The Next Step on Medical Pot

Three years ago, when California voters approved Proposition 215, which legalized the medical use of marijuana, then-Gov. Pete Wilson struggled to reconcile the contradiction between the measure and federal drug laws that forbade marijuana use. Gov. Gray Davis has tried to avoid the quagmire by pointing out that federal laws trump state laws and that it would be illegal for his administration to sanction any use of the drug.

On Monday, however, three federal appeals court judges deprived Davis of that evasive bit of reasoning. The court essentially ruled that the handful of cannabis clubs that distribute medical marijuana in the state can do so as long as they can prove that the drug is needed to protect sick people from serious harm. The decision does not change federal drug rules, which classify marijuana as a “Schedule 1 drug,” meaning a substance without medicinal value.

The decision should prompt state Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer to comply with the spirit of Proposition 215 by issuing guidelines to help local law enforcement officials monitor whether cannabis centers are distributing medical marijuana responsibly.

Lockyer’s guidelines should be based not on the measure itself, for while its backers say it restricts marijuana to patients with “serious illnesses,” it in fact allows doctors to prescribe it for minor ailments like nausea. The attorney general should follow the appeals court ruling, which supports mainstream medical opinion that marijuana is demonstrably superior to other drugs only for those suffering from particularly severe illnesses like AIDS and cancer.

Some legislators argue that any sort of state guidelines on Proposition 215 would encourage recreational as well as responsible use of marijuana. In fact the opposite is true. Cannabis clubs are already implementing the measure, and local law enforcement officials, without guidelines from the state, cannot ensure they are acting responsibly.