California Pot Party is over

[demosincebirth]

Half way through this experiment, after the passage of the prop 215, I knew that this is the way it would end eventually end up. It was the victim of it's own frivolity

By John Redman

When Californians passed the "Compassionate Use Act" - otherwise known as Proposition 215 - in 1996, most voters thought that it was reasonable to allow chronically ill patients to use marijuana without fear of arrest. And if those patients could not grow marijuana on their own, the initiative stipulated that patient caregivers could help to grow marijuana for their patients collectively or cooperatively for a patient's personal use. Those descriptive words were adverbs not nouns. That is an important distinction that advocates disregarded. Flagrantly violating both the law and common sense, for-profit "collectives" - smartly renamed "compassion centers" - spread like wildfire throughout the state.

But there are some major signs that the pot party is over.

Last week, the Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to shut all medical marijuana stores after hearing from residents outraged by the fact that they were bombarded by shady dispensary owners and wafting marijuana smoke at all hours of the day. Immediately afterward, all four federal judicial districts in California announced that federal judges had dismissed lawsuits this year advocating for dispensaries.

Marijuana advocates have overplayed their hand. Though the medical profession has largely rejected smoked marijuana as medicine because it has not passed FDA muster, a handful of unscrupulous doctors and dispensary owners have made millions of dollars in the name of compassion off of the sick and dying. They have been trying to fit a square peg in a round hole, and not only has it not worked - it has made many of us angry.

A recent California study found that most people use marijuana medically to help with pain, sleep and relaxation. Another study found that less than 3 percent of people using medical marijuana had a chronic disease like cancer or AIDS. The average medical marijuana card holder in California is a 32-year-old white male with a history of alcohol and marijuana use.

That is why it should not surprise anyone that U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag in San Francisco moved to shut down the biggest granddaddy offender of them all: Harborside Health Center. Harborside is the antithesis of what was intended by voters, as it takes in million of dollars in sales every year and does nothing to ensure its product is safe or effective. Rather, its owner thinks that time is better spent on television evangelizing the cure-all wonders of pot.

http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/California-s-pot-party-is-over-3755525.php Try this one

[Scuba]

1. Now that's what I'd call a "fair and balanced" essay...

... in the finest tradition of the "fair and balanced" network.


"...the medical profession has largely rejected smoked marijuana as medicine because it has not passed FDA muster..."

"... a recent California study..."


Gotta love the credibility gap.

[frylock]

33. yeh, the same FDA that will approve drugs that end up killing people..

all hail the FDA! i wonder if the OP can provide stats for all marijuana-related deaths over the last decade?

[truedelphi]

60. Well, I for one can state unequivocally that

All my pot smoking friend that have died, have done so because of smoking:

[h2][font color=red]

CIGARETTES!!


[/h2][/font color=red]

Among the currently living pot smokers I know are a rocket scientist, a successful computer programmer, several lawyers, and several college professors.

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. I guess some of our fringe docs include the UCSD oncology department

Kaiser Permamente and Sharp Health Care, among other fringe institutions, locally.

Do I really need this?

[demosincebirth]

7. I agree with you, but did you read the whole article? I have personally seen the frivolous and

cavalier attitude that goes on at those "medical dispensaries." Initially I believed in the medical pot dispensaries for years until I visited a number of them and that's when I said to myself, these are not going to last very long. The last couple of sentences of the article is exactly what I saw.

[nadinbrzezinski]

22. And then you have the gold standard

which the US Justice Dept went after, here in San Diego, where they tracked all from seed to patient.

[Dkc05]

3. Need to have nationwide usage

This should be a standard to allow access nationwide under Health Care.

[demosincebirth]

20. You are dreaming, you know.

[datasuspect]

4. somebody has to keep the cops in business

that's all prohibition is about: keeping cops in business and making sure they get plenty of nice toys.

[demosincebirth]

8. Really?

[Fumesucker]

25. Well, there is the drug testing industry, the prison industry, the legal profession...

All of which have greatly enhanced income thanks to the drug war..

[byeya]

36. And don't forget, the War On Drugs is a big part of the foreign policy of the country

which supports anti-democratic regimes.

[sabrina 1]

38. Yes, really and the privatized prison system and the Pharma Corps and then there are the

wonderful slush funds drugs create for our 'intelligence' orgs. Think of all the jobs that would be lost if MJ was ever legal? Not to mention all the guns that have been sold to the Drug Cartels protecting their 'property'.

Once the money started flowing in, there was never a chance of them giving up easily.

In the end, everything can be traced back to the money.

Anyone who thinks any of this is out of concern for the people, probably believes in the Tooth Fairy also.

When the drug laws finally end, it won't be because the US ended them, it will be because other countries grow tired of the violence caused by Prohibition and their cooperation with the phony US War on Drugs and they finally stop cooperating.

[nadinbrzezinski]

54. You mean like it is happening in South America?

[sabrina 1]

62. Yes, it is beginning to happen in S. America.

[demosincebirth]

65. Wow. And all of this has been going on exactly like you say and I haven't read about it?

[Comrade Grumpy]

5. I disagree. The tacky capitalism of the neon pot leaves...

...incites reactions like those of the grouch above, but also ensures that dispensaries are not going away. There is too much money to be made, too many taxes to be paid. Harborside, which the author libels ("does nothing to ensure its product is safe or effective" when it in fact tests everything it sells), provided $1 million in tax revenues to the city of Oakland last year and $2 million to the state of California. Harborside is Oakland's second largest corporate tax payer.

Marijuana is responsible for two-thirds of the economy in Mendocino County, and probably Humboldt, as well. It will continue to do so whether there is a legal market or not, but while hundreds of dispensaries have been forced to close, there are still more than a thousand in the state.

As for the LA dispensary ban, we'll have to see what happens. I suspect it's too late to put the genie back in the bottle.

[cbayer]

6. I disagree that the medical profession has largely rejected smoked marijuana as medicine,

the rest of the article rings very true.

California blew it, imo. By not enforcing the law, they allowed things to get totally out of control.

Everyone has a card. The majority of dispensaries are selling MJ for recreational use. It's become a joke and hurt the cause of legalization more than it helped it, imo.

That's a shame.

[demosincebirth]

9. You must have read the whole article without rose colored glasses

[cbayer]

10. I also predicted this early on.

Same thing is happening in Colorado.

My son, who was a fully legal grower, got out of the business because of what was happening.

Hopefully a few more states will either do this right for MMJ or pass laws that legalize recreational MJ.

But California and Colorado did neither.

[Comrade Grumpy]

15. Those dispensaries in Colorado are all operating in compliance with state law.

The state-registered patients who use them have all been approved by doctors. What's the problem? Seriously.

And speaking of Colorado, I hope voters there will vote to legalize it in November, along with voters in Washington and Oregon. Then we can start taking this to the next level.

And medical marijuana cultivation in Colorado is very tightly regulated. Maybe that's why your son got out?

[cbayer]

17. I happen to know quite a few of the "state-registered patients... who have been approved by doctors"

With only a few exceptions, not a one meets the criteria outlined in the law for MMJ. It's a joke and everyone knows it.

I also hope they vote to legalize it in Colorado The growers are tightly controlled in Colorado because of the abuse of the system. When it was reported that there were more dispensaries than Starbucks in Denver, they began clamping down.

Also, the market was flooded with primo product.

[Comrade Grumpy]

27. There are 99,000 registered patients in Colorado. How many do you know?

If they are registered, it's because they went to a doctor and got a recommendation within state law. That's no joke; that's the law.

My response to all this concern about medical marijuana is so what? What skin off my nose is it if someone can buy pot at a store instead of in an alley? I, too, hope they vote to legalize it in Colorado, and Washington, and Oregon. I will be in Denver on election night to cover it.

Let me recommend: "Pot, Inc.: Inside Medical Marijuana, America's Most Outlaw Industry," published this year by Denver-based journalist Greg Campbell. The book is about his experiences in what he calls the Colorado Green Rush of 2009 and 2010. He went in as an open-minded skeptic about medical marijuana, but came out a believer, and a believer in legalization.

[cbayer]

29. You are preaching to the choir. I am an advocate for full legalization, but California

and Colorado blew it.

Been to Venice Beach? $200 and breathing is all it takes, as the article states. There was an opportunity here to kick down this door. Instead it's being slammed shut.

[demosincebirth]

43. A picture worth a thousand words

[Panasonic]

52. I do have a legitimate chronic back pain

I really do not appreciate being called a joke.

One of my favorite dispensaries was shut down, relocated a few miles south of me, and is back with a new name, but it's still the same dispensary I go to, because the people I know for the last two years have been exceptional and knowledgeable about my ailments and know what to get for me.

When I broke my foot, they delivered for me when I could not drive. You can't ask for much more than that and feels like a part of a family to me.

[cbayer]

61. I'm not calling you a joke. There are lots of legitimate patients in the program.

You should be angrier about this than anyone. It's the doctors, dispensaries and "patients" who abused the system who created the problem you now have.

[Panasonic]

64. I'm not happy about the clampdowns

because it forced a few of the dispensaries to move away from a school zone area.

Where in the law does it say 1,000 feet?

Hell, there is a liquor store across the street from a school. Where's the 1,000 feet zone?

[demosincebirth]

18. What's the problem? I guess you didn't read the whole article. Colorado's time will come too. Calif

has 40 million people. How many dispensaries do you think California had? You can't even imagine.

[Comrade Grumpy]

28. California had about 2,000 dispensaries at its peak...

...but nobody knows for sure because some just opened up without permits or anything.

I read the whole article, a bunch of wishful thinking by an anti-drug zealot.

What's your problem? Are you concerned that too many people are gaining access to marijuana through medical marijuana? Are you concerned about the evident hypocrisy of healthy-appearing people using medical marijuana (and how do you tell by appearance what diseases or conditions someone has?)? Or do you just side with Mr. Redman the zealot in his antipathy for weed?

[demosincebirth]

40. Wishful thinking -- where are your facts and fugures?

[Comrade Grumpy]

12. Part of the problem is that NOBODY knows what the law is.

There's a case before the state Supreme Court that might provide some clarity (Pack v. Long Beach), but as of now, it is unclear whether dispensaries can legally sell their product. Prop 215 was unclear on it, and the attempted legislative fix, SB 420, didn't resolve the issue, either. Some prosecutors interpret the law as allowing no sales, others don't.

Meanwhile, the state and various localities are enjoying the tax revenues. In one particularly bizarre case, the city of Vallejo voted to tax dispensaries at the same time its police department is busy raiding them.

[Ganja Ninja]

11. This is why general legalization is the only answer.

It has to become an industry like the brewing or distilling or tobacco industry. You have to have large corporate interests involved because it's just too easy to attack small suppliers and the pot smoker for horror of all horrors, smoking pot! (The dirty low life's.)

[Webster Green]

13. What a fucking pantload.

The US Attorneys who are ignoring the will of the voters are a bunch of fascist fucking pigs.

Please stop helping them to spread the dis-information.

The medical uses are numerous and valid. The "cure all wonders of pot" are truly amazing.

It never should have been illegal in the first place. This prohibition is absurd!

[Egalitarian Thug]

14. This thread, the replies and respondents, are so very telling.

It's a Pavlovian response.

[AndyTiedye]

16. Prop 215 Has Been Doing Exactly What the People Want It to Do

We did vote on it after all, and it passed by a large margin.
It has been in effect for over 15 years, and there has been no significant effort to repeal it.
Mr. Redman claims to speak for the voters, but he does not. This is who he does speak for:

John Redman is the executive director of Californians for Drug-Free Youth.

A recent California study found that most people use marijuana medically to help with pain, sleep and relaxation..

and with far fewer damaging side effects than most of what else one might be prescribed for those conditions.

Another study found that less than 3 percent of people using medical marijuana had a chronic disease like cancer or AIDS

Prop 215 does not say you have to have cancer or AIDS to qualify.

Though the medical profession has largely rejected smoked marijuana as medicine because it has not passed FDA muster

The FDA cannot approve it as long as the DEA refuses to reschedule it.

[demosincebirth]

19. Like the author said in his last two sentences. Paraphrasing: Calif pot dispensaries have become a

joke. You mention Pot Dispensaries to someone on the street and you get an eye roll or maybe a giggle.

[Webster Green]

21. That is unfortunate.

All pot stories have always generated giggles, especially by media. It is so discouraging (especially to cannabis activists) to witness all the lies (and giggles) that continue to keep pot taboo. Cannabis is arguably the most useful plant known to man, yet is is widely prohibited.

You seem to think that a history of alcohol abuse indicates that the medicinal user is gaming the system or something, however, using cannabis as an alternative to alcohol or hard drugs is a valid medical reason for it's recommendation. It is one of the numerous reasons I hold a valid medicinal users card in CA. The medicinal uses are many and varied, and there are more of them being discovered weekly.

It's old news that pot works great for helping with nausea and appetite loss associated with chemotherapy. I used it for that in 1978, and it really works great. It also works great for a lot of other ailments. doctors know it, and the voters of CA know it. That is why we voted for prop 215. We deserve to have access to cannabis, regardless of lying fascist right-wing US attorneys, as well as clueless local authorities, who are all defying the rights of the citizens of this state.

The schedule 1 status of cannabis on the federal register of drugs is fucking absurd. We demand that it be changed. Now!

[demosincebirth]

39. I agree that the people who really need it should be able to get it, but the abuse that happens

at these dispensaries is pretty obvious. And if you're an alcoholic or a drug addict in recovery you have no business in one of those dispensaries...that's pretty obvious.

The schedule 1 of cannabis I know nothing about, what it means, what it does or who it affects...that is not my concern. I am though, for the legalization of marijuana...just like tobacco.

[mick063]

50. If you are for legalization

Then the word "abuse" shouldn't even be in your vocabulary.

Let's just get past the medicinal farce and declare exactly what we want.

The end of prohibition. I want to use it for recreation.

Why can't we just collectively declare what we want instead of giving folks ammunition to tear our position apart? If we don't lie about it, there is no reason for folks to roll their eyes.

[Panasonic]

55. Hopefully the DEA will be ordered to remove it in October

when the case of ACA vs DEA et al goes up to the appeal courts in October.

Hopefully the justices will be wise enough to order it removed and refuse to stay the order while DEA appeals to the Supremes (and the Supremes reject the appeal from DEA, forcing DEA to move the cannabis from the schedule)

[frylock]

37. and now those eye rollers and gigglers will have to get their pot from the streets..

all the while rolling their eyes and giggling as they pay premium rates for shit weed.

[demosincebirth]

42. True, then, where do you put the blame at why the fed are doing this? To me, I could care less,

I gave up all the phoney excuses I used for years for drugging half of my life. And yes, pot was one of them. I just posted the article just for general information.

"Live and let live" is my motto in life

Peace.

[frylock]

47. no, what you posted was drug warrior propagandist bullshit..

and i'm real sorry that you fucked up half your life on drugs. many of us are able to use marijuana and alcohol in moderation, and we all manage to lead successfull, fulfilling lives.

[demosincebirth]

68. Hey, I'm just the messenger here, with some input. If you want to smoke your dope 24 hours a day

Last edited Sat Aug 4, 2012, 12:22 AM - Edit history (1)

and think you're cool that's your fucking business. You can get it at any street corner, as you well know. By the way, it's true, I spent my time in hell, you still haven't. I really don't care what others, including you, do with their lives, its none of my concern.
Peace.

[frylock]

72. 24 hours a day?

again, i'm sorry for you and your issues with addiction. i like to burn a couple hits in the evening. please don't project your experience onto me.

[hunter]

66. Your original post and further defense of it is just another kind of "phoney excuse..."

... another way of blaming the drugs and alcohol for your own problems.

This path won't take you where you want to go. What you've done here is not "Live and let live."

[demosincebirth]

70. You really don't know what the fuck you are talking about. I posted it for information in case it

hasn't registered in your brain, yet. If you don't like the article that's TS. Why are you still here kicking shit back and forth here? Check out another thread. By the way, being drug and alcohol free is not a problem I love it. If you want to do drugs or smoke pot...Knock yourself out. "Live and let live" that's my motto.

[demosincebirth]

44. It's their choice, isn't it?

[nadinbrzezinski]

45. So you are telling me that the choice for one particular patient

is for narcotics that do not work well, or street drugs?

Or the Ashtma patient that can actually breath better with a week formula going back to the 1850s?

Those are two very real examples.

Oh I forgot these two are dangerous I tell you, one is wheelchair bound, the other is hooked to an O2 tank,

[frylock]

48. no, it isn't a choice really..

but you knew that.

[mike_c]

23. that is why we need to simply legalize marijuana....

The truth is that it's a pretty harmless weed with some documented medicinal uses and a mild euphoric high that MANY people find pleasurable enough to risk legal exposure over. I mean, NO ONE is physically addicted to marijuana, yet millions of Americans risk jail to smoke it. It does them no harm. There is simply no logical reason to ban it. None.

[roody]

24. It is so easy to grow.

There is no need for big profit operations.

[flamingdem]

26. The growers screwed up by not supporting Prop. 19

because it would have cut into their profits.

[Trillo]

30. There seem to be a lot more chronic illnesses these days.

ADHD. CFIDS. Allergy increases, particularly to foods, but not limited to them.

Proposition 215 specifically mentioned certain chronic illnesses, such as arthritis as qualifying. Yet, this essay excerpt seems to define "chronic illness" as limited to AIDS or cancer. So, what are "chronic illnesses"?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronic_illness

A chronic condition is a human health condition or disease that is persistent or otherwise long-lasting in its effects.[1] The term chronic is usually applied when the course of the disease lasts for more than three months.[1] Common chronic diseases include arthritis, asthma, cancer, COPD, diabetes and HIV/AIDS, Back Pain.

In medicine, the opposite of chronic is acute. A chronic course is further distinguished from a recurrent course; recurrent diseases relapse repeatedly, with periods of remission in between.

Perhaps the author doesn't understand the meaning of chronic, particularly juxtaposed against acute.

[Bluenorthwest]

31. Many inaccurate statements by a well known warrior in the war on pot.

The tone and his choice of words are simply not suited to a discussion about medicine. The claim that anyone has ever claimed 'cure all wonders of pot' is just false and absurd rhetoric that indicates the author is not approaching the issue with any sort of respect. Even by his own suspect stats, he is speaking of thousands and thousands of people with cancer and AIDS, yet he mocks the notion of compassion for the sick being a part of this issue.
Really nasty as well as largely false.

[Bluenorthwest]

32. Here's a link to the text of the law, Prop 215, it is short, read it

and note how strained this editorial is in terms of framing of that law.
http://vote96.sos.ca.gov/bp/215text.htm

I like this part of the law, the part which State and Federal government ignored:
(C) To encourage the federal and state governments to implement a plan to provide for the safe and affordable distribution of marijuana to all patients in medical need of marijuana.

The idea was for there to be an official plan, which never got made, so people took it upon themselves. We the people and all that.

[nadinbrzezinski]

34. FYI, you know who Jonn Redman is right?

He is the head of CADFY...

I knew the name rang bells.

http://www.cadfy.org/

They are all but straight on this and have been fighting against the will of the people of California from word go. They are all but an organization that I would take seriously, and they are quite right wing.

[musiclawyer]

35. I'm registered there, so here is my comment:

And the purpose of this article is what? It's certainly in keeping with the steady trickle of propaganda in the major dailys lately trying to muddy the water again as 3 western states are on the cusp of full blown legalization and the CA Supreme Court is sitting on an appellate court case ( City of Lake Forest v Evergreen) that dares the court to reverse, making clear that that MM collectives can be ANYWHERE so long as cultivation takes place ONSITE. Yes, it's over-- for the boomer blue pill takers. The Millenials and gen xers have taken the red pill and know the anti-pot propaganda cold and realize it's been going on since big cotton and big chemical started it 60+ years ago. In short, the weed/and hemp will be legal all over the western states within 10 years. The healthy people won't have to feign sickness (and will like the revenue to boot) and the sick people won't have to go to a street dealer. You prohibitionists are fools of the highest in order, warmly snuggling with the Mexican drug cartels as you try to imagine this all away

[frylock]

41. well stated!

[slackmaster]

46. Compassionate use is a great concept, but it has become a complete farce

An acquaintance told me the story of how he got "The Card" which authorizes him to buy cannabis for personal use in California:

He went to a doctor's office. After waiting for a few minutes, a receptionist let him into a small room that had a chair and a little table.

On the table was a computer monitor. On the monitor was an image of a man, who introduced himself as the doctor. The appointment consisted of a video conference.

The doctor asked a few questions that led to the issue of difficulty sleeping. The doctor asked the patient if he had been prescribed any medication to aid with sleep. The patient said that he had, and gave the name of a common prescription drug.

The doctor asked if the patient had any unpleasant side effects with the medication. The patient said "Yes" and started to describe a symptom. The doctor cut him off and said "That's all I need. You can pick up your paperwork on the way out."

He paid $100 and was given the required paperwork.

I've observed people entering and leaving a clinic in my area (which is now closed.) Most of them are young and appear to be in good health.

All that said, I think it should be completely legal for adults to grow, possess, and use cannabis in private. Calling it "medical" is often nonsense. It does have legitimate medical uses. I know a few people who used it to help tolerate the bad effects of chemotherapy. But I think you shouldn't have to provide any kind of explanation for why you wish to use it.

[frylock]

49. i paid $30 for my renewal, and spent about 30 minutes discussing my chronic knee pain with a doctor

[Panasonic]

57. Good for you. My renewal is not up until November

and I do intend to renew it as my back and foot problems continue - and the foot HATES the winter because of the metal inside my foot which gives me a lot of pain.

[Le Taz Hot]

51. Since when did it become acceptable

to post right-wing propaganda on DU? This article is nothing but pablum.

[kestrel91316]

53. It's NOT over. Our dispensaries in Los Angeles are still open.

The author seems to have forgotten that the judicial process EXISTS. This will be tied up in lawsuits for years, and meanwhile we the people of CA already spoke at the ballot box.

Nobody is going to put this genie back in the bottle.

Now I'm gonna go make some more cannabis brownies and check on my plants on the balcony.

[Panasonic]

58. I know you're a vet...

and I just wonder how much vet techs make per year - thinking of changing careers if the gold thing doesn't pan out...

[nadinbrzezinski]

59. Here is what a rep from CADFY told me during a protest

counter protest.

The other side has said they are willing to go to SCOTUS. So the CADFY guys confidently predicted that supremacy will rule the day.

The other side is going over the largely free and liberal interpretation of Commerce.

In the end it is a fight of states rights versus federal rights... and yes, in the article I had to dumb this down to where a fifth grader could get it.

I still have all the crap in front of me. (In fact, using the legal brief, recycling it, to write down location of wild fires)

[demosincebirth]

63. Did you forget that, in this case, Federal law supersedes state law?

[nadinbrzezinski]

67. They are still fighting and it will indeed end up in the SCOTUS

And yes, it is supremacy and commerce... but hey, if you want to quote word for word CADFY, at least give them credit, will ya?

[musiclawyer]

56. Eventual legalization must address one thing

in connection with MM: Taxation.

If legal, most people who want recreational will not pay the fee of a doctor every year.

So I do think that medical retail needs to be separate from regular retail at least in the sense that the taxes should be far far lower for medical cannabis.

[demosincebirth]

71. Good point.

[Major Nikon]

69. I've been saying this all along. Medical MJ is not the path to legalization

There is absolutely no reason why a prescription should be required to buy pot. It should be fully legal to any adult who wants it and should be sold right alongside cigarettes at every outlet. Anything less invites even more pointless restrictions while sidelining any efforts to make it fully legal.