Ca.'s Prop 19 and My Medical Marijuana Recommendation

While we have all been hoping and waiting a very long time to see the headlines, “California Legalizes Marijuana“, the Nov. 2^nd vote is now just a short 34 days away. I can’t begin to explain how very much I want us to blaze a new trail for the rest of the nation in correcting our backwards drug policies regarding this harmless substance. Are we not as forward thinking as the Netherlands and Portugal, who’s countries have not fallen into chaos because they legally recognized marijuana use.

As opposed to the U.S. Fed Gov, the World Health Organization agreed with marijuana legalization by stating, “On existing patterns of use, cannabis poses a much less serious public health problem than is currently posed by alcohol and tobacco in Western societies.”

I know that there are a lot of MMJ patients that are curious about how the newly legal recreational marijuana consumption by those over 21 will affect medical marijuana patients. It’s more than a little disingenuous for the Yes On 19 camp to publish, as they plainly do on their “Medical FAQ” page that absolutely no part of Prop 19 will affect the medicinal marijuana patient or collective owner. Yes, it’s true the medical marijuana patient will still have all the same legal coverage as they did before, all while lowering the burden of taxes on medical cannabis patients and dispensaries. The problem is that one can’t help but wonder what will happen to your favorite collectives after the flood-gates are opened to big business and how that might affect the current medical marijuana collective business model.

While it seems that most of the fallout from P19 is so vague, it’s exceptionally tough to address. Some broader questions are much easier ponder. 1.) Will the preponderance of medical marijuana patients who do not have seriously debilitating illness’ (patients such as myself, who use marijuana medicinally but are not currently ill) … will we no longer try to or be able to obtain medical recommendations? 2.) Will the market become inundated with marijuana business in certain socio economic areas? 3.) Will marijuana use be converted into an even bigger stick within child custody battles because of the provisions about child endangerment and adult consumption? 4.) MMJ Patient can grow “X” amount while recreational users can only grow “x” … who will grow their own marijuana? 5.) What will the Feds do? … and last, but not least, the most important question out there…Should I keep my medical marijuana recommendation current until the fed’s are done going after California for Prop 19…. YES!

Medical Marijuana Tincture Taste Like ....

A surprising number of medicinal cannabis patients are pleased to learn about tinctures of medical marijuana. A tincture is an alcohol-based liquid fusion. It is quite the strong extract. Presently there are tinctures of medical cannabis made with alcohol, oil or glycerin. It is one of the most efficient ways to use medical marijuana. A few drops of the tincture are placed under the tongue (sublingually) and the medicine moves through the blood vessels and enters the bloodstream. The effects will be evident in about 5 – 15 minutes with a peak effect at about 30 minutes after consuming the medication. For countless cannabis patients the effects are similar to inhaled marijuana.

Patients who have need for immediate relief of pain (i.e. for backaches) find the speedy onset is often very helpful. Patients who are despondent or uncomfortable with the smoking aspects of cannabis use also benefit from the tinctures.

It is exciting to make a note of the fact that tinctures of cannabis were extensively available in the mid 1800’s. Most apothecaries (Apothecary (pronounced /əˈpɒθɨkɛəri/) is a historical name for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses materia medica to physicians, surgeons and patients — a role now served by a pharmacist (or a chemist or dispensing chemist), and some caregivers.) contrived their own tinctures of cannabis. Many years later a number of pharmaceutical companies began to create tinctures of cannabis, using marijuana from India (believed to be superior cannabis) and hopeful uniformity in dosage. Presently tinctures are available in dispensaries or can be made at home.

Will Prop 19 Puff, Puff, PASS!!

Well, it seems according to the L.A. Times, that so far, the "yes" on Prop. 19 proponents have gone out and collected quite a large war chest, which represents a huge monetary advantage of $1.78 million to somewhere around $61,600 against Prop 19, with a large amount of the 'yes' funds is coming from a single source.

Prop 19 Supporters:

While the majority of Pro Prop 19 monies came from those groups associated with Oakersterdam, the Medical Marijuana College whose creator Richard Lee is Prop. 19's greatest supporter and have given more than half a million dollars. Some of the other big backers in this epic battle include $100,000 from Phil Harvey of DKT International in North Carolina, and says it is "largest private provider of contraceptives and family planning services in the developing world"; $5,000 from Berkeley Patients Group; $1,449.47 from Yes We Cannabis; a clever $420 donation came from Darrel Claridge, a financial planner for City National Bank; $20,000 from Dustin Moscovitz, co-founder of Asana; $12,689 from the president of the California chapter of Norml, the marijuana reform group; $1,500 from Etienne Fontan of Berkeley Patients Group; $20,500 from George Zimmer, CEO of Men's Warehouse ("You're gonna like the way you look"); $1,000 came from Marsha Rosenbaum of the JK Irwin Foundation; at least $5,000 came from an L.A. photographer named Alexander Campbell; $2,000 from a Google software engineer named Nathan Gaylinn and, at least 25,000 came from Odam LA Collective.

Pro Prop 19:

Support

• California NAACP^[25]
• Gary E. Johnson, former two term Republican Governor of the state of New Mexico^[26]
• Jocelyn Elders, former United States Surgeon General^[27]
• George Miller, current Democratic House Representative from California's 7th congressional district^[28]
• Barbara Lee, current Democratic House Representative from California's 9th congressional district^[28]
• Pete Stark, current Democratic House Representative from California's 13th congressional district^[28]
• John Dennis, 2010 Republican Congressional candidate for California's 8th congressional district^[29]
• Dan Hamburg, former Democratic House Representative from California's 1st congressional district^[30]
• Don Perata, former Democratic President pro tempore of the California State Senate^[30]
• Mark Leno, current Democratic member of the California State Senate^[30]
• Tom Ammiano, current Democratic member of the California State Assembly^[31][32]
• Jorge Castañeda Gutman, former Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Mexico^[33]
• Larry Bedard, former President of the American College of Emergency Physicians^[34]
• Tom Bates, current Mayor of Berkeley, California^[30]
• James P. Gray, former Superior Court judge of Orange County, California and former Libertarian Party senate candidate^[35]
• John A. Russo, current City Attorney of Oakland, California^[36]
• Paul Gallegos, current District Attorney of Humboldt County, California^[30]
• Jeffrey Schwartz, former Senior District Attorney and Prosecutor of Humboldt County, California^[30]
• Terence Hallinan, former District Attorney of San Francisco, California^[30]
• Mike Schmier, former District Attorney of Los Angeles, California and California Administrative Law Judge^[30]
• Norm Stamper, former Seattle, Washington police chief^[37]
• Joseph McNamara, former San Jose, California police chief^[30]
• Stephen Downing, former Los Angeles, California police chief^[30]
• David Doodridge, former Los Angeles, California narcotics detective^[38]
• Ed Rosenthal, cannabis activist and columnist ^[39]
• Marc Emery, cannabis activist and former cannabis seed seller^[40]
• Valerie Corral, current executive director and co-founder of Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana ^[41]
• Oakland City Council^[42]
• Berkeley City Council^[30]
• California NORML^[43]
• Drug Policy Alliance^[44]
• Marijuana Policy Project^[45]
• American Federation of Teachers^[46]
• National Black Police Association^[47]
• Law Enforcement Against Prohibition^[48]
• ACLU of Northern California^[30]
• ACLU of San Diego^[30]
• United Food and Commercial Workers Union^[49]
• Communications Workers of America, Local 9415^[50]
• International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Northern California District Council^[51]
• Service Employees International Union of California^[52]
• Interfaith Drug Policy Initiative^[30]
• Los Angeles County Democratic Party^[53]
• San Francisco Democratic Party^[54]
• Alameda County Democratic Party^[30]
• Monterey County Democratic Party^[30]
• Santa Barbara County Democratic Party^[55]
• California Young Democrats^[56]
• Republican Liberty Caucus^[30]
• Green Party of California^[30]
• United States Libertarian Party^[57]

Prop 19 Detractors:

Meanwhile on the opposing "no" side of Prop 19, nearly all the cash has come in large donations from police and prosecutor groups. For instance, The California Narcotics Officers Association gave $20,500; the California Police Chiefs Association gave $30,000; California Peace Officers Association gave $5,000; and the Peace Officers Association of L.A. County gave another $5,000. They seem to have erected a blue wall of misinformation.

As any astute observer of the news has noticed, the Prop 19 polls vacillate from pass to fail, and it's truly anyone's guess where this will end up.

Last week, “No” on P.19 received a small victory when Sen. Feinstein became the co-chair of the anti-Prop 19 campaign, As well L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca. The dark horse in this race is the state Chamber of Commerce which has come out against Prop. 19 and could feasibly use its deep pockets to rage against Prop 19.

For the time being, the Pro Prop 19 camp shows superior funding. The big hanging question is whether opponents such as the religious right (think LDS church, and gay marriage) will rally and manage to beat it. Lets us all pray for a happy Nov. 3^rd morning.

Con Prop 19:

Oppose

• Meg Whitman, 2010 California Republican gubernatorial candidate^[58]
• Jerry Brown, current Attorney General of California and 2010 California Democratic gubernatorial candidate^[59]
• Dianne Feinstein, current Democratic Senator from California^[60]
• Barbara Boxer, current Democratic Senator from California^[61]
• Carly Fiorina, 2010 California Republican Senatorial candidate^[62]
• Gil Kerlikowske, current Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, and former Seattle police chief^[63]
• Dan Lungren, current Republican House Representative from California's 3rd congressional district^[28]
• Nate Holden, former Democratic member of the California State Senate^[64]
• Kamala Harris, current District Attorney of San Francisco, California and 2010 Democratic candidate for California Attorney General^[65]
• Steve Cooley, current District Attorney of Los Angeles, California and 2010 Republican candidate for California Attorney General^[66]
• Bonnie Dumanis, current District Attorney of San Diego, California^[67]
• Sandra Hutchens, current Sheriff of Orange County, California^[64]
• Michael J. Rubio, current Democratic Kern County, California supervisor^[68]
• Dennis Peron, co-author of California Proposition 215^[69]
• Randy Thomasson, founder of Campaign for Children and Families and sponsor of California Proposition 8^[70]
• Louis R. Miller, current chairman of D.A.R.E. America^[71]
• California Chamber of Commerce ^[72]
• California Narcotics Officers Association^[73][74]
• California Police Chiefs Association^[75]
• Mothers Against Drunk Driving^[75]
• California District Attorneys Association^[76]
• California Bus Association^[77]
• California Beer and Beverage Distributors^[78]