Pubdate: Fri, 25 Jan 2013 Source: Arizona Republic (Phoenix, AZ) Copyright: 2013 The Arizona Republic Contact: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/sendaletter.html Website: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/24 Author: Yvonne Wingett Sanchez Page: B1 ADVOCATES PUSH BACK VS. POT BILL They want focus on unregulated clubs Dispensary owners, patients and advocates of medical marijuana are urging state lawmakers to rethink their attempts to repeal the 2010 law that legalized the drug to treat certain medical conditions. Instead of revisiting the question of whether medical marijuana should be available in Arizona amid concerns the system is open to abuse, and sending the issue back to voters, they asked the Legislature on Thursday to spend their energy on clamping down on unregulated marijuana clubs to ensure patients receive their recommended drugs within the guidelines of the law. The Arizona Medical Marijuana Act, passed by voters in 2010, makes no provision for private medical-marijuana clubs. And they are not regulated by the Department of Health Services, which oversees the medical-marijuana program and regulates dispensaries where patients and caregivers can legally buy marijuana. Marijuana clubs - often called "compassion clubs" - typically ask patients to pay a fee to obtain marijuana even though the law does not allow people to exchange anything of value for the drug except in dispensaries. The clubs sprang up statewide as patients tired of waiting for the opening of dispensaries, which were delayed because of prolonged legal battles between medical marijuana advocates and state and county officials. Police have raided at least two clubs, and the Maricopa County Attorney's Office prosecuted the operators under existing drug laws. Ryan Hurley, an attorney specializing in medical-marijuana law, said the law should not be repealed, but that police, prosecutors and lawmakers should target the unregulated clubs to ensure patients receive their medication in a controlled and secure environment. "If there are abuses in the system, that's where they can be addressed, with law enforcement, the Department of Health Services, (and) we're happy to work with the Arizona Legislature to regulate and to reform, where needed," he said. Medical-marijuana advocates say lawmakers who want to repeal the law either don't understand how the drug helps patients or they are putting their politics before the will of voters. Jim Dyer, a Republican and former attorney, said during a Thursday news conference that conventional painkillers and muscle relaxants aren't an effective treatment for his multiple sclerosis because they put him to sleep or further affect his muscles. Medical marijuana, he said, is the only remedy. "I don't understand why the Legislature wants to get in the face of the voters again and tell them, 'Oh hey, we want you to vote on this again,' " he said. "That's insulting to me, and it should be insulting to the rest of the voters in Arizona." Rep. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, has introduced a bill that would refer the marijuana law back to the ballot in November2014. House Concurrent Resolution 2003 would require the Legislature's approval but not Gov. Jan Brewer's signature. Kavanagh said voters deserve the right to rethink whether the law should have passed in the first place, pointing out that voters approved it by a narrow margin of about 4,300 votes. He said the program is seriously flawed, citing recent findings that only a portion of the state's physicians are recommending marijuana, that some teens report they are obtaining pot from medical-marijuana cardholders, and that most patients are citing chronic pain as debilitating conditions - not cancer, as he says voters were led to believe. Kavanagh questioned the effectiveness of marijuana in treating medical conditions and cited a decision by a three member panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which rejected a petition to reclassify marijuana from its status as a dangerous drug with no accepted medical use. "There are so many yellow flags that say this program is full of abuse . that the voters should be allowed to reconsider," he said. "Everybody's heart has to go out to people who have debilitating and painful illnesses, and mine does also. But these people have to be protected from ineffective and dangerous drugs." About 34,000 Arizonans are allowed to smoke or grow marijuana, according to the state Department of Health Services. About 4 percent use marijuana to ease cancer symptoms; less than 2 percent cite glaucoma. The overwhelming majority, 90 percent, cite severe and chronic pain. State health officials will begin accepting petitions today to consider allowing new medical conditions into the program. Marijuana advocates also renewed suggestions that state officials tax marijuana sales or enact a "transaction fee." They estimated that a uniform tax policy could generate $40 million in new state revenue. A 2011 opinion by the Attorney General's Office said the proceeds of medical-marijuana sales are taxable under the retail classification of the transaction-privilege tax, commonly known as the sales tax. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom