HERE'S AN RX FOR MEDICAL POT MESS

There is no ideal solution to get California out of its medical
marijuana quagmire. But two steps would be a huge improvement and
help fix much of what is broken with Proposition 215, approved by
voters 15 years ago Saturday.

If we're going to have medical marijuana, more research is needed on
what diseases and conditions can be treated, what doses work best and
how the drug can be most safely ingested.

And that means getting marijuana off the federal government's
Schedule 1 list of drugs. What's already known shows that marijuana
does not belong in the same category as cocaine and heroin drugs
with high potential for abuse but without any medical benefit whatsoever.

This reasonable reform was recommended by the California Medical
Association, which took the bold step last month in passing a
resolution calling for legalization, strict regulation and, above
all, more research.

Reclassifying marijuana would lessen the conflict between federal law
and California and the 15 other states that have since allowed
medical marijuana. A bill introduced in Congress this year would go
even further, removing marijuana entirely from the list of controlled
substances. While not legalizing marijuana, HR 2306 would limit
federal enforcement to international and interstate smuggling and
would let the states regulate pot.

It will be a difficult slog to change the nation's marijuana laws,
but last year's passage of legislation to correct the disparity in
prison sentences for crack cocaine shows that fairness and common
sense can eventually prevail even on something as politically
radioactive as drug laws.

Until then, California lawmakers need to take a hard look at what
Prop. 215 has wrought and how to bring some semblance of order.

Its flaws have been apparent for some while, but the crackdown
announced by California's four U.S. attorneys last month increases
the need for action. Reputable collectives and dispensaries are
walking on eggshells. When federal agents raid a Mendocino County
farm seen as the model for a well-regulated marijuana grow, how can
anyone be confident they won't be next? Cities and counties, too, are
caught in a bind, unsure what they can and can't regulate.

To come up with statewide rules that make sense, lawmakers can look
at Colorado, which has the most extensive regulations and which funds
enforcement through fees on cannabis businesses. The state registers
all medical marijuana patients and requires certifications from
physicians who recommend marijuana. It also oversees who can work in
the industry and tracks marijuana from seed to sale through video surveillance.

California legislators can't just copy Colorado, however. They must
recognize that it is the only state with a for-profit market, and
that it may not be immune from a federal crackdown, either, as
suggested by a warning letter the U.S. attorney sent to state leaders
and a raid last month at a grow in Denver.

Lawmakers can also crib from draft guidelines that Attorney General
Kamala Harris' office had been working on, until it decided that the
Legislature should take the lead. Some recommendations seem to make
sense, such as requiring patients to carry a state-issued card for
obtaining marijuana and pushing collectives to make sure their grows
are not diverted for non-medical use.

Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, says he is working with the attorney
general's office to figure out how to plug the holes in current law.
He says the Legislature has not only the opportunity, but the
responsibility, to make useful changes. He believes that lawmakers
can do so without having to go back to the ballot because the
revisions would further voters' intent.

When they get further along, state leaders need to sit down with
federal prosecutors and make sure the direction they're headed will
pass muster. The last thing we need is more of this guessing game
where the state tries to predict what the feds will permit.

If officials will be reasonable and practical, it's still possible to
carry out what most voters intended by passing Prop. 215 create a
safe zone in the law where medical marijuana can be cultivated, sold
and used in California.