• First, the guidelines say “…democratically controlled and are not organized to make a profit for themselves, but dispensary customers who walk in do not have a say on how the dispensary is operated and the selling of marijuana in commercial retail settings financially benefit the owners/operators of the dispensary.
• Second, the guidelines say “The earnings and savings of the business must be used for the general welfare of its members for equal distribution to members in the form of cash, property, credits for services.”, but dispensaries do not distribute cash to the members who are not employees/owners.
• Third, the guidelines say, “…should be a closed-network of marijuana cultivation and consumption with no purchase or sales to or from non-members.”, although any qualified patient can walk into a dispensary, become a member by filing out forms and buy marijuana.
• Fourth, the guidelines say “Collectives Should Acquire, Possess, and Distribute Only Lawfully Cultivated Marijuana.”, but dispensaries don’t supply authorities with information on where or how the marijuana is grown.
• Fifth, the guidelines say primary caregiver must have “…assumed responsibility for the housing, health and safety of the patient.”, but dispensary operators/owners serving as the ‘primary caregivers’ obviously aren’t also responsible for the housing, health, and safety of all their customers.

In addition it’s quite telling to hear from Reverend Scott T. Imler, co-author of Proposition 215, who has expressed his concerns with the runway abuse occurring. He said, “We created Prop. 215 so patients would not have to deal with the black market profiteers. But today it is all about the money. Most of the dispensaries operating in California are a little more than dope dealers with store fronts.” – Alternatives Magazine, Fall 2006, issue 39. Reverend Scott T. Imler also said, “When we wrote Proposition 215, we were selling it to the public as something for seriously ill people… It’s turned into a joke. I think a lot of people have medicalized their recreational use.”- San Gabriel Valley Tribune, February 15, 2007.

State law allows patients and primary caregivers to associate together in order to collectively or cooperatively cultivate marijuana for medical purposes, the law doesn’t create an argument for a commercial enterprise. The law is the law and it must be upheld.

MARIJUANA DOES CAUSE CANCER – FACT: The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment of the California Environmental Protection Agency added marijuana smoke to the Proposition 65 list effective June 19, 2009. Marijuana smoke was considered by the Carcinogen Identification Committee (CIC) of the OEHHA Science Advisory Board at a public meeting held on May 29, 2009. The CIC determined that marijuana smoke was clearly shown, through scientifically valid testing according to generally accepted principals, to cause cancer.

During the city council hearing the pot shop owner and leader of the ballot initiative said pot is totally harmless, cures 1,000 different ailments, and cures cancer. Wow, really? This pot shop owner is taking a page from the Big Tobacco playbook, lying and making asinine statements to cover up the honest and real harms of pot. The people in Encinitas are smarter than that, how disrespectful.

City attorney’s call this ballot initiative is illegal, poorly written, and will never be implemented.

my 2 cents

Marijuana’s prohibition, like all other similar futile attempts at curbing “man’s desire to alter his consciousness”, has been rooted in hate, paranoia, racism, misinformation, half-truths, and outright lies. It’s your right to disagree, just please try to do it factually.

There is no debate: Marijuana is absolutely safer than alcohol, tobacco, and all prescription and over-the-counter medicines. On the other hand, Prohibition is a costly nightmare, and one that enriches both criminals and corrupt politicians.

Legal or not, millions of citizens are already using marijuana. What many sane people are now proposing, is to take the criminal aspect out of it, collect revenues from its sale, and instead of spending millions of precious tax dollars on doomed-to-failure enforcement, put it’s ‘taxable income’ to work for the whole community.