Looser guidelines give rise to questions, pot advocates say

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A new Obama administration policy loosening guidelines on federal prosecution of medical marijuana on Monday signaled to users that they had less to fear from federal agents but still left their suppliers to contend with a tangled mesh of state laws and regulations.

The Justice Department told federal prosecutors that targeting people who use or provide medical marijuana in strict compliance with state laws was not a good use of their time.

Marijuana advocates and patients called the memo an encouraging step forward from the strict anti-pot policies of the Bush administration. But many worried that the web of laws in the 14 states that allow medical-marijuana use could still leave users and sellers vulnerable to prosecution.

“Now we’ve got to figure out what these words actually mean,” said Wayne Justmann, a longtime pro-pot activist in San Francisco who campaigned for the 1996 ballot measure that made California the first state to legalize medical marijuana.

The state stands out for the inconsistent enforcement of medical- marijuana laws. There are as many as 800 storefront pot shops in Los Angeles just as some dispensary owners are starting decades-long sentences in federal prison. Some cities are trying to clamp down on medical marijuana, while others offer permits and collect taxes on dispensaries just like any other small business.

The confusion makes some medical-marijuana backers skeptical that anyone can feel secure they are clearly in compliance with state law and safe from federal prosecution.

“There’s just too much disagreement about what the law is,” said Dale Gieringer, director of the California chapter of The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. “The legality of almost anything is in doubt in California when it comes to dispensaries.”

On Monday, for example, a state judge temporarily barred Los Angeles from enforcing a ban on medical-marijuana clinics, ruling that the city council failed to follow state law.

California also stands alone for the widespread presence of storefront dispensaries, but places to legally obtain pot are starting to sprout in other states. Colorado also has dispensaries, and Rhode Island and New Mexico are in the process of licensing providers.

Marijuana is effective in treating chronic pain and nausea, among other ailments, advocates say.