defendants who cultivated
cannabis in accordance with state laws and local ordinances; and
WHEREAS, This egregious conduct against California residents has
led to an undermining of confidence in the courts and the American
judicial system; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Assembly and Senate of the State of California,
jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California respectfully
urges the President and Congress of the United States to do all of
the following:
(a) Enact legislation that secures a state's right to regulate
medical cannabis, allows individual patients to possess and consume
medical cannabis, and allows individuals deputized by states and
localities to cultivate and distribute medical cannabis
appropriately.
(b) Amend the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act
of 1970 to allow for a medical necessity defense, as suggested by the
United States Supreme Court in United States v. Oakland Cannabis
Buyers' Coop. (2001) 532 U.S. 483.
(c) Review Drug Enforcement Administration policy related to the
prosecution and harassment of Californians who are acting in
compliance with the provisions of Proposition 215; and be it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United
States, to the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives,
to the United States Senate Majority Leader, and to each Senator and
Representative from California in the Congress of the United States.