Pubdate: Fri, 20 Nov 2009
Source: Grand Junction Free Press (CO)
Section: On The Corner
Copyright: 2009 Grand Junction Free Press
Contact:  http://www.gjfreepress.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4327
Author: Jim Spehar
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?224 (Cannabis and Driving)

ONE TOKE OVER THE LINE?

"Sweet Jesus," Tom Shipley and Mike Brewer sang in the  1970 release
that became their only real hit, "One Toke  Over The Line."

That oft-ignored line has apparently been crossed, not  only here in
Happy Valley but in communities in a dozen  or so states, as
entrepreneurs rush to open the doors  of dispensaries and take
advantage of the recently  relaxed stance on "medical marijuana" by
their states  and the federal government.

Just this past week, the Grand Junction City Council  voted to impose
a one-year moratorium on new business  licenses for medical marijuana
dispensaries, and the  Fruita council decided to impose liquor-license
like  requirements for similar businesses. Fruita will also  impose
some geographic restrictions often also seen in  the regulation of
"gentlemen's clubs" such as the one  now under construction and
consigned to the industrial  area between the two cities.

When I lamented to one of my successors on the City  Council that I'd
apparently missed another golden (and  green) business opportunity, he
reminded me that I  still had about a month to get in under the
moratorium  wire. I'm actually now thinking "mobile dispensary" out
in the unincorporated areas, assuming I can find a  willing part-time
doc to help in this "budding" scheme  to finance the motor home we
look forward to touring in  during retirement.

I promise, no DWD, aka "Driving While Dispensing."

A lifelong friend who follows my weekly musings from  afar messaged me
last week to suggest it looks like  there's another line that's been
crossed by perhaps  more than a single toke. We've been friends since
before I was born, I've joked. Our parents lived in  long-since
demolished adjoining apartments down around  Eighth and Main and he
beat me into this world by about  8 months.

This other veteran of the '60s and '70s may be on to
something.

"How long did Prohibition last...12-13 years?" he  asked. "And what
did it provide... booze-lords, money,  murders y mas."

"So how long will it take for Colorado to realize  booze-lords and
drug-lords are one in the same only  90-plus years later? Move from
illegal to legal and tax  it.... gee, that does sound very similar to
the end  results of Prohibition."

No need to pass judgment on that reasoning. We headed  one toke over
that line with the opinion from  Colorado's own Republican Attorney
General John Suthers  that medical marijuana can be taxed as personal
property. The next jump came with the announcement from  Gov. Bill
Ritter, a Democrat, that the state would  begin to tax those sales.

Apparently, budget crises make some interesting legal  and political
bedfellows. It's also comforting to know  that fiscal opportunism
knows no ideological  boundaries, though I suspect it may not be long
before  we hear some legislators and prosecutors in full roar.

There's likely an element of the bigger picture  argument involved in
the haste with which some  dispensary operators scrambled aboard the
local  regulatory bandwagon this week. There's also a state
association being organized to help formulate regs and  be involved in
any action at the legislative level.

I wonder if there'll be any discussion of quality  standards or THC
limits and what state agency might  provide oversight. Could be the
Department of  Regulatory Agencies or perhaps the Department of Public
  Health and Environment. What about the Department of  Agriculture?
Could there be a marketing order in the  future to raise funds for
promotion and perhaps a  Colorado Marijuana Board ala the Wine Board?
Or a state  board that polices treatment and ethical practices
similar to those overseeing other professions.

I hope it's apparent there's some seriousness in the  midst of my
somewhat tongue-in-cheek rambling.

I don't drink much anymore. An occasional beer and a  little wine. One
week a year some Knob Creek on the  rocks after a day of hunting. It's
probably been about  a quarter century since my last personal
experience  with the killer weed.

Absent return to the "Reefer Madness" mentality that  prompted that
1938 film, a conspicuous example of  ineffective scare tactics, it
appears we're much more  than "One Toke Over The Line." Some may not
appreciate  the way society has evolved thanks to baby boomers and
Millenials and X and Y generations but we probably need  to
acknowledge it'd be a well nigh impossible climb  back up this
slippery slope.

It was intriguing to discover that Jerry Garcia of  Grateful Dead fame
played on Brewer and Shipley's hit.  And appropriate to conclude that
getting to this point  has been an interesting societal journey, a
long and  strange trip.

Jim Spehar was never much good at rolling his own but  his bad back
and aging knee bother him and he hears  it's not that difficult to
obtain cannabis comfort. 
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D