Legalized Marijuana Is Worth Celebrating This Independence Day
Patients here have safe and easy access for now, but we know that could change. 
The United States of Cannabis?
That could be the next slogan for president Obama if Rep. Ron Paul (R) and Rep. Barney Frank (D) get a bi-partisan bill ending the federal ban on marijuana pushed through for a vote. If records are any indication of what will happen, that the vote will never see the light of day on the floor of Congress. But the idea that we have that sort of progressive thinking on a bi-partisan bill, at the federal level, is not to be under estimated.
Frankly put, we’re living smack dab in the middle of the era of change. And nowhere is that more visible than in California, always a leader in social issues. In 1996, Proposition 215 passed and allowed the medical consumption of cannabis for legal patients. Then in 2010, Senate Bill 1449 officially made California a decriminalized state for recreational use, with only a $100 fine for being caught. Later in that same year, the first legalization bill in the country, Proposition 19, which would have legalized cannabis use for adults over the age of 21, was on the ballot. These are simple stepping stones on the way to a better future for all Americans.
Also in 2010, the Cypress Hill Smokeout was the first event in the United States with a separate area for legal patients to consume cannabis. I see this as a growing trend spreading outside of California as more and more states adopt less stringent laws regarding the use and possession of cannabis. When I was at the Spring Gathering in San Bernardino, I saw the police going through the crowd, not worrying about people smoking, but instead focusing on people fighting or bringing alcohol into the medication area.
Being a medical patient myself, living in downtown Los Angeles, I find the general attitude towards medical patients in the area is one of laughable leniency. Not laughable in the sense that they are against it, but laughable in the sense that they allow you to have your medicine, but consider it a form of legalized recreational use. In some cases, this may or may not be true, but to be honest crime in Los Angeles is down, and people seem more relaxed and less edgy. And with traffic the way it is in LA, anything that makes people a little more relaxed is a good thing in my opinion. Patients here have safe and easy access for now, but we know that could change unless we stay vigilant. Have a safe, and happy 4th of July weekend everyone.
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Friday, 01 July 2011
