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This LA Times article highlights some problems with the California DMV, which apparently hasn’t acknowledged after 12 years that it is legal in California to use marijuana for medical purposes. The suit is demanding that the DMV treat the drug like any prescription drug for purposes of fitness for driving.
Although advocates prevailed in a similar suit against the CHP, the highlighted Glenn County case originates with a Trooper.
The California Highway Patrol officer smelled the weed, searched the car, took the marijuana and pipe and gave Vaughn a sobriety test, which he passed. An angry Vaughn showed the officer his doctor’s recommendation to use marijuana for glaucoma. The officer was unimpressed.
“He said, in Glenn County, they don’t recognize those kinds of things,” said Vaughn, 55, who has a long ponytail, mustache and beard. “He was not very friendly about it.”
There’s another small problem there in that the officer apparently doesn’t understand that he’s a representative of the state, not the county, so what Glenn county does or does not “recognize” is irrelevent anyway. The CHP had previously argued that they were more obligated to federal law than state law. Apparently at least one officer need to learn that county law also does not trump state law in terms of CHP enforcement.
The article also notes some questions about whether marijuana is appropriate for certain treatments. As I’ve expressed here and elsewhere, I find many of the claims of medical benefits of marijuana to be dubious. But it’s not the prerogative of the DMV nor CHP to choose which laws they will acknowledge and enforce. It’s even less appropriate for them to inject their own medical opinions into their policies. The voters spoke, and then so did the courts. The discussion is over absent another voter initiative.
Some of you may have heard the tech guy show on KMUD the other night. I was asked to join them to discuss blogging. The other guest was Jennifer McKenzie, who blogs as Redneck Romance Writer. She warns that her writing is often erotic in nature, and may be rated a little higher than PG. I’ll add her to the list.
In the meantime, I’ll resume regular posting over the weekend as my all-too-brief vacation comes to an end.
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