Pubdate: Fri, 04 Nov 2011
Source: Sacramento Bee (CA)
Copyright: 2011 The Sacramento Bee
Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/0n4cG7L1
Website: http://www.sacbee.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/376
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Cannabis - California)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

HERE'S AN RX FOR MEDICAL POT MESS

There is no ideal solution to get California out of its medical 
marijuana quagmire. But two steps would be a huge improvement and 
help fix much of what is broken with Proposition 215, approved by 
voters 15 years ago Saturday.

If we're going to have medical marijuana, more research is needed on 
what diseases and conditions can be treated, what doses work best and 
how the drug can be most safely ingested.

And that means getting marijuana off the federal government's 
Schedule 1 list of drugs. What's already known shows that marijuana 
does not belong in the same category as cocaine and heroin  drugs 
with high potential for abuse but without any medical benefit whatsoever.

This reasonable reform was recommended by the California Medical 
Association, which took the bold step last month in passing a 
resolution calling for legalization, strict regulation and, above 
all, more research.

Reclassifying marijuana would lessen the conflict between federal law 
and California and the 15 other states that have since allowed 
medical marijuana. A bill introduced in Congress this year would go 
even further, removing marijuana entirely from the list of controlled 
substances. While not legalizing marijuana, HR 2306 would limit 
federal enforcement to international and interstate smuggling and 
would let the states regulate pot.

It will be a difficult slog to change the nation's marijuana laws, 
but last year's passage of legislation to correct the disparity in 
prison sentences for crack cocaine shows that fairness and common 
sense can eventually prevail even on something as politically 
radioactive as drug laws.

Until then, California lawmakers need to take a hard look at what 
Prop. 215 has wrought  and how to bring some semblance of order.

Its flaws have been apparent for some while, but the crackdown 
announced by California's four U.S. attorneys last month increases 
the need for action. Reputable collectives and dispensaries are 
walking on eggshells. When federal agents raid a Mendocino County 
farm seen as the model for a well-regulated marijuana grow, how can 
anyone be confident they won't be next? Cities and counties, too, are 
caught in a bind, unsure what they can and can't regulate.

To come up with statewide rules that make sense, lawmakers can look 
at Colorado, which has the most extensive regulations and which funds 
enforcement through fees on cannabis businesses. The state registers 
all medical marijuana patients and requires certifications from 
physicians who recommend marijuana. It also oversees who can work in 
the industry and tracks marijuana from seed to sale through video surveillance.

California legislators can't just copy Colorado, however. They must 
recognize that it is the only state with a for-profit market, and 
that it may not be immune from a federal crackdown, either, as 
suggested by a warning letter the U.S. attorney sent to state leaders 
and a raid last month at a grow in Denver.

Lawmakers can also crib from draft guidelines that Attorney General 
Kamala Harris' office had been working on, until it decided that the 
Legislature should take the lead. Some recommendations seem to make 
sense, such as requiring patients to carry a state-issued card for 
obtaining marijuana and pushing collectives to make sure their grows 
are not diverted for non-medical use.

Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, says he is working with the attorney 
general's office to figure out how to plug the holes in current law. 
He says the Legislature has not only the opportunity, but the 
responsibility, to make useful changes. He believes that lawmakers 
can do so without having to go back to the ballot because the 
revisions would further voters' intent.

When they get further along, state leaders need to sit down with 
federal prosecutors and make sure the direction they're headed will 
pass muster. The last thing we need is more of this guessing game 
where the state tries to predict what the feds will permit.

If officials will be reasonable and practical, it's still possible to 
carry out what most voters intended by passing Prop. 215  create a 
safe zone in the law where medical marijuana can be cultivated, sold 
and used in California.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom