POT POLICY: FEDS BACK OFF, NOW CITY MUST MOVE IN

FINALLY, the federal government is going to allow Californians to buy
marijuana as a medication - 13 years after state voters approved it.
Now, local and state governments must move quickly to come up with
sane and practical regulations for medical marijuana dispensaries.

Medical marijuana was approved for medicinal use in California after
Proposition 215 was passed by voters in 1996. After that,
dispensaries opened all over Los Angeles and enjoyed virtually no
regulation by state or local government. The unchecked growth
naturally led to abuses and to community concerns in places like
North Hollywood, which has more than its fair share of dispensaries.
As a result, in 2007, federal agents started raiding existing
dispensaries and L.A. was forced to put a temporary halt on new ones.

Last week, the new U.S. attorney general, Eric H. Holder Jr.,
announced new policy that would end raids of pot clinics that were
acting legally under California law. Instead of harassing valid and
legitimate clinics, Holder said, the feds will focus on prosecuting
only egregious cases of selling to minors, selling to people without
physicians' recommendations, or selling from an unauthorized place.

That certainly makes sense as, unfortunately, there is a lot of
abuse, which clouds matters for anyone who truly needs marijuana for
its proven abilities to ease pain, nausea and other conditions
without the side effects of prescription medications. Some marijuana
clinics are pretty relaxed about requiring doctors' recommendations,
and some are merely fronts for dealers.

What this means in a practical sense is that the feds are bowing to
the will of California and other states that have passed laws
allowing sick people to use pot in violation of federal law. They
don't have to; federal law trumps state law.

The Bush administration took a hard-line approach to medical
marijuana. In 2007, DEA agents swooped into Los Angeles and with the
help of the Los Angeles Police Department raided a number of
legitimate dispensaries. This seems ludicrous in the great scheme of
things, considering the mild nature of marijuana compared with
methamphetamine or crack. Experts say it is no more harmful than
aspirin and far less dangerous than an addiction to, say, alcohol.

The new attitude in the Justice Department is not a surprise, given
assurances President Obama has made that medical marijuana clinics
would be left alone. But the new attorney general has spelled out the
policy nicely.

Let's hope the message gets to federal prosecutors in California, who
could make life difficult for even the most scrupulously honest
clinic operator.

Meanwhile, with the feds backing off it puts the onus on local
officials to step in and make sure the marijuana dispensaries are
operating within the letter and the spirit of the law.

It's been almost two years since the Los Angeles City Council enacted
a moratorium on new dispensaries in the city while officials craft a
set of regulations. It's worrisome that these new rules are still in
development, especially considering the moratorium will expire this year.

We urge the City Council to put rules on medical marijuana
dispensaries at the top of the agenda in coming months so that
legitimate pot clinics need never be visited by another DEA raid.