via NBC News-Washington
By KRISTON CAPPS

When the District’s medical marijuana regulations go into effect next year, legislators from states mulling similar bills around the nation will be looking to D.C. as an example. Will they find a solution that will serve conservative constituencies as in Alabama and Tennessee — two states considering passing their own medical marijuana legislation — or will they find a system prone to abuse?

At a superficial glance, the draft regulations that make the District’s liquor board responsible for producing and distributing medical cannabis suggest a lenient or recreational atmosphere for D.C. In fact, the city’s severe marijuana laws don’t leave a lot of room for abuse — and may exclude patients in need.

The Washington Post’s Mike DeBonis takes a first stab at the draft regulations with a Saturday report on how the medical marijuana dispensaries will be licensed. DeBonis notes that the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board will oversee the growth and distribution of medical marijuana and the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration will enforce it, according to draft rules released by the Fenty administration on Friday.

DeBonis talks to Wayne Turner, the co-author of Initiative 59, which was the medical marijuana initiative overwhelmingly approved by District voters in 1998 that was hamstrung by Congress after it passed. Turner takes a negative view on the role of the liquor board in regulating medical marijuana in D.C. So does At-Large D.C. Council member David Catania, who would prefer the D.C. Department of Health to run the program. (The health department is responsible for registering the D.C. patients who are eligible for medical cannabis.)

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