WHERE THERE'S SMOKE, THERE MIGHT BE MEDICINAL USE

Something tells me the pendulum has swung in the other
direction.

And it's swung so far that it's only got one place left to
go.

In my lifetime marijuana has gone from a vile, addictive drug that
drags people into other illegal drug abuse to a medical marvel that
most of the public has particular apathy towards.

When the medical marijuana measure was passed by voters in Montana
several years ago, I doubt that most voters were devoting much study
to the science, law enforcement aspect or possibilities of
exploitation related to medical marijuana.

Instead, they were probably standing in that curtained booth with
number two pencil in hand, pondering a symbolic 74-year-old little old
lady with glaucoma. And, like most of us, it was hard to say no to
that little old lady.

Unfortunately, two years later, we're dealing with fewer little old
ladies than we envisioned and accommodating more teen-agers with
hemorrhoids than we thought possible.

I doubt voters fully perceived the can of worms that would be
unleashed by its approval, either.

Regardless, a can of worms is what we got.

Now the state legislature is dealing with two years worth of worms,
trying to either stuff them back in the can or wipe them completely
off the table.

It's messy business trying to coax worms back in a can. But our
legislators need to take on that dirty job, gloves or no gloves.

Unfortunately, there are more sides to medical marijuana than
providing herbal relief to that sweet little old lady and that
hemorrhoidal teen.

In truth, medical marijuana is big business that creates jobs. It's
also considered a fiscal savior to those hoping to raise "sin tax"
revenue for the state.

It also remains an illegal drug.

Now legislators are being lobbied by citizens and representatives of
the marijuana industry to fix a system that most people in the state
agree is way out of hand. Though some would like to scratch the entire
program, others are trying to find a way to improve the current system
to make it easier for more legitimate or acceptable medical uses.

The challenge, of course, is for our representatives to somehow define
and/or legitimize one person's chronic pain and disallow another. Or
they might even just decide to start over.

But I hope our representatives remember that apathy is not an excuse
to do nothing. They'd better realize that our state's medical
marijuana program is well out of hand from what most voters thought
they were approving.

Folks on the hill in Helena need to get together and figure out what
the next step is to get the pendulum headed back in the right direction.

And you thought the days of backroom deals in smoke-filled rooms were
far behind us.