Washington D.C. and its citizens have answered the call to use medical and recreational marijuana through the power of democracy. For this I thank you. Yet another state turning towards granting its citizens access to the medicine they require. It is a case by case basis, but I will argue to the death that yes, some people do have a legitimate need for medical marijuana. Needless to say, it is great to see D.C. developing a medical marijuana community through laws, sanctions, and hopefully controlled commerce. The last issue is still far from decided. Trust me when I say that from past experiences in the arena of medical marijuana, it is a constant battle between the rights of the people and the will of the government. Each side has their rights and wrongs and the fight seemingly will never end.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, in my home town of Colorado, the beginning of our state legislation rang in with the echoes of the death of our current medical marijuana program. On its first day in session, the state senate lifted the softly controlled moratorium on Colorado medical marijuana laws; a clock they put on themselves in 2010 with the alarm going off this year. A re-evaluation of the entire program from top to bottom is due by 2019. Commerce will continue on as normal, but there is one question that is the true elephant in the room. Are there 105,000 people that truly need medical access to marijuana? Only time will tell.
The point is this: as the country grows medical and recreational marijuana to build these new communities of enterprise, could it be that the example, Colorado, that it is based on has it all wrong? Both have sides to stand on in this argument, and please offer your opinions on the matter. My thoughts are simple. Yes, there may be some grey areas in doctors writing recommendations and citizens using false reasons to receive said recommendations. Call it a time where the free market stars align and it worked. My grandma, god rest her soul, would call this a white lie. No one was really hurt, nobody complained, and most of all you had a good time! They get their taxes and we get our recreation.
