Let the charades begin: Another "medical marijuana" measure is coming to the fall ballot.
Of course, the advocates insist that the sprawling legalized network of marijuana dispensaries envisioned by Initiative 28 is all about providing compassionate and convenient "medicine" to Oregonians who suffer from such things as glaucoma, nausea from cancer treatment and the wasting associated with HIV/AIDs.
Never mind that of the 36,380 Oregon "patients" who now hold cards that protect them from state prosecution for smoking marijuana, 534 reported suffering from glaucoma, while 32,614 checked the box for "severe pain" as one of their qualifying medical conditions. Anyone over the age of 18 with a doctor's note that says they can benefit from smoking marijuana can apply to the Oregon Health Division for a card.
We're not yet prepared to take a position on this or any other ballot measure on the fall ballot. Yes, there may be a compelling case to be made for giving Oregonians with legitimate medical needs more convenient access to marijuana. However, the whole wink-and-nod farce that has characterized the politics of medical marijuana has become downright offensive.
Frankly, we'd much rather have the kind of open, intellectually honest debate they're having now down in Oakland, Calif, where the City Council just voted 5-2 to license four huge marijuana farms of up to 100,000 square feet apiece, and plan to use the tax revenue to close a $83 million city deficit this year. At least Californians, who have already had the pleasant high of seeing marijuana dispensaries crowd into mini-malls and storefronts in communities all across their states, are having an honest-to-goodness vote in November on legalizing recreational use of marijuana.
After all, that's what this is about. Forget the euphemisms -- what after all, is a "dispensary" anyway? It's a store the state legally entitles to sell pot. What's going on here is nothing more or less than a backdoor effort to expand marijuana use while dancing gingerly around federal law that still prohibits the production, distribution and use of the drug.
Why not call the real question? Maybe a majority of Oregonians believe marijuana ought to be the legal and social equivalent of alcohol -- produced and sold openly, regulated and taxed. Jeffrey Miron, a Harvard economist, has estimated that marijuana prohibition costs the nation $7 billion in tax revenue, not to mention the costs of the futile effort to police it. Maybe Oregonians want a piece of that for their underfunded schools and state government.
But then why continue the medical marijuana charade? Why all these "dispensaries" and this facade of regulation, such as the prohibition of anyone convicted of a felony crime in the past five years from getting a license to open his or her marijuana store? Does that mean someone just finishing up a hitch of six years or more in Oregon State Prison for assault or rape would be a fine proprietor of your neighborhood marijuana dispensary? Who knows? Who cares?
Not supporters of Initiative 28. Ultimately, their measure isn't about medical marijuana or people suffering with glaucoma or nausea. It's about moving ever closer to a future of legalized recreational use of marijuana. If they are so certain that would be good for Oregonians, they ought to have the courage to call the question.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: OregonLive.com
Contact: OregonLive.com
Copyright: 2010 Oregon Live LLC.
Website: Another dance around marijuana
* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article
Of course, the advocates insist that the sprawling legalized network of marijuana dispensaries envisioned by Initiative 28 is all about providing compassionate and convenient "medicine" to Oregonians who suffer from such things as glaucoma, nausea from cancer treatment and the wasting associated with HIV/AIDs.
Never mind that of the 36,380 Oregon "patients" who now hold cards that protect them from state prosecution for smoking marijuana, 534 reported suffering from glaucoma, while 32,614 checked the box for "severe pain" as one of their qualifying medical conditions. Anyone over the age of 18 with a doctor's note that says they can benefit from smoking marijuana can apply to the Oregon Health Division for a card.
We're not yet prepared to take a position on this or any other ballot measure on the fall ballot. Yes, there may be a compelling case to be made for giving Oregonians with legitimate medical needs more convenient access to marijuana. However, the whole wink-and-nod farce that has characterized the politics of medical marijuana has become downright offensive.
Frankly, we'd much rather have the kind of open, intellectually honest debate they're having now down in Oakland, Calif, where the City Council just voted 5-2 to license four huge marijuana farms of up to 100,000 square feet apiece, and plan to use the tax revenue to close a $83 million city deficit this year. At least Californians, who have already had the pleasant high of seeing marijuana dispensaries crowd into mini-malls and storefronts in communities all across their states, are having an honest-to-goodness vote in November on legalizing recreational use of marijuana.
After all, that's what this is about. Forget the euphemisms -- what after all, is a "dispensary" anyway? It's a store the state legally entitles to sell pot. What's going on here is nothing more or less than a backdoor effort to expand marijuana use while dancing gingerly around federal law that still prohibits the production, distribution and use of the drug.
Why not call the real question? Maybe a majority of Oregonians believe marijuana ought to be the legal and social equivalent of alcohol -- produced and sold openly, regulated and taxed. Jeffrey Miron, a Harvard economist, has estimated that marijuana prohibition costs the nation $7 billion in tax revenue, not to mention the costs of the futile effort to police it. Maybe Oregonians want a piece of that for their underfunded schools and state government.
But then why continue the medical marijuana charade? Why all these "dispensaries" and this facade of regulation, such as the prohibition of anyone convicted of a felony crime in the past five years from getting a license to open his or her marijuana store? Does that mean someone just finishing up a hitch of six years or more in Oregon State Prison for assault or rape would be a fine proprietor of your neighborhood marijuana dispensary? Who knows? Who cares?
Not supporters of Initiative 28. Ultimately, their measure isn't about medical marijuana or people suffering with glaucoma or nausea. It's about moving ever closer to a future of legalized recreational use of marijuana. If they are so certain that would be good for Oregonians, they ought to have the courage to call the question.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: OregonLive.com
Contact: OregonLive.com
Copyright: 2010 Oregon Live LLC.
Website: Another dance around marijuana
* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article
