FIXING COMPASSION

Prop. 215, The Medical Marijuana Measure, Had Many Flaws, And New
Legislation Seeks To Make It Work As Intended

LIKE MOST Californians, this newspaper supported Proposition 215, which
allows the medical use of marijuana. That seemed a compassionate way to
treat the intense pain of people who suffer from vicious diseases such as
cancer and AIDS.

Since the initiative's passage in November 1996, however, we like many
others have been disappointed in how the new law has worked out.

Without any real operating rules, the law was an open door for abuse.
Buying clubs, set up ostensibly to service the sick, were dispensing pot to
the able-bodied, too. Unscrupulous entrepreneurs and promoters of legalized
marijuana used the law for their own purposes.

The federal government refused to recognize Prop. 215 and initially
threatened doctors who prescribed pot with loss of their licenses. Under
federal law, marijuana is still illegal except in very rare circumstances.

Less than a year after its passage, we said Prop. 215 looked to some people
like a triumph of compassion over common sense.

Now Assemblyman John Vasconcellos, D-Santa Clara, has introduced
legislation that would treat the ills of Prop. 215. He has the support of
Attorney General Bill Lockyer, who takes a more conciliatory approach than
his predecessor, Dan Lungren.

The bill would set up a statewide user registration system. Participation
would be voluntary, but it would subject patients to police supervision
over the amount of marijuana they use for medical purposes. Patients would
be required to have a doctor's OK to use pot to relieve the symptoms of
life-threatening diseases.

"We're convinced this is a good product that will provide answers to many
unanswered questions and . . . fulfill the will of the people who voted for
Prop. 215," Lockyer said.

The legislation on Tuesday passed the Assembly Health Committee.

Both extremes had unkind words for the bill - which may be a measure of its
reasonableness. Legalization champion Dennis Peron called it a bill "for
the cops." Art Croney, lobbyist for the Committee on Moral Concerns, said
it was "a cruel hoax" leading to legalization.

Only recently has the federal government authorized studies into the
pain-killing properties of marijuana - research that should have been done
years ago. Much more dangerous and addictive drugs are licensed by the
government - and taken every day by millions of people.

Most Californians aren't looking for legalization of marijuana, but they
don't want to prohibit its use by the dying and terribly sick either. What
they do want are reasonable rules that allow the true compassion promised
by Prop. 215 while eliminating the abuses.

Lockyer and others believe that the feds will steer clear if the state can
get its marijuana-dispensing act together. Nobody is enthusiastic about
federal DEA agents handcuffing bedridden patients in the final stages of
cancer. But neither the feds nor local cops should let some thug use the
pretext of compassion to push drugs.

The Legislature and Gov. Davis should listen closely to Vasconcellos and
Lockyer.