If nothing else, Los Angeles' protracted struggle with cannabis clinic
regulation should serve as a warning to other cities in which medicinal
marijuana dispensaries wish to operate -- Better to lay down some strict
rules and regulations, even if they can be a bit onerous (like in San
Francisco), even if it means limiting the amount of clinics allowed
within city limits to, say, five (like in Oakland).
The alternative is at best messy: politicians will take years figuring
out what to do, and meanwhile something like 1,000 "clinics" will spring
up, spooking neighbors, irking law enforcement , and hurting the
movement (like in Los Angeles).
Hell hath no fury like a cautionary tale ignored, as officials in San
Jose are discovering. Pot clubs were nonexistent in northern
California's largest city a year ago, forcing patients to trek north to
Oakland or SF or south to Santa Cruz. Those bad old days are over, and a
Los Angeles-style cannabis gold rush has set in: anywhere from 30 to 45
clinics and delivery services are operating in San Jose, nobody seems to
know exactly how many, and few folks -- save the patients who no longer
have to drive an hour or more for their medicine, and maybe some
unsavory characters happy to unload a few pounds -- are thrilled with
the situation.
Steve DeAngelo is a marijuana activist and somewhat of a legalization
celebrity. He is also general manager of Oakland's Harborside
Collective. Harborside opened up a San Jose location in December, and
found it easy to do so: there's ample light industrial space formerly
occupied by failed tech firms to rent, and an eager market ready to buy.
But the Wild West atmosphere could do more harm than good, he warns.
"In LA, really inappropriate people operated dispensaries, and it
brought disrepute on the movement. That same thing is happening now (in
San Jose)," he said last week.
How'd it happen? In October, San Jose City Councilman Pierluigi Oliverio
suggested San Jose allow dispensaries within city limits and tax them.
All of a sudden, collectives -- who as coops do not need business
licenses -- started opening up, "sprouting like weeds," in the words of
the adroit San Jose Mercury News.
Even as Mayor Chuck Reed suggested last month that pot clubs aren't
necessary (cause you can grow pot in your South Bay backyard, according
to him) San Jose politicians have played pass the buck with the
marijuana question, pushing off any public discussion or decision to
March 30th. In the meantime, the city has issued cease & desist letters
to every collective it could find.
The more reputable clubs, like Harborside and the San Jose Cannabis
Buyers Collective, have organized and hired an "army of litigators" to
ensure continued operation, DeAngelo said -- and to be good citizens.
"We don't want to fight the city," he said, noting that taxed pot clubs
would help with the city's $100 million budget deficit. "We want to help
the city do the fiscally-responsible thing."
Since it's too late to do the politically-responsible thing. Hopefully
the next city, be it in California or elsewhere, will take notice.
Friday, February 26, 2010
The International Narcotics Control Board criticizes several Latin American countries
A new report by the independent body monitoring United Nations drug
control practices strongly criticized recent moves by several Latin
American countries toward decriminalizing possession of some narcotics.
The Vienna-based International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) said in
its annual report that Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina were sending "the
wrong message" in legislative and judicial developments that aim to
decriminalize the possession of some drugs
(http://www.incb.org/incb/en/annual-report-2009.html).
The report also "wishes to remind" Bolivia that under established
international conventions, the traditional use of coca leaf in that
country remains an "illicit" activity.
But the report, released Wednesday, drew strong criticism itself by
nongovernmental agencies that are calling the INCB's criticism of
Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina an overstepping of the organization's
mandate. The report's words for the Latin American countries constitutes
"unwarranted intrusions into these countries' sovereign
decision-making," said the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) and
the Transnational Institute (TNI) in a joint statement.
The organizations say the INCB has no jurisdiction over policy changes
within sovereign nations.
Mexico in 2009 decriminalized the possession of small amounts of
marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine. Brazil replaced prison
sentences with education and treatment for small-time drug offenders in
2006, and is moving toward rewriting drug laws this year that may
include total decriminalization of narcotics possession. Last year,
Argentina's Supreme Court declared unconstitutional the punishment of
possession of marijuana for personal use.
"In the case of the Argentine Supreme Court ruling, it is arrogant
interference by the INCB to question the judgment of the highest
judicial authority of a sovereign State," Martin Jelsma, TNI Drugs
and Democracy Program Coordinator, said in a statement.
The INCB report also has strong words for the United States, where
several states, including California, are moving toward legalizing or
regularizing the use of marijuana. The U.N. body says it is "deeply
concerned" that the regularizing of marijuana use for medical purposes
"sends the wrong message to other countries."
control practices strongly criticized recent moves by several Latin
American countries toward decriminalizing possession of some narcotics.
The Vienna-based International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) said in
its annual report that Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina were sending "the
wrong message" in legislative and judicial developments that aim to
decriminalize the possession of some drugs
(http://www.incb.org/incb/en/annual-report-2009.html).
The report also "wishes to remind" Bolivia that under established
international conventions, the traditional use of coca leaf in that
country remains an "illicit" activity.
But the report, released Wednesday, drew strong criticism itself by
nongovernmental agencies that are calling the INCB's criticism of
Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina an overstepping of the organization's
mandate. The report's words for the Latin American countries constitutes
"unwarranted intrusions into these countries' sovereign
decision-making," said the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) and
the Transnational Institute (TNI) in a joint statement.
The organizations say the INCB has no jurisdiction over policy changes
within sovereign nations.
Mexico in 2009 decriminalized the possession of small amounts of
marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine. Brazil replaced prison
sentences with education and treatment for small-time drug offenders in
2006, and is moving toward rewriting drug laws this year that may
include total decriminalization of narcotics possession. Last year,
Argentina's Supreme Court declared unconstitutional the punishment of
possession of marijuana for personal use.
"In the case of the Argentine Supreme Court ruling, it is arrogant
interference by the INCB to question the judgment of the highest
judicial authority of a sovereign State," Martin Jelsma, TNI Drugs
and Democracy Program Coordinator, said in a statement.
The INCB report also has strong words for the United States, where
several states, including California, are moving toward legalizing or
regularizing the use of marijuana. The U.N. body says it is "deeply
concerned" that the regularizing of marijuana use for medical purposes
"sends the wrong message to other countries."
Meet Jane Doe: She's 100 - and stoned
Meet Jane Doe. She's a spry, kindly woman who turned 100 today.
Jane credits her long life to her deep faith – she attends church
regularly. She takes a two-mile walk each morning, and she likes to knit
and read. By the way, she smokes two marijuana joints a day.
If today were Feb. 26, 2060, and a recent report pans out, Jane Doe
might turn out to be your typical baby-boom centenarian.
According to the Associated Press, pot use is rising among the
nation's elderly, and the trend could continue as baby boomers
transition from middle to old age.
The AP reported that that the number of people 50 and older who use
marijuana grew from 1.9 percent to 2.9 percent between 2002 and 2008.
The biggest rise was in people 55 to 59-years old, where pot use has
gone from 1.6 percent to 5.1 percent.
We can't say we're surprised, nor can we say we're happy.
After all, the baby boom generation announced itself by loudly demanding
its Maypo, and then graduated to fancy toys, cars, sex, drugs and mutual
funds that would grow forever.
But we have to ask: Doesn't anyone remember St. Paul's comment
about putting away our "childish things," or the fact that pot
is still illegal, and its marketing and distribution produces pain,
violence and misery for thousands of people?
We suspect the trend is going against us. Massachusetts has
decriminalized the personal use of marijuana, and Los Angeles reportedly
has more medical marijuana clinics than Starbucks.
And it looks as though marijuana can ease the pain of cancer patients
and people with other ailments.
Who knows? By the time Jane Doe really turns 100, pot may be legal and
our great-grandchildren will be wondering what the fuss was about.
Still, we prefer to face our golden years with the grace and dignity
that befits our age and not with a joint and a brownie
Jane credits her long life to her deep faith – she attends church
regularly. She takes a two-mile walk each morning, and she likes to knit
and read. By the way, she smokes two marijuana joints a day.
If today were Feb. 26, 2060, and a recent report pans out, Jane Doe
might turn out to be your typical baby-boom centenarian.
According to the Associated Press, pot use is rising among the
nation's elderly, and the trend could continue as baby boomers
transition from middle to old age.
The AP reported that that the number of people 50 and older who use
marijuana grew from 1.9 percent to 2.9 percent between 2002 and 2008.
The biggest rise was in people 55 to 59-years old, where pot use has
gone from 1.6 percent to 5.1 percent.
We can't say we're surprised, nor can we say we're happy.
After all, the baby boom generation announced itself by loudly demanding
its Maypo, and then graduated to fancy toys, cars, sex, drugs and mutual
funds that would grow forever.
But we have to ask: Doesn't anyone remember St. Paul's comment
about putting away our "childish things," or the fact that pot
is still illegal, and its marketing and distribution produces pain,
violence and misery for thousands of people?
We suspect the trend is going against us. Massachusetts has
decriminalized the personal use of marijuana, and Los Angeles reportedly
has more medical marijuana clinics than Starbucks.
And it looks as though marijuana can ease the pain of cancer patients
and people with other ailments.
Who knows? By the time Jane Doe really turns 100, pot may be legal and
our great-grandchildren will be wondering what the fuss was about.
Still, we prefer to face our golden years with the grace and dignity
that befits our age and not with a joint and a brownie
Thursday, February 25, 2010
UCSD Study: Pot Has Medical Benefits
The argument for the reform of marijuana laws gained some forward
momentum recently when a research team at University of California, San
Diego released findings stating "reasonable evidence" that
cannabis – better known as marijuana – is a promising treatment
for pain in some medical conditions.
But Dr. Igor Grant, MD, who directs the Center for Medicinal Cannabis
Research at UCSD is quick to separate the CMCR's findings from the
push to legalize pot.
"It's not my call to make," he says, "but I hope that
whatever social policy is developed will be informed by the medical
evidence, which provides some decent evidence that benefit comes from
medical marijuana."
The CMCR report represents the first significant research findings in
the U.S. on the subject in two decades. Long known as a choice of pain
relief and an appetite stimulant for HIV/AIDS patients, and for its use
in curbing nausea following chemotherapy until now there has been little
in the way of actual scientific evidence to demonstrate marijuana is any
better than any other drug currently available.
Why? For years, research has been hindered by the federal government.
The Nixon administration made marijuana a Schedule 1 controlled
substance along with heroin and PCP. Dr. Grant, executive vice-chair of
the Department of Psychiatry at the UCSD School of Medicine describes
the getting of legal marijuana for clinical study as a "cumbersome
process that involves many levels of federal government."
Illegal at the federal level, 14 states thus far have passed measures to
legalize medical marijuana, California first among them in 1996 with the
passage of SB 215. California legislature passed the Medical Marijuana
Research Act in 1999 and in 2000, the CMCR was formed to answer, once
and for all, whether marijuana has any therapeutic value.
Medical marijuana has also been at the forefront of local politics in
recent months. Following the Obama White House announcement last spring
that the feds would no longer enforce anti-marijuana laws, dispensaries
and storefronts opened in significant numbers throughout the county.
Some were legitimate distributors of medical marijuana but many were
not. Police and SWAT teams conducted raids in September of last year in
which 23 people were arrested and 14 storefronts were shut down.
By November of 2009, the San Diego City Council had created a Medical
Marijuana Task Force to help gather facts and create policy for an
ordinance to regulate storefront dispensaries.
Alex Kreit chairs the Task Force. He says the UCSD report was discussed
at the Task Force meeting February 19, and thinks it is significant but
will bear little influence on an issue that was already decided by the
voters.
"I think we see that our job is to think about how we can regulate
collectives and cooperatives in a way that is consistent with state
law," says Kreit. "I don't think we'll be looking too closely at
this report in our work."
Craig Beresch, president of the Southern California chapter of NORML, a
marijuana advocacy organization says he has had a chance to review the
CMCR report as well.
"We have a study that shows a positive result from the use of
medical marijuana," he says. "That's something that the
government is going to have to take seriously at this point."
About the author: Dave Good is a freelance writer, photojournalist, and
restless San Diegan. He writes about pop music and culture at large for
a number of publications including the San Diego Reader. His stories
have appeared in San Diego Magazine, Los Angeles Journal, Goldmine,
BluesWax, SignonSanDiego, NBCsandiego.com, and more.
momentum recently when a research team at University of California, San
Diego released findings stating "reasonable evidence" that
cannabis – better known as marijuana – is a promising treatment
for pain in some medical conditions.
But Dr. Igor Grant, MD, who directs the Center for Medicinal Cannabis
Research at UCSD is quick to separate the CMCR's findings from the
push to legalize pot.
"It's not my call to make," he says, "but I hope that
whatever social policy is developed will be informed by the medical
evidence, which provides some decent evidence that benefit comes from
medical marijuana."
The CMCR report represents the first significant research findings in
the U.S. on the subject in two decades. Long known as a choice of pain
relief and an appetite stimulant for HIV/AIDS patients, and for its use
in curbing nausea following chemotherapy until now there has been little
in the way of actual scientific evidence to demonstrate marijuana is any
better than any other drug currently available.
Why? For years, research has been hindered by the federal government.
The Nixon administration made marijuana a Schedule 1 controlled
substance along with heroin and PCP. Dr. Grant, executive vice-chair of
the Department of Psychiatry at the UCSD School of Medicine describes
the getting of legal marijuana for clinical study as a "cumbersome
process that involves many levels of federal government."
Illegal at the federal level, 14 states thus far have passed measures to
legalize medical marijuana, California first among them in 1996 with the
passage of SB 215. California legislature passed the Medical Marijuana
Research Act in 1999 and in 2000, the CMCR was formed to answer, once
and for all, whether marijuana has any therapeutic value.
Medical marijuana has also been at the forefront of local politics in
recent months. Following the Obama White House announcement last spring
that the feds would no longer enforce anti-marijuana laws, dispensaries
and storefronts opened in significant numbers throughout the county.
Some were legitimate distributors of medical marijuana but many were
not. Police and SWAT teams conducted raids in September of last year in
which 23 people were arrested and 14 storefronts were shut down.
By November of 2009, the San Diego City Council had created a Medical
Marijuana Task Force to help gather facts and create policy for an
ordinance to regulate storefront dispensaries.
Alex Kreit chairs the Task Force. He says the UCSD report was discussed
at the Task Force meeting February 19, and thinks it is significant but
will bear little influence on an issue that was already decided by the
voters.
"I think we see that our job is to think about how we can regulate
collectives and cooperatives in a way that is consistent with state
law," says Kreit. "I don't think we'll be looking too closely at
this report in our work."
Craig Beresch, president of the Southern California chapter of NORML, a
marijuana advocacy organization says he has had a chance to review the
CMCR report as well.
"We have a study that shows a positive result from the use of
medical marijuana," he says. "That's something that the
government is going to have to take seriously at this point."
About the author: Dave Good is a freelance writer, photojournalist, and
restless San Diegan. He writes about pop music and culture at large for
a number of publications including the San Diego Reader. His stories
have appeared in San Diego Magazine, Los Angeles Journal, Goldmine,
BluesWax, SignonSanDiego, NBCsandiego.com, and more.
Latin America Marijuana Movement May Undercut Drug War, UN Says
Feb. 24 (Bloomberg) -- A growing movement in Latin America to
decriminalize possession of marijuana and other illegal drugs may
undermine global efforts to combat narcotics, a United Nations group
said.
The Vienna-based International Narcotics Control Board, in its annual
report today, said it is "concerned" that Argentina, Brazil,
Colombia and Mexico are promoting possession of drugs, especially
marijuana, for personal use.
If not "resolutely countered", the decriminalization movement
"poses a threat" to the "coherence and effectiveness" of
the international drug control system and sends "the wrong message
to the general public," the report said.
Last year, Argentina's Supreme Court declared the punishment of
people possessing cannabis for personal use unconstitutional. Mexico
decriminalized possessing small amounts of illicit drugs for personal
use. Brazil has also taken steps to partially decriminalize drug
possession, including replacing prison sentences with treatment and
educational measures.
The INCB, started in 1968 to monitor international narcotics laws, said
it regrets that "influential personalities, including former
high-level politicians in countries in South America, have publicly
expressed their support for that movement."
Pressuring Obama
Former Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso led a group of
Latin American experts and former leaders who criticized the U.S.-led
war on drugs in the region last year. In their report, the Latin
American Commission on Drugs and Democracy urged U.S. President Barack
Obama to decriminalize marijuana and treat drug use as a public health
problem.
The Amsterdam-based Transnational Institute and Washington Office on
Latin America, a policy research organization, said today in a statement
that the INCB's report "clearly oversteps" the group's
mandate and represents "unwarranted intrusions into these
countries' sovereign decision-making."
"There are too many consumers and small-time drug offenders
overcrowding Latin American jails," Pien Metaal, a drug policy
researcher for the Transnational Institute, said in the statement.
"Part of the overcrowding problem stem from disproportionate prison
sentences for non-violent offenders."
Latin America is the world's largest exporter of cocaine and
cannabis and a major supplier of the opium and heroin, the UN said.
decriminalize possession of marijuana and other illegal drugs may
undermine global efforts to combat narcotics, a United Nations group
said.
The Vienna-based International Narcotics Control Board, in its annual
report today, said it is "concerned" that Argentina, Brazil,
Colombia and Mexico are promoting possession of drugs, especially
marijuana, for personal use.
If not "resolutely countered", the decriminalization movement
"poses a threat" to the "coherence and effectiveness" of
the international drug control system and sends "the wrong message
to the general public," the report said.
Last year, Argentina's Supreme Court declared the punishment of
people possessing cannabis for personal use unconstitutional. Mexico
decriminalized possessing small amounts of illicit drugs for personal
use. Brazil has also taken steps to partially decriminalize drug
possession, including replacing prison sentences with treatment and
educational measures.
The INCB, started in 1968 to monitor international narcotics laws, said
it regrets that "influential personalities, including former
high-level politicians in countries in South America, have publicly
expressed their support for that movement."
Pressuring Obama
Former Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso led a group of
Latin American experts and former leaders who criticized the U.S.-led
war on drugs in the region last year. In their report, the Latin
American Commission on Drugs and Democracy urged U.S. President Barack
Obama to decriminalize marijuana and treat drug use as a public health
problem.
The Amsterdam-based Transnational Institute and Washington Office on
Latin America, a policy research organization, said today in a statement
that the INCB's report "clearly oversteps" the group's
mandate and represents "unwarranted intrusions into these
countries' sovereign decision-making."
"There are too many consumers and small-time drug offenders
overcrowding Latin American jails," Pien Metaal, a drug policy
researcher for the Transnational Institute, said in the statement.
"Part of the overcrowding problem stem from disproportionate prison
sentences for non-violent offenders."
Latin America is the world's largest exporter of cocaine and
cannabis and a major supplier of the opium and heroin, the UN said.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Former smugglers now legit at medical pot convention
LOS ANGELES â€" Three decades ago, Bruce Perlowin was smuggling
hundreds of thousands of pounds of Colombian marijuana to California in
fishing boats passing beneath the Golden Gate Bridge. His childhood
friend, David Tobias, was trafficking dope across turquoise Caribbean
waters to Florida and Georgia.
On Saturday, at a Los Angeles medical marijuana trade show teeming with
entrepreneurs hoping to cash in on California's legal pot market, the
two chums were reunited as business consultants marketing "solutions for
an emerging industry."
Their Medical Marijuana Inc. booth is one of scores of competing
exhibits at Hemp Con 2010, a three-day event promoters say will draw
30,000 visitors to the Los Angeles Convention Center this weekend. The
once unfathomable expo signals the reach of California's fast-budding
cannabis economy and the intense lure of both pot seekers and
entrepreneurial dreamers to get a toke of the action.
Inside the 70,000-square-foot exhibit space Saturday, an Azusa sheet
metal worker and his cousin, a former cultivator, were marketing $35,000
to $105,000 Tow and Grow trailers for growing medicinal weed.
A Santa Ana leasing agent was pitching retail space for marijuana
dispensaries in a glistening new building. A retired Los Angeles lawyer
was marketing a home delivery company for medical cannabis users. A
communications specialist was selling a telephone service that gives
driving directions to get any marijuana patient, anywhere in California,
to the closest pot store.
"Thousands of jobs are being created in this industry overnight,"
exulted one convention speaker, Michael Lerner, publisher of the Kush
pot magazine in Southern California and operator of dailybuds.com, a
site billed as "the Facebook for medical marijuana."
"The movement has happened. We're not stopping now," he said.
Amidst it all, marveling at this new, seemingly wide-open business world
were Perlowin and Tobias, chairman and vice president of Medical
Marijuana Inc. The Orange County firm sells training seminars in
marketing, accounting and tax compliance for people running marijuana
dispensaries or cultivating the crop.
Two guys who each served nearly a decade in prison for pot smuggling
â€" Perlowin in California and Tobias in Georgia â€" are now
telling newcomers in the trade how to go legit.
They even developed a special "tax remittance card" that pot shop
employees can scan to make sure they pay California sales tax on all
marijuana transactions. And their company is publicly traded with an
over-the-counter stock â€" listed as MJNA â€" for "Mary Jane
Non-Alcoholic."
"This is a lot less stressful," said Perlowin, a purported Northern
California pot king who authorities said was once raking in $16 million
a year from marijuana trafficking. "I'm not a fugitive. And I don't have
to hide."
While no longer involved in any marijuana distribution, Tobias wonders
if their past misdeeds as pot smugglers could have helped pave the way
for today's medical marijuana market. Voters approved the Proposition
215 medical use law in 1996. Dispensaries sprouted in abundance over the
past year as the federal government signaled it wouldn't target outlets
serving pot patients in states that allow medical use.
"Really, without guys like us," Tobias mused Saturday, "it may have
never come to this."
John Lovell, a lobbyist for the California Peace Officers Association, a
group gearing up to fight a marijuana legalization initiative expected
to be on the California ballot in November, found little about the
massive trade show amusing.
"I think it shows the fraudulent nature of the medical marijuana law,"
Lovell said. "When people voted for Proposition 215, they thought they
were voting to ease the pain of the terminally ill. But it was creating
a subterfuge in order to sell dope.
"The fact they're holding a trade show at the convention center really
underscores that reality."
Convention promoter Edwin Kwong, whose Mega Productions firm previously
staged tattoo expos and computer, home and auto shows, said he knew he
had a sure-fire convention draw with medical pot. He spent $200,000 in
advertising, posting 15 Hemp Con billboards along Los Angeles and Orange
County freeways and running 700 radio and 40 television spots to promote
the event.
"I'm always at the forefront of a new trend," he boasted.
Cousins Rick Probsti, 42, and Nick Parks, 37, are hoping they're ahead
of the market as well. Probsti runs an aluminum fabrication shop. Parks
says, discreetly, that he knows a little bit about marijuana
cultivation.
Together, they led convention attendees Saturday through a demonstration
trailer bathed in hydroponic lights and meticulously equipped with
growing trays, irrigation and air filtration systems. They have sold two
units since starting their business in October.
The cousins say they have no interest in cultivating pot themselves.
Instead, they see themselves as outfitters for California's marijuana
rush â€" just as earlier entrepreneurs made fortunes clothing and
supplying gold-seeking 49ers long ago.
"We don't want to be the gold miners," Probsti said. "We want to be Levi
Strauss."
hundreds of thousands of pounds of Colombian marijuana to California in
fishing boats passing beneath the Golden Gate Bridge. His childhood
friend, David Tobias, was trafficking dope across turquoise Caribbean
waters to Florida and Georgia.
On Saturday, at a Los Angeles medical marijuana trade show teeming with
entrepreneurs hoping to cash in on California's legal pot market, the
two chums were reunited as business consultants marketing "solutions for
an emerging industry."
Their Medical Marijuana Inc. booth is one of scores of competing
exhibits at Hemp Con 2010, a three-day event promoters say will draw
30,000 visitors to the Los Angeles Convention Center this weekend. The
once unfathomable expo signals the reach of California's fast-budding
cannabis economy and the intense lure of both pot seekers and
entrepreneurial dreamers to get a toke of the action.
Inside the 70,000-square-foot exhibit space Saturday, an Azusa sheet
metal worker and his cousin, a former cultivator, were marketing $35,000
to $105,000 Tow and Grow trailers for growing medicinal weed.
A Santa Ana leasing agent was pitching retail space for marijuana
dispensaries in a glistening new building. A retired Los Angeles lawyer
was marketing a home delivery company for medical cannabis users. A
communications specialist was selling a telephone service that gives
driving directions to get any marijuana patient, anywhere in California,
to the closest pot store.
"Thousands of jobs are being created in this industry overnight,"
exulted one convention speaker, Michael Lerner, publisher of the Kush
pot magazine in Southern California and operator of dailybuds.com, a
site billed as "the Facebook for medical marijuana."
"The movement has happened. We're not stopping now," he said.
Amidst it all, marveling at this new, seemingly wide-open business world
were Perlowin and Tobias, chairman and vice president of Medical
Marijuana Inc. The Orange County firm sells training seminars in
marketing, accounting and tax compliance for people running marijuana
dispensaries or cultivating the crop.
Two guys who each served nearly a decade in prison for pot smuggling
â€" Perlowin in California and Tobias in Georgia â€" are now
telling newcomers in the trade how to go legit.
They even developed a special "tax remittance card" that pot shop
employees can scan to make sure they pay California sales tax on all
marijuana transactions. And their company is publicly traded with an
over-the-counter stock â€" listed as MJNA â€" for "Mary Jane
Non-Alcoholic."
"This is a lot less stressful," said Perlowin, a purported Northern
California pot king who authorities said was once raking in $16 million
a year from marijuana trafficking. "I'm not a fugitive. And I don't have
to hide."
While no longer involved in any marijuana distribution, Tobias wonders
if their past misdeeds as pot smugglers could have helped pave the way
for today's medical marijuana market. Voters approved the Proposition
215 medical use law in 1996. Dispensaries sprouted in abundance over the
past year as the federal government signaled it wouldn't target outlets
serving pot patients in states that allow medical use.
"Really, without guys like us," Tobias mused Saturday, "it may have
never come to this."
John Lovell, a lobbyist for the California Peace Officers Association, a
group gearing up to fight a marijuana legalization initiative expected
to be on the California ballot in November, found little about the
massive trade show amusing.
"I think it shows the fraudulent nature of the medical marijuana law,"
Lovell said. "When people voted for Proposition 215, they thought they
were voting to ease the pain of the terminally ill. But it was creating
a subterfuge in order to sell dope.
"The fact they're holding a trade show at the convention center really
underscores that reality."
Convention promoter Edwin Kwong, whose Mega Productions firm previously
staged tattoo expos and computer, home and auto shows, said he knew he
had a sure-fire convention draw with medical pot. He spent $200,000 in
advertising, posting 15 Hemp Con billboards along Los Angeles and Orange
County freeways and running 700 radio and 40 television spots to promote
the event.
"I'm always at the forefront of a new trend," he boasted.
Cousins Rick Probsti, 42, and Nick Parks, 37, are hoping they're ahead
of the market as well. Probsti runs an aluminum fabrication shop. Parks
says, discreetly, that he knows a little bit about marijuana
cultivation.
Together, they led convention attendees Saturday through a demonstration
trailer bathed in hydroponic lights and meticulously equipped with
growing trays, irrigation and air filtration systems. They have sold two
units since starting their business in October.
The cousins say they have no interest in cultivating pot themselves.
Instead, they see themselves as outfitters for California's marijuana
rush â€" just as earlier entrepreneurs made fortunes clothing and
supplying gold-seeking 49ers long ago.
"We don't want to be the gold miners," Probsti said. "We want to be Levi
Strauss."
L.A. County charges medical marijuana distributor with 24 felonies
More than four months ago, Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley
warned that state law does not allow dispensaries to sell medical
marijuana and zeroed in on Organica, a popular Venice-area outlet, as
one possible target.
On Monday, Cooley delivered on that promise.
Jeff Joseph, Organica's operator, was charged with 24 felonies,
including selling, transporting and possessing marijuana, and a court
commissioner set bail at $520,000, more than five times the amount his
lawyer requested. Joseph pleaded not guilty.
Calling the bail "outrageous," attorney Eric Shevin said the prosecution
was "politically driven" in response to community pressure to shut down
hundreds of dispensaries that have spread throughout Los Angeles. "So
they use a very high-profile individual, unfortunately in this case, Mr.
Joseph, to basically stand up for everybody," he said.
Joseph Esposito, who heads the district attorney's major narcotics
division, said Organica's operator was not singled out. "There have been
dozens of cases that the office has filed," he said. "We're going to
evaluate every case differently."
Joseph's case, which was intensely investigated by police and federal
agents, has the potential to test whether state law permits dispensaries
to sell marijuana.
Cooley and Los Angeles City Atty. Carmen Trutanich insist that state law
allows collectives to grow marijuana and recoup their costs but not sell
it over the counter, a practice that is widespread. Both have sought to
pursue cases that could force the courts to settle the debate.
Trutanich won an early round in a lawsuit against an Eagle Rock
dispensary. A Superior Court judge ordered it to halt sales. Last week,
the city attorney filed a similar lawsuit against Joseph and Organica.
In court Monday, prosecutor John Harlan said Organica was "an illegal
drug-dealing operation" that sometimes made more than $100,000 profit in
a month.
"He is an ongoing threat to the community," Harlan said.
Shevin acknowledged that the facts in the case are "essentially
undisputed," but challenged the district attorney's position that
medical marijuana sales are illegal. "It's just in contradiction to the
law in this area," he said.
Joseph has been a target of law enforcement for two years. Undercover
investigators have made repeated buys and his dispensary has been raided
three times, most recently on Thursday, when he was arrested.
He closed his dispensary after the second raid, but said he reopened to
try to comply with the city's medical marijuana ordinance. That law,
which has not taken effect, will allow dispensaries that registered with
the city in 2007, as Organica did, to remain open if they are still in
operation.
"They felt that Jeff snubbed the nose of the district attorney," Shevin
said.
After Los Angeles County Superior Court Commissioner Donald Kennedy set
bail, Shevin held an impromptu news conference surrounded by Joseph's
supporters and his tearful mother and sister.
"Medical marijuana, when you are an authorized dispensary, should be a
mitigating factor that reduces the seriousness of the crime," he said,
"not used to aggravate bail and improperly stack bail for the only
purpose of leaving Mr. Joseph in custody and trying to muscle a plea
from him."
Joseph's sister, Vikki, said he did not have the money for bail.
Supporters said they would raise it.
"How about George Soros?" Shevin suggested.
Soros, a billionaire investor, was one of the main financial backers of
the medical marijuana initiative.
warned that state law does not allow dispensaries to sell medical
marijuana and zeroed in on Organica, a popular Venice-area outlet, as
one possible target.
On Monday, Cooley delivered on that promise.
Jeff Joseph, Organica's operator, was charged with 24 felonies,
including selling, transporting and possessing marijuana, and a court
commissioner set bail at $520,000, more than five times the amount his
lawyer requested. Joseph pleaded not guilty.
Calling the bail "outrageous," attorney Eric Shevin said the prosecution
was "politically driven" in response to community pressure to shut down
hundreds of dispensaries that have spread throughout Los Angeles. "So
they use a very high-profile individual, unfortunately in this case, Mr.
Joseph, to basically stand up for everybody," he said.
Joseph Esposito, who heads the district attorney's major narcotics
division, said Organica's operator was not singled out. "There have been
dozens of cases that the office has filed," he said. "We're going to
evaluate every case differently."
Joseph's case, which was intensely investigated by police and federal
agents, has the potential to test whether state law permits dispensaries
to sell marijuana.
Cooley and Los Angeles City Atty. Carmen Trutanich insist that state law
allows collectives to grow marijuana and recoup their costs but not sell
it over the counter, a practice that is widespread. Both have sought to
pursue cases that could force the courts to settle the debate.
Trutanich won an early round in a lawsuit against an Eagle Rock
dispensary. A Superior Court judge ordered it to halt sales. Last week,
the city attorney filed a similar lawsuit against Joseph and Organica.
In court Monday, prosecutor John Harlan said Organica was "an illegal
drug-dealing operation" that sometimes made more than $100,000 profit in
a month.
"He is an ongoing threat to the community," Harlan said.
Shevin acknowledged that the facts in the case are "essentially
undisputed," but challenged the district attorney's position that
medical marijuana sales are illegal. "It's just in contradiction to the
law in this area," he said.
Joseph has been a target of law enforcement for two years. Undercover
investigators have made repeated buys and his dispensary has been raided
three times, most recently on Thursday, when he was arrested.
He closed his dispensary after the second raid, but said he reopened to
try to comply with the city's medical marijuana ordinance. That law,
which has not taken effect, will allow dispensaries that registered with
the city in 2007, as Organica did, to remain open if they are still in
operation.
"They felt that Jeff snubbed the nose of the district attorney," Shevin
said.
After Los Angeles County Superior Court Commissioner Donald Kennedy set
bail, Shevin held an impromptu news conference surrounded by Joseph's
supporters and his tearful mother and sister.
"Medical marijuana, when you are an authorized dispensary, should be a
mitigating factor that reduces the seriousness of the crime," he said,
"not used to aggravate bail and improperly stack bail for the only
purpose of leaving Mr. Joseph in custody and trying to muscle a plea
from him."
Joseph's sister, Vikki, said he did not have the money for bail.
Supporters said they would raise it.
"How about George Soros?" Shevin suggested.
Soros, a billionaire investor, was one of the main financial backers of
the medical marijuana initiative.
Advocates Believe New York May Be Next to Legalize Medical Marijuana
NEW YORK, NY February 23, 2010 — As of last month, when New Jersey
signed it into law, there are 14 states that allow the use of medical
marijuana. Some people think New York could be No. 15, and are watching
as a bill winds its way through the state Senate and Assembly. WNYC's
Arun Venugopal has more on the legislation and the people who would
benefit.
To see a video of Burt Aldrich and other medical marijuana users click
here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hei30QmnI6E).
Burt Aldrich took a bad dive into a pool and fractured his neck about 10
years ago, leaving him paralyzed below the waist and wheelchair-bound.
He feels almost nothing in his legs -- except occasional unbearable
spasms.
"My lower body doesn't know if it's being touched, or if it's being
moved, or not moved," Burt says. "And so it just builds and builds to a
crescendo and then it lets loose in these spasms."
A friend suggested smoking marijuana for the pain. Doctors said it
wouldn't do anything, but Burt decided to give it a try.
"As soon as I took the first breath of marijuana, I felt the tightness
loosen, the cold from dealing with the pain just washed away, and I just
felt warm, relaxed, and comfortable," Burt says. "And I knew immediately
that they had been lying to me."
Burt is one of many advocates who think New York is primed to make
medical marijuana legal. With Democratic majorities in both houses and
the recent passage in New Jersey, they think the prospects are better
than ever.
Jay Goldstein of the New York chapter of Norml, which advocates for
marijuana legalization, cites a recent poll suggesting more than 70
percent of New Yorkers support his cause.
"I would never have been able to convince somebody this could happen a
few years ago," he says. "And this is something substantial, that the
government seems enthusiastic about."
The bill in the legislature would allow patients with what it calls
"serious medical conditions" to obtain marijuana. State Senator Tom
Duane is sponsoring the bill. Duane says he hasn't smoked marijuana
in a while, but he was once addicted to it and had to give it up for
good.
"About twenty-six-and-a-half years ago, but who's counting?" he laughs.
That bit of history means that Duane doesn't believe everyone should
have easy access to pot. This year's bill, unlike last year's,
would not let people grow their own marijuana at home. That concession
upsets some advocates, but is part of a strategy to gain bipartisan
support. Also, people would need a doctor's referral, proving they have
a serious condition. Duane says it's these patients with cancer,
AIDS, and other illnesses who persuaded him of the merits of medical
marijuana.
"Making marijuana a part of the treatment would be a tremendous
advance," Duane says.
He says marijuana would be an ultra-controlled substance, far more
regulated than opiates like morphine or codeine. But opponents like
Calvina Fay, of Save Our Society From Drugs, says medical marijuana
should only be legalized once the FDA says its okay: "I think it's very
dangerous to allow people to come up with some product that they say is
medicine and they claim helps people. And then either have voters vote
on it or have the legislature vote on it and create a bill, because
they're not equipped to make those decisions."
Fay says people who believe marijuana works have an option, a synthetic
called Marinol, which is FDA-approved. She also says that in states
where it's been legalized, much of the medical marijuana isn't
going to people with life-threatening illnesses.
"They're not treating AIDS wasting syndrome, they're not treating
glaucoma. The huge majority are treating this category called pain,
that's undefined," she says.
Legislators are still working out the details on a medical marijuana
bill, including who will be eligible. But some users hope it will cover
their mental health problems. Abigail Schweter says marijuana helps with
the anxiety disorder she's suffered since she was raped in her
childhood, more than pharmaceuticals like Zoloft, an antidepressant. And
she thinks marijuana would also help her severely autistic son, who has
started becoming violent.
"For those of us who chemically and medically need it, we're not using
it to get high. We're using it to feel normal, to feel okay. And to be
able to cope in our everyday life," Schweter says.
But Schweter and her son are likely to be disappointed, at least in the
short run. Even if medical marijuana does get signed into law this year,
it's unlikely to cover mental health problems. However, legislators say
they will consider expanding coverage, two years down the road
signed it into law, there are 14 states that allow the use of medical
marijuana. Some people think New York could be No. 15, and are watching
as a bill winds its way through the state Senate and Assembly. WNYC's
Arun Venugopal has more on the legislation and the people who would
benefit.
To see a video of Burt Aldrich and other medical marijuana users click
here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hei30QmnI6E).
Burt Aldrich took a bad dive into a pool and fractured his neck about 10
years ago, leaving him paralyzed below the waist and wheelchair-bound.
He feels almost nothing in his legs -- except occasional unbearable
spasms.
"My lower body doesn't know if it's being touched, or if it's being
moved, or not moved," Burt says. "And so it just builds and builds to a
crescendo and then it lets loose in these spasms."
A friend suggested smoking marijuana for the pain. Doctors said it
wouldn't do anything, but Burt decided to give it a try.
"As soon as I took the first breath of marijuana, I felt the tightness
loosen, the cold from dealing with the pain just washed away, and I just
felt warm, relaxed, and comfortable," Burt says. "And I knew immediately
that they had been lying to me."
Burt is one of many advocates who think New York is primed to make
medical marijuana legal. With Democratic majorities in both houses and
the recent passage in New Jersey, they think the prospects are better
than ever.
Jay Goldstein of the New York chapter of Norml, which advocates for
marijuana legalization, cites a recent poll suggesting more than 70
percent of New Yorkers support his cause.
"I would never have been able to convince somebody this could happen a
few years ago," he says. "And this is something substantial, that the
government seems enthusiastic about."
The bill in the legislature would allow patients with what it calls
"serious medical conditions" to obtain marijuana. State Senator Tom
Duane is sponsoring the bill. Duane says he hasn't smoked marijuana
in a while, but he was once addicted to it and had to give it up for
good.
"About twenty-six-and-a-half years ago, but who's counting?" he laughs.
That bit of history means that Duane doesn't believe everyone should
have easy access to pot. This year's bill, unlike last year's,
would not let people grow their own marijuana at home. That concession
upsets some advocates, but is part of a strategy to gain bipartisan
support. Also, people would need a doctor's referral, proving they have
a serious condition. Duane says it's these patients with cancer,
AIDS, and other illnesses who persuaded him of the merits of medical
marijuana.
"Making marijuana a part of the treatment would be a tremendous
advance," Duane says.
He says marijuana would be an ultra-controlled substance, far more
regulated than opiates like morphine or codeine. But opponents like
Calvina Fay, of Save Our Society From Drugs, says medical marijuana
should only be legalized once the FDA says its okay: "I think it's very
dangerous to allow people to come up with some product that they say is
medicine and they claim helps people. And then either have voters vote
on it or have the legislature vote on it and create a bill, because
they're not equipped to make those decisions."
Fay says people who believe marijuana works have an option, a synthetic
called Marinol, which is FDA-approved. She also says that in states
where it's been legalized, much of the medical marijuana isn't
going to people with life-threatening illnesses.
"They're not treating AIDS wasting syndrome, they're not treating
glaucoma. The huge majority are treating this category called pain,
that's undefined," she says.
Legislators are still working out the details on a medical marijuana
bill, including who will be eligible. But some users hope it will cover
their mental health problems. Abigail Schweter says marijuana helps with
the anxiety disorder she's suffered since she was raped in her
childhood, more than pharmaceuticals like Zoloft, an antidepressant. And
she thinks marijuana would also help her severely autistic son, who has
started becoming violent.
"For those of us who chemically and medically need it, we're not using
it to get high. We're using it to feel normal, to feel okay. And to be
able to cope in our everyday life," Schweter says.
But Schweter and her son are likely to be disappointed, at least in the
short run. Even if medical marijuana does get signed into law this year,
it's unlikely to cover mental health problems. However, legislators say
they will consider expanding coverage, two years down the road
Marijuana dispensaries operate as usual, keep eye on raid
Despite comments from the Drug Enforcement Administration's chief Denver
agent that all marijuana is illegal and that there's no such thing as
medicinal marijuana, Fort Collins medical marijuana dispensary owners
say they are forging ahead with business as usual.
"There's always a worry because there is a lot of gray areas, but we are
following all the rules we can," said Drew Brown, co-owner of Abundant
Healing in Fort Collins.
Brown, who appeared last week on the front page of the Coloradoan with
about 100 medical marijuana plants behind him, said he has been paying
very close attention to the DEA's raid of a Highlands Ranch medical
marijuana grow.
DEA Agent Jeffrey D. Sweetin told reporters after the raid at the home
of Christopher Bartkowicz that technically every medical marijuana
dispensary in the state is in "blatant violation of federal law."
Federal law does not allow the use or growth of medical marijuana.
"The time is coming when we go into a dispensary, we find out what their
profit is, we seize the building and we arrest everybody," Sweetin told
the Denver Post after the raid at Bartkowicz's home. "They're violating
federal law; they're at risk of arrest and imprisonment."
And an arrest warrant sworn out by a DEA special agent indicates federal
law enforcement began investigating Bartkowicz after he was quoted in a
9news.com story describing his grow as a "jungle of electrical wires and
water hoses from room to room."
When federal agents searched the home, located about 1,000 feet from a
school, they found 224 medical marijuana plants. Bartkowicz was only
able to produce documents permitting him to grow as many as 72 plants,
according to the arrest warrant.
"When it turns out in the end that this guy was a total idiot,
I'm not that concerned any more," Brown said. "He was
growing too much, and he was next to a school. The list of things he did
wrong is probably even longer than what I know."
Like Brown, Don Cruickshank, owner of A Kind Place in Fort Collins, said
he's confident he has a good relationship with local law enforcement
and has nothing to hide.
"I've always gotten along with the police and everybody,"
Cruickshank said. "We don't really want to make it harder on the
cops."
Cruickshank also said he's followed news about Bartkowicz's
arrest and believes his flaw was he was too focused on profits and not
patients.
"If people do the right thing and they don't come out with all
this commercial glory, then they would be OK," he said. "He got
away from this medical thing and got into a commercial thing. If not for
the patients, then none of this would be possible. Others don't
realize these things, and it's all about the power of commercial,
but not for me."
Brown echoed Cruick-shank's sentiments.
"The difference is I'm not out here speaking about how much
money we're making or bragging about anything," he said.
"I'm more out there to let people know we're doing things
honestly and doing everything to code with all the guidelines so
far."
And Brown said he and his business partners have decided to invite local
law enforcement into their business and to take them to their grow site,
which is in a warehouse building at a separate location from their Old
Town dispensary.
"We're not hiding anything with this grow," he said.
agent that all marijuana is illegal and that there's no such thing as
medicinal marijuana, Fort Collins medical marijuana dispensary owners
say they are forging ahead with business as usual.
"There's always a worry because there is a lot of gray areas, but we are
following all the rules we can," said Drew Brown, co-owner of Abundant
Healing in Fort Collins.
Brown, who appeared last week on the front page of the Coloradoan with
about 100 medical marijuana plants behind him, said he has been paying
very close attention to the DEA's raid of a Highlands Ranch medical
marijuana grow.
DEA Agent Jeffrey D. Sweetin told reporters after the raid at the home
of Christopher Bartkowicz that technically every medical marijuana
dispensary in the state is in "blatant violation of federal law."
Federal law does not allow the use or growth of medical marijuana.
"The time is coming when we go into a dispensary, we find out what their
profit is, we seize the building and we arrest everybody," Sweetin told
the Denver Post after the raid at Bartkowicz's home. "They're violating
federal law; they're at risk of arrest and imprisonment."
And an arrest warrant sworn out by a DEA special agent indicates federal
law enforcement began investigating Bartkowicz after he was quoted in a
9news.com story describing his grow as a "jungle of electrical wires and
water hoses from room to room."
When federal agents searched the home, located about 1,000 feet from a
school, they found 224 medical marijuana plants. Bartkowicz was only
able to produce documents permitting him to grow as many as 72 plants,
according to the arrest warrant.
"When it turns out in the end that this guy was a total idiot,
I'm not that concerned any more," Brown said. "He was
growing too much, and he was next to a school. The list of things he did
wrong is probably even longer than what I know."
Like Brown, Don Cruickshank, owner of A Kind Place in Fort Collins, said
he's confident he has a good relationship with local law enforcement
and has nothing to hide.
"I've always gotten along with the police and everybody,"
Cruickshank said. "We don't really want to make it harder on the
cops."
Cruickshank also said he's followed news about Bartkowicz's
arrest and believes his flaw was he was too focused on profits and not
patients.
"If people do the right thing and they don't come out with all
this commercial glory, then they would be OK," he said. "He got
away from this medical thing and got into a commercial thing. If not for
the patients, then none of this would be possible. Others don't
realize these things, and it's all about the power of commercial,
but not for me."
Brown echoed Cruick-shank's sentiments.
"The difference is I'm not out here speaking about how much
money we're making or bragging about anything," he said.
"I'm more out there to let people know we're doing things
honestly and doing everything to code with all the guidelines so
far."
And Brown said he and his business partners have decided to invite local
law enforcement into their business and to take them to their grow site,
which is in a warehouse building at a separate location from their Old
Town dispensary.
"We're not hiding anything with this grow," he said.
Medical Marijuana Proponents Split on Bill
When the D.C. Council gathers this afternoon to hear testimony on
legislation legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes, they'll likely
hear different opinions from people on the same side of the argument.
As we wrote last week, some medical marijuana advocates believe that
legislation introduced in late January on the issue is too restrictive
and limits access to marijuana for qualifying patients in the District.
The bill, sponsored by Council member David Catania (I-At Large), would
set up five dispensaries where patients with specific ailments and a
prescription from their primary care physician could go to pick up a
30-day supply of marijuana. The dispensaries would have to be 1,000 feet
from any school or youth center and would require patients to pay
registration fees. Some advocates believe that the proposal does not
live up to the spirit of the 1998 voter initiative that originally
green-lighted the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes in the
District.
But Wayne Turner, one of the driving forces behind the 1998 initiative,
seems to disagree. In an op-ed published by the Post on Sunday, Turner
argues that a tightly-regulated system is more likely to pass
congressional muster and avoid abuses that have been seen elsewhere in
the country. "It's a sound proposal that tracks the design and intent of
the original initiative by creating a tightly regulated system whereby
patients with serious, chronic or debilitating medical conditions can
have safe and affordable access to medical marijuana. That's good,
because in recent years we've seen what a vague law and lack of
regulation can do," wrote Turner, specifically calling out California's
medical marijuana regulations as being overly broad.
"Yes, the proposal may be too restrictive for some, but Initiative 59
was never about promoting casual or recreational use of marijuana. And
the council's cautious approach is appropriate for another reason: Under
the Constitution, Congress retains the authority to overturn D.C.
legislation at any time. It would be a grave mistake to unnecessarily
provoke further congressional interference by creating a system
vulnerable to abuses. The council's plan represents the best chance to
implement medical marijuana and to protect those patients whose quality
of life may depend upon this medication of last resort," he added.
Catania has publicly indicated that he purposely wrote the legislation
to be restrictive so that it would stand a better chance of making it
through the congressional review period. With Turner on his side, that's
how the legislation may remain.
The hearing starts at 2 p.m. today at the John A. Wilson Building. More
than 50 people have signed up to testify.
legislation legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes, they'll likely
hear different opinions from people on the same side of the argument.
As we wrote last week, some medical marijuana advocates believe that
legislation introduced in late January on the issue is too restrictive
and limits access to marijuana for qualifying patients in the District.
The bill, sponsored by Council member David Catania (I-At Large), would
set up five dispensaries where patients with specific ailments and a
prescription from their primary care physician could go to pick up a
30-day supply of marijuana. The dispensaries would have to be 1,000 feet
from any school or youth center and would require patients to pay
registration fees. Some advocates believe that the proposal does not
live up to the spirit of the 1998 voter initiative that originally
green-lighted the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes in the
District.
But Wayne Turner, one of the driving forces behind the 1998 initiative,
seems to disagree. In an op-ed published by the Post on Sunday, Turner
argues that a tightly-regulated system is more likely to pass
congressional muster and avoid abuses that have been seen elsewhere in
the country. "It's a sound proposal that tracks the design and intent of
the original initiative by creating a tightly regulated system whereby
patients with serious, chronic or debilitating medical conditions can
have safe and affordable access to medical marijuana. That's good,
because in recent years we've seen what a vague law and lack of
regulation can do," wrote Turner, specifically calling out California's
medical marijuana regulations as being overly broad.
"Yes, the proposal may be too restrictive for some, but Initiative 59
was never about promoting casual or recreational use of marijuana. And
the council's cautious approach is appropriate for another reason: Under
the Constitution, Congress retains the authority to overturn D.C.
legislation at any time. It would be a grave mistake to unnecessarily
provoke further congressional interference by creating a system
vulnerable to abuses. The council's plan represents the best chance to
implement medical marijuana and to protect those patients whose quality
of life may depend upon this medication of last resort," he added.
Catania has publicly indicated that he purposely wrote the legislation
to be restrictive so that it would stand a better chance of making it
through the congressional review period. With Turner on his side, that's
how the legislation may remain.
The hearing starts at 2 p.m. today at the John A. Wilson Building. More
than 50 people have signed up to testify.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Legal pot farm at Ole Miss
(AP) â€" OXFORD, Miss. - It's the smell-pungent and slightly
citrusy- that first greets visitors to Mahmoud ElSohly's office on the
University of Mississippi campus.
Next are pictures lining the hallways of the bright green plants ElSohly
has researched for 35 years as chief cultivator in the nation's only
legal marijuana farm.
The University of Mississippi Marijuana Project provides marijuana by
the bale to licensed researchers throughout the nation. They study the
drug through a federal contract with the National Institute on Drug
Abuse.
Marijuana is grown in a field, nurtured in an artificially lit "grow
room," analyzed in labs and stored in drums in two bank-style vaults.
"It's a complicated plant," ElSohly said.
It's complicated not only in its chemical composition but also because
of the political and cultural baggage it carries.
Around the nation, policy makers are struggling with legalizing the drug
for people who need its medical benefits while lobbyists push for even
greater legalization.
"It's a very controversial issue and a very emotional issue," he said.
"This is an illegal drug, a controlled substance. If this was milk
thistle or any of these other herbal drugs, it would be no problem
making this available or an extract available."
Although he said he never has smoked it, ElSohly is a marijuana fan. He
is an informed believer in the medical properties of THC, the chemical
in the plant that produces a psychoactive "high" but also is being used
to give relief to people with chronic ailments such as cancer or
Parkinson's disease.
Marijuana, he said, is a true wonder weed that, broken down into its
chemical components, can be used for both constipation and diarrhea, he
said. ElSohly and his colleagues have spent years studying and isolating
the plant's medical effects.
The federal contract pays the university about $480,000 during growing
years-less on off years-to provide the cannabis to researchers. Ole Miss
has been involved in marijuana research since 1968 and the NIDA contract
dates to the mid-1970s.
Federal demand for the plant waxes and wanes, ElSohly said.
But Ole Miss' contract to grow marijuana rankles some who see it as an
unfair monopoly.
"It's really handicapped research," said Ethan Nadelmann, executive
director of the Drug Policy Alliance Network, which favors legalizing
marijuana for medical use and eliminating criminal penalties for
possession.
One reason some question the approach at Ole Miss is because the project
has a fundamental objection to smoking the plant, in part because of the
nature of the university's longstanding federal contract. But ElSohly, a
research pharmacist, thinks it is just a bad way to take medicine.
Through years of research, ElSohly and other scientists have discovered
more than 500 chemical compounds in marijuana, many of which he said can
take on unpredictable characteristics when heated up several hundred
degrees.
"Smoking produces thousands of chemicals that get into the lungs," he
said. "If the drug is to be used in any way, smoking is not the right
way."
ElSohly is working on non-smoking methods to ingest the drug, ways that
separate the medical benefits from the psychoactive high. So far, the
suppository method he has promoted has proven unpopular, but he is
working on a patch placed on a patient's gum line that delivers a mild,
time-released dose of THC that he said gives the patient medical
benefits without getting high.
Nadelmann said such research has value, but he said scientific studies
indicate that the marijuana high is part of the reason it is effective.
For that and other reasons, Nadelmann and other supporters of medical
marijuana are pushing for legal consumption of the whole plant,
something he said has broad-based support.
"If we were able to hold a ballot initiative in all 50 states, I think
we would win in all but a handful," he said.
Fourteen states allow some form of legal medical marijuana and advocates
are pushing hard in others.
Iowa state Sen. Joe Bolkcom, a Democrat, said he thinks voters are ahead
of policymakers when it comes to legalizing medical pot. Bolkcom
sponsored a medical marijuana bill in the Iowa House that he
acknowledges will not pass this year. But he said it will pass as soon
as lawmakers figure out "the Iowa approach" to the problem.
"There still is some concern about making sure there is sufficient
control in the system so that people who are chronically ill and in pain
have access to this medicine, and it simply isn't an avenue for
legalization for recreational use," he said.
Maryland Delegate Dan Morhaim, a Democrat, and Republican state Sen.
David Brinkley have introduced bills in the General Assembly to allow
medical marijuana use by people with serious illnesses. They say they
have broad support.
Morhaim, a physician, said the bill will tightly regulate the dispensing
of the drug through state-certified facilities instead of a
grow-your-own approach adopted in other states.
Morhaim said ElSohly's work on nonsmokable medicinal marijuana is
worthwhile, but it is not the only answer and is not available now.
"This is about compassionate care," he said. "There is no reason to be
so marijuana-phobic as we have been in this country."
citrusy- that first greets visitors to Mahmoud ElSohly's office on the
University of Mississippi campus.
Next are pictures lining the hallways of the bright green plants ElSohly
has researched for 35 years as chief cultivator in the nation's only
legal marijuana farm.
The University of Mississippi Marijuana Project provides marijuana by
the bale to licensed researchers throughout the nation. They study the
drug through a federal contract with the National Institute on Drug
Abuse.
Marijuana is grown in a field, nurtured in an artificially lit "grow
room," analyzed in labs and stored in drums in two bank-style vaults.
"It's a complicated plant," ElSohly said.
It's complicated not only in its chemical composition but also because
of the political and cultural baggage it carries.
Around the nation, policy makers are struggling with legalizing the drug
for people who need its medical benefits while lobbyists push for even
greater legalization.
"It's a very controversial issue and a very emotional issue," he said.
"This is an illegal drug, a controlled substance. If this was milk
thistle or any of these other herbal drugs, it would be no problem
making this available or an extract available."
Although he said he never has smoked it, ElSohly is a marijuana fan. He
is an informed believer in the medical properties of THC, the chemical
in the plant that produces a psychoactive "high" but also is being used
to give relief to people with chronic ailments such as cancer or
Parkinson's disease.
Marijuana, he said, is a true wonder weed that, broken down into its
chemical components, can be used for both constipation and diarrhea, he
said. ElSohly and his colleagues have spent years studying and isolating
the plant's medical effects.
The federal contract pays the university about $480,000 during growing
years-less on off years-to provide the cannabis to researchers. Ole Miss
has been involved in marijuana research since 1968 and the NIDA contract
dates to the mid-1970s.
Federal demand for the plant waxes and wanes, ElSohly said.
But Ole Miss' contract to grow marijuana rankles some who see it as an
unfair monopoly.
"It's really handicapped research," said Ethan Nadelmann, executive
director of the Drug Policy Alliance Network, which favors legalizing
marijuana for medical use and eliminating criminal penalties for
possession.
One reason some question the approach at Ole Miss is because the project
has a fundamental objection to smoking the plant, in part because of the
nature of the university's longstanding federal contract. But ElSohly, a
research pharmacist, thinks it is just a bad way to take medicine.
Through years of research, ElSohly and other scientists have discovered
more than 500 chemical compounds in marijuana, many of which he said can
take on unpredictable characteristics when heated up several hundred
degrees.
"Smoking produces thousands of chemicals that get into the lungs," he
said. "If the drug is to be used in any way, smoking is not the right
way."
ElSohly is working on non-smoking methods to ingest the drug, ways that
separate the medical benefits from the psychoactive high. So far, the
suppository method he has promoted has proven unpopular, but he is
working on a patch placed on a patient's gum line that delivers a mild,
time-released dose of THC that he said gives the patient medical
benefits without getting high.
Nadelmann said such research has value, but he said scientific studies
indicate that the marijuana high is part of the reason it is effective.
For that and other reasons, Nadelmann and other supporters of medical
marijuana are pushing for legal consumption of the whole plant,
something he said has broad-based support.
"If we were able to hold a ballot initiative in all 50 states, I think
we would win in all but a handful," he said.
Fourteen states allow some form of legal medical marijuana and advocates
are pushing hard in others.
Iowa state Sen. Joe Bolkcom, a Democrat, said he thinks voters are ahead
of policymakers when it comes to legalizing medical pot. Bolkcom
sponsored a medical marijuana bill in the Iowa House that he
acknowledges will not pass this year. But he said it will pass as soon
as lawmakers figure out "the Iowa approach" to the problem.
"There still is some concern about making sure there is sufficient
control in the system so that people who are chronically ill and in pain
have access to this medicine, and it simply isn't an avenue for
legalization for recreational use," he said.
Maryland Delegate Dan Morhaim, a Democrat, and Republican state Sen.
David Brinkley have introduced bills in the General Assembly to allow
medical marijuana use by people with serious illnesses. They say they
have broad support.
Morhaim, a physician, said the bill will tightly regulate the dispensing
of the drug through state-certified facilities instead of a
grow-your-own approach adopted in other states.
Morhaim said ElSohly's work on nonsmokable medicinal marijuana is
worthwhile, but it is not the only answer and is not available now.
"This is about compassionate care," he said. "There is no reason to be
so marijuana-phobic as we have been in this country."
Bill to legalize, regulate marijuana reintroduced into state Assembly
The Marijuana Control, Regulation and Education Act was reintroduced
into the California Assembly on Thursday after its first iteration
expired last month.
The bill, also known as AB 2254, covers many aspects of regulation, but
some of its main goals are to legalize and regulate marijuana for adults
21 and older in a manner similar to alcohol and to "deprive the
criminal market of revenue," according to the bill's language. It is
also hoped that the bill will decrease the violence associated with the
criminal market. Fees added to the sale of marijuana would pay for drug
education, awareness and rehabilitation.
Assemblyman Tom Ammiano reintroduced the bill last week after his
previous bill, AB 390, was passed by the Assembly Public Safety
Committee but was not discussed by the Legislature before the
consideration deadline.
"It is time to acknowledge that the existing model of prohibition
has failed, and that California is long overdue for a public policy for
the control and regulation of marijuana that reflects the reality of
what is happening in our state," Ammiano said in a statement
regarding AB 390.
Medical marijuana would be excluded from these regulations, according to
the bill. The bill would prohibit smoking marijuana in the same places
tobacco is currently prohibited.
Some local residents were excited about the bill's possibilities.
Humboldt State University senior Colby Grand said that people are going
to use the drug regardless of whether it's legal, so decriminalizing it
makes sense. The county and state would save money, not only by taxing
the drug, but by not making "needless arrests" because of it, he
said.
"I think it'd be pretty amazing if we were to legitimize that
industry," Grand said.
In the bill's current language, it would remove all existing civil and
criminal penalties for persons at least 21 years of age who were
arrested for marijuana-related crimes, except for those laws
"proscribing dangerous activities while under the influence of
marijuana" or activities that expose minors to the drug.
Brian Wilkins, who recently moved to Humboldt County from Fallon, Nev.,
said passing a bill such as this would be "the smart thing to
do," as the government would likely make a profit from taxing it.
The proposed fee would be $50 per ounce of marijuana sold in the state,
unless a different fee is determined, according to the bill. The funds
would go to the Drug Abuse Prevention Supplemental Funding Account
created by the bill to fund drug education, awareness and rehabilitation
programs. It is unclear if another tax will be added to the drug if the
bill is passed.
Terrianne Simkhovitch of Arcata said she was "100 percent
behind" the bill if it successfully legalized marijuana.
"There could be a hemp industry here and it could revitalize Del
Norte and Humboldt counties," she said.
Some residents were interested in legalization but not taxation, but
some were indifferent. Eureka resident George Walter said people will
want whatever they want, and taxation might be inevitable if it is
legalized.
"The gears got to keep turning, and money makes it happen," he
said.
into the California Assembly on Thursday after its first iteration
expired last month.
The bill, also known as AB 2254, covers many aspects of regulation, but
some of its main goals are to legalize and regulate marijuana for adults
21 and older in a manner similar to alcohol and to "deprive the
criminal market of revenue," according to the bill's language. It is
also hoped that the bill will decrease the violence associated with the
criminal market. Fees added to the sale of marijuana would pay for drug
education, awareness and rehabilitation.
Assemblyman Tom Ammiano reintroduced the bill last week after his
previous bill, AB 390, was passed by the Assembly Public Safety
Committee but was not discussed by the Legislature before the
consideration deadline.
"It is time to acknowledge that the existing model of prohibition
has failed, and that California is long overdue for a public policy for
the control and regulation of marijuana that reflects the reality of
what is happening in our state," Ammiano said in a statement
regarding AB 390.
Medical marijuana would be excluded from these regulations, according to
the bill. The bill would prohibit smoking marijuana in the same places
tobacco is currently prohibited.
Some local residents were excited about the bill's possibilities.
Humboldt State University senior Colby Grand said that people are going
to use the drug regardless of whether it's legal, so decriminalizing it
makes sense. The county and state would save money, not only by taxing
the drug, but by not making "needless arrests" because of it, he
said.
"I think it'd be pretty amazing if we were to legitimize that
industry," Grand said.
In the bill's current language, it would remove all existing civil and
criminal penalties for persons at least 21 years of age who were
arrested for marijuana-related crimes, except for those laws
"proscribing dangerous activities while under the influence of
marijuana" or activities that expose minors to the drug.
Brian Wilkins, who recently moved to Humboldt County from Fallon, Nev.,
said passing a bill such as this would be "the smart thing to
do," as the government would likely make a profit from taxing it.
The proposed fee would be $50 per ounce of marijuana sold in the state,
unless a different fee is determined, according to the bill. The funds
would go to the Drug Abuse Prevention Supplemental Funding Account
created by the bill to fund drug education, awareness and rehabilitation
programs. It is unclear if another tax will be added to the drug if the
bill is passed.
Terrianne Simkhovitch of Arcata said she was "100 percent
behind" the bill if it successfully legalized marijuana.
"There could be a hemp industry here and it could revitalize Del
Norte and Humboldt counties," she said.
Some residents were interested in legalization but not taxation, but
some were indifferent. Eureka resident George Walter said people will
want whatever they want, and taxation might be inevitable if it is
legalized.
"The gears got to keep turning, and money makes it happen," he
said.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Hearing on Medical Marijuana Set for Next Week
The D.C. Council is scheduled to hold a hearing early next week to
discuss legislation that would legalize the use of marijuana for
medicinal uses.
The bill, which was introduced in late January after Congress finally
lifted restrictions that had long prevented a1998 voter initiative from
being enacted, would allow for the creation of five dispensaries where
people with specific ailments and a prescription from their primary care
physician could go to obtain marijuana. Patients would also be allowed
to grow their own marijuana.
Medical marijuana advocates, who feel the proposed legislation is too
restrictive and does not live up to the spirit of the 1998 voter
initiative, are planning on proposing a set of amendments. An early
February memo from Americans for Safe Access, a medical pot advocacy
group, outlines the amendments, which would include doing away with a
rule that would forbid dispensaries from being within 1,000 feet from
schools or youth centers, scrapping a requirement that patients pay fees
to their dispensary, and allowing for the Department of Health to hold
hearings after the first year of the legislation's implementation to
determine whether more than five dispensaries are needed.
The memo also calls for changes so that any physician, not just a
primary one, can prescribe marijuana, and so that patients can designate
up to four individuals, instead of just one, to serve as primary
caregivers who are able to help patients obtain their prescriptions.
Another proposed amendment would do away with the rule prohibiting
anyone with a misdemeanor drug conviction from working at or owning a
dispensary.
The main sponsor of the legislation, Council member David Catania (I-At
Large), has argued that a tightly regulated system would make it more
likely that the legislation would pass congressional muster.
The hearing will take place on Tuesday, February 23 at 2 p.m. Anyone
looking to testify should contact Jennifer Barry of the Health Committee
(jbarry (at) dccouncil (dot) us, (202) 724-8170) by noon on Monday,
February 22.
discuss legislation that would legalize the use of marijuana for
medicinal uses.
The bill, which was introduced in late January after Congress finally
lifted restrictions that had long prevented a1998 voter initiative from
being enacted, would allow for the creation of five dispensaries where
people with specific ailments and a prescription from their primary care
physician could go to obtain marijuana. Patients would also be allowed
to grow their own marijuana.
Medical marijuana advocates, who feel the proposed legislation is too
restrictive and does not live up to the spirit of the 1998 voter
initiative, are planning on proposing a set of amendments. An early
February memo from Americans for Safe Access, a medical pot advocacy
group, outlines the amendments, which would include doing away with a
rule that would forbid dispensaries from being within 1,000 feet from
schools or youth centers, scrapping a requirement that patients pay fees
to their dispensary, and allowing for the Department of Health to hold
hearings after the first year of the legislation's implementation to
determine whether more than five dispensaries are needed.
The memo also calls for changes so that any physician, not just a
primary one, can prescribe marijuana, and so that patients can designate
up to four individuals, instead of just one, to serve as primary
caregivers who are able to help patients obtain their prescriptions.
Another proposed amendment would do away with the rule prohibiting
anyone with a misdemeanor drug conviction from working at or owning a
dispensary.
The main sponsor of the legislation, Council member David Catania (I-At
Large), has argued that a tightly regulated system would make it more
likely that the legislation would pass congressional muster.
The hearing will take place on Tuesday, February 23 at 2 p.m. Anyone
looking to testify should contact Jennifer Barry of the Health Committee
(jbarry (at) dccouncil (dot) us, (202) 724-8170) by noon on Monday,
February 22.
Berkeley wants to tax medical marijuana
Berkeley is looking to medical marijuana as a way to raise badly needed
cash as it faces a $14 million budget shortfall this year and probably
more next year.
The city manager's office has floated a plan to tax the city's three
medical marijuana dispensaries $10 per square foot on space they occupy.
The tax would have to be put to a vote of Berkeley residents for
approval, most likely on the November ballot.
Medical marijuana dispensaries statewide already pay state sales taxes
on the marijuana they sell.
And in Berkeley the three dispensaries currently pay the city $20,000 a
year in business license fees based on sales, said City Finance Director
Robert Hicks.
Erik Miller, manager of the Patients Care Collective on Telegraph
Avenue, is vehemently opposed to another tax.
"I think it's arbitrary and ridiculous," Miller said. "Taxing sick
people's medicine is not the best way to make up their financial
shortfall."
Berkeley Patients Group, which currently operates out of a building on
San Pablo Avenue and has its eye on a 28,000-square-foot building on
Heinz Street, would pay the city $280,000 a year for use of that
building.
Berkeley Patients Group did not have an immediate comment on the tax.
But judging by discussion at the city's Medical Cannabis Commission,
whose members are appointed by the three dispensaries, none of the
medical marijuana groups are in favor of it.
At its last meeting Jan. 28, the commission voted to "strongly oppose"
the proposed tax.
City Attorney Zach Cowan, who drafted language for the new tax, said
inspiration came from Oakland, whose voters approved a sales tax last
year on the city's medical marijuana dispensaries.
Oakland now taxes the dispensaries $18 for every $1,000 in sales.
cash as it faces a $14 million budget shortfall this year and probably
more next year.
The city manager's office has floated a plan to tax the city's three
medical marijuana dispensaries $10 per square foot on space they occupy.
The tax would have to be put to a vote of Berkeley residents for
approval, most likely on the November ballot.
Medical marijuana dispensaries statewide already pay state sales taxes
on the marijuana they sell.
And in Berkeley the three dispensaries currently pay the city $20,000 a
year in business license fees based on sales, said City Finance Director
Robert Hicks.
Erik Miller, manager of the Patients Care Collective on Telegraph
Avenue, is vehemently opposed to another tax.
"I think it's arbitrary and ridiculous," Miller said. "Taxing sick
people's medicine is not the best way to make up their financial
shortfall."
Berkeley Patients Group, which currently operates out of a building on
San Pablo Avenue and has its eye on a 28,000-square-foot building on
Heinz Street, would pay the city $280,000 a year for use of that
building.
Berkeley Patients Group did not have an immediate comment on the tax.
But judging by discussion at the city's Medical Cannabis Commission,
whose members are appointed by the three dispensaries, none of the
medical marijuana groups are in favor of it.
At its last meeting Jan. 28, the commission voted to "strongly oppose"
the proposed tax.
City Attorney Zach Cowan, who drafted language for the new tax, said
inspiration came from Oakland, whose voters approved a sales tax last
year on the city's medical marijuana dispensaries.
Oakland now taxes the dispensaries $18 for every $1,000 in sales.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Lafayette may extend medical-marijuana dispensary moratorium
Lafayette is considering extending its medical-marijuana moratorium as
it waits for regulation direction from the state.
The City Council plans to discuss dispensaries at its Tuesday
worksession. The council previously approved a six-month moratorium that
expires May 1, but city staff members are recommending extending the
moratorium another three months.
An extension is needed, city officials said, to give the Lafayette more
time to see what's going to happen at the state level before crafting
its own regulations.
"There's some sense to waiting until the state acts so we don't have
something that's contradictory," Mayor Chris Cameron said.
So far, one medical-marijuana bill has been introduced in the state
Legislature, but that bill focuses primarily on doctors prescribing the
drug. A bill creating more oversight for dispensaries is expected to be
introduced this week.
Lafayette staff members said they're looking for a bill that provides
"comprehensive regulation of the medical-marijuana industry," including
clarifying whether caregivers should go through a state licensing and
registration process.
Language in the state statute on medical marijuana -- which specifies
that "caregivers" can provide the drug to a patient, but says nothing
about dispensaries -- has caused confusion among law enforcement
agencies, dispensary owners and patients.
"When the voters passed medical marijuana, the amendment was unclear,"
Cameron said. "I don't think most of us understood the potential
loopholes. I want to see the Legislature close the loopholes and more
clearly define the issue."
However state regulations end up, Cameron said the city likely will
develop its own land use rules for dispensaries. Lafayette has a single
dispensary, 420 High Ways at 201 E. Simpson St., which opened before the
moratorium was approved.
Options the city is considering include banning dispensaries from
residential zones, requiring them to locate a certain distance away from
schools and using a licensing process similar to what's required for
liquor licenses.
"My main concern is making sure that our community is safe," Cameron
said. "Legitimate businesses should be able to operate without too much
trouble. We just need to be clear on those parameters."
it waits for regulation direction from the state.
The City Council plans to discuss dispensaries at its Tuesday
worksession. The council previously approved a six-month moratorium that
expires May 1, but city staff members are recommending extending the
moratorium another three months.
An extension is needed, city officials said, to give the Lafayette more
time to see what's going to happen at the state level before crafting
its own regulations.
"There's some sense to waiting until the state acts so we don't have
something that's contradictory," Mayor Chris Cameron said.
So far, one medical-marijuana bill has been introduced in the state
Legislature, but that bill focuses primarily on doctors prescribing the
drug. A bill creating more oversight for dispensaries is expected to be
introduced this week.
Lafayette staff members said they're looking for a bill that provides
"comprehensive regulation of the medical-marijuana industry," including
clarifying whether caregivers should go through a state licensing and
registration process.
Language in the state statute on medical marijuana -- which specifies
that "caregivers" can provide the drug to a patient, but says nothing
about dispensaries -- has caused confusion among law enforcement
agencies, dispensary owners and patients.
"When the voters passed medical marijuana, the amendment was unclear,"
Cameron said. "I don't think most of us understood the potential
loopholes. I want to see the Legislature close the loopholes and more
clearly define the issue."
However state regulations end up, Cameron said the city likely will
develop its own land use rules for dispensaries. Lafayette has a single
dispensary, 420 High Ways at 201 E. Simpson St., which opened before the
moratorium was approved.
Options the city is considering include banning dispensaries from
residential zones, requiring them to locate a certain distance away from
schools and using a licensing process similar to what's required for
liquor licenses.
"My main concern is making sure that our community is safe," Cameron
said. "Legitimate businesses should be able to operate without too much
trouble. We just need to be clear on those parameters."
Medical marijuana dispensaries will soon need papers
The medical marijuana industry in Denver has already been compared to
the wild, wild West -- but those land offices where miners and
homesteaders competed to file claims may look mild compared to the
Wellington E. Webb building next week, when the city starts accepting
medical marijuana dispensary licenses on February 8.
Under the city ordinance approved last month, all dispensaries operating
in the city must file such an application by March 1.
This is in addition to the standard city sales-tax license that
dispensaries had to apply for by December 15 in order to be exempted
from certain provisions in the ordinance, including a 1,000-foot buffer
zone between dispensaries and schools, day-care centers and even other
dispensaries.
At last count, more than 400 dispensaries had applied for their
sales-tax license. Now, in order to stay in business, they'll need to
apply for a dispensary-specific license, too -- and when they do,
they'll need to present not just their sales tax license, but a lease or
deed, a floor plan, a security plan, an area map, a zoning permit, a
burglar-alarm permit and the fingerprints of the people who own 10
percent of the business for a background check -- which means those
people will need to show up, too.
"To avoid processing delays and applicant disqualifications, it's
extremely important that applicants for this license submit complete
applications, including all required documents," says Penny May,
director of Excise & Licenses, who could soon be the busiest woman in
the city. That's because her office has a deadline just three weeks
after that February 8 start to accepting applications.
the wild, wild West -- but those land offices where miners and
homesteaders competed to file claims may look mild compared to the
Wellington E. Webb building next week, when the city starts accepting
medical marijuana dispensary licenses on February 8.
Under the city ordinance approved last month, all dispensaries operating
in the city must file such an application by March 1.
This is in addition to the standard city sales-tax license that
dispensaries had to apply for by December 15 in order to be exempted
from certain provisions in the ordinance, including a 1,000-foot buffer
zone between dispensaries and schools, day-care centers and even other
dispensaries.
At last count, more than 400 dispensaries had applied for their
sales-tax license. Now, in order to stay in business, they'll need to
apply for a dispensary-specific license, too -- and when they do,
they'll need to present not just their sales tax license, but a lease or
deed, a floor plan, a security plan, an area map, a zoning permit, a
burglar-alarm permit and the fingerprints of the people who own 10
percent of the business for a background check -- which means those
people will need to show up, too.
"To avoid processing delays and applicant disqualifications, it's
extremely important that applicants for this license submit complete
applications, including all required documents," says Penny May,
director of Excise & Licenses, who could soon be the busiest woman in
the city. That's because her office has a deadline just three weeks
after that February 8 start to accepting applications.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Medical marijuana dispensary ordered to "cease and desist"
Fallbrook's medical marijuana dispensary has shut its doors after being
served with a cease and desist order by the county.
According to Fallbrook Sheriff's substation commander Lt. Phil Brust,
Mother Earths Alternative Healing Cooperative, located at 434 East
Mission Road, was ordered to vacate its building February 5 due to
violation of San Diego County regulations.
"The dispensary was operating in violation of county Ordinance Section
10,000 [an ordinance extending a moratorium on the establishment of
marijuana dispensaries]," said Brust.
Brust said the dispensary had also built interior walls without proper
permitting, and had changed its building occupational classification
without certification of occupancy. Brust explained that the cease and
desist order was given to Fallbrook's dispensary on an individual basis.
"I'm pleased it happened," said Brust. "Medical marijuana cooperatives
such as this are a gray area as far as businesses. Many people who go to
them are not merely cancer patients or others permitted to use
marijuana. More and more young people are obtaining cards to obtain
marijuana."
According to Brust, the dispensary, which opened last year, was located
within 1,000 feet of two schools and a children's day care center.
"We wouldn't allow a liquor store to be this close to a school, but this
dispensary was there," said Brust. "The dispensary's location just
wasn't conducive."
Currently, the county is working on an ordinance that would regulate the
proximity in which medical marijuana dispensaries can be located to
schools, day care centers and areas where children may be exposed.
For now, Brust is pleased to know the county has shut down the
dispensary without the need for officer involvement.
"All of this was done without law enforcement [involvement]," said
Brust. "But we did check to ensure that the dispensary was acting within
its ordinance."
served with a cease and desist order by the county.
According to Fallbrook Sheriff's substation commander Lt. Phil Brust,
Mother Earths Alternative Healing Cooperative, located at 434 East
Mission Road, was ordered to vacate its building February 5 due to
violation of San Diego County regulations.
"The dispensary was operating in violation of county Ordinance Section
10,000 [an ordinance extending a moratorium on the establishment of
marijuana dispensaries]," said Brust.
Brust said the dispensary had also built interior walls without proper
permitting, and had changed its building occupational classification
without certification of occupancy. Brust explained that the cease and
desist order was given to Fallbrook's dispensary on an individual basis.
"I'm pleased it happened," said Brust. "Medical marijuana cooperatives
such as this are a gray area as far as businesses. Many people who go to
them are not merely cancer patients or others permitted to use
marijuana. More and more young people are obtaining cards to obtain
marijuana."
According to Brust, the dispensary, which opened last year, was located
within 1,000 feet of two schools and a children's day care center.
"We wouldn't allow a liquor store to be this close to a school, but this
dispensary was there," said Brust. "The dispensary's location just
wasn't conducive."
Currently, the county is working on an ordinance that would regulate the
proximity in which medical marijuana dispensaries can be located to
schools, day care centers and areas where children may be exposed.
For now, Brust is pleased to know the county has shut down the
dispensary without the need for officer involvement.
"All of this was done without law enforcement [involvement]," said
Brust. "But we did check to ensure that the dispensary was acting within
its ordinance."
FDA approved cannabis medicines needed for veterans to relieve symptoms of PTSD
Cannabis Science Inc. (NASD OTCBB: CBIS), an emerging pharmaceutical
cannabis company, is reviewing interim results of its survey from over
1400 people, US military veterans and others who responded to our PTSD
survey. The survey is still available for a limited time online on the
www.cannabisscience.com website for all those who still wish to
participate.
The survey was designed and conducted by Mitch Earleywine, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology at the State University of New York (Albany). Dr
Earleywine is also a member of the Cannabis Science Inc. Scientific
Advisory Board. The survey results will be made public as soon as the
study has been completed.
Dr. Robert Melamede, Cannabis Science President and CEO, observed, "It
is clear that many veterans are already using herbal cannabis to
self-medicate to relieve the symptoms of PTSD. Consequently, there is a
clear need for standardized, FDA approved, oral cannabis products which
can, and should be, provided to veterans and others who can benefit from
its use. Medical cannabis has far fewer and milder side effects than
most currently prescribed pharmaceutical products do. We are working
hard to have one or more products ready for FDA clinical trials as soon
as possible."
Dr. Melamede added, "It is shameful that the very people who have risked
their lives and sacrificed their health to defend our freedoms have to
break the law and risk their own freedom to use a safe medicine that
they find to be most effective for relieving their suffering due PTSD.
When we say that Cannabis Science Inc is a 'patient-oriented company',
we really mean it. We are helping to educate Americans about their
endocannabinoid system. It's time for Americans to speak out and listen
to what our veterans and other citizens are telling us. Cannabis is
medicine regardless of what some politicians say. Our goal is to provide
quality assured, FDA approved cannabis extract medicines in pharmacies
in every state in the union, and to have the medicine paid for by
government and private healthcare plans. I believe cannabis medicines
are the solution to our healthcare crisis"
cannabis company, is reviewing interim results of its survey from over
1400 people, US military veterans and others who responded to our PTSD
survey. The survey is still available for a limited time online on the
www.cannabisscience.com website for all those who still wish to
participate.
The survey was designed and conducted by Mitch Earleywine, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology at the State University of New York (Albany). Dr
Earleywine is also a member of the Cannabis Science Inc. Scientific
Advisory Board. The survey results will be made public as soon as the
study has been completed.
Dr. Robert Melamede, Cannabis Science President and CEO, observed, "It
is clear that many veterans are already using herbal cannabis to
self-medicate to relieve the symptoms of PTSD. Consequently, there is a
clear need for standardized, FDA approved, oral cannabis products which
can, and should be, provided to veterans and others who can benefit from
its use. Medical cannabis has far fewer and milder side effects than
most currently prescribed pharmaceutical products do. We are working
hard to have one or more products ready for FDA clinical trials as soon
as possible."
Dr. Melamede added, "It is shameful that the very people who have risked
their lives and sacrificed their health to defend our freedoms have to
break the law and risk their own freedom to use a safe medicine that
they find to be most effective for relieving their suffering due PTSD.
When we say that Cannabis Science Inc is a 'patient-oriented company',
we really mean it. We are helping to educate Americans about their
endocannabinoid system. It's time for Americans to speak out and listen
to what our veterans and other citizens are telling us. Cannabis is
medicine regardless of what some politicians say. Our goal is to provide
quality assured, FDA approved cannabis extract medicines in pharmacies
in every state in the union, and to have the medicine paid for by
government and private healthcare plans. I believe cannabis medicines
are the solution to our healthcare crisis"
Monday, February 8, 2010
Kevin Riordan: Law disappoints the Weedman
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.
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.
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.
Pot Shots Obama's Mixed Messages on Marijuana
Two days after Barack Obama became President, DEA agents led a raid on a
South Lake Tahoe dispensary run by a wheelchair-bound entrepreneur named
Ken Estes. They seized about five pounds of cannabis and a few thousands
dollars. They arrested no one. "It was a typical rip-and-run" said a
friend who had spoken with Estes.
In years past, when dispensaries run by Estes had been closed by law
enforcement, activists would tsk-tsk about the looseness of his
management style, as if Estes had drawn the heat on himself. This time
Ol' Ken was seen as a brave, tax-paying victim and scorn was
directed at the DEA for ignoring Obama's alleged promise to end such
raids. A few verbal militants blamed the new President himself for not
seeing to it that his "promise" was kept from the day he took
office.
What, if anything, has Obama promised with respect to the marijuana
laws? A message posted on the Obama for America website after Nov. 4
disparaged DEA raids on dispensaries, but the syntax is garbled, the
objection is to individual patients getting arrested, and the authorship
is anonymous and unofficial: "Many states have laws that condone medical
marijuana, but the Bush Administration is using federal drug enforcement
agents to raid these facilities and arrest seriously ill people.
Focusing scarce law enforcement resources on these patients who pose no
threat while many violent and highly dangerous drug traffickers are at
large makes no sense. Senator Obama will not continue the Bush policy
when he is president."
On the campaign trail when Obama was asked by a Willamette Week
reporter, "Would you stop the DEA's raids on Oregon medical marijuana
growers?" he replied, "I would because I think our federal agents have
better things to do, like catching criminals and preventing terrorism.
The way I want to approach the issue of medical marijuana is to base it
on science, and if there is sound science that supports the use of
medical marijuana and if it is controlled and prescribed in a way that
other medicine is prescribed, then it's something that I think we should
consider."
In March 2008, also in Oregon (where a primary win would give him the
nomination), Obama told Gary Nelson of the Medford Mail Tribune:
"When it comes to medical marijuana, I have more of a practical view
than anything else. My attitude is that if it's an issue of doctors
prescribing medical marijuana as a treatment for glaucoma or as a cancer
treatment, I think that should be appropriate because there really is no
difference between that and a doctor prescribing morphine or anything
else.
"I think there are legitimate concerns in not wanting to allow
people to grow their own or start setting up mom and pop shops because
at that point it becomes fairly difficult to regulate. [Obama must have
gotten input from parties that don't like the way cannabis is produced
and distributed in Oregon, California and the other mmj states.]
"Again, I'm not familiar with all the details of the initiative that
was passed [in Oregon] and what safeguards there were in place, but I
think the basic concept that using medical marijuana in the same way,
with the same controls as other drugs prescribed by doctors, I think
that's entirely appropriate...
"I would not punish doctors if it's prescribed in a way that is
appropriate. That may require some changes in federal law. I will tell
you that — I mean I want to be honest with you±whether I want to
use a whole lot of political capital on that issue when we're trying to
get health care passed or end the war in Iraq, the likelihood of that
being real high on my list is not likely... What I'm not going to be
doing is using Justice Department resources to try to circumvent state
laws on this issue simply because I want folks to be investigating
violent crimes and potential terrorism. We've got a lot of things for
our law enforcement officers to deal with."
Two Misleading Assumptions
Obama's comment about using his political capital to achieve more
important goals was said in a tone and accompanied by a smile that
conveyed, "This is a reality that you and I both understand..." But
it's a self-fulfilling reality that involves two misleading assumptions.
You and I and Barack Obama and Nelson of the Mail-Tribune know that the
polls consistently show 75-80% of the American people wanting the
marijuana laws to allow medical use. Relatively few voters woud be
alienated if the new President directed the DEA to respect the relevant
state laws --or if his Attorney General classified marijuana as
something other than a Schedule-1 drug. Those steps would not be
unpopular with the masses and taking them would only cost Obama
"political capital" if he's defining it as something other
than "popular support." So he must be referring to his
political capital vis-à-vis the corporate elites and a Congress that
does their bidding.
And why assume ending marijuana prohibition would be a less significant
political achievement than reforming the healthcare system or getting US
troops out of Iraq? Looking back at the changes effected in 1932,
ending alcohol prohibition doesn't seem trivial compared to the
public works projects and economic reforms instituted by FDR in response
to the depression.
If and when impediments to medical marijuana use are removed and the
American people begin to avail themselves of it en masse, the
pharmaceutical manufacturers will lose a third or more of their sales.
This unspoken consequence of legalizing medical marijuana is a
certainty. Want proof? Doctors who have monitored cannabis use by
hundreds of thousands of patients in California and Oregon can document
a consistent pattern of decreased use of pharmaceuticals –a 50%
reduction of opioid use, for example. Recall that the present depression
was precipitated by a small drop in housing prices. The demise of Big
Pharma would, in and of itself, impel healthcare reform.
Our prevailing "healthcare system" has been configured to
maximize drug-company profits, not the well-being of the American
people.
Ken Estes said it perfectly to KTVU's Patti Lee, who did a piece about
the raid that shut him down: "I know Obama's got really serious
issues. This is actually one of the serious issues…" The Jan. 22
raid in South Lake Tahoe might have been averted if drug-policy reform
lobbyists in Washington had clout with Obama's transition team. They
didn't. George Soros and Peter Lewis paid --millions in campaign
contributions-- but their operatives didn't get to "play…" Whether
the feds will continue to raid California growers and distributors
should be clarified when a new DEA Administrator is nominated by
Attorney General Eric Holder and appears before the Senate Judiciary
Committee chaired by Pat Leahy of Vermont.
Desperately Seeking Drug Czar
Former Biden aide Chris Putala —a former boyfriend of Anne
Coulter— is one of two transition team members in charge of finding
a new director for the Office of National Drug Control Policy, i.e.,
drug czar. On Inauguration Day the White House quietly named an acting
interim director — Ed Jurith, who has been ONDCP's chief
counsel since 1994. Jurith served as placeholder czar in the year-long
interregnum between Gen. Barry McCaffrey and John Walters. In the 1980s
Jurith helped draft the Anti-Drug Abuse Acts creating the ONDCP (and
mandatory minimums, and the sentencing disparity between crack and
powder cocaine, among other cruel provisions). Sen. Joe Biden sponsored
legislation creating the Acts.
The other transition teamer involved in the drug czar search is Dr. Don
Vereen, a former ONDCP functionary who has expressed disdain for doctors
who approve cannabis use.
Nor one of the reform lobbies –not NORML, Americans for Safe Access,
the Drug Policy Alliance, or the Marijuana Policy Project— has
called for abolishing the Drug Czar's office and putting drug policy
under the Surgeon General, where it belongs. Their honchos will all say
privately that they agree, of course, that the Drug Czar's office
has done nothing but spread Prohibitionist propaganda from its
inception. But calling for its abolition would cost them their coveted
–and illusory—"seat at the table."
South Lake Tahoe dispensary run by a wheelchair-bound entrepreneur named
Ken Estes. They seized about five pounds of cannabis and a few thousands
dollars. They arrested no one. "It was a typical rip-and-run" said a
friend who had spoken with Estes.
In years past, when dispensaries run by Estes had been closed by law
enforcement, activists would tsk-tsk about the looseness of his
management style, as if Estes had drawn the heat on himself. This time
Ol' Ken was seen as a brave, tax-paying victim and scorn was
directed at the DEA for ignoring Obama's alleged promise to end such
raids. A few verbal militants blamed the new President himself for not
seeing to it that his "promise" was kept from the day he took
office.
What, if anything, has Obama promised with respect to the marijuana
laws? A message posted on the Obama for America website after Nov. 4
disparaged DEA raids on dispensaries, but the syntax is garbled, the
objection is to individual patients getting arrested, and the authorship
is anonymous and unofficial: "Many states have laws that condone medical
marijuana, but the Bush Administration is using federal drug enforcement
agents to raid these facilities and arrest seriously ill people.
Focusing scarce law enforcement resources on these patients who pose no
threat while many violent and highly dangerous drug traffickers are at
large makes no sense. Senator Obama will not continue the Bush policy
when he is president."
On the campaign trail when Obama was asked by a Willamette Week
reporter, "Would you stop the DEA's raids on Oregon medical marijuana
growers?" he replied, "I would because I think our federal agents have
better things to do, like catching criminals and preventing terrorism.
The way I want to approach the issue of medical marijuana is to base it
on science, and if there is sound science that supports the use of
medical marijuana and if it is controlled and prescribed in a way that
other medicine is prescribed, then it's something that I think we should
consider."
In March 2008, also in Oregon (where a primary win would give him the
nomination), Obama told Gary Nelson of the Medford Mail Tribune:
"When it comes to medical marijuana, I have more of a practical view
than anything else. My attitude is that if it's an issue of doctors
prescribing medical marijuana as a treatment for glaucoma or as a cancer
treatment, I think that should be appropriate because there really is no
difference between that and a doctor prescribing morphine or anything
else.
"I think there are legitimate concerns in not wanting to allow
people to grow their own or start setting up mom and pop shops because
at that point it becomes fairly difficult to regulate. [Obama must have
gotten input from parties that don't like the way cannabis is produced
and distributed in Oregon, California and the other mmj states.]
"Again, I'm not familiar with all the details of the initiative that
was passed [in Oregon] and what safeguards there were in place, but I
think the basic concept that using medical marijuana in the same way,
with the same controls as other drugs prescribed by doctors, I think
that's entirely appropriate...
"I would not punish doctors if it's prescribed in a way that is
appropriate. That may require some changes in federal law. I will tell
you that — I mean I want to be honest with you±whether I want to
use a whole lot of political capital on that issue when we're trying to
get health care passed or end the war in Iraq, the likelihood of that
being real high on my list is not likely... What I'm not going to be
doing is using Justice Department resources to try to circumvent state
laws on this issue simply because I want folks to be investigating
violent crimes and potential terrorism. We've got a lot of things for
our law enforcement officers to deal with."
Two Misleading Assumptions
Obama's comment about using his political capital to achieve more
important goals was said in a tone and accompanied by a smile that
conveyed, "This is a reality that you and I both understand..." But
it's a self-fulfilling reality that involves two misleading assumptions.
You and I and Barack Obama and Nelson of the Mail-Tribune know that the
polls consistently show 75-80% of the American people wanting the
marijuana laws to allow medical use. Relatively few voters woud be
alienated if the new President directed the DEA to respect the relevant
state laws --or if his Attorney General classified marijuana as
something other than a Schedule-1 drug. Those steps would not be
unpopular with the masses and taking them would only cost Obama
"political capital" if he's defining it as something other
than "popular support." So he must be referring to his
political capital vis-à-vis the corporate elites and a Congress that
does their bidding.
And why assume ending marijuana prohibition would be a less significant
political achievement than reforming the healthcare system or getting US
troops out of Iraq? Looking back at the changes effected in 1932,
ending alcohol prohibition doesn't seem trivial compared to the
public works projects and economic reforms instituted by FDR in response
to the depression.
If and when impediments to medical marijuana use are removed and the
American people begin to avail themselves of it en masse, the
pharmaceutical manufacturers will lose a third or more of their sales.
This unspoken consequence of legalizing medical marijuana is a
certainty. Want proof? Doctors who have monitored cannabis use by
hundreds of thousands of patients in California and Oregon can document
a consistent pattern of decreased use of pharmaceuticals –a 50%
reduction of opioid use, for example. Recall that the present depression
was precipitated by a small drop in housing prices. The demise of Big
Pharma would, in and of itself, impel healthcare reform.
Our prevailing "healthcare system" has been configured to
maximize drug-company profits, not the well-being of the American
people.
Ken Estes said it perfectly to KTVU's Patti Lee, who did a piece about
the raid that shut him down: "I know Obama's got really serious
issues. This is actually one of the serious issues…" The Jan. 22
raid in South Lake Tahoe might have been averted if drug-policy reform
lobbyists in Washington had clout with Obama's transition team. They
didn't. George Soros and Peter Lewis paid --millions in campaign
contributions-- but their operatives didn't get to "play…" Whether
the feds will continue to raid California growers and distributors
should be clarified when a new DEA Administrator is nominated by
Attorney General Eric Holder and appears before the Senate Judiciary
Committee chaired by Pat Leahy of Vermont.
Desperately Seeking Drug Czar
Former Biden aide Chris Putala —a former boyfriend of Anne
Coulter— is one of two transition team members in charge of finding
a new director for the Office of National Drug Control Policy, i.e.,
drug czar. On Inauguration Day the White House quietly named an acting
interim director — Ed Jurith, who has been ONDCP's chief
counsel since 1994. Jurith served as placeholder czar in the year-long
interregnum between Gen. Barry McCaffrey and John Walters. In the 1980s
Jurith helped draft the Anti-Drug Abuse Acts creating the ONDCP (and
mandatory minimums, and the sentencing disparity between crack and
powder cocaine, among other cruel provisions). Sen. Joe Biden sponsored
legislation creating the Acts.
The other transition teamer involved in the drug czar search is Dr. Don
Vereen, a former ONDCP functionary who has expressed disdain for doctors
who approve cannabis use.
Nor one of the reform lobbies –not NORML, Americans for Safe Access,
the Drug Policy Alliance, or the Marijuana Policy Project— has
called for abolishing the Drug Czar's office and putting drug policy
under the Surgeon General, where it belongs. Their honchos will all say
privately that they agree, of course, that the Drug Czar's office
has done nothing but spread Prohibitionist propaganda from its
inception. But calling for its abolition would cost them their coveted
–and illusory—"seat at the table."
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Missouri lawmakers introduce medicinal marijuana bill
Missouri could become the next state to allow the use of medical
marijuana.
A new bill sponsored by Rep. Kate Meiners, D-Kansas City, proposed to
legalize marijuana use for medical purposes. The bill stated medical
marijuana should be prescribed for a debilitating medical condition such
as cancer, HIV, hepatitis C or Alzheimer's disease.
If passed, this legislation would outline a system for registration of
patients using marijuana for medical purposes, and it would require the
state Department of Health and Senior Services to keep a confidential
list of all patients with access to the drug.
Rep. Robert Schaaf, the lone Republican co-sponsoring the bill,
supported the use of medical marijuana because it costs less than other
forms of treatment and can be more effective.
"It's up to us to ensure that Missouri citizens don't get unfairly
prosecuted for providing something that's greatly needed by our sickest
patients," he said.
Schaaf, who was a medical professional for 25 years, said the primary
use of medicinal marijuana is to relieve nausea caused by chemotherapy.
"I can tell you that this would benefit a lot of people, but we really
need to have very strict controls to ensure that it doesn't open the
door to huge illegal use of the drug," Schaaf said.
Rep. Margo McNeil, D-St. Louis, decided to co-sponsor the bill because
of a constituent who wanted her cancerous mother to have legal access to
the plant that helped another relative in Colorado, a state that has
passed laws for the legal use of medical marijuana.
Although the bill has 16 co-sponsors, Schaaf said it would make it to
committee, let alone pass into law. He said he is not in favor of the
bill's language and many people don't understand the issue.
"I co-sponsored the bill in an effort to raise awareness and help
educate the public," Schaaf said.
McNeil also siad the bill will not pass this year. For it to succeed in
the future, she said the support of medical groups, as well as a
grassroots movement, would be needed.
"I think we need to have some discussion, and so having the bill out
there and allowing people to at least be introduced to the idea is a
good idea," she said.
MU National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, a campus
organization that advocates marijuana policy reform, also supports the
measure.
"Passage of this bill would finally allow doctors the choice to
recommend this safe drug to their patients," President Kellie Smith
said. "We believe that doctors should prescribe medicine, not
politicians."
This is an important issue people should be educated about and aware of,
she said.
"The important thing is that we are making progress, we are keeping the
argument alive, and letting people know that marijuana has medicinal
value," Smith said.
marijuana.
A new bill sponsored by Rep. Kate Meiners, D-Kansas City, proposed to
legalize marijuana use for medical purposes. The bill stated medical
marijuana should be prescribed for a debilitating medical condition such
as cancer, HIV, hepatitis C or Alzheimer's disease.
If passed, this legislation would outline a system for registration of
patients using marijuana for medical purposes, and it would require the
state Department of Health and Senior Services to keep a confidential
list of all patients with access to the drug.
Rep. Robert Schaaf, the lone Republican co-sponsoring the bill,
supported the use of medical marijuana because it costs less than other
forms of treatment and can be more effective.
"It's up to us to ensure that Missouri citizens don't get unfairly
prosecuted for providing something that's greatly needed by our sickest
patients," he said.
Schaaf, who was a medical professional for 25 years, said the primary
use of medicinal marijuana is to relieve nausea caused by chemotherapy.
"I can tell you that this would benefit a lot of people, but we really
need to have very strict controls to ensure that it doesn't open the
door to huge illegal use of the drug," Schaaf said.
Rep. Margo McNeil, D-St. Louis, decided to co-sponsor the bill because
of a constituent who wanted her cancerous mother to have legal access to
the plant that helped another relative in Colorado, a state that has
passed laws for the legal use of medical marijuana.
Although the bill has 16 co-sponsors, Schaaf said it would make it to
committee, let alone pass into law. He said he is not in favor of the
bill's language and many people don't understand the issue.
"I co-sponsored the bill in an effort to raise awareness and help
educate the public," Schaaf said.
McNeil also siad the bill will not pass this year. For it to succeed in
the future, she said the support of medical groups, as well as a
grassroots movement, would be needed.
"I think we need to have some discussion, and so having the bill out
there and allowing people to at least be introduced to the idea is a
good idea," she said.
MU National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, a campus
organization that advocates marijuana policy reform, also supports the
measure.
"Passage of this bill would finally allow doctors the choice to
recommend this safe drug to their patients," President Kellie Smith
said. "We believe that doctors should prescribe medicine, not
politicians."
This is an important issue people should be educated about and aware of,
she said.
"The important thing is that we are making progress, we are keeping the
argument alive, and letting people know that marijuana has medicinal
value," Smith said.
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