The Pot Wars Have Begun! Lawyers vs. Board of Health

One of the attorneys involved...

Just noticed this earlier article on Westword's web site about Sean McAllister, who was involved with the Breckenridge legalization initiative, and who's involved in the lawsuit cited above.

http://blogs.westword.com/late...

"What it comes down to in my opinion is sour grapes," he argues. "The people enacted a constitutional amendment about medical marijuana, and it says what it says. But the establishment players have always been uncomfortable with the will of the voters on this, and they're always looking for a way to undermine or retract it in some way. From the beginning, you had people like Suthers and Ken Salazar saying, 'Watch out, doctors. We might prosecute you.' But the only people who can limit medical marijuana are the voters, and we'll aggressively litigate against any attempt to limit it in other ways."

Nonetheless, McAllister concedes that "some reasonable limitations might be appropriate -- like a taxation of it. And a number of local towns are implementing reasonable limits. I testified in Eagle County about this, and they approved regulations -- and other mountain and Front Range towns are on the verge of doing the same thing, as they should. These are local issues, and state lawmakers shouldn't try to undermine the voters in those communities."

A lot of the panic over the increase in medical-marijuana patients is misplaced, McAllister believes. "We've got 15,000 to 18,000 patients now, and Oregon, a state of similar size, has about 30,000 -- and California, which has had the law longer and is much larger, has over 200,000 patients. And part of my message to people is that this is part of the natural build-out of people who would benefit from medical marijuana, and it's really not that large a percentage of the population. Even if there are 30,000 patients in Colorado, that's only half a percent or one percent of the people in the state, even though an estimated 10 to 15 percent of all adults smoke marijuana."

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by: Canines @ Fri Nov 06, 2009 at 17:34:41 PM UTC

The other attorney named,

Robert Correy is the spouse of right-wing nut and Independence Institute affiliated Jessica Peck-Correy.  

He's had a couple of legal issues in his past as well---like, "I'm not sure how my penis ended up in that girl's mouth, officer."

http://www.rockymountainnews.c...

Is he really the best attorney to represent the pro-medicinal marijuana folks?

"Corporations are people, my friend... of course they are."  Willard M. Romney  

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by: Arvadonian @ Fri Nov 06, 2009 at 18:57:41 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

That is a very good question...

Just like any industry, we have internal challenges.  I wish i could say that every attorney, every activist group and all the dispensary owners are on one page.  We are not.

However, out of the ashes will immerge a clear voice.  We are trying to put together an actual group of people that have been there and done this before.  That group will include polling, media, lobbyist and political types fighting alongside patients and dispensary owners.

I should be able to fill you in on the particulars over the next week or so.

Yeah, like I said, I have never been in bed with a more diverse group of people.  Some good, some strange, some stoned and some Republicans!  Go Figure!

"A Prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded." ~ Abraham Lincoln

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by: Whiskey Lima Juliet @ Fri Nov 06, 2009 at 19:07:05 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Actually, the Republican....

part is the least offensive part of his resume.  I'd be more concerned about the "...how'd my penis get there?", part of his resume....

"Corporations are people, my friend... of course they are."  Willard M. Romney  

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by: Arvadonian @ Fri Nov 06, 2009 at 20:16:08 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Correy knows oral sex

   The RMN story says he was a lawyer for the House Judiciary Committee at the time of the shotgun incident in D.C. in 1998.
  That means he probably worked on the infamous blow job impeachment case against Bill Clinton.

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by: One Queer Dude @ Sat Nov 07, 2009 at 00:35:53 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

I guess that is yet another...

difference between Democrats and Republicans.  We democrats don't have to climb on top of people when they are asleep to get a blow job....

"Corporations are people, my friend... of course they are."  Willard M. Romney  

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by: Arvadonian @ Mon Nov 09, 2009 at 15:37:27 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

This is something conservatives should be outraged about

Their big argument against things like TABOR reform is that the will of the people is being subverted. In this case, the will of the people is most definitely being subverted.

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by: Colorado Pols @ Fri Nov 06, 2009 at 17:41:44 PM UTC

Got the munchies?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11...

Now a business that has nothing to do with cannabis is aiming its ads at medical marijuana patients. A new print ad - by TDA Advertising and Design of Boulder - for Hapa Sushi, a restaurant chain based in Boulder, features a map of Denver and Boulder with 63 dots. Four dots are red, representing the four Hapa locations, and the remaining 59 are blue, representing medical marijuana dispensaries, some of which, it turns out, are just a stone's throw from the restaurants. The ad was to appear Thursday in the Denver/Boulder edition of The Onion and in Westword later in the month.

"We're just kind of saying, 'Look, these dispensaries exist and they're becoming part of our community, so let's welcome them in and have some fun,' " said Mark Van Grack, owner of Hapa Sushi, a privately held, 10-year-old chain. "If you're going to smoke pot, you're going to get the munchies, so come to Hapa to eat."

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by: Canines @ Fri Nov 06, 2009 at 22:03:54 PM UTC

didn't the board already schedule another hearing on this issue..

...in December?  It seems unnecessary to go to court and bitch about the board's not holding a sufficient hearing if another hearing is already scheduled and coming up soon.  Or maybe I'm mistaken about the Dec. hearing.

I'm not as sweet as I used to be.

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by: Jambalaya @ Fri Nov 06, 2009 at 23:45:11 PM UTC

This article may not answer all your questions, but here it is...

http://www.dailycamera.com/new...

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by: Canines @ Sat Nov 07, 2009 at 17:05:28 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

thanks, but it doesn't really answer my questions..

...in fact the article notes that the lawsuit's proponents want another hearing, with plenty of notice, about the issue.  I believe the Board has already scheduled another hearing, with plenty of notice, to take place in December.  

I'm not as sweet as I used to be.

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by: Jambalaya @ Sun Nov 08, 2009 at 02:45:33 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Yes...

Rec'd via email the other day...

This is to notify you that the Department of Public Health and Environment has submitted proposed rules or amendments to existing rules concerning:

Amendments to Rules and Regulations Pertaining to the Medical Use of Marijuana:
Repeal of Regulation 2 A (iii), which defines the phrase "significant responsibility for managing the well-being of a patient."

The proposed rules or amendments may be found at:
http://www.dora.state.co.us/pl...

The rulemaking hearing is set for Wednesday, December 16, 2009 at 10:00 am at
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, 4300 Cherry Creek Drive
S., Sabin-Cleere Conf. Rm., Denver CO 80246.  For more information about the
proposed rules or amendments, you can contact Ann Hause, Director, Office of
Legal and Regulatory Affairs at 303-692-3472 at the Department of Public Health
and Environment.

We will be analyzing the proposed rules or amendments to determine if they may
negatively impact Colorado's small businesses, job creation or economic
competitiveness.  If initial research indicates possible negative impact in one
or more of these areas, we will request that the entity submitting the proposed
rules or amendments perform a cost-benefit analysis.  If you want to provide us
with feedback on the proposed rules or amendments to help us make that
determination or to let us know how the proposed rules positively impact these
areas, please email me at opr@dora.state.co.us.

I hope you find this service and information useful.

Bruce Harrelson
Director
Office of Policy, Research and Regulatory Reform

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by: divad @ Mon Nov 09, 2009 at 22:11:04 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

The Pot Wars began a long time ago

Let's win this one. I'm here to help.

God Bless WLJ

Exercise your right to peaceably assemble and reclaim the commons. Stop the militarization of America.

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by: Sir Robin @ Sat Nov 07, 2009 at 00:19:41 AM UTC

Hyperbole and Irony

Al White in CO Senate Republican release:

"If the state doesn't take some action to put an end to this 'Wild West' environment, Colorado is going to become the global retail headquarters for international drug cartels. That is simply not responsible," White added.

(Because, apparently, problems can't be solved without gross distortion and fear-mongering about foreigners...)

leaving local governments scrambling to get a handle on the budding industry as unregulated marijuana dispensaries have popped up

Ha ha

"There are a lot of reasons not to elect me." Mitt Romney in a moment of clarity

"I'm Mitt Romney and yes, Wolf, that's also my first name," Willard Mitt Romney demonstrating 'policy flexibility.'  

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by: ClubTwitty @ Sat Nov 07, 2009 at 02:19:01 AM UTC