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 veggie
Registered: 07/26/04
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 [CO] Boulder County creates guidelines for medical marijuana users on probation 
#12086891 - 02/24/10 03:30 AM (3 years, 2 months ago) |
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Boulder County creates guidelines for medical marijuana users on probation
February 23, 2010 - coloradodaily.com
The Boulder County Probation Department has developed guidelines for medical-marijuana use and dispensing while on probation that aims to treat the legal use of medical marijuana like prescribed medications.
Medical-marijuana cardholders who are sentenced to probation will be allowed to continue using the drug medicinally while serving their sentence as long as they meet several conditions and allow a probation officer to view their medical records, according to the new guidelines.
"It will be the client's responsibility to provide medical records and other documentation from his or her doctor that shows that the probationer is under continuing doctor's care and suffers from a debilitating medical condition," according to the guidelines.
Once a probation officer has verified a probationer's medical-marijuana card, he or she must continue complying with monitored sobriety, as normally required, minus checks for marijuana. Convicted criminals who have a medical-marijuana card and are being considered for a more-strict form of probation -- like an intensive supervision program -- might not be considered appropriate for the specialized program if they intend to continue using marijuana, according to the new guidelines.
"This is due to the nature of the specialized programs," according to the guidelines. "The probationer may be excluded form acceptance to specialized programs, or required to cease marijuana usage during program participation."
People who are accepted into Boulder County's Integrated Treatment Court programs, which focus on rehabilitation instead of straight jail time, will not be allowed to use medical marijuana "under any circumstance."
People on probation who have certificates to be medical-marijuana caregivers can grow and dispense marijuana only for themselves or family members with valid Colorado medical-marijuana certificates, according to the guidelines. Caregivers on probation -- who also must allow probation officers to view their medical records if they want to continue using and growing -- can't receive any payment for marijuana during their sentence.
The new guidelines come as more and more Boulder County residents are applying for -- and being approved for -- medical-marijuana licenses and caregiver certificates. As of last month, 153 people with caregiver certificates had applied to sell or grow medical marijuana in Boulder, and 105 people had been approved. Most of those applications were submitted after September.
The surge in medical-marijuana usage has forced judicial districts across the state to address the issue of medical marijuana and probation. Many districts are taking it on a case-by-case basis, but several districts -- including Boulder's neighboring Jefferson County -- have developed policies either allowing probationers to smoke freely or not at all.
Jefferson County is among the districts that prohibit medical-marijuana use while on probation. In September, a chief judge in that district ordered that cardholders not be allowed to use medical marijuana while on probation partly because it's illegal under federal law and because the state health department doesn't communicate with probation officers about medical-marijuana patients.
Scott Storey, district attorney for Jefferson and Gilpin counties, said probation is a privilege -- not a right -- because it suspends potentially harsher sentences in jail or prison.
"It keeps them out of incarceration and gives them resources that will be good for them," Storey said. "If using medical marijuana is a priority, then don't commit a crime and it won't be an issue."
Storey said he thinks that allowing probationers to use medical marijuana is a "bad path to go down," and he said it's tough to treat medical-marijuana like prescription medication because "you are prescribed a therapeutic use of that drug."
"What is a therapeutic amount of marijuana?" Storey said. "It's apples and oranges, trying to compare the two."
Boulder County has protocol in place for medical-marijuana cardholders who fail on probation while using the drug. If they can't comply with the conditions of probation, a probation officer can explore contributing factors and possibly suggest alternatives to medical marijuana use. The officer also can order a person to stop using if it's determined that medical marijuana is contributing to the probationer's failure.
Medical-marijuana caregivers who violate their supervision conditions will have to voluntarily remove themselves from the caregiver program.
State Sen. Chris Romer, D-Denver, has drafted legislation that would allow probationers to use marijuana only if a judge works with a doctor to determine if the drug is really medically necessary. That is close to what Boulder County is doing with its probation guidelines, he said.
"We want someone to have a moment to double check that they are legitimate patients," Romer said. "It's important that it be treated medicinally."
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Guidelines for cardholders on probation
Card-holding probationers must sign a release allowing probation officers to review medical records and verify that they suffer from a "debilitating medical condition."
They must comply with monitored sobriety, not including marijuana.
Probation officers will explore marijuana alternatives for medical marijuana-using probationers who don't succeed on probation.
If probation officers determine that medical-marijuana use is causing a card-holding probationer to fail on probation, officers can order him or her to stop using.
The probation department might require, at the probationer's expense, an independent medical evaluation to help assess the person's medical needs.
If a probationer is sharing his or her marijuana, the probation department will contact the Boulder County Drug Task Force.
Probationers who are being considered for a stricter probation program might be deemed inappropriate for those programs if they want to use marijuana.
Cardholders who are accepted into Integrated Treatment Court programs will not be allowed to use medical marijuana under any circumstance.
Source: Boulder County District Attorney's Office
Guidelines for caregivers who want to grow and dispense while on probation
Caregiver certificates must have been granted before the probation sentences are given.
Caregivers will be allowed to grow and dispense marijuana only for themselves and family members.
Caregivers who want to dispense must sign a release allowing probation officers to access their medical records.
Caregivers can't make any money dispensing medical marijuana during their probation term.
Caregivers won't be allowed to grow and dispense while on probation if they were previously charged with distributing or selling marijuana or other drugs.
Caregivers on probation must provide copies of their certificates and the licenses of people who will receive the marijuana to the probation department.
Probationers must sign an agreement vowing to voluntarily remove themselves form the caregiver program if they violate the terms of their probation.
When probationers move or transfer to another county or state, they are subject to the policy in that jurisdiction.
If a caregiver certificate expires during the probation term, it cannot be renewed without the support of the probation department.
Source: Boulder County District Attorney's Office
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SuperD
Lophophiend
Registered: 10/05/03
Posts: 5,748
Loc: My stash box
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Re: [CO] Boulder County creates guidelines for medical marijuana users on probation [Re: veggie]
#12088375 - 02/24/10 01:47 PM (3 years, 2 months ago) |
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 This is huge, absolutely huge. Probationers can use and also grow  Never thought I'd see the day.
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Manoa said:
I need to stop spending all my money on plants and take up a cheaper hobby, like heroin.
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