The Blog has no skin in that game. He hasn't smoked pot in over three decades. (Except for that one time in Jamaica a decade ago, which only served to remind him why he doesn't smoke pot, anymore.) But, The Blog believes that pot should be legal, controlled and taxed.
The Blog's preferred, mind numbing drug is scotch whiskey.
If you know your American history, then you know how well the prohibition of liquor worked out.
If you have ever known, loved, cared about or cared for a cancer patient, then you have a pretty good idea about how important the medical marijuana issue is. Medical marijuana is legal in 17 states, including The Blog's state of California.
Last week, the Los Angeles city council voted to shut down all of L.A.'s medical pot dispensaries.
The Blog believes that this happened, mostly, because the majority of L.A.'s city council is of "that certain age" that sustained permanent psychological scarring from their 5th grade, health class screenings of "Reefer Madness."
The city council called the ruling a "gentle ban" (a phrase that must have been coined by a pothead) that still allows those who need the plant, for medical reasons, to grow their own. Because, there is nothing more that a chemo patient likes to do than to toil in a garden.
*Brief Digression*
Let's be honest... How many of you quit growing tomatoes in your backyard when grocery stores started carrying organic, heirlooms at reasonable prices?
*End Digression*
But, the L.A. city council has a valid point. The system, as it currently stands, is rife with abuse.
Even though a recent L.A. Times story shows that Southern California (rather surprisingly) is near the bottom of the list of legal medical pot states who are subject to abuse (Denver, Colorado is number one) the fact of the matter is, for good and valid reasons, the whole medical marijuana concept has become a punch line for TV sitcoms and cop shows.
All because the qualification for, and distribution of, medical marijuana is completely disconnected from all other prescription, pharmaceutical practices.
Let's say that I go to my doctor with high blood pressure.
He writes a prescription for Lisinopril and sends it to my pharmacist at CVS.
He fills it. I pay my $5.00 co-pay, and I am on my way.
But, let's say that I am a cancer patient, or I have glaucoma. or, there is nothing wrong with me, but I just want to get high.
I have to visit a doctor who specializes in handing out Medical Marijuana cards. His billboard advertisements are, virtually, indistinguishable from the billboards advertising local strip clubs.
So you see?
The whole problem here is that medical marijuana is not taken seriously.
A California college that trains medical pot "pharmacists" boasts this "coat of arms."
Really?
It's no wonder that the very serious issue of medical marijuana is taken as a joke,
The answer is to start taking the issue seriously and stop taking it all as a Cheech and Chong sketch!
Instead of pot dispensaries run by Jerry Garcia look-a-likes in tie-died shirts, playing the Grateful Dead on the PA system and sporting Bob Marly posters on their walls, medical pot should be dispensed as all other medications, through legitimate pharmacies.
Problem solved!
What a concept! Once again, well said!
ReplyDeleteI can name more than a few friends and/or family who once diagnosed with cancer did not live long enough to cultivate their first crop, even if they or those around them had the skills to do it. LA city council seems to think that being a cancer patient is a long-term lifestyle choice.
Can you picture our sister trolling the back alleys of Bowling Green, Ohio looking for a dealer for her husband, because the synthetic thc from the pharmacy just wasn't working? If I remember correctly, she did just that! Now imagine that she was in a big city like Los Angeles. The whole idea makes what little hair I have stand on end!
DeleteGood job, Blog. Well-written. Loved the sign comparison and this line,"Because, there is nothing more that a chemo patient likes to do than to toil in a garden."
ReplyDelete