HALF A LOAF ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA

California's task force on medical marijuana, convened by Attorney
General Bill Locklear and co-chaired by state Sen.John Vasconcellos
and Santa Clara County District Attorney George Kennedy,has issued its
report and put it in the form of a bill,SB 848.

The bill is,as Sen. Vasconcellos put it, "a remarkable compromise
after one of the most elegant collaborative processes I've enjoyed in
my 33 years in the Legislature."

The process may have been elegant but the result,like most
compromises, is a mixed bag.

It puts in place more government supervision than is necessary or was
contemplated by Proposition 215,passed by California voters in 1996.
It postpones important details until December of 2000 when the
Department of Health Services is required to issue regulations and
procedures.And it offers no protection for patients from federal harassment.

The heart of the plan is a voluntary registration system,to be
administered by county health departments,whereby patients and
caregivers can receive certification and ID cards.

The registration system would be linked to the California Law
Enforcement Telecommunications System so a law enforcement officer
could confirm the legitimacy of a card 24 hours a day.An important
provision is that it would immunize both patients and caregivers from
arrest not only for possession and cultivation of marijuana,but also
for transportation and delivery.Recognition of the reality that if
Prop.215 is to be effective legal transportation must be permitted is
welcome.

On the down side,the procedure for issuing cards is needlessly
bureaucratic and intrusive and the requirement that they be renewed
annually is ridiculous.

SB 848 talks of "problems and uncertainties in the act,"when the real
problem is that some police agencies and district attorneys have
resisted complying with Prop. 215 and a few have even targeted medical
patients.

And while it's possible that "emergency"regulations could be issued
earlier,clarification of important details like how many plants a
patient may grow without being hassled could wait 18 months.

The act also ignores the 800-pound gorilla in the picture-the federal
government.Federal resistance to Prop.215 is a major source of
uncertainty.A provision for the state to provide representation or a
dispute-resolution mechanism for certified California patients who run
afoul of federal agents would have been welcome.

SB 848 would improve matters for most patients.

Although we recognize that it represents a delicate compromise,a
little tinkering would improve it.