Nevada approves bill on medical use of marijuana

The legislation isn't expected to raise problems with federal authorities, but the state medical association opposes it.

By Tanya Albert, AMNews staff. June 25, 2001.

Despite the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that put the kibosh on California's cannabis buying clubs, the Nevada Legislature earlier this month voted to legalize the medical use of marijuana there.

The key difference in Nevada's system that some experts say should allow the legislation to go forward without much, if any, interference from the federal government is the way the law lets patients access medical marijuana.

Unlike California's buying clubs, where large amounts of marijuana were grown in a central location and then distributed to patients, Nevada's legislation would allow patients or their caregivers to have up to seven plants for their personal use.

It's similar to laws in Oregon and Maine in that respect, and neither of those states has encountered problems with the federal government before or after the May high court ruling.

"Our analysis is that the Supreme Court ruling said there is no medical necessity defense and that buying clubs weren't legal," said Brenda Erdes, legislative counsel with Nevada's Legislative Counsel Office, which directed the state Legislature on the best way to write the law without running into problems. "But there wasn't anything beyond that."

The court ruling didn't strike down laws or ballot initiatives that passed in nine states in recent years, including California.

And in Oregon and Maine, where medical marijuana programs have been up and running for several years, the ruling hasn't changed physician habits when it comes to recommending whether patients should be allowed to have marijuana for medical purposes. [...]