Fighting Back Comes out Swinging

LEGALIZE IT. Worth a try. See how many of these problems exist afterward. Cali needs the $$$ and if we grow our own, we will have no need for any of the things mentioned in the article. Plenty of other things to occupy the people whose jobs seem to be so hitched to the illegalization of cannabis. Not a panacea, but again, worth a try. Besides, 'Don't Cannabis Our Kids'...really? Who thought that up? So catchy and desperate.

Its not about the kids, its about the police or sheriff's dept. fear that their jobs are in danger. If they cared so much about the well being of everyone LEGALIZATION would be their stance, not fighting a losing battle that would just put more people on probation(their bread and butter).

You'd think this group could come up with something better than "we conducted more raids last year, netting 350% more pot, than the year before." Is that really the best statistic they can come up with? The fear that medical marijuana laws will increase teen use of marijuana, raised in 1996, when California passed the first effective medical-marijuana law, has simply not come true. According to the official California Student Survey teen marijuana use in California rose steadily from 1990 to 1996, but began falling immediately after the medical-marijuana law was passed.
I do not want to go back to the days of cruising around dark parks that the cops don't patrol buying lousy crap from dangerous people. I don't wish that for our teenagers either.

The minority of Americans who want to imprison innocent people for growing and using a simple plant for their medicine are going down. Kicking and screaming apparently.

Can someone explain to me how closing down the only regulated outlets for cannabis is going to make it more difficult for our children to get their hands on cannabis? Last I checked, the street dealers were a bit more relaxed about verifying ones' patient status before selling their wares. Furthermore, law enforcement ought to be vehemently against this prohibition, as it will make their job exponentially more difficult. Under the current proposed ordinance there will be five collectives where the majority of the distribution will take place. Without the ordinance, the cultivation and distribution of medical cannabis will be spread amongst hundreds or thousands of gardens around the county, and it will be delivered to patients' neighborhoods rather than in clean, commercial storefronts. The quantity and quality of cannabis will never be controlled by law enforcement. They've given it all they have and have proved to be 100% ineffectual because you can not legislate morality. Only regulation will adequately represent the positions of the patients, law enforcement, and parents. Wake up, folks. Remember the Volstead act? Where did that get us?

"Speakers expressed their concerns about dispensaries distributing marijuana to “patients” who MAY or may not suffer from a debilitating condition." [emphasis added]

Apparently those who do actually suffer are supposed to just suffer on, for the benefit of law enforcement and "safety." How about applying the same standard to all those cancer patients on morphine, eh? Just for consistency.

What a bunch of sadistic neo-Torquemadas we have trying to run things around here.

"'The growers that we have arrested do not show any signs of terminal illness, nor are any of them caregivers of a medical marijuana patient.'"

That's because these growers are not supplying dispensaries, which are required by law to buy from permitted growers. This talk of Mexican cartels supplying dispensaries is racist fear-mongering.

Marijuana is still illegal for recreational use and big drug dealers make lots of profit off that fact, and will continue to do so regardless of the presence of dispensaries.

"...the FACT that medical marijuana is finding its way into school campuses..." [emphasis added]

Is this a fact? Facts require evidence. It's not in the article.

"When a marijuana lollipop appears in the hands of a minor..."

Has this happened? It's not in the article.

"Brian Sarvis, superintendent of the Santa Barbara School District..."

My daughter is in a SB elementary school. There are SO MANY MORE PRESSING PROBLEMS IN THE SCHOOLS than this useless, mean-spirited, anti-business, anti-compassionate crap that I can't help but think they're doing this to divert our attention from the real problems. 'Nuff said.

I'd like to know more about the lollipops, please!

You are taking this "lollipop" incident, and making an argument against marijuana. Dispensaries, or not, youth have access to alcohol, cigarettes, harmful spray cans, etc.
Usually in their own homes!
Marijuana has been around a LONG time. People have found a way to obtain it. They always will.
Either legally, start organizing, taxing, as they did after prohibition, and help pay off our debts. Or pour monies that we don't have into fear tactics?
Prohibition brought a criminal element in the way of gangsters, violence, murders, etc. IT DOESN'T WORK.
Alcohol is far more harmful than marijuana. FACT.
Do you not see the parallel? Gang violence? Black Market? Just like prohibition. NO different, except it's 100 years later, and our population has grown...more gangs, violence, turf wars over a weed!
Is this borne out of fear? Ignorance? Puritanism?
This argument is ridiculous.
HOLD THE PARENTS RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR CHILDREN.
Let the rest of us, who want to be law-abiding, have our marijuana, just like the parents of those children enjoy their beer/pot/and who knows what else goes on behind closed doors!!!
Marijuana is not the problem.

u can learn to make marijuana lollipops in home economics
or just google it on u tube or better yet while ur kid is sexting
ask them to look up how to make a lollipop(rocket science)
and as far a the school offical who is backing these folks
shame on u just to keep ur job u have more to worry about than a marijuana lollipop
stop trying to point the finger at the dispensaries
if u fought as hard against gangs alcohol hard drugs meth etc
and the homeless u would be alot better off. oh and lets not forget the illegal immagriants that are takeing our jobs and draining our system of resources. these are major problems.
so while all u folks have nothing better to do than complain
get a life.
Google -Judge Tom Gray and read a little bit about what he has to say

If you support safe, regulated access to medical cannabis by the patients of your community, come to De La Guerra Plaza at 5pm on Tuesday, 5/18, wearing green.

If you prefer to force medical cannabis into unregulated, untaxed, underground collectives located in your neighborhood come wearing red.