Mexican Cartels Are Not Playing Around and They Will Stop At Nothin

Mexican cartels have been ravaging the pristine forests that cover the vast state of California. Unlike anything that has ever been seen, the size of the cartels marijuana fields dwarf any fields planted by the residents of California. As the medical marijuana movement sweeps across the country the cartels have found a way to exploit the relaxed marijuana laws. Plant numbers are of no concern to the cartels who smuggle illegal immigrants into the country to tend 70,000 plant crops on public lands, which end up yielding 35 to 75,000 pounds of marijuana in one harvest. At the end of the day it makes financial sense for the cartels to grow marijuana in the United States, having the product already on this side of the border saves millions in transportation costs. When the marijuana is harvested the cartels can easily move the drug to every major city in the United States. California is finding that it simply does not have the manpower to police these activities.

Brent Wood, a supervisor for the California Department of Justice's Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement, said to the AP; "just like the Mexicans took over the methamphetamine trade, they've gone to mega, monster gardens". Methamphetamine production shifted across the border into Mexico a few years back when the United States cracked down on the availability of Pseudoephedrine, the main ingredient in Meth. The meth labs created in Mexico were larger than any ever attempted before, reminiscent of the scale of the guerrilla marijuana operations taking place in the States. The cartels are not playing around and they will stop at nothing to get what they desire - billions of dollars.

On top of trashing public lands, the cartels have been holding people hostage on the farms to work the land. The cartels find out where their workers' families are back in Mexico and use their loved ones as leverage to keep them working. "Many of the plots are encircled with crude explosives and are patrolled by guards armed with AK-47s who survey the perimeter from the ground and from perches high in the trees", according to an AP report. How are local authorities supposed to combat this growing threat?

L.A. City Council Passed Ordinance Restricting Dispensaries

The day of reckoning is upon the Los Angeles, California medical marijuana dispensaries. The L.A. City Council, after four years, has voted on and passed an ordinance mainly restricting the number of dispensaries in the area as well as requiring them to be located in industrial areas. "The ordinance caps the number of dispensaries at 70, but makes an exception for those that registered with the city clerk in 2007 and remain in their original locations or moved just once after their landlords were threatened with federal prosecution. City officials believe there are about 150 such dispensaries", according to the LA Times. Every action, as we know, has a reaction and that is exactly what advocates of medical marijuana had. The new ordinance will mark the beginning of years of lawsuits and red tape; which will inevitably turn into more chaos than before. People feel as though their rights are being violated and they're are being restricted from getting their "medicine".

The City Council has also placed restrictions that will end L.A.'s late-night pot scene. Dispensaries will now be required to close their doors at 8 p.m., no more consumption of marijuana will be allowed inside the "pot shops". One other interesting change will be where patients can acquire their "medicine", now patients will be designated to one collective; you will no longer be able to go to any dispensary you want. City Council hopes that the new controls will prevent dispensaries from making a profit. People in Los Angeles are concerned about the crime that dispensaries could potentially bring to their neighborhood. It is interesting that pharmacies, like Rite Aid and CVS, who have much stronger narcotics and are robbed regularly, are not restricted to industrial zones only. But, not much of anything related to medical marijuana makes much sense, perhaps it never will.

The next six months in Los Angeles County will be nothing short of a free-for-all. Dispensary owners will be scrambling to move their shops to designated safe zones, while other owners who will be forced to close their doors will be forced underground. The new ordinance may backfire on the city, when it finds that many people go back to selling marijuana illegally with no restrictions at all - like it was before the medical marijuana debate ever existed. We will certainly be following this story closely as the debate progresses - or digresses.

Here is an interesting video with Kevin Pereira interviews the Executive Director of Harborside Health Center regarding medical marijuana dispensaries and the Los Angeles City Council's new regulations.

Los Angeles City Council Voted Tuesday To Close Roughly 800 Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

Los Angeles has been at the forefront of the medical marijuana movement, with more dispensaries in one area than any other city or even state. People have become outraged by the plethora of dispensaries that have over taken their neighborhoods, popping up not far from where children are playing. California has been associated with having the most relaxed laws and being the easiest state to acquire a medical marijuana card - one only need say they require it and Voilà! The so-called "wild west" days of medical marijuana may be coming to an end here real shortly, the Los Angeles City Council voted Tuesday to close roughly 800 medical marijuana dispensaries throughout the city by passing the first reading of an ordinance which would force 75% of remaining dispensaries to relocate. There will be another vote on Tuesday because this week's vote was 11-3, which fell short of the 12-0 result that an ordinance needs to pass on the first reading.

"The ordinance sets new rules for dispensaries that council members hope will curtail the anything-goes environment that made Los Angeles the vivid epicenter of the money-fueled Green Rush that erupted when the Obama administration announced last year that it would no longer prosecute dispensaries adhering to California's medical marijuana laws", according to the LA Times. Not only will there be fewer dispensaries in LA, but, there will be much stricter laws regarding medical marijuana all together. The new law will put a stop to the late-night pot club scene and will require the dispensaries to close their doors at 8pm. No more smoking or consuming marijuana based products inside the dispensaries. On top of the new rules, dispensary owners will have to keep extensive records on their operations and are not allowed to make a profit; special police units will be put into place to force compliance.

The ordinance will limit the number of dispensaries to only 70. Exceptions will be made but there will surely be many dispensary owners who will try and fight back for their investment. Any dispensary registered under the moratorium and is still in business will be allowed to keep their doors open. It will be interesting to see the battle that ensues in the coming weeks regarding LA's dispensaries, after all, so goes Los Angeles so goes the nation with this debate - or so it seems.

Becky DeKeuster of Berkeley Patients Group

On December 17th, our post dealt with the State of Maine setting up their medical marijuana program. A few days later we received a comment on our post via Live Journal from Becky DeKeuster of Berkeley Patients Group. We shared Becky DeKeuster's comments with you on December 31, 2009, and we promised to respond to Ms. DeKeuster. Please see below our comments.

Dear Ms. DeKeuster,
Thank you for taking the time to respond to my post and for so eloquently sharing important information. I understand that you needed to correct my statement: "The same people who are helping Maine set up a medical marijuana program are also trying to have full on legalization voted on in the next year in California." I will agree with you this statement is rather broad. Without enough research, I implied, based on an assumption from the news articles that the Berkeley Patients Group would be in favor of full legalization. I did not mean to imply that you have or would take an official stand on legal or recreational use of cannabis. After all, as far as legal use, medicinal legal use was passed in California in 1996 and Berkeley Patients Group was founded in 1999. I understand now that recreational legalization is not part of BPG's agenda.

I have now visited your web site and read your mission statement. I have also taken the time to read the PDF "Declare Saturday, October 31 2009, 'Berkeley Patients Group Day' In the City Of Berkeley." This declaration was very informative, providing a historical review of Proposition 215 and Berkeley Patients Group activities over the past 13 years.

I appreciate your clarification and your wish for a "do-over" regarding the wild-west metaphor. I, too, have been following this topic for a number of years and I recognize that each state finds they must individually navigate these waters very carefully and diligently. I am frequently amazed at the obvious differences in how medicinal marijuana dispensaries are managed in northern California towns and cities, as compared to what I see and read about in Southern California.

I don't think we are too far apart regarding the pharmacology issues. I did not mean to imply that I believe that marijuana should only be available in pharmacies distributed in THC pill form. What I wanted to assure is that it be regulated and, therefore, look forward to it not only in a synthesized formula, but also the natural herbal form being distributed by pharmacies. I do understand that patients indicate that the delivery format of the herbal form appears to be more efficient for pain relief, not unlike, I would think, the surgical patient receiving a morphine drip, as opposed to a Vicodin tablet.

The bigger question remains, should marijuana be approved for recreational sale and use, like alcohol? And if it is, how will it be managed, controlled, sold, distributed? We know addiction is a disease. Many people use marijuana, but like alcohol drinkers not all are abusers. Addiction affects minimally 25% of the population. Managing medicinal marijuana use will be perhaps left to our health care providers, who will need to decide if herbal marijuana is the correct course for each individual patient.

Going forward we will continue our work to educate and assist those seeking recovery and sobriety.

"Thank You, and Some Corrections"

On December 17th, our post dealt with the State of Maine setting up their medical marijuana program. A few days later we received a comment on our post via Live Journal from Becky DeKeuster of Berkeley Patients Group. We would like to share her thoughts with you as we close out 2009. Next week we will be back to respond to Becky's comments.

Thank you, and some corrections
Greetings, and thank you for addressing the important work that Maine's medical cannabis task force is undertaking to ensure that qualified patients have safe access to medical cannabis there. In the interest of an open exchange of ideas and facts, I write to address some of the concerns you express in this posting, and to clarify certain inaccuracies therein.

First I must correct your statement that "The same people who are helping Maine set up a medical marijuana program are also trying to have full on legalization voted on in the next year in California." Berkeley Patients Group takes no official stand on legal or recreational use of cannabis, and has not contributed to the ballot initiative that California voters may vote on in 2010. To do so would in no way advance our mission, which is as follows:

"The mission of the Berkeley Patients Group is to provide the purest, most effective, and affordable medical cannabis along with integrated holistic health services. We create and maintain the standards of excellence for medical cannabis in all that we do. We foster a compassionate community that advances understanding and inspires action."

As we enter our second decade of operations, BPG is still guided by the vision of our founder Jim McClelland, who died of AIDS-related complications in 2000. To blur the bright line between legalized medical use and legalized adult use would be to do a disservice to Jim, and to the patients who rely on us for medicine, services, and support. We are expert at successful, legal dispensary operations. Legalization is not on our agenda.

My second point refers to the perception that "the west is a mess." If I had a do-over button I would not have used the "Wild West" metaphor in that media interview. It's an easy shorthand, but it paints an inaccurate picture of what is actually happening in western states with medical cannabis laws. (These include Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, Hawaii, Montana, Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico.) Each of these states is dealing with implementation in its own way and each is facing various complexities.

It is important to keep in mind that these states are working separately because our federal government has so far refused to accept the findings of its own DEA Chief Administrative Law Judge Francis Young, who ruled in 1988 that "marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known." He further stated that "the provisions of the Controlled Substances Act permit and require the transfer of marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule II," and that "it would be unreasonable, arbitrary and capricious for the DEA to continue to stand between those sufferers and the benefits of this substance."

That being said, for the purposes of this comment I will limit my focus to California, which I suspect is the true target of the "wild west" concerns. Of course, the issues that L.A. is facing make for great media and so, unfortunately, those are the reports that the nation hears.

What is less often reported is that there are cities and counties in California where medical cannabis cultivation, dispensing, and use happen with reasonable oversight and without negative impact on local communities or patients. Oakland, San Francisco, Sebastopol, and Berkeley all come to mind as examples. These local governments early on implemented sensible regulations that allowed for, and put reasonable checks on, how patients, dispensaries, and communities can co-exist. And in the case of Berkeley, voters last year authorized a city commission to oversee dispensary operations and safety standards. In short, locales that allow for dispensary operations within clear, fair guidelines simply do not have the proliferation issues that we are seeing in the southern part of CA today. Because their programs are successful, because they work for their communities and don't make waves, they are not sensationalized in the media. The last media BPG received before this past Tuesday was an article in the Oakland Tribune about the City Council of Berkeley unanimously proclaiming our 10th birthday as "Berkeley Patients Group Day" in our city this year. [here is a link to the city's proclaimation "Berkeley Patients Group Day CA 2009" ]

I understand your call for cannabis to be treated as other pharmaceuticals. We have heard it again and again here in California--why can't they just have it in pharmacies? You can get synthesized THC in your local pharmacy, with a prescription. It's called Marinol, or Sativex. Patient responses, though, indicate a strong preference for the natural herbal form of the medicine, which can be self-titrated, and which offers a plethora of strains for the patient to choose from--and yes, scientists here, in Holland, and elsewhere are working hard to match specific strains to relief from specific ailments, and why. We know from our patients' anecdotal experience that various strains work best for different illnesses, but are currently working to link chemical components of each strain to the types of health issues that respond best to each strain. (Again, such research is taking place on a self-regulated basis and under considerable legal restraints, due to the federal government's refusal to address this important concept.) There are even four patients in the U.S. who receive 300 pre-rolled joints a month from the federal government itself, which operates a grow facility at a university in Mississippi.

So. Why can't we dispense it in pharmacies? Well, the folks who make Marinol would like that very much, but the patients say that THC compounded synthetically in a lab doesn't approach the efficacy of using whole plant medicine. Furthermore, cannabis is proven to be less lethal than aspirin. Yes, over the counter aspirin. In terms of patient needs, and taking into account societal impacts, this is not a medicine that requires Schedule I handling (also on Schedule I: heroin and fentanyl. Cocaine and meth are both Schedule II).

Finally, I want to say that I personally appreciate the work you do to help those with addictions to various substances. Your concerns about Maine's implementation of this law are understandable. However, it is especially vital for those in your profession to fully understand the facts about medical cannabis, and to consider Maine's law, and our advisory role, not as a threat but as an opportunity to learn more and to help debunk damaging myths about this substance. I would invite you to research more on the issues I have stated above, and to also consider the emerging role of medical cannabis as a valuable harm reduction tool.

Again, thank you for taking up this issue. I look forward to continued conversation with you as Maine crafts regulations that encourage safe access and sensible medical use standards.

Be well,

Becky DeKeuster
Berkeley Patients Group

Maine has Turned to California for Help Setting up a Medical Marijuana Program

Maine has turned to California for help setting up a medical marijuana program; the hope is that they will be able to implement what has worked well in the past. With over 10 years of experience in California they have had plenty of time to make mistakes and to have hopefully learned from them; considering that we are on the edge of what appears to be full on legalization in the next five years. Maine proceeds cautiously into this new territory, hopes to figure out a system that addresses both public safety and the needs of those recommended patients for marijuana. Maine is trying to avoid the craziness that exists out west, dispensaries opening and closing daily and it doesn't seem like any one really understands what is happening - in short the west has become a mess. A task force has been set up, "figuring out how many medical marijuana patients there are in Maine and how many distribution clinics or dispensaries are needed to serve them. At least one member of the panel said he's not sure if the state needs one, 10 or 50", according to ABC News. The task force is composed of 14 members, they will determine rules effective within 120 days; the task force hopes to be able to take every factor into account in order to give the voters exactly what they voted for. Becky DeKeuster, of the Berkeley Patients Group said, "This should not have a negative connotation. This is a medicine. This is essentially a pharmacy with a community center component in our model".

If marijuana is going to be considered a medicine then it needs to be held to the same standards as every other pharmaceutical, the same laws and restrictions should apply to weed as they do to Vicodin. There is no other way to make this a legitimate program, therein lies a huge problem with the legality of marijuana; some are trying to have a medicine and others are trying to have a recreational drug, like alcohol. The same people who are helping Maine set up a medical marijuana program are also trying to have full on legalization voted on in the next year in California. It is noteworthy that Maine is taking the time to create a successful program, but it seems like all of this is a slippery slope and no matter what, all the factors present cannot be addressed. "This task force is not going to be able to accomplish the dotting of every 'I' and the crossing of every 'T', but addressing the issues ahead of time is crucial so that you don't end up with a wild-west situation", DeKeuster said.

Measure To Legalize Pot May Be On California's November Ballot

California residents may find that they are casting their vote in November regarding the legalization of marijuana. The original consensus was that marijuana advocates would wait until 2012 to put it on the ballot, but, 680,000 people signed a petition in favor of legalization causing the timeline to speed up. Marijuana buzz is sweeping the country, as more and more states tarry with the idea of medical marijuana programs; it seems like with every passing month the snowball increases it size and moves faster towards all out legalization. These are big times in the United States, nothing like this has happened since Roosevelt's New Deal; when a country hits hard financial times then it is time to legalize something in order to bring in revenue. Or at least that has been the American way in the past, to make money on the addiction and suffering of others. On the surface it seems like California and America are heading in the right direction: smaller prison populations, less crime, generates tax revenue, pharmaceuticals, hemp, oil, paper, etc... The pros listed are certainly worth agreeing with, it is clear that marijuana does have benefits and could be utilized in number of ways. However, California may be heading down a slippery slope and could possibly bring the whole country with it.

Richard Lee, the measure's main proponent, said to the LA Times, "It was so easy to get them, People were so eager to sign". Richard Lee has already invested over a million into the campaign, he owns a dispensary and a marijuana college called Oaksterdam in Oakland, California. "The initiative would allow cities and counties to adopt laws to allow marijuana to be grown and sold, and to impose taxes on marijuana production and sales. It would make it legal for anyone who is at least 21 to possess an ounce of marijuana and grow plants in an area of no more than 25 square feet for personal use", according to the LA Times. Medical marijuana has completely shifted how we look at marijuana in the United States, opening the door to all out legalization talks such as this; it appears at this point that the pro-marijuana campaign is having more success than those against it.

We are still a year out from the polls and naturally a lot will take place between now and then. It is still anyone's guess! What we can be certain of is that money will end having the final say in this debate. As with most political battles, those who spend the most have the best chance of passing something - even if it is the worst possible thing. In many people's eyes marijuana is already legal because it is so easy to get a recommendation to use cannabis. If this trend keeps up, marijuana and alcohol will be in the same class. My only hope is that addiction is considered in the debates and the public is made aware of the implications of legalizing an illicit drug.

California Medical Marijuana Is Doping Our Youth

Marijuana is being used to help treat Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) with children in California, has medical marijuana gone too far? This is one of those things that is a question of ethics and certainly needs to be addressed before there is a catastrophe. In 1999 California voters passed a law which allowed doctors to recommend cannabis for medical use, including minors. A seventeen year old with leukemia is a far cry from a twelve year old with ADHD. In California Marijuana can be recommended "for any ... illness for which marijuana provides relief". It has been known for a long time that marijuana inhibits focusing and motivation, how marijuana could be considered useful for ADHD is beyond me; the Washington Times reports, "ADHD is described as a neurological disorder that prevents children from focusing on a specific task. In essence, people with ADHD have difficulty with self-regulation and self-motivation, owing to problems with distractibility, organization and prioritization".

In the United States we are guilty of over-medicating our children and as a result our children suffer. With 14 million Adderall prescriptions last year it is obvious that we are too quick to medicate. Now we are drifting into the world of alternative medications like marijuana to fix our problems with out doing all the research. There needs to be a certain level of digression by doctors when recommending marijuana, otherwise we will be fueling addiction throughout our youth. "What they don't realize is that marijuana use during childhood and the early-teen years produces significantly different effects than marijuana use later in life. The behaviors exhibited by introducing tetrahydrocannabinol -- the active ingredient in marijuana -- to the brain are similar to those demonstrated by alcohol consumption", reports the Washington Times.

We need to start getting real with ourselves regarding the benefits of medical marijuana. Its uses are limited and do not apply to everyone, it has side-effects that have no place in a child's life. If marijuana is going to be legal it needs to be treated like every other prescription drug and be held up to the same scrutiny. We wouldn't give Oxycontin to a child for a hang nail!

California Industrial Prison Complex Needs Reform

California's need for prison reform is absolutely staggering and a need for a change in the way we view certain crimes is completely necessary. The country is in the grips of a fiscal crisis, the question of how states can cut costs is ever looming; it is no secret that billions of dollars are spent every year imprisoning non-violent offenders, most of which are drug related, in California. There is no question that California's Industrial Prison Complex needs reform and policy changes are vital to helping us relieve some of the states fiscal stress. Today, the total is 168,000 inmates in California which is an increase of 740 percent since the 70's and it costs annually 10 billion dollars to operate; California has a $26 billion budget shortfall, so prisons account for almost half of that number.

A three-judge federal court panel Aug. 4 ordered California to reduce its prisoner roll by 43,000 inmates over the next two years. This is a huge step but there are a lot of people who are against the idea of setting convicted offenders free because we are in a budget crisis. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has cut prison spending by 1.2 billion which will only work if they reduce the amount of inmates. According the Coastal Post, "The state, the judges wrote shortly before a major riot at the state prison at Chino, has created a "criminogenic" system that actually pushes prisoners and parolees to more crimes through "appalling," "horrific" prison conditions: "Thousands of prisoners are assigned to 'bad beds,' such as triple-bunked beds placed in gymnasiums or day rooms, and some institutions have populations approaching 300 percent of their intended capacity. In these overcrowded conditions, inmate-on-inmate violence is almost impossible to prevent, infectious diseases spread more easily, and lockdowns are sometimes the only means by which to maintain control. In short, California's prisons are bursting at the seams and are impossible to manage."" That being said it is hard to believe that cutting prison spending without inmate reduction can do much good at all, it will only fuel the fire.

The reformist Drug Policy Alliance and its allies, a year ago, put a "Nonviolent Offender Rehabilitation Act" on the ballot. Drug treatment officials and a group of former corrections officials, believe that prison is not the answer to the drug problem in California; drug treatment has the greatest chance for curbing recidivism. Billions of tax dollars would be saved and could be put towards more constructive ideas throughout the state. On the other side of the United States, New York has repealed the "Rockefeller drug laws" which were the cause of prison over population as result giving drug offenders long sentences. In the last decade the New York State prisons have reduced their population by 10,000, a pretty amazing feat accomplished by offering treatment as opposed to prison. California obviously has some catching up to do, but, it is clear now what has to be done and New York is direct evidence that it is possible.

"Now California reformers are pushing a "People's Budget Fix" formula they say would save at least $12 billion over the next five years. It includes a claimed $5.5 billion through community-based addiction treatment for minor drug offenses (proposed by the Drug Policy Alliance)", reports the Coastal Post. It seems that we are heading in the right direction now that people realize that drug offenders, as well as the public, are better served by being provided treatment rather than locking people up and just expecting that that will change their behavior.

The Battle Continues over the "Marijuana Question" in California

The battle continues over the "Marijuana Question" in California, which will decide whether legalization will do more harm than good. Next year's election in California will be centered on whether a 14 billion dollar a year black market drug will be legalized. Ballot measures are already being put forward by different groups as well as a bill by Assembly Member Tom Ammiano, a San Francisco Democrat, that would legalize and tax the drug. In the coming months there will be a heated battle between the "right" and "left"; there is a good chance that the Mexican cartels will not stay out of the fight for the fact that they have a lot to lose if marijuana is legalized.

Federal drug czar Gil Kerlikowske, who is against legalization, said a few weeks ago, "We will wait for evidence on whether smoked marijuana has any medicinal benefits - those aren't in." Just last week in Fresno Kerlikowske made the statement that, "Marijuana is dangerous and has no medicinal benefit." It would seem that the drug czar has more of a complaint regarding the method in which marijuana is used, rather than whether it is used at all. This brings up an important point, how marijuana in used makes a big difference with regard to heath risks; anything foreign that human beings inhale will have negative side effects. I do not think it is possible for the state to regulate the manner it which weed is used!

Medical marijuana started about ten years ago in California for people with disorders and sicknesses, now, pot-activists want it to be legal for everyone in the state. All of this is starting to look like a recipe for disaster; if marijuana is legalized for adults over the age of twenty one what will be in place to stop children from getting the drug? It will be easy to get for children and teenagers, which without a doubt will ultimately lead to a rise in drug addiction state-wide. It does not seem like this problem can be helped, if 14 billion is being made under the government's nose already, it's pretty clear that once they legalize it they won't be able to control it. Sure some extra money might be made in taxes which obviously wouldn't hurt, but, it seems that everything is moving too quickly for this plan to be put into practice effectively. The country is in need of revenue and this has led to a number of poorly thought out plans to make that happen. I am looking forward to seeing which way this battle goes and I am curious about your thoughts regarding the subject.