Pubdate: Thu, 01 Sep 2016
Source: Press Democrat, The (Santa Rosa, CA)
Copyright: 2016 The Press Democrat
Contact:  http://www.pressdemocrat.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/348
Author: Paul Klopper
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v16/n591/a06.html

THE VOTERS' WILL

EDITOR: I take issue with Paul Gillixson's column ("Do we want to 
become the mecca for marijuana," Sunday). Gillixson is a victim of 
his own paper. No one is advocating what he advanced in his column - 
except maybe the editors who create these illusionary headlines. (Oh 
wait, Gillixson is one of those editors.)

The city of Santa Rosa has, against all odds, accomplished precisely 
what the voters wanted and intended when they passed Proposition 215 
nearly 20 years ago. We specifically asked our elected officials to 
"implement a plan to provide for the safe and affordable distribution 
of marijuana ..."

Northern California is saturated with cannabis cultivation, 
processing, manufacturing and distribution. The city is setting a 
regulatory vehicle whereby consumers will have some assurance that 
what is being made available through permitted operations is produced 
in a safe manner, is free of contaminants, processed and labeled in a 
way that will alert and educate the consumer and is going to be 
distributed in as safe and affordable a manner as can be reasonably regulated.

Problems inherent in a black market cannot be regulated out of 
existence. The city has created a permitting process that is a 
benefit to patients and law enforcement. The city is creating a 
bright line between safe, affordable and regulated cannabis and those 
operating in the black or otherwise gray markets.

PAUL KLOPPER

Santa Rosa
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom