Pubdate: Thu, 21 Mar 2013
Source: Tucson Weekly (AZ)
Copyright: 2013 Tucson Weekly
Contact:  http://www.tucsonweekly.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/462
Author: J.M. Smith

LACKLUSTER LAWMAKING

Surprisingly Likely to No One, the Arizona Legislature Is Out to 
Subvert the Will of the Voters Again

Our esteemed state Legislature is hard at work up in Phoenix, 
collectively yea-ing and nay-ing its way through huge piles of 
legislation, some of which will surely make your life better and some 
of which will just piss you off.

To wit:

A few weeks ago, I wrote about a suggestion from a Phoenix valley 
'stick to bring the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act before voters 
again. The resolution in the state House of Representatives, brought 
by a Republican, would not have required the governor's signature to 
pass. Thankfully the Teabilly attempt didn't get a hearing in 
committee, so it goes nowhere, at least until he or another of his 
ilk tries again. Politicians have a way of doing that, as evidenced 
by the 30-some attempts in Congress to repeal the Patient Protection 
and Affordable Care Act.

A Republican woman from Phoenix is apparently all in a huff over 
medical marijuana, as she introduced several Senate bills to tighten 
controls on the stuff.

Senate Bill 1440, which passed the Senate and is awaiting House 
action, would require labeling of cannabis as medicine and require 
the state Department of Health Services to revoke the license of any 
dispensary that violates the requirement. So far, so good. But the 
Good Senators added a bizarre amendment requiring cannabis packaging 
to be white and opaque and labels written in black ink on a white 
background. WTF? Seriously? There are no words to describe the inanity of that.

Senate Bill 1441 would allow -nay, require -law enforcement agencies 
to destroy cannabis seized from medical patients or caregivers even 
if an investigation reveals no wrongdoing. This one gets a WTF in its 
entirety. It's equivalent to a cop stopping you at a DUI checkpoint, 
then destroying your car, even if you pass a blood test. No thanks.

Senate Bill 1442 would ban possession or use of medical cannabis at 
child-care facilities, while Senate Bill 1443 would allow patients 
involved in research at colleges and universities to have and use 
medical cannabis-which is currently illegal on college campuses. A 
provision of the bill almost makes it a moot point, however. It lets 
the institutions' review boards require "applicable federal 
approvals," which could include the nefarious National Institute on 
Drug Abuse and the Drug Enforcement Administration, both of which 
have consistently denied approval for cannabis research. This one 
clears the deck for research, when the federal government finally 
gives up the fight to suppress cannabis science.

Another Republican is asking that the state allow counties to 
restrict cannabis growers, even though other agricultural crops are 
protected from such restrictions. Senate Bill 1098 is an attempt to 
prevent large-scale grow operations that could arise if caregivers 
combine efforts. God forbid we should have any pesky business-minded 
folks trying to create economies of scale to benefit patients.

So it seems that some Republicans are actually having a few good 
ideas up in the Valley of the 'Sticks, suggesting some things that 
make sense and might tighten the cannabis ship in good ways. But some 
of it is unadulterated bullshit. It never ceases to amaze me how 
Arizona's neoconservatives want the federal government off their 
backs, then proceed to get all up in their own constituents' shit 
with silly laws requiring white packages and seemingly 
unconstitutional destruction of property. You'd think I'd get used to 
it, after living here a couple of decades.

I hope I never do.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom