Rizio and Nelson California Law Blog

In recent years, the use of marijuana as a medical treatment option for people suffering chronic pain has been a common and heated debate across the world. Many studies have shown marijuana to work as a wonderful pain killer for people suffering from a wide variety of painful ailments. In 1996, California became the first state to legalize the use of marijuana as a medical treatment with Proposition 215, a voter initiative known as The Compassionate Use Act. Fifty-six per cent of voters were in favor of the bill.

When this law came into effect, California law enforcement saw a great number of people being arrested for possessing the drug, growing it or other related charged. In 2004, Senate Bill 420 was passed. Bill 420 exists to identify people who have been approved to use marijuana medically through licenses and identification cards. The bill introduced an application process in order for patients to gain access to this license and promote fairness in the state-wide approval process.
While Proposition 215 and Bill 420 offer the base guidelines in regards to the laws and availability of medical marijuana to the public, certain counties and cities have implemented their own laws to help keep a careful eye on the distribution of the drug. Many cities have put laws in place that limit a single patient to possessing no more than two pounds of medical marijuana for personal use.

Not just any illness qualifies a victim for access to medical marijuana, however. Legislation narrows down the list of eligible illnesses to include AIDS, cancer, chronic pain, anorexia, glaucoma, frequent and severe migraines, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, arthritis and more. Also included is any “chronic or persistent medical condition that substantially limits the ability of the person to conduct one or more major life activities as defined in the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990″ or any illness that could seriously harm the patient physically or mentally.

Gaining access to medical marijuana requires extensive documentation from a medical professional showing the patient suffers from chronic and persistent. The application process is lengthy, and there are a great number of laws that are enforced to the full extent when it comes to this access. An experienced California drug attorney can offer guidance and advice on how to enjoy this access within the confines of those laws.