cannabisnews.com: A New Pot of Gold A New Pot of Gold Posted by CN Staff on December 02, 2002 at 10:04:40 PT By J.K. Dineen of The Examiner Staff Source: San Francisco Examiner The number of medicinal marijuana cardholders in The City has skyrocketed in the past year, pumping millions of dollars into a poorly regulated industry and leading to accusations of cutthroat business practices among cannabis clubs. By the end of October, 4,780 San Franciscans had secured medicinal marijuana identity cards from the Department of Public Health. Last month, 229 city residents joined the burgeoning army of those legally smoking marijuana to treat a vast array of illnesses, from full-blown AIDS to a bad back. In little more than six months, the number shot up by 1,700, according to the Department of Public Health, the department charged with distributing the medicinal marijuana identification cards. The cards are voluntary and are not required to obtain medical marijuana, so their numbers do not represent all those seeking the drug. "Frankly, it's a lot more than I thought," said Eileen Shields, spokeswoman for the Department of Public Health. "I guess it's a very popular program." Popular enough that medicinal marijuana may represent one of San Francisco's fastest-growing industries in these lean economic times. "Medicinal marijuana is the California Gold Rush of the new millennium," said Kent Taylor, who is involved in a bitter business custody dispute over a Sixth Street cannabis club. "It's the wild, wild West and there are no laws." Million-dollar frenzy While marijuana prices vary, several club owners speculated that the average cannabis patient probably spends about $80 a week on their medicine. Over 12 months, that translates to $19.8 million a year for San Francisco's cardholders -- excluding the hundreds who hold cards from the Oakland Cannabis Buyers Club but frequent S.F. reefer havens. While the bulk of that money ends up in the hands of growers, who charge between $3,500 and $4,000 for a pound of weed, some advocates say the money has distorted the altruistic objectives of Proposition 215, which legalized medicinal marijuana. In the case of The Healing Leaf on Sixth Street, for example, current operators and other marijuana advocates say they are being muscled out by Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana founder Lynette Shaw and Rick Watts, who ran the Harm Reduction Center at the Sixth Street address until the Drug Enforcement Administration raided the place in February. In a police report, Healing Leaf's owners Elisa Baker and Kent Taylor claim Watts dropped by the store Aug. 6, cut the locks and said they had 30 seconds to leave because he was "taking the club back." Watts did not return phone calls seeking comment. He is awaiting trial on the February indictment. Shaw said she could not comment on whether she plans to take over the store. "I will call you when there is something to announce we're going to do a press release later in the month," she said. Struggle for franchise Marijuana advocate Eric Levy, who used to volunteer at Harm Reduction Center, described the battle for the Sixth Street store as "struggle for a franchise that is worth a lot of money." "There was an awful lot of profit running through that place and not a lot of compassion," said Levy. Baker said The Healing Leaf was different from other clubs because it specialized in supplying poor clientele with low-grade medicine. "The people hurt by our eviction are our desperate, indigent clients. We have bags for $5. We have compassion pot. We give out free joints at 4:20 every day to people who otherwise couldn't afford it," said Baker. The proliferation of cardholders is also a boon for doctors who specialize in referring patients seeking medicinal marijuana. Most of the doctors charge $200 per referral and have close relationships with some of the clubs. Jim Green, owner of The Market Street Club, which treats mostly AIDS patients, said few of those obtaining cards are really sick. "I spend most of my time turning away people with bogus paperwork," he said. "Basically, pot clubs are becoming the new massage parlors. If you went into the clubs you'd have to look around hard for someone who has a legitimate medical need. The rest are just working the system." But Levy suggests Green's criteria for what constitutes a sick person is too stringent. "I'd say everyone's got something wrong with them. There might be some who are taking advantage (of the law), but the fact is that cannabis as medicine has such wide applications that it's pretty much good for what ails ya," Levy said. "It's in the class of aspirin. How many people take aspirin recreationally?" Source: San Francisco Examiner (CA)Author: J.K. Dineen of The Examiner StaffPublished: December 02, 2002Copyright: 2002 San Francisco ExaminerContact: letters sfexaminer.comWebsite: http://www.examiner.com/Medicinal Cannabis Research Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/research.htmCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #15 posted by TecHnoCult on December 03, 2002 at 07:34:56 PT Not ill? "I spend most of my time turning away people with bogus paperwork," he said. "Basically, pot clubs are becoming the new massage parlors. If you went into the clubs you'd have to look around hard for someone who has a legitimate medical need. The rest are just working the system."This guy is a MMJ supplier? Surely he knows that pot helps with more than just AIDS, Cancer and MS??? I mean, I use it for my bipolar disorder. Do you think he could pick me as a legitimate MMJ user from a crowd? Believe it or not, being moody is a legitimate ailment for MMJ!THC [ Post Comment ] Comment #14 posted by FoM on December 02, 2002 at 22:55:09 PT CorvallisEric I got tired of looking for one from a source that would be ok so I posted it on my personal web page. If you click the CNews banner at the top it will take you to articles about Irvin Rosenfeld. I understand tired. I'm very tired myself and am calling it a day. ''Medical Marijuana'' Pioneer Fears for Future: http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/ir.htm [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by CorvallisEric on December 02, 2002 at 22:38:36 PT Sorry, FoM, my mistake (comment 9) That's what I get for playing internet after my bedtime: executive function suffers from fatigue just like driving does. I overlooked the dates on Google News - except for the new Virginian-Pilot article, they were all around Nov. 20 and seem to be identical to:http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/14/thread14794.shtmlOn a brighter note, the poll is up to better than 54% yes 44% no:http://www.pilotonline.com/news/nw1202pot.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by FoM on December 02, 2002 at 18:11:23 PT afterburner Thank you! I really appreciate it. [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by afterburner on December 02, 2002 at 17:15:31 PT: FoM, comment #5, thanks. Understood, not meaning to bug you, just curious. Take as much time as you need. God bless. [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by FoM on December 02, 2002 at 14:40:34 PT Thanks CorvallisEric! I did a search on CNews to see what would come up. I checked google but so far no source that I can post without snipping. If I find one I'll get it posted.http://www.cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=rosenfeld+marijuana [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by CorvallisEric on December 02, 2002 at 14:28:44 PT FoM: Rosenfeld article You may have already tried this. I searched Google News for "rosenfeld marijuana" - they had 3 listings, then 3 more if you click the link at the bottom that says "repeat the search with the omitted results included". There seem to be articles by at least 2 different authors and abbreviated versions of these. On your Virginian-Pilot link there is a poll:Should those suffering from deadly diseases be legally allowed to smoke marijuana?52% yes 46% no 2% undecided 4900 votes (roughly). I've never seen poll results this bad before. What gives? [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by FoM on December 02, 2002 at 12:21:03 PT Thanks PonziScheme! I'm on my way to look for an article. I need some good news! Thanks! [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by Darwin on December 02, 2002 at 12:14:21 PT Wow, nice call PonziScheme http://www.rand.org/Marijuana No "Gateway" to Cocaine and Heroin A new study casts doubt on claims that marijuana acts as a "gateway" to the use of cocaine and heroin, challenging an assumption that has guided U.S. drug policies since the 1950s. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by PonziScheme on December 02, 2002 at 12:07:03 PT RAND report dismissing "Gateway Theory" HEADS UP! Press reports on a new RAND study critical of the "gateway theory" should start hitting the wires this afternoon. It appears to be quite favorable. It will be interesting to watch the drug warriors reponse. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by FoM on December 02, 2002 at 11:40:58 PT afterburner I went ahead and fixed the thread. If you have any questions I'd sure appreciate it if you would email Richard. We are still very upset about the death in our family and I don't want to do much talking. I can do the news but I am very distracted. I'd sure appreciate it. Thanks in advance. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by FoM on December 02, 2002 at 11:00:58 PT Another Article from a Snipped Source Hi Everyone,Here is another article that I can't seem to find in a paper that isn't a snipped source so here it is if you want to check it out.''Medical Marijuana'' Pioneer Fears for Future: http://www.pilotonline.com/news/nw1202pot.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by FoM on December 02, 2002 at 10:40:42 PT afterburner I had to repost the article. It was originally posted on November 26th so I archived it so I could use it in the article as a reference point. Does that help? [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by afterburner on December 02, 2002 at 10:32:52 PT: Missing Link? FoM: Why does this article posted on cannabisnews today only show up only as a link in another article, Decriminalize Marijuana Users, and not on the home page?They Just Said No - Jim McDonough http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14875.shtml [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by FoM on December 02, 2002 at 10:24:05 PT The Drug War: A Progress Report Hi Everyone,This is a two part series on the drug war but it's from a snipped source so I'm posting it this way for those who might like to check it out. http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20021202-9999_1n1drugs.htmlhttp://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20021202-9999_8n2future.html [ Post Comment ] Post Comment