Drug War Issues
Politics & Advocacy
Southern California will see its first festival featuring legal pot sales and consumption this weekend, an Arizona federal judge slaps down Walmart for firing a medical marijuana patient without proving impairment at work, New York's governor acknowledges legalization isn't happening fast enough to be included in the budget, and more.
NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) concedes that marijuana legalization isn't happening fast enough to make the budget. (Creative Commons)
Southern California's First Festival with Legal Marijuana Sales and Consumption is This Weekend. The High Times Dope Cup High Desert festival set for the high desert town of Adelanto this weekend will be the first in Southern California where marijuana can be legally purchased and consumed. Pot smoking will be allowed in designated areas at the festival, and dozens of vendors will be selling weed to anyone 21 or over. The first Northern California festival allowing sales and consumption was Hempcon in San Francisco earlier this year.
New York Governor Drops Marijuana Legalization from Proposed State Budget. Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said Tuesday he was dropping his proposal to legalize marijuana from his proposed state budget. He said because he was unable to arrive at quick passage of a marijuana legalization bill he could no longer count on marijuana revenues in his budget forecast. Cuomo and legislative leaders said there is still a chance legalization could be passed after the budget is passed and before the June 19 end of the legislative session.
Medical Marijuana
Arizona Federal Judge Rules for Medical Marijuana-Using Walmart Worker. An Arizona federal district court judge has ruled that Walmart wrongfully fired a long-time employee who was a medical marijuana patient after a drug test returned positive results for marijuana because the company did not establish through expert evidence that she was impaired by marijuana at work. The court held that Walmart's action violated protections in the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act.
South Carolina Senate Panel Advances Medical Marijuana Bill. A subcommittee of the Senate Medical Affairs Committee has approved SB 366, the Compassionate Care Act, on a 5-1 vote. The vote came after the subcommittee accepted amendments aimed at easing law enforcement opposition to the bill, among them banning certain transportation workers from participating, working toward a better method of detecting marijuana-impaired driving, and tightening the definitiation of a debilitating condition. The bill now goes before the full committee before headed for a Senate floor vote.
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Comments
Yes! Stick it to Walmart!
Who the fuck is Walmart, or any corporation, for that matter, to tell us not to use cannabis? They are neither a moral, nor a legal, authority. Their stated justifications for such policies are, certainly in virtually all cases, pure bullshit.
Corporations are not people; I will believe it when Texas executes one by lethal injection.
People have rights; Corporations are legal fictions written by modern-day robber barons like Schultz of Starbucks. Fuck those sold-out jackasses.
People before profits!!
South Carolina, Health, and Culture
A bit of reflection on the South Carolina Senate panel vote...
But first let me say,
We're all products of our place and time in History, and we're all born into a specific, local culture. You always start where you are.
When you're a kid, you don't have much choice other than to learn what you're taught by your elders, even if that knowledge and culture being passed down contains inaccurate information or misconceptions. I'm not picking on South Carolina here, I'm talking about every last one of us.
But progress comes through a rational analysis of our preconceived assumptions.
SICKNESS VERSUS WELLNESS
How do you define good health? Is is an absence of sickness? Or is it an abundance of wellness?
The South Carolina Senate panel vote, 5 to 1 in favor of medical marijuana, represents social progress. So that is a good thing, if for no other reason.
But let's take a closer look at the concessions that were made to the opponents of medical marijuana, as listed in Phillip Smith's article above.
1. Banning certain transportation workers from medical marijuana use; 2. Promoting new technology for detecting driver impairment from medical marijuana use; 3. "Tightening the definition of a debilitating condition."
Like they say on Sesame Street, "Which one of these things doesn't belong?"
Concessions #1 and #2, whether you agree with them or not, are at least ostensibly justified on grounds of Public Safety, which is itself a good thing. (Personally I would ban cars before I would prohibit marijuana. Cars kill. Marijuana doesn't. There is no such thing as "safe driving.")
But Concession #3 is different. It "doesn't belong." We should be loosening the definitions of what constitutes a debilitating condition, not tightening them.
I also was raised to view good health as a lack of sickness, rather than an abundance of wellness. I said to myself, "I'm not sick, therefore I must be well. But I sure don't feel well. Maybe I'm crazy..." It took a long time, and a lot of help from other people, before I was able to understand that I had been a victim of a misconception. A lack of sickness does not mean an abundance of wellness. I might not have been sick, but I had a long way to go before I could say I was well!
But, we're Americans, goddamn it, not farm animals! We're entitled to the higher standard!!
Just legalize it already!
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