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Placing a limitation on edibles shows a lack of understanding about the use of marijuana as medicine. Doctors actually recommend to patients not to smoke as it increases other health risks. Patients are encouraged to use edibles and lotions (for arthritis) rather than always relying on inhalation. Also some patients are unable to or deeply opposed to smoking.
Really, beyond an an appropriate business license, no additional regulations are required for dispensaries. City of LB needs to respect patient privacy rights.
The concern appears to be the dispensing of food products that have not been inspected by anyone with medical competence. I don't know if this concern is a particularly valid one or not but I'm hoping that the Council is also soliciting the professional medical advice of City Health Officer Dr. Calvet and others at our Department of Health and Human Services as they proceed in their deliberations.
I know of several people who regularly sell their food products at the various farmers markets around the city and county without having their edibles inspected by anyone with medical competence or the Health Department.
I'm sure there are numerous other examples of edibles being sold throughout the city without having been inspected by the Health Department.
And just to clarify, I don't necessarily think this is a valid concern. In fact I was quite clear in saying that "I don't know if this concern is a particularly valid one".
But what you or I think about it wont matter much if a majority of the Council thinks it's a valid concern.
Agreed?
What I want to hear from our Councilmembers is what they will be basing their ultimate decision upon. If they choose not to comment they should be removed from office. If they failed to solicit feedback from their constituency before making their decision, unlike what Councilwoman Schipske has done with her various blogs, they should be removed from office. If Council is representing themselves and not their constiuents, they need to be removed from office.
If you and I (not "the rest of the general public") feel this concern is not valid, but a majority of the Council feels that it is, guess what, they'll most likely take action on this concern and they would be right to do so.
But even if our opinion finds favor with many others, yet not with a majority of the electorate, then guess what, the Council will most likely take action on this concern and they would STILL be right to do so.
Our local elected officials' job is to serve the people of the City of Long Beach **AS REPRESENTED BY A MAJORITY OF THE ELECTORATE**, not as represented by Messers Ruehle and Greet. This is right and proper and fully in accordance with our Constitutional Republic form of government.
It's also precisely why I constantly encourage more people to register and then to vote responsibly...so that our City government might become better representative of the people it is intended to serve.
I know someone who recently passed away from cancer and this was the only method they could use to reduce some of the pain. Since they never used Cannabis before, I could not imagine forcing them to use the most toxic delivery method possible just because people have a problem with eating vs. smoking medication. When you think about it, smoking is kind of weird way to force someone to feel better.
I doubt my friend would have had the lung capacity to do so if it was his only choice. Please don’t make people to suffer.
I have a treatment plan with my current doctor who specifically recommended eatables and concentrates and to avoid smoking. It has a significantly different effect. It is utterly ridiculous that the city council would even entertain the idea from someone who has absolutly no medical background.
A patients has by law a right to privacy. All pertinent information is kept on file by a licensed medical doctor. This is how the current law works and if the police need to see the records, all they need is a simple court order.
The current law was intended to cover all legitimate patients without forcing them to register with the state, city or county. Doing so could inadvertency put a patient as great risk of prosecution from the DEA as a federal crime. While recent statements from the white house have instructed the feds not to go after patients, a simple change in political tide could force thousands of patients into legal prosecution. All they would need is one giant list from the city.
Have you ever experienced the joy of watching that loved one dive into one of their last meals with gusto--all because of a bong hit? Because I have.
We are talking about using marijuana as medicine here.
Jesus taught compassion. Think about it. There is nothing delinquent or dangerous about a person using marijuana to relieve medical conditions--small and large.
Calling marijuana evil is plain old dumb.
Although it's not very likely that anyone operating a medpot clinic will be a licensed medical professional, I still feel that HIPAA-related (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) patient privacy protections should apply to legitimate medpot operations, assuming they meet the criteria established by that act (i.e: 1. Furnishes, bills or receives payment for, health
care in the normal course of business and, 2. Transmits (sends) any covered transactions electronically).
Oakland was able to skin this particular cat, it seems, by requiring legitimate medpot operations to keep records referring only to a patient number that is issued by the County. In this way the County maintains accountability and the medpot operations assure appropriate patient privacy.
Since L.A. County doesn't seem ready to provide this sort of support, perhaps our own Health Department could?
The law already requires all patients information to be kept on file by the qualifed licened medical doctor who gave the recomendation. A simple court order is all that is needed to inspect.
I'm not anxious to increase the workload at our Health Department either but, since L.A. County is not as pro-active on this issue as Alameda County has been (in issuing medpot patient I.D. numbers), and since we do have our own Health Department, perhaps we, at the municipal level, can use the tools at hand to strike a reasonable balance between patient confidentiality and effective regulation of medpot operations.
The promises of the Mayer even if honored, will only last till the next election. We need to demand fair and equal treatment as patients. No different than someone going to the pharmacy would want their private information treated.
FYI, I can walk into a pharmacy in long beach and buy medication like Cold-EEZE which looks and tastes like candy. There is no reason to treat eatable marijuana any differently unless you just want to force sick people to smoke.
I know someone who recently passed away from cancer and this was the only method they could use to reduce some of the pain. Since they never used Cannabis before, I could not imagine forcing them to use the most toxic delivery method possible just because people have a problem with eating vs. smoking medication. When you think about it, smoking is kind of weird way to force someone to feel better.
I doubt my friend would have had the lung capacity to do so if it was his only choice. Please don’t make people to suffer.