It's a job DeBow has fought for years to perform. Though not a marijuana user herself, the 44-year-old Lewis County woman has been authorized to provide the potent herb to her son, Chris Chastain, a 27-year-old paraplegic.

Yet despite a state law permitting use of marijuana in certain medical cases -- as well as permission from two doctors -- DeBow was charged with manufacture of a controlled substance in August and faced up to five years in prison.

She's not alone. Legal advocates estimate that in the past five years, at least 100 Washington residents authorized to use or provide marijuana have been charged with drug crimes. Some have done jail time. Others have drained their savings paying for lawyers.

In 1998, when the citizens initiative passed with 59 percent of the popular vote, prosecutors and police made clear their misgivings. To law enforcement, the state's Medical Marijuana Act -- with its imprecise language, gaps in logic and potential for abuse -- was a miserable tangle. Eight years later, many of Washington's 5,000 marijuana-approved patients agree. Eleven states have such statutes on the book, but medical marijuana advocates say Washington's is the worst.

"Anybody who's tried to apply this law has run into problems," said Dan Satterberg, chief of staff for King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng. "It's the collision of two worlds: the medical world and the criminal justice world."

Snipped:

Complete Article: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/health/292136_medpot13.html

Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer (WA)
Author: Claudia Rowe, P-I Reporter
Published: Monday, November 13, 2006
Copyright: 2006 Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Contact: editpage@seattlepi.com
Website: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/

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As We See It: Pot capital?

Do the people of Santa Cruz really want marijuana to be what the city is known for?

That question just may be turning into a reality, especially after the passage last week of Measure K.

The ballot measure passed overwhelmingly, although we still believe that a number of voters didn't really understand the full implications of the measure.

It's part of a national effort by a well-funded group that's trying to overturn the nation's marijuana laws. They're going about the effort by picking off far-left towns like Santa Cruz to apparently convince the rest of the country that marijuana ought to be legalized.

We're not convinced that marijuana is really harmless, nor are we convinced that legalizing it is really the smartest move our society could make.

But were it to be legalized, we'd hate to see it done this way, where you end up with "pockets" of marijuana havens like Santa Cruz.

Beyond that, Measure K is setting up some bureaucratic regulations that will be time-consuming and frustrating to follow. How would you like to be a busy city clerk who has to take time to write a letter to federal lawmakers each year, asking them to support legalized marijuana?

Why should the city have to name an "oversight committee" to monitor police reports? Why would any self-respecting police officer work in that kind of atmosphere? It almost guarantees that the best cops will look elsewhere for employment.

The measure also declares that it's city policy to support policies for taxation and regulation of marijuana.

At one time, those who smoked marijuana were considered to be free spirits who flouted the law. But this generation of pot-promoters are more bureaucratic. They seem to be as interested in setting up procedures and policies every bit as much as they are in getting high.

The serious side of this issue is that people shouldn't be encouraged to get high. Marijuana might not be the most dangerous drug in the world, but our society does not need more avenues to self-medication. One more legal way to get high is not something our society needs.

Year in and year out, the local United Way Community Assessment Project report warns that the tolerance of drug use — and abuse — is one of the biggest problems facing this community. Drug and alcohol use by teens is much higher than the state and national averages.

It's no joke. People's lives are made worse because of drug and alcohol use and abuse.

As for Santa Cruz, drug use is a big problem. It's a problem downtown, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Marijuana is part of that problem.

We don't think that Santa Cruz ought to be known as a "pot capital" of the world. That's why Measure K is not good for the city, despite the overwhelming vote to approve it.

(Cut out some if you have to, FoM)

Unbelievable. I immediately responded this morning. It was a LOT of work paring it down to under 150 words!

The Sentinel should be ashamed of the way it insulted the citizens of Santa Cruz, as if some national funding had brainwashed the voters. The paper insults them again by deriding marijuana consumers for daring to get involved in the political process instead of staying home on their couches getting high. What petty condescension and bigoted use of stereotypes!

The fact is, the great majority of marijuana consumers are good citizens who consume responsibly. This is understandable considering marijuana is not addictive and less harmful than alcohol. If the Sentinel were to trash alcohol consumers in the same fashion, you can bet many powers-that-be would not stand for it.

What's the Sentinel's interest in perpetuating the fraud of marijuana prohibition? After the good citizens of Santa Cruz get over this slap in the face, they might consider what standards they should demand of their media.

I doubt if they'll print it.

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