Pubdate: Fri, 21 Feb 2014
Source: Daily Courier (Prescott, AZ)
Copyright: 2014 Prescott Newspapers, Inc.
Contact: http://www.dcourier.com/Formlayout.asp?formcall=userform&form=1
Website: http://www.dcourier.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4036

MARIJUANA LAWS ARE HAZY AT BEST

It is ironic in two ways that marijuana continues to make headlines.

Arizona has been working for some time now to fully implement the 
voter-approved medical marijuana law.

First, we must remember this is not Colorado - where recreational use 
of the drug has been approved, in addition to medical marijuana laws 
already on the books there.

Some commentors to The Daily Courier, since the November 2010 
approval of the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act, have feared state and 
federal law enforcement officials will not continue to stem the tide 
of marijuana smuggling or possession.

Just Wednesday, Glendale police arrested four people and seized about 
1,000 pounds of marijuana from a home there, according to The 
Associated Press. The four suspects were booked into the Phoenix jail 
on suspicion of drug possession for sale.

At the same time, two of our own law enforcers - County Attorney 
Shiela Polk and Superior Court Judge Cele Hancock - have been going 
in the wrong direction in the judicial system, the Appeals Court says.

Each was on opposite ends of the spectrum regarding plea agreements: 
Polk wants to include marijuana use prohibitions in all plea 
agreements, while Hancock maintains that would improperly tie her hands.

The Appeals Court said both were wrong.

The legal landscape continues to shift when it comes to marijuana - 
medical or otherwise. All concerned must see through the smoke and 
look at each case individually.

This stands as one of those categorizations that ends up making all 
officials' jobs more difficult. Even in Colorado, rules exist 
concerning how much constitutes possession and medicinal uses of pot remain.

Knowing all of this leads us to the conclusion that the challenge of 
interpreting marijuana laws certainly won't get easier anytime soon - 
and the laws are not crystal clear but contain a lot of gray area.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom