South Jersey marijuana activist-turned-Southern California marijuana
capitalist Ed Forchion, a.k.a. Weedman, is no dope.
I say this not only because the guy is totally sharp, but also because I
want to officially remove tongue from cheek. This column hereby offers
no further puns, double entendres, or wink-winks/nudge-nudges, either
about the Weedman or the culturally ubiquitous illicit drug New Jersey
legalized Jan. 18 for patients with cancer, AIDS, or other debilitating
diseases.
Turns out Forchion was opposed to the bill that former Gov. Jon S.
Corzine signed into law the same day Weedman's entertaining,
thought-provoking and occasionally jaw-dropping autobiography/manifesto,
Public Enemy #420, was published on the Web.
Forchion says New Jersey's measure isn't sufficiently green - no locally
grown product, only government-grown "garbage" - and is "hypocritical"
in falling short of legalization. In other words, it doesn't go far
enough.
Which certainly can't be said of his unruly 353-page opus, detailing as
it does everything from "My First Joint" to an adventure involving "over
100 pounds of weed" and a truck.
"I just basically took a bunch of chapters and Web pages and put them
together with some flashbacks," Forchion, 45, says. "I'm not really an
author. But I am now!"
An impassioned mix of in-your-face earnestness and down-to-earth
grandiosity, Forchion's book presents the father of five, fringe
political candidate, and ex-con (he served 17 months for possession) as
a self-taught First Amendment champion and "peaceful, proud, patriotic
pothead."
Having gone West for a fresh start two years ago, Forchion now operates
a legal medical-marijuana dispensary in Los Angeles called the Liberty
Bell Temple. This enterprise also is incorporated as a church, a status
Forchion maintains will offer protection if the city moves ahead with
plans to crack down on dispensaries.
"I feel free here," he says. "I'm making real good money; I'm paying
child support; I'm buying gifts for people - I'm doing OK. Here in
California, marijuana is not considered the weed of the witches."
He's also a party promoter whose Web site (NJWeedmanPromotions.com)
includes an abundance of video and photo evidence that happy days are
here again. At least in Hollywood.
"A lot of people knew about me here before I even got here," says
Forchion, who began what was essentially a blog in the late 1990s and
later tried unsuccessfully to legally change his name to NJWeedman.com.
"The power of the Internet is incredible. I'm a cybercelebrity."
He's no slouch with old-school media, either. Public Enemy #420 features
a parade of press clippings that chronicle his evolution from
middle-class Burlington County kid to flamboyant activist (lighting up
at the Liberty Bell and other attention-grabbing locales).
One need not be a weed worshipper - a certain columnist certainly isn't
- to appreciate not only Forchion's personal charm, but also his
gumption. There's a touch of Horatio Alger in the Weedman saga.
"I grew up in America," he says. "I'm a capitalist, just like my
parents, who both had their own businesses. After I got out of prison, I
just couldn't make it. So I took a chance and came out here to
California. And now I'm doing pretty good.
"Everybody thinks I smoke the most, because I call myself Weedman,"
Forchion adds. "I have to have weed on me because if I encounter someone
and don't, they would be, 'What do you mean, the Weedman doesn't have
any weed?' I've created a character, and this character has to have
weed. It's kind of funny.
"I don't smoke as much as I used to. But I don't foresee myself ever
totally stopping, either. I'm going to be one of those old guys who
still smokes weed."
California dreamin', indeed.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Senate passes medical marijuana bill
DENVER—The Senate has passed a bill preventing recreational pot
users from skirting the law to obtain medical marijuana is headed.
The Senate voted 34-1 on Monday to back the measure, Senate Bill 109,
and send it to the House.
It would bar doctors from writing recommendations inside dispensaries
that sell medical marijuana. It requires that doctors review a person's
medical history and give them a full exam before recommending that they
become a legal user of medical marijuana.
Those between 18 and 21 would have to get the approval of two doctors,
which is already required for patients under 18.
users from skirting the law to obtain medical marijuana is headed.
The Senate voted 34-1 on Monday to back the measure, Senate Bill 109,
and send it to the House.
It would bar doctors from writing recommendations inside dispensaries
that sell medical marijuana. It requires that doctors review a person's
medical history and give them a full exam before recommending that they
become a legal user of medical marijuana.
Those between 18 and 21 would have to get the approval of two doctors,
which is already required for patients under 18.
City needs decision on pot
On Jan. 24 the Daily Pilot broke the story on nine Costa Mesa businesses
acting as medical marijuana dispensaries — despite a city ban on the
distribution of cannabis for medicinal use. These businesses have
camouflaged their pot-selling operations by broadly defining their
services or products on city forms.
The Costa Mesa Police Department acknowledges that the businesses are
operating in violation of a 2005 ordinance prohibiting the dispensaries.
But, city officials say, enforcing the ban would be no clear-cut task.
City Atty. Kim Barlow points out that the ordinance would be legally
hazy to enforce because the businesses in question are doing both lawful
and unlawful business.
"There's nothing to stop a place that says it's a vitamin
shop from opening up," Police Chief Chris Shawkey told the Pilot.
Orange County Collective Services, for one, states on its business
license that it's in the business of answering telephones for an
appliance repair shop.
"I don't have marijuana here. I have medicine," proclaimed
John "Dreaming Hawk" Barona, a manager there.
He insisted the business is a cooperative, not a dispensary.
City officials say they're now figuring out what to do about the
marijuana-based shops, whatever their form, and will have a plan in
place soon. However, another complicating factor is that the Costa Mesa
ordinance could face a court challenge.
They'll need to keep Proposition 215 in mind, the 1996 ballot
measure approved by California voters that decriminalized the
distribution and sale of marijuana for medical purposes.
Regardless of what you think of Proposition 215, this dallying is
unacceptable.
Either provide the resources to enforce the ordinance or get it off the
books. Our law enforcement and other city officials have enough to do
without the burden of this unfunded mandate.
acting as medical marijuana dispensaries — despite a city ban on the
distribution of cannabis for medicinal use. These businesses have
camouflaged their pot-selling operations by broadly defining their
services or products on city forms.
The Costa Mesa Police Department acknowledges that the businesses are
operating in violation of a 2005 ordinance prohibiting the dispensaries.
But, city officials say, enforcing the ban would be no clear-cut task.
City Atty. Kim Barlow points out that the ordinance would be legally
hazy to enforce because the businesses in question are doing both lawful
and unlawful business.
"There's nothing to stop a place that says it's a vitamin
shop from opening up," Police Chief Chris Shawkey told the Pilot.
Orange County Collective Services, for one, states on its business
license that it's in the business of answering telephones for an
appliance repair shop.
"I don't have marijuana here. I have medicine," proclaimed
John "Dreaming Hawk" Barona, a manager there.
He insisted the business is a cooperative, not a dispensary.
City officials say they're now figuring out what to do about the
marijuana-based shops, whatever their form, and will have a plan in
place soon. However, another complicating factor is that the Costa Mesa
ordinance could face a court challenge.
They'll need to keep Proposition 215 in mind, the 1996 ballot
measure approved by California voters that decriminalized the
distribution and sale of marijuana for medical purposes.
Regardless of what you think of Proposition 215, this dallying is
unacceptable.
Either provide the resources to enforce the ordinance or get it off the
books. Our law enforcement and other city officials have enough to do
without the burden of this unfunded mandate.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
In the Weeds: Regulations Lag as Medical Marijuana Grows
JUDY WOODRUFF: Now: new efforts to limit the sale of medical marijuana.
Last week, the Los Angeles City Council approved an ordinance that would
close many medical marijuana dispensaries throughout the city. The
backlash is brewing elsewhere, too, including debate and a vote today in
Colorado's Senate.
"NewsHour" correspondent Tom Bearden has our report from Denver.
WOMAN: I feel like my life is in danger. I did not purchase a house
right here to feel like I can't go outside my front door.
TOM BEARDEN: For the past three months, angry residents have gathered in
town hall meetings asking politicians to slam the brakes on one of the
fastest growing businesses in Colorado.
MAN: We're gambling with our kids, our families, our own lives. And why
not just stop everything until we actually learn something about how to
run this industry?
TOM BEARDEN: The new industry is medical marijuana, specifically, the
commercial dispensaries that have opened in neighborhoods all over the
state. At last count, Denver alone had over 300. More than the number of
Starbucks is the oft-quoted statistic.
Some residents are concerned the shops could lead to increased crime and
encourage loitering near their homes. The dispensary industry has
blossomed virtually overnight, with few regulations or rules, and left
politicians at the state and local level scrambling to catch up.
Ten years ago, Coloradans voted to amend the state constitution to allow
doctors to prescribe marijuana for medical purposes. Subsequent state
regulations limited caregivers to five patients a piece. But it was
still against federal law. And police continued to arrest people.
So, for years, only about 2,000 people registered as patients. Then, a
court threw out the five-patient limit. And, last year, the U.S. Justice
Department announced it would no longer enforce federal anti-marijuana
laws in the 14 states that allow its medical use.
Marijuana dispensaries began popping up everywhere. And the patient
registry exploded to 40,000 people, with 20,000 more waiting for
approval in the coming m onths. That's created a huge business
opportunity for people like Ryan Vincent. He's a medical marijuana user
himself to relieve pain from a degenerative eye disease.
He hated buying the drug in what he described as a back alley
environment. So, in November, he opened up The Health Center, which
offers patients a variety of marijuana products, from traditional
leaves, to brownies, to topical lotions.
RYAN VINCENT, The Health Center: I have built a very safe environment
for people. It would be very safe for my own grandmother to come in
here. And that is kind of the idea of how we built this place.
TOM BEARDEN: But some people think too many dispensaries have opened up
in far too many places. City Councilman Charlie Brown recently led the
effort for a Denver law that requires any new dispensaries to be located
1,000 feet from schools and day cares and from other dispensaries. Brown
says he knows more needs to be done, but it isn't easy.
CHARLIE BROWN, Denver city councilman: It's like trying to pick your
teeth with a rattlesnake. If you ever tried that, you know how hard it
is.
You know, you are dealing with medicine. You're dealing with patients.
You're dealing with the dispensary owners. You're dealing with
neighbors, and you're dealing with schools. It all -- you can't please
everybody. And, so, you compromise.
TOM BEARDEN: Vincent says he welcomes more regulation and is working
hard to show that he runs a legitimate business that is not some front
for dealing drugs to recreational users. For instance, he accepts credit
cards and will only pay growers and suppliers with checks.
RYAN VINCENT: If we say, you know, we would like to write you a check,
and they say, no, no, no, cash only, we're not working with them. And
the reason being is because, we are a business. And we want those
tracked ratios. We want where our money is going. We want to have a
paper trail. We -- you know, at the end of the day, that is how you do
business.
TOM BEARDEN: One of the criticisms I have heard from people who are
concerned about whether this is being sold indiscriminately are things
like the names of the products, like Afghan Diesel, Durban Poison,
Juliet, AK-47.
Does that hurt your cause when you try to establish yourself as a
genuinely legitimate business, that you are selling a product that has a
name like that?
RYAN VINCENT: We are trying to move away from those names. One of the
things that we are actually working on doing right now with the growers
is coming up with some names that might be more acceptable, something
that more people can use, and it would make more sense to the patient.
TOM BEARDEN: But making marijuana use more acceptable is what has many
residents like Christine Tatum-Thurstone so upset.
CHRISTINE TATUM-THURSTONE: The more of these dispensaries pop up, the
more we normalize this, the more that we mistake this as a substance
that doesn't have any problems. Basically, what Colorado has done is,
it's using the medical community as a really cheap and easy -- and it's
a really cheap, easy backdoor to legalization of marijuana.
TOM BEARDEN: As various local officials in both urban and rural
communities wrestle with how to deal with the dispensary issue, most
people are now looking to the state legislature for a more comprehensive
approach.
State Senator Chris Romer, a Democrat, originally drafted a bill that
would have required dispensaries to register their products in a
database and provide other health services. But he says he couldn't get
the support of other colleagues. So, he scaled his bill back to one that
would put an end to the practice of dispensaries paying physicians to
write prescriptions for medical marijuana.
STATE SEN. CHRIS ROMER, D-Colo.: You will no longer be able to have a
dispensary that has a doctor on site who is paid per prescription,
because I can't think of another circumstance in medicine where we
actually pay doctors for each prescription they write.
TOM BEARDEN: On the statehouse side, Republican Tom Massey is working
with law enforcement groups on a bill to reestablish the old
five-patient limit and apply it to dispensaries.
STATE REP. TOM MASSEY, R-Colo.: I have had a number of concerns,
complaints, questions, are we trying to put dispensaries out of
business? And that's clearly not the goal of this. We're trying to make
sure that we have a regulatory piece that works within the framework of
the doctor-patient-caregiver relationship and honors the intent of the
voter for the constitutional amendment.
TOM BEARDEN: Dispensary owner Vincent says a five-patient restriction
with not only put him out of business; it would drive the marijuana
business back into basements and back alleys.
RYAN VINCENT: It's going to go all back underground again, which is --
which maybe is what his idea is. And then we put it all back underground
and we will tick off all of the neighborhoods. And then they will all
vote it out.
TOM BEARDEN: Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers say they know,
whatever action they take, the issue is not likely to be resolved this
session. And they concede, everything would change if the federal
government decides to go back to enforcing marijuana laws.
How do you craft a state law or set of state laws to deal with an issue
that is still fundamentally illegal at the federal level?
CHRIS ROMER: Well, it's difficult, but we're working on that. And the
Obama administration has clearly said the states can experiment with
this and create our own model. I hope we ultimately can be the people
who really create the best medical marijuana laws for those
chronically-ill patients.
TOM BEARDEN: Today, the Colorado Senate passed the Romer bill. It now
moves over to the House.
Last week, the Los Angeles City Council approved an ordinance that would
close many medical marijuana dispensaries throughout the city. The
backlash is brewing elsewhere, too, including debate and a vote today in
Colorado's Senate.
"NewsHour" correspondent Tom Bearden has our report from Denver.
WOMAN: I feel like my life is in danger. I did not purchase a house
right here to feel like I can't go outside my front door.
TOM BEARDEN: For the past three months, angry residents have gathered in
town hall meetings asking politicians to slam the brakes on one of the
fastest growing businesses in Colorado.
MAN: We're gambling with our kids, our families, our own lives. And why
not just stop everything until we actually learn something about how to
run this industry?
TOM BEARDEN: The new industry is medical marijuana, specifically, the
commercial dispensaries that have opened in neighborhoods all over the
state. At last count, Denver alone had over 300. More than the number of
Starbucks is the oft-quoted statistic.
Some residents are concerned the shops could lead to increased crime and
encourage loitering near their homes. The dispensary industry has
blossomed virtually overnight, with few regulations or rules, and left
politicians at the state and local level scrambling to catch up.
Ten years ago, Coloradans voted to amend the state constitution to allow
doctors to prescribe marijuana for medical purposes. Subsequent state
regulations limited caregivers to five patients a piece. But it was
still against federal law. And police continued to arrest people.
So, for years, only about 2,000 people registered as patients. Then, a
court threw out the five-patient limit. And, last year, the U.S. Justice
Department announced it would no longer enforce federal anti-marijuana
laws in the 14 states that allow its medical use.
Marijuana dispensaries began popping up everywhere. And the patient
registry exploded to 40,000 people, with 20,000 more waiting for
approval in the coming m onths. That's created a huge business
opportunity for people like Ryan Vincent. He's a medical marijuana user
himself to relieve pain from a degenerative eye disease.
He hated buying the drug in what he described as a back alley
environment. So, in November, he opened up The Health Center, which
offers patients a variety of marijuana products, from traditional
leaves, to brownies, to topical lotions.
RYAN VINCENT, The Health Center: I have built a very safe environment
for people. It would be very safe for my own grandmother to come in
here. And that is kind of the idea of how we built this place.
TOM BEARDEN: But some people think too many dispensaries have opened up
in far too many places. City Councilman Charlie Brown recently led the
effort for a Denver law that requires any new dispensaries to be located
1,000 feet from schools and day cares and from other dispensaries. Brown
says he knows more needs to be done, but it isn't easy.
CHARLIE BROWN, Denver city councilman: It's like trying to pick your
teeth with a rattlesnake. If you ever tried that, you know how hard it
is.
You know, you are dealing with medicine. You're dealing with patients.
You're dealing with the dispensary owners. You're dealing with
neighbors, and you're dealing with schools. It all -- you can't please
everybody. And, so, you compromise.
TOM BEARDEN: Vincent says he welcomes more regulation and is working
hard to show that he runs a legitimate business that is not some front
for dealing drugs to recreational users. For instance, he accepts credit
cards and will only pay growers and suppliers with checks.
RYAN VINCENT: If we say, you know, we would like to write you a check,
and they say, no, no, no, cash only, we're not working with them. And
the reason being is because, we are a business. And we want those
tracked ratios. We want where our money is going. We want to have a
paper trail. We -- you know, at the end of the day, that is how you do
business.
TOM BEARDEN: One of the criticisms I have heard from people who are
concerned about whether this is being sold indiscriminately are things
like the names of the products, like Afghan Diesel, Durban Poison,
Juliet, AK-47.
Does that hurt your cause when you try to establish yourself as a
genuinely legitimate business, that you are selling a product that has a
name like that?
RYAN VINCENT: We are trying to move away from those names. One of the
things that we are actually working on doing right now with the growers
is coming up with some names that might be more acceptable, something
that more people can use, and it would make more sense to the patient.
TOM BEARDEN: But making marijuana use more acceptable is what has many
residents like Christine Tatum-Thurstone so upset.
CHRISTINE TATUM-THURSTONE: The more of these dispensaries pop up, the
more we normalize this, the more that we mistake this as a substance
that doesn't have any problems. Basically, what Colorado has done is,
it's using the medical community as a really cheap and easy -- and it's
a really cheap, easy backdoor to legalization of marijuana.
TOM BEARDEN: As various local officials in both urban and rural
communities wrestle with how to deal with the dispensary issue, most
people are now looking to the state legislature for a more comprehensive
approach.
State Senator Chris Romer, a Democrat, originally drafted a bill that
would have required dispensaries to register their products in a
database and provide other health services. But he says he couldn't get
the support of other colleagues. So, he scaled his bill back to one that
would put an end to the practice of dispensaries paying physicians to
write prescriptions for medical marijuana.
STATE SEN. CHRIS ROMER, D-Colo.: You will no longer be able to have a
dispensary that has a doctor on site who is paid per prescription,
because I can't think of another circumstance in medicine where we
actually pay doctors for each prescription they write.
TOM BEARDEN: On the statehouse side, Republican Tom Massey is working
with law enforcement groups on a bill to reestablish the old
five-patient limit and apply it to dispensaries.
STATE REP. TOM MASSEY, R-Colo.: I have had a number of concerns,
complaints, questions, are we trying to put dispensaries out of
business? And that's clearly not the goal of this. We're trying to make
sure that we have a regulatory piece that works within the framework of
the doctor-patient-caregiver relationship and honors the intent of the
voter for the constitutional amendment.
TOM BEARDEN: Dispensary owner Vincent says a five-patient restriction
with not only put him out of business; it would drive the marijuana
business back into basements and back alleys.
RYAN VINCENT: It's going to go all back underground again, which is --
which maybe is what his idea is. And then we put it all back underground
and we will tick off all of the neighborhoods. And then they will all
vote it out.
TOM BEARDEN: Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers say they know,
whatever action they take, the issue is not likely to be resolved this
session. And they concede, everything would change if the federal
government decides to go back to enforcing marijuana laws.
How do you craft a state law or set of state laws to deal with an issue
that is still fundamentally illegal at the federal level?
CHRIS ROMER: Well, it's difficult, but we're working on that. And the
Obama administration has clearly said the states can experiment with
this and create our own model. I hope we ultimately can be the people
who really create the best medical marijuana laws for those
chronically-ill patients.
TOM BEARDEN: Today, the Colorado Senate passed the Romer bill. It now
moves over to the House.
In the Weeds: Regulations Lag as Medical Marijuana Grows
JUDY WOODRUFF: Now: new efforts to limit the sale of medical marijuana.
Last week, the Los Angeles City Council approved an ordinance that would
close many medical marijuana dispensaries throughout the city. The
backlash is brewing elsewhere, too, including debate and a vote today in
Colorado's Senate.
"NewsHour" correspondent Tom Bearden has our report from Denver.
WOMAN: I feel like my life is in danger. I did not purchase a house
right here to feel like I can't go outside my front door.
TOM BEARDEN: For the past three months, angry residents have gathered in
town hall meetings asking politicians to slam the brakes on one of the
fastest growing businesses in Colorado.
MAN: We're gambling with our kids, our families, our own lives. And why
not just stop everything until we actually learn something about how to
run this industry?
TOM BEARDEN: The new industry is medical marijuana, specifically, the
commercial dispensaries that have opened in neighborhoods all over the
state. At last count, Denver alone had over 300. More than the number of
Starbucks is the oft-quoted statistic.
Some residents are concerned the shops could lead to increased crime and
encourage loitering near their homes. The dispensary industry has
blossomed virtually overnight, with few regulations or rules, and left
politicians at the state and local level scrambling to catch up.
Ten years ago, Coloradans voted to amend the state constitution to allow
doctors to prescribe marijuana for medical purposes. Subsequent state
regulations limited caregivers to five patients a piece. But it was
still against federal law. And police continued to arrest people.
So, for years, only about 2,000 people registered as patients. Then, a
court threw out the five-patient limit. And, last year, the U.S. Justice
Department announced it would no longer enforce federal anti-marijuana
laws in the 14 states that allow its medical use.
Marijuana dispensaries began popping up everywhere. And the patient
registry exploded to 40,000 people, with 20,000 more waiting for
approval in the coming m onths. That's created a huge business
opportunity for people like Ryan Vincent. He's a medical marijuana user
himself to relieve pain from a degenerative eye disease.
He hated buying the drug in what he described as a back alley
environment. So, in November, he opened up The Health Center, which
offers patients a variety of marijuana products, from traditional
leaves, to brownies, to topical lotions.
RYAN VINCENT, The Health Center: I have built a very safe environment
for people. It would be very safe for my own grandmother to come in
here. And that is kind of the idea of how we built this place.
TOM BEARDEN: But some people think too many dispensaries have opened up
in far too many places. City Councilman Charlie Brown recently led the
effort for a Denver law that requires any new dispensaries to be located
1,000 feet from schools and day cares and from other dispensaries. Brown
says he knows more needs to be done, but it isn't easy.
CHARLIE BROWN, Denver city councilman: It's like trying to pick your
teeth with a rattlesnake. If you ever tried that, you know how hard it
is.
You know, you are dealing with medicine. You're dealing with patients.
You're dealing with the dispensary owners. You're dealing with
neighbors, and you're dealing with schools. It all -- you can't please
everybody. And, so, you compromise.
TOM BEARDEN: Vincent says he welcomes more regulation and is working
hard to show that he runs a legitimate business that is not some front
for dealing drugs to recreational users. For instance, he accepts credit
cards and will only pay growers and suppliers with checks.
RYAN VINCENT: If we say, you know, we would like to write you a check,
and they say, no, no, no, cash only, we're not working with them. And
the reason being is because, we are a business. And we want those
tracked ratios. We want where our money is going. We want to have a
paper trail. We -- you know, at the end of the day, that is how you do
business.
TOM BEARDEN: One of the criticisms I have heard from people who are
concerned about whether this is being sold indiscriminately are things
like the names of the products, like Afghan Diesel, Durban Poison,
Juliet, AK-47.
Does that hurt your cause when you try to establish yourself as a
genuinely legitimate business, that you are selling a product that has a
name like that?
RYAN VINCENT: We are trying to move away from those names. One of the
things that we are actually working on doing right now with the growers
is coming up with some names that might be more acceptable, something
that more people can use, and it would make more sense to the patient.
TOM BEARDEN: But making marijuana use more acceptable is what has many
residents like Christine Tatum-Thurstone so upset.
CHRISTINE TATUM-THURSTONE: The more of these dispensaries pop up, the
more we normalize this, the more that we mistake this as a substance
that doesn't have any problems. Basically, what Colorado has done is,
it's using the medical community as a really cheap and easy -- and it's
a really cheap, easy backdoor to legalization of marijuana.
TOM BEARDEN: As various local officials in both urban and rural
communities wrestle with how to deal with the dispensary issue, most
people are now looking to the state legislature for a more comprehensive
approach.
State Senator Chris Romer, a Democrat, originally drafted a bill that
would have required dispensaries to register their products in a
database and provide other health services. But he says he couldn't get
the support of other colleagues. So, he scaled his bill back to one that
would put an end to the practice of dispensaries paying physicians to
write prescriptions for medical marijuana.
STATE SEN. CHRIS ROMER, D-Colo.: You will no longer be able to have a
dispensary that has a doctor on site who is paid per prescription,
because I can't think of another circumstance in medicine where we
actually pay doctors for each prescription they write.
TOM BEARDEN: On the statehouse side, Republican Tom Massey is working
with law enforcement groups on a bill to reestablish the old
five-patient limit and apply it to dispensaries.
STATE REP. TOM MASSEY, R-Colo.: I have had a number of concerns,
complaints, questions, are we trying to put dispensaries out of
business? And that's clearly not the goal of this. We're trying to make
sure that we have a regulatory piece that works within the framework of
the doctor-patient-caregiver relationship and honors the intent of the
voter for the constitutional amendment.
TOM BEARDEN: Dispensary owner Vincent says a five-patient restriction
with not only put him out of business; it would drive the marijuana
business back into basements and back alleys.
RYAN VINCENT: It's going to go all back underground again, which is --
which maybe is what his idea is. And then we put it all back underground
and we will tick off all of the neighborhoods. And then they will all
vote it out.
TOM BEARDEN: Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers say they know,
whatever action they take, the issue is not likely to be resolved this
session. And they concede, everything would change if the federal
government decides to go back to enforcing marijuana laws.
How do you craft a state law or set of state laws to deal with an issue
that is still fundamentally illegal at the federal level?
CHRIS ROMER: Well, it's difficult, but we're working on that. And the
Obama administration has clearly said the states can experiment with
this and create our own model. I hope we ultimately can be the people
who really create the best medical marijuana laws for those
chronically-ill patients.
TOM BEARDEN: Today, the Colorado Senate passed the Romer bill. It now
moves over to the House.
Last week, the Los Angeles City Council approved an ordinance that would
close many medical marijuana dispensaries throughout the city. The
backlash is brewing elsewhere, too, including debate and a vote today in
Colorado's Senate.
"NewsHour" correspondent Tom Bearden has our report from Denver.
WOMAN: I feel like my life is in danger. I did not purchase a house
right here to feel like I can't go outside my front door.
TOM BEARDEN: For the past three months, angry residents have gathered in
town hall meetings asking politicians to slam the brakes on one of the
fastest growing businesses in Colorado.
MAN: We're gambling with our kids, our families, our own lives. And why
not just stop everything until we actually learn something about how to
run this industry?
TOM BEARDEN: The new industry is medical marijuana, specifically, the
commercial dispensaries that have opened in neighborhoods all over the
state. At last count, Denver alone had over 300. More than the number of
Starbucks is the oft-quoted statistic.
Some residents are concerned the shops could lead to increased crime and
encourage loitering near their homes. The dispensary industry has
blossomed virtually overnight, with few regulations or rules, and left
politicians at the state and local level scrambling to catch up.
Ten years ago, Coloradans voted to amend the state constitution to allow
doctors to prescribe marijuana for medical purposes. Subsequent state
regulations limited caregivers to five patients a piece. But it was
still against federal law. And police continued to arrest people.
So, for years, only about 2,000 people registered as patients. Then, a
court threw out the five-patient limit. And, last year, the U.S. Justice
Department announced it would no longer enforce federal anti-marijuana
laws in the 14 states that allow its medical use.
Marijuana dispensaries began popping up everywhere. And the patient
registry exploded to 40,000 people, with 20,000 more waiting for
approval in the coming m onths. That's created a huge business
opportunity for people like Ryan Vincent. He's a medical marijuana user
himself to relieve pain from a degenerative eye disease.
He hated buying the drug in what he described as a back alley
environment. So, in November, he opened up The Health Center, which
offers patients a variety of marijuana products, from traditional
leaves, to brownies, to topical lotions.
RYAN VINCENT, The Health Center: I have built a very safe environment
for people. It would be very safe for my own grandmother to come in
here. And that is kind of the idea of how we built this place.
TOM BEARDEN: But some people think too many dispensaries have opened up
in far too many places. City Councilman Charlie Brown recently led the
effort for a Denver law that requires any new dispensaries to be located
1,000 feet from schools and day cares and from other dispensaries. Brown
says he knows more needs to be done, but it isn't easy.
CHARLIE BROWN, Denver city councilman: It's like trying to pick your
teeth with a rattlesnake. If you ever tried that, you know how hard it
is.
You know, you are dealing with medicine. You're dealing with patients.
You're dealing with the dispensary owners. You're dealing with
neighbors, and you're dealing with schools. It all -- you can't please
everybody. And, so, you compromise.
TOM BEARDEN: Vincent says he welcomes more regulation and is working
hard to show that he runs a legitimate business that is not some front
for dealing drugs to recreational users. For instance, he accepts credit
cards and will only pay growers and suppliers with checks.
RYAN VINCENT: If we say, you know, we would like to write you a check,
and they say, no, no, no, cash only, we're not working with them. And
the reason being is because, we are a business. And we want those
tracked ratios. We want where our money is going. We want to have a
paper trail. We -- you know, at the end of the day, that is how you do
business.
TOM BEARDEN: One of the criticisms I have heard from people who are
concerned about whether this is being sold indiscriminately are things
like the names of the products, like Afghan Diesel, Durban Poison,
Juliet, AK-47.
Does that hurt your cause when you try to establish yourself as a
genuinely legitimate business, that you are selling a product that has a
name like that?
RYAN VINCENT: We are trying to move away from those names. One of the
things that we are actually working on doing right now with the growers
is coming up with some names that might be more acceptable, something
that more people can use, and it would make more sense to the patient.
TOM BEARDEN: But making marijuana use more acceptable is what has many
residents like Christine Tatum-Thurstone so upset.
CHRISTINE TATUM-THURSTONE: The more of these dispensaries pop up, the
more we normalize this, the more that we mistake this as a substance
that doesn't have any problems. Basically, what Colorado has done is,
it's using the medical community as a really cheap and easy -- and it's
a really cheap, easy backdoor to legalization of marijuana.
TOM BEARDEN: As various local officials in both urban and rural
communities wrestle with how to deal with the dispensary issue, most
people are now looking to the state legislature for a more comprehensive
approach.
State Senator Chris Romer, a Democrat, originally drafted a bill that
would have required dispensaries to register their products in a
database and provide other health services. But he says he couldn't get
the support of other colleagues. So, he scaled his bill back to one that
would put an end to the practice of dispensaries paying physicians to
write prescriptions for medical marijuana.
STATE SEN. CHRIS ROMER, D-Colo.: You will no longer be able to have a
dispensary that has a doctor on site who is paid per prescription,
because I can't think of another circumstance in medicine where we
actually pay doctors for each prescription they write.
TOM BEARDEN: On the statehouse side, Republican Tom Massey is working
with law enforcement groups on a bill to reestablish the old
five-patient limit and apply it to dispensaries.
STATE REP. TOM MASSEY, R-Colo.: I have had a number of concerns,
complaints, questions, are we trying to put dispensaries out of
business? And that's clearly not the goal of this. We're trying to make
sure that we have a regulatory piece that works within the framework of
the doctor-patient-caregiver relationship and honors the intent of the
voter for the constitutional amendment.
TOM BEARDEN: Dispensary owner Vincent says a five-patient restriction
with not only put him out of business; it would drive the marijuana
business back into basements and back alleys.
RYAN VINCENT: It's going to go all back underground again, which is --
which maybe is what his idea is. And then we put it all back underground
and we will tick off all of the neighborhoods. And then they will all
vote it out.
TOM BEARDEN: Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers say they know,
whatever action they take, the issue is not likely to be resolved this
session. And they concede, everything would change if the federal
government decides to go back to enforcing marijuana laws.
How do you craft a state law or set of state laws to deal with an issue
that is still fundamentally illegal at the federal level?
CHRIS ROMER: Well, it's difficult, but we're working on that. And the
Obama administration has clearly said the states can experiment with
this and create our own model. I hope we ultimately can be the people
who really create the best medical marijuana laws for those
chronically-ill patients.
TOM BEARDEN: Today, the Colorado Senate passed the Romer bill. It now
moves over to the House.
Duo Pushes Rhode Island to Decriminalize Pot
PROVIDENCE, R.I.—A retired police officer and the proprietor of an
organic eatery make an odd couple when it comes to trying to overturn
marijuana laws in this tiny state, but Jack Cole and Josh Miller are
giving it their best shot.
Mr. Cole, 71 years old, is a veteran of decades with the New Jersey
State Police, almost all with the drug squad. Mr. Miller, 55, runs Local
121, a restaurant favored among "buy local" diners, and also serves in
the state Senate, where he leads a special commission to study marijuana
prohibitions. The panel began hearings in January to discuss an overhaul
of the state's pot laws, starting with decriminalization of small
amounts.
As legislators across the U.S. struggle to rescue state budgets hammered
by the recession, decriminalization is one idea gaining traction.
Advocates say states could cut costs of policing, prosecuting and
incarcerating offenders, and even raise money by taxing users.
"Any respect for this issue lies right now in its impact on the budget,"
said Mr. Miller.
His committee will hear testimony Wednesday from Mr. Cole, the founder
of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, or LEAP, a national lobby
seeking an end to the drug war. LEAP's 10,000 members include many
former police officers, corrections workers and federal agents of the
Border Patrol and Drug Enforcement Administration.
Decriminalization faces resistance from district attorneys and police
departments that have grown used to making arrests and building criminal
cases in a longstanding war-on-drugs tradition, and often equate
decriminalization with being "soft" on crime.
The first steps state legislatures take tend to be narrow: legalizing
marijuana use for cancer or glaucoma patients, or allowing
municipalities to impose fines on casual smokers.
In California, one of 14 states that allow marijuana use for medical
purposes, legislators are weighing a bill to legalize most marijuana
sales and create tax and licensing fees for the industry. The measure
was approved by the state Assembly's Public Safety Committee last month,
but probably won't advance further this session.
New Hampshire is considering a pair of House bills, one to legalize and
tax pot sales, and another to decriminalize possession. A
medical-marijuana bill passed last year but was vetoed by the governor.
Decriminalization measures have also been introduced in Vermont,
Virginia and Washington, while medical-marijuana bills are being
considered in Maryland, Delaware and Wisconsin, among other states.
Mr. Miller said that in Rhode Island, which allows medical-marijuana
use, decriminalization was the next step. He noted that last month a
bill was introduced in the House to make possession of an ounce or less
a civil offense punishable by a fine of $100, rather than a criminal
offense.
Rhode Island has run budget deficits of just over $200 million in each
of the past two years, and is looking at a $400 million deficit in the
next fiscal year on a budget of $7 billion. Savings from
decriminalization wouldn't be great, Mr. Miller conceded—say, $2
million to $3 million a year by freeing prison beds occupied by pot
offenders. Rhode Island spends about $33,000 a year per inmate.
Not everyone agrees with that math. Matthew Dawson, deputy chief of the
criminal division of the state attorney general's office, testified
before Mr. Miller's panel last month that the state would achieve "zero
savings" from decriminalization. He said police and prosecutors employed
criminal charges for possession to plea bargain with suspects, and that
suspects might otherwise have to be prosecuted for more serious crimes,
at greater cost to the state. Others say possession charges help police
cajole witnesses into cooperating in criminal inquiries.
Mr. Miller said such arguments may persuade some of his colleagues, but
others would look to the decision two years ago in neighboring
Massachusetts to decriminalize pot, which raised hopes among some
legislators that a similar measure could pass in Rhode Island. "It's not
far-off California, but the big state next door," Mr. Miller said.
Mr. Cole traveled to Providence recently to help Mr. Miller craft a
strategy. He often wears a badge that reads: "Cops Say Legalize Drugs.
Ask Me Why."
In his standard speech, he describes the epiphany he experienced early
in his career as an undercover narcotics investigator. "I learned
firsthand of the family-destroying consequences of sending drug users
[often mothers and fathers] to jail. I can't think of a better policy
for creating the next generation of drug addicts than to remove parents
from children," he said. "I also realized that when police arrested a
robber or rapist they made the community safer for everyone but when I
arrested a drug pusher, I simply created a job opening for someone in a
long line of people willing to take his place."
Messrs. Cole and Miller agreed the former cop's presentation must appeal
to law-and-order politicians. Mr. Cole said the way to win them over was
to show that chasing pot smokers keeps police from fighting other
crimes.
"Look at the clearance rates for these crimes," he said. In the 1960s,
before federal antidrug funds flowed heavily to states, "91% of all
murders in this country were solved. Today, it's 61%." He cited similar
drops for arson (60% unsolved) robbery (75% unsolved) and rape (60%
unsolved).
Mr. Cole said the national addiction rate has remained unchanged for a
century at about 1.3% of the population. He concludes that if drugs are
legalized, the addiction rate would stay the same, "but we'll be
spending a lot less to manage it."
organic eatery make an odd couple when it comes to trying to overturn
marijuana laws in this tiny state, but Jack Cole and Josh Miller are
giving it their best shot.
Mr. Cole, 71 years old, is a veteran of decades with the New Jersey
State Police, almost all with the drug squad. Mr. Miller, 55, runs Local
121, a restaurant favored among "buy local" diners, and also serves in
the state Senate, where he leads a special commission to study marijuana
prohibitions. The panel began hearings in January to discuss an overhaul
of the state's pot laws, starting with decriminalization of small
amounts.
As legislators across the U.S. struggle to rescue state budgets hammered
by the recession, decriminalization is one idea gaining traction.
Advocates say states could cut costs of policing, prosecuting and
incarcerating offenders, and even raise money by taxing users.
"Any respect for this issue lies right now in its impact on the budget,"
said Mr. Miller.
His committee will hear testimony Wednesday from Mr. Cole, the founder
of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, or LEAP, a national lobby
seeking an end to the drug war. LEAP's 10,000 members include many
former police officers, corrections workers and federal agents of the
Border Patrol and Drug Enforcement Administration.
Decriminalization faces resistance from district attorneys and police
departments that have grown used to making arrests and building criminal
cases in a longstanding war-on-drugs tradition, and often equate
decriminalization with being "soft" on crime.
The first steps state legislatures take tend to be narrow: legalizing
marijuana use for cancer or glaucoma patients, or allowing
municipalities to impose fines on casual smokers.
In California, one of 14 states that allow marijuana use for medical
purposes, legislators are weighing a bill to legalize most marijuana
sales and create tax and licensing fees for the industry. The measure
was approved by the state Assembly's Public Safety Committee last month,
but probably won't advance further this session.
New Hampshire is considering a pair of House bills, one to legalize and
tax pot sales, and another to decriminalize possession. A
medical-marijuana bill passed last year but was vetoed by the governor.
Decriminalization measures have also been introduced in Vermont,
Virginia and Washington, while medical-marijuana bills are being
considered in Maryland, Delaware and Wisconsin, among other states.
Mr. Miller said that in Rhode Island, which allows medical-marijuana
use, decriminalization was the next step. He noted that last month a
bill was introduced in the House to make possession of an ounce or less
a civil offense punishable by a fine of $100, rather than a criminal
offense.
Rhode Island has run budget deficits of just over $200 million in each
of the past two years, and is looking at a $400 million deficit in the
next fiscal year on a budget of $7 billion. Savings from
decriminalization wouldn't be great, Mr. Miller conceded—say, $2
million to $3 million a year by freeing prison beds occupied by pot
offenders. Rhode Island spends about $33,000 a year per inmate.
Not everyone agrees with that math. Matthew Dawson, deputy chief of the
criminal division of the state attorney general's office, testified
before Mr. Miller's panel last month that the state would achieve "zero
savings" from decriminalization. He said police and prosecutors employed
criminal charges for possession to plea bargain with suspects, and that
suspects might otherwise have to be prosecuted for more serious crimes,
at greater cost to the state. Others say possession charges help police
cajole witnesses into cooperating in criminal inquiries.
Mr. Miller said such arguments may persuade some of his colleagues, but
others would look to the decision two years ago in neighboring
Massachusetts to decriminalize pot, which raised hopes among some
legislators that a similar measure could pass in Rhode Island. "It's not
far-off California, but the big state next door," Mr. Miller said.
Mr. Cole traveled to Providence recently to help Mr. Miller craft a
strategy. He often wears a badge that reads: "Cops Say Legalize Drugs.
Ask Me Why."
In his standard speech, he describes the epiphany he experienced early
in his career as an undercover narcotics investigator. "I learned
firsthand of the family-destroying consequences of sending drug users
[often mothers and fathers] to jail. I can't think of a better policy
for creating the next generation of drug addicts than to remove parents
from children," he said. "I also realized that when police arrested a
robber or rapist they made the community safer for everyone but when I
arrested a drug pusher, I simply created a job opening for someone in a
long line of people willing to take his place."
Messrs. Cole and Miller agreed the former cop's presentation must appeal
to law-and-order politicians. Mr. Cole said the way to win them over was
to show that chasing pot smokers keeps police from fighting other
crimes.
"Look at the clearance rates for these crimes," he said. In the 1960s,
before federal antidrug funds flowed heavily to states, "91% of all
murders in this country were solved. Today, it's 61%." He cited similar
drops for arson (60% unsolved) robbery (75% unsolved) and rape (60%
unsolved).
Mr. Cole said the national addiction rate has remained unchanged for a
century at about 1.3% of the population. He concludes that if drugs are
legalized, the addiction rate would stay the same, "but we'll be
spending a lot less to manage it."
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Few speak up at R.I. medical marijuana public hearing
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- In the nearly packed auditorium, only five voiced
their opinions on the proposed revisions to the Rhode Island medicinal
marijuana statute
(http://www.projo.com/news/content/marijuana_loophole_01-28-10_HHH8NN8_v\
9.345e46a.html) during a public hearing by the Department of Health.
Beyond two individuals, the rest of those who spoke were from advocacy
organizations: American Civil Liberties Union, the Rhode Island Medical
Marijuana Society, and the Rhode Island Patient Advocacy Coalition.
Joseph Young, a medical marijuana patient and caregiver, told the
audience that he'd like to see more input from patients in the process
for choosing the compassion center operators. He said that he has five
doctors controlling his care, but growing his own medicine is the only
part of his care that he has control over.
The revised statute would allow for one compassion center to open this
year, with a maximum of three centers operating at any time after 2010.
The centers will present plans on how they plan to obtain the medicinal
marijuana, including whether they plan to grow it on site, said Annmarie
Beardsworth, spokesperson for the Department of Health.
Interested parties can submit written comments to the Department of
Health for the next two weeks. After that, the department will make a
decision on how to proceed with the amended statute. They can either
file it as is with the Secretary of State, make minor grammatical
changes, make major changes, or not file it at all.
If substantive changes are made, another public hearing must be held. If
it is not filed at all, the current medicinal marijuana laws remain in
effect. If the amended statute is filed, it becomes law after 20 days.
Beardsworth said there are currently 966 licensed marijuana growers and
providers supplying the drug to 1,227 Department of Health-approved
patients, on the basis of medical-use applications signed by 345 doctors
across the state.
their opinions on the proposed revisions to the Rhode Island medicinal
marijuana statute
(http://www.projo.com/news/content/marijuana_loophole_01-28-10_HHH8NN8_v\
9.345e46a.html) during a public hearing by the Department of Health.
Beyond two individuals, the rest of those who spoke were from advocacy
organizations: American Civil Liberties Union, the Rhode Island Medical
Marijuana Society, and the Rhode Island Patient Advocacy Coalition.
Joseph Young, a medical marijuana patient and caregiver, told the
audience that he'd like to see more input from patients in the process
for choosing the compassion center operators. He said that he has five
doctors controlling his care, but growing his own medicine is the only
part of his care that he has control over.
The revised statute would allow for one compassion center to open this
year, with a maximum of three centers operating at any time after 2010.
The centers will present plans on how they plan to obtain the medicinal
marijuana, including whether they plan to grow it on site, said Annmarie
Beardsworth, spokesperson for the Department of Health.
Interested parties can submit written comments to the Department of
Health for the next two weeks. After that, the department will make a
decision on how to proceed with the amended statute. They can either
file it as is with the Secretary of State, make minor grammatical
changes, make major changes, or not file it at all.
If substantive changes are made, another public hearing must be held. If
it is not filed at all, the current medicinal marijuana laws remain in
effect. If the amended statute is filed, it becomes law after 20 days.
Beardsworth said there are currently 966 licensed marijuana growers and
providers supplying the drug to 1,227 Department of Health-approved
patients, on the basis of medical-use applications signed by 345 doctors
across the state.
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