Pubdate: Tue, 07 Jun 2011
Source: Missoulian (MT)
Copyright: 2011 Missoulian
Contact:  http://www.missoulian.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/720
Author: Charles S. Johnson

MISSOULA LEGISLATOR: FEDS SHOULD 'DELIST' MEDICAL MARIJUANA, PUT IT 
IN STATE CONTROL

HELENA - A Missoula legislator suggested Monday that the federal 
government "delist" the regulation of medical marijuana and leave it 
up to state control, just as was done with Northern Rocky Mountain 
gray wolves this year.

State Rep. Diane Sands proposed the idea in an email to some of her 
Democratic colleagues, and she will send similar notes to Republican 
legislators and Gov. Brian Schweitzer. She was a leading Democratic 
legislator on the medical marijuana issue in the 2011 session, after 
chairing an interim committee that studied the issue extensively last year.

"I think this is a unique movement in time to once and for all get 
this addressed at the federal level," Sands said in an interview Monday.

At present, she said, there's little a state Legislature can do to 
regulate medical marijuana, given the federal government's role. In 
addition, the federal government's stand on medical marijuana can 
vary with different presidents and their appointed attorneys general.

"That just creates such uncertainty to people who are medical 
marijuana patients or providing medical marijuana to them," Sands 
said. "There's no stability."

Her comments followed U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder's comments 
last week that he intended to clarify the Justice Department's stance 
on state medical marijuana laws. Holder's comments came after federal 
prosecutors in a number of states, including Montana, warned they 
might prosecute licensed growers, despite state laws.

In her email, Sands wrote:

"I think we all agree that states have an extremely limited ability 
to act and regulate medical marijuana, given the U.S. attorney's most 
recent letter about the implications of marijuana's controlled 
substances status.

"It appears to me that there is a window of opportunity to change the 
federal status if states act together to request a 'delist and 
provide for state regulation' model similar to wolf management."

Earlier this year, Congress ordered the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service to reinstate the 2009 wolf delisting decision and barred 
further court challenges.

*

Sands, noting the number of states, mostly in the West, that have 
legalized medical marijuana, suggested that perhaps some state 
governors, led by Gov. Brian Schweitzer and Washington Gov. Chris 
Gregoire, could be approached to push the effort to delist medical marijuana.

In addition, Sands said legislators in states that have legalized 
medical marijuana might be able to advocate for such an effort at 
meetings of their national groups, the National Conference of State 
Legislatures and the Council on State Government.

"Even if it were not to happen, it would be at the least a bold 
request," Sands said. "The least we should do is make the request."

Senate Majority Leader Jeff Essmann, R-Billings, sponsored the bill 
that ultimately became law this session without Schweitzer's 
signature to tighten restrictions on the industry.

Essmann said he would prefer to take a different approach. He favors 
letting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration study a prescription 
drug, Savitex, produced from a marijuana derivative, that has been 
approved for use in Europe.

"I think during the session and prior to the session and since the 
session, I've heard from a lot of people if it's medicine, why isn't 
it handled through the pharmacy and regulated by that," he said of 
marijuana. "I had one physician tell me he thought the cart was ahead 
of the horse. The science should develop and then we should take the 
appropriate legal action."
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart