A proposed ordinance in Denver would impose licensing fees on medical marijuana dispensaries that are, according to the bill's sponsor, "based on those paid by adult cabarets." ($3,000 per year, if you were wondering . . . .) That's the word from a Denver Post editorial. That provision says quite a bit about the attitude of some lawmakers toward medical marijuana. Rather than a legitimate medical option, they obviously view it as a vice on which governments can capitalize. Alcohol, tobacco, and medical marijuana.
What word is out of place there? Oh, right, medical. Marijuana, in Colorado at least, is in a philosophical limbo. As a result, it also finds itself in a legal and regulatory limbo. No one is quite sure what to do with it. Here's a solution - pick a story and stick with it.
One option is to recognize a legitimate medical use for marijuana. In that case, its distribution and use ought to be regulated like any other pharmaceutical, period. Whether Walgreens, Target, and Walmart want to offer medical marijuana in their pharmacies will be up to those companies. Any other dispensing operation should be regulated like other pharmacies.
The other option is legitimize marijuana use. That's how governments deal with other intoxicants. And they generate quite a bit of revenue through special taxes, licenses, and fees. This approach has a lot of benefits. Off the top of my head, I can think of three. One - it eliminates (or at least reduces the need for) a huge illegitimate market and source of crime in this country. Two - governments can control the quality and quantity of the product in the open market. Three - As I said, it could help to fill the huge revenue gap that many cities, counties, and states are facing due to the current economic crisis.
A third option is obviously to eliminate legitimate uses of marijuana - i.e., discontinue medical marijuana use. For a lot of reasons, though, I do not believe this is a workable solution any longer. As one Denver city councilman said, that would just force patients "back into parks and back alleys" and further exacerbate the crime problems already associated with medical marijuana. Not to mention depriving patients who actually rely on the various reliefs brought by medical marijuana of a legitimate source of those benefits.
The key to deciding a real solution for marijuana will be deciding where it fits in society. Right now, mixed signals abound. This nebulous legitimacy that surrounds marijuana needs to be more settled. Not unyielding and stubborn, but more settled. Is it legit or not? The answer to that will determine where marijuana policy, law, and regulation goes in the future.
Here are recent Denver Post stories about the medical marijuana issue in Colorado.
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