Sounds like the proposal to legalize marijuana in Minnesota has pretty much gone up in smoke this year.

The state decided to have a conversation, with Gov. Mark Dayton listening to both law enforcement worried about crime and misuse and advocates who argued it’s provided necessary relief where nothing else could. But in the end the studies weren’t there and neither were the political supporters, and Dayton this week announced, in no uncertain terms, that there was no chance of medical marijuana passing this year.

That’s the political reality — at least for now.

We don’t doubt the practical benefit of using marijuana for pain relief, and we get the argument that it can sure be a lot less dangerous than high-grade prescription narcotics and other substances. But there are lots of questions to be answered on multiple levels, from public safety to public health, all of them coming amid a swiftly changing landscape for the drug, with two states legalizing it and President Barack Obama recently declaring that he doesn’t think it’s any more harmful than alcohol.

There aren’t a ton of hard studies on legalizing medical marijuana — or any kind of marijuana use — at a state level. The studies are coming, but they’re not here yet. And so the debate becomes one of weighing which personal anecdote or societal estimation is more poignant. That’s not a bad debate to have. But it’s not one that should strongly influence public policy.

Thanks to the focus of Minnesota state leaders and politicians, there’s quite a bit going well these days, from the budget surplus to the schools getting paid back to the most recent package of tax cuts for businesses and homeowners alike. And with the economy improving and all kinds of economic development opportunities on the state’s radar, it seems like there’s quite a bit left to go well, too.

So let’s keep the focus there and not let it stray. Minnesota doesn’t necessarily need to be a leader on the medical marijuana front. The state should be content to wait on this debate — after all, with the direction the drug’s landscape is shifting in, a very near future could hold the possibility of approving medical marijuana in a way all stakeholders support, without losing focus or creating unnecessary political rifts.

— Winona Daily News, March 28