Pubdate: Sun, 21 Dec 1997 Source: Oakland Tribune Section: Lead editorial Contact: LUNGREN IGNORES THE SICK AND DYING As the fight over medicinal marljuana moves deeper into our court system now that the state's 1st District Court of Appeals ruled cannabis clubs have no legal right to distribute the controlled substance, those who have benefited the most from Proposition 215 could be quickly forgotten. While the pro and con sides conduct their legal wrangling, cancer and AIDS patients who find real relief in smoking pot for ailments ranging from nausea to muscles spasms are about to be left out in the cold. State Attorney General Dan Lungren has argued successfully in court that cannabis clubs do not serve as "primary caregivers" those the proposition deem to distribute it but he has done nothing to fill the void if indeed the clubs are shuttered permanently. Only San Mateo County has pursued some resolution by studying the feasibility of distributing confiscated marijuana at its health facilities. Instead of just proclaiming that cannabis clubs are wrong and illegal, the county has looked for a more acceptable alternative to applying a law approved by the voters. Too bad our state officials don't display such leadership. Instead Lungren forever now on the gubernatorial campaign path holds steadfastly to the idea that Proposition 215 should never have come to be, despite overwhelming support at the ballot box and mounting health studies finding medicinal benefits of marijuana. The problem with Proposition 215 Is that the distribution of marijuana has never been clearly addressed. Cannabis clubs like the propositions crusader Dennis Peron's in San Francisco claim to operate on a nonprofit basis where remuneration only covers the club's production process. Peron also is right in saying that it's hard to imagine terminally ill patients cultivating their own marijuana, much less waiting months for their plants to come to harvest. Instead they will be purchasing pot from the streets, putting their safety at an obvious risk. But where is the state's leadership? Well, it's in court, trying to suppress the proposition rather than thinking about the medical benefits resulting from a puff or two of pot. It's not surprising Lungren wants to change the entire proposition's legality, but to do nothing in the meantime in terms of supplementing the work of cannabis clubs is coldly turning his shoulder to the sick and the weak. And if there have been abuses by those hardly considered "sick and weak, they have been outweighed by gaunt AIDS and cancer patients who are finding it easier to eat, sleep and gain weight thanks to marijuana. As California voters have come to know all too well, the voice of the people falls on deaf judicial ears. Lungren can shut down the clubs in 30 days. We hope he uses this time to think about the consequences and alternatives ways to establish "primary caregivers" for the distribution of medicinal marijuana. Proposition 215 won't go away.