AGENCIES GRAPPLE WITH PROP. 215 : INITIATIVE'S PASSAGE CREATES HAZE OF POLICY, LIABILITY QUESTIONS.

Byline: Keith Stone and Stacy Finz Daily News Staff Writers

It didn't matter to Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies that Babaji John Patrick Zeiger always carries a permission slip from his AIDS doctor to smoke pot.

And they didn't care that Proposition 215 was about to be adopted by a 56 percent to 44 percent vote, thereby changing California law to allow possession and cultivation of marijuana for medical reasons.

What mattered was that 30-year-old Zeiger had four joints when deputies stopped him in West Hollywood.

They took Zeiger's pot and gave him a citation for possession of marijuana - just seven hours before voters passed the ballot measure.

``The law was not in effect,'' explained Sheriff Sherman Block in an interview Wednesday.

What a difference a few hours make.

While Proposition 215 reflects a radical change in how Californians view the intoxicating weed, the new law has left police, doctors and anti-drug advocates scrambling to understand its implications.

Block and other law enforcers say they still will arrest and cite people who are not protected by the new law, which went into effect Wednesday, but they acknowledged it remains unclear exactly how to make sure only legal smokers get the drug.

And Block said that although groups such as West Hollywood Cannabis Buyers Club still are forbidden to sell or distribute the weed, many questions about enforcement must be answered.

``It is not going to be a simple issue to deal with, and it is one that we will have to develop an approach to,'' Block conceded. ``We don't want to harass people who are indeed protected by the initiative, but at the same time we don't want to allow people to take advantage of it, to abuse the situation.''

Teachers and anti-drug advocates from Washington to Los Angeles say they are not sure what to tell youngsters about the new law, other than that they believe it sends the wrong message.

``This is something that has not been done before,'' said Donald Maple, spokesman for President Clinton's drug czar, Barry McCaffrey. ``We think it is a backdoor effort to quasi-legalize marijuana in California.''

``One of the things it says is: Marijuana is medicine and equates to medicine. Medicines are things that are good for you,'' said Maple.

The Los Angeles Unified School District's anti-drug program director Ruth Rich said the new law complicates efforts to convince youngsters that marijuana is bad.

``What it does is broaden the norm of what is acceptable,'' Rich said. ``It sends the wrong message.''

Under Proposition 215, anyone following a doctor's recommendation may possess and grow marijuana for such medicinal uses as stimulating appetite and preventing nausea.

Americans for Medical Rights estimates that more than 100,000 Californians with cancer or AIDS have been using marijuana on a regular basis.

Previously, they risked a citation and fine if they possessed an ounce or less of marijuana.

Block said that deputies have been instructed to continue to cite or arrest people caught with pot, but only if they cannot prove they have a doctor's endorsement. Deputies must call the doctor to verify the letter, but whether that will take place in a phone booth or station is unclear, he said.

``All of this stuff is evolving,'' he said.

A day after the proposition passed, the Los Angeles Police Department had not developed a new policy.

``Right now it's going to be business as usual, that it is illegal to possess marijuana,'' said Capt. Ron Seban, of the LAPD Narcotics Group. ``We have not heard from our chain of command that would indicate that we are going to do anything different.''

Americans for Medical Rights announced Wednesday it plans to pass laws similar to Proposition 215 in other states and on the federal level. Arizona voters also approved a medicinal marijuana measure Tuesday.

Attorney General Dan Lungren said he plans to call a meeting of law enforcement officials statewide to discuss Proposition 215.

The first items on the agenda: ``The meaning of the new law'' and ``what constitutes medicinal use of marijuana.''

Possession of marijuana remains illegal under federal law, and the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles vows to continue prosecuting cases, despite the will of California voters.

``We will prosecute marijuana users who meet our guidelines,'' said Carole Levitsky, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office. Levitsky would not provide details about the guidelines.

At the Drug Enforcement Administration, spokesman Abel Reynoso said investigators don't have the time or money to chase patients with a few joints or a few plants sprouting in their back yards.