Canadian Coffee Break: The Medical Marijuana States’ Rights Plight

The Canadian Coffee Break brings together some of the finest Canadian minds in Southern California every week for a topical, lively round-tablesque discussion over very dark coffee. Won’t you join us.

Last week the DEA sent nasty notes to the landlords of local medical marijuana dispensary tenants, informing them they are breaking federal law (LA Times):

(The) U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has warned more than 150 Los Angeles landlords that they risk arrest and the loss of their properties if they continue renting to cannabis dispensaries.

The story was discussed with a new twist last Friday on KCRW’s Which Way LA by host Warren Olney:

Yesterday Orange County’s all-Republican board of supervisors became California’s 33rd county to begin licensing the use of medical marijuana. On that same day, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration arrested dispensary operators elsewhere in Southern California. Tonight, we’ll hear from the feds, from an Orange County supervisor, and from a former operator of a marijuana clinic.

Finally, Entourage fans were treated to an extended medical marijuana dispensary spoof on HBO the verysame week in what was apparently a timely coincidence.

How do the California Canadians feel about this turn of events? Keep reading…

Sean Chrétien
I’m not quite sure if Canada has become a veritable safe haven for connoisseurs of the funny cigarettes yet, but my personal experiences in Toronto and Vancouver would suggest as much. Still, Curious George & Co. have a considerable amount of sway with the boys up North and no headway is going to be made on either side of the border until contemporary D.C. accepts that even the Founding Fathers loved the green – at least that’s what Dazed and Confused told me. I know these dispensaries keep a lot of my comrades content and I take any encroachment on their happiness as a personal offense. The list of arguments in favor of these suppliers is infinite. On the other end, it’s a little more sparing.

Yes, yes, yes, we all know the medical dealers are breaking federal law, but who isn’t these days? I steal my neighbors mail at least weekly – I’m human and can’t resist “Double Coupon” days at Ralph’s. While the Fed is busy arresting Tommy Chong, Cock Cheney is shooting his friend in the face after a couple too many sips of Wild Turkey. While the Fed is undermining California legislation, Mark Foley is fondling teenage genitalia. Cherry picking enforcement is getting real, real old-like. California is the quintessential member of these Untied States and readily available pot hasn’t detracted from this in any tangible way. If they don’t want us, I propose a swift exit. At least that way Arnold can become President of something without a Constitutional amendment. At this time, I’d like to lend the soapbox to my man P.J. O’Rourke who once stated, “Marijuana is self-punishing. It makes you acutely sensitive, and in this world, what worse punishment could there be?” God bless the hyperbole and god bless America. (Science bless Canada).

On another note, Daft Punk killed it last Saturday. Killed it.

Ms Frabjabulous
First off, let me just say that any comments I could make here could in no way as brilliantly address the subject of medical marijuana as the opening sketch of Mr. Show’s Episode #401, “Life is Precious and God and the Bible.” So please, do yourself a favour and watch that shit if you haven’t already. It could change your life. For the better!

That said, the subject of legalizing marijuana comes up often with my friends and I. Back home in Nova Scotia, it’s decriminalized, so basically if you’re caught with a small amount you get charged a fine, but your record is clean–it’s basically the equivalent of jaywalking (basically why I think it should stay illegal, for the same reasons as jaywalking–it’s fine if you go do it on your own when no one’s around, but if it were suddenly legal can you imagine how much more annoying and, dare I say it, retarded the world would suddenly become for the rest of us?).

But medical marijuana is a whole ’nother bag of worms. It should be a total non-issue–of COURSE it should be legal. Because cancer sucks! And if you have cancer, I personally think you should be given all the weed, meth, heroin, horse tranquilizers, free hookers, etc that you want! Same goes for AIDS. Only replace those hookers with lapdances. I’m pretty sure it says all that in the Bible. So what are people so upset about?

Sounds like these DEA agents are total squares. Am I right?

Marc
I know some of the folks from PotTV up in Vancouver. Their chaiman, the infamous libertarian activist Marc Emery, also bankrolls the Marijuana Party in Canada , they run candidates in major ridings to bring attention to what Marc calls Canada’s friendly fascist drug laws. In 2005, the US DEA managed to strong-arm the Canadian police into arresting Emery for extradition to the United States on “Conspiracy to Distribute Marijuana Seeds” which is not currently considered an offense in Canada. The whole mess is a sorry example of Canada’s flippedy-floppedy stance on the issue of Marijuana (a few years back, for instance, the government gave farmers a license to grow pot medically and then turned around and ordered them to destroy their crops after harvest!) What’s even more troubling about this story, though, is what it says about Canadian sovereignty as it relates to US imperialism. As Canadians we can only thank the heavens that the government managed to hold firm on issue of not going into Iraq under similar pressure from south of the border.

Jamie (website)
Drugs are becoming a bigger problem as society grows older – this, of course, comes from somebody who missed the ’60s because his parents hadn’t hit puberty. The resurgence of drugs can be attributed to many things – too much TV, the power blackouts a few years ago, and single parents. My friend, I will now add something to that list of horrible atrocities: rewards.

I tried to read the story that the LA Times posted about marijuana but I was unable to. At the bottom of the screen, it said this: Please be aware that your browser must accept cookies in order to successfully login, so that we can identify your account.

Must accept cookies… MUST ACCEPT THEM??!! I only want to READ about drugs and they’re MAKING me take rewards!! I can only imagine what rewards they would make me take if I started using drugs… A 401K?? A season’s pass to Disneyland?? A yacht?? WHEN DOES IT STOP?!?!

I don’t need these things in my life, otherwise I would attempt to be successful. I’m going to say “No Way To Dope, Eh?!” (or whatever the saying is)