You know what Medical Marijuana has done for Oregon that NOBODY talks about?

[Boxerfan]

I'm a good & legit MM user. Fibromyalgia but I've also "bounced" on concrete & other hard surfaces many times in a youth well spent. Joint & muscle pain & spasms are all mediated well with very few side effects.

But unless your a local to the area you would never notice the side benefit.

The guerrilla illegal growers-especially the Mexican cartel growers have all left the state. Because there is no market for the product at the prices they need. Typical wholesale for herb is below $100.0 an Oz unless it is really special.

So the cartels all packed up shop & stopped the illegal grows. These grows cost taxpayers countless $ in cleanups. Also real environmental damage done by fertilizer & human waste & irrigation causing erosion etc. Not to mention the danger to those hiking etc..

So I'd prefer it was just legal for adult use. Leave it up to the local markets to establish rules & regulations for sale.

But even the harshest critic can not deny basic legalization solves some very basic problems-and promotes individual liberty not to be a slobbering drunk.

[liberal_at_heart]

1. If WA screws up its medical marijuana laws, my husband and I have talked about moving to OR.

[Boxerfan]

3. Actually I prefer how Washington is handling it...Just make it legal for adults

I have a friend who has been a manager at a group for years so that's where I get my inside info.

But I just had to update my MM card-its a yearly thing. This year I have a new Dr. so I get to explain it all over again-and she was not versed at all. Basically I told her besides all the medical reasons-I'm freaking 55 & have a right to self medicate with a benign substance in the privacy of my home if I damn well please. She sighed & signed the document...

I think its way past time to make it an State issue & thank goodness the federal view has become more tolerant.

[liberal_at_heart]

4. That's fine for you, but those who don't want to go to a recreational shop shouldn't have to.

The problem with how they are handling it is that there is no choice. They are forcing people into the recreational market so that certain people can profit from it. No home grows. No collective gardens. No access points. No specialists who know about endocannabinoids and the endocannabinoid system within the human body. No one who will know about CBDs or CBGs or which strain is best for which condition. And if you want to be exempt from the tax you have to register which they are handing straight over to the authorities. If people want to go to a recreational shop that's fine with me. We should all have the freedom to do as we chose. That is the point of legalization isn't it? We have a law in WA that regulates MMJ. We do not need to lump MMJ into I 502. The only reason to do so is so certain people will be able to put money in their pocket. Another issue that recreational laws do not address is the growing number of parents seeking medical cannabis for their children with the rare form of epilepsy, and all other minors who need medical cannabis.

[Boxerfan]

6. I was not aware of all that-I don't travel much

And I don't care for the clubs personally. Just get to hear about it when I get a visit.

I really prefer how we do it I guess. Keep it small & personal & nobody gives a fly. But we do have to register location & that does get shared with LEO. Doesn't bother me & I prefer being able to call the police if someone tried to nab my stash.

Hope they make it more citizen friendly -Good luck!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. I thought the Mexican cartel growers would leave if mariuana were legalized.

I am glad to see that they do.

[The Midway Rebel]

5. Finally!

A victory in the Drug War.

[Laelth]

11. +1. n/t

-Laelth

[Little Star]

38. Bingo.

[SunSeeker]

7. K & R

[Spitfire of ATJ]

8. Wow. Classic....

In the 80s and 90s you went to a liquor store and paid $3 for a twelve pack of soda, $6 for a twelve pack of beer and then you went to your guy and paid $25 for a quarter oz of buds and you were set for the party.

With inflation, I can see why they would give up.

[rhett o rick]

25. Wait just a sec. Something fishy about your story.

You telling us you didnt buy any Cheetos?

[Spitfire of ATJ]

31. Naw,...everyone was into nachos back then.

BTW: Helpful hint - Use chopsticks to eat Cheetos and your fingers (and your mouse and keyboard) remain clean.

[rhett o rick]

40. Ah yes, I remember, taco chips with cheeze whiz. nm

[Vestigial_Sister]

9. I can't wait...

to drive the I-5 corridor at 25 mph...

[adirondacker]

46. Isn't that the rush hour pace anyway? At least you can enjoy the ride. :)

[Hekate]

10. I'm amazed this is the first time I've read this.I've been saying forever that ending Prohibition...

... took a big bite out of the Mafia back in the day, as well as stopping ordinary citizens from being criminals just for drinking. Oregon's experience is exactly what I predicted.

Thank you so much for sharing. A big hallelujah from California.

[Fumesucker]

14. Possession and consumption of alcohol wasn't illegal during Prohibition

Manufacture, importation and sales were illegal.

[B Calm]

12. K&R

[RainDog]

13. Oh, don't be so sensible

there are minorities to target and prisons to fill...

[GiveMeFreedom]

15. I just entered hospice.

And have been using MM for about a year now. It works! I have les pain, eat, sleep and rest better. I dislike alcohol. There is a group were I live that gives free MM to hospice patients called "Collective Patient Resources". There theory is no one who is dying and wants to get high should not pay a dime for weed. Just got my first ounce from a grower and man is it to shelve. No trash weed but the best on the market, I am grateful, my MM bill was getting to $600 a month. Do not know if I am paying to much $55.00 an eighth. Anyway, saving money at this time in my life is kind of critical. Peace.

[mucifer]

17. That's too bad the hospice doesn't cover it the same way they

would cover IV morphine. If it's legal in your state, they should.

[Butterbean]

16. This is one of the HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE reasons I am so pro legalization.

You wanna stop the whole drug cartel mess without dumping thousands of money and bodies into a senseless "drug war?" Legalize it.

[bemildred]

18. Yes, no black market, no criminal gangs. Funny how that works. nt

[Blue Owl]

19. Breaking Good

[Wilms]

20. ^

[Comrade Grumpy]

21. THERE ARE NO MEXICAN CARTEL GROWERS. That is a myth pushed by the cops.

I challenge anyone to point me to a single prosecution of a "Mexican cartel" marijuana grow. The drug czar's office admitted a couple of years ago that they had no evidence of that.

There may well be Mexican or Mexican-American growers doing illegal grows in the woods, but being Mexican doesn't make you a cartel member any more than being Italian makes you a member of the mob. (I think there could be some back woods racism or xenophobia at play there as well.)

Don't swallow law enforcement propaganda. Next time a cop says a grow is a cartel grow, ask him how he knows.

I know white growers in Northern California who intentionally leave empty Mexican food containers around their grows to create false impressions.

[Brigid]

23. Actually, I hear that the best MJ comes from . . .

Last edited Fri Nov 15, 2013, 03:15 PM - Edit history (1)

The Appalachians. It has double the THC of MJ grown in Mexico, and the soil and climate are perfect. And the national forest land it is often grown on is free.

[Jesus Malverde]

27. I think California might disagree with that claim...

However the largest American marijuana trafficking organization came out of Kentucky.

70 descendants of the county's starving bootleggers would be arraigned in federal court under the RICO Act and charged with organizing the largest marijuana trafficking ring in U.S. history. The operation spread across 10 states, and had produced 182 tons of grade-A marijuana. Investigative journalist James Higdon tells their story in The Cornbread Mafia.

The man behind the enterprise was Johnny Boone. Born in neighboring Washington County, Boone was an agricultural whiz kid who won awards from the state 4-H program for the tobacco he grew as a teenager. By the time he reached young adulthood, he was a regular in Marion County saloons. Returning Vietnam vets exposed Boone to weed. While some locals were initially skittish about smoking herb, especially considering the condition of soldiers returning from the war zone, Boone loved it. By the mid-1970s, he was growing gourmet kush in the land of Maker's Mark bourbon.

Boone would eventually serve 15 years in federal prison, from 1988 to 2003. Shortly after his release, he was found to be growing yet again; he is currently on the run.

[Comrade Grumpy]

30. The Cornbread Mafia is a most excellent read. Really informative, good history.

I had several nice conversations with the author at the International Drug Reform Conference in Denver last month.

And Johnny Boone is still on the run.

[Brigid]

36. Boone is today's Lewis Redmond.

[Jesus Malverde]

39. interesting character.

http://vimeo.com/24856158

[Jesus Malverde]

45. Got my copy of the cornbread mafia today today...thanks Comrade!..nt

[KamaAina]

43. So would Hawai'i.

[Go Vols]

34. :)

We do fairly well.


http://cannacentral.com/news/what-us-state-produces-the-most-marijuana-per-person/

[Jesus Malverde]

24. Check out this 5000 plant grow in the Six Rivers National Forest

There, just inside the Humboldt Co. line in the Six Rivers National Forest, they captured one resident of Michoacan, Mexico with a loaded 9 mm semi-automatic handgun, and they eradicated 5266 marijuana plants.

The plants were small—one to four feet in height. The suspect, Andres Montes-Deoca, was young—only 21—but already he had been deported to Mexico once before. The site was old—it had been grown at least once before. In 2007, over 134,000 plants were cleared from the area. This was the largest bust ever in Humboldt County and, at the time, it took four days to clear the plants out.

http://lostcoastoutpost.com/2013/nov/13/wandering-wild-side-guerrilla-grow-gets-cleaned/

It could be la famila or La M or any other number of groups, either way this vato didn't cook up a million dollar 5000 plant grow on his own..

peace

[Comrade Grumpy]

29. I'm not saying there aren't huge, well-financed illicit grows. There are.

There is just zero evidence that the cartels are behind them. That's all loose talk from cops. They see a Mexican and they start screaming about cartels.

I know Mexican and Salvadoran guys who go up to Mendo every year. They get paid $20,000 a season. They aren't working for cartels, but for "a nice gringa lady."

[Jesus Malverde]

33. You "know" some interesting people...

I've heard what you describe as well.

Gonna get the cornbread mafia and give it a read.

Peace

[TeamPooka]

22. Prohibition is a failed public policy.Legalizing cannabis turns a money pool controlled by cartels..

into a revenue stream of taxes and jobs that benefit all citizens.

[Lint Head]

26. Oregon is also is great at football.

[OutNow]

32. Go Ducks!

[Lizzie Poppet]

37. Both kinds!

Go Timbers! And hurray for the Portland Thorns: 2012 NWSL champs!

Also: hurray for ending pot prohibition. Can't happen too soon...

[Vox Moi]

28. I have another take on this

The MM program in Oregon has become a barrier to outright legalization by creating vested interests who benefit from keeping it illegal.
The state gets $200 a year from each of the 40,000 or so MM patients.
The clinics get about $150 a year to certify and re-certify MM patients.
Designated growers can usually grow far more marijuana than a patient consumes and the rest is sold on the black market.
These interests are sitting on a cash cow.
It makes for great pot but it makes legalization less likely.

[Egnever]

35. Apparently it has made them lose their minds

or at least that is what this photo i saw on facebook leads me to believe.

[Uncle Joe]

41. Kicked and recommended for logical consequence.

Thanks for the thread, Boxerfan.

[cthulu2016]

42. If it is taxed high enough the black market will return

[awoke_in_2003]

44. Which is just another reason...

the Prison Industrial Complex is fighting it