Nov 13 LEAP Benefit; Nov 19-30: Michigan; Prop 19 wrap-up

Nov 13 LEAP Benefit; Nov 19-30: Michigan; Prop 19 wrap-up

Upcoming events:

LAST CALL:
Nov 13 Oakland, Ca: LEAP Benefit at home of Dr. Frank Lucido
http://drfranklucido.blogspot.com/2010/10/nov-13-benefit-for-leap-home-of-dr.html
Lester Chambers of the Chambers Brothers and Dylan Chambers will be playing.
50 RSVP's so far! Space will be limited! Register now:
RSVP to info@drlucido.com
or call my office at: 510-848-0958

Nov. 19-30 Dr. Lucido in Michigan: Lansing Area
Available for Medical Cannabis consultation Lansing area Nov 22-24. Call 510-848-0958 for appointment or email to info@drlucido.com

December 1 and forward:
Entering my 32nd year in Family Medicine in Berkeley, and
15th year as a cannabis consultant
Lecturer and expert witness.

Seminars for Physicians and others available by appointment:
http://drfranklucido.blogspot.com/2010/02/drfranks-medical-cannabis-seminars-for.html
AIMLegal.org CANNABIS PHYSICIAN Locator:
http://www.drfranklucido.com/pages/aimlegal.org-cannabis-physician-locator.php



Post-Election WRAP-UP.
I was disappointed that Prop 19 lost.
But 46 to 54 was actually closer than many want to believe, and historic for a legalization initiative.
2 more years and we'll do it in California.
AND Colorado.

I was pulling for it to win. I helped get signatures from my patients to put it on the ballot,
and my blog piece, Why I’m voting YES on Prop 19 in California, went out to my list of 3500 on Oct 14.
http://drfranklucido.blogspot.com/2010/10/why-im-voting-yes-on-prop-19-in.html
Yes, even knowing I would lose some of my cannabis practice.
But I had to go for my principles. In 2 more years we'll do it.

A few thoughts:
My response to "If it's legalized, it will be more available":
Since I started college in 1966, marijuana has NEVER been unavailable to the recreational user.
It's only sick people who don't have access to an informed social network who don't have access.
So anything that can make cannabis more available to adults in general will be better for patients
(which is why I was a co-signer on the argument in favor of Oakland's Measure Z in 2004. We've had Amsterdam-like coffee houses in Oakland for 6 years. They are low-key, legal under City law, illegal under Federal law.

One activist who tried to make the point that medical was protection enough pointed to the case of Brownie Mary and her winning her appeal as a sign that we've had de facto legalization for years even before Prop 215.
His memory is short: Brownie Mary got busted 3 times.
If she wasn't able to make lemonade out the the lemons of 3 arrests, that could have ruined her life.
If she was black or young, it probably would have.
or if her activist cause wasn't such a heartbreaker, like young men dying of AIDS;
for instance, if she was protesting nuclear testing or trying to shut down School of the Americas, she might still be in jail if she was still alive.

That's what we were voting on by Nov 5, not some other proposition that wasn't on the ballot, and may or may not be in 2 years.
It was to stop arresting something like 66,000 people every years for pot.

Regardless of all the "tax and regulate" and Eric Holder having to bluster about non-medical dispensaries, (which was his job to do, of course), this would have been historic.
Every adult over 21 could possess up to one ounce, grow a 25 sq foot garden (outside without unnatural and un-ecological grow lights, I contend),
and keep all the produce from it on site.
They could also transfer an ounce at a time to another adult.

All the talk about the non-medical dispensaries was irrelevant as far as I was concerned. but it was a sticking point for those who would make or lose money on sales.
Or were concerned about who would make or lose that money.
That was sad to watch. Some sharp divisions became apparent.
These divisions could get deeper.
But I believe the momentum is building, and the debate has gone national.
Congressmen are calling out the DEA on their lies!!
Check out this video posted on YouTube by SSDP (Students for a Sensible Drug Policy)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SY0TQ1uOn3k&feature=player_embedded


3 other important blog opinion about the election:

Russ Belville of NORML Audiostash
10 Lessons Learned from Marijuana Election Defeats
November 8th, 2010
By: Russ Belville, NORML Outreach Coordinator
http://networkedblogs.com/ahlUp

Ed Rosenthal's Blog
Prop 19 Wins Around the World
by Ed Rosenthal - Wednesday, November 10 2010
http://www.cannabisculture.com/v2/node/25396

and
Official Statement of the Yes on Proposition 19 Campaign in Response to Election Results
by Richard Lee:
http://yeson19.com/node/316