LET'S PUT FOCUS ON MEDICAL NEEDS

Arizonans said "yes" to medical marijuana. Now we can draw on the
experience of more than a dozen other states to implement Proposition
203. We need a system that is more about medical needs and less about
back-door legalization.

There are plenty of examples of what not to do.

Los Angeles took a head-in-the-sand approach, and hundreds of pot
dispensaries popped up, even after a 2007 moratorium. Now the city is
struggling to get the number under control and regulate the locations
without provoking an avalanche of lawsuits.

In Montana, an advocacy group operated a mobile "cannabis caravan"
and one doctor at a "cannabis convention" saw 150 people seeking
authorization for medical marijuana in less than 15 hours.

Arizona is off to a better start. The vote count was just finished
last week, and the election still needs to be certified before it's
official. While the head of the Arizona Department of Health
Services, Will Humble, strongly opposed Prop. 203, he geared up
immediately to meet the April deadline for establishing a regulatory
system for medical marijuana. Many local governments are also ramping
up quickly and trying to anticipate the pitfalls.

To maximize safety and minimize any possible diversion of pot, the
state must establish a strong database and inventory controls. There
needs to be the same sort of "chain of custody" that occurs with
medical testing. As a condition of issuing permits to dispensaries,
Humble wants them to track plants from the cultivation facility to the patient.

Under Prop. 203, a patient can be certified to use medical marijuana
to treat or alleviate a debilitating medical condition by a doctor in
the course of a physician-patient relationship.

To head off pot "prescription" mills, the state needs to clarify the
definition of the relationship - it can't be a single 15-minute
visit. Despite supporters' claims, Prop. 203 has a giant loophole
that recreational users can exploit: One of the qualifying conditions
is the vague and subjective "severe and chronic pain." At the least,
doctors should be required to review other options for handling pain.

As an ongoing check, both the state and professional organizations
should be on the alert for doctors with unusually large numbers of
pot authorizations.

Even before Prop. 203 passed, local governments had considered the
zoning and permitting implications of marijuana dispensaries, growing
sites and infusing facilities, which put marijuana into other
products, such as teas. Some places, especially in southern Arizona,
have already approved a zoning framework.

Saying no outright isn't realistic. It could lead to lawsuits and a
proliferation of home cultivation. Certified patients who don't live
within 25 miles of a dispensary are legally allowed to raise up to 12
plants on their own.

Zoning can control locations, such as the proximity to schools, and
ensure the facilities are dispersed. Rules on bonding and security
are important issues for local governments and DHS to work out.

Design review and sign ordinances can help ensure that the sites are
more clinical than commercial.

Arizonans approved medical marijuana. They didn't approve a
no-holds-barred free-for-all.