MEDICAL POT IS A STATES' RIGHTS ISSUE

Drug and alcohol recovery programs state the definition of insanity
as continuing to do the same thing over and over and expecting
different results.

That's ironic, because the definition could be applied to the way in
which the war on drugs is being fought.

In what appears to be yet another chapter in the war on drugs,
Huntington Beach planning commissioners have recommended to City
Council members that they prohibit any medical marijuana dispensaries
from opening in the city.

Police Chief Ken Small made an impassioned appeal to the commission
to make the recommendation because, he argued, the dispensaries would
become "magnets for crime," attracting more pot heads than the sick
people for which the facilities are intended.

Commissioners also considered the fact that the federal government
has been cracking down on landlords who lease space for dispensaries.

It's important to note the U.S. Supreme Court has taken a dim view of
medical marijuana laws such as Proposition 215, making it likely that
states' rights will eventually be superseded completely by federal law.

So it would seem prudent to take action on this issue before it
becomes a problem. But we fail to see that there is a problem,
because there are no medical marijuana dispensaries in Huntington
Beach. And there doesn't appear to be any organized effort by
residents to keep them out of town.

In fact, even the conservative Orange County Board of Supervisors
this summer approved a measure to license marijuana use for medical
reasons. If county supervisors don't appear concerned about abuse of
the system, then why worry about it here?

In fact, don't city officials have many more urgent issues to
discuss, such as graffiti vandalism, or redevelopment of blighted
shopping centers?

Let's not repeat the insanity and pick a fight against Proposition
215. The federal government may want to carry on the battle and may
yet win, but California voters approved medical marijuana and Orange
County supervisors are on board with it.

So why isn't Huntington Beach?