Can't afford your weed?

[bae]

Where to even start?


http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/08/d-c-government-may-subsidize-pot-for-poor/



Government health officials in Washington, D.C., may foot the bill for medical marijuana for the city’s poorest patients, according to a new rule proposed by the Department of Health.

In a public notice filed last week and first reported by the Washington Times, the city DOH proposed a rule that would mandate that medical marijuana dispensaries adjust the price of pot on a sliding scale for patients who cannot afford it.

The dispensaries would have to use 2 percent of their revenue in order to make up for the difference in price, according to the rule. Patients who could prove to the city that they earned 200 percent or less of federal poverty level wages could qualify to purchase medical marijuana on a sliding scale.

The pot would have to be discounted at least 20 percent, the rule states.

According to the Times, medical marijuana currently costs $380 to $440 an ounce in the city, which allowed sales to begin last month.

[reader99]

I'm not seeing a difference between that and Medicaid. I know people who use marijuana medically. I suspect it won't be long before it is treated rather like narcotic pain killers are now - legal to have by prescription, and eligible for whatever payment plan you have.

[bae]

Well, consider what the production cost of marijuana would be without governmental interference in the marketplace...

Rather than adding new price controls, perhaps the regulators should take a moment to reflect on what is causing the current price...

[iris lilies]

Well, consider what the production cost of marijuana would be without governmental interference in the marketplace...

Rather than adding new price controls, perhaps the regulators should take a moment to reflect on what is causing the current price...

You are not getting it.

This sitch employs gumbnt employees to chase the badnicks who produce and sell it, being against the law. This sitch further employees gubmnt employees to carry out the sliding scale program which includes stamping and filing the papers when citizens "prove" whatever they are supposed to prove. It's win/win because the object is to employ more people on Nanny G's teat, be Nanny local or state or fed. Gubmnt employees vote for those who employ them.

[catherine]

I think communities should just get together and share--maybe a new crop for community gardens?

no, i'm not being serious, but I wish I could be. I don't smoke pot, but I support its legalization.

[ApatheticNoMore]

It sounds entirely serious to me - cheapest way, grow your own, it will cost about as much as a homegrown tomato, but yea it would take legalization.

[flowerseverywhere]

for people with diseases that have proven to be incredibly painful and cause no appetite, like end stage cancer, go for it. But as usual, it will get mucked up. Last year we were in California walking down the beach. There was a guy with a megaphone walking up and down the beach saying "the doctor is in, get your medical marijuana" and there was a storefront with someone sitting there writing prescriptions for a fee. And think of all the food stamps that will get spent on munchies.

[Rogar]

I have a friend who uses marijuana for pain relief, but does not like the brain fog effects of "getting high". As I understand the current state, there are strains where the pain reliving compounds have been selected for while the psycho active compounds have been bred out. So a person can get medical pot that is effective for pain management but somewhat THC free. I suppose a day will come when there will be defined types of pot for medical use and they will be separate from recreational use. That will solve a lot of issues.

[lhamo]

And think of all the food stamps that will get spent on munchies.

Somebody needs to get Big Food and Big Ag behind a change in the Farm Bill that would make marijuana growing/processing/distributing legal. Then we'd have nice federal subsidies for the whole system and they could offer "buy one get one free" deals combining a bag of pot with a bag of doritos! New growth industry! More jobs! Less stress! Seriously, I find it so insane that as a matter of pretty much historical accident one form of intoxicant that is actually pretty life-destroying (alcohol) is legal in the US while another (pot) is generally not.

[bae]

Seriously, I find it so insane that as a matter of pretty much historical accident one form of intoxicant that is actually pretty life-destroying (alcohol) is legal in the US while another (pot) is generally not.

I produce ~2000 cases of wine a year. The paperwork, taxes, and regulations are insane, for what is a traditional food product which may even have health benefits.

I find it beyond absurd that a simple plant, that you can grow at home on your deck, that has significant medicinal purposes, is treated even worse.

And I can't begin to figure the logic in the halfway position of controlling the market, while doling out welfare to help some folks afford something they could simply grow themselves, if legal.

I use stinging nettles as medicine much of the year. I grow and gather them on my property, and in the nearby forest. If nettles were treated the same as pot, it'd cost me thousands a year for my habit.

Madness.

[flowerseverywhere]

Bae, I so agree with you. Silly to spend so much money to regulate and legislate something when the money could be so better spent elsewhere. But I think that is the way of people in power. Think of all the "no child left behind" laws, all the ruckus about abortion, large sodas, and on and on, lawmakers sticking their nose in peoples business when they really don't know what they are talking about. They remind me of morality police, telling everyone how they should live according to a set of values, right or wrong that they deem are the right ones.

[creaker]

Bae, I so agree with you. Silly to spend so much money to regulate and legislate something when the money could be so better spent elsewhere. But I think that is the way of people in power. Think of all the "no child left behind" laws, all the ruckus about abortion, large sodas, and on and on, lawmakers sticking their nose in peoples business when they really don't know what they are talking about. They remind me of morality police, telling everyone how they should live according to a set of values, right or wrong that they deem are the right ones.

I don't think it's driven by morality anywhere near as much as it's driven by money. But morality is a more acceptable message when pounding the podium.

[gimmethesimplelife]

You know, on this one topic I am very ambivalent. I don't mind other people smoking per se, and I know how destructive alcohol can be as I dealt with my father's alcoholism while I was growing up. And maybe I'm wrong on this (?), but I am under the impression that if marijuana were legalized in the US, the cartels in Mexico would lose some of their power. But OTOH, I have seen people start smoking marijuana and then branch out to other drugs and I have seen lives ruined due to this. I do think there is something to be said for marijuana being a gateway drug - but not all who smoke go down that route, I am aware of this. Funny thing but as I get older there is more and more and more gray area for me on so many issues, this being one of many. I have a few issues where I am very strongly opinionated but many others where I draw a blank. Rob

[lhamo]

I'd be willing to bet, Rob, that if you looked back at the mind-altering-substance-taking history of those people you know who went from marijuana on to other drugs, there is probably a VERY good chance that their real gateway drug was alcohol. There is an excellent discussion of the science of addiction in Gabor Mate's "In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts" -- a great book with a strong plea at the end for a sane drug policy. Criminalizing drug use/abuse doesn't do much except drive it underground and make it more expensive and complicated to treat. I think the same kind of help should be available to people who are struggling with addictions of all kinds -- be they alcohol addictions, drug addictions, or even food addictions. The cost to society is MUCH MUCH greater when we criminalize these things than if we provided people with help to deal with them. Will there be failures? Of course. These are tricky issues and very difficult to treat, much less "cure". But the current system is certainly broken and not worth fixing. A guy with a history of drug and mental issues shot a bus driver in downtown Seattle a couple of weeks ago. Would that have happened if he had been able to get help for his issues? Most likely not, and that was the opinion of the King County Executive, not some loony drug pusher on the street.

[lhamo]

PS: bae, ever consider a run for governor?

[catherine]

I'd be willing to bet, Rob, that if you looked back at the mind-altering-substance-taking history of those people you know who went from marijuana on to other drugs, there is probably a VERY good chance that their real gateway drug was alcohol. There is an excellent discussion of the science of addiction in Gabor Mate's "In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts" -- a great book with a strong plea at the end for a sane drug policy. Criminalizing drug use/abuse doesn't do much except drive it underground and make it more expensive and complicated to treat. I think the same kind of help should be available to people who are struggling with addictions of all kinds -- be they alcohol addictions, drug addictions, or even food addictions. The cost to society is MUCH MUCH greater when we criminalize these things than if we provided people with help to deal with them. Will there be failures? Of course. These are tricky issues and very difficult to treat, much less "cure". But the current system is certainly broken and not worth fixing. A guy with a history of drug and mental issues shot a bus driver in downtown Seattle a couple of weeks ago. Would that have happened if he had been able to get help for his issues? Most likely not, and that was the opinion of the King County Executive, not some loony drug pusher on the street.

+1. That's why I'm for legalization of marijuana. Shoot, I've seen way, way more lives destroyed by alcohol--and that's just in my own family.

[bae]

PS: bae, ever consider a run for governor?

After investigating state-level politics here, I am more than happy to serve at the county-level, and no higher :-)

I currently hold a pretty cool elected office which provides pretty wide latitude in problem-solving locally.

http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=9494

[gimmethesimplelife]

Llamo, what you posted in response to my post has really made me think. And I agree with you - the first gateway drug was alcohol, at least with those I grew up with who later went on to mess up their lives through drugs. And alcohol IS a drug. I do think that it's viewed differently than other drugs as it is legal and easy to get your hands on....Once you have had some wild experiences with it, I think it's easier to branch out to other drugs.

Something that really surprised me in the late 1980's - I went to the DUI sentencing of a friend back in 1988. The judged asked if my friend had taken any drugs OR ALCOHOL in the 24 hours prior to this court appearance. Even the legalese here seemed to imply that alcohol was something set aside from the world of drugs.....I still don't know what to make of that as I certainly have seen alcohol alone ruin lives.

Comparing alcohol to marijuana, I think that marijuana is the lesser of the two drugs, as it does not seem to bring out raging insane behavior in those who smoke it. Alcohol seems to quickly take away inhibitions and a sense of right and wrong in some people, and if there is unexpressed anger or rage under the surface, alcohol can be like a match near gasoline. I'll put it this way - we had a tenant in the guesthouse behind our house back around 2005 and 2006, who smoked every day. My cousin who owns this house 50/50 with me wanted the tenant out and I just said, I'd rather have him smoking mj than drinking or doing crack or meth. So as to it's effects on people, other than the ability to drive or operate machinery, I'd rather have them smoking than drinking for sure. Rob

[Gregg]

The whole process currently in motion is far more mind numbing than pot ever was. In this day of oxycontin fueled euphoria run rampant even discussing why (a) weed should be anything except legal and forgotten about by both nanny G and BIG pharma/ag/med is ludicrous. But I fear its too late for that, the window closed if it was ever open to begin with. Big Tobacco found their replacement. Big Ag has a new crop. Big Pharma teamed with Big Med has a new drug that doesn't even need $5 billion worth of development and testing. The Government has something else to A) regulate beyond any sensible limit, and B) tax beyond any reasonable limit, and C) subsidize beyond any sensible limit (can't risk the profit margins of all the aforementioned groups), and D) yet another hook to the continuing development of the dependent class. Lawmakers everywhere have something to make new laws about so we constituents don't think they're only sitting on their ass doing nothing for a pension. I'd grow it in my back yard simply as a protest. I would except now the NSA knows I said that so a spook from somewhere would swoop in and bust me and detain me indefinitely for some form of anti-American behavior. I could really use a couple bong hits right now...