MARIJUANA MIGHT BE LEGAL

Editor: Sonoma City Councilwoman Joanne Sanders certainly got it
wrong when, in justification of her vote against medical marijuana
dispensaries, she said, "I'm not going to vote for this. (Marijuana)
is against the law. We should not encourage lawlessness." First of
all, medical marijuana is not against the law. California's Prop. 215
has been the law for more than 12 years. Perhaps Ms. Sanders should
study up on the law before making inaccurate statements about it. In
addition, the establishment of dispensaries, if properly run,
conforms to guidelines issued by the Attorney General of California.
Thus, by erecting a framework for regulation of dispensaries, the
city would be actually discouraging lawlessness, and encouraging lawfulness.

John Malmo

Sonoma

[Editor's note: Medical marijuana is not recognized under federal
law, and dispensaries in California have been subject to raid by
federal law enforcement agencies, as recently as March of this year.]