"Sweet Jesus," Tom Shipley and Mike Brewer sang in the 1970 release that became their only real hit, "One Toke Over The Line."
That oft-ignored line has apparently been crossed, not only here in Happy Valley but in communities in a dozen or so states, as entrepreneurs rush to open the doors of dispensaries and take advantage of the recently relaxed stance on "medical marijuana" by their states and the federal government.
Just this past week, the Grand Junction City Council voted to impose a one-year moratorium on new business licenses for medical marijuana dispensaries, and the Fruita council decided to impose liquor-license like requirements for similar businesses. Fruita will also impose some geographic restrictions often also seen in the regulation of "gentlemen's clubs" such as the one now under construction and consigned to the industrial area between the two cities.
When I lamented to one of my successors on the City Council that I'd apparently missed another golden (and green) business opportunity, he reminded me that I still had about a month to get in under the moratorium wire. I'm actually now thinking "mobile dispensary" out in the unincorporated areas, assuming I can find a willing part-time doc to help in this "budding" scheme to finance the motor home we look forward to touring in during retirement.
I promise, no DWD, aka "Driving While Dispensing."
A lifelong friend who follows my weekly musings from afar messaged me last week to suggest it looks like there's another line that's been crossed by perhaps more than a single toke. We've been friends since before I was born, I've joked. Our parents lived in long-since demolished adjoining apartments down around Eighth and Main and he beat me into this world by about 8 months.
This other veteran of the '60s and '70s may be on to something.
"How long did Prohibition last...12-13 years?" he asked. "And what did it provide... booze-lords, money, murders y más."
"So how long will it take for Colorado to realize booze-lords and drug-lords are one in the same only 90-plus years later? Move from illegal to legal and tax it.... gee, that does sound very similar to the end results of Prohibition."
No need to pass judgment on that reasoning. We headed one toke over that line with the opinion from Colorado's own Republican Attorney General John Suthers that medical marijuana can be taxed as personal property. The next jump came with the announcement from Gov. Bill Ritter, a Democrat, that the state would begin to tax those sales.
Apparently, budget crises make some interesting legal and political bedfellows. It's also comforting to know that fiscal opportunism knows no ideological boundaries, though I suspect it may not be long before we hear some legislators and prosecutors in full roar.
There's likely an element of the bigger picture argument involved in the haste with which some dispensary operators scrambled aboard the local regulatory bandwagon this week. There's also a state association being organized to help formulate regs and be involved in any action at the legislative level.
I wonder if there'll be any discussion of quality standards or THC limits and what state agency might provide oversight. Could be the Department of Regulatory Agencies or perhaps the Department of Public Health and Environment. What about the Department of Agriculture? Could there be a marketing order in the future to raise funds for promotion and perhaps a Colorado Marijuana Board ala the Wine Board? Or a state board that polices treatment and ethical practices similar to those overseeing other professions.
I hope it's apparent there's some seriousness in the midst of my somewhat tongue-in-cheek rambling.
I don't drink much anymore. An occasional beer and a little wine. One week a year some Knob Creek on the rocks after a day of hunting. It's probably been about a quarter century since my last personal experience with the killer weed.
Absent return to the "Reefer Madness" mentality that prompted that 1938 film, a conspicuous example of ineffective scare tactics, it appears we're much more than "One Toke Over The Line." Some may not appreciate the way society has evolved thanks to baby boomers and Millenials and X and Y generations but we probably need to acknowledge it'd be a well nigh impossible climb back up this slippery slope.
It was intriguing to discover that Jerry Garcia of Grateful Dead fame played on Brewer and Shipley's hit. And appropriate to conclude that getting to this point has been an interesting societal journey, a long and strange trip.
Jim Spehar was never much good at rolling his own but his bad back and aging knee bother him and he hears it's not that difficult to obtain cannabis comfort. Your prescriptions are welcome at jimspehar@bresnan.net.
News Hawk- Ganjarden 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: GJFreepress.com
Author: Jim Spehar
Contact: GJFreepress.com
Copyright: 2009 GJFreepress.com
Website: One Toke Over The Line?
That oft-ignored line has apparently been crossed, not only here in Happy Valley but in communities in a dozen or so states, as entrepreneurs rush to open the doors of dispensaries and take advantage of the recently relaxed stance on "medical marijuana" by their states and the federal government.
Just this past week, the Grand Junction City Council voted to impose a one-year moratorium on new business licenses for medical marijuana dispensaries, and the Fruita council decided to impose liquor-license like requirements for similar businesses. Fruita will also impose some geographic restrictions often also seen in the regulation of "gentlemen's clubs" such as the one now under construction and consigned to the industrial area between the two cities.
When I lamented to one of my successors on the City Council that I'd apparently missed another golden (and green) business opportunity, he reminded me that I still had about a month to get in under the moratorium wire. I'm actually now thinking "mobile dispensary" out in the unincorporated areas, assuming I can find a willing part-time doc to help in this "budding" scheme to finance the motor home we look forward to touring in during retirement.
I promise, no DWD, aka "Driving While Dispensing."
A lifelong friend who follows my weekly musings from afar messaged me last week to suggest it looks like there's another line that's been crossed by perhaps more than a single toke. We've been friends since before I was born, I've joked. Our parents lived in long-since demolished adjoining apartments down around Eighth and Main and he beat me into this world by about 8 months.
This other veteran of the '60s and '70s may be on to something.
"How long did Prohibition last...12-13 years?" he asked. "And what did it provide... booze-lords, money, murders y más."
"So how long will it take for Colorado to realize booze-lords and drug-lords are one in the same only 90-plus years later? Move from illegal to legal and tax it.... gee, that does sound very similar to the end results of Prohibition."
No need to pass judgment on that reasoning. We headed one toke over that line with the opinion from Colorado's own Republican Attorney General John Suthers that medical marijuana can be taxed as personal property. The next jump came with the announcement from Gov. Bill Ritter, a Democrat, that the state would begin to tax those sales.
Apparently, budget crises make some interesting legal and political bedfellows. It's also comforting to know that fiscal opportunism knows no ideological boundaries, though I suspect it may not be long before we hear some legislators and prosecutors in full roar.
There's likely an element of the bigger picture argument involved in the haste with which some dispensary operators scrambled aboard the local regulatory bandwagon this week. There's also a state association being organized to help formulate regs and be involved in any action at the legislative level.
I wonder if there'll be any discussion of quality standards or THC limits and what state agency might provide oversight. Could be the Department of Regulatory Agencies or perhaps the Department of Public Health and Environment. What about the Department of Agriculture? Could there be a marketing order in the future to raise funds for promotion and perhaps a Colorado Marijuana Board ala the Wine Board? Or a state board that polices treatment and ethical practices similar to those overseeing other professions.
I hope it's apparent there's some seriousness in the midst of my somewhat tongue-in-cheek rambling.
I don't drink much anymore. An occasional beer and a little wine. One week a year some Knob Creek on the rocks after a day of hunting. It's probably been about a quarter century since my last personal experience with the killer weed.
Absent return to the "Reefer Madness" mentality that prompted that 1938 film, a conspicuous example of ineffective scare tactics, it appears we're much more than "One Toke Over The Line." Some may not appreciate the way society has evolved thanks to baby boomers and Millenials and X and Y generations but we probably need to acknowledge it'd be a well nigh impossible climb back up this slippery slope.
It was intriguing to discover that Jerry Garcia of Grateful Dead fame played on Brewer and Shipley's hit. And appropriate to conclude that getting to this point has been an interesting societal journey, a long and strange trip.
Jim Spehar was never much good at rolling his own but his bad back and aging knee bother him and he hears it's not that difficult to obtain cannabis comfort. Your prescriptions are welcome at jimspehar@bresnan.net.
News Hawk- Ganjarden 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: GJFreepress.com
Author: Jim Spehar
Contact: GJFreepress.com
Copyright: 2009 GJFreepress.com
Website: One Toke Over The Line?
