If I recall, didn't the court also say that there must be a 'previous established relationship outside of medical marijuana cultivation'? (can't remember the exact wording, but with all due respect, it's not exactly semantic niggling, this is how the law can nail someone's ass, so I think it pays to pay close attention)
Hmm.. Doing a lot more reading, just discovered that 215 gives right of recommendation to osteopaths (along with M.D.s); I think the distinction the court may have seen with this SC ruling (People vs. Mentch) was that he
sold the mj to med patients, was not just growing it, of course, this is without reading the actual statement by the court.
This is from another article, quoting court ruling. This is KEY, in my opinion:
http://www.bbklaw.com/news-firm-261.html
The Supreme Court granted review to address the meaning of “primary caregiver” under the Compassionate Use Act. In an opinion by Justice Kathryn Werdegar, the court noted that the statutory definition of “primary caregiver” has two components: he or she must be designated by the patient, and must be a person “who has consistently assumed responsibility for the housing, health and safety” of the patient.
As to the “responsibility” component, “a defendant asserting primary caregiver status must prove, at a minimum, that he or she (1) consistently provided caregiving, (2) independent of any assistance in taking medical marijuana, (3) at or before the time he or she assumed responsibility for assisting with medical marijuana.” The Compassionate Use Act “does not provide similar protection where the provision of marijuana is itself the substance of the relationship.” According to the court, the Compassionate Use Act allows “[t]he spouse or domestic partner caring for his or her ailing companion, the child caring for his or her ailing parent, [and] the hospice nurse caring for his or her ailing patient ... to add the provision of marijuana, where medically recommended or approved, as one more arrow in their caregiving quiver.”
Bolded and underlined, THAT's the snapper of panties right there. I'd like to know how that protects dispensaries mentioned
here:
There's an attorney, Joseph Elford, of Americans for Safe Access who feels this ruling won't have a terribly negative effect on dispensaries or otherwise.
Joseph Elford of Americans for Safe Access said:
”Ideally, (the court ruling) won't have a tremendous effect,” Joseph Elford, a lawyer for Americans for Safe Access, a pro-medical marijuana group, told the San Francisco Chronicle. “Patients will now increasingly get their medication through collectives and cooperatives.”
However, there is another lawyer who has this to say about Mr. Elford's view on the matter (and since I'm one of those people in a rural county I happen to agree):
But, local attorney Greg Allen said he thinks that might be an overly city-oriented way of looking at things, as areas like the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles have a huge number of cooperative dispensaries, while more rural areas of the state don't have any.
”It was completely viewed with Los Angeles or Bay Area eyes,” Allen said. “If you live in Alpine County, what good does it do you if everything's channeled through cooperatives in Humboldt County, Los Angeles and the Bay Area?”
Careful to say he'd only read a summary of the decision and not the court ruling itself, Allen said he has some other concerns as well.
Because many cooperatives don't grow all the marijuana they sell or give out, they often rely on buying cannabis from individuals, like Mentch, who grow in their homes as caregivers and sell excess marijuana to dispensaries. If these “caregivers” aren't allowed to grow, Allen wondered, will that result in a shortage at the dispensaries?
If dispensaries bulk up their growing operations to make up for the possible shortage, Allen asked, will that make them a more likely target for federal raids?
In short, I think the answers are pretty clear. If you're going to be designated a caregiver in California, you had better be sure of a few things. First, there was a previous established relationship UNLESS you are already a hospice or other caregiving professional. Second, that you consistently provide care OTHER THAN simply growing mj. Third, that the relationship between patient and caregiver consists of more than simply growing and/or providing mj.
