Wearing Us Down

The "medical" marijuana proponents are wearing us down.  Our local city government is reporting that the medical marijuana dispute has been a major expenditure over the past year.  Most of the people in our little bedroom community want nothing to do with "medical" marijuana and don't want "cooperatives" or head shops, as they used to be called, in our city.  However, the very vocal minority, many of whom stand to make a profit on the sales of marijuana, are wearing us down.  By costing the city money in repeated lawsuits, which have thus far failed, and constant barrages of requests to open store fronts for the sale and use of marijuana, they can effectively wear down the opposition to the point where it's no longer feasible to fight it.  So, eventually our city (and others) will have to give in and get on with it.  What do we get once the "medical" marijuana store fronts open?  We get armed guards and bars on the windows.  We're told by the proponents that by beefing up security, they are keeping us safe.  Safe from what?  From those who want the drugs.  There will be break ins, burglaries, thefts, etc.  Several local cities including Murrieta have been successful in their efforts to keep them out.  In Lake Elsinore, one local shop owner was recently arrested for illegal sales after closing his shop.  On the same street, new outlets have sprung up one right after the other. It seems to be getting out of hand.  They proliferate and the street becomes a haven for illicit activity.

A year or so ago, I had to fight to keep a medical marijuana "clinic" from opening up next to my business. How appropriate is it to put a medical marijuana collective in a complex which houses a child psychologist, an optometrist, a dentist, and an adoption service?  That seems a little careless to me.  Mind boggling. We were told that during the day there would be an armed guard.  Armed.  That means when the bullets start flying, they are going to come right through the walls and into my office.  My son home schools here.  My staff is here.  Occasionally clients come in with their babies.  On top of that, we were told that there would be bars on their windows to keep people from breaking in.  They owners claimed it would be a quiet, safe business.  Right.  Why do you need bars on the windows?  Pray tell, what will happen when they can't get into your business to get the drugs and money you have stashed there?  They will break into MY business and go through the wall.  Thanks again.

In Los Angeles, there have been a number of deaths related to armed robberies at medical marijuana outlets.  In one week, three people were killed over the drugs.  L.A. has started trying to reduce the number of facilities allowed, due to the number of incidents and crime they generate.  In one instance, undercover officers kept one facility under surveillance and found that people who were not medical patients were buying pot and going down the street to the local park and selling it to the kids.  Is this really what we want in our community?  Don't we have enough to deal with?  Why do you think some people are fighting so hard to get them opened?  Greed.  Lots of money to be made there.  I wonder if they pay their fair share of taxes?  My guess is no.

I do not dispute that marijuana may be beneficial to patients who don't seem to get relief any other way.  However, if that's the case, dispense it out of the pharmacy like every other legitimate drug and don't let wayward souls go out and market it to make a profit.  We don't need to make a profit on our sick.  Those who want to should be discouraged from doing so.  Aside from that, store fronts are an ideal front for those who want to buy and sell pot openly.  Don't argue that the people with prescriptions are all sick, because they aren't.  If you go to the cooperatives' websites, you can find a list of doctors who will give you the Rx just for showing up and paying the fee.  That's where the argument for sick people ends for me.  Unfortunately, the bad guys are looking for a way to sell their dope and they don't care about those who are really and truly sick.  I'm not willing to sell my community down the river for the sake of a few people who could get their medicine in a pharmacy like everyone else.  If they could do that, there wouldn't be a need for pot outlets.  Let's make THAT the law. 

We tell our children not to do drugs.  We try to set a good example.  Research has shown pot to be a "gateway" drug.  Not everyone who smokes pot goes on to do other drugs.  However, virtually everyone who goes on to do harder drugs has begun the process with marijuana.  How do you tell teens not to smoke pot if you say it's okay for people to buy it down the street?  It sends mixed messages.

I won't even get into the argument about people using pot and driving.  I've heard all the rebuttals to that about drunk drivers.  I don't want either of them out on the road.  I have personal experience with a drunk driver who injured and very nearly killed some of my family.  While my brother's neck and leg were broken and my sister in law was knocked unconscious and hit the steering wheel while pregnant with my nephew...the drunk driver walked away with his two front teeth knocked out.  He was so drunk, he wasn't even aware.  No, I don't want any impaired drivers on the road.  Another argument against medical marijuana collectives. 

They may wear us down and they may find a legal way to operate, but we all know it's a front for illegal activity.  It seems like the only people who have rights are the ones trying to skirt the laws.  If you are a law-abiding citizen who wants the children safe and the best for your community, you take a back seat to those who feel that their rights are being violated by not being able to sell their pot openly and for a profit.
They are a vocal bunch.

Hollywood Train Wrecks

We all know that Lindsay Lohan is a train wreck.  It's hard to imagine that time after time, judges let her slide.  In the recent jewelry theft case, had anyone else walked out of a jewelry store with a necklace -- any necklace, let alone one reportedly worth $2,500.00, they would have been immediately arrested.  In this case, it took months and even then, the crime was reduced to a misdemeanor, usually reserved for lower value items. She's been in front of four judges in the past year. This girl is literally crying out for help and attention and no one is really paying any attention at all.  It won't be surprising when she joins the list of Hollywood statistics who die of drug overdoses or reckless behavior.  After her day in court, once again, on Friday, she was sent to, and then immediately bailed out of, jail.  The defense is already filing an appeal.  Ironically, the prosecution is considering appealing the ruling as well.  The prosecution felt that there "was a clear abuse of discretion" on the part of the judge.  I feel the same way.  Why is it that high profile people seem to get away with things the rest of society doesn't?  And why should they?  We won't even talk about Charlie Sheen.  In the past, prison overcrowding has been the reason that Lindsay was released way early.  She didn't learn her lesson then and she's not likely to learn it now.  She is still crying out for someone to notice her pain and get her some help.  She is misguided, misdirected, and misunderstood.  Maybe people like Lindsay should feel the pinch where it hurts - in their pocketbook.  Maybe that would make her sit up and take notice. In this age of entitlement, why not levy fines that will help the system ease the overcrowding situations?  OJ, Charlie, Lindsay, Paris...they all abuse(d) the system and could contribute enough to make a difference.  Let's start hitting these people who have more money than common sense with hefty fines that can actually go to good use -- drug and alcohol treatment programs, additional prison facilities, and victim's rights funding.  They aren't going to do jail time anyway, and just maybe something good could come from all of these sad situations. Judges, what do you say?

Alcohol, Drugs, Pregnancy & Teens

The partnership at Drugfree.org and MetLife Foundation has released a new study that revealed some shocking news about today's teens and their thoughts about alcohol.  Underage drinking has become the norm and teens seem to have access to all the alcohol they wish to consume.  The attitudes of the current generation are much different from those in the past.  Today's teens see no harm in consuming five drinks a day.  68% of teens surveyed said they had consumed alcohol, and a quarter of those said they had their first drink at the age of 12 or even younger.  Top reasons for drinking included "so they won't feel left out" and "because it's fun".  Teen drinking sets up a whole domino effect of problems.  A child who is 13 or 14 may have no concept of the danger it poses, from alcohol poisoning, to vulnerability to rape or molestation, to any number of dangerous positions they may land in, with no ability to fend for themselves.  They don't believe it will happen to them or that their judgment will be impaired. They feel invincible.  They feel they can handle it.

Local teens have mentioned to me that it's easy to obtain alcohol or drugs at school and kids are actually doing those things on campus during the school day.  25% of the teens surveyed in the study stated that they had smoked marijuana in the past month.  This is a trend that is significant because for a decade, there were declines in the use of pot among teens.  Now that has turned around and use is increasing.  Small wonder, when "medical" marijuana co-ops are springing up everywhere.  Kids know it's just a front for sales.  If adults can do it, why can't they?  Ecstacy abuse has also increased dramatically, up 67% according to the study.   Often when I hear from birth mothers planning an adoption, they state that they were "at a party", "at a bar", or "drinking" when they became pregnant.  Sometimes they don't know how it happened or who they were with because there were many people at the party.  Obviously, if they weren't drinking, they would have had better control of the situation and themselves.  Putting themselves in a vulnerable position may result in pregnancy, but could result in much worse.

While parents feel powerless to stop the behavior, teens are seeing little risk in regular use of alcohol and drugs, and are increasingly trying and using them.  They see it as no big deal.  As our nation slips further and further down the list of those leading in education and technology, the next generation is medicating themselves into apathy.  So for those who are worried about the current job situation -- consider going into alcohol and drug counseling and rehab services.  We're going to need you.  Just ask Charlie Sheen.