Pubdate: Thu, 21 Jun 2012
Source: Chico News & Review, The (CA)
Copyright: 2012 Chico Community Publishing, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.newsreview.com/chico/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/559
Author: Jason Browne
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v12/n313/a01.html

THEY'RE NOT GROWERS, THEY'RE PATIENTS

Re "Measure A hangover" (From This Corner, by Robert Speer, June 14):

This notion that "pot growers" (who grow huge plantations on federal 
lands or on certain ranches) are the same people who are attending 
your supervisor meetings is nonsense! In fact, the people attending 
these meetings are the same "patients" that opponents of medical 
cannabis keep telling us they "support."

The only people who can lawfully grow cannabis are qualified patients 
(and their primary caregivers), whom Butte County continues to disenfranchise.

The facts in this situation are that Butte County: accepted 
legislation by ghost writers from outside the area who were on the 
payroll of various law enforcement associations that publicly oppose 
medical cannabis; hurried the public process and disallowed the 
participation of any actual constituents who are pro-cannabis; 
disenfranchised the student vote both times this issue has come 
before the public (losing both times); and shipped in anti-cannabis 
constituents to public meetings (who were still a clear minority of 
the audience).

Your D.A. continues to abuse his authority, wasting public resources 
and waging war on the medical-cannabis industry. Butte County has 
driven away all serious contenders for a truly regulated (and taxed) 
cannabis industry, while continuously "searching" for new tax 
revenues. This is the height of drug-war insanity!

Jason Browne

Red Bluff
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom