October 16, 2011

I read an article recently about some police force in Santa Barbara trying to crackdown in dispensaries. My first thought was, "How could they crack down on dispensaries? Aren't they legitimate places of business?" I guess it began with two dispensaries getting closed. The first, Helping Hands Wellness Center, because it was acting illegally (hearing letter says it was a criminal investigation by the sheriff). But the other, Central Coast Collective, because of a potential zoning violation. First of all, those are two of the least suspicious names I've ever heard. Secondly, I understand if one was acting illegally. Done wrongly, this is drug dealing we're talking about. Also, when I see the word "potential" in an article, I immediately have my doubts. I can't do anything about it, that's just my reaction. Like whatever your reaction is to reading the word penis just now. And that basically means that a dealer put his business somewhere, but there were laws passed that made it so that he had to stay 1500 feet away from another store, 1000 feet from basically any place with kids (schools, parks, daycare centers), and 300 from residential areas. But he was within those boundaries, so his store was closed. Which, again, can be understandable. Medical marijuana is still a drug, after all.
         Then, something began to bust my chops. These people are specifically going out of their way to close dispensaries. Why? Do they have something against medical marijuana? I'm sure there are more important things our county can focus on than taking down storefronts such as these. When they attack these places and shut down the stores that are run by people just trying to make their living, they are also attacking the customers. Like patients who were prescribed this by their doctors. Does nobody have any consideration for them? People who begin dispensaries in the first place are putting forth extra effort to turn drug dealing into a legitimate transaction. These are people who wanted to become less of a scoundrel are more of a respected businessman. Less likely to deal to a 13 year old kid with $20, but more likely supply some of the most effective medication for a man in a hospital suffering from a terminal disease with no cure.