DON'T HELP THE FEDS

There's plenty to argue about in the US Supreme Court's ruling on
medical marijuana.

Some pot advocates say the outcome wasn't so bad -- the court, after
all, didn't strike down state laws (like California's) that allow
sick people to legally smoke cannabis with a doctor's recommendation.
In fact, the New York Times editorial page claims the ruling was
constitutionally proper: The interstate commerce interpretation that
the 6-3 majority upheld has been used to enforce labor laws,
environmental laws, and other important, worthy federal acts.

But finding a silver lining for medical marijuana users requires a
giant leap of faith.

If you think Californians will still be able to buy and smoke pot
without going to jail, you have to believe that the Bush
administration's Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of
Investigation, and Drug Enforcement Administration will simply look
the other way. Don't bet on it.

Obviously, Congress ought to pass a law exempting people using pot
under a doctor's recommendation from federal drug laws, but that's
not going to happen.

So San Francisco (and other California cities) needs to take a clear
and strong stand to protect patients from the federal crackdown.

We've argued in the past that the city of San Francisco -- through,
say, the Department of Public Health -- ought to grow and distribute
medical marijuana. That would force the Justice Department to go
after the city, not some small grower, if it wants to shut down the
supply to the city's pot clubs.

But there's another, much simpler step that the mayor could
immediately take: Direct the San Francisco Police Department not to
cooperate with federal authorities on any marijuana cases.

That means the cops on the beat -- particularly the cowboys in the
narcotics squad -- should be ordered not to turn any information or
tips about pot growers, users, or clubs over to the feds.

If that doesn't happen, some local officers will see the Supreme
Court decision as a great excuse to simply call the FBI or DEA
whenever they see someone carrying a bag of weed to a local club,
bypassing state law by making more pot cases into federal issues.

A direct order from the mayor and the Police Commission may be the
only thing standing between desperately ill San Franciscans and the
Bush administration's silly and dangerous war on medical marijuana.