This afternoon The Committee on Public Safety and Neighborhood services of the City of San Diego, chaired by Councilmember Marti Emerald heard as an agenda item, an "Update from the San Diego Police Department Narcotic Section regarding Medical Marijuana Enforcement Procedures". This update included a powerpoint presentation about the current state of laws in California pertaining to Medical Marijuana as well as testimony from the Police Department on the current enforcement procedures. The committee heard testomony from the public on the issue.
Here is what I said:
Good Afternoon Councilmembers and members of the committee. My name is Eugene Davidovich from Mission Valley.
With today’s meeting, our San Diego City leadership is making an excellent first step towards providing patients with the long awaited and desperately needed clarification of the serpentine roadmap that makes up our Medical Cannabis laws.
Even though it has been over a decade since Prop 215, several years since SB420, and almost a year since the AG guidelines.
Only this week San Diego County implemented the ID Card program. This after being forced to do so by the United States Supreme Court.
Instead of giving up the misguided fight to overturn Prop 215 and the will of California voters and provide clarification and protection for patients, the board moved to implement the most expensive ID Card Program in the state and at the same board meeting as per the recommendation of our District Attorney and the Chief of Police, moved to make illegal dispensaries illegal, thus encouraging more prosecutions.
Patients were expecting clarification and protection from a District Attorney who says she supports medical cannabis, instead of encouragement for law enforcement to conduct more prosecutions as the first move after the supreme court decision.
Patients were hoping that instead the District Attorney would have recommended clarification, or guidelines for patients and collectives.
This continued prosecution and lack of clarification combined with what is said and done in court by the Deputy DA's makes it 100% clear that Operation Green Rx or otherwise known as Operation Endless Summer was just a practice run, compared to what they plan to do with all the collectives currently open in San Diego.
For the safety and wellbeing of medical cannabis patients in San Diego, I strongly urge this committee to provide the long awaited respect and protection that patients deserve, to condemn Operation Green Rx, and to form a citizens committee made up of patients, health officials, and law enforcement to advise the city and county on how to implement the laws already in place.
Thank you for the time and opportunity to speak.
After hearing testimony from all the speakers, the comitee decided to move towards re-establishing the Medical Marijuana Task Force, as well as expressed strong desire to work with patients and law enforcement to clarify the serpentine roadmap that makes up our laws.
This truly was an inspirational and moving meeting, as this was the first time I heard our county leadership express sincere support for medical cannabis and discuss the issue without trating it as a joke. Today as Councilmember Marti Emerald said "we are hitting the reset button" when refering to the relations and dialog between patients, lawenforcement, and government here in San Diego.
Eugene Davidovich
http://www.eugenedavidovich.com
Please support me in court on the 13th of July at 8:15am - 220 W Broadway San Diego, CA 92101 - Department 11
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