Legalization's Latest Foe: Medical Marijuana Backers

It became somewhat of a "he said, she said" situation yesterday at a legislative hearing about Prop 19, the November ballot measure that would legalize marijuana in California. A group of medical marijuana advocates said it would do more harm for patients than help.

A member of the California Cannabis Association, which has launched a webpage called Keep Cannabis Medical, said Prop 19, which allows local governments to regulate, even ban legalization, would inadvertently make it difficult for medical marijuana to exist. "The people who would be most affected are the sick, the elderly — patients who cannot grow their own and cannot travel to pick up a prescription," said Amir Daliri, a medical marijuana dispensary operator from Northern California, according to the Associated Press.

Not so, said proponents of the measure. "Proposition 19 is actually going to further clarify that sales of medical cannabis are legal in this state," said Dale Sky Jones, a spokeswoman for the Yes campaign. "The intent of our law is to protect medical cannabis patients and their rights."