California City Orders Pot Dispensaries To Give Low Income Individuals Free Weed

[GrassMonkey]

Wow!

 

Yes, it’s Berkeley. Yes, Berkeley is generally viewed as rogue and downright communist in many aspects. But in this story it’s not just about the city council voting to provide medical pot to low income individuals. That’s bad enough as it is. It’s also about the fact that the city is ordering pot dispensaries to provide it without compensation.

 

Weed welfare?

That’s what the Berkeley City Council in California has unanimously approved, ordering medical marijuana dispensaries to donate 2 percent of their stash to patients making less than $32,000 a year.

The new welfare program in the liberal-leaning city is set to launch in August 2015.

The ordinance, which passed in August and is the first of its kind in the country, comes at a time when several states are debating how to handle a growing movement to legalize marijuana for both medical and recreational use.

What about free Aleve for headaches? What about free cold/flu medications? Where does this end?

 

http://www.libertynews.com/2014/09/insane-california-city-orders-pot-dispensaries-to-give-low-income-individuals-free-weed/

[grateful411]

Yes, it’s Berkeley. Yes, Berkeley is generally viewed as rogue and downright communist in many aspects.

 

I stopped reading after this, comments like this make me sick.

[cristinew]

Thankfully someone is looking out for the sick.. And not just the capitalist that want to make millions off the sick, Thank You Berkeley,

[GrassMonkey]

So I see a lot of care givers on here complain about patients who expect free meds. This begs the question, do you feel it's right to force dispensaries to do this? How would you feel if they mandated this at the care giver level? Just curious.

[Highlander]

So I see a lot of care givers on here complain about patients who expect free meds. This begs the question, do you feel it's right to force dispensaries to do this? How would you feel if they mandated this at the care giver level? Just curious.

 

If I could grow the maximum I could grow from 72 plants, give 2% away, and sell the rest to patients or a dispensary, I'd have no problem with that.

[ozzrokk]

If I could grow the maximum I could grow from 72 plants, give 2% away, and sell the rest to patients or a dispensary, I'd have no problem with that.

 

 

Agreed........................ 100%..........................

 

When are they going to start telling big pharma the same thing?

[ozzrokk]

I think it should not be mandated at any level........................

 

Do I think the poor being able to get those things for free is a good thing? Yes of course........

 

Do I think it should be mandated? Nope..............

[pic book]

I join with ozzrock. The poor getting what they need is good--i eat off food shelves every month and never buy any food. So next, I need to medicate. I want every one of you to pony up some weed.

I'll come to your house and pick up my free share of your stash--and don't bother rolling blunts for me--i just use a pipe--but if i did joints, i'd expect you to have my free weed done up when i get there.

And i want my 2% to come off the top of the plant. WTF man! You still get 98%! Greedhy bassttar. WHAT'S YOURS IS MINE.

 

[pic book]

AND I'M GONNA COME GET IT.

 

[Indigro]

Good on Berkeley.

 

Now if we could mandate a fair dispersion between corporate execs & the rest of their employees... and to better enforce taxation & regulation on large cap corps.

 

What's that quotation from pbs... the opposite of poverty isn't wealth, it's justice.

[pic book]

Thankfully someone is looking out for the sick.. And not just the capitalist that want to make millions off the sick, Thank You Berkeley,

thank you berkeley (if it was a ballot measure that passed the voters to amend disp licensure to mandate 2% of inventory to the poor).

[GrassMonkey]

So, so far, it appears to me that the general consensus is:

 

If you start your own dispensary business, you are greedy and should have to give up some of your profits.

 

If you're a caregiver, who starts up their own business, and technically it is a business, you are compassionate, and are not expected to give up any of your profits,unless you are willing to voluntarily do so.

 

Sounds hypocritical to me.

 

I don't care much for dispensaries myself, and am a caregiver as well. So I am really not taking sides on this. Just trying to understand people's thinking.

 

By all means if I am off base, please explain. I would be interested in how you justify the difference between the two.

[GrassMonkey]

And yes, dispensaries make profits because they have to. They have rent, employee wages, taxes Etc.

 

Just like caregivers need profit to keep their operation up and running in order to provide quality meds.

[Herb Cannabis]

http://blog.mpp.org/medical-marijuana/mpps-mason-tvert-debates-bishop-ron-allen-on-fox-friends/09052014/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogmpp+%28MPP+Blog%29

 

This link will take you to a Fox and friends interview with Mason Tvert (MPP) and Bishop Ron Allen from this past Thursday.  Another one was scheduled for this morning as well.

[ozzrokk]

So, so far, it appears to me that the general consensus is:

 

If you start your own dispensary business, you are greedy and should have to give up some of your profits.

 

If you're a caregiver, who starts up their own business, and technically it is a business, you are compassionate, and are not expected to give up any of your profits,unless you are willing to voluntarily do so.

 

Sounds hypocritical to me.

 

I don't care much for dispensaries myself, and am a caregiver as well. So I am really not taking sides on this. Just trying to understand people's thinking.

 

By all means if I am off base, please explain. I would be interested in how you justify the difference between the two.

 

 

I say neither should be MANDATED

[GrassMonkey]

IMO, I agree ozzrokk!

[Indigro]

If I open a dispensary, then any cancer patient, or otherwise seriously ill person, should get highly subsidized, if not entirely free, meds. This is esp true if they are of low income, or otherwise in hardship. I should hope a person's conscience guides such action, but if it is mandated, so much the better.

 

And who subsidizes it? Those of means, and the vast majority of patients that are far better off than the seriously ill and/or indigent... most of the registered patients out there.

 

Should I have a strong model, w a staff & product to match, and biz really takes off & is successful, hey great. My goal isn't a couple of new lambo's & amassing as much as I humanly can at the expense of everyone else. Suppose it's all in the mindset & underlying value system.

 

It's not failing to be successful. It's about doing it in a decent manner, where I feel good about my behaviors & endeavors. But we all know how this deviates from the norm. Mandating a better value system might be necessary, and is at least one way to improve upon what happens in the world.

 

Kinda wish the multi-billion dollar drug companies took this approach. But their value system is quite simply 'to increase shareholder value'. That's it... their only codified purpose in life. So, yeah, mandate a better world.

[GrassMonkey]

So your perception of dispensary owners is that they're all loaded rich people who drive Lamborghinis around? And all dispensaries are highly successful?

 

And because they have this money, they should have to supply free medication?

 

Are you a caregiver? If you are, just wondering how you would feel if they forced you to give up some of the Meds you produced?

[ozzrokk]

I will add this............ If I was bringing in dispensary type money then I would have some sort of program instituted to help the less fortunate...............

[GrassMonkey]

Yeah I agree ozzrokk. Nothing wrong with giving back, being compassionate, helping people. A lot of businesses do that for their communities.

 

It does make one wonder, if they can do that to dispensaries, how long will it be before they start doing it the caregivers?

 

And if it's good enough for us then it should be good enough for Big Pharma as well.

Edited September 7, 2014 by GrassMonkey

[Indigro]

So your perception of dispensary owners is that they're all loaded rich people who drive Lamborghinis around? And all dispensaries are highly successful?

 

And because they have this money, they should have to supply free medication?

 

Are you a caregiver? If you are, just wondering how you would feel if they forced you to give up some of the Meds you produced?

If we really got into it, there's a lot of different angles to consider, and the root problems (imo) run much, much deeper than mmj & dispos. It ultimately stems from our value systems, and that has effect throughout our society. I have a deep problem w unbridled capitalism.

 

But to answer your questions...

 

Yep, I am a registered caregiver & have been so for many years & under varying systems under law. Have been around the block & seen it all, from most of the perspectives available. My rose tinted glasses have been crushed into a thousand pieces.

 

No, not all dispos owners are pos bastages, but the vast majority of them are in it for the money, for the opportunity to officially get rich. Thr blood money is in the water & the sharks are circling. I have known many, and although some are decent, kind hearted & well meaning, most just simply do what is necessary for them to make money. Not all, but most make some unconscionable decisions based on the bottom line, knowingly at the monetary & health expense of an otherwise unsuspecting customer. They run a money making business & make all of their decisions based on economic considerations... first to meet their cashflow obligations, then to increase their overall profit margins. It's pure business, nothing more, nothing less. They will do what is necessary to stay solvent & increase their personal wealth.

 

Not all make a ton of money... a little secret out of colorado, many lose their ars because they never were very business minded, nor very good at growing. They entered into it to get rich, but just lacked the competence to do it. Those that do make it big, are doing things that many of us would have problems with.

 

For example, they invest a smooth 250k into a large commercial grow & storefront. Their grow becomes infested w bugs + mold, because as much as they put into it, it wasn't nrarly enough & was done entirely improperly. Their first crop pulls less than a half per, and is utterly crappy. But they need the money to meet overhead & cashflows until the next chop, so they still pump it out of the store just trying everything they can to get more money.

 

On the second run, after just barely getting by on the first, they have the same problems, but they just can't afford another eff up, or they go insolvent & lose it all. So they absolutley do everything they absolutely have to do in order to get it done, and that means spraying commercial products right up to very last week before they chop. Some don't know how bad that is, pouring known carcinogens over a human consumable, to the point that they have unknowing hired help apply it w no protective equipment at all, bare skinned & all. And despite having done it, knowingly or ignorantly, they push it to customers because they absokutely have to get more cash in to keep the wheels spinning. If they don't, not only can they not meet their cash outflows, they lose their investemnt in dollars & time. So they do what they have to do... and it's still a crappy ptoduct w a crappy yield that should never be consumed by anyone.

 

Many of these folks are running to cash in on the next best thing. They don't know about a quality product, neither what it is supposed to be nor how to get there. They just see dollar bills. Many of these new entrants aren't even aware of our history of prohibition & don't give any thought about the people rotting in jail. They often come as trust fund babies, or on borrowed dollars from some rich fruck that is again, only in it to get more rich. They could care less about any movement to free the weed, or the people already in jail. Ecept that they want to change the laws to makr it easier to make more money, and w less risk. They aren:t decent people, trying to do a good thing... they do what they have to in order to pay the bills & increase wealth.

 

That isn't all of em, but it represents many of those entering the game. Heck, many of them don't even smoke the herb. It's all about the money. And ignorance, imo, doesn't excuse them at all. Let alone the ones that do it w intentionality. And the more commercial the law is (larger & w greater entrance barriers & exclusivity), the more it is just about solvency & profitablity. Forget about doingbthe right thing, they do what they have to do, at the expense of all others.

 

Sorry to dump, but you are unaware. Riding the green wave w no real appreciation of what really happens out there. So, you asked & here I am telling. Do w it what you will.

 

But to end on a better note, there are competing models out there to large commercial enterprises. And there are decent people in the world to boot. We can have a smaller cottage industry where tensbof thousands can participate, and do a better job vs the commercial model. That involves a bunch of small business owners (cg's) that don't get in over their heads, that are more reasonable in pricing, and producr a cleaner/healthier product.

 

BTW... I pay for my patient's dr visit + state app fee + request compensation that is below average wholesale rates which dispos have been known to pay. It is an end human consumable that is free from pesticides, fungicides, or any other adulterants. It is tested & of a quality level that fetches a dispo price point of 20-25 per. It wins cg cups. Just to suggest that I welcome a higher standard in our behaviors & end product... that it is possible to do it better than the rest, and still make it just fine.

[GrassMonkey]

Wow! Thanks for the detailed post Indigro, very informative !

 

And kudos to you for being such a compassionate person by helping your patients out. I have a patient that is without means myself. The majority of the time they are supplied with free meds. So I too try to give back and help those in need as best as I can.

 

So it looks like your real issue is with the unbridled capitalism? This might come as a surprise to you, but I feel exactly the same way you do about unregulated capitalism!

 

So is your definition of unbridled capitalism anyone who profits? Cuz if it is, I think that's a pretty unfair assessment, IMO. Were these dispensaries that now have to give up 2% guilty of unbridled capitalism? I'm not sure. Personally in my opinion I don't think it's wrong, greedy, or unregulated when a business profits. Where I have trouble is when they violate people's rights, harm the environment, etc. for profit. Then I have no problem with the government stepping in and imposing regulations.

 

However, to make everyone else pay for some of the businesses who do this, in my opinion, is excessive. Just shut them down, or punish them.

 

With that said though, the real issue here I'm trying to address, I guess, is not the unethical practices of the businesses, or unbridled capitalism, etc. but more about having your operation regulated by an over reaching government. I also know my government, give them an inch and they will take a mile. They may start at the dispensary level, but they could take it further.

[Wild Bill]

My experience with dispensaries is extremely limited (I've only been to two). I quite frankly couldn't see how they were making any money.

 

Limited product and from what I saw very few customers.  It must be different out on the left coast because if these guys had to give product away they'd out of business in a few weeks.                                                                  

[ozzrokk]

Yeah I agree ozzrokk. Nothing wrong with giving back, being compassionate, helping people. A lot of businesses do that for their communities.

 

It does make one wonder, if they can do that to dispensaries, how long will it be before they start doing it the caregivers?

 

And if it's good enough for us then it should be good enough for Big Pharma as well.

 

 

I totally agree

[Indigro]

Wow! Thanks for the detailed post Indigro, very informative !

 

And kudos to you for being such a compassionate person by helping your patients out. I have a patient that is without means myself. The majority of the time they are supplied with free meds. So I too try to give back and help those in need as best as I can.

 

So it looks like your real issue is with the unbridled capitalism? This might come as a surprise to you, but I feel exactly the same way you do about unregulated capitalism!

 

So is your definition of unbridled capitalism anyone who profits? Cuz if it is, I think that's a pretty unfair assessment, IMO. Were these dispensaries that now have to give up 2% guilty of unbridled capitalism? I'm not sure. Personally in my opinion I don't think it's wrong, greedy, or unregulated when a business profits. Where I have trouble is when they violate people's rights, harm the environment, etc. for profit. Then I have no problem with the government stepping in and imposing regulations.

 

However, to make everyone else pay for some of the businesses who do this, in my opinion, is excessive. Just shut them down, or punish them.

 

With that said though, the real issue here I'm trying to address, I guess, is not the unethical practices of the businesses, or unbridled capitalism, etc. but more about having your operation regulated by an over reaching government. I also know my government, give them an inch and they will take a mile. They may start at the dispensary level, but they could take it further.

Hi GM... sorry I had been away for a bit, not intending to ignore.

 

Yeah, I have no real specific or simple answer for your questions. Just know how I perceive the injustices of the world around me, and there isn't an aspect of life that it doesn't seem apparent.

 

Let me just suggest that I don't view bigger as better. I would rather see a whole bunch of us participate in this industry, vs. a handful of well-off, well-connected enterprises that are singularly motivated by profit. I would like to see people making a decent, livable income... a whole bunch of mom & pop stores & grows. But not a single 'weedmart' or massive 100k+ grows. For there there to be profit, but owned by individual people & families, and a lot of them. For thosr profits to stay in the State, for it to stay & be spent within the local community, for the benefit of the entire community.

 

I do have an idealized vision of what gov't should & could be, but am very grounded in reality, so understand that what I advocate would be very difficult to realize, if even possible at all.