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We watch, in distress, confusion, and resentment, the Obama Justice Department’s redoubled war on California’s Medical Marijuana laws and industry.
We recall clearly that this President and his Attorney General said they would respect the laws of California and other forward-looking states on this matter, and we sadly mark this down as yet another broken promise from a moderate President we would like to support. (Whose honesty many of us appreciated when he admitted to “smoking a little pot, doing a little blow” in his youth.)
We scratch our heads and wonder what new political, legal or medical considerations could underlie this about-face, with popular opinion trending evermore to legalization and with the California Medical Association recently coming out in support of our Medical Marijuana law.
We witness in dismay and outrage the persecution of businessmen, patients and dispensaries across our state, and marvel at the priorities placing this issue above the creation of jobs or the prosecution of Wall Street and big-bank bad actors who brought this whole economy to its knees.
We consider with relish the co-optation of feisty “states’ rights” attitude and rhetoric that has usually been the province of right-wing reactionaries and bigots.
We accept with amusement our new, temporary allies the National Rifle Association, who can’t help but combat the Feds’ new policy of stripping second amendment rights from medical marijuana users.
And we wonder, as a rebellious local political blog, what we could do to help fight back.
And when we hear the news that the Feds are now threatening publications with closure and jail time for merely printing advertisements for California’s beleaguered dispensaries, we realize what it is that we can do:
If any Orange County dispensary in compliance with California law
wishes to advertise on the Orange Juice Blog,
we will carry it for free.
(Contact Editor Vern at ChezVern@aol.com)
We realize that these dispensaries A) may not need any advertisement, and B) may in this new hostile legal climate be actually seeking to fly more under the radar… but the offer stands.
And we smile considering that, with no money changing hands, we are entirely within our First Amendment Rights to carry such advertisements. So go ahead DOJ – make our day.
I consider the Obama Admin to be a mixed bag, though I worked for him in 2008 and (given the alternatives) will support him in 2012. And I expected some of the disappointments we’ve seen. Taking on Wall Street, Big Pharma, the Health Care Racket, the Defense industry, the National Security state, and so on — these are difficult tasks for even the best President.
But the Administration’s record on cannabis is the one thing that I neither expected nor can comprehend. Is he being advised by Mexican drug cartels who want their high risk premiums? It defies understanding.
“Taking on Wall Street, Big Pharma, the Health Care Racket, the Defense industry, the National Security state, and so on — these are difficult tasks for even the best President.”………. Hmmmm
Obviously mal-opinion!
Wall Street got from Obama the TARP money close to a Trillion.
Health Care Racket Obama care = “Health Care Racket”
Defense industry Obama spent ore than any president on (militarism)
National Security state Obama reinstated the Patriot act after it expired.
Stupid people will always make stupid statements.
Obama is the best what could happen to this country to defeat the liberalism in 2012.
Boy, are you off-topic. Start talking about cannabis this instant.
P.S. TARP was passed under Bush.
And Obama voted for TARP.
As did many others. The idea that it was his initiative, though, is a lie. It came from Bush’s claque. (And McCain voted for it too.)
“Start talking about cannabis this instant.”…. Hmmmmm
Are you a moron or what?
You have raised the non cannabis crapola in your comment.
Obama greatly expended on the TARP plus pumped Billion$ into GM to save union jobs.
That wasn’t TARP. And we made money on the GM deal, which among other things prevented the destruction of Ford and other companies relying on the same parts suppliers.
Call it what you want but it was much more than Bush can even count.
After four years the economy is in Obama’s toilet.
And that is just a beginning.
” It defies understanding”
What part of Joe Biden as the one of the Democratic Party’s biggest Drug Warriors (next to DiFi) did you not understand in 2008? The selection of him on the ticket shows that his ilk is dictating the failed drug policies of the last 40 years. Or how about the nomination of Michelle Leonhart as the DEA Administrator? What did you not understand about that? But like a male version of Tammy Wynette you “stood by your man” with blinders on. Which is why I agree with my friend Duane Roberts. The two party system is a crock
Be careful what you wish for, Diamond. This is one issue (cannabis) that I know a lot about and will go toe to toe with you on. I happen to be one of the people that was pretty active on the Yes on 19 campaign and have been advocating cannaibis legalization long before it became the chic thing to do. (I came out in 1988 while Judge Gray became a legalization advocate in 1992) Guys like John Grace and many of the long term members of OC NORML were doing this activism longer than me, but unlike some people in the legalization community I don’t vote for people who advocate increasing funding for useless programs like D.A.R.E. or increasing the budgets of the DEA and our overseas interdiction efforts in places like Afghanistan, South America and Mexico. People like Boxer, Feinstein and irvine’s favorite mayor Sukhee Kang support this suff along with the Obama Administration.
It wasn’t until 2010 (in other words last year) that organizations like the DPOC and OCYD decided to put legalization support on their platform. I suppose being 40 years late is better than no support at all. However, the support we got from the Democratic Party members could be counted on one hand (Vern, Carl Weibel, John Grace and that nice bald doctor who really likes single payer health care and medical weed). [ED- that’s Dr. Bill. You should also include Gus Ayer, Mike & Melissa Fox, and … actually many others. You’d need fingers and toes and more, and that’s just in the OC.]
Wasn’t it the DPOC that decided to invite former Heidi Fleiss employee/ high priced escort Aspergillus Alexandra Datig to talk about the evils of cannabis and the potential of a growing mold epidemic if legalization were to become a reality? If memory serves me correct, Vern was there to see that Academy Award performance. I had the opportunity to brush shoulders with her at last September’s Prop 19 debate in Irvine.
So if you want to butt heads with someone who doesn’t pay lip service to this issue (unlike your allies in the DPOC and their pathetic knee jerk bobbleheads in the OCYD), be my guest.
Well, aren’t you essentially stating the obvious; that the politics (not to mention public support) on the issue has not shifted significantly enough for more politicians to embrace legalization?
It’s the same dynamic we see on gay marriage. Slow, steady progress. But overall, the politics are still challenging.
Yes, this is how politicians behave. Unfortunately.
Then why do you continue to support people who favor increased funding and increased enforcement of these Draconian laws? I asked two Beth Krom supporters that last year and one of the told me her brother had a profile on Weedmaps.com. (Whoopdedoo! So do I) The other one said there was a “secret plan” by the Democrats to usher in legalization. I think I do recall another “secret plan” that was bandied around in 1968 to end the Vietnam War. Guess how that worked out?
The common phrase I hear from some of these spineless Democrats is “oh, that’s disappointing.” But while they express their disappointment, they throw their support behind their party’s candidate with blinders on because they are “the lesser of two evils.” (By the way. Going to put up a real primary challenge against Drug Warrior DiFi? Didn’t think so.) Correct me if I am wrong, but a vote for evil is still a vote for evil right?
At least Vern, John Grace and a handful of people had the cajones to protest their own party’s stupidity on supporting endless wars, including the War on Drugs, among other stupid things. Here’s a hint, join or form another party.
I don’t know what more of a clue you need to know that the Administration that you stand behind and support with blinders on has no desire to reform our country’s drug laws and enact legalization. The VP nomination of the one of the biggest Drug Warriors in the Senate in 2008, GI Joe Biden? How about the nomination of Michelle Leonhart as DEA Administrator? Or how about the saber rattling that Attorney General Eric Holder did last year when it looked like Prop 19 had a chance of passing in California? Need more clues? I can throw a ton of them out there.
How do you feel about your slow and steady progress (inaction) resulting in the deaths of thousands of men, women and children here in the United States and in places like Latin America? You are so outraged that you throw your support behind people who continue to support escalating the Drug War among other “overseas contigency operations.” Your refusal to stand up and confront your own leaders with the hard truth of the War on Drugs will lead to more deaths, an increased prison population of people convicted of non violent acts and violations of civil liberties.
Slow and steady, eh? Don’t make me laugh!
If we legally change our electoral system so that it is not virtually assured that one of the two major parties will govern, something I favor, then my approach to activism would change. Until then, the choices we have are essentially Democratic leadership, Republican leadership, or revolution.
I doubt that revolution would work out as hoped. I doubt that Republican government would ever do what we want. So that leaves trying to whip the Democratic Party into shape to get the job done — which would not be easy, but is at least conceivable.
Do you have a better plan? You don’t, but let’s hear it anyway.
pot smokers can grow and smoke their own without reprisal.
It is the pusher man the fed’s are going after. And it is my opinion that these dispensaries are a front for the pusher man.
Cook, I believe you are correct. I am ALL FOR legalizing marijuana and taxing the profits for the betterment of our society, but as someone very familiar with “enforcing” the Compassionate Use Act (or the futility thereof), I am conversely appalled by how this law has been bastardized.
So called “medicinal marijuana,” and its resultant dispensaries, are an absolute farce. These dispensary operators are making ridiculous amounts of cash under the guise of the Compassionate Use Act. I am aware of search warrants where in excess of $500,000 in cash was seized. Doctors, employed by lay people (which is illegal), merely rubber-stamp recommendations for people who have hangovers, high heel pain, asthma or other conditions for which marijuana is contra-indicated, and they are paid handsomely to do so. The poor legitimate doctor who makes recommendations as a part of appropriate medical care cannot possibly compete. I would love to see a class action lawsuit for unfair business competition.
Frankly, I do not have huge problems with what the Feds are doing, despite my feelings about legalizing marijuana, because what’s happening is patently unfair to patients, unfair to doctors, and unfair to all California taxpayers. Cook is right – many, many dispensaries are nothing remotely different from a pusher. The original idea of the law was for a modest cooperative to grow and share marijuana among the people who suffered from serious ailments. I suppose our legislators are responsible for the joke it has become. The stuff needs to be legalized ASAP which will put the bad practitioners and the pushers out of business so we can all benefit from marijuana sales.
Your first comment doesn’t allow that many are not situated to grow a sufficient supply. It would make for a good guarantee though.
Your second comment contains the rub. The discriminatory view is that with few exceptions none of these people should be using the drug. That the exceptions created by medical marijuana laws should be denied the people wanting to use them as a defense or shield. That is not questioned for people being prescribed other medications, and thats the discrimination.
John,
When a patient is prescribed any drug (or recommended marijuana), a physician must (or should) do the following:
Conduct an appropriate prior exam
Make an appropriate diagnosis (have a legitimate medical indication for the rx/recommendation)
Prescribe or recommend whatever the best treatment is (maybe marijuana, maybe an NSAID, maybe physical therapy … if it’s always marijuana, that’s a sign of a problem…)
Provide informed consent
Maintain adequate and accurate medical records
Obtain consultations, as necessary
Follow up as necessary
This is required if a physician is prescribing vicodin, or an NSAID, or is recommending marijuana. There is no difference as far as standard of care is concerned. Cook’s point, I believe, is that this is not happening in the dispensaries. I agree with him and see no discrimination whatsoever in his observation. All I see is a whole lotta unsavory folks making a whole lot of coin.
Thanks Vern, its clear everyone needs to stand up to Fed excesses. The US Attorneys in CA (and a few other localities) are clearly intent on imposing Federal Law where State Law is different. They are bringing the full force and power of the Federal Government to compel the citizens abandon their pursuit of rights under ambiguous State Law. They are bringing in the IRS to audit and deny deductions. Denying First and Second Amendment rights with threatening letters to Gun Sellers and Publications demanding they do no business with the Cannabis Community. The current target is the Cannabis Laws. The current persecutors are DA’s like Steve Cooley, City Attorneys like Lake Forest’s Best, Best and Kreiger LLP, and beyond that it gets hard to paint a face on the opposition. Who are these who work to thwart State Law? Is there a group directing these actions? Who do they work for? What do they want?