cannabisnews.com: A Shift in Values





A Shift in Values
Posted by CN Staff on January 15, 2007 at 11:43:59 PT
Editorial
Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel
Calif. -- For the first time, since Californians authorized the use of medical marijuana, Watsonville is being asked to come to grips with the implications of the 10-year-old law.The issue comes to a town that for more than 20 years hasn't even allowed tattoo artists to operate except under the direction of a physician.
Now city officials have received inquiries from parties interested in opening not only a medical marijuana dispensary, but a tattoo parlor and a head shop to sell pot paraphernalia as well.No doubt about it, Watsonville's changing, in part, as Councilman Oscar Rios noted during a discussion about the question, because hundreds of homes built in recent years have attracted new residents with higher incomes. That in turn is drawing entrepreneurs hoping to cash in on the economic growth.For longtime residents, however, the change until now has hit home most on increasingly congested city streets.But proposals to open a pot pharmacy here point to the potential for a shift in values. After all, Watsonville, with its Latino majority and that community's emphasis on traditional cultural values, isn't Santa Cruz, where in 2003, six of seven council members participated in a pot giveaway to patients on the steps of city hall in response to a federal raid on a local medical marijuana farm.Tuesday, the City Council imposed a 45-day moratorium on the establishment of outlets selling medical pot, paraphernalia and tattoos. The idea is to give the city time to craft rules related to such businesses, of which the most controversial will certainly be the aspects dealing marijuana use.Councilman Antonio Rivas, arguing that the city has enough problems with drugs and alcohol as it is, called for the strictest possible rules. Rios sees the 45-day delay as a chance for community conversation.We agree. There's enough gray in the medical marijuana issue to paint a small battleship.We have long supported the rights of the sick to have access to a drug that may ease their pain. But we've also acknowledged the awkward nature of the 1996 law, which has put the state into conflict with federal law and opened a window for the healthy to secure an otherwise illegal substance.Zach Friend, Santa Cruz police spokesman, said despite the best efforts of the management of the medical marijuana dispensary in his city, prescription pot has ended up in the hands of those without medical need.Though voters statewide overwhelmingly approved the medical marijuana law, we believe it's up to Watsonville residents to decide whether a pot clinic is appropriate for their town. We encourage them to take advantage of this opportunity to discuss the issues — and to inform their elected officials of their wishes.Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel (CA)Published: January 15, 2007 Copyright: 2007 Santa Cruz SentinelContact: editorial santa-cruz.comWebsite: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/CannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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Comment #5 posted by afterburner on January 15, 2007 at 21:16:23 PT
Bombard the Media with Truth
CN BC: PUB LTE: Pot Laws Were Racist In Origin, Parksville Qualicum Beach News, (12 Jan 2007) Robert Sharpe
http://www.mapinc.org/newstcl/v07/n047/a09.html?176Keep bombarding the media with truth wherever and whenever they can or will accept it.
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Comment #4 posted by Dankhank on January 15, 2007 at 21:13:04 PT
you're on to something ...
this has been around for a while. I have a copy on the Cannabis Research Library Disc and the link goes to a site we all know so well ...http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/clinical.pdfheres an abstract of the PDFhttp://www.immunesupport.com/library/showarticle.cfm/ID/5710/peace to educators
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Comment #3 posted by dirtmover on January 15, 2007 at 18:41:00 PT
Insanity
I've had several long discussions with physicians and researchers regarding the dangers of Cannabis.What it comes down to is the only real danger is having a bale fall on you, literally.It is less hazardous than Aspirin or Tylenol.The rabid behavior of those opposed to its use has its roots in our early exposure to the Feds negative hype.Some folks can't break out of their early indoctrination. Much as early religious training can channelize a person's thinking. They think it amounts to "instinct", or God's Will.One doctor I've talked with has concluded that if a person desires Cannabis daily, he NEEDS Cannabis daily. Those who don't need it, try it a few times, get bored, and forget about it. It has no real impact on someone who gets little or no benefit from its use.Our crazy "civilization" has numbed us, and Cannabis helps UNnumb us!How to get this message out to mainstream America is the problem. About 80% of Americans support medical use, but most of them are thinking of cancer or HIV. The fact is, Cannabis helps with ALL pain, including emotional distress.
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on January 15, 2007 at 16:46:18 PT
Values Are Confused These Days
I think that we are going thru a strange time. People are picking sides and forming opinions and are ready to speak their minds. We will have a problem with medical marijuana issues until the laws are changed on a federal level I think.
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Comment #1 posted by Toker00 on January 15, 2007 at 12:36:50 PT
Talk about Values, FoM.
Councilman Antonio Rivas, arguing that the city has enough problems with drugs and alcohol as it is, called for the strictest possible rules.Never mind that there ARE no problems associated with cannabis that they could compare to drugs and alcohol. They are three different things.Can you feel the Love? Can you feel the Value? I can't. I feel the Hate. I feel the Intolerance. Latinos Smatinos. People are people. Human Values are not restricted to one race or cultural group, niether should they be restricted to one area of Town, Cities, States or Nations. I've seen some very Chic and Upbeat Head shops that were put together with the sole purpose of ending the stigma of Head shops being "Counter Culture." They are not. They are and have been MainStreamAmericana for decades. So have Tattoo Parlars. They just haven't been the "values" that Corporatist embrace or allow to be "percieved" as mainstream. But they ARE. Harry Anslinger didn't give a DAMN about pot until it started affecting his BUDGET. Then he used it at the Corporatists demand, Hearst and DuPont to force Hemp off the "FREE" Market. And that is STILL the reason Cannabis is Prohibited.If we don't stop Bush, we will HAVE to grow hemp illegally or not just for the FOOD and FIBRE to fill the void of products that are NOT going to be available to an economically-challenged (To put it mildly) third world United States of America. We really are having a Constitutional Crisis. We really are.Toke. 
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