Marijuana Blog

Montana State Senator Donald Steinbeisser, a Republican, says legislators in North Dakota should decide on medical marijuana, not the voters.

“The problem we had in Montana, before the last session, over half of the people that were using medical marijuana cards were 20- to 30-year-olds,” he said. “You know dog-gone well there’s something wrong with that.”

Is there something wrong with people choosing marijuana to treat whatever ailment they have instead of deadly and addictive prescriptions drugs? And since when do people under 40 have no medical conditions? This ignorance of this man is staggering.

But it seems ignorance is in abundant supply among officials in Montana. “A couple, three years ago it just exploded. Everybody was getting cards,” Fallon County, Montana, Sheriff Tim Barkley said. “One of the things that Montana failed to do is they kind of passed this law on the spur of the moment.”

At the peak, there were a little over 30,000 medical marijuana patients in Montana, out of a population of roughly 1 million. How that translates into “everybody” getting cards is anyone’s guess. It would be interesting to know how many people take prescription pills in Montana. It’s likely a number over 30,000.

“I don’t know if I know of anyone in our community or anyone personally that got a medical marijuana card for medical reasons,” Barkley said of that initial rush to obtain cards. “Most of the people that I saw get the cards were heavy users of marijuana for a lot of years. … I guess it was legal for them, then. But I didn’t know of any of them having cancer issues.”

Beyond the fact that studies have shown marijuana’s efficacy with many ailments besides cancer, this Sheriff acts like he knows more than a very slight fraction of people in Montana. I wonder if he knows any gay or black people. If not, they must not exist in Montana.

People shouldn’t be judged for actions that hurt no one else, period. Whether they use cannabis for medical or recreational reasons, people should be free to decide their own course in life.

Source: http://www.dl-online.com

Several months ago 10 firms received permission to set up dispensaries in our nation’s capital, but according to city officials, none have acquired the regulatory documents needed to begin the process.

The successful applicants for six cultivation centers and four dispensaries have to apply for building permits, certificates of occupancy and business licenses before they register as part of the medical marijuana program. Each of these documents would be issued by the D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs.

“As of this morning, we have not issued any certificates of occupancy to any of the approved medical marijuana cultivation centers or dispensaries,” DCRA spokesman Helder Gil said Monday. Each firm needs a certificate of occupancy to apply for a business license.

Dr. Saul Levin recently took over as the city’s health director, and he said the program has “moved out of our area” and “into the regulatory side of getting this up and running.”

“I can’t even give you a date,” he told The Washington Times earlier this month. “In order to do this right, we don’t want to rush it.”

Some of those on the other side of the process seem to agree. “No one would want to sacrifice doing this the right way,” said Corey Barnette, a principal at District Growers. “I’m happy the District is being cautious in rolling it out.”

Mr. Barnette’s firm is among five cultivation centers approved for registration near New York Avenue and Bladensburg Road in Ward 5. He said his operation is finishing up the construction, or “build out,” of its warehouse to make it ready for marijuana cultivation and he hopes to apply for a certificate of occupancy by next week.

Patients in Washington D.C have waited a long time for better access to their medicine, and for some, relief may be coming soon.

Source: http://www.washingtontimes.com