Pubdate: Tue, 01 Jun 2010
Source: Billings Gazette, The (MT)
Copyright: 2010 The Billings Gazette
Contact:  http://www.billingsgazette.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/515
Author: Michael Moore
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

CAN THIS MEDICATION BE USED LEGALLY IN PUBLIC?

MISSOULA - Years ago, as Tom Daubert envisioned a medical marijuana 
initiative for Montana, one thing never crossed his mind.

"I guess as I thought about the language from laws in other states, I 
always saw medical use of marijuana as something that would happen in 
private," said Daubert, one of the leaders of the movement that led 
to passage of the state's medical marijuana initiative in 2004.

"I didn't really see that we'd be having a discussion about the 
public use of something being used as medication."

And yet, where medical marijuana can be used is just one of many 
questions surrounding a law that many think is far too vague. The law 
itself does set some guidelines, but they don't go quite as far as 
the Helena-based Daubert saw them going.

"I felt like the law set it out pretty well, but I see now that it's 
perhaps not as specific as it could be," he said. "This is something 
we need to fix. I don't think we expect to see diabetics standing on 
the sidewalk taking insulin shots and I don't think we should see 
medical cannabis users standing on the sidewalk smoking."

The law certainly pre-empts medical marijuana use in some public areas:

. In a school bus or on school grounds.

. In a correctional facility.

. At any public park, public beach, public recreation center or youth 
center. Some of those terms - public recreation center, for instance 
- - are so vague that no one really knows what's intended by the 
language. Public park is a little clearer, though establishing 
boundaries for such places creates complexities.

Where, for instance, does Missoula's Caras Park begin and end? Are 
the banks of the Clark Fork River or the shores of Flathead Lake 
"public" beaches?

"There are enough holes in the law to make it difficult to interpret 
in some areas," said Missoula Police Chief Mark Muir. "But there are 
parts that are plenty clear, and what that means to us, for the most 
part, is that if you can smoke tobacco there, you can smoke medical marijuana."

That means you can smoke in your car, although you can't be impaired 
if you're driving, Muir said. State law clearly regulates indoor 
smoking and the Indoor Clean Air Act prohibits tobacco smoking inside 
most buildings. That law covers medical marijuana, as well.

"The fact that it's being used as medicine doesn't create an 
exception from the clean air act," said Linda Lee, supervisor of the 
Montana Tobacco Use Prevention Program. "The act talks about 
combustible product and that includes marijuana. It creates smoke and 
that creates at least some level of toxicity." Despite that apparent 
clarity, the Missoula City-County Health Department has fielded 
questions about the possibility of setting up an indoor smoking "clinic."

"We had someone ask us about the viability of a medical marijuana 
clinic, where people would be able to smoke indoors," said the 
department's Greg Oliver. "This person had already hired an attorney 
to look into it. We told them no, it's not possible under the indoor 
smoking law."

But let's say you were a medical marijuana patient who also had an 
interest in Missoula's recent effort to pass an anti-discrimination 
ordinance. Could you testify at City Hall, then step outside and 
smoke medical marijuana on the sidewalk next to the police station, 
then go back to the meeting?

"Absolutely," said Chief Muir. "There are businesses that have rules 
about smoking within some number of feet of an entrance, but on the 
public sidewalk, you can smoke. I don't have to like it, but that's 
the way it is." But could you walk across town, head for the 
University of Montana Oval and relieve your pain by smoking a bowl by 
the Griz statue?

"Absolutely not," said UM attorney David Aronofsky. "There is no room 
whatsoever for discretion on our part, because we are an institution 
that receives federal funding."

The university receives federal dollars for a host of reasons, and 
that means UM must certify to the government that it is both a 
drug-free school and drug-free workplace. And that goes for all 
schools in the Montana University System. "That pretty well 
eliminates anything other than strict compliance," Aronofsky  said.

The restriction applies to dorm rooms, which are considered private 
residences for purposes of search-and-seizure laws but not for drug 
laws. "Basically, it's off limits on any university-owned and 
operated premise," Aronofsky said.

"We are doing what we can to help faculty and students find 
accommodations off campus if this is something that would help them, 
but anything on campus is not acceptable due to federal law."

The federal designation also puts the kibosh on smoking medical 
marijuana on the state's millions of acres of U.S. government land. 
Despite the Obama administration's directive that it's not really 
interested in prosecuting users of small amounts of personal 
marijuana, it remains against the law to smoke the weed on federal 
land, even if its for medical reasons. And that means that it's still 
illegal to fire up a bowl on the Snowbowl ski lift, a restriction 
that's never done much to prevent the practice. All of which prompted 
a little lightheartedness from Muir.

"I don't think there are enough restrictions in the law, but I think 
if your place has 'bowl' in the name, people ought to be able to 
smoke one," the chief said.

Rather than treating medical marijuana like tobacco, Muir and Daubert 
would prefer the open-container model that applies to alcohol.

"That essentially confines it to private homes because of the indoor 
smoking act," said Muir. "Then we don't have people walking up and 
down the sidewalks smoking joints. I understand the medical aspect of 
using it, but what people are really talking about in terms of public 
use is flaunting it."

Agreed, said Daubert.

"What's happening is that the medical aspect of this is starting to 
take a back seat to the activists who are pushing to legalize 
marijuana," said Daubert.

Daubert is sympathetic to the move toward legalization, but his 
primary interest lies in bringing pain relief to those who suffer. If 
the campaign to legalize marijuana threatens its use by those who 
need it medically, Daubert won't be happy.

"I feel like what's happening is that the activists are hijacking the 
discussion essentially," he said. "I think they're misleading the 
public and they are inviting public misunderstanding and jeopardizing 
the patient rights of Montanans."

In the interest of clearing up problems caused by loose language in 
the law, Daubert has been meeting with an interim health committee at 
the Montana Legislature. "I do think this is something the law can be 
fixed, and it needs a comprehensive effort based on consensus," Daubert said.

"The public use aspect is just a perfect example of something that 
needs to be repaired and can easily be repaired. We've got to get the 
discussion back on track and back on what it was supposed to be about 
in the first place."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom