LET SMOKE CLEAR FOR INTERPRETATION OF PROPOSITION 215

Finally, more than four years after voters approved the Compassionate Use
Act, there's hope of defining the medical use of marijuana in California.
Maybe.

It couldn't come none too soon. Proposition 215 was intended to allow sick
people use marijuana to ease their illnesses, but the measure as written
and passed is so vague that the people who are supposed to benefit are more
likely to end up in handcuffs and in court. Some comfort.

The law is so confusing that we have law enforcement and prosecutors
handling things differently from county to county and making their own
rules of enforcement. This must stop. The state Supreme Court last week
agreed to consider establishing standards for the use of medical pot. And
at the Capitol last month, Sen. John Vasconcellos revived legislation that
would do two things: Specify how many plants a patient would be permitted
to grow for personal use and set up a statewide system for the registration
of qualified users.

To say these measures are long overdue is an understatement. Proposition
215 was the product of California's maddening initiative process, which
allows measures to go on the ballot that lack precise language for their
implementation.

Letting law enforcement authorities interpret the proposition as they see
fit has proved disastrous in Shasta County. The treatment of medical
marijuana users by the Sheriff's Department and district attorney's office
has bordered on harassment. Defendants have responded by filing suits
against the county alleging abuse and unwarranted searches.

It's gotten to the point where Shasta County law enforcement and the
district attorney's office - and all law enforcement - need to step back
and wait for clarification from the courts and Legislature. The Sheriff's
Department and district attorney's office are wasting a lot of their time
and resources plus the time of people who derive medical benefits from
marijuana. Certainly there are higher priorities for arrests and
prosecution. Let's get this clarified and stand down on the enforcement
until such clarification comes.