MARIJUANA BILL HAS MANY FLAWS

Regardless of how one feels about marijuana in general or medical
marijuana in particular, it is clear that the current bill pending in
the New York Legislature, to allow medicinal uses of marijuana, has
too many problems to move forward in its current form.

Given the potential for abuse associated with marijuana, it is
important that any bill proposed includes proper measures to ensure
that the use of smokeable marijuana for "medicinal purposes" does not
lead to further abuse. Strong legislation in this area should include
mechanisms to prevent easy access to marijuana by people who are
trying to circumvent current laws, and that the dispensing mechanisms
are controlled enough that neighborhoods are not adversely impacted.

The current legislation lacks these safeguards. The eligibility
requirements as to who can obtain marijuana is so broadly worded that
an anxious, depressed 18-year-old would qualify to obtain up to 2.5
ounces (150-300 joints) of marijuana at any one time -- this at a time
when research, both nationally and locally, has demonstrated that
marijuana use among teens is on the rise.

In addition, the description about how the dispensaries will work is
so vague that we risk re-creating the situation that California is
facing, where 90 cities and counties in the state have had to ban the
distribution of marijuana in their communities due to increased crime,
noise and abuse. In Colorado, which has its own medical marijuana law,
there are more than 275 distribution centers and mobile distribution
vehicles, more than the number of Starbucks. In 90 percent of the
cases, the reason for utilizing cannabis was chronic pain.

Good public policy provides for the health and safety of the
citizenry. The current bill needs to be discussed more extensively and
should not be pushed through as a measure of addressing New York
state's budget problems. Based on these criteria, the current bill
falls short.

The writer is project director, Eastchester Communities That Care.