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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.