The U.S. vs Marijuana

The past few weeks have been a struggle in Los Angeles.  Over 15 years ago, the voters of the state of California went to the polls and voted to legalize marijuana for medicinal use.  Six years ago I moved to Los Angeles, having no idea that such a bill had passed.  It was crazy beginning to realize that every green cross on a building meant that inside pot was legally being sold.  I remember during Pres. W a few dispensaries being raided.  The typical protocol for the DEA was to raid a clinic, and confiscate all the marijuana and cash in the building.  This act would typically put most dispensaries out of business.  I remember people chastising the W administration for cracking down on state right.  In 2007 when Sen. Obama was running for president he made it clear that his policies would be different.  His administration would not prosecute or threaten dispensaries and patients that are following state laws of medicinal marijuana.

The original bill that legalized medicinal marijuana in California was the first of its kind.  The passage of this bill clearly illustrates the inefficiency of government to have long term vision and the ability to provide the proper framework for private enterprise.  In the summer of 2012, the City of Los Angeles decided to shut down all the dispensaries in the city (maybe the county, after 6 years I am still confused.  A tip to counties, don't name yourself after your biggest city, its confusing, see Chicago of Cook county for example of clarity).  Why was this?   Because the state, counties, and cities never bother to develop a strict legal framework for the distribution of medicinal marijuana.  The government is making very little money off the sale of medicinal marijuana.   In my mind, there is no reason to believe that a dispensary would file accurate taxes, as many only accept cash.  Every dispensary has a security guard on duty, ID check, and a verification system to clear all patients before allowing them to enter.  But the government is cut out.

Two weeks ago, shops started closing.  The DEA is shutting down dispensaries in Los Angeles left and right.  Within the last month over 70 have been shut down.  The biggest complaint is that the dispensaries are now beginning to profit off of the medical marijuana sold.  As a patient for several years, I can say these dispensaries are most definately making a profit.  So what?   The United States government protects Pfizer and other pharmaceuiticals comapanies' rights to profit off of their product, profits that are much larger than a dispensary on Sunset Blvd.   Why should it be legal for a pharmeceutical to not allow affordable AIDS medication to people all over the world, but it should be illegal for a person to treat their glaucoma, cancer pains, or anxiety with medication while accepting a marginal profit.  If Republicans want to talk about government takeover and destruction of free enterprise, their perfect case study rests in the medicinal marijuana battle in California.

Legal stores are being shut down.  Legal patients are being denied medication.  Why?   For what cause?  How does the nation strengthen itself by raiding medicinal marijuana clinics.

If a doctor is illegally issuing marijuana licenses, prosecute the doctor.   If a dispensary is operating illegally, shut it down.  But do not destroy a whole system of medical coverage because local government is too inept to develop legal frameworks to insure transparent and legal business.

Its tough being an ordinary citizen. I am not rich.  I don't get to have lunch with city politicians.  I have no doubt that the intention is to destroy all independant dispensary owners and growers in the state of California.  I am guessing in five years, marijauna will be cultivated by corporate enterprises.  The dready hippie that grows weed in Humboldt will find himslelf a $100K a year job with Philip Morris, being forced to grow marijuana that is not quite the best he/she could do, cut it with oregeno, and pack into 53' semi trailers destined for every Kaiser, Long's, and Von's pharmacy in the state.

Would you accept the government banning your availability to doctor recommended solutions?   The problem is not with the dispensaries, it with the local governments' inept ability to properly regulate them.  The people spoke, we decide our laws.  If the goverment can't regulate them, we need to elect new officials, not just let government squash popular support.

Some Things Must Be Said

We live in a world with an outrageous amount of stimuli.  Even if I try to remove myself from the constant audio and visual static that consumes our world I cannot.  Even more, I am left feeling defeated.  There are too many important happenings and situations occurring everyday, that I am disgusted by the amount of pop bullshit we feed to our loved ones on a daily basis.  I apologize for never seeing an episode of Mad Men or Dexter.  Removing television from my daily life was a step in the right direction, but with the added hours spent on the interweb, I cannot get around the static.

What is in life that is worth a damn then?  The Earth itself, the people that inhabit the Earth, and the experiences we have while on Earth.  Its not the TV show that matters, its the time spent with others while watching the show.  Its not about watching the History Channel and then talking out of your ass, its about seeking out those with first hand knowledge of events so that you can truly understand the magnitude of said events.

I am by no means the model citizen.  I struggle on a daily basis to find calmness amongst the chaos.  This is my way of focusing on what I feel is important so I can stay rooted.  There are plenty of distractions( such as the Shure headphones that just arrived in the mail today), but hopefully over time I can ignore them more successfully.