Jim Finnel
Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex News Moderator
As the weeks tick by with the District's medical marijuana program in limbo, advocates are starting to get understandably impatient. The rules governing the program were debated and revised late last year, but have still not been approved by Mayor Vince Gray. The later Gray approves them, the longer it will take to seat the board that will regulate the program and the panel that will award licenses for the city's five permitted dispensaries and 10 cultivation centers.
At a town hall meeting last night in Columbia Heights, a number of the program's most dedicated supporters answered questions about where the program stood, and said they would be willing to backtrack on changes they pushed for if only to get medical marijuana flowing to the estimated 300 patients that will qualify for it in the program's first year.
Adam Eidinger, a board member of the D.C. Patients' Cooperative, told DCist that the group would now be fine if regulation of the medical marijuana program were left to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Administration (ABRA), instead of the Department of Health as they had requested.
"Yes, initially we always felt that the Department of Health should be monitoring this program and should be accountable for this program, because in other cities and other jurisdictions, health departments are who do it. However, in Colorado, the Office of Tax and Revenue, which also regulates alcohol, is regulating it [medical marijuana]," Eidinger said.
In public comments to the first set of rules published last August, the group specifically asked that ABRA not be charged with regulating the program. "The oversight of cultivation centers and dispensaries dealing with distribution of medicine to individuals with very serious medical conditions requires expertise in public health facilities and operations -- expertise that the ABRA simply does not possess," wrote the group in its comments.
Regardless, Eidinger and the group seem to have come around, if only because ABRA may be the best way to get the program up and running as soon as possible. (The Department of Health currently only has an acting director, and it's assumed that it would take longer for it to take the necessary steps to implement the city's medical marijuana program.)
"What I didn't recognize at the time was that ABRA has a well-established structure for regulating alcohol, and the people who do that could be trained to know what to look for. We were hostile to it, but then when the regulations came out, we said, 'Let's just get this done.' We also met some of the ABRA folks and they were very aggressive in saying, 'We want to work with you, and we want to make sure this program is efficient for you,'" Eidinger admitted.
Fred Moosally, ABRA's director, attended the town hall and spoke briefly on where the program stood. Charles Brodsky, ABRA's chairman, was also in attendance. "Right now, the executive is reviewing the program -- no final decisions have been made as it relates to who is going to be registering cultivation centers and dispensaries," said Moosally, adding that the most he could say was that the final rules governing the program would be signed in the coming weeks.
At this point, medical marijuana advocates are in something of an awkward position. On the one hand, they don't want to be too aggressive in their criticism of Gray for the delay in approving the program's rules. On the other hand, they're anxiously sitting in bureaucratic limbo for a program that they say will benefit hundreds of patients in the District.
"This is a passion for us," said Eidinger, who himself uses marijuana for pain he suffers from severe arthritis. "We want to make sure patients have access to medical cannabis. In a long line of civil rights struggles, this is the one that comes after gay marriage."
Other Outtakes
There were a few other issues of note from last night's town hall:
If and when the program gets off of the ground, a big problem yet to be resolved is where cultivators will get their seeds. Getting them from out-of-state would be illegal, after all, so what are the options? The Metropolitan Police Department, ventured one advocate. Seeds from seized plants could be used, he argued.
If you're a patient carrying medical marijuana and get stopped by the police, you've got nothing to worry about. (Provided the container is sealed.) That said, if you're stopped by any federal police, well, that's a problem. Of course, local laws like this wouldn't apply on any federal land in any states, but, as we all know, D.C. has a particularly high proportion of federal land for its otherwise small size. So if you're walking home through Dupont Circle or driving through Rock Creek after picking up your monthly two ounces and get stopped by the Park Police, that's going to create a problem.
Federal concerns also apply to landlords. Should a new president make cracking down on marijuana a priority, there's little stopping federal agents from busting into dispensaries or cultivation centers and seizing any and all marijuana. But more worrisome for the people that will be renting out the space to cultivators and dispensers is the fact that in that case, their property could also be seized.
NewsHawk: Jim Behr: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: dcist.com
Author: Martin Austermuhle
Copyright: 2011 Gothamist LLC.
Contact: Staff: DCist
Website: Medical Marijuana Advocates Getting Impatient - DCist
At a town hall meeting last night in Columbia Heights, a number of the program's most dedicated supporters answered questions about where the program stood, and said they would be willing to backtrack on changes they pushed for if only to get medical marijuana flowing to the estimated 300 patients that will qualify for it in the program's first year.
Adam Eidinger, a board member of the D.C. Patients' Cooperative, told DCist that the group would now be fine if regulation of the medical marijuana program were left to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Administration (ABRA), instead of the Department of Health as they had requested.
"Yes, initially we always felt that the Department of Health should be monitoring this program and should be accountable for this program, because in other cities and other jurisdictions, health departments are who do it. However, in Colorado, the Office of Tax and Revenue, which also regulates alcohol, is regulating it [medical marijuana]," Eidinger said.
In public comments to the first set of rules published last August, the group specifically asked that ABRA not be charged with regulating the program. "The oversight of cultivation centers and dispensaries dealing with distribution of medicine to individuals with very serious medical conditions requires expertise in public health facilities and operations -- expertise that the ABRA simply does not possess," wrote the group in its comments.
Regardless, Eidinger and the group seem to have come around, if only because ABRA may be the best way to get the program up and running as soon as possible. (The Department of Health currently only has an acting director, and it's assumed that it would take longer for it to take the necessary steps to implement the city's medical marijuana program.)
"What I didn't recognize at the time was that ABRA has a well-established structure for regulating alcohol, and the people who do that could be trained to know what to look for. We were hostile to it, but then when the regulations came out, we said, 'Let's just get this done.' We also met some of the ABRA folks and they were very aggressive in saying, 'We want to work with you, and we want to make sure this program is efficient for you,'" Eidinger admitted.
Fred Moosally, ABRA's director, attended the town hall and spoke briefly on where the program stood. Charles Brodsky, ABRA's chairman, was also in attendance. "Right now, the executive is reviewing the program -- no final decisions have been made as it relates to who is going to be registering cultivation centers and dispensaries," said Moosally, adding that the most he could say was that the final rules governing the program would be signed in the coming weeks.
At this point, medical marijuana advocates are in something of an awkward position. On the one hand, they don't want to be too aggressive in their criticism of Gray for the delay in approving the program's rules. On the other hand, they're anxiously sitting in bureaucratic limbo for a program that they say will benefit hundreds of patients in the District.
"This is a passion for us," said Eidinger, who himself uses marijuana for pain he suffers from severe arthritis. "We want to make sure patients have access to medical cannabis. In a long line of civil rights struggles, this is the one that comes after gay marriage."
Other Outtakes
There were a few other issues of note from last night's town hall:
If and when the program gets off of the ground, a big problem yet to be resolved is where cultivators will get their seeds. Getting them from out-of-state would be illegal, after all, so what are the options? The Metropolitan Police Department, ventured one advocate. Seeds from seized plants could be used, he argued.
If you're a patient carrying medical marijuana and get stopped by the police, you've got nothing to worry about. (Provided the container is sealed.) That said, if you're stopped by any federal police, well, that's a problem. Of course, local laws like this wouldn't apply on any federal land in any states, but, as we all know, D.C. has a particularly high proportion of federal land for its otherwise small size. So if you're walking home through Dupont Circle or driving through Rock Creek after picking up your monthly two ounces and get stopped by the Park Police, that's going to create a problem.
Federal concerns also apply to landlords. Should a new president make cracking down on marijuana a priority, there's little stopping federal agents from busting into dispensaries or cultivation centers and seizing any and all marijuana. But more worrisome for the people that will be renting out the space to cultivators and dispensers is the fact that in that case, their property could also be seized.
NewsHawk: Jim Behr: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: dcist.com
Author: Martin Austermuhle
Copyright: 2011 Gothamist LLC.
Contact: Staff: DCist
Website: Medical Marijuana Advocates Getting Impatient - DCist
