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Fix Pot Law Conflicts So Industry Can Grow 
Posted by CN Staff on October 21, 2014 at 06:35:27 PT
Editorial
Source: Chicago Sun-Times
Illinois -- Here’s what’s clear: A marijuana gold rush is coming to Illinois. Here’s what’s not so clear: How will fundamental conflicts between state and federal laws governing marijuana be resolved? Because until those conflicts are worked out, too much of this lucrative industry will be a cash business, ripe for fraud and organized crime, and nobody — consumers or suppliers — can feel completely safe from federal snooping and sanctions.About half the states, including Illinois, have enacted laws authorizing marijuana for medical use, and two — Washington and Colorado — have legalized it for recreational use. In Los Angeles, a new smart phone app lets medical marijuana users get deliveries right to their doorsteps.
Business has been booming, especially for recreational marijuana. Colorado took in tax receipts of about $45 million through August, a number that no doubt is registering with officials in cash-starved states elsewhere.Under Illinois’ new, narrowly drawn Medical Cannabis Pilot Program, Chicago’s Zoning Board of Appeals last week began hearings on special-use permits for dispensaries in the city. The city could be home to as many as 13 dispensaries, and Cook County could get two cultivation centers. Final decisions on who gets a medical marijuana license will be made by the state.But there are significant hurdles for people trying to get into this new line of business.One hurdle is the list of stiff requirements for sale and cultivation in the 300-page law, which allows marijuana to be used for 40 specific illnesses, from cancer to muscular dystrophy. Applicants could reasonably feel it would be easier to get permission to handle nuclear rods at power plants. The other hurdle, as we say, is the nervous uncertainty caused by basic conflicts between state and federal laws. As Becky Schlikerman reported in Monday’s Sun-Times, the fact that medical marijuana remains illegal under federal laws means business gets conducted entirely on a cash basis. Banks don’t want to touch an enterprise whose assets could be seized by the feds at any moment.When a business is run on a strictly cash basis, all kinds of shenanigans tend to come along. Organized crime, money launderers and bad actors of all stripes will see great possibilities in dollars that don’t show up on the normal statements of financial institutions. The legal conflict also poses a problem for patients with legitimate health problems who would like to ease their symptoms but don’t want their careers to crash and burn. Doctors, lawyers, teachers and other professionals won’t want their names on lists the feds might grab to help with a crackdown.A gray area like this also creates headaches for local and federal law enforcement, who much prefer to enforce clear-cut and non-conflicting laws.Getting the feds to budge, though, won’t be easy. An entrenched bureaucracy of federal drug control agencies will resist easing drug laws, even if only to end conflicts with the states. Morever, the United States is party to three major drug-control treaties that commit the federal government to cracking down on marijuana. So far, the feds have been able to ignore local pot policies that contradict the spirit of those treaties, but as state laws proliferate that allow both medical and recreational marijuana use, it won’t be so easy to keep looking the other way. The feds are not cracking down on states right now, but that could change as quickly as a change of occupants in the White House. Source: Chicago Sun-Times (IL)Published: October 21, 2014Copyright: 2014 The Sun-Times Co.Contact: letters suntimes.com Website: http://www.suntimes.com/ URL: http://drugsense.org/url/NEZ4b0jMCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml 
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on October 21, 2014 at 14:04:37 PT
War on Marijuana Unconstitutional
War on Marijuana Unconstitutional, Doctors Testify in Federal Court Monday 
By David Downs	October 21, 2014 The federal government tries to justify its war on marijuana Monday
The U.S. government claims marijuana is a dangerous, addictive drug with no medical benefits. But that claim will be up for debate Monday in California when a federal judge is scheduled to hear testimony from doctors that conclude the opposite.Doctors Carl Hart, Associate Professor of Psychology at Columbia University, retired physician Phillip Denny, and Greg Carter, Medical Director of St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Institute in Spokane, Washington will testify Monday that marijuana — real name, “cannabis” — is not the demon drug the federal government makes it out to be. Accepted science does not justify the listing of cannabis as a dangerous “Schedule I” substance, many say.Complete Article: http://drugsense.org/url/qjqxGEGr
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Comment #3 posted by schmeff on October 21, 2014 at 13:05:36 PT
Double Standard Gold-Plated Hypocrisy
A 300 page law to regulate medical cannabis? Contrast this with the two-page (recently updated) guidelines for dealing with Ebola. As the article points out, it's probably easier to legally work with plutonium than medical cannabis.Illinois is apparently prepared to spend a lot of taxpayer money to reinvent the wheel with regards to regulating medpot.
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Comment #2 posted by afterburner on October 21, 2014 at 10:12:06 PT
300-Page Law
"One hurdle is the list of stiff requirements for sale and cultivation in the 300-page law,"No doubt, they expect complete compliance with this law even though only a handful of legislators have likely read the bill for which they voted.After all, ignorance of the law is no excuse for the serfs, only for the rulers and their minions.
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Comment #1 posted by Oleg the Tumor on October 21, 2014 at 07:48:08 PT
Let's see what else this applies to…
"Organized crime, money launderers and bad actors of all stripes will see great possibilities in dollars that don’t show up on the normal statements of financial institutions."… Like central banking. Specifically the Fed's relationship with AIG. Yesterday's testimony from Bernanke shows that lies were told. There was never any intent to purchase the bad assets, only to inject liquidity.Which headline will we see first: "Banker Jailed" or "Massive Snowball Puts out Hell"?FREE THE PRISONER OF SCHEDULE ONE!GIVE BACK WHAT YOU TOOK FROM US!STOP BIG PROHIBITION!
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