The Repercussions Begin

[vta]

19's failure is being used against 215....but we knew that would happen. They see/use it as the people don't want marijuana in their society.

URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v10/n1046/a06.html
Source: Kingsburg Recorder (CA)
Author: Jenny McGill

MEDICAL MARIJUANA USE COULD BE ILLEGAL IN KINGSBURG

Medical marijuana dispensaries and medical cooperatives and the outdoor cultivation of medical marijuana could be illegal soon in Kingsburg. The Kingsburg City Council voted Dec. 1 to begin the process to not allow any of these medical marijuana uses in Kingsburg.

The new rule will take effect after the City Council approves the second reading of the ordinance on Dec. 15 and the ordinance is published, said Don Pauley, Kingsburg city manager. The council had previously voted in November and December 2009 approving moratoriums on not allowing the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries and cooperatives in Kingsburg after the city had received inquiries about opening them. Those moratoriums expired Nov. 1 this year.

This proposed new city law came about after the November defeat of Proposition 19 -- the regulate, control and tax marijuana act. According to Kingsburg City Attorney Michael Noland, in light of the defeat of Proposition 19, federal and state laws continue to prohibit the possession, sale, distribution and cultivation of marijuana.

Noland on Dec. 1 told council members how other cities are handling the medical marijuana issue and the court cases that have happened after establishing those laws. He said in one such case the court decided that it is OK for cities to restrict the operations of medical marijuana dispensaries and medical marijuana cooperatives and to not have areas they can be allowed in.

Noland said that since several serious crimes have happened in Fresno County over the outdoor cultivation of marijuana -- in September in Fresno a man was shot allegedly stealing medical marijuana plants from an outdoor garden -- Kingsburg should not allow outdoor medical marijuana growing.

"Staff believes it is in the best interest of the citizens of the city of Kingsburg and for their specific health, safety and welfare that medical marijuana not be cultivated outdoors so as to attempt to reduce, to the greatest extent possible, any criminal activity that may result from the outdoor cultivation of medical marijuana," Noland wrote in a report to the council. He added that "it appears cultivation of small amounts of medial marijuana...can be adequately accomplished through indoor cultivation."

The city's new ruling adds a new section to the zoning ordinance regarding medical marijuana. "It is a prohibited use in any zone district in the city," Noland said.

In 1996, California voters approved a proposition allowing the distribution and use of marijuana for doctor-approved medical reasons, but the federal government then ruled that medical marijuana is illegal

 

[SpasticGramps]

They sense weakness in the cause and are attacking. There is a golden rule in politics, weakness begets aggression.

What a bunch of asswipes.

 

[divided]

I am guessing that a large majority of growers are stoked about this!

If they get rid of the dispensaries and decentralize the bud market, PRICES WILL SKYROCKET! FUCK YEEAHH!!! IM'A BE RICH!!!!

/ sarcasm

Seriously, what happened on the 15th though? That's almost a week ago. Did it go through or not?

 

[Mrgrowem]

It seems the only way California will be able to stop this city and county madness is through the Supreme Court. I just don't know how such an under-represented group "MMJ" can defend themselves without incurring great costs. This will continue until nearly every county and city in the state becomes dry.

Prop 215 gives us safe access and orders the state to implements its use, its written right there within the statute. I don't get how these cities and counties mis-construe and mis-interpret what is written in prop 215. I feel if we don't get a grip soon, it'll be to late to go back and repeal the ordinances.

Underrepresented groups are somewhat protected by law. Somewhat the same idea used to over-rule proposition eight. I think that would be enough evidence for Supreme Court review, just as it was for prop eight.....

Where are all the groups that support MMJ hiding at ? I guess the cities and counties have them tied up in current litigation.....

 

[Yes4Prop215]

thats stupid...they should at least allow outdoor cultivation in greenhouses, or require fencing or some kind of code they could follow. one fucking ripper gets shot and they wanna outlow everything damn.

if this happened in mendo/humbolt county there would be an uproar...

 

[CaptainTrips]

If 19's failure was to be such a detriment to prop 215, maybe putting an unpassable measure on the ballot wasn't such a hot idea... though myself, I think this stuff would still be happening regardless. Whether it passed, failed, or did not exist.

 

[bigbrokush]

If 19's failure was to be such a detriment to prop 215, maybe putting an unpassable measure on the ballot wasn't such a hot idea... though myself, I think this stuff would still be happening regardless. Whether it passed, failed, or did not exist.

I agree with you

 

[zenoonez]

It was already happening before 19 failed and those cases will be coming into the CASC within the next year to year and a half at which point the decisions will be made. I forsee another blow against the anti 215 DAs and Piggles judging by the past year or two in the courts.

 

[trichrider]

hopefully next years measure will negate any of 'their' attempts at overriding peoples wishes. this is the time to get our message out, that 'they' are attacking our civil rights.
btw, thnx for the link.,.I usually find an even more interesting link attached...

 

[Blueshark]

SG is right. The moment they (gov. entities) see what they perceive to be weakness, you will have some self-important 'cowboy' who wants to make a name for themselves. Let's stand our ground and keep up the positive pressure for our side.
Setbacks will happen... Do not help THEM by giving up.

 

[mean mr.mustard]

I think that the raids that are occurring over medical are just one of many signs that are showing that the powers that be aren't going to care about what the law actually says.

Am I really that far out there thinking that raids aren't going to stop no matter what we pass?

The Fed's don't have to stop it in court, though if it came down to it, I'm sure they could.

They just have to keep raiding places to pay their bills and keep us from paying ours.

I don't see it stopping.

I'm confused as to who believes that the raids will dry up in a couple of weeks when they've never stopped.

I remember saying raids would occur even after 19 passed.

That would have happened too.

Be a little reasonable.

Us and them will get us nowhere.

Division is obviously going to negate any effectiveness of our cause.

Why the hell is this thread even open still?



What are we really trying to do?

I remember saying that in various ways at various times.

So have more than a few others.

You can't unpoint fingers.

These raids would have continued in one measure or another even if that trash passed.

Until these realities are realized the bullshit infighting is all we get to do.

I'd like to see more dignified behavior within our ranks as well.... it's just a question of time.

People like to say that if 19 passed LEO would be fucking recreational growers over... and leave the med growers alone.

I would like to point out that rec growers and med growers do the same thing.

And they will all be in the sights of the DEA regardless of state statutes.

Until those individuals who think the war is going to be off of anyone's shoulders realize this is on ALL OF US, we won't be united on any front.

I don't know how else to say it.... but I'm sure I did.

 

[greenmatter]

i really wish that the things i read in these forums were not true but i have accepted (and please do not read embraced into that) the way things work every time. we the voters go to the polls so we can get changes made. when we (the voters) think we have actually accomplished something politics steps in (in the form of elected officials or some appointed official with a legal back round) and try to get things right back the way they were. most of these cases stand out for me because of the fact that they happen so fast as opposed to the normal flow of any other political B.S. and there is very little said by the media. anyone else see this ?or am i just old and grumpy?

LEGALIZE DEMOCRACY ........ a.s.a.p.

 

[David762]

Next year's measure?

Next year's measure?

hopefully next years measure will negate any of 'their' attempts at overriding peoples wishes. this is the time to get our message out, that 'they' are attacking our civil rights.
btw, thnx for the link.,.I usually find an even more interesting link attached...

I hope you aren't referring to CA SB 1449, which AFAIK goes into effect on 01 January, 2011. IMHO, this bill becoming law in CA was a very good thing, considering what happened to Prop 19.

What CA (as the "trail-blazer") needs is a new and much better replacement for Prop 19. It needs to support all the small Mom & Pop dispensary | co-op operations, while also standardizing a minimum level of legality that no city or county can suborn in order to deprive people of their CA legal rights. But AFAIK, the next CA Proposition will not see a vote until 2012. Am I mistaken?

 

[David762]

Next year's measure?

Next year's measure?

hopefully next years measure will negate any of 'their' attempts at overriding peoples wishes. this is the time to get our message out, that 'they' are attacking our civil rights.
btw, thnx for the link.,.I usually find an even more interesting link attached...

Sorry for the double post.

And sorry, TrichRider, for not grokking your statement. The replacement for Prop 19 will have to "hit the streets" in 2011, just to have as many "eyes-on" for problems, before it gets the necessary signatures to hit the ballot in 2012. We don't need a repeat of Prop 19, which drew a lot of attention and not nearly enough votes (for good reasons, apparently).

 

[Frozenguy]

As you can see here, they were on track for this a year prior to this VTA..

The part you bolded just makes note of the fact of timeline. It was an arbitrary reference in time made by the author of the article. No city official made any indication that prop 19's failure made them decide to outlaw MMJ dispensaries and such.

... The council had previously voted in November and December 2009 approving moratoriums on not allowing the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries and cooperatives in Kingsburg...

An entire year before we even voted.

 

[dddaver]

No one should be surprised. OFF YEAR ELECTION. Let me say that again in case no one understands (like obviously most politicians obviously can't). That was an OFF YEAR ELECTION. The whole issue is much like a pendulum to me (thanks Edgar Allen Poe) and it will swing back and go just a little further down next year. Maybe low enough to hopefully cut the heads off some of those stupid politicians. Most politicians are motivated by what? Follow the money, every time. No matter what campaign rhetoric they spout.

 

[vta]

Time To Again Mobilize Against Marijuana

The Monitor Editorial Board
Source: Christian Science Monitor

USA -- A pleasant surprise from last month’s elections was a big “no” vote in California on a ballot measure that would have created the first jurisdiction in the world to fully legalize marijuana.

The state most identified with “recreational” drugs sent a strong signal to all the nation’s politicians that – maybe, just maybe – pot isn’t heading toward social, and ultimately legal, acceptance. Ah, if it were that simple.

The pro-pot lobby isn’t taking “no” for an answer. The legal buying and selling of marijuana, like alcohol or tobacco, is only a matter of when, not if, say backers.

And, indeed, even though the California vote was 54 percent to 46 percent, subsequent polling showed the no vote may not reflect a solid rejection.

If the pro group can write a tighter law, and if supporters can get out the youth vote (far more likely in a presidential election year), they may well succeed in 2012 – in California, Colorado, or other states.

But not if opponents of pot legalization can mobilize now.

Needed: One Voice, One Message

What is needed is a dominant voice with a convincing, simple message to act as a counterweight to a legalization lobby that is run by a handful of savvy, persistent, and well-coordinated organizations and donors.

Who might take on that job?

President Obama, as a father and political leader, must use the bully pulpit for this issue. His administration must act preemptively and be explicit about federal action against any state that moves to make pot legal. It should not wait to reveal its plan of attack until a state referendum finally passes or a legislature succumbs.

The Feds have the reach. They have the funds. They have the law. If only they had the political will.

In this administration, the antilegalization fight has been left largely to Mr. Obama’s “drug czar,” Gil Kerlikowske. He’s done a credible job, and his office is now wisely considering a strategy to counter Round 2 in the legalization drive. But where is the rest of the administration?

It took private and public prodding from former chiefs of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to jolt Attorney General Eric Holder from silence on the California ballot measure, Proposition 19.

The initiative was in “direct conflict” with federal law that makes production and sale of marijuana a federal crime, the DEA administrators pointed out. And the measure, if passed, would violate the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause, where federal law trumps state law.

A Hesitant Justice Department

With the crucial California election less than three weeks away, Mr. Holder responded to the former chiefs. He stated that the Department of Justice opposes Prop. 19, would enforce the law, and said the department was “considering all available legal and policy options.”

It was a belated warning that left exact consequences unsaid. Those plans still haven’t been revealed, and should be. But Holder’s warning was enough of a caution that California voters began to wonder whether their state might lose federal contracts and dollars.

Holder is not the only hesitant administration official in the antilegalization drive. Where is Vice President Joe Biden? As a senator, he took the lead in creating the drug-czar office. Obama, too, has shrunk from the issue, laughing it off at a town-hall meeting in 2009, then adding a one-liner that legalizing marijuana is not a good strategy to grow the economy.

The kind interpretation of this tepidity is that the White House has more important matters to handle. But politics is surely at play. Do Democrats not want to alienate youthful voters who are also pot enthusiasts? And the president’s own past pot use in his youth – he wrote about it in his autobiography – could make the issue problematic for him.

Despite Dangers, Public Acceptance of Pot

Marijuana has been gaining popular acceptance, led by a state-by-state drive to legalize “medical marijuana.” Voters in 15 states plus Washington, D.C., have deemed a drug that contains carcinogens, is inhaled, and is neither regulated nor approved by the Food and Drug Administration, to be medicine.

And if it’s medicine, that means it’s not harmful, right?

No. Studies are mounting that show marijuana’s harmful effects, especially on youths whose brains are not fully developed. The average potency of today’s marijuana is more than twice what it was in 1998. Use can lead to dependency, distort perception, and impair coordination, learning, and memory. Chronic use has been linked to suicidal thoughts and schizophrenia.

Now, 46 percent of Americans favor legalizing marijuana – 58 percent in the West, according to Gallup. Fewer youths see it as risky, and use among teens again increased this year – continuing the reverse of a decade of decline, according to the Monitoring the Future Study. When asked about use in the past month, more 12th-graders used pot than cigarettes, according to the 2010 study.

In 1979, the country also seemed on the verge of legalization. But the tide turned. The crack epidemic of the ’80s played a role, but so did first lady Nancy Reagan’s “just say no” campaign. It was a simple message, by a prominent person.

Research by the independent group RAND Corp. puts the lie to today’s arguments that legalizing marijuana is a sure-bet revenue raiser and will drive violent Mexican drug cartels out of business. But the main message must be that marijuana is not a benign drug. And who better to make this case than the president himself?

Obama as Antipot Spokesperson

Barack Obama is widely respected as a family man. His two girls are on the way to teenhood. One in 6 people who start using marijuana as an adolescent becomes addicted. Is he going to simply tell his daughters that, yes, he smoked pot and, well, he hopes they survive the experience if they follow his example?

Or will the president successfully articulate a message – one that helps parents and other caring adults talk to today’s youth – by telling his children that rejecting marijuana isn’t about his past use, it’s about their future. It’s about their safety, their clarity of thought, their happiness independent of a drug.

The culture of pot acceptance must be reversed in America. It was turned back after 1979, and that can happen again. But the drug czar can’t do it alone. We need the man at the top, and all of the relevant administration players, saying the same thing, and saying it often. What’s good for the president’s children is good for the country. He must tell us so.

Source: Christian Science Monitor (US)

 

[VirginHarvester]

Stupid phucking potsmokers in Cali were too lazy to vote. I talked to too many smokers that just didn't care one way or the other. I hope this bites their asses big time.

 

[mean mr.mustard]

Stupid phucking potsmokers in Cali were too lazy to vote. I talked to too many smokers that just didn't care one way or the other. I hope this bites their asses big time.

Why is that?

What is that going to accomplish?

I don't understand people anymore.

 

[guest396]

well i'm a little more aggressive then some.

i feel if they are going to make a double edge sword out of the peoples rights, then in effect the police should start getting treated just like the thief that got shot did.

now i'm not trying to advocate violence where otherwise none would be necessary, however if they are going to make us the people criminals against our own laws and wishes, therefore exposing us to violence and who knows what else could happen to you in prison, while at the same time taking the pay from our paychecks in the form of taxes, well then i say it's time to bite the dog back!

i never fed a dog i allowed to even look at me funny let alone bite me, its benefactor, and in essence his master. kill that fucking dog if he doesn't know his rightful place.

the chip is coming folks (yeah i said it). this marijuana game is just another one of their controls, you'd better learn to play by their rules if you wanna beat them.

we still have the one thing they fear, power in numbers,....... but oh yeah, i forgot, we are to stoned or stupid to agree on what we want to watch on tv or what we wanna eat for dinner, let alone decide together on a matter as weighty as this.

fuck! i wondered why i'm pissed all the time. oh yeah, i remember now........