November 21, 2009
At the Peace in Medicine Healing Center in Sebastopol, the wares on display include dried marijuana — featuring brands like Kryptonite, Voodoo Daddy and Train Wreck — and medicinal cookies arrayed below a sign saying, “Keep Out of Reach of Your Mother.”
The warning tells a story of its own: some of the center’s clients are too young to buy themselves a beer.
Several Bay Area doctors who recommend medical marijuana for their patients said in recent interviews that their client base had expanded to include teenagers with psychiatric conditions including attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.
…“How many ways can one say ‘one of the worst ideas of all time?’ ” asked Stephen Hinshaw, the chairman of the psychology department at the University of California, Berkeley. He cited studies showing that tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the active ingredient in cannabis, disrupts attention, memory and concentration — functions already compromised in people with the attention-deficit disorder…
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California Looks to Put Reins on Medical Marijuana Sales
Oct 7
Posted by admin in California Dispensaries, Commentary, Cooperatives?, In The News, Other State's Dispensaries | No Comments
October 7, 2009
California officials are seeking greater control over medical-marijuana sales, as pot dispensaries have proliferated in cities like Los Angeles and concerns are rising about drug dealers posing as medical-marijuana providers.
USA Today reported Sept. 30 that the law on medical-marijuana sales remains vague 13 years after its passage. San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis said that all of the dispensaries her office has investigated have been operating illegally, and some “appear to be run by drug dealers who see an opening in the market and a way to make a fast buck.”
State Attorney General Jerry Brown has issued guidelines stating that nonprofit cooperatives and collectives can legally sell marijuana to patients. But some programs are pulling in hundreds of thousands of dollars in monthly profits. Meanwhile, some cities have had hundreds of storefront marijuana shops open since the law went into effect — 400 registered programs in Los Angeles alone, for example, with many more unregulated shops also in operation.
“The practical reality has proven to be these facilities have by and large opened without any kind of registration, application, nothing,” Jane Usher, special assistant city attorney in Los Angeles.
Source: JoinTogether.org – Article