cannabisnews.com: Raids Emphasize Need for Coherent MJ Regulation

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  Raids Emphasize Need for Coherent MJ Regulation

Posted by CN Staff on November 17, 2011 at 18:05:13 PT
Editorial 
Source: Seattle Times 

Seattle, W.A. -- Recent federal raids of medical-marijuana dispensaries in the Puget Sound region highlight in bold relief our disjointed and out-of-touch federal and state rules on marijuana.Few will argue that the U.S. government, which bans marijuana entirely, is off base for intervening in drug sales to a gang in Chicago, as one affidavit contends.
Obviously, law-enforcement officers have a duty to try to intervene in marijuana interstate importation and distribution. Medical-marijuana dispensaries have a purpose and, done right, should be legal. Federal law-enforcement authorities raided dispensaries they believe are acting as fronts for a variety pack of other illegal activities.The raids underscore the mess of regulations and rules. It is time to legalize marijuana, tax it, clarify the rules and provide a reasonable regulatory scheme.If sensible regulations were in place, medical-marijuana dispensaries would not be importing and exporting marijuana across state lines or allowing felons to sell marijuana or illegal narcotics.There are many lines to draw and numerous safety issues to consider. Marijuana should not be legal for those under age 21. It should be legal for people who are not well and need marijuana to control their pain and suffering and for adults.U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan, who must enforce draconian federal law on marijuana, said: "The truly sick people, doctors, caregivers, we're not going to prosecute. They don't have to worry about our enforcement action. But people exploiting (medical marijuana) laws just to make a lot of money selling drugs, they do have a reason to worry."Fine, go after alleged criminals abusing the privilege of a convoluted state law that allows certain kinds of medical-marijuana dispensaries.Washington voters favor medical-marijuana use. They will likely have a chance to decide if they want to go further and legalize marijuana for adults, either if a new initiative gathers sufficient signatures and is passed by the Legislature, or by voters if the measure comes to them.What is indisputable is the current system does not work. Millions of dollars and untold hours of law-enforcement time are wasted prosecuting bit players. Washington needs a more coherent and modern system.Source: Seattle Times (WA)Published: November 17, 2011Copyright: 2011 The Seattle Times CompanyContact: opinion seatimes.comWebsite: http://www.seattletimes.com/URL: http://drugsense.org/url/DNNaDoT1CannabisNews  -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml 

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Comment #18 posted by abhishek644 on November 22, 2011 at 21:29:08 PT:
scrabble cheat
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[ Post Comment ]


Comment #17 posted by FoM on November 20, 2011 at 11:57:53 PT
runruff
I knew you were kidding.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #16 posted by runruff on November 20, 2011 at 10:37:50 PT
I hope ya'll understand...
This is just a joke. We only have an 8 acre plot, not an estate by any means.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #15 posted by runruff on November 20, 2011 at 08:20:25 PT
Bragging about my land.
Me: If I start driving my car   sunrise,
 I won't be able to cover even half of my estate by sunset...
 My Wife: I know that piece of junk never runs! 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #14 posted by FoM on November 20, 2011 at 07:43:29 PT
Hope
I agree but tax evasion is how they got Capone. They will get them for tax evasion since you can't deduct expenses when something is illegal under Federal law. That means a large tax liability will break them financially. If they track them to any Mexican drug cartels that will make it even worse.
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Comment #13 posted by Hope on November 20, 2011 at 07:26:48 PT
Comment 12 FoM
I can't compare these pot entrepreneurs to Capone though. Harborside doesn't send out crews of killers with Thompson machine guns to take out their competing dispensaries.I think the door was opened to them in some places enough to lure them in so that they could ultimately be robbed by the governments around them.
[ Post Comment ]

 


Comment #12 posted by FoM on November 19, 2011 at 18:23:42 PT

Hope
One of the benefits of living in a state where there isn't medical marijuana is I have never seen a pot shop and am like most Americans. From the outside looking in the way I see it happening will bring change but like I always said more will wind up in jail and they will be shocked it happened to them. They took down Capone thru tax evasion and that is probably what they will do this time too. I was reading about prohibition and Capone the other day and he was arrested a few years before alcohol prohibition ended.The Occupy movement is wonderful to see. It makes me feel good to be able to get old and know we have some serious young people who get what most of us here believed way back in the late 60s and early 70s and still believe today.
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #11 posted by Hope on November 19, 2011 at 17:57:38 PT

Comment 7 and Comment 8
Afterburner, that's some stunning footage and photography.Runruff, I'm in. Visualizing.
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #10 posted by Hope on November 19, 2011 at 17:14:17 PT

Comment 9 FoM
I agree. The Occupy people, I'm so impressed with them and what they are doing. It needed to be done. I think they are going to accomplish something good with this historic protest.I agree about that other, too.It's coming. Lots of things are coming. And the big "They" better let this Revolution against injustice happen easy, I think. They better let people have some changes. And some hope.
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #9 posted by FoM on November 19, 2011 at 16:26:40 PT

Just a Comment
I am pleased with the Occupy movement. It gives me hope that there are others who think so much is wrong and needs fixing. As far as what is going on in the marijuana movement I knew this would happen. They will take down those who ran way ahead of the actual law and then the law will change just like when alcohol prohibition ended.That's what I believe will happen.
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Comment #8 posted by runruff on November 19, 2011 at 10:51:10 PT

I have a scheme!
There will always be those among us who will side with the violence and mayhem. There are those who will find entertainm­ent in the suffering of others. These things will ever be.
 
I like to bring to mind what Mr. Einstein had to say about the power of attraction­: He said that all things in our physical universe is energy. Humans are made up of energy and we transmit a frequency . This frequency is a beacon to others who transmit the same frequency. In other words, like energy attracts like energy. This is not philosophy it is physics and can be calculated mathematic­ally.
 
Some call it karma, some say birds of a feather, or likes attract. Poetic justice and so on. This is a fact of the universe. This is why Gandhi called for peaceful demonstrat­ions as well as MLK Jr. Enlightene­d individual­s understand this as it is taught in all religions.
 
People who bring harm attract harm to themselves­... and so on. The power of attraction is a power we all possess. It is in our thought and intentions­. Use your powers, visualize the world you want to live in and never give up! 
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #7 posted by afterburner on November 19, 2011 at 10:06:42 PT

Hope #5
I too am glad Dana is alright and still fighting the good fight.Here is another related link from Hope's post:Occupy UC Davis.
Police pepper spraying and arrest...
11/18/11
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=WmJmmnMkuEM
more at...
AlterNet / By Joshua Holland.
77 COMMENTS.
Caught on Camera: 10 Shockingly Violent Police Assaults on Occupy Protesters.
Probably 97 percent of police act professionally toward protesters. But the other 3 percent are armed and dangerous, and know that they're unlikely to be held accountable.
Photo Credit: Newsweek.
November 18, 2011 | Occupations across the country have born the brunt of some violent police tactics, and in a world where everyone has a camera-phone, a lot of their brutish behavior has been caught in photographs and on video.
http://www.alternet.org/story/153134/caught_on_camera:_10_shockingly_violent_police_assaults_on_occupy_protesters/?page=entireJust as Kent State violence by the Ohio National Guard helped turn the tide against the Vietnam War, so too, these blatant police actions against unarmed citizens on US soil are turning the tide against excessive and militarized police violence, like that used in the War against some Drugs.
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #6 posted by FoM on November 19, 2011 at 05:19:14 PT

Hope
I'm glad he will be OK.
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #5 posted by Hope on November 18, 2011 at 20:48:37 PT

Dana Beal
Hemp Warrior: Marijuana Activist Dana Beal Had a Heart Attack, Died, Came Back, and Beat His Pot Raphttp://tinyurl.com/6voqexr
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #4 posted by runruff on November 18, 2011 at 16:10:38 PT

Important things first!
About the Occupy Wall Street movement; I was with the protesters all the way until I began to see that many protesters were still wearing white after Labor Day! That fashion faux pas is a deal breaker for me. At least the cops were dressed in a nice seasonal blue!
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Comment #3 posted by dongenero on November 18, 2011 at 11:25:29 PT

Poll: Public Supports Medical Marijuana, But Not..
....Full LegalizationThat headline and assertion is misleading, as the poll cites the possibility of statistical error at +/- 3 percentage points. 
The recent Gallup poll methodology which provide 50% approval cites statistical error of +/- 4 percentage points.Therefore, it's about as likely that the nation is 1% for legalization as it is 1% against legalization. Any way you look at it, statistically it shows tremendous support for legalization from literally hundreds of millions of Americans. That's the real headline. In the interest of Constitutional freedom, and "walking the talk", not to mention our Constitution is intended to "protect the minority from the tyranny of the majority", it's high time for full legalization, just like wine and microbrews.
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #2 posted by FoM on November 18, 2011 at 08:41:36 PT

CBS Poll
Poll: Public Supports Medical Marijuana, But Not Full Pot LegalizationNovember 18, 2011According a recent CBS News poll conducted at the end of October, a slim majority of 51 percent continues to think that marijuana use should be illegal. But support for specifically allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana for serious medical conditions - or legalized "medical" marijuana - is far stronger: 77 percent Americans think it should be allowed. Still, even though most Americans support this, just three in 10 believe that the marijuana currently being bought in this country under state-authorized medical marijuana programs is being used in the way it has been authorized: for alleviating suffering from serious medical conditions.URL: http://drugsense.org/url/yf1chyIT
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Comment #1 posted by Oleg the Tumor on November 18, 2011 at 07:25:34 PT:

"How can you be in two places at once . . .
 . . . when you're not anywhere at all!""Okay," say the cops, we're not interested in busting you, because we have so much empathy for the sick. But that guy you are buying the plants from - He's Toast!"Next, they'll blame the patients for creating the "demand".A yellow flag gets thrown down on the play.Its a "Judicial Estoppel" call. Fifteen yards and loss of Coffee & Doughnut!
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