Pubdate: Fri, 25 Sep 2015
Source: Baltimore Sun (MD)
Copyright: 2015 The Baltimore Sun Company
Contact:  http://www.baltimoresun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/37

REEFER MADNESS

Schuh's Attempt to Ban Medical Marijuana Facilities in Anne Arundel 
County Is Alarmist and Probably Illegal

Anne Arundel County Executive Steve Schuh's effort to effectively ban 
medical marijuana facilities in his county through the zoning code is 
not only alarmist and prejudicial, it is also probably illegal.

That's the clear conclusion to draw from a letter of advice provided 
to members of the General Assembly from an assistant attorney 
general. State law explicitly says that medical marijuana growing, 
processing and distribution facilities must comply with local zoning. 
But "it does not permit the county to effectively bar these 
facilities, unless a particular county has special characteristics 
which make a particular type of facility inappropriate." We rather 
doubt that Mr. Schuh's desire to ensure that Anne Arundel isn't a 
"guinea pig" when it comes to medical marijuana would qualify as such 
a special characteristic. Rather, we are quite certain that in as 
large and diverse a county as Anne Arundel, there are plenty of 
locations that would be more than suitable for all types of medical 
marijuana facilities.

What seems to be going on here, and in other jurisdictions that have 
considered draconian limits on medical marijuana, is a paranoia akin 
to that which too frequently accompanies methadone clinics.

Mr. Schuh complained that marijuana dispensaries would be a gateway 
to eventual sales of recreational marijuana and that in the meantime, 
state prescription limits would allow each patient to become "a 
little miniature dealer."

If prejudice against opioid addicts who are using methadone to stay 
clean doesn't make sense, it's positively batty to take such an ill 
view of people who have been prescribed medical marijuana to treat, 
as state law specifies, "a chronic or debilitating disease or medical 
condition" that leads to hospice or palliative care or produces 
"cachexia, anorexia, or wasting syndrome; severe or chronic pain; 
severe nausea; seizures; or severe or persistent muscle spasms." 
Those who want to become a "little miniature dealer" probably have 
much easier ways to get into the business than establishing a bona 
fide patient-doctor relationship with a physician who would then be 
required to file copious paperwork with a state commission attesting 
to the patient's symptoms, the plan of care and assessment of the 
treatment's results.

(Moreover, as some advocates have pointed out, this would be a bad 
business plan, since medical marijuana is almost universally more 
expensive than the street variety.)

Anne Arundel doesn't lack for patients with cancer, AIDS or other 
diseases that produce symptoms for which some patients report 
marijuana to be helpful.

To be sure, marijuana has consciousness-altering side effects, but so 
do many legal prescription medications. It can be abused, but so can 
drugs like oxycodone - with generally much more dire effects.

The General Assembly decided two years ago to allow Marylanders to 
use marijuana to treat certain conditions under strict regulation. It 
did not include a provision for local governments to opt out.

Fortunately, support seems to be building in the County Council 
behind a competing bill that would restrict medical marijuana 
facilities through the zoning code but would not ban them outright. 
It's similar to an approach that was enacted in Baltimore County this 
summer, after a backlash against a more restrictive bill. Three 
council members are co-sponsoring the measure, and at least one other 
has expressed reservations about Mr. Schuh's bill.

We'll grant that the medical use of marijuana has not been studied 
with the same rigor as is typical for prescription drugs.

That's the consequence of the federal government's insistence on 
classifying it as a Schedule I controlled substance, meaning it has 
no recognized medical use. Reclassifying it as a Schedule II drug, as 
former governor and presidential candidate Martin O'Malley recently 
proposed, would not only open the door for Food and Drug 
Administration regulation but also raise the possibility of its use 
in medical research.

But it is fairly clear that allowing medical use of the drug has not 
led to rampant and widespread abuse.

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Heath researchers reported 
this month that despite the recent liberalization of marijuana laws 
in many states - including medical marijuana programs, 
decriminalization and outright legalization - the percentage of teens 
who report having used marijuana is down significantly in the last 15 years.

Horror stories from the early days of medical marijuana legalization 
in California abound, but that was nearly 20 years ago. Maryland's 
regulatory scheme benefits from the experiences of 22 other states 
and includes more stringent controls than many. We can't guarantee 
there won't be any abuses, but no medication is held to that standard.

The General Assembly, after much debate, determined that the 
potential benefits outweighed the risks, and they meant that 
conclusion to apply to Anne Arundel residents, too.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom