Oregon Medical Marijuana Program: Oregon Business Magazine Promotes it

The cost of the drug war is at least $10 billion and close to that if Marijuana were taxed like alcohol and tobacco which are both death dealing drugs. MARIJUANA HAS NEVER KILLED ANYBODY.

(MOLALLA, Ore.) - When I first saw the article in Oregon Business Magazine, May 2010, titled Marijuana Goes Mainstream in Southern Oregon I could barely believe it. After reading, and nearly vomiting, about the ignorant vehemence of Dan Harmon of Associated Oregon Industries (AOI) I was really “hornswoggled”. At last, the business community is showing some sense about a very valuable safe medicine, cannabis/marijuana (C/MJ) used effectively by 35,000 Oregon residents allowing them to work and live normally.

The author, Ben Jacklet with photos by Jamie Lusch, did a pretty fair job but they need to throw in some stupid remarks by Dan Harmon and several cops who know nothing about medicine and very little about marijuana. It is a very safe effective medicine compared to Morphine, anti-depressants and alcohol which IS the most dangerous “on the job” medication.

The writer did make several errors or misstatements pandering to the OAI and policemen.

He reported a huge plant producing 16 pounds of medicine. This is very rare most plants produce 3 – 4 ounces.

He points out the illegal side of the business which is mostly run by the Mexican Mafia and has very little to do with medical marijuana. If growing were legal the Mexican Mafia would be out of business overnight. The Mafia wants to keep it illegal.

Deputy Chief Tim George says the Medical Marijuana program is “out of control”. It is so only because of the stupid laws but it is paying his $80,000 a year salary. Legalization would promote a billion dollar a year industry!

Reporter Ben Jacklet salivates and uses the word “stoners”. He’s talking about High School kids who have been using “grass” for about 30 years or so NOT medical users who KNOW MJ works almost miraculously in many cases. He does point out that the crop is worth about $35 billion a year which is probably conservative. In Canada it is estimated to be worth $20 billion. Where do they send it?? Guess!!

The cost of the drug war is at least $10 billion and close to that if Marijuana were taxed like alcohol and tobacco which are both death dealing drugs. MARIJUANA HAS NEVER KILLED ANYBODY.

He and the cops condemn the one and a half pounds allowed. U.S. legal patients are sent 300 marijuana cigarettes each month. Some severely ill patients require an ounce per week, and they don’t waste it by “getting high”.

The Oregon Law preventing sale has produced about 35,000 criminals who have permits allowing growing, carrying and using marijuana. Everybody has to buy it sometime.

California is purported to have about 2000 dispensaries from Oregon to Mexico with 600 in the Los Angeles area alone.

California will almost certainly legalize marijuana this fall. An estimated 3,000,000 use it, maybe more.

The Oregon plan of $2,000 licenses for sellers and $1,000 for growers will produce another bunch of “law breakers”. Right now about 40,000 people have the right to grow it. How can police monitor this? They can’t!

Misinformed, ignorant Dan Harmon is almost psycho about marijuana users. Whether he belives it or not ALCOHOL is far more dangerous and he doesn’t even check for that. Why not?

Melanie Barniskis, a medical marijuana advocate, estimates 22,000,000 people use marijuana. The U.S. Government estimated 50 to 70 million. She advocates medical research for MJ. It has already been done, Search Storm Crow’s List!

Jacklet produced a chart indicating the finances of MJ. It is ultra conservative in almost all aspects but a good try. He mentions R. Gil Kerilikowske, President Obama’s new drug czar. He is so psychotic about marijuana that he should try some as a tranquilizer. He needs it. He condemns the cost of the drug war. The biggest cost is putting users in prison at a cost of 40 to 70 thousand dollars per year. There are probably at least 1,000,000 of them. The cost of catching and imprisoning them is beyond astronomical.

Even with misstatements and police propaganda, this is still a very useful article about marijuana.

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