Pubdate: Mon, 21 Dec 2009
Source: Merced Sun-Star (CA)
Copyright: 2009 Merced Sun-Star
Contact: http://www.mercedsunstar.com/284
Website: http://www.mercedsunstar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2546
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)
Bookmark: http://mapinc.org/topic/Dispensaries

MARIJUANA LAW CREATES CLOUD OF UNCERTAINTY

The public in California needs to decide -- either  clarify 
Proposition 215 or repeal it.

In 1996, when voters approved Proposition 215, the  medical marijuana 
initiative, most Californians did not  envision what's playing out in Arcata.

This Humboldt County town has become the legal pot  capital of the 
country. Hundreds of medical marijuana  growers supply dozens of 
cooperatives that dispense the  drug. It's become the financial 
mainstay of a community  where logging and fishing once dominated.

Voters did not expect to open the door for "pot docs."  These are 
physicians who charge as much as $250 per  evaluation before handing 
over a recommendation that  allows a patient to grow and use pot legally.

While some patients are sick and use pot to relieve  suffering, 
clearly others are seeking a legal way to  get stoned.

Voters did not anticipate the rise of medical marijuana  grow houses 
and with them home invasion robberies. A  Sacramento man was killed, 
two others shot and three  houses invaded last October.

The one common element in the local crime spree --  large amounts of 
medical marijuana present in the  homes.

Alarmed by the proliferation of pot dispensaries,  various city 
councils have slapped moratoriums on new  establishments while they 
seek to sort our new rules  for these problematic enterprises.

In Merced, there are no marijuana dispensaries. With  the addition of 
recently retired undersheriff Bill  Blake to the City Council, don't 
expect them anytime  soon.

In West Sacramento, they moved this week to set up  guidelines and 
keep pot dispensaries out of residential  neighborhoods and away from schools.

In Los Angeles, the district attorney has told the city  council it 
is acting illegally in establishing a policy  that permits pot 
dispensaries to sell drugs over the  counter. As the D.A. interprets 
the law, all sales of  marijuana are illegal.

Today, 13 years after the initiative passed and more  than a year 
after state Attorney General Jerry Brown  issued new guidelines on 
how to interpret and enforce  the Compassionate Use Act, confusion abounds.

The initiative legalized marijuana use for patients who  suffered 
from a variety of illnesses including AIDS,  chronic pain, arthritis 
and "any other illness for  which marijuana provides relief."

That last phrase opened the door to everything from the  common cold 
to a hang nail, and profiteers have marched  through it.

The Attorney General's guidelines say people can't sell  it for a 
profit but that doesn't prevent physicians  from making millions 
issuing marijuana recommendations  and dispensaries from amassing 
sizable fortunes selling  pot over the counter.

It does not prevent the Oakland City Council from  approving an 
ordinance that charges that city's pot  dispensaries $18 in tax for 
every $1,000 of medical  marijuana sold.

The current confusing state of our marijuana laws  stymies law 
enforcement, corrupts the medical  profession and confounds elected officials.

Are pot dispensaries legitimate businesses that can be  taxed or not? 
The way the proposition was drafted makes  it difficult for lawmakers 
to regulate this budding  industry (excuse the pun).

It also makes it difficult to amend the law without  going back to the voters.

It's time to do that. The public in California needs to  decide -- 
either legalize marijuana, which means  regulate it and tax it or 
tighten and clarify  Proposition 215 or repeal it.

The status quo is unacceptable.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom