Pubdate: Fri, 24 Jun 2016 Source: Orange County Register, The (CA) Copyright: 2016 The Orange County Register Contact: http://www.ocregister.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/321 FULLERTON FUMBLES ON POT It looks like medical marijuana will remain prohibited in Fullerton, at least for the time being, after "City Council members on Tuesday unanimously agreed to wait until after the November election to make a decision on permitting the cultivation of medical marijuana within city limits," the Register reported. While the merits of a plebiscite on the issue seem dubious, as we believe that city councils are elected to make decisions like this on behalf of the people they represent, it is even more questionable why it is necessary to wait until after the November election to decide whether to allow access to medical marijuana within the city. The voters already spoke on the subject of medical marijuana back in 1996 when Proposition 215 passed with 56 percent of the vote. That measure allows a patient, according to state law, to use medical marijuana with a prescription from a medical doctor. Prohibition has proved that making something illegal doesn't end demand for it and the limited access to medical marijuana across the county, nearly 20 years after voters approved Prop. 215, remains disheartening. Procrastination on medical marijuana won't help once statewide legalization occurs, and Santa Ana can't be expected to be the medical marijuana guinea pig for most of the county in the meantime. More than 600,000 signatures were submitted last month to put a marijuana legalization initiative on the statewide November ballot - 200,000 more than necessary. Now is the time to carefully craft policies that allow access while maintaining the character of our communities. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom