Pubdate: Sat, 19 Mar 2011 Source: Belgrade News (MT) Copyright: 2011 The Belgrade News Contact: http://www.belgrade-news.com/site/forms/?mode=letters Website: http://www.belgrade-news.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5163 Author: Andy Malby ARE THINGS REALLY AS DIRE AS ALL THAT? Not that anyone's counting, or paying attention at all, but this could be the thousandth column I've written about medical marijuana. It feels like it, anyway. This week marked what could be a historic turning point in the med-pot discussion in Montana, in more ways than one. In the first place, the feds raided a dozen or so medical marijuana purveyors, including three in Gallatin County, in spite of an Obama Administration "promise" not to harass, annoy or molest people in the trade who are complying with state law. Sort of. At the same time, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted on a bill to repeal the state's voter-approved medical marijuana law. The committee deadlocked, effectively killing the bill. Sort of. The battle over allowing sick people to use marijuana as a medicine has entered the realm of the ridiculous in this state. The Legislature, which had three sessions prior to this one to head off the problems we're seeing now, bears the brunt of the blame. Sort of. In recent weeks, people have beaten the drum of repeal because, they say, the voters were duped. "We had no idea it would become an 'industry' and that nearly 30,000 of our friends and neighbors would become potheads!" Please. In the immortal words of John Stossel, "Give me a break!" How could anyone think the thousands of people using pot illegally for the past umpteen years wouldn't seize the opportunity to go legit? How could you possibly think entrepreneurs -- some of whom had been dealing pot on the down-low for years -- wouldn't emerge from the woodwork to meet the demand? The "we couldn't have known it would grow into an industry" rhetoric has become so absurd it'll make your head spin worse than smoking weed. What reality are these people living in? Alas, some of the most ludicrous rhetoric is coming from members of the very body that has failed on this issue since 2005 -- the Legislature. Painting a dire picture of the alleged problem, one misguided lawmaker even had the guts to compare it with the devastation in Japan! If we don't fix the alleged problem, Rep. David Howard, R-Park City, told the Senate Judiciary Committee Monday, "we are faced with a tsunami that is going to make what happened to Japan look mighty small." Really? Have you seen the pictures coming out of Japan, sir? What are they smoking in Park City? I wonder if anyone there is circulating recall petitions, because the man they elected has either an extremely loose grip on reality or very poor judgment of good sound bites. Alas, after Monday's federal raids, even more ridiculous tripe is being spewed, this time from the pro-weed crowd. Facebook went wild with calls for the feds to get out of Montana and conspiracy theories about the "promise" Attorney General Eric Holder made in November 2009 to not harass, annoy or molest law-abiding potheads. Point of fact: The government never said it would leave the "industry" alone -- just that it would not seek to prosecute legitimate medical marijuana users who were obeying state law. The Justice Department reiterated that in a Tuesday news release about Monday's raids: "Individuals with illnesses who are in clear and unambiguous compliance with state law are not the focus of this investigation." The fact is, nothing in federal law extends a hand of friendship or protection to Montana's registered medical marijuana "caregivers." Under federal law, manufacturing or selling marijuana is still a crime, though clearly the Justice Department isn't going after caregivers who don't appear to be violating any "other" laws. Monday's raids targeted a very, very small fraction of the med-pot community in Montana. According to the state, there were 4,833 caregivers registered as of last month, yet Monday's raids targeted fewer than a dozen individual caregivers. Clearly, the raids were not a politically motivated attempt to derail the state's med-pot law, as many in the "industry" have theorized. Nor does it appear the feds intend to usurp states' rights or undermine our voter-approved initiative by shutting down all 4,833 caregivers. On the contrary, according to an affidavit filed in support of a request for the search warrants, the Justice Department believes the fewer-than-a-dozen caregivers in question have committed more serious federal crimes than the crime of manufacturing and selling medical marijuana. The "inadvertently released" affidavit sheds some light. The caregivers in question may be suspected of dealing drugs not only to licensed patients, but to one another. Nothing in state or federal law allows these peer-to-peer transfers; their product is supposed to go directly to legitimate, registered patients. Also, it appears the feds think there's been some pot trafficked across state lines, which, last time I checked, also was against the law. And, according to Tuesday's press release, the feds appear to have their eyebrows raised about some sketchy financial transactions. No real surprises here. Deregulate any industry and see how long it takes for someone to do something they used to couldn't because of annoying regulations. That brings us back to the Legislature. Unless the repeal bill is resurrected and ultimately passes the Senate (and by some act of God Gov. Schweitzer takes leave of his faculties and signs it), our lawmakers' primary job at this point regarding medical marijuana is to enact some sensible provisions to stop the rogues. "Whaddya call sensible, Mr. Malby?" you ask. Well, since you asked, we should, at the very least, address the following. Tighten up the law concerning who qualifies as a med-pot patient and raise the bar on what qualifies as "chronic pain." Currently, 74 percent of the registered patients received green cards on the basis of that nebulous term. Half of them are under the age of 40. Eyebrow raising. The demand-side problems, though, seem less egregious than the supply side problems. The "caregiver" scheme lends itself to all sorts of abuses, as Monday's raids may indicate (though all parties are innocent unless or until proven guilty). Treat pot like we do alcohol. Require it to pass through a central government-run clearinghouse (funded by a pot tax), where it is weighed, measured, purity tested and, most importantly, tax-stamped. Alternatively, limit the number of growers who can operate in Montana, and license them to grow what's needed to meet demand. Prohibit anyone not so licensed from growing and require all caregivers and patients to buy directly from these growers. Issue and tax these limited licenses on a lottery system, just as we do with liquor licenses. Alternatively, create a taxing scheme that imputes taxes on all caregivers, just as we do with waitresses: "We think you made X in tips (even if you didn't). Your tax is X. Mail it in." Note: Some caregivers will tell you they already pay their taxes in full, but I have no evidence of that; nor, I'll wager, does the Department of Revenue. Like many other lines of work, the pot business is largely cash based, which invites abuse. That's why a clear, objective tax system is needed -- one that, like waiting tables, does not involve the honor system. "You have 10 patients. You therefore earned X (even if you didn't). Your tax is X. Mail it in." Clarify whether a caregiver's employees or "helpers" can handle, transport, distribute or sell product. Under the law, only those with a caregiver's license are allowed to do so, but many employ others who, technically, are not legal to be driving around delivering hash brownies. And what about the little old lady being employed to bake the hash brownies? She may or may not have a caregiver's license, but may or may not be storing and/or handling copious quantities of dope on behalf of a caregiver. And what about requiring that hash brownies, like other edible products for commercial sale, be produced in licensed, inspected kitchens? I know of at least one caregiver who bakes copious quantities of cookies and candy on the stove in his apartment, while his slobbering dog patiently waits for him to drop a tasty morsel. In what reality is this acceptable? Keep it out of our schools and restrict public smoking. People with life-threatening illnesses so grave that marijuana is their only hope wouldn't be healthy enough to attend school or roam the streets in the first place, would they? No pot (including hash brownies) on school property, period. It boggles my mind that we're even talking about this. Here's the bottom line: Some people -- those with diseases that will kill them, and probably sooner than later -- rely on marijuana to ease their suffering. The law is designed to accommodate them. And, since doing that requires a supply side, we need to make sure it's well regulated and that the tax man has sliced off a reasonable piece of the pie. This crisis, as some choose to call it, is no crisis at all. It's just plain old, everyday economics. Anyone who says otherwise is smoking something. Talk to the Japanese if you don't believe me. Common sense regulation is all that's needed here. I could go on, but I'm in chronic pain from all this writing. I can still read, however, and would like to know your opinions on this topic. Send us a letter, or comment on this post at belgrade-news.com . Comments made in good taste can be posted anonymously. Or, make a remark or two on our Facebook page at facebook.com/belgradenews . - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.