While no marijuana advocate is any stranger to the notion that federal prosecutors spend some of their time going after marijuana offenders, it may be a surprise to many average participants that the Obama administration has made a pretty abrupt change of policy regarding medical marijuana dispensaries. Now, think what you want about the President, at least he cleared the way to some extent for medical marijuana to better establish its precedent on a national scale. Since Obama gave his somewhat indirect nod to the notion of thc based medicines, no Colorado dispensary which has followed the rules set forth by the legislature has been shut down. Some dispensaries were shut down recently, but nearly all of them were told they could reopen somewhere greater than 1000 feet from any school.
As Colorado dispensaries still seem to be somewhat out of the cross hairs so long as they are following regulations precisely, it wouldn’t seem that the administration has necessarily regressed to the degree of the Bush administration. That is to say, Obama seems to acknowledge the legitimacy of the medical use of the plant, but has loosened the reigns a bit on prosecutors to allow them to intervene on a state level where there are questions of impropriety or operational problems for the dispensary. We do not know what conversations Obama has had with his Attorney General, Eric Holder, although we may surmise.
In allowing dispensaries to operate, Obama seemed to have hedged his bets on popular sentiment. Shortly after announcing his tacit consent for medical marijuana to exist, an NBC/WSJ poll showed 73% of Americans were in favor of legalizing marijuana for medical use. This may have gone up a tad with his endorsement, but it is unlikely to have changed radically. So on the one hand, you have a very very popular policy of allowing medical marijuana to operate and on the other hand… well, so where is the pressure coming from on the other side? Certainly, pharmaceutical companies are extremely opposed to legalized medical canibus, it attacks their bottom line. Although it doesn’t seem like this alone would be enough to turn the President against an overwhelmingly popular policy during an election year.
Well, if you look at California, you see that many dispensaries have been closed that haven’t explicitly been violating any state law. So what gives? Well, besides grey market activities… there just aren’t many rules governing exactly what you can and cannot do in the state with MMJ and many MMJ entrepreneurs have taken liberties with their law’s loose guidelines. This provides a wealth of opportunities for crooked activities and the use of medical marijuana for decidedly non-medical purposes. While John and Jane dispensary owner may have good intentions and motives, there is very little preventing organized crime or not so organized crime from taking a seat at the table and quietly funneling MMJ for illicit goals.
Meet the contradiction: Colorado. Speak with any dispensary owner in Colorado and you’ll probably hear a bit about how much of a darn pain in the butt some of the regulations are for daily operations (perhaps some slightly more coarse language). However, Colorado has seen none of its dispensaries closed without them violating our legislative guidelines. Colorado is the first state with a more established MMJ industry to implement strict controls on production, transportation and sale of MMJ. In other words, of all the states having to do with legitimate industry being used for illegitimate purposes, Colorado was first out the gate with strict controls on production and sale of medical marijuana.
Now… some of the eventualities of these laws may seem a bit orwellian. For instance, at any dispensary in Colorado – that is up to snuff on the regulations that went into effect in July of last year – the MMED (Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division) can login and monitor the cameras on the establishment premises. Despite being a little creepy, there is a really great purpose being served. The MMED (and by extension the DEA and federal prosecutors) have access to video or video footage for every dispensary in the state. So if a dispensary is suspected of doing something that it shouldn’t, the process of obtaining information to confirm or deny such rumors is easily at hand. Pain for dispensaries, good for the MMED, good for the Feds and eventually… good for patients. Why? Because so long as their dispensary keeps their i’s dotted and t’s crossed, patients in Colorado can count on getting their medicine from the same provider for so long as they choose to provide it.
It should seem obvious that all of these conclusions depend on heaping amounts of faith and conjecture. There have been some negative reports creeping out about higher rates of marijuana use among youths in areas with medical marijuana. This is obviously a concern and probably to none moreso than to dispensaries, as those running them have magnitudes more to lose than to gain if popular opinion turns against them. It is also a concern for Obama. In no small way, such specks on the radar bring the fear that it is an omen of terrible side effects to medical marijuana, which could constitute a threat to the President. While overwhelmingly, the results of medical marijuana have had nearly no bad side effects to speak of – at least not on crime rates, homicide, rape and so on – the industry is new, which leaves Obama much more vulnerable than his successors will be. Defending a popular policy that you inherited is quite a bit easier than setting the precedent on a policy that had yet to be proven.
As such, remember, this is an election year. IE: they are listening. Speak loudly and you might just be heard. If you feel that medical marijuana is progress, you better be sure you and those who share your point of view are louder than those against.
