Pubdate: Sat, 04 Feb 2012
Source: Camp Verde Bugle, The (AZ)
Copyright: 2012 Western News&Info, Inc.
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http://campverdebugleonline.com/Formlayout.asp?formcall=userform&form=1
Website: http://campverdebugleonline.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4914

THAT GRATING SOUND IS FRICTION OF MARIJUANA

Arizona law seems to be forever pushing up against federal law, and 
the grating sound is becoming unbearable.

Sometimes it's political defiance and sometimes it's nonsense. We've 
had a bit of both with SB 1070. Sometimes it's Arizonans challenging 
Washington, D.C., and sometimes it's our state legislators resisting 
the will of Arizonans. We have a big mix of both with the 
medical-marijuana law.

State officials are notoriously bad losers when a citizens' 
initiative they do not like is approved by voters. The marijuana 
issue has brought out the worst in them. That grating sound is their 
teeth grinding.

The results of the medical-marijuana initiative have been legitimate 
friction with federal law in various quarters as well as an 
illegitimate pile of excuses that elected officials have thrown onto 
the path of enactment.

The reasons given for the roadblocks preventing college students from 
using prescribed medical marijuana sound eerily similar to the 
rejected arguments the Brewer administration tried out in the state's 
Health Department. Both raised the warning that the feds were going 
to smack Arizona around if state officials followed through on the 
law's provisions.

We were warned that state employees would get arrested by 
Washington's anti-drug czars if they dared to allow marijuana 
dispensaries and prescriptions. The federal court not only shrugged 
that off but also warned Brewer that her foot-dragging was illegal. 
Now, lawmakers want us to believe that allowing medical marijuana on 
university and college campus for the few that need it would result 
in a loss of federal funding.

Obviously, there are federal laws against illegal controlled 
substances. But Arizona voters made medical marijuana a legal 
controlled substance. There's that grating sound again.

The big stick called "The Feds" can be effectively brandished at the 
convenience of lawmakers, but they have been waving it so frequently 
during the marijuana transition that it has lost its threat.

The medical-marijuana law does grind against some federal 
regulations, but Arizona's best efforts should go into assisting the 
legal conversion, which is complicated enough, instead of defying 
state voters. An anti-marijuana stand may be the high moral ground, 
but tactics against the law are growing unethical.

If it continues, that grating sound will be friction from Arizonans 
tired of their wishes being ignored.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom