He may have been Governor Moonbeam in the '70s, but today California Attorney General Jerry Brown has cracked down on the state's pot clubs. When California legalized medical marijuana 10 years ago, medical dispensaries started popping up, only to see profits as high as a kite.
AG Brown said, "The voters wanted medical marijuana dispensaries to be used for seriously ill patients and their caregivers — not as million-dollar businesses."
Brown may be correct, but couldn't he apply his logic to other pharmaceutical companies? Pot wouldn't be the first drug to help businesspeople get rich. Even so, Brown has a new set of rules for these medical dispensaries. To see what they are, read more.
According to the SF Chronicle they include: Sell only to legitimate patients; operate as nonprofits; and only buy pot from fellow cooperative members at prices that cover cost, as opposed to professional growers who are out for big bucks. Though, of course, these medical providers can always get caught by the federal government, which doesn't recognize California's legalization. Is Brown right? Is pot as medicine OK as long as it's not an issue of profit?
Ra-Re
Calida
Velvet
No, he's wrong. Marijuana is fine as medicine even if people are making a profit.
1Oh please, this is the only area that the government has any semblance of control over in this war on drugs so they keep going after it any way they can. Even recreation use is exponentially less harmful than any other illegal drug, and many legal drugs including alcohol and nicotine. Just makes me mad that they spend so much effort going after medical marijuana when there are far more serious problems to be dealing with.
2Agreed, Mitch and MarinerMandy! This seems like a waste of resources to me.
3It's a double-standard. If he's holding that they shouldn't be making profits, why doesn't that apply to companies like Pfizer?
4EXACTLY to all three of you.
It would also be so much better for state revenues if, instead of demonizing something far less harmful than certain legal substances, and wasting valuable resources--including manpower--going after it, they would simply legitimize it and tax it like anything else.
5Or think if CA did with pot what WA did with liquor...it is under the control of the state, so the state gets all the proceeds (all hard liquor stores in WA are state liquor stores). That could totally make up for the budget short-fall in CA we keep hearing about! What ever happened with the state worker's salaries, btw - did they really cut them, like the governor wanted to???
6Humbolt County Ca. is definitely the most pot friendly county in the state and maybe even the country. I heard an authority say and I quote "as long as you don't have more than fifty on your property they shouldn't bother you".
7I agree ladies.
I knew I was in the wrong business.
8So we're going to provide this drug per a doctor's advice, but I'm not allowed to make money on it?? Welcome to socialism??
9Agree to all. I was discussing with my husband the other day as to why the goverment doesn't legalize it, regulate it and tax it like tobacco. While he's for it he brought up a good point. It would be way too difficult because its so easy for just anybody to grow because it's essentially a weed. Where as tobacco isn't an easy crop so not anyone can grow it.
10Nice form, UnDave!
11Do you think they would mind if I started growing some weeds in my back yard, to sell to the medical industry? I could always stand to make a little more money.
12Thanks Amy
13Only as long as you don't make a profit off it, UnDave (or enough of a profit for them to notice!)
Because, obviously, profiting is bad....
14unDave sell a couple of dime bags. I think you will be successful.
15Someone should mention that to HMO's Martini...
16What are dime bags? Bags filled with dimes?
17LOL milosmommy - I don't think they would buy it!
18of course unDave ---just keep filling 'em.
19Dave my old neighbor did that-hid his weed in weeds. Get it? Weed in weeds??
20My ex's dad used to hide it in tomato plants works pretty well actually.
21My parents had a small greenhouse for their plants when I was younger. One of my only memories of that house (aside from all the goats we had
) was wondering why we had a special, separate greenhouse for the tomato plants (since they
look pretty similar). Flash forward 20 years and it all becomes clear!!
22Side note-the guy in the picture is gonna have a helluva time getting the smell off him.
23That's what I was thinking, blue!
24Seriously...that's some pretty stong stuff.
25i just think that trying to control the level of profit that's being made is unreasonable. if you think about it - drug companies are able to patent drugs for up to 10 years and they can therefor control the profits that they make until they have to release the patent and other companies can make generic. i'm just not sure that it's something that can really be controlled even if you issue revised rules and regulations for it all.
26I agree. If something is legal, you can't keep someone from making a profit on it.
27So.... is there a generic drug available for marijuana?! hee hee
28If marijuana used for medicinal purpose shouldn't be sold for profit, than neither should any other drugs. The pharmaceutical companies are the real thieves.
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