Medical Marijuana Gains New Foe

[User]

A newly formed organization opposed to medical- marijuana dispensaries is urging local governments to prohibit the businesses.

The Inland Valley Drug Free Community Coalition fears dispensaries will attract crime and increase illicit marijuana use by people who do not need the drug for medical reasons.

"It will bring criminal activity, blight," said Brenda Chabot, the Rancho Cucamonga-based group's executive director. "Political leaders should have enough courage to say they don't want these in their communities."

Group members include law-enforcement officials, substance-abuse workers, youth representatives and others.

They are now planning community events to educate the public about the negative impact they believe dispensaries would have on Inland Valley communities.

On Oct. 2, the group plans to hold an event on substance abuse at the Cultural Center at Victoria Gardens.

"Access is a huge contributor to the use of any drug, and the ease of access - the easier it is the more use there will be," said Diana Fox, executive director of the nonprofit Reach Out West End, and a member of the new organization.

"The communities that have seen these establishments come in have seen that it's not just medical users who are visiting the dispensary," Fox added. "It's much easier for youth and adults to be able to obtain it."

Chabot formed the group after learning of a federal program that helps groups seeking solutions to substance abuse.

The group lacks steady funding, but it is working to secure federal grants, Chabot said.

In the past year, cities in the Inland Valley have been forced to address the issue of medical-marijuana dispensaries after local activists attempted to open dispensaries in Claremont, Pomona and Norco.

Most cities, including Rancho Cucamonga, have banned dispensaries or have passed moratoriums to temporarily prohibit them.

Only Claremont and Diamond Bar have reacted differently, with each city agreeing to allow one dispensary to operate.

Members of the coalition believe that such tolerance will have a negative impact on communities, citing the personal experience of its members, many of whom have backgrounds in law enforcement.

Chabot is a former probation officer for San Bernardino County.

And Fox, of Reach Out West End, works daily with people she says have had their lives ruined by marijuana problems.

"Youth are losing their relationships with their families over marijuana, having more confrontations in the home, and adults are effected in their careers and don't have the ambition or the will to continue to seek their goals in life," Fox said.

"We hear these stories on a weekly basis from our clients, that when they finally get off the marijuana they see a vast change in their lives for the better."

Advocates for local marijuana dispensaries say such businesses are needed to supply the drug to people who need for medical purposes.

California has allowed the medical use of marijuana since state voters approved Proposition 215 in 1996, but users are still subject to federal law, which outlaws marijuana.

Without dispensaries, advocates say, medical users are forced to buy marijuana from street dealers.

"The patients don't have another way to acquire medicine," said David Kasakove, a marijuana activist who is seeking to open a dispensary in Claremont. "There's no other source of medicine. They don't know how to grow it, or they don't have the time and energy to grow it. A dispensary is necessary just as a pharmacy is necessary."

But the Coalition believes people who need marijuana for medical reasons should use Marinol, a federally recognized drug in pill form that has a similar, though weaker, effect to smoked marijuana.

"Today, voters would probably not approve medical marijuana, especially if they knew the dangers of it," Chabot said.



News Hawk- User http://www.420Magazine.com
Source: dailybulletin.com
Author: Will Bigham
Contact: will.bigham@dailybulletin.com
Copyright: dailybulletin.com
Website: DailyBulletin.com - Marijuana gains new foe

[User]

But the Coalition believes people who need marijuana for medical reasons should use Marinol, a federally recognized drug in pill form that has a similar, though weaker, effect to smoked marijuana.

do you think the drug companies might like these tools?

[Pinch]

This young man seems a formidable foe.

Paul Chabot, 33, of Rancho Cucamonga, has been appointed as a juvenile hearing commissioner for the Board of Parole Hearings. He has served in this position on the Board since 2006. From 2002 to 2006, Chabot lectured nationally to youth about substance abuse, leadership and community service as a professional speaker with Campuspeak Incorporated. He served in the White House from 1999 to 2005, first as a presidential management fellow and later as an advisor for law enforcement, justice and drug control policies. Chabot has served as an officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve since 2001 and holds the rank of lieutenant. He has also served as a reserve deputy sheriff for the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department since 2001 and founded the Inland Valley Drug Free Community Coalition in 2005. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $108,167. Chabot is a Republican.

Juvenile Parole Board

Commissioners

Paul Chabot

Paul Chabot, 33, of Rancho Cucamonga, was executive director of the Freestyle Foundation and founder of the Inland Valley Drug Free Community Coalition. As a professional speaker, he traveled the nation speaking to youth about substance abuse, leadership and community service. Chabot served in the White House from 1999 to 2005, first as a presidential management fellow, and later as a senior advisor for law enforcement, justice and drug control. Chabot worked in the U.S. Congress, State Department and U.S. Department of Justice. He served as a lieutenant intelligence officer in the United States Navy Reserve since 2001, stationed in the Pentagon on the Joint Chiefs of Staff; now assigned to an intelligence unit in California. Chabot is a reserve deputy sheriff for the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department; a member of California Narcotics Officers Association, California Gang Investigators Association and on the board for National Law Enforcement Exploring for youth. He holds a B.A. in administration, a masters in public administration and is a doctoral fellow of executive leadership. Chabot is a graduate of the Delinquency Control Institute. The compensation is $108,167. Chabot is a Republican.


I think he's being groomed, an up and comer.

[User]

good info, know your enemy

[Justme_Pooh]

Sometimes these pathetic brainwashed propaganda slingers just make me want to vomit!!

[medMUser]

While these guys are taking the MJ war to us, we now have people taking the war to them. I saw on the news that 3 armed dudes robbed a pharmacy for *edit. (sp?) (Additional edit by mM) The blanked out word was a dangerous, addictive Rx drug that the 3 dudes were robbing the pharmacy to obtain.

Also don't forget to see who our friends are at leap.cc. If you have not visited Law Enforcement Against Prohibition you are in for a treat. Finally! A group that actually has real live brain cells that really work! Besides us of course! :-)

mM

[FreakNature]

I bet Chabot is a real straight shooter, law and order, God and Country, clean cut family man. He probably feels this "cause" is extremely justified and he's doing such a great thing for the state and the world.

What's missing though, in addition to real unconditional love, is a well-rounded perspective. He sees it from one side since he's a big player in the law-and-order industry. He's probably never smoked it, only knows what he's read or is told, and his sources are anti-pot.

What he obviously doesn't realize is that the biggest problem with MJ is that it's illegal. According to the DOJ, 43% of arrests for drug abuse violations in the US are for marijuana. Over 750,000 people a year. I think the illegality is what causes the lost relationships and strife. If someone needs help with a problem, they can seek that help. If a kid is having problems getting his schoolwork done because he's always milking a bong, he needs a lesson in prioritization. It could just as well be computer games, sex, bug collecting, TV, or any number of idols that keep him fulfilling his best purpose in life. Using this as a reason to keep MJ illegal, especially at the expense off medical patients, is ludicrous.

If he were really sincere he'd be crusading against alcohol; something that, if abused, can have much greater negative effects. To put that statement into perspective, consider that there were over a million arrests in the US in 2005 for alcohol violations - half of those for drunkenness. In 2001 75,000 deaths were attributed to alcohol, and 2.3 million years of potential life were lost in the US, according to the CDC.

This is all about money, and Chabot, if he doesn't know that, is a pawn.

I bet there at least a few mature members here who use MJ not only medicinally, but recreationally...perhaps even chronically, that are productive citizens. I know a few. Some of them are even straight shootin', law and order, God and Country, clean cut family people; but they can see this issue with a well-rounded perspective.

[User]

/\ well said

[medMUser]

Jolly good post, FreakNature! He should also be crusading to see that Rx meds be tested more. Maybe he should sign up as a test subject & put his feet on the ground. That is after he gets them out his mouth. And if he is really serious about crusading against stuff that we all know "the dangers of"...

He makes a pretty hefty salary too.

You are right about prohibition being more dangerous than cannabis. STUPID drug war!!!

Is there any way to send this guy the link to LEAP? He needs an update very badly!

mM

[Frog]

Jolly good post, FreakNature! He should also be crusading to see that Rx meds be tested more.

Hell Yeah !!!

I would like to see 20-40 yr studies.
Before they feed it to the Public.

[xxcramboxx]

Holland !!!!!!!

the perfect example of mj co-existing with good law abiding clean cut society

[tcccfriends]

Feel free to tell him what you want.

www.paulchabot.com

I mean as you don't send anything threatening. But there is no harm letting him know you have your eye on him. And that you know exactly what he has planned.

[Frog]

Bwahahahahahah

Maybe he'll wanta take a shot at Jack's 100,000$

[FreakNature]

That guy doesn't seem real. There's something wrong with this picture. I think some loadies picked on him when he was a kid. Anyway, after browsing his website I think I'll go take a shower.

[GeorgiaToker]

somebody should send him a link to this thread.lol