Obtaining marijuana for medical purposes in California and now in the beach cities is just a phone call away despite bans on medical marijuana dispensaries by local cities.
It turns out pot delivery services for those who attain a "recommendation" from a physician have been around for a while and new establishments, known as collectives, are popping up with delivery services to Redondo, Hermosa and Manhattan Beach, as well as other South Bay cities.
A doctor's prescription is not required to buy marijuana from one of these delivery services, but rather only a "recommendation" which can be obtained from medical marijuana physician lists available online.
Patients' ailments can range from AIDS and cancer to eating disorders and migraines, all of which have been determined by some to be relieved or improved with the help of cannabis consumption.
Delivery services such as www .Bakedery.com, based in Santa Monica, advertises to the South Bay clientele, with a "free gift for new patient" enticement printed in its newspaper ad, and the South Bay 420 Collective advertises on the Internet with delivery also to the beach cities. Both require an original doctor's recommendation and a California driver's license, One service verifies the recommendation by phone then by the delivery driver, and the other service requires both to be faxed or scanned, then e-mailed for verification. Once verified, an order can be placed.
According to cannabis consultant Jim Wilson of Ventura, the delivery services can operate within cities that have enacted bans on dispensaries or placed moratoriums on them, such as Manhattan, Redondo and Hermosa Beach, because the establishments are collectives.
The Bakedery states on its Web site that its services are 100 percent legal in California, and is a collective for patients of Los Angeles County. The "collective" definition is legal under California Senate Bill 420, passed in June 2004, and states that "Qualified patients, persons with valid identification cards, and the designated primary caregivers of qualified patients and persons with identification cards, who associate within the state of California in order to collectively or cooperatively cultivate marijuana for medical purposes, shall not solely on the basis of that fact be subject to state criminal sanctions."
Under the same bill, collectives and cooperative gardens are recognized without regard to county boundaries, so the pot can cross city and county lines to reach patients.
Drivers carrying the medical herb tread on murky ground. They are registered caregivers according to staff at the Bakedery, and they deliver to one patient at a time so as not to violate legal quantities.
Manhattan Beach Police Chief Rod Uyeda and Hermosa Beach Police Chief Greg Savelli both agree that because the medical marijuana laws are still being molded and are changing, drivers who carry the prescribed pot may not be free and clear of arrest. "Transporting (the marijuana) as a caregiver is a defense. It doesn't mean we can't take action," said Savelli. He stated there are limits to the amounts a caregiver can possess, and because the issue is still taking shape legally, officers are instructed to basically use best judgment.
Uyeda said if the driver or medical marijuana user has proper identification and the amount in possession appears to be for personal use, an arrest will most likely not be made. But if it looks like there is intent to distribute and sell, such as individually wrapped and bagged quantities, and cash, than an officer may choose to make the arrest based on possession and transporting with the intent to distribute. "It's based on probable cause, then it goes to court," said Uyeda.
News Hawk- Ganjarden 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: The Beach Reporter
Author: Julie Sharp
Contact: The Beach Reporter
Copyright: 2009 The Beach Reporter
Website: Medical Marijuana Makes Its Way To The Beach Cities
It turns out pot delivery services for those who attain a "recommendation" from a physician have been around for a while and new establishments, known as collectives, are popping up with delivery services to Redondo, Hermosa and Manhattan Beach, as well as other South Bay cities.
A doctor's prescription is not required to buy marijuana from one of these delivery services, but rather only a "recommendation" which can be obtained from medical marijuana physician lists available online.
Patients' ailments can range from AIDS and cancer to eating disorders and migraines, all of which have been determined by some to be relieved or improved with the help of cannabis consumption.
Delivery services such as www .Bakedery.com, based in Santa Monica, advertises to the South Bay clientele, with a "free gift for new patient" enticement printed in its newspaper ad, and the South Bay 420 Collective advertises on the Internet with delivery also to the beach cities. Both require an original doctor's recommendation and a California driver's license, One service verifies the recommendation by phone then by the delivery driver, and the other service requires both to be faxed or scanned, then e-mailed for verification. Once verified, an order can be placed.
According to cannabis consultant Jim Wilson of Ventura, the delivery services can operate within cities that have enacted bans on dispensaries or placed moratoriums on them, such as Manhattan, Redondo and Hermosa Beach, because the establishments are collectives.
The Bakedery states on its Web site that its services are 100 percent legal in California, and is a collective for patients of Los Angeles County. The "collective" definition is legal under California Senate Bill 420, passed in June 2004, and states that "Qualified patients, persons with valid identification cards, and the designated primary caregivers of qualified patients and persons with identification cards, who associate within the state of California in order to collectively or cooperatively cultivate marijuana for medical purposes, shall not solely on the basis of that fact be subject to state criminal sanctions."
Under the same bill, collectives and cooperative gardens are recognized without regard to county boundaries, so the pot can cross city and county lines to reach patients.
Drivers carrying the medical herb tread on murky ground. They are registered caregivers according to staff at the Bakedery, and they deliver to one patient at a time so as not to violate legal quantities.
Manhattan Beach Police Chief Rod Uyeda and Hermosa Beach Police Chief Greg Savelli both agree that because the medical marijuana laws are still being molded and are changing, drivers who carry the prescribed pot may not be free and clear of arrest. "Transporting (the marijuana) as a caregiver is a defense. It doesn't mean we can't take action," said Savelli. He stated there are limits to the amounts a caregiver can possess, and because the issue is still taking shape legally, officers are instructed to basically use best judgment.
Uyeda said if the driver or medical marijuana user has proper identification and the amount in possession appears to be for personal use, an arrest will most likely not be made. But if it looks like there is intent to distribute and sell, such as individually wrapped and bagged quantities, and cash, than an officer may choose to make the arrest based on possession and transporting with the intent to distribute. "It's based on probable cause, then it goes to court," said Uyeda.
News Hawk- Ganjarden 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: The Beach Reporter
Author: Julie Sharp
Contact: The Beach Reporter
Copyright: 2009 The Beach Reporter
Website: Medical Marijuana Makes Its Way To The Beach Cities
