Pubdate: Tue, 25 Oct 2011 Source: Merced Sun-Star (CA) Copyright: 2011 Merced Sun-Star Contact: http://www.mercedsunstar.com/284 Website: http://www.mercedsunstar.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2546 MEDICAL POT SOLUTION IGNORED It's Not Good That Attorney General Harris Has Tossed the Ball To Legislators and Is Standing on the Sideline. It's a good thing that some legislators are willing to take on California's medical marijuana morass. State Attorney General Kamala Harris just tossed it in their laps. It's perhaps a safer course to stay out of the fray and issue a carefully crafted, completely inoffensive statement, as she did last week, that supports the "compassionate use" of medical marijuana for the ill, expresses concern about criminal enterprises exploiting the law and urges federal authorities to focus enforcement on significant traffickers. But for the state's top law enforcement officer, that's just not good enough. Patients, legitimate dispensaries, local governments and others desperately need more clarity on what they can and can't do -- and they were right to look to Harris for help. The attorney general's office has its reasons for taking a pass. It says that any guidelines it issues would not be legally binding, that the courts are largely deciding how medical marijuana works in California and that new law can come only from the Legislature. Still, there are helpful steps that Harris can -- and should -- take. She should organize a meeting with California's four U.S. attorneys, who earlier this month announced a crackdown on major dispensaries, growers and financiers, saying that medical marijuana had been hijacked by profiteers. If these five people could agree on a set of guidelines, that could go a long way to sorting out this mess. Harris also needs to give the Legislature a clear blueprint of how she believes the law ought to work. Her office has a good head start with work on "Guidelines for the Security and Non-diversion of Marijuana Grown for Medical Use." While an 18-page April draft drew some criticism when it was leaked, much of it seems to make a lot of sense. For instance, there's a recommendation that patients get and carry a state-issued marijuana identification card to prove they have a doctor's recommendation. The draft includes suggestions for how cooperatives and dispensaries should operate, including guidelines to stay not-for-profit operations and membership applications to make sure marijuana grows are for medical use. The draft also lists guidelines for law enforcement officers and requirements that local governments could impose on dispensaries. It may be true that court rulings and federal actions since have been game changers that undermined much of the draft. But her office still knows more about the issues than any of the honorables in the Capitol. The intensive involvement of the attorney general would greatly improve the odds of legislators actually approving a smart solution -- one that preserves voters' intent in passing Proposition 215 in 1996 but can also pass muster with the federal government and the courts. Californians elected Harris to lead on major legal issues like this, not stand on the sidelines. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.