Pubdate: Mon, 16 Nov 2009
Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Copyright: 2009 San Jose Mercury News
Contact:  http://www.mercurynews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/390
Author: Alberto Torrico
Note: Alberto Torrico, D-Fremont, is majority leader of the 
California State Assembly. He wrote this article for the Mercury News.
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/opinion.htm (Opinion)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Cannabis - California)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/dispensaries
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?253 (Cannabis - Medicinal - United States)

MEDICAL MARIJUANA NEEDS CLOSER REGULATION

California is in serious financial trouble, fueling the most recent 
push to legalize and tax marijuana to help balance the state budget. 
But what's left out of these calculations is the health and safety of 
the patients who rely on medical marijuana.

While I am a supporter of medical marijuana, a decision to legalize a 
powerful drug in order to balance our budget would be a critical 
mistake and would jeopardize public safety. Even in the midst of this 
fiscal crisis, we need to focus on providing safe medicine, not just 
grasping for any available revenue source.

There is strong scientific evidence that marijuana helps ease the 
symptoms of a number of serious illnesses, from AIDS to cancer, and 
it should be available under a doctor's prescription. Californians 
are united in their desire to see this safe and effective medicine 
delivered to those who need it.

But turning this powerful medicine into a revenue source is wrong.

The proponents of legalization point out that marijuana is already 
widely used. But just because a powerful medicine has been adopted 
for recreational purposes, partially through flaws in our medical 
marijuana delivery system, does not mean recreational use should be 
legalized. It means that the system should be reformed and better regulated.

Right now, there are no meaningful statewide regulations on medical 
marijuana production, delivery or use. Overseeing the exploding 
number of marijuana dispensaries and collectives rests with county 
authorities. This has left a patchwork system that is clearly being 
abused, as seen in the mounting evidence that criminal cartels are 
starting to supply, or even control, some of the dispensaries.

The time has come for strong statewide oversight of the medical 
marijuana system.

First and foremost, we need to protect access to safe medicine for 
those who need it. That means implementing consistent regulations 
guarding against cannabis tainted with pesticides and other dangerous 
substances. The practice of providing medicine that contains 
dangerous and cancer-causing impurities can be ended only through a 
system of state testing and rigorous control.

There is also no state oversight of doctor recommendations written 
for marijuana or consistent regulation of its use. If a doctor 
started writing hundreds of prescriptions for one drug such, as 
OxyContin, federal regulators would investigate. But doctors can 
write thousands, or even tens of thousands, of "recommendations" for 
medical marijuana with no oversight at all.

Even when there are legitimate doctor recommendations, there are no 
consistent regulations for how much cannabis can be purchased, at 
what price and at what potency. Imagine going to a pharmacy to buy a 
medication and having to "test" to learn the potency of that drug. 
But that's what medical marijuana patients must do "" find the proper 
dose through a system of trial and error.

There are no meaningful statewide regulations for security in 
cannabis collectives. No oversight as to where they can be located or 
how many one community should be required to host. No statewide 
standards over how much cannabis can be purchased for medical use at 
one time. No meaningful control over who is operating these clubs or 
their qualifications to do so. And until recently, no meaningful 
efforts to close the numerous "dispensaries" that have sprung up in 
violation of even the weak existing regulations.

In short, we are tolerating a dangerous system that threatens the 
health of patients and the public safety for all Californians.

We're not going to solve this problem by "normalizing" an illegal 
drug. We need tough regulations that make safe cannabis available to 
those who need it and unavailable to those who are seeking to abuse it.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake