The use of medical cannabis (marijuana) has long been a sensitive subject. Research has shown that the use of marijuana can help relieve the suffering of terminally ill patients. However, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved medical marijuana for use.
Seems pretty cut and dry, right? Not so much. Since 1996, fourteen states – Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington – have approved the use of medical marijuana for patients who have a prescription for it.
Okay, so now the patients with prescriptions in those states can legally purchase medical marijuana? Well, not exactly. If I understand it correctly (and correct me please if I am wrong), while sale of medical marijuana was legalized by the state, the federal government still sees it as illegal.
Confused? Yeah, I am too. I wondered why I always saw dispensaries in California being raided by the feds when I thought the state had made medical marijuana legal.
And the battle rages on. Los Angeles recently passed an ordinance that will close most of the medical marijuana dispensaries in the city. How many does that include? I am not sure, but 600 new dispensaries had opened up in the last 10 months. The new ordinance says there can only be 70 dispensaries, so that means a lot of places are going to have to shut down. The legal dispensaries will have regulations too. They cannot be within 1,000 feet of a church, library, school, or playground.
While this new ordinance seems like it will make it harder to get medical marijuana in Los Angeles, think again. While the dispensaries may be forced to shut down, a new method is flourishing – medical marijuana delivery services.
I don’t know how you feel about medical marijuana. Personally, I’ve never tried marijuana, but I’ve seen family and friends that were terminally ill and would welcome anything that would ease their pain.