While the federal government's intransigence regarding medical marijuana is deplorable, when are state and local officials going to uphold the interests of those for whom Proposition 215 was intended - -- the seriously ill? Nothing in Proposition 215 or SB 420 authorized the for-profit resale of black-market products, which is the modus operandi of the vast majority of the 150 "dispensing collectives" in L.A. County. The solution to the medical marijuana problem is federal rescheduling and well-regulated prescriptive access, not turning a blind eye to profiteering by marijuana industrialists or gutting law enforcement's ability to sanction drug dealers. The law was written to liberate patients from the risks and indignities of the black market, not to institutionalize it. If the state won't enforce the law as written, who will? West Hollywood The writer is coauthor of Proposition 215. [end]
Just a quick note of appreciation for your article on the abuses of the California Compassionate Use Act of 1996. I regret that other journalists who cover this issue are not as discerning, choosing instead to paint everything in black-and-white (for it or against it), with little or no interest in the nuances of the medical marijuana laws or their implementation. As the co-author of Prop 215 and the founder of L.A.'s first "cannabis dispensary," the Los Angeles Cannabis Resource Center, I am appalled at what is going on in the name of "compassion." [continues 215 words]
