About Medical Marijuana

Excerpt from RAND Corp. report

Medical cannabis patients and advocates are still digesting the RAND Corporation report on medical cannabis dispensing centers and crime. The report echoes research conducted by Americans for Safe Access (ASA), the nation’s leading medical cannabis patient advocacy organization, and input for Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck. Chief Beck told the city’s Planning and Land Use management Committee in 2010 that there was no evidence that medical cannabis facilities lead to crime in neighborhoods. The report briefly discusses whylocal regulation is important in the current federal climate:

Recent events promise to bolster the importance of decentralized but locally regulated medical marijuana dispensaries. U.S. Attorneys have sent letters to officials in at least ten states that have been trying to implement centrally regulated supply systems. These letters urge caution, reminding the governors and their legislatures that the federal government will “vigorously” prosecute those involved in the manufacturing and distribution of marijuana, even if they are in compliance with state law. An implication of this federal action is that small-scale privately run dispensaries, operating in the shadow of federal law, will continue to be the most viable source of medical marijuana. Our work aims to inform the debate on local approaches to regulating this market.

Download a copy of the RAND Corporation report and look for more analysis here soon.

Tags: Americans for Safe Access, medical cannabis, medical marijuana, RAND Corporation, regulations

Terminology 1 of 3

It is especially important that our cause be taken seriously.  So many Cheech and Chong stereotypes exist and the average American most likely associates cannabis, medical or otherwise, as having to do with hippies, slackers and the counterculture, or worse yet, with hard illegal drugs.  That’s why it is imperative we use language carefully. 

The issue of terminology is an important one that is often overlooked by dispensary operators. As a dispensary operator, you will have to communicate with a lot of people both in person and in writing. The words you use have a big impact on those who hear them. People will form opinions of you and your dispensary based on the terms in which you discuss it. You should always be aware that the words you use have connotations and associations beyond their basic meaning. You should get in the habit of using terminology that reinforces the associations that are beneficial, while avoiding terminology with undesirable baggage.

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Tags: ABC's of CDC's, medical cannabis, medical marijuana, terminology

Coop & Collective Operations Course – Sept. 27 (Pasadena)

UPDATE: The class has been postponed until Tuesday, October 25. Sorry!

You are iunvited to attend a new course I am teaching at the MCC Directory Training Center in Pasadena, CA, on Tuesday, September 27. The course will cover operations and professional procedures for supervisors, managers, and senior staff at medical cannabis cooperatives and collectives. My co-instructor will be Yami Bolanos, co-operator of Purelife Alternative Caregivers and President of the Greater Los Angeles Collective Alliance (GLACA). Yami and I have created a course that is ideal for operators and mangers who are committed to running their associations in a legal, ethical, and professional manner.

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Tags: collective, Cooperative, don duncan, MCC Directory, medical cannabis, medical marijuana, training, yami bolanos

CA veto shows grassroots power

Have you seen the good news about SB 847? California Governor Jerry Brown vetoed this bill, which would have required medical cannabis cooperatives and collectives to be located at least 600 feet from residential zones and uses. That would have choked off safe access in many communities. The veto is good news in California, but how it happened is important for medical cannabis advocates nationwide. The big story about SB 847 is that grassroots participation works!

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Tags: California, Governor Jerry Brown, medical cannabis, medical marijuana, regulations, SB 847, veto

New medcial cannabis co-op & collective operations course – Sept. 27 in Pasadena

Don Duncan and Yami Bolanos are widely known for their work as activists, collective operators, consultants and educators in the medical cannabis industry. The MCC Training Program is pleased to host this dynamic duo and the unique seminar they have developed for Collective and Cooperator Operators, those who contemplate opening a medical cannabis collective, or professionals who would like to service these entities.

Don and Yami developed the MCC 136 Seminar for the specific purpose of providing information to Collective or Cooperative Operators that will support the protection of medical cannabis facilities and the improvement of operations and patient member services. Additionally, they will take participants completely through the process of setting up a collective or cooperative. The course covers the nuts and bolts of how to do this correctly, and the political and government hurdles that must be overcome to establish and maintain a medical cannabis facility.

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Tags: consultant, dispensary, maedical marijuana, MCC Directory, medical cannabis, opening a dispensary, training, yami bolanos