San Jose rejects a ban on collectives
Tuesday, December 14th, 2010The San Jose City Council rejected calls from law enforcement to ban medical cannabis patients’ collectives, opting instead to enact a moratorium on new facilities while the city develops regulations. A majority of Councilmembers rejected arguments by law enforcement and some of their colleagues that sales of cannabis – even at medical cannabis collectives – are illegal. Councilmembers are wise to reject the “no sales” mantra, which is being aggressively promoted by medical cannabis foes like Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley and the California Narcotics Officers Association (CNOA). Cooley and the CNOA hosted a series of trainings for law enforcement and prosecutors in 2009 on how to “eradicate” medical cannabis.
Unfortunately, the San Jose City Council jumped on the taxation bandwagon at Monday’s meeting. Councilmembers voted to place a tax of up to 10% on medical cannabis on the November ballot. Voters there should be suspicious. Taxation on medicine is ethically wrong, and rarely results in the real legal protections and social acceptance for which proponents hope. Fees calculated to cover the cost of local access programs are reasonable, but voters should reject a “sin tax” on doctor-recommended medical cannabis. Patients already pay sales tax. We should not put an additional burden on some of the most vulnerable citizens. Let’s hope citizens in San Jose see it that way when they vote next year.
