ARE THINGS REALLY AS DIRE AS ALL THAT?

Not that anyone's counting, or paying attention at all, but this could
be the thousandth column I've written about medical marijuana. It
feels like it, anyway.

This week marked what could be a historic turning point in the med-pot
discussion in Montana, in more ways than one.

In the first place, the feds raided a dozen or so medical marijuana
purveyors, including three in Gallatin County, in spite of an Obama
Administration "promise" not to harass, annoy or molest people in the
trade who are complying with state law. Sort of.

At the same time, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted on a bill to
repeal the state's voter-approved medical marijuana law. The committee
deadlocked, effectively killing the bill. Sort of.

The battle over allowing sick people to use marijuana as a medicine
has entered the realm of the ridiculous in this state. The
Legislature, which had three sessions prior to this one to head off
the problems we're seeing now, bears the brunt of the blame. Sort of.

In recent weeks, people have beaten the drum of repeal because, they
say, the voters were duped. "We had no idea it would become an
'industry' and that nearly 30,000 of our friends and neighbors would
become potheads!"

Please. In the immortal words of John Stossel, "Give me a break!" How
could anyone think the thousands of people using pot illegally for the
past umpteen years wouldn't seize the opportunity to go legit? How
could you possibly think entrepreneurs -- some of whom had been dealing
pot on the down-low for years -- wouldn't emerge from the woodwork to
meet the demand?

The "we couldn't have known it would grow into an industry" rhetoric
has become so absurd it'll make your head spin worse than smoking
weed. What reality are these people living in?

Alas, some of the most ludicrous rhetoric is coming from members of
the very body that has failed on this issue since 2005 -- the
Legislature. Painting a dire picture of the alleged problem, one
misguided lawmaker even had the guts to compare it with the
devastation in Japan!

If we don't fix the alleged problem, Rep. David Howard, R-Park City,
told the Senate Judiciary Committee Monday, "we are faced with a
tsunami that is going to make what happened to Japan look mighty small."

Really? Have you seen the pictures coming out of Japan, sir? What are
they smoking in Park City? I wonder if anyone there is circulating
recall petitions, because the man they elected has either an extremely
loose grip on reality or very poor judgment of good sound bites.

Alas, after Monday's federal raids, even more ridiculous tripe is
being spewed, this time from the pro-weed crowd. Facebook went wild
with calls for the feds to get out of Montana and conspiracy theories
about the "promise" Attorney General Eric Holder made in November 2009
to not harass, annoy or molest law-abiding potheads.

Point of fact: The government never said it would leave the "industry"
alone -- just that it would not seek to prosecute legitimate medical
marijuana users who were obeying state law. The Justice Department
reiterated that in a Tuesday news release about Monday's raids:
"Individuals with illnesses who are in clear and unambiguous
compliance with state law are not the focus of this
investigation."

The fact is, nothing in federal law extends a hand of friendship or
protection to Montana's registered medical marijuana "caregivers."
Under federal law, manufacturing or selling marijuana is still a
crime, though clearly the Justice Department isn't going after
caregivers who don't appear to be violating any "other" laws.

Monday's raids targeted a very, very small fraction of the med-pot
community in Montana. According to the state, there were 4,833
caregivers registered as of last month, yet Monday's raids targeted
fewer than a dozen individual caregivers.

Clearly, the raids were not a politically motivated attempt to derail
the state's med-pot law, as many in the "industry" have theorized. Nor
does it appear the feds intend to usurp states' rights or undermine
our voter-approved initiative by shutting down all 4,833 caregivers.

On the contrary, according to an affidavit filed in support of a
request for the search warrants, the Justice Department believes the
fewer-than-a-dozen caregivers in question have committed more serious
federal crimes than the crime of manufacturing and selling medical
marijuana.

The "inadvertently released" affidavit sheds some light. The
caregivers in question may be suspected of dealing drugs not only to
licensed patients, but to one another. Nothing in state or federal law
allows these peer-to-peer transfers; their product is supposed to go
directly to legitimate, registered patients.

Also, it appears the feds think there's been some pot trafficked
across state lines, which, last time I checked, also was against the
law. And, according to Tuesday's press release, the feds appear to
have their eyebrows raised about some sketchy financial
transactions.

No real surprises here. Deregulate any industry and see how long it
takes for someone to do something they used to couldn't because of
annoying regulations.

That brings us back to the Legislature.

Unless the repeal bill is resurrected and ultimately passes the Senate
(and by some act of God Gov. Schweitzer takes leave of his faculties
and signs it), our lawmakers' primary job at this point regarding
medical marijuana is to enact some sensible provisions to stop the
rogues.

"Whaddya call sensible, Mr. Malby?" you ask.

Well, since you asked, we should, at the very least, address the
following.

Tighten up the law concerning who qualifies as a med-pot patient and
raise the bar on what qualifies as "chronic pain." Currently, 74
percent of the registered patients received green cards on the basis
of that nebulous term. Half of them are under the age of 40. Eyebrow
raising.

The demand-side problems, though, seem less egregious than the supply
side problems. The "caregiver" scheme lends itself to all sorts of
abuses, as Monday's raids may indicate (though all parties are
innocent unless or until proven guilty).

Treat pot like we do alcohol. Require it to pass through a central
government-run clearinghouse (funded by a pot tax), where it is
weighed, measured, purity tested and, most importantly,
tax-stamped.

Alternatively, limit the number of growers who can operate in
Montana, and license them to grow what's needed to meet demand.
Prohibit anyone not so licensed from growing and require all
caregivers and patients to buy directly from these growers. Issue and
tax these limited licenses on a lottery system, just as we do with
liquor licenses.

Alternatively, create a taxing scheme that imputes taxes on all
caregivers, just as we do with waitresses: "We think you made X in
tips (even if you didn't). Your tax is X. Mail it in."

Note: Some caregivers will tell you they already pay their taxes in
full, but I have no evidence of that; nor, I'll wager, does the
Department of Revenue. Like many other lines of work, the pot
business is largely cash based, which invites abuse. That's why a
clear, objective tax system is needed -- one that, like waiting
tables, does not involve the honor system. "You have 10 patients. You
therefore earned X (even if you didn't). Your tax is X. Mail it in."

Clarify whether a caregiver's employees or "helpers" can handle,
transport, distribute or sell product. Under the law, only those with
a caregiver's license are allowed to do so, but many employ others
who, technically, are not legal to be driving around delivering hash
brownies.

And what about the little old lady being employed to bake the hash
brownies? She may or may not have a caregiver's license, but may or
may not be storing and/or handling copious quantities of dope on
behalf of a caregiver.

And what about requiring that hash brownies, like other edible
products for commercial sale, be produced in licensed, inspected
kitchens? I know of at least one caregiver who bakes copious
quantities of cookies and candy on the stove in his apartment, while
his slobbering dog patiently waits for him to drop a tasty morsel. In
what reality is this acceptable?

Keep it out of our schools and restrict public smoking. People with
life-threatening illnesses so grave that marijuana is their only hope
wouldn't be healthy enough to attend school or roam the streets in the
first place, would they? No pot (including hash brownies) on school
property, period. It boggles my mind that we're even talking about
this.

Here's the bottom line: Some people -- those with diseases that will
kill them, and probably sooner than later -- rely on marijuana to ease
their suffering. The law is designed to accommodate them. And, since
doing that requires a supply side, we need to make sure it's well
regulated and that the tax man has sliced off a reasonable piece of
the pie.

This crisis, as some choose to call it, is no crisis at all. It's just
plain old, everyday economics. Anyone who says otherwise is smoking
something. Talk to the Japanese if you don't believe me. Common sense
regulation is all that's needed here.

I could go on, but I'm in chronic pain from all this writing. I can
still read, however, and would like to know your opinions on this
topic. Send us a letter, or comment on this post at belgrade-news.com
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