[Shanghai]

Last Night: The Cannabis Cup at Cafe Cocomo - San Francisco Music - All Shook Down

A cannabis cup was held last night in SF. This is not what the law was intended for. What medical purpose does this have? Do you see people holding a pain killer cup? Where people judge the affects of pills like vicodin and valium? How can we ever be taken serious with events like these being held. Of course some of the sponsors had to be doctors like Medicann and Green relief you would think these doctors would be more apt to stay away from events like this because they give the medical part of marijuana a bad name. Shame on them for sponsoring this. Seems like the marketing dept of these companies are just idiots who want to get stoned. I for one think weed should be legal but since it is not and only for medical use people need to use the brain that was given to them.

[Greenbud]

Interesting point of view but IMO a little myopic.

The real reason some people think MMJ is a joke is because patients don't show up to protests, city council meetings, etc., when it really counts most. It's this lack of visible numbers in the context of the news that makes us a joke to most since most are swayed by the images and soundbites they see on the news.

We must demonstrate that we are a large voting block before the politicians and news take us seriously and give us better coverage, and by proxy, I think the rest of society will then stop looking at us a side note to other social ills rather than the solution.

Why not make plans now to attend the joint committee meeting on Monday:

What: Joint PLUM and Public Safety Committee meeting
When: 9:30 AM * Monday, November 16
Where: Room 350, City Hall, 200 N. Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012

Best,

GB

[BrattonBasher]

While it is true that some MMJ doctors are a joke, many are not. I am not a fan of strain contests, but they do exist. I highly doubt they do any damage.

[Shanghai]

Well polls show that people want marijiuana to be legalized so I dont think support is the problem. However for medical use the industry is a joke. Walk into any Medicann clinic and you can get a rec without having to do any steps you would do at any other type of doctors office. This goes for most doc's in the industry. No records no questions no worries seems to be the trend when getting a rec. Look at what happenedd to Assad other doctors should stop cutting corners and require records along with taking vital signs just like they do at any other doctors offices in the country which by the way is required by the medical who has little to no oversight because they have no idea what is going on.....

[cephas]

The medical industry is a joke. Irregardless of MMJ, the medical industry is a joke.

This has nothing to do with MMJ.

Just like I can walk into most any MMJ doc's office and get a rec by coughing and saying "It hurts.", I can also walk into most any other doctor's office and do the same thing to get a prescription for Vicodin. Which is more addictive and harmful then MJ.

The Doctor's get paid by writing prescription's, recommendations, whatever. They do not really get paid by conducting an office visit. The office visit is a formality for writing the 'scrip, this is widely known, but most often, only referenced when talking about MMJ.

The Medical industry is just that, an industry.

Stop blaming marijuana, or the people involved in it, for the improprieties(mistakes) of a separate industry....

...it does nothing to help, but does much to hurt as it divides us against ourselves and allows our enemies (media and politicians), a weakness to use against us.

We in the MMJ movement are not responsible for the Dr's offices.

We have no control over them.

If they are a problem, they have their own oversight committees and regulations, enforcing agencies, that is their business not ours.

They are not our responsibility.

People do not think MMJ is a joke because of Dr's offices or Cannabis Cups (that most of them never even hear about because it is a counter-culture things and not covered by the evening news)

As Greenbud said.

People think MMJ is a joke because for all the bluster, and all the supposed "patients", who need their "medicine"....the protests are empty.

I guarantee you if the city council were thinking about making it impossible to get Valium or Vicodin except from street corner dealers, people would be up in arms and turn out by the thousands to protest. AND they would be taken seriously.

We are not taken seriously, because in the minds of politicians and the general populace, we are "too lazy to put the bong down.", and unfortunately our actions support that perception.

So....you want to be taken seriously?

Put the bong down, go to the PLUM meeting, be seen, and be heard.

Otherwise shut up and get out of the way so you at least don't hamper the efforts of other's who are actually trying to get things done.

[BrattonBasher]

Cephas: You are incorrect about doctors getting spiffs for writing scripts. This was outlawed years ago.

[Shanghai]

Originally Posted by cephas

The medical industry is a joke. Irregardless of MMJ, the medical industry is a joke.

This has nothing to do with MMJ.

Just like I can walk into most any MMJ doc's office and get a rec by coughing and saying "It hurts.", I can also walk into most any other doctor's office and do the same thing to get a prescription for Vicodin. Which is more addictive and harmful then MJ.

The Doctor's get paid by writing prescription's, recommendations, whatever. They do not really get paid by conducting an office visit. The office visit is a formality for writing the 'scrip, this is widely known, but most often, only referenced when talking about MMJ.

The Medical industry is just that, an industry.

Stop blaming marijuana, or the people involved in it, for the improprieties(mistakes) of a separate industry....

...it does nothing to help, but does much to hurt as it divides us against ourselves and allows our enemies (media and politicians), a weakness to use against us.

We in the MMJ movement are not responsible for the Dr's offices.

We have no control over them.

If they are a problem, they have their own oversight committees and regulations, enforcing agencies, that is their business not ours.

They are not our responsibility.

People do not think MMJ is a joke because of Dr's offices or Cannabis Cups (that most of them never even hear about because it is a counter-culture things and not covered by the evening news)

As Greenbud said.

People think MMJ is a joke because for all the bluster, and all the supposed "patients", who need their "medicine"....the protests are empty.

I guarantee you if the city council were thinking about making it impossible to get Valium or Vicodin except from street corner dealers, people would be up in arms and turn out by the thousands to protest. AND they would be taken seriously.

We are not taken seriously, because in the minds of politicians and the general populace, we are "too lazy to put the bong down.", and unfortunately our actions support that perception.

So....you want to be taken seriously?

Put the bong down, go to the PLUM meeting, be seen, and be heard.

Otherwise shut up and get out of the way so you at least don't hamper the efforts of other's who are actually trying to get things done.

Wow buddy calm down. Just think about this because pill shopping is an abuse going on does that mean it is okay for people who want to use marijuana to do the same? The truth is the reason no one goes to protests is because they dont care. They could get weed before they figured out they could get it legally from a shady ass doctor who would give them legal protection and storefront access for $150 bucks and could get it no matter wether it is legal or not. You think it is okay for kids to be recommended pot without so much as a simple exam given? Do you think it is alright for Medicann to give a 5 year old kid a rec without taking his vital signs just going on his mothers word that pot helps him? She never went to medical school and of course the kid would calm down because he is stoned out of his mind and has no idea what is going on. Cannabis cups do hurt the movement like I said before do you see a painkiller cup going on? I bet most of the people there were not sick at the time otherwise it would not have ran for 6 hours with drinks being served on top of massive pot smoking. I do think it should be legal but until that day we must all look out for the legitimacy of the medical movement and events like these just make us all come off has stoners looking for a good time... I mean do you think other sick people all gather together with food and drinks and vote on which medicine makes them feel better?? get with it!!!!!!!

[DankJews]

I Can See What You're Saying But I'm In For Them, Hahah

.:Stay Medicated:.

[ShoeboxMemory]

Because the majority of people in the MMJ movement see it as a joke! Everyone in the community are in it for the wrong reasons. The collectives are rarely non-profit and are charging ridiculous prices for medicine and I'm not racist in anyway but it looks like it's the same Middle Eastern dudes opening up a million collectives all over the place. Shady Dr.'s like Dr. Jimenez and Dr. Patel try to use their image to lure "patients" in and having lines out there do go down half the block while giving out 5 minute or 10+ group Dr. visits. It's the patients, that instead of writing/emailing their reps or going out to protest, only give a shit about how "dank their shit iz" or want to know "where da fire at!". I've only been a patient for about a year and a half but that is long enough for me to take a look around and see that MMJ is a big joke to the people inside the movement as much as it is to non-patients. Is it gonna change? I have a feeling that all this is contributing to our downfall. People simply just don't care. They're looking to score that quick dollar. They're looking just to get as high as they can. They only care to be the popular one with a doctor's recommendation that will get all their friends "bomb ass weed". People simply just don't care. I'll be there on the 16th. Let's see how many of my fellow 18-25 year old people will be there giving back to MMJ as it has given to us!

[cephas]

BB: You are correct about specific spiffs or kickbacks directly related to prescription writing has been outlawed...thank you for pointing out a very apparent flaw in my argument/reasoning.

...unfortunately, that law is a lot like the one that says your recommending Dr cannot advise you where to get your MMJ...

...but he can have a cards from several Co-Ops in his waiting room,

....and he can make sure all the cards are for Co-Op's that are a long ways away, except for that one place that is down the block....and just happens to be owned by the same partners as the doctor's office is..... I have personally spoken with a couple collective owners who also own/invest in Dr's offices and this is exactly what they do.

It skirts the law and is such legal, because it is not specifically illegal... (for the record I strongly disagree with this practice...again it is not my responsibly, it is the medical boards responsibility to deal with this problem, and yes...I have notified the board about shady Dr's)


There are loopholes in the law.

It is still legal to "donate" "prizes", as well as equipment to Hospitals and/or Doctor's offices, if not a specific Doctor within the office or Hospital....to do that they hand out "awards".

Cash donations can also be made to hospitals and/or private practices, the reason for the donation is simply not specified. Pharmaceutical company's tend to make lot's of donations to Hospitals, and give out a lot of "awards" to Doctors. It could be that is all a coincidence and I am paranoid (I cannot argue that I tend to be paranoid about Big Business and Government), but from the Doctors I have spoken with on a personal level, they admit to these things being commonplace.

One of my uncle's close friends, has a very successful private practice with several clinics. He gets a new luxury car every year or so, "awarded" to him by a pharmaceutical Co. (can't remember who off hand), "in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the field of medicine."

Probably I am reading too much into things, but in my mind he is being paid off by them.

It's a loophole that allows around the law...Dr.'s have lots of them...just like most industries... just like MMJ already has even though it isn't even fully regulated. Loopholes are possibly one of the biggest conceptual weaknesses of "law".

True some Dr.'s get caught, and lose their license. Some Pharm companies also get fined for improprieties, illegal spiffs/kickbacks.....most do not.

This only serves to further demonstrate how that part of the problem with MMJ is with the Dr.'s, and is separate from/larger than us or our movement.

We need to be concerned with us and our access right now. Not the problems with the Doctor's offices, that we are not responsible for.

We should be informed of, and recognize the problem with these offices, we should notify the medical board if we think there is a problem, that is what we can do about that.

Showing up in numbers, to make the politicians see the need and demand for our medication and access. This is what we can do for MMJ.

Everything else written is for the purposes of demonstrating that one thing. If my opinions and/or facts are wrong, understand I am a fallible, and opinionated person. While I do my best to be correct and or informed with the most recent information, I am not always.


Regardless that doesn't change the fact that nothing matters besides showing up at the PLUM meeting this coming Monday, and/or calling/writing the LA City Counsel..


I know we agree on that BB!


And Shanghai,

No. I do not think "shady doctors" handing out recs to 5 year old kids is alright. But an observant, educated and responsible Doctor doing it? That I don't have a problem with. Why? Because I assume the Doctor knows what he or she is doing, and a whole lot more than me.

...if that is not the case, than there is a very serious problem, unfortunately that problem is much larger and more pervasive then what a MMJ activist can deal with. Those problems are for the activist's within the medicinal community. Maybe after this battle is done we can begin that one. Or maybe we should stop this battle to handle that first since it might be more important to society at large.

Either way they are separate battles.

I also do not think that is any of our (the MMJ movement's) problem, or fault, because I know(not think) those Doctors have their own observatory and regulatory body to take care of problems like that...if that regulatory body is not doing it's job, that is not our fault.

Do you disagree? You think MMJ patients should take control because the Doctor's authorities are not? That is another discussion I would enjoy having. It is outside the bounds of this, and the MMJ movement or industry, whichever term you prefer.

and yes sir, I know a lot of people who get together in social situations and take prescription medications. Have you never been to a club in Hollywood? Or a houseparty in the hills?

At certain types of parties, you can be damn sure people are popping each other's pills and commenting on whose is better, more effective, less stomach upsetting, which alcohol makes it tastes better, etc...and you can bet these people are generally healthier than most of the people who take MMJ legitimately or not.

Have you never seen a 70 year old person giggle when talking about their pain pills? If not I can introduce you to some.

So yes. People do throw parties and have social events with legal prescription pills, that a doctor gave them after talking to them from across a desk for 5 minutes...

The difference is they do not make it public, (probably because they know what they are doing is wrong), and it doesn't last for 6 hours. It lasts until the pills are gone, everybody is passed out, somebody is dead or overdosed, or the cops came....and yes those parties have booze too...

You are also right about not enough people caring to show up for protests.

Comments like your don't help. If you are not trying to help, what are you doing?

Maybe I should calm down about this subject.

I live a primarily good life, better, really, than any of my friends or family. I didn't get here by chilling out and letting things happen as they happen, or "not caring" about things. I did it by becoming informed and educated, working harder and faster, than anyone around me. I did it by making my voice and my opinions known.

I am not going to stop now.

If anyone else has anything they want, but don't have, whether it is legalizing/regulating MMJ, buying a new car, or meeting a hot girl/guy....you won't ever get it by chillin' out and lettin' things come...get up, go find what you want, and get it.