DON'T GUT MARIJUANA LAW

THE question whether patients should be allowed to use medical
marijuana without fear of criminal prosecution was settled last
November when an overwhelming majority of voters approved Initiative
692. However, knotty questions of how to protect patients' rights and
ensure consistent enforcement of the law remain.

It's up to legislators to clarify the law this session without gutting
the popular measure's primary intent.

I-692 included a clear requirement that patients and their primary
caregivers show "valid documentation for any law-enforcement official
who questions the patient regarding his medical use of marijuana."

Some medical-marijuana proponents view any attempt to standardize
those documents - and spell out the details of when and how the papers
are presented - as unacceptable government encroachment. But police
need a reliable, uniform medical statement in hand to avoid
second-guessing.

Another provision in need of clarification is what constitutes a
60-day supply of marijuana, which I-692 states is the legal limit for
patient possession. State Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D-Seattle), a
strong supporter of I-692, has proposed a bill allowing the state
Department of Health to write rules that would address issues such as
supply and documentation. A counterproposal in the Legislature goes
too far in requiring doctors to notify the state every time they
advise a patient to try marijuana as medicine.

The law was intended to give doctors and patients the freedom to make
private medical decisions with minimal government interference. It
needs to be tweaked, not turned over. Kohl-Welles' proposal is the
more reasonable plan to fine-tune I-692's provisions while maintaining
the law's spirit of compassionate public policy.