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Marijuana bill's passage is legal headache Police agencies have plenty to ponder By ALBERTO ENRIQUEZ Law enforcement officials say no one really knows yet how a ballot measure allowing marijuana use for medicinal purposes will affect the enforcement of other Oregon marijuana laws. The one certainty, they say, is that the law will pose new problems for police officers when it takes effect Dec. 3. "A lot of people are wondering about that," said Phil Lemman of the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission. "There's a lot of unanswered questions, frankly." Not the least of those, says Lemman, is how many marijuana users will choose to invoke the law's protection and obtain state Health Department permits exempting them from certain laws forbidding the cultivation, possession and distribution of marijuana. But others exist as well: How does an officer determine if a marijuana permit is valid? If a search of a home or car turns up marijuana, and one person of a group has a valid permit, how does it affect the search? The law provides an affirmative defense in court for registered users who exceed a seven-plant limit. Given that, how should officers investigate growers, and when should they make arrests? The law requires that marijuana and paraphernalia be returned intact if found to be for legitimate medical use. If plants are seized, it requires that they be kept alive. How will law enforcement seize plants -- and keep them alive -- under this provision? "We get pickup loads (of marijuana) out during our fall operations," said Jackson County Sheriff's Captain Ed Mayer. "The joke on the morning after the election was that we were all asking our property room manager, `Hey, R.C., have you started building your greenhouse yet?"' The thought of law enforcement resources being diverted to maintaining seized pot plants is just part of the "worst-case scenario" Mayer envisions. That scenario includes marijuana users who enter jail and wish to continue using while in custody. Or employees who demand that employers treat their marijuana use as a "reasonable accommodation" under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Law enforcement officials raised these scenarios and others before the measure's passage. Now, they must sort out how to deal with the reality -- an Oregon law at odds with federal drug laws. "That's exactly the problem," Mayer said. "That's part of the conflict. It's what makes this all so cumbersome. (U.S. Attorney General) Janet Reno's office has already gone on the record saying they will enforce the law. They had one of their spokesmen on `Good Morning America' the day after this passed. "Whatever effect this has on our enforcement of marijuana laws, we don't expect it will be minimal." Police agencies have asked District Attorney Mark Huddleston to advise them about the law's impact on marijuana enforcement, and the office plans to begin a review of the law next week. The Oregon attorney general's office is appointing a commission to give law enforcement advice after receiving inquiries from Oregon State Police, the Oregon Health Department and other state agencies, said Peter Cogswell of the office. "We don't know how it will affect them," Cogswell said. "But to the extent that they enforce marijuana laws, this will make it more time-consuming. It adds a couple of steps to the process. It creates exceptions. When that happens, it's bound to make enforcement more complicated." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford, Oregon USA