Reschedule Cannabis

The cost of medical marijuana is too high for patients. While I encourage medical marijuana dispensaries, I do however note that most people involved in these dispensaries are doing so only for proift and have no real desires to help medical marijuana patients at all.

Patients need to be allowed to grow their own marijuana and not just six plants. California allows a patient twelve (12) plants, and that still isn’t enough! In parts of California that have voted to raise the number of plants allowed, that number was raised to 99 plants! Why? Because it takes more than 6 plants to fulfill most medical marijuana users prescription.

Think of, or compare it to growing tomatoes. most people who grow tomatoes barely get a few tomatoes off the plant. marijuana grows very similar to tomato plants and most people who grow marijuana end up not getting much from the plant. This is often due to inadequate lighting or just the fact that most people are not the best with growing any kind of fruit or vegetable, and marijuana plants are no different.

BOULDER, Colo. — Boulder County Caregivers offers 16 glass jars of marijuana with names like Skinny Pineapple and Early Pearl Maui, priced at $375 to $420 an ounce. There are marijuana capsules and snacks made with cannabis butter, such as rice crispy treats.

Co-owner Jill Leigh urges customers to try a syrupy tincture she calls “the Advil of medical marijuana.” A drop under the tongue gives less of a high but the same pain relief as smoking, she says.

Leigh’s sales are legal — and taxed — under Colorado’s voter-approved medical marijuana law. Her marijuana dispensary and nearly 60 others serve a rapidly growing number of users with little oversight. Critics of the system say it’s prone to abuse and point to a growing number of younger patients. But a recent state effort to impose more controls failed.
More than 9,000 people are registered in Colorado to use medical marijuana with a doctor’s recommendation — up 2,000 in the past month.

The total is expected to rise to 15,000 by year’s end, according to the state health department, which blames the rapid increase on patient confidentiality guarantees and federal plans to stop raiding medical marijuana operations, which the U.S. government considers illegal.

Dispensaries are increasing the amount they charge and the rates of patients are increasing. Meaning, they are making more money than ever!

Meanwhile, the sick and dying, cannot afford to use marijuana that costs $375 an ounce! This is absurd prices based on the value of illegal street weed! We need to stand up for patients and stop standing up for profit!

A patient who uses cooked marijuana in its edible form, needs at least an ounce every couple of days. And at these prices, we are just making people rich and not really addressing patients pain or rights.

We need to stop letting these dispensaries make millions off dying people while basing their prices on illegal street value. Marijuana is cheap to grow, can grow very fast and yield a lot of medicine if grown properly - the prices these people are charging for medical marijuana seems as if they are selling gold!

I am glad to see dispensaries in the public, but I do not like seeing the amount of money they are making off people who can barely afford to live, let alone afford the cost of $400 an ounce, when they need at least 2 ounces a week.

Marijuana should be grown and given away, there should be large tracts of land designated to grow free pot for medical users who cannot grow their own, and stop restricting caregivers to small numbers of plants which keep the cost up! Let caregivers grow more plants and the price shall come down! If a caregiver wants to grow 500 plants to give weed away, we should allow it! Not restrict them to 10 plants which doesn’t fulfill a single patients prescription!

How come in one state a man is locked in prison, has his car taken away, his house taken away and loses his job because he is placed in prison for marijuana, while in another state men and women openly smoke marijuana in the street without fear of prosecution? How is this America? How is this fair to patients trying to relieve their symptoms using a safe and natural and most effective medicine for their ailment?? Answer that!

OAKLAND, California (CNN) — Richard Lee greets students, shopkeepers and tourists as he rolls his wheelchair down Broadway at the speed of a brisk jog, hailing them with, “Hi. How ya doin’?”

In this nine-block district of Oakland, California, called Oaksterdam, Lee is a celebrity.

Oaksterdam is Lee’s brainchild, a small pocket of urban renewal built on a thriving trade in medical marijuana. The district’s name comes from a marriage of Oakland and Amsterdam, a city in the Netherlands renowned for its easy attitude toward sex and drugs.

Lee is the founder of Oaksterdam University, which he describes as a trade school that specializes in all things marijuana: how to grow it, how to market it, how to consume it. The school, which has a curriculum, classes and teachers, claims 3,500 graduates.

Lee also owns a medical marijuana dispensary, a coffee house, a large indoor marijuana plantation, and a museum/store devoted to the cause of legalizing marijuana.

Marijuana is safer than alcohol, and they sell alcohol across the street from schools and churches and on all commercial streets that have liquor stores. Think of how many stores in your area sell alcohol, which is not even a drug, its a toxin!

“I really see this as following the history of alcohol. The way prohibition was repealed there,” Lee says, adding that he believes he is close to achieving his mission.

Lee is organizing a petition drive to place a marijuana legalization measure on the ballot in 2010, and he thinks the measure stands a good chance of being approved by voters.

It is far past time for Americans to stand up to the government regarding this incendieary topic. It is TIME TO LEGALIZE marijuana in the United States.

A recent California Field Poll showed that more than half the people in the state, where marijuana for medical use was approved more than a decade ago, would approve of decriminalizing pot.

The state’s faltering economy is one reason why. If legalized, marijuana could become California’s No. 1 cash crop. It could bring in an estimated $1 billion a year in state taxes.

Democratic State Assemblyman Tom Ammiano is spearheading a cannabis legalization bill in the California Assembly. He believes the state’s need to increase tax revenues will work in his bill’s favor.

“I think it’s a seductive part of the equation,” he says.

Ammiano says there are a number of ways legalized pot could be marketed, “It could be a Walgreens, it could be a hospital, a medical marijuana facility, whatever could be convenient. Adequate enforcement of the rules. Nobody under 21. No driving under the influence.”

Even California’s Republican governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, says legalizing marijuana deserves serious consideration.

“I think we ought to study very carefully what other countries are doing that have legalized marijuana,” Schwarzenegger says.

But Ammiano says selling a legalized marijuana bill to his fellow legislators remains a delicate matter.

Delicate matter yes, but should it be allowed to those who do not feel pain everyday to decide? Should people who think “pot is bad” be able to dictate whether it has medicinal qualities or not? Fact is, marijuana has been a medicine for thousands of years, and for anyone to state otherwise is insane.

Nonviolent medical marijuana users are being arrested and thrown in jail, costing states and cities millions and millions of dollars, while drunks walk the streets free and able to get their alcohol on every street in America. Not only is this unjust, it says something about the compassion of American’s towards the ill in this land.

There are 24-hour bars, and 24 hour liquor stores in this country, but somehow police and politicians feel threatened about a medical facility that forces patients to produce a doctor’s recommendation for a medicine that helps them? Absurd! Patients must pay to see a doctor, pay to have the state issued medical marijuana card before getting access to their medicine… however, underage teens need look no further than next to the milk in the fridge to get ahold of dad’s beer.

Children drink alcohol taken from liquor cabinets and fridges every single day in America. Marijuana is much more regulated and in states like California, teen marijuana use has DECLINED since medical marijuana has become so popular and less of it is being sold illegally on the street considering so many patients have now become legal, law abiding pot smokers. Unlike liquor stores that sell alcohol to underage kids every day in America, medical marijuana dispensaries are ran like pharmacies and have security guards and one does not get their medicine until ID and doctor recommendation, or state issued card is shown!

See through their smoke screen, yes, it is time to legalize. Not tomorrow, TODAY!

It comes as no suprise that those people who use marijuana in America are also very welcoming to legalizing it, taxing it, and regulating it similar to the way we do all other drugs they sell on every street in America… alcohol.

OAKLAND, Calif. — Perhaps only in the sometimes hazy world of medical marijuana could higher taxes be considered good news.

But sure enough, supporters of medical marijuana were pleasantly pleased Wednesday after Oakland voters overwhelmingly approved a huge tax increase — 15 times the former rate — on sales at the city’s handful of permitted medical marijuana dispensaries.

Believed to be the first of its kind, Measure F received nearly 80 percent of the vote, a landslide that pot professionals hailed as a significant step in the legitimization of the cannabis industry.

“It’s one more victory in a big war,” said Richard Lee, president of Oaksterdam University, a downtown storefront where the aroma of marijuana pervades the sidewalk. “It’s a lot better than being arrested and thrown in jail.”

read the bold again… yes, paying taxes on something that any responsible adult should be able to do in the privacy of his/her own home instead of being thrown in jail for a marijuana joint is of course a better situation. By taxing marijuana and allowing citizens to use it, the city can raise funds instead of spending funds arresting people…. doh. Imagine that, silly politicians had it wrong all the time.

Medical marijuana has been legal in California since 1996, but its dispensaries and their proprietors have periodically faced crackdowns from federal authorities who do not recognize the state law, which was passed as Proposition 215. Supporters of the drug’s medical use have been cheered, however, by recent remarks from Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. that those abiding by state law will not be made a target by federal agents.

California, whose $26 billion budget crisis has dispirited many residents, has toyed with the idea of legalizing marijuana, with a bill that would legalize and tax the drug scheduled to be taken up by the Assembly later this year. The dispensaries already pay some $18 million a year in state sales tax, according to the Board of Equalization.

Laura Thomas, deputy state director for the Drug Policy Alliance in San Francisco, which lobbies for changes in drug policy, said the recession was forcing many states to consider “untouchable topics” as potential revenue streams. “In hard budget times people are willing to be more creative,” Ms. Thomas said.

Who would’ve though, the crooks on Wall Street who’ve messed up this country for decades by bankrupting the entire real estate system and forcing thousands and thousands of families out on the street, would have actually been what will help Americans get legal pot.

It is time for citiezns of America to stand up and demand access to legal marijuana in EVERY STATE, not just the ones lucky enough to have open minded politicians in charge. Too many states are not left with dying patients suffering, while people in California, Oregon and other states have access to medicine that we simply do not and if we use it, are throwin in jail and forced into criminal system when all we are trying to do is relieve our daily pain.

In Oakland, Measure F raises the tax on “gross receipts” at a handful of dispensaries to $18 per $1,000 worth of goods sold, and is expected to raise about $300,000 in new taxes. That is not much money — the city just closed an $83 million budget gap — but even so, a spokesman for Mayor Ron Dellums said the mayor was grateful for “all measures that will help with our budget situation.”

For Mr. Lee, who plans to introduce a ballot measure this week — with an eye toward getting it on the ballot in 2010 — seeking to legalize personal, nonmedical use of the drug, the election victory means he would pay about $42,000 more in taxes. Not that he minds.

“This tax,” he said, “is a lot cheaper than lawyers.”

By allowing citizens to pay their taxes on their medicine you remove them from being labeled a criminal, and until you are a patient trying to relieve pain and are labeled a criminal for doing so, you have no right to judge those of us with a condition that is aided by the use of safe, and natural cannabis medicine.

Bring it on, the time is now, continue to push and never relent.

People think only California has medical marijuana and this is simply not true.

I as talking to a relative from Colorado yesterday about medical marijuana and their response to my comments about medical marijuana programs was “well thats only in California.”

They were shocked to find out that their state had a medical marijuana program and it is actually growing exponentially and doing great!

As the hearing of a proposed Colorado medical marijuana ammendment kicked off this morning, Ron Hyman, registrar for the Colorado Department of Vital Statistics gave some insightful information about the state’s medical marijuana program. The rate of growth of the program is turning out to be more than the department can handle.

Currently, there are just over 9,000 registered medical marijuana patients in Colorado. The program has been growing at an average rate of 1,000 new patients per month. However, June showed a drastic increase to 2,000 patients. The registry receives up to 200 pieces of mail per day, and is scrambling to stay on top of all requests for information by phone, mail, and e-mail.

Such clear growth in the program seems to indicate incredible demand. Ron Hyman said about keeping up with the growth of the program, “we do have concerns about the future.” Some speculation about the growth is being related to the growth of other medical marijuana programs around the nation, the reputation of the program, and finally with political climate change on a federal level, according to Ron Hyman.

People must be informed about medical marijuana and its availability to citizens of states that maintain the program. California is far from the only place where medical marijuana is not only showing progress but doing so without increasing crime, addiction stats, or anything negative. Patients should be allowed to grow and buy medical marijuana, and programs like this prove that it can be done professionally and with compassion.

When asked how long the trend will continue to grow, Hyman indicated the tapering off of the program is not predicted to happen anytime soon. Hyman compared Colorado to Oregon in population, and then stated Oregon has over 30,000 registered medical marijuana patients.

With this information why would anyone think it is a good idea to limit the number of patients a caregiver can give provide for? If the demand for medicine continues to grow at the predicted level, who is going to provide this medicine? Imposing such extreme limitations will either create more crime, or create a society of caregivers.

Growing marijuana in the homes of sick people is not safer than having people who know what they are doing grow the medicine. In fact, expecting someone to care for a sick person and learn how to grow the medicine that person requires is a little much to ask from most people. If you cared for your sick parent or grandparent, would you want the responsibility of providing the only medicine that gives them relief? Talk about burdening the caregiver!

This is the number one reason we need dispensaries and collectives so patients who are too sick to grow their own can find it when they need it (marijuana) and not be forced to black market.

Forcing patients to buy marijuana from criminals is not the best way to go about this. Let patients grow and allow more medical marijuaan dispensaries.

As more and more states struggle with the cost of housing people in jail for smoking a joint or simple possession, hopefully, Americans and lawmakers alike look to California as shining example of how marijuana should be dealt with. First off, it was decriminalized in 1976, and in many states there are mandatory jail time for marijuana! How can America be so polar when it comes to state to state punishment for cannabis? It is far past time America change its laws regarding cannabis and use this wonderful plant to not only aid our medicinal needs, but to help raise fund to fight the problems we do have in this country!

Look at how Cali is handling things:

SAN FRANCISCO — A drug deal plays out, California-style:

A conservatively dressed courier drives a company-leased Smart Car to an apartment on a weekday afternoon. Erick Alvaro hands over a white paper bag to his 58-year-old customer, who inspects the bag to ensure that everything he ordered over the phone is there.

An eighth-ounce of organic marijuana buds for treating his seasonal allergies? Check. An eighth of a different strain for insomnia? Check. THC-infused lozenges and tea bags? Check and check, with a free herb-laced cookie thrown in as a thank-you gift.

It’s a $102 credit-card transaction carried out with the practiced efficiency of a home-delivered pizza — and with just about as much legal scrutiny.

More and more, having premium pot delivered to your door in California is not a crime. It is a legitimate business.

Since the state became the first to legalize the drug for medicinal use, the weed the federal government puts in the same category as heroin and cocaine has become a major economic force.

It is far past time America change its laws regarding cannabis and use this wonderful plant to not only aid our medicinal needs, but to help raise fund to fight the problems we do have in this country!

Based on the quantity of marijuana that authorities seized last year, the crop alone was worth an estimated $17 billion or more, dwarfing any other sector of the state’s agricultural economy.

And pot also props up local economies, mints millionaires and feeds a thriving industry of startups — stores that sell high-tech marijuana-growing equipment, pot clubs that pay rent and hire workers, chains of for-profit clinics that specialize in medical-marijuana recommendations.

Police officers need to be relieved of marijuana duty and be sent to patrol the rapes and murders that go on right under their nose while they chase a guy for a marijuana join, its pathetic excuse for justice if you ask me.

Patients and nonviolent people are thrown to the ground and treated like rapists for partaking in their own natural medicine or growing a safe and effective plant. However, real crimes continue while these police use up millions and millions of dollars to go after marijuana possession and overlook real crimes! meth use, teen pregnancy all rising rapidly, cops should stop worrying about arresting marijuana users and go do something more beneficial to society.

Still, some lawmakers are pushing for broader legalization as a way to shore up the finances of a state that has teetered on the edge of bankruptcy. The state’s top tax collector estimates that taxing marijuana like liquor could bring in more than $1.3 billion annually.

On Tuesday, Oakland will consider a measure to tax the city’s four marijuana dispensaries, which the city auditor projects will ring up $17.5 million in sales in 2010. The city faces an $83 million budget shortfall, and it expects the marijuana tax to raise $315,000.

The facts are in the numbers…

With a recent poll showing more than half of Californians supporting legalization, pot advocates believe they will prevail.

And they say other states will follow.

Tim Blake is the proprietor of a 145-acre spiritual-retreat center that holds an annual marijuana bud-growing contest in the heart of Northern California’s pot-growing country.

Politicians, he says, are “going to see the economic benefits, they’re going to see the health benefits and they’re going to jump on the bandwagon.”

We should NOT wait on states to follow, we need to RESCHEDULE CANNABIS at a federal level so states will no longer be able to still prosecute patients if they chose too. Folks in the Southern states will be forced to continue to suffer unjust persecution while citizens on the westcoast are treated with dignity and respect for being a medical marijuana patient. It is really a shame that America has become this divided, so its time we reschedule cannabis at the federal level.

California is always leading the way in regards to medical marijuana and trying to get the public to stand up to the tyrants opposing safe and effective use of cannabis as medicine.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A pro-marijuana group is launching another television bid to legalize pot in California — this time with the pitch that legalizing and taxing the drug could help solve the state’s massive budget deficit.

The 30-second spot, airing Wednesday and paid for by the Marijuana Policy Project, features a retired 58-year-old state worker who says state leaders “are ignoring millions of Californians who want to pay taxes.”

“We’re marijuana consumers,” says Nadene Herndon of Fair Oaks, who says she began using marijuana after suffering multiple strokes three years ago. “Instead of being treated like criminals for using a substance safer than alcohol, we want to pay our fair share.”

State lawmakers are bitterly debating how to close a $26.3 billion budget deficit that likely means cuts to state services.
In February, Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, introduced a bill to tax and regulate marijuana like alcohol. Bill supporters estimate the state’s pot industry could bring in more than $1 billion in taxes.

Some stations have refused to air the ad, which could lead to some legal issues…

The ad will air on several cable news channels and network broadcast affiliates in Los Angeles, Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay area, according to the Marijuana Policy Project.
The group said in a statement that three California stations — KABC-TV in Los Angeles, KGO-TV of San Francisco and KNTV-TV in San Jose — refused to air the ad.

Representatives from the three stations did not immediately return calls from The Associated Press seeking comment.
In an e-mail to the group, a KNTV account executive said the station’s standards department had rejected the ad.
Marijuana Policy Project spokesman Bruce Mirken said the ad was meant to promote conversation about the issues, not to encourage pot use.

“It was consciously unsensational,” Mirken said. “It’s time to talk about this, and we feel very frustrated that some of these stations have taken it upon themselves to stifle the discussion.”

Boycott these stations if you are a medical cannabis supporter or marijuana user!!!! Tune out and tune in to those who are on your side, not those who are trying to decide what medicine you should take and what is best for you.

When 58 year old people have the guts to stand up, it is the rest of our duty to stand along side her, not only in her defense and support, but to be counted and speak the truth on this issue with open minds, passionate heartfelt drive to promote the truth and end the tyranny and illegality of cannabis as medicine.

In a phone interview, Herndon said that before filming the ad, she had not told very many people about her marijuana use. But she said her concern over the state’s fiscal crisis and her support of medical marijuana led her to go public.

“I came out of the closet with this ad,” she said.
Herndon said she worked as a policy analyst for several state social services departments during a 38-year career.

I applaud her courage and stand beside her and all others with the courage to do so. Stand up, and be counted. Do not let tv stations decide whether the public deserves the right to hear open discussion about this topic!! Chances are its only because of their ties to alcohol ads and nothing to do with the commercial at all!