MARIJUANA LAW CREATES CLOUD OF UNCERTAINTY

The public in California needs to decide -- either clarify
Proposition 215 or repeal it.

In 1996, when voters approved Proposition 215, the medical marijuana
initiative, most Californians did not envision what's playing out in Arcata.

This Humboldt County town has become the legal pot capital of the
country. Hundreds of medical marijuana growers supply dozens of
cooperatives that dispense the drug. It's become the financial
mainstay of a community where logging and fishing once dominated.

Voters did not expect to open the door for "pot docs." These are
physicians who charge as much as $250 per evaluation before handing
over a recommendation that allows a patient to grow and use pot legally.

While some patients are sick and use pot to relieve suffering,
clearly others are seeking a legal way to get stoned.

Voters did not anticipate the rise of medical marijuana grow houses
and with them home invasion robberies. A Sacramento man was killed,
two others shot and three houses invaded last October.

The one common element in the local crime spree -- large amounts of
medical marijuana present in the homes.

Alarmed by the proliferation of pot dispensaries, various city
councils have slapped moratoriums on new establishments while they
seek to sort our new rules for these problematic enterprises.

In Merced, there are no marijuana dispensaries. With the addition of
recently retired undersheriff Bill Blake to the City Council, don't
expect them anytime soon.

In West Sacramento, they moved this week to set up guidelines and
keep pot dispensaries out of residential neighborhoods and away from schools.

In Los Angeles, the district attorney has told the city council it
is acting illegally in establishing a policy that permits pot
dispensaries to sell drugs over the counter. As the D.A. interprets
the law, all sales of marijuana are illegal.

Today, 13 years after the initiative passed and more than a year
after state Attorney General Jerry Brown issued new guidelines on
how to interpret and enforce the Compassionate Use Act, confusion abounds.

The initiative legalized marijuana use for patients who suffered
from a variety of illnesses including AIDS, chronic pain, arthritis
and "any other illness for which marijuana provides relief."

That last phrase opened the door to everything from the common cold
to a hang nail, and profiteers have marched through it.

The Attorney General's guidelines say people can't sell it for a
profit but that doesn't prevent physicians from making millions
issuing marijuana recommendations and dispensaries from amassing
sizable fortunes selling pot over the counter.

It does not prevent the Oakland City Council from approving an
ordinance that charges that city's pot dispensaries $18 in tax for
every $1,000 of medical marijuana sold.

The current confusing state of our marijuana laws stymies law
enforcement, corrupts the medical profession and confounds elected officials.

Are pot dispensaries legitimate businesses that can be taxed or not?
The way the proposition was drafted makes it difficult for lawmakers
to regulate this budding industry (excuse the pun).

It also makes it difficult to amend the law without going back to the voters.

It's time to do that. The public in California needs to decide --
either legalize marijuana, which means regulate it and tax it or
tighten and clarify Proposition 215 or repeal it.

The status quo is unacceptable.