I am a physician and regularly recommend medical marijuana to patients. I have found it extremely helpful for thousands of them. From a medical standpoint Proposition 215 is excellent and the authors and state of California deserve recognition. However, there is a movement to legalize marijuana for recreational use in California for the 2012 general [...]

The great thing about our democracy is that our citizens have the right to vote freely. Obviously the majority of voters in California were not convinced it was the right thing to do.

Moving forward, the state of California needs to strengthen its medical marijuana laws to insure that patients always have safe access to medicine. In my mind four things need to happen. READ ON!

As November 2nd approaches there are some pretty clear votes that medical marijuana supporter need to be aware of:

DO NOT VOTE for Steve Cooley for Attorney General. He is for criminalizing the sale of medical marijuana and was responsible for more dispensary raids than anyone else in the State.

Steve Cooley wants to make it very difficult for patients to have safe access to medicine.

Check out this link for more info on why Steve Cooley is BAD FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA

http://www.notcooley.com/

Secondly, Vote NO on Prop 19: READ ON

Although no one can state with 100% confidence what the impact will be on the medical marijuana and marijuana community as a whole if it passes, many people in the medical marijuana community agree that it looks like a big set back. LET ME EXPLAIN.

Unfortunately there are not a lot of physicians in traditional practices who are even willing to discuss cannabis use with their patients, let alone provide a recommendation. For example at Kaiser they have a policy that doctors are not allowed to recommend cannabis. Most kaiser doctors dodge the question or reply to a patients inquiry by saying “if it works then Ok but I can help you with it.”

There is much discussion lately about the posturing of Eric Holder and the federal government regarding their actions if Prop 19 passes. Eric holder stated that they will “aggressively” pursue those who sell and grow marijuana for recreational purposes. Although they state that they are not going to come after existing medical marijuana dispensaries and growers there is a growing fear that they are not going to differentiate between the two. The medical marijuana community, and rightfully so, is fearful of rocking the boat. READ ON

For those of you who believed in States rights and that marijuana will truly be LEGAL in California passes proposition 19, think again. Attorney General Eric Holder just came out and says the Federal government will make it a priority to NOT ALLOW recreational use and sale to take place peacefully in California if the proposition passes. SEE THE LINK TO THE ARTICLE AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST.

For those of you wondering why many people who are currently in the medical cannabis or cannabis industry in general are voting NO on proposition 19 I want to take a minute to talk turkey. Other than the fact that Prop 19 IS poorly written and creates a LOT of ambiguity when it comes to the cities and whether or not it TRULY will be legal, there are other reasons that I think many people need to consider…. READ ON.

A word of caution to medical marijuana patients who plan on growing their own medicine. IF YOU GO ABOVE THE LIMITS ALLOWED IN SENATE BILL 420 (12 PLANTS, 6 MATURE) BE PREPARED TO HAVE TO DEFEND YOUR SELF IN COURT.

A 22 year old patient named Joshua Brewer was sentenced to 60 days in jail and 3 years probation for exceeding the allowable limits. The confusing part about this is that the State Court about 8 months ago ruled it unconstitutional to place limits on how much medicine patients can grow…. HOWEVER they have to be able to justify the amount in court if they get charged.

A recent poll found that 54% of likely voters are going to vote AGAINST the passing of proposition 19. Apparently the prop 19 proponents have run out of money and their campaign is losing steam.

In addition, one of the main reasons that proponents of prop 19 use to get people to vote is to cite the number of arrests each year for minor possession of marijuana. THE GOVERNOR this week made that argument mute when he passed SB 1449 which makes possession of up to an ounce of marijuana a fine of $100 only…. equivalent to a traffic ticket. As of January 1st, NO ONE will be arrested for possessing up to an ounce of marijuana for recreational use.

With just one month remaining until the historic vote on November 2nd for Proposition 19, a ballot initiative to legalize the recreational use of marijuana for anyone 21 and over, there are many people speaking out both for and against it. I have over the past 6 month blogged about why I think it is a poorly written proposition that won’t come close to accomplishing what it is intending. However, recently I have given more and more thought to voting yes for this proposition. REGARDLESS, THE FACE OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA IS GOING TO CHANGE DRAMATICALLY IF THIS PASSES. READ ON….