Pubdate: Thu, 16 Jul 2015
Source: Ukiah Daily Journal, The (CA)
Copyright: 2015 The Ukiah Daily Journal
Contact: http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/feedback
Website: http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/581
Author: Jonathan Middlebrook
Note: In these interesting times, JM lives on the frontier, between 
Potter & Redwood valleys, freely donating language to the cause.

IT'S ALL GOOD

Medical cannabis >> I read in the UDJ's report (7/9) on the progress 
of Assemblyman Jim Wood's Marijuana Watershed Protection Act (AB 243) 
that he's basing his legislation on the estimate that "cultivators 
are making on a single plant, roughly $2500-4000."--Link that 
estimate or fantasy to Hezekiah Allen's "small medical cannabis 
farmer's" 1/4 acre under cultivation with 1000 plants and I get into 
an Ev Dirksen mood (he of "a billion here, a billion there" fame). 
We're talking about real money, here & now & in this county. (Itsall, 
7/ 9&11, KZYX "The Cannabis Hour, 7/2-now on their Jukebox site.)--I 
hope Jane Futcher explores these numbers with supervisors McCowen and 
Woodhouse on "The Cannabis Hour" (TODAY, KZYX, 9 a.m.) and that Carol 
Brodsky has worked with the appropriate numbers in her 6-part UDJ 
series on the Pinoleville medical cannabis project.

What are the projected Tribal, County, State, Federal bottom lines?

And, out of neighborhood curiosity, what's projected non-profit 
income to the tribe? The taxable profits of a small cannabis farm? 
(If you have missed "The Cannabis Hour" on-air, it will be on KZYX's 
Jukebox link.)

So far) most of the anecdotal information (and the high giggle street 
chat about "my medicine") suggests that the medical use of cannabis 
is for pain management. It's anecdotal information, because 
governmental drug policy makes it so difficult to carry on truly 
scientific research on cannabis.

I suspect a fair amount of pain will disappear from street talk, once 
recreational pot is legal and the hypocrisy needle drops toward zero 
and the air quotes fly from medical. Miraculous!--Like everyone else, 
I also hear anecdotes about the therapeutic use of cannabis for 
glaucoma, ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease), the pain of cancer, and the 
gentling of death.

May the anecdotes be supported by clinical evidence!

In my family, the anecdotage is ambivalent: Christina's burden of 
pain was lightened, at the cost of the mental acuity she cultivated, 
to the end.

Focusing >> for a moment on actual pain management: Depending on whom 
you read (trade group or Huffington Post) OTC pain meds (N-saids) are 
a 4 or 9 billion-dollar industry, dominated by Johnson & Johnson, 
Novartis, and Bayer. As the OTC market shifts from 
Tylenol/Excedrin/Aleve to cannabis-based products (which may be shown 
to have fewer side effects), those drug manufacturers will not sit 
idly by. I find myself wondering how cannabis production on the 
billion-dollar, international scale will play out on our local stage. 
Back in the day, a fair amount of the tobacco-growing south was run 
by a few large companies which kept farmers' incomes low and 
investors' profits high.--Worth remembering that economic structure 
when thinking about our soon-to-be sort of legal cannabis 
industry.--I suppose it might be in our local interest to oppose 
Federal legalization: Philip Morris/Altria Group is not likely openly 
to buy into a (federally) illegal industry.

Protect small farmers. Vote No on legalization!--My my.

When >> legalization removes the quotes from "medical" cannabis, 
here's a branding brag for the Emerald Growers' Association: 
"Organic, sustainable-no pesticides, fertilizers or diverted H20 used 
in growing your toke."--Pipe dream?--Slogan's a free gift from Itsall 
to EGA. Trademark it, people, before Taylor Swift does.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom