California's Medical Marijuana Apartheid: Different Rules Apply for Rich and Poor Pot Smokers

This is the REALITY that Delaware’s ganja patients will face should the horrific  Senate Bill 94 attack on everyone except the rich be passed and implemented. At the moment, under the rules of Delaware’s affirmative medical defense (covered elsewhere in this blog), any patient with any disorder or disease that could benefit from the therapeutic use of ganja can effectively raise the defense. This fact has basically stymied and stopped law enforcement from attacking most ganja consumers. In addition to public education outreach by ganja activists, the economy also plays a role. SB 94 will signal a shift in Delaware’s ganja policy that will be bad for everyone except the rich.

Should Senate Bill 94 pass and be implemented, only a few patients who can afford the bill for a doctor (who might or might not be willing to have the DEA spotlight turned on them) write a recommendation for them. Even under the defense rules of SB 94, the costly relationship with a health care provider will usurp the present system. Only well off patients will be able to doctor shop, paying office visit fees to tell their story until they finally find a doctor willing to take the chance. Then, there will be exorbitant fees to pay for the all but requisite ID card.

The state regulated compassion centers will be charging rates pretty much as high as buying the ganja on the street, but not in the budget of most people.

The following excerpt shows that contrary to the Pollyanna stories, everything is not all roses under California’s “medical marijuana” system. Should SB 94 pass in Delaware, there is absolutely no doubt the same exact problems will result.

Clearly, the only way to protect ganja consumers, patients, religious and recreational is NOT to support SB 94. That would be the very worst thing to do, worse than doing nothing at all.

 

Medical Marijuana Apartheid: Different Rules Apply for Rich and Poor Pot Smokers

By Joshua Holland, AlterNet. Posted December 13, 2009

It must be one of the great ironies of pot-politics. By using the "back-door" of medicinal use rather than legalizing marijuana sales outright -- treating it like alcohol or tobacco -- progressives in California have helped create a system of pot apartheid in the Golden State.

That's obviously not spelled out in the law. But marijuana is only legal for those who have $100-$300 to fork over for a medical marijuana card (you don't get any pot in return), who live in an area where there are medical marijuana dispensaries (generally liberal-minded, gentrified areas), who have proof of residence, and who don't fit the stereotypical image of a drug dealer.

Medical Marijuana Apartheid: Different Rules Apply for Rich and Poor Pot Smokers | Rights and Liberties | AlterNet

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