END 'MEDICAL' SHAM AND JUST LEGALIZE MARIJUANA

First off, let me say that any hint of a comparison of these marijuana
dispensaries and their staff to pharmacies is a downright travesty.

Pharmacies are licensed and regulated with very strict state and
federal laws. The staff are trained, licensed professionals who have
their fingerprints registered with the Department of Justice, the Drug
Enforcement Agency, and state and local law enforcement. They have
cleared criminal background checks and are devoid of any substance
abuse issues.

What I would like to know from the city and county powers regulating
these dispensaries and their personnel is if they have a clue about
the background of all the folks who work at these sites. It seems to
me that in order to work with a controlled substance (marijuana is a
controlled substance by federal law), they should be closely
scrutinized.

I think that the number of these collectives and dispensaries is
getting ludicrous. What drives their inception? Could it be the
prospect of profiting from the issue of medical marijuana? I have
nothing against folks wanting to smoke marijuana and, in some
legitimate cases, actually benefit from the pharmacological use of the
drug.

It is my feeling that far more people are flocking to the medical
marijuana scene because it presents a vehicle to use, grow and
possibly sell some marijuana. It is likely that people involved in the
medical marijuana scene are long-time users and have a decent
familiarity with the drug.

The prospect of cultivating and possessing the drug and drug
paraphernalia is attractive when considering alternatives. To review,
the possession of more than 28.5 grams is punishable by jail time and
a fine. Cultivation or processing any amount of marijuana is
punishable as a felony and can result in up to 16 months in prison.
The laws regarding possession and cultivation of marijuana do not
apply to patients or patients' caregivers who possess or cultivate
marijuana for personal medical use of the patient, upon the
recommendation or approval of a physician. Seems like a good idea to
me and that if I want to use and can conjure up a need to a physician,
then I get to use the drug without incident.

When Proposition 215 passed in 1996 to allow medical marijuana use in
California, I doubt the voters realized all the hassles it would pose
for municipalities and law enforcement. I don't think it is a proper
use of taxpayers' money to have city and county governments struggling
to put order into this whole issue and in these times of fiscal
restraint burden law enforcement with compliance.

This whole medical marijuana issue really comes down to getting the
drug legalized for personal use. There is legislation, Assembly Bill
390, that would legalize the sale and use of marijuana in California.
The bill boasts that it would raise more than $1 billion in annual
revenue by taxing the retail production and sale of marijuana for
adults 21 years of age. The bill would not alter existing laws on the
use of medicinal cannabis, nor would it impose new taxes or sanctions
on the medical cultivation of cannabis. Knowing this, why wouldn't
everyone want to go the medical marijuana route and even open a
dispensary or two?

The dispensary situation is out of hand and so is the scope of
medicinal marijuana. I have seen people brag about their medical
marijuana permit as if it were no more than a free pass to use the
drug. If California wants to get this right, it needs to have one set
of laws that governs the use of all marijuana in this state. Take the
burden off of the cities and counties and let them tend to issues that
serve the majority of the citizens.

Let the state, through Assembly Bill 390, cultivate, regulate, sell
and tax the sale of marijuana just like some states regulate their
hard liquor. They should consider lowering the sale age to 18 years of
age. That is correct, one bill to cover all use of marijuana. Everyone
who wants to use can use without the hassle of growing. The state
would only have to figure out a quantity frequency as it did for
Sudafed. This addresses the problem of people possessing too much of
the drug at one time should they consider selling it.

Law enforcement would not waste time and dollars enforcing ordinances,
investigating pot ripoffs and spending millions on pot eradication
each year. California needs to get it right, generate revenue from
marijuana and let people smoke in a responsible fashion. End the
dispensary madness for municipalities. Let people smoke and pay for
the privilege to do so. Marijuana is not going away.

Joe Kuschell is a Redding pharmacist.