DON'T REPEAL MARIJUANA LAW, FIX IT

As a potential Senate District 24 candidate in 2012, I have serious
concerns about the handling of the medical marijuana issue by my GOP
colleagues. Because of term limits and the inexperience that comes
with it, I believe Speaker Mike Milburn has made a huge
miscalculation.

First, medical marijuana became law by citizen initiative with over
100,000 more Montanans voting for than against. If the Senate endorses
the repeal bill, which I have discouraged, the bill will be vetoed by
Gov. Brian Schweitzer. The governor will undoubtedly wait as long as
allowed by law to veto, knowing, as the GOP Senate leadership must,
that there are not the votes to override.

He will tell the legislators they had 2005, 2007 and 2009 to provide
side boards and create a regulatory framework for the industry but
they did nothing. Now because of Attorney General Eric Holder's
October 2009 memo, they want to blame the voter and tell them they did
not vote for this? It appears by the House vote, the Senate will not
be able to reach a compromise with the faithful freshmen followers of
Milburn, and they will adjourn with nothing. This, however, would not
be good for our communities. The industry needs to be regulated, and I
encourage you to call your senator and tell them to kill the repeal.
There are bills in the process to regulate, and we cannot risk the
scenario described above.

Dan Fuchs

Billings