By approving Proposition 215, commonly known as the
Compassionate Use Act, in 1996, California voters legalized
marijuana for medicinal use to ease symptoms of cancer, glaucoma,
pain, muscle spasms, seizures and anxiety. But the state did
nothing to regulate that use.
Voters twice approved the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes
By approving Proposition 215, commonly known as the Compassionate Use Act, in 1996, California voters legalized marijuana for medicinal use to ease symptoms of cancer, glaucoma, pain, muscle spasms, seizures and anxiety. But the state did nothing to regulate that use.
The law was expanded in 2004 with Senate Bill 420, which allows the formation of collectives like Gilroy’s MediLeaf. Again, the state did nothing. Now, hundreds of collectives have opened statewide and more than 37,000 Californians have been issued cards allowing medical marijuana use, including more than 5,000 this year, according to state data. About 600 of those visit MediLeaf.
Without regulation, dispensaries have proliferated, leaving cities in a lurch
And that leaves cities struggling to find a way to regulate the dispensaries. Marijuana use is illegal according to the federal government, but legal under state law.
So when the 1996 act and the 2004 bill were approved, the state should have created something akin to the Alcohol Beverage Control so they could keep an eye on the dispensaries.
And, while medical marijuana use is legal in California but against federal law, President Barack Obama has said that in states where medicinal use is legal, the government won’t waste time and money enforcing federal law.
That’s a start, but when anyone can call a doctor, tell him or her they are anxious, and get a three-month referral – as reporter Natalie Everett recently did – that allows the patient to purchase up to two ounces a day, there’s obviously flaws in the system.
Regulate the sale and use of medical marijuana and tax it
The Food and Drug Administration, a government agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, is responsible for regulating and supervising the safety of foods, tobacco products, dietary supplements, prescription and non-prescription medication, vaccines, biopharmaceuticals and blood transfusions.
Why not add medical marijuana to the list? Either it becomes legal at the federal level or the state needs to step in, because until they do cities will be left to fend for themselves, wasting precious tax dollars. Regulate it as we do alcohol and tax it like we do tobacco.
