hb10-1284 set to be voted on tomorrow
I have been following this thread in silence, but here at home I am biting my tongue. This bill will effect each and every one of us, perhaps in different ways, but we all will feel it's effects.
I am in favor of regulation, although limited. A dispensary should be regulated like any other business. Since a dispensary's customer base is restricted, it should be regulated to make sure only those "allowed" are sold to. This is already in place. It should be regulated that a dispensary is clean, safe, and are dispensing what they claim. Much of this is in place, but some is subjective. If they claim to be selling Medical Marijuana, then it should not be the so-called legal bud. I have not seen this practice but I have heard a few concerns. It should be regulated so that a dispensary, like any other business, pays proper sales/income taxes, reports sales tax correctly, and is properly licensed (the Denver bureaucracy and cost seems excessive to me).
I have mixed feeling about zoning, and it looks like its going to extremes. Medical Marijuana is a legitimate business and should be treated as such. If the community is zone for residential only, that means MMJ as well. Banning MMJ dispensaries makes no sense to me. How and why are gentlemen's clubs, payday loans, and pawn shops better for a community than a dispensary. I really do not see the logic in this.
As far as quality, mold, pests, taste, and smell....well, I think the consumer will weed(ha ha) all of that out. If I found mold in anything I purchased (weed, produce etc), I would offer the place I got it from the opportunity to correct the issue. I would expect replacement of the product or a cash refund, an apology, and the assurance they would do everything in their power not to have it happen again (not purchase from that vendor perhaps). It anything like that happens again, it would be the last time they got my money and I would be letting as many people know as possible to give them warning.
I certainly do not want the Federal Government to be involved in quality control of my medical marijuana. With the horrors committed by the FDAs in-aptitude I have little or no confidence that they would do better with something like MMJ. No reason for me to believe that the state would do any better in quality control.
Like everyone else, this is my opinion. It concerns me that as a community we can not get together and decide what is best for us. It is going to make it very hard to get lawmakers on our side when we do not really know what we want/need. Unfortunately it will come down to who has the most money, like everything political in the USA.
hb10-1284 set to be voted on tomorrow
Quote:
Originally Posted by Reenster
I have been following this thread in silence, but here at home I am biting my tongue. This bill will effect each and every one of us, perhaps in different ways, but we all will feel it's effects.
I am in favor of regulation, although limited. A dispensary should be regulated like any other business. Since a dispensary's customer base is restricted, it should be regulated to make sure only those "allowed" are sold to. This is already in place. It should be regulated that a dispensary is clean, safe, and are dispensing what they claim. Much of this is in place, but some is subjective. If they claim to be selling Medical Marijuana, then it should not be the so-called legal bud. I have not seen this practice but I have heard a few concerns. It should be regulated so that a dispensary, like any other business, pays proper sales/income taxes, reports sales tax correctly, and is properly licensed (the Denver bureaucracy and cost seems excessive to me).
I have mixed feeling about zoning, and it looks like its going to extremes. Medical Marijuana is a legitimate business and should be treated as such. If the community is zone for residential only, that means MMJ as well. Banning MMJ dispensaries makes no sense to me. How and why are gentlemen's clubs, payday loans, and pawn shops better for a community than a dispensary. I really do not see the logic in this.
As far as quality, mold, pests, taste, and smell....well, I think the consumer will weed(ha ha) all of that out. If I found mold in anything I purchased (weed, produce etc), I would offer the place I got it from the opportunity to correct the issue. I would expect replacement of the product or a cash refund, an apology, and the assurance they would do everything in their power not to have it happen again (not purchase from that vendor perhaps). It anything like that happens again, it would be the last time they got my money and I would be letting as many people know as possible to give them warning.
I certainly do not want the Federal Government to be involved in quality control of my medical marijuana. With the horrors committed by the FDAs in-aptitude I have little or no confidence that they would do better with something like MMJ. No reason for me to believe that the state would do any better in quality control.
Like everyone else, this is my opinion. It concerns me that as a community we can not get together and decide what is best for us. It is going to make it very hard to get lawmakers on our side when we do not really know what we want/need. Unfortunately it will come down to who has the most money, like everything political in the USA.
^^^ I think alot of patients feel the same as you reenstar. In fact it seems only a very select minority are in favor of all the ridiculous regulations.
hb10-1284 set to be voted on tomorrow
Quote:
Originally Posted by ColoradoCareMMJ
Does it matter where it was grown? Really does it make the slightest difference if it came from a suburb in denver or a cabin in breck???
To some people it does; I prefer local produce and local farmers. I think this is less of an issue with medicine than with food, though. Why not just simply tell the truth if it doesn't make the slightest difference?
Quote:
As to Organic....it is just a happy-word. Just because some is grown organicly does not make it better. I have sampled amazing strains that were not grown in organic fashion.
I disagree entirely. If you tell me a product is organic, then it should be produced without synthetic pesticides or hormones. I realize it's used in a different context with regard to MJ, but it's deceptive and needs to stop. Organic may be just a happy word to you, but it has a very specific meaning to the rest of the world. Again... why not just give the consumers the whole story if it's no big deal?
Quote:
But think of it like a restaurant, the places that provide less than quality meals or service will take a back seat to those that do provide a higher level of quality and service.
I think a restaurant is a good example and analogy. I think your shop should be regularly inspected by the health department, like restaurants. Like restaurants, I think the ratings should be public record so your customers can see if you're following the law. Like restaurant licensing, you should have to pass a criminal background check when applying for a license. Like a restaurant, you should pay taxes. Like restaurants, if you sell an impure or harmful product you should be shut down. I'd be fine with dispensaries being treated like restaurants, but I doubt you would. In short, I want dispensaries to be safe, ubiquitous and profitable, like restaurants.
hb10-1284 set to be voted on tomorrow
Quote:
Originally Posted by HighPopalorum
To some people it does; I prefer local produce and local farmers. I think this is less of an issue with medicine than with food, though. Why not just simply tell the truth if it doesn't make the slightest difference?
It is already state law that stops out of state growers from importing to Colorado. So, everything you get IS local already without added regulation.
Quote:
Originally Posted by HighPopalorum
I disagree entirely. If you tell me a product is organic, then it should be produced without synthetic pesticides or hormones. I realize it's used in a different context with regard to MJ, but it's deceptive and needs to stop. Organic may be just a happy word to you, but it has a very specific meaning to the rest of the world. Again... why not just give the consumers the whole story if it's no big deal?
Most local growers already take great issue with NOT using the things you mentioned. Most nutes people buy locally for hydro are not organic. They are all the specific minerals in exact proportion to what our plant likes. However BEING minerals, makes them inorganic. NONE of us ever wants to use chemicals for insect control. But sometimes we have no choice. but most try to stick to organic methods like Neem or Rosemary oils.
However unless your eating ALL organic (NON GM) food, drinking only the best filtered water, using only organic soap, have a shower filter and wear a filter mask. Your already SLATHERED is industrial waste! 90% of popular bar soap is made with sodium and petroleum byproducts! MOST Americans eat more then 50% genetically modified food, slathered in chemicals(all of which is fully endorsed by our government, under a guise of "Safety"). Thus ALSO adding excess cost to our food supply!
Quote:
Originally Posted by HighPopalorum
I think a restaurant is a good example and analogy. I think your shop should be regularly inspected by the health department, like restaurants. Like restaurants, I think the ratings should be public record so your customers can see if you're following the law. Like restaurant licensing, you should have to pass a criminal background check when applying for a license. Like a restaurant, you should pay taxes. Like restaurants, if you sell an impure or harmful product you should be shut down. I'd be fine with dispensaries being treated like restaurants, but I doubt you would. In short, I want dispensaries to be safe, ubiquitous and profitable, like restaurants.
My father makes his living off the restaurant industry. Since 1971 he has sold refrigeration, ice cream equipment, and other such required things for a restaurant to operate.:thumbsup:
However, over the last 15 years he has barely sold ANY new equipment. The company once thriving is now a cubby in an industrial complex.
My father has survived ALL these years reselling the same equipment. buying it back a year-ish later at auction. Then cleaning it and selling it to the next idiot who wants to own a restaurant or ice cream shop. Then he just sit back and waits to buy it back for 20-50% what he sold it for AGAIN! He's resold some pieces 10-12 times.
His life dream, when I was a kid, was having a restaurant. However I asked him this last Christmas about it. He said, anyone stupid enough to start a restaurant, in our current economics was doomed to over regulation, taxation, and eventual failure. Thus he was sticking with what he's already doing.
Point is,.. Restaurants don't make money very often. Due MOSTLY to over regulation, taxation and a lousy economy created ALSO by our government.
Plus they often serve food which is extremely processed, often loaded with chemicals and fully endorsed (AGAIN) by our government.
hb10-1284 set to be voted on tomorrow
I can't speak for other people, but personally, I only buy organic food at the grocery store. The way that pesticide usage on food crops is regulated is sad, pesticide residue on non-organic (and even some organic) foods is excessive IMO.
With that said, I frequently do not grow "organic" mmj, although sometimes I do. I'm concerned about pesticide residue, and potentially radioactive isotope residue. That being said, organic fertilizers sometimes contain higher levels of heavy metals or other dangerous components than carefully manufactured, high-quality chemical fertilizers.
In other words, my MMJ is not organic because I'm happy to use chemical fertilizers; the pesticides and other chemicals used, especially systemic ones, are what I'm concerned with.
:wtf:
hb10-1284 set to be voted on tomorrow
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vancefish
It is already state law that stops out of state growers from importing to Colorado. So, everything you get IS local already without added regulation.p
I prefer to support local growers and businesses, rather than send my money to the Front Range. It's true that the FR produces most of the MMJ in the state, but given the choice, I'd like to keep it local. I always ask where my medicine is grown, and the responses I've gotten run the gamut from straightforward to evasive. I also suspect there's a good bit of importation from California, even though it's against the law. Possibly, stricter scrutiny is needed to prevent importation.
Quote:
Most local growers already take great issue with NOT using the things you mentioned. Most nutes people buy locally for hydro are not organic. They are all the specific minerals in exact proportion to what our plant likes. However BEING minerals, makes them inorganic. NONE of us ever wants to use chemicals for insect control. But sometimes we have no choice. but most try to stick to organic methods like Neem or Rosemary oils.
Keep in mind, we're not really talking about your average hobby grower here, who takes immense pride in clean, healthy plants. This bill only addresses commercial dispensary growers who sell retail for profit. Pesticides increase yield and profit. I think it's fine for dispensaries to use them, but it's not fine to use them and then lie to a customer about it. Total honesty regarding every product sold should be the law.
Take a step back and consider the position for a moment: Why should dispensaries not have to follow the fair trade practices that are STANDARD PROCEDURE for every other kind of business in the state, and in the country? Why should it be illegal for a doctor to tell a patient he can cure inoperable cancer, but perfectly legal for a dispensary to tell the same dying patient anything they want? Why should we allow felons to place themselves in positions of trust over the sickest members of our community? Why should dispensaries be excused from following health and safety rules? Why should dispensaries operate without oversight from a licensing authority when every other business in the state must comply? The question we should be asking ourselves isn't what level of regulation would be ideal, but what level of regulation is the bare minimum that will allow dispensaries to operate safely, in the same manner as other businesses around the state.
hb10-1284 set to be voted on tomorrow
Quote:
Originally Posted by HighPopalorum
Well, the provision is simple. It just outlaws misrepresentation and other unfair business practices. If you need me to name examples, here's some unfair business practices as they apply to commercial marijuana: passing off one medicine as another, causing confusion as to the source of a medicine, claiming medicine to have benefits it does not (a disgusting and common practice, lying to the sick), misrepresenting the quality or grade of medicine, disparaging the goods or services of other vendors, or anything else that creates confusion or misunderstanding with the intention of selling a product.
well then i guess i answered you're ?? then.as you are aware we already have laws dealing with those issues.besides that word of mouth spreads pretty quick and if a biz misleads people it won't be long b4 they are out of biz.
hb10-1284 set to be voted on tomorrow
Quote:
Originally Posted by ColoradoCareMMJ
HAHAHAH really!?!? How is a law going to stop people from renaming product? Certain strains may help people while they do not help others. That is really no misrepresentation. Like they say different strains - different brains...and what may be good strain to one may not be to another, whats the other saying... "another man's trash is another man's treasure" ? I have had herb that I extremely did not care for, and I had patients tell me it was some of the best medicine they have ever tried.
I honestly think patients are the best regulation. They will ultimately decide who stays and who goes.:jointsmile:
110% agreed
hb10-1284 set to be voted on tomorrow
Quote:
Originally Posted by palerider7777
well then i guess i answered you're ?? then.as you are aware we already have laws dealing with those issues.
Who exactly is going to enforce the law in the absence of a state licensing authority? The Justice League? It's stupid to believe dispensary operators will fully comply in the absence of an enforcing authority. Since the thread regards a specific bill, it's germane to quote the text. Here's the list of duties the bill calls for the state licensing authority to assume:
-granting or refusing licenses
-publicly listen to complaints against licensees
-publicly hear appeals of license denials
-develop paper forms, cards and licenses
-prepare an annual budgetary report for the Governor. (pursuant to state law)
-promulgating rules
That last one is the big one, hint hint. The bill goes on to delineate the kinds of rules the licensing authority may create:
-compliance and enforcement of other rules specifically in this bill
-specifying duties for employees and officers of the state licensing authority
-instructions for local licensing authorities
-requirements for inspection and investigation
-creation of penalties for noncompliance
-prohibition of misrepresentation
-prohibition of unfair business practices
-control of information and product displays
-development of individual identification cards for MMC employees, including criminal background checks and fingerprint
-proper security requirements for dispensaries / their grow sites
-regulation of storage and transportation of MMJ
-sanitary requirements for dispensaries
-which kinds of picture identification are acceptable
-labeling standards
-record keeping
-reporting of monthly sales tax payments
-authorization for revenue Dept. to enforce sales and income tax collection
-signage rules, including dimensions and colors
-creation of a schedule of penalties and citations
-days and hours of operation
*Shrug* There's not a single provision in that second list that isn't applied broadly, across a variety of businesses and industries in the state. Maybe that's not right, and we shouldn't require so much, but I think that's sort of a larger topic. There's some dumb provisions left in this bill, but the stuff you're currently complaining about, Palerider, is innocuous and even beneficial, IMO.
hb10-1284 set to be voted on tomorrow
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vancefish
However unless your eating ALL organic (NON GM) food, drinking only the best filtered water, using only organic soap, have a shower filter and wear a filter mask. Your already SLATHERED is industrial waste! .
I do choose to eat ALL organic (non gmo) food, drink only the best filtered water, use only organic soap and body products, and have a shower filter. I do not wear a filter mask and based on what I have read believe that at this point that is not necessary for where I live, although I can't say that I would be even if it was.
The first four items are easily enough achieved with some extra effort and undoubtedly a bit more cash (although it's not as expensive as it was... apx. 25-40% of my organic food is acquired from bulk retailers) A shower filtration costs $50 and is good for 6-12 months depending on use. Pure water can be acquired for another $60 (entry level) investment and some assembly or from sources in the front range. Eldorado Springs water is great and can be filled at the source for $1.25 for 5 gallons. Organic body products can be made at home with a little bit of training, and living in the FR there are plenty of places to learn with like minded individuals.
So, expecting to get an organic MMJ product that was not exposed to any harsh pesticides and grown in accordance with organic farming practices isn't that big of a stretch.
If that's what dispensary's are marketing a medicine as then that's what it should be through and through.
