EXPERIENCE AT COSTCO SIMILAR TO MARIJUANA RAIDS

Have you ever been to Costco? I'm sure you have, so I'm sure you know
that they make you show ID at the door, since they don't let just
anybody in. If you've got it, you're free to roam a practical
person's playground. You're free to indulge yourself in as much baby
quiche or in as many toaster ovens as you see fit.

Now, imagine instead of baby quiche and toaster ovens, your ID card
opens the door to a world of marijuana. It's the dream, isn't it?

This isn't anything you didn't know, although it might be a bit
exaggerated. Medical marijuana is nothing new. Prop. 215, which
legalized the medical use of marijuana in 1996, made California the
first state in the Union to enact such a law. It passed with a
resounding 56 percent majority.

To give you some perspective, the last president to receive that high
a percentage of the vote was Ronald Regan in 1984, with almost 59 percent.

Of course, the idea of the medicinal use of marijuana isn't just a
loophole created by some conniving stoners. In order to qualify for a
card, a person must be suffering from AIDS, cancer, glaucoma or a
number of other ailments.

The Long Beach Police Department identifies 11 businesses in the city
currently providing medical marijuana, many of which are just miles
away from this campus. And now, the city is cracking down on them.

This isn't the first the medical marijuana providers in this city
have heard of this. In 2005, the city of Long Beach put a six month
moratorium on issuing licenses while the city investigated any legal
troubles that might pop up.

Six months later, the city attorney's office decided against
permitting it and issued no licenses, although no legal action was
taken against those undeterred by the ruling. But now it looks like
that's going to change.

There are a lot of drugs just sitting on the counters at Rite-Aid,
waiting for you to come in and take them. While you shouldn't get
any ideas, the more creative readers out there may have figured
something out. And this raises an interesting question: Is marijuana
illegal because it's bad, or is it bad because it's illegal?

In an interview with the Long Beach Press-Telegram, Councilman Val
Lerch told the paper that his wife suffers from multiple sclerosis,
which is one of the listed ailments that would qualify for a medical
marijuana card. Lerch, who refrained from voting on the issue due to
his personal involvement said, "As long as federal law prohibits it,
my wife will never use it," and that he stands by his wife's decision.

Lerch went on to say "I also support the legal use of a drug that was
approved by voters and, from all accounts, has a legitimate value for
patients."

The question that arises here is: What about drugs that weren't
approved by voters but, from all accounts, have a legitimate value
for patients?

Ask any incoming freshmen and they'll tell you that Long Beach and
marijuana are quite fond of one another. Just listen to a Snoop Dogg
or a Sublime CD if you don't believe it. There are going to be those
people who take advantage of the system.

Unfortunately, the people who are going to lose out are those who
genuinely need the marijuana for medical purposes.