FAILURE TO LEAD CAUSES CONFUSION

Our view: County supervisors did the right thing by spelling out
guidelines for medical marijuana. Federal and state governments
should do the same.

All of the bad feelings caused by the medical marijuana growing
ordinance finally passed by Butte County supervisors on Tuesday can
be traced to one thing - indecision.

It makes little sense to the average citizen that when it comes to
growing marijuana, the county says one thing, different cities say
another, the state government says nothing and the federal government
says it's outlawed.

Is it that hard to get everybody on the same page? Apparently so.

The federal government says marijuana is an illegal drug, but
California voters passed a vaguely written law that's open to
interpretation. The state has failed to provide its interpretation,
so local governments have to draw up their own.

Some cities and counties in California are gaining a reputation as
good places to grow pot because of lenient or nonexistent
regulations. Butte County was in danger of becoming one of those
marijuana havens before supervisors stepped in and, over several
months, revised and approved the ordinance that passed on a 4-1 vote.
The only dissenting vote was from Chico Supervisor Larry Wahl, who
thinks marijuana growing should be outlawed. Period.

In light of voter approval of Proposition 215, we don't think that's
a valid stance to take. Voters approved it. The county has to limit
it. True, the county ordinance could have been a little more
stringent, but it's a definite improvement over the lightly regulated
land-use rules that existed before.

It's still confusing, however, because cities within the county all
have their own regulations. The ordinance passed by supervisors
applies only to unincorporated areas.

Then there's the issue of marijuana dispensaries. A huge police raid
last year - and no ensuing charges so far - left many dispensary
owners not knowing what's legal.

Just as growers deserve clear guidelines, so do these dispensary owners.

Rather than a hodgepodge of local regulations, directives from the
U.S. attorney general or the state attorney general would be best.
County supervisors and city councils are uncomfortable making these
legal decisions and we don't blame them.

The state and federal governments should clear the air once and for
all instead of tap-dancing around the issue.