Scalia addressing Senate Judiciary Commitee
Supreme Court Justice Scalia told a Senate panel that the war on drugs has had the unintended consequence of overwhelming the federal judicial system and lowering the quality of judges.
The House Judiciary Committee passed a bill yesterday that would make it a crime of conspiracy to plan doing something in another country that would be a violation of the Controlled Substances Act here in the U.S. House Judiciary Chairman Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) (I thought Republicans were supposed to be for less government?) sponsored the bill that makes the mere discussion of doing the act a federal crime, even if the act is legal in that country. First Amendment, Rep. Smith?
New report by RAND that found crime increasing in areas where dispensaries were forced to closed in Los Angeles. Maybe Los Angeles should just let capitalism take it’s course. If that many dispensaries are able to stay open, then obviously there’s a need. The market is relatively new, so eventually the poor performers would fall away. A better solution would be to let everyone grow their own. Crime Rises When Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Close | RAND.
Martin's medical Cannabis authorization at Hempfest.
The state Department of Health is now investigating the doctors that reporter Jonathan Martin referenced in his article for the Seattle Times about how he was able to get a medical marijuana authorization at Hempfest without any medical records. I’m not sure that they will be able to punish doctors for that since it is pretty common for doctors to write prescriptions for medications based on a patient’s own account of his or her maladies. Try going to your doctor and telling them you are having back pain that flares up weekly and see what kind of fun prescriptions you can get. And in this case, it isn’t even a prescription – it’s an authorization or recommendation based on the health care provider’s professional opinion that the patient’s medical condition would benefit from the use of medical Cannabis. This is free speech allowed under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Interesting ruling out of Michigan that “patient to patient sales” are illegal. There are approximately 200-300 dispensaries in Michigan, and Ann Arbor just passed an ordinance to license dispensaries, so it is unclear what will happen to them now. Where does the judge expect patients to obtain their medicine?
The Marijuana Business Report Toke of the Town