Security For All

Recently I posted this entry entitled Once I was a caregiver and didn’t even know it wherein I found the current confusion about the legal definition of a marijuana “caregiver” in the state of Colorado quite amusing. Well, like most things involving dope (er… controlled substances trying to be prescription medications) and lawyers it just keeps getting better. Several days ago the Denver District court weighed in on the issue. This story on TheDenverChannel.com sums it up.

A Denver district court judge has overturned a state health board ruling that narrowed the definition of who can supply medical marijuana.Chief Judge Larry Naves ruled Tuesday that the Colorado Board of Health broke the law by rushing an emergency meeting to redefine the term caregiver.”I find there was no emergency,” Naves said. “There was no consideration of how the plaintiffs and others who are in need of medical marijuana would obtain it.”

Naves said, “The board’s action Nov. 3 violated the law and is, therefore, invalid and void.”

Okay… For those who have just joined us, let’s recap:

1. Last summer, the Board of Health defined a list of duties that could be considered “significant responsibility for managing the well-being of a patient,” for someone to qualify as a caregiver entitled to provide marijuana. But the language made it possible to qualify even if the only thing they did was provide marijuana to a patient.
2. A Colorado Court of Appeals found in the case of a woman charged with cultivation of marijuana in her Longmont home, who argued that the marijuana she grew was distributed to authorized medical-marijuana patients through dispensaries, that caregivers needed to know the patients. This forced the board to take quick action: They removed the entire definition, intending to take up the issue on Dec. 16, 2009 at a public meeting.
3. Much squealing ensued because changing the rule, it was argued, could force dispensaries and growers to offer other care as well which would be impossible for many growers who supply the dispensaries, thereby exposing marijuana growing operations to criminal prosecution.

So now Judge Naves says [I paraphrase here] “not so fast, bucko! These guys got their weed fair, square, cheap and legal like. You can’t just cut off their stash with no notice”. But wait, wasn’t it another court that caused the BoH to jerk the Jamaican [growing] rule? Well this certainly clears that up.

Meanwhile back in the Peoples Republic of Boulder (also reported to be in the State of Colorado) we have the Boulder City Council approving temporary medical pot rules according to this article in the Boulder Daily Camera.

The council voted to pass an emergency ordinance aimed at keeping medical marijuana dispensaries away from schools, clustering together or operating in neighborhoods.

The ordinance means that through March 31, 2010, any dispensaries that want to open in Boulder may only do so if they are at least 500 feet away from schools or licensed daycare centers, are not within 500 feet of three or more other dispensaries, and are not located in residential areas.

What’s this!? Has Boulder taken a hard right turn? Say it ain’t so! Okay – it ain’t so. Let’s put this in a bit of context. Again from the Camera article:

The rules do not apply to the 42 businesses that have already pulled sales-tax licenses with the city, or the 21 or so dispensaries that applied for permits prior to Nov. 6.

So by my count that is 42 existing dope dealerships (er… Medical Marijuana dispensaries) and 21 wanabees for a total of 63 new places to go to feed the jones (er… get your medication). Compare that to the number of Starbucks in Boulder. You know that coffee place on pretty much every corner. Well that number – including Licensed Stores (not operated by Starbucks) is 14. Of course the total number of coffee shops is much higher: 33. So there is already half again as many reefer shops as java shops in Boulder. And soon there will be twice as many. Whew! My faith in the Peoples Republic is restored.

But what does all of this mean? What is the greater significance? You tell me. This is just giving me a headache. Say… I’m in Boulder. I’ll bet that a few tokes of medication would fix me right up.