Pubdate: Thu, 06 Aug 2015
Source: Reno News & Review (NV)
Copyright: 2015, Chico Community Publishing, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.newsreview.com/issues/reno/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2524
Author: Thomas Wright

THE GREEN RUSH

Re "Liberals should learn from pot regulation" (Let Freedom Ring, July 30):

Whether one supports or opposes medical marijuana establishments in 
Washoe County, everyone can agree on one issue. The current site 
dispensary selection procedure is totally devoid of any semblance of 
promised transparency. Our politicians certainly waxed poetic last 
November regarding the need for transparency and integrity in 
government. Would it surprise you to know that this legislation was 
specifically written to keep secret the identity of the dispensary 
owners? Tradespeople were required to sign non-disclosure agreements! 
Prominent dispensary owners only went public to help with public 
relations damage control when rumors started circulating. This is not 
governmental transparency in action.

The law was supposedly passed to assist patients suffering from 
life-threatening ailments. However, one can receive a medical 
marijuana card for practically any "ailment," however trivial. Since 
MMEs will only succeed when a "critical mass" of cardholders to 
"feed" the increasing number of dispensaries is obtained, the true 
game is not health care, but money. The fact that it is a cash-only 
business doesn't inspire confidence in the integrity of the process. 
While dispensaries and grow facilities are now the law of the land, 
is it asking too much that they not be placed in any residential neighborhood?

Thomas Wright

Reno
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom