DOUBLE STANDARDS FOR POT

Before starting, I would like to clarify two things. First, I am the
owner of a medical marijuana center located in east Boulder and in
operation since August of 2009. Second, I want it to be clearly
understood that there has not been one day that I take for granted
the enormous growth in acceptance of medical marijuana.

That said, I have two major bones to pick with the Boulder City
Council over recent comments (I also have a bone the size of a killer
whale to pick, concerning the obese fees we have been forced to pay,
but that's for another letter). My first complaint is concerning the
attempt of the City Council to regulate the way our industry
advertises. The first thing my lawyer told me when I had the idea to
open up a center was that we should advertise as if this was a
medicine (which I hope everyone in the industry agrees with). He
pointed out that we don't see ads in the Boulder Weekly from
Walgreen's or Safeway bragging about how potent their Vicodin is, so
we should not brag about the strength of our cannabis. From day one,
we have had one small ad in the Boulder Weekly and nothing else. I
also disagree with the centers who use sex or lies (what exactly is a
4 gram 1/8th? Is it like a 3,000lb. ton?) to sell their product, and
therefore I do not use these methods.

Despite all of this, I do not think it is in the rights of the City
Council to take offense and decide what we can and cannot say (unless
of course, our ads are directed at underage children or
non-patients). When I look at the Boulder Weekly and turn past the
pages upon pages of ads for liquor and other products that have the
potential to kill, I find ads in the back for prostitution. Sure,
they call themselves masseuse, but look at the terminology they use.
One "California Blonde" promises "NY style in and out." What could
this possibly mean? Why is the City Council not concerned with an
industry that is illegal on the local, state and federal level?

My second complaint has to do with the smell of the Cannabis plant.
While I think that it is one of the most pleasurable odors to ever
grace my nose passage, I understand that not all people feel this way
(although I can't say that I've met more than a handful of people in
my life). We personally do everything in our power - for security
reasons - to cover up the smell, but who would it hurt if we didn't?

When I walk out the door of my center I am greeted twice a week by
the smell of roasting coffee. I personally find this smell
disgusting, like burning plastic. What can I do about it? If I call
the police, will they shut down the coffee brewery? If the smell of
burning plastic isn't in the air, I can smell the burning flesh (if
real meat is even being used) at the Wendy's directly next door.
While I am not offended by this smell, I know dozens of people who
are. There are also tens of thousands of people who die from
over-consuming this product every year, yet I never see a city-backed
campaign to rid the city of the smell of death. Finally, when I look
to the east, I see a giant smoke stack producing poisonous toxins
being breathed in by all of us, against our will. Has Xcel ever been
fined for this? Where are the front-page articles and city council
meetings to rid this cancer from our community?

I could probably write a book about all the unfair regulations and
fees that are being passed our way (such as having to offset 100
percent of our electricity use, not being allowed to stay open past 7
p.m., having to get sales tax licenses for buildings not selling
anything, and etc.), but the above two issues are what concern me
most today. I'm sure that not everyone in the industry is here to
help humanity, but I can personally guarantee that most of the people
I have met are, indeed.

Unfortunately, with these hastily thought-up regulations, only the
rich will survive. Then again, maybe this was the plan from the
beginning; after all, four or five big corporations will produce more
for the ruling class than 100 or 200 small businesses.

Ryan Hartman, Boulder Wellness Center/Boulder