Medical Marijuana continues to be in the news and the developments continue to prove that we are right in our editorials that call for the state to clarify the regulation.

While well-intentioned, the law is difficult to enforce because of the confusing and conflicting regulations.

It has created conflict between local law enforcement agencies, who only want to make sure the substance doesn’t fall into the wrong hands, and proponents of medical marijuana, whose goal is to relieve the pain of people suffering from chronic illnesses.

Neither side is wrong. You can’t blame the police for wanting to keep the substance out of the hands of young people and those who aren’t legally entitled to use it. And you have to sympathize with those distributors who are merely trying to help ailing individuals.

What continues to be ironic is that the state law conflicts with federal regulations against the use of marijuana.

So, what’s typical is that the recent response from Washington that was supposed to clarify the situation — didn’t.

In a policy memo from Deputy Attorney General James Cole at the U.S. Justice Department, it was stated that “people who cultivate, sell or distribute marijuana, and those who knowingly facilitate such activities, are in violation of the Controlled Substances Act, regardless of state law.”

Thank you Washington.

Again, it just shows that the state legislature is going to have to clear up the confusion over medical marijuana distribution.