THE CONSTITUTION, STATE LAW AND THE MEDICAL MARIJUANA DEBATE

If you noticed the front page of this edition of the Kent Reporter or
checked the website, medical marijuana became the hot news item
Tuesday.

I had been planning to begin a series of stories on the subject in the
next two weeks. The city changed that plan in short order by sending
letters to four local medical marijuana businesses stating dispensing
marijuana to more than one patient at a time is illegal under state
law. The city requested the businesses shut down.

OK, the series starts now.

I followed the logjam in the Legislature this past session when the
lawmakers sent a bill to Gov. Chris Gregoire attempting to clean up
the state's medical marijuana legal language. The governor vetoed most
of it, citing the conflict with federal law and stating state
employees could be placed at legal risk.

Many were arguing against the governor's decision Tuesday after the
Kent City Council meeting. Most reasoned the federal government had
better things to do than arrest medical marijuana guys.

I personally wouldn't want to base my bucket of money on that bet.
Governments are people, and they can be fickle and unpredictable.

Clearly written laws are the best protection for all.

Mayor Suzette Cooke and the governor are pushing the federal and state
lawmakers to figure out a thorny legal questions. At the center it is
lining up as states' rights versus federal authority.

This country's relationship with marijuana has been traveling a rocky
road since the 1930s, when it was outlawed.

I remember when I was a child my grandmother was watching a big band
on her black and white RCA television. She pointed out the drummer to
me.

"He was a great musician, but he got in trouble and it ruined him,"
she said.

It was Gene Krupa. He was arrested for possession of a couple of
joints in 1943 and sent to jail.

I don't think it ruined Krupa, but that was the perception of many in
those days.

This country has been struggling with the place marijuana plays in our
society for decades and Kent suddenly became a focal point of the
legal, medical and philosophical argument.

This is a fascinating Constitutional battle. Our country has wrestled
with many states' rights issues over the past two centuries. We are a
people that has nearly always found a way to compromise and come to an
agreement. Not always with big smiles by all, but we have found a way
through the forest. The one time we failed to compromise led us to the
Civil War.

My initial sense about the medical marijuana debate is the issue is
much more complicated than medical applications.

Listening to some of the speakers Tuesday night it was clear marijuana
gave relief from pain and suffering that no other drug provided.

But there is another side to this debate, and we have to come to grips
with it at some point as a society, either at a local and state level
or at the federal.

Marijuana is a recreational drug for many. Let's not kid ourselves
about this. There are folks of all ages using marijuana as others use
alcohol.

Do we as a society want to continue to make this a criminal offense?
If legalizing marijuana is the answer, what does our society look like
then.

One statement made Tuesday at the meeting rings true. All drugs have
side effects. That includes marijuana.

This is a subject that needs public participation at all levels. The
political leaders need to hear from folks from both sides of this
argument.

The city of Kent has opened up an opportunity for discussion, debate
and introspection. During the next installments of the series I will
try to find some facts and truths we can all use to navigate both the
Constitutional and philosophical arguments of this issue.

I was driving to the office Monday and I saw a young girl, about 15,
walking along the street carrying a backpack full of books and a
violin.

For a moment my Mr. Grumpy side melted. That young girl shows the hope
ahead for our country - for all of us.

We have to work to get these things right now, because there are kids
carrying backpacks full of books and violins that deserve our best.