Canada was already the first and only country as a whole to legalize MEDICAL CANNABIS, they had the ideal system. Following in the footsteps of some of the U.S. states that started as medical states and became "recreational" states is not necessarily a positive thing, contrary to popular opinion. In fact it is the popular opinion that makes this kind of law so easy to pass, unfortunately this causes a separation in cannabis "types" when they are in fact one in the same.
We do not hear people saying "recreational alcohol", because alcohol is not known for its medicinal benefits, so why would there be a distinction? But when you label cannabis as "recreational" it classifies it the same as alcohol, and alcohol regulation should not be a clone for cannabis regulation, since cannabis is not a clone of alcohol (no pun intended).
Lets also not forget the effect on the market and how this kind of legislation effects product quality across the board. I do not want major corporations in control on my medicine, and I would really prefer not to see "Weed Walmarts" with crap, cheap, bs cannabis for sale that makes people feel like s**t. "Recreational Cannabis" is an incorrect label, cannabis is a medicine and that has been scientifically proven, but governments can't tax medicine so... do the math, corruption is otw. People really need to focus on the wording of the legislation and not be so quick to ask how high when the government tells them to jump (pun intended).
I can tell you how the transition worked in Oregon from first hand experience. I moved to Oregon in 2013, and back then there was an absolutely perfect medical cannabis system called the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program or OMMP. This medical system technically still exists, and I am still an active member of OMMP, growing cannabis legally with my grower card and medical patient cards issued by the state.
The way the OMMP system operates and is treated is very different from how it was when I moved here five years ago. Back then you had to have your medical cannabis card to enter and do business with dispensaries. It was not incredibly difficult or expensive to obtain your medical card back then, however you really had to be in the know and/or put a lot of effort into figuring out how to do it correctly per your situation. It was like this really cool exclusive club you could be a part of, and the benefits were totally worth it to join.
At first I was not able to obtain my card since my medical records were outdated and I needed to establish new ones. Instead I helped my close friend @alchemage, who I was living with at the time, obtain his medical card by sponsoring it for him since he did not have the money, and as a thank you for housing me up during my west coast transition.
@elamental & @alchemage on 4/20Getting @alchemage his medical cannabis card also served to my advantage as it did his, since this now meant we can get our medicine from dispensaries and delivery services on Craigslist (oh yea... that was and still is a thing), instead of dealing with the crummy street dealer we knew at the time who wasn't serving good product or prices (at least not for Portland) at the time. Before he got his card, I remember saying at one point "I did not move 3000 miles to Oregon to smoke crap!"
Having a medical card meant he could also buy, donate, and posses THC concentrate, edibles, CBD extract, and Rick Simpson Oil (RSO). Mostly we just wanted to try dabs though, as I had never taken a good dab before. Right before I moved away from VA dabs were just starting to pop up, but they were extremely scarce and expensive (not to mention illegal), usually priced between $80-$100 per gram!! Ouch my pockets/possibly my freedom!
After we experienced dabs in Oregon, I remember everyone who lived with us being in a dab coma for a couple months! There were days when I would take a dab in the A.M. and pass out into what we called a "dab-nap" around 2 or 3pm, wake up at 9, take another dab, fall alseep at 11, and wake up at 3am wondering what happened lol. I chilled out a bit and consumed a lot more flower after a couple months of that.
The coolest part about the medical system back then was unfortunately something I had to enjoy vicariously through my friend, since he was the one with the card and I was not. If you had your card back then, you could walk into a dispensary and literally try anything you were interested in buying INSIDE THE DISPENSARY!! Most places we went even had $1000+ rigs and water-pipes for you to "test out" whatever medicine you would like.
One place that @alchemage went to frequently even had a section in their finished basement that was set up as a smoking lounge so customers could be social and network with other OMMP members. They also held the coolest "farmer's market" I have ever heard of in that same basement once a month, where growers from around the area would set up tables and distribute their flowers to card holders for much lower requested donation amounts than any dispensary ("requested donation" is OMMP lingo for the legal way to request funds for products. It was supposed to be compensation for growing costs). We always got our medicine at that market when we could. I will never forget what @alchamge said after his first dispensary visit, "it smells like God's pussy in there!" lol.
We even had a police officer walk right through our apartment one time due to an unrelated incident next door with jars of cannabis, scales, bongs, THC concentrate, and dab rigs all over the area he walked though, and he didn't say a word about it or even give anything a second glance! Being someone who had just moved from Virginia on the east coast of the U.S., I almost had a heart attack when that happened. In that part of the country where I grew up, you could be arrested for having some shake or a resonated pipe in your house, car or person (and I have been), so the non-reaction from this officer was quite a shock and relief for me.
Colorado and Washington state were the first two states in the U.S. to legalize recreational cannabis back in 2012. That same year Oregon was also on the ballet for that same legalization, but Oregonians turned it down and voted to keep the medical system. Recreational cannabis legislation was also turned down in Oregon in 1986. Medical cannabis legislation in Oregon passed in 1998, and it has been a medical cannabis state ever since.
After Oregon's second failed attempt at legalizing cannabis with recreational terms, law makers realized they would have to take greater, more shady efforts to get it passed. After putting it up for an essential third re-vote, with very minor almost insignificant changes to the legislation wording, the state invested a ton in lobbying. I remember seeing tons of people with clip boards all over the city for almost two years asking people to sign a paper for only two reasons, to register voters, and get registered voters to sign a petition for legalizing recreational cannabis.
I noticed they were targeting people that looked like they were from out of town, since there was a light influx of people moving to Oregon at the time. People that moved here from non-legal cannabis states were registering and signing without question all over Portland, without really thinking about the ramifications of the law change. That is ultimately how the law was passed in 2014, and it was still an extremely close split vote. All the true Oregonians and dready hippies that I saw approached by clipboarder's turned them down in favor of the medical system, as did I (even though I was a newbie to OR myself). In fact, most counties in Oregon voted against it (14-22), but the higher population counties pushed it through just barely.
image sourceOn site usage at dispenseries was banned right before I obtained my medical card, but still before recreational laws were passed. I was a little dissapointed since the reasoning for the ban was to make room for new cannabis cafe businesses, however those places are restricted from actually serving cannabis, so they all kind of suck in my opinion. Soon after they legalized recreational, everyone was allowed in dispensaries, so those of us still in OMMP lost most of our donations, dispite the inflated prices and hefty taxes imposed by the state for dispensary sales.
By 2017 everyone and there brother thought they were cannabis farmers, and started trying to grow. Last year Oregon produced almost four million pounds of cannabis, and that is only what was on record, which sent the market into a nose dive. Prices for cannabis has gotten so low that growers are struggling to survive and keep their grows alive in the future. This is causing many otherwise quality grower to use things like trim machines, which knocks half the trichromes off of the flowers and leaves you with a terrible product, which usually is still not trimmed properly anyway. This also causes the buds to dry out quicker, as the heat, agitation, and friction from those machines does some serious damage to the shelf life and potency of cannabis flowers.
Beautiful @hempress with some beautiful cannabis plantsMany growers are also switching from more expensive organic nutrients to cheaper chemical based ones to attempt making up some of the difference in loss of value. We have even been purposely spending less money on equipment this year at our grows because we are afraid to invest in our grows any more than we absolutely have to this year, forget property development. Factors like these are why "recreational cannabis" is not a good idea. I can only hope Canada doesn't take advantage of their citizens they way some of these "recreational" U.S. states have. In the end you can only ask yourself this, is the extra tax money really worth cutting major corners with this divine plant? Oregon has not been allocating as much money from cannabis taxes to schools as they said they were going to... surprise surprise. Remember, medicine is un-taxable in the United States. Blessings everyone & stay tuned - into the right frequencies!
TM
nice set up it will be interesting how canadas change in law effects the world
Indeed it will, this whole fake legalization is a cover to demonize cannabis again.
yea 10 pieces of shit tried to steal the whole market in Ohio in 2015 but people are smarter than the cynical bastards think especially after they pissed away $28 million trying to create a new form of criminalization where those without licenses would formally be labeled child endagerers if Ian James and Chris Stock and Progress Ohio got their corrupt way.
Yikes
Wow I love that Trojan horse political cartoon concept art, and your finished flag art, sick man great addition to this article thank you!
Thanks man, I'm happy you like the flag design and we're going to be doing a large version on a big signboard for the event :)
I may tidy up the Trojan horse meme and use it to help Australians learn what's coming, but by the sounds of it 'they' intend to sweep the world with this fake legalization!
We're on the side of Liberty and of course the plant... we're on the right side.
You got that right. I strive to die with a clear conscience knowing I fought hard for freedom and the Earth while I was here.
Yeap your right, this plant is no longer treated like a the sacred plant it is! Defiantly and end of an era, no more wild west of cannabis. I live in California and our medical law was damn near perfect! Go to a office pay 30-60 dollars, also you can do it online, and bam you where legal!! The state allowed you to grow 6 flowering plants, and 12 vegin plants, and where allowed to posses up to 8oz of dried flower. But some countys had there own limits. Santa Cruz County, which is next to the one I live in allowed you to grow 99 plants, and posses up to 3lbs of flower! Now the medical law still lets you posses up to 8oz, but the only real benefit to have a medical card is to pay less taxes at the clubs! Its almost has vanished with recreational in effect.
Now the greenhouses are popping up left and right in the valleys and growing a mediocre product. Its become more expensive to buy for the consumer, and the growers are getting less for their product. Such a shame if you ask me. Im thankful I grow my own, and also thankful i dont have to rely on growing for a living. But I fell for those that do. My heart goes out to them.
But unfortunately this was all inevitable. But I know this is not what we signed up for. We all checked yes on that ballot box with our fingers crossed hoping for the best. I know one thing this is going to be very interesting to see how it plays out.
Amazing blog! I saw the facebook status directly from the president Justin Trudeau and I think it is a brilliant move. Eradicate the whole drug dealing issue in the country plus ample amount of opportunities for Cannabis Cultivators. :-) More revenue for the government and people are going to be happy when they smoke the puff. Haha! I hope they will use it wisely and the revenue will be spent for the greater good. I might even move to this country very soon.
In India, weed was legal till 1985 and the government banned it very recently. Bad move! Although we still get it very easily in many parts of India and many people use it for recreational and medicinal purposes. And I can proudly say it is the best in the world. :) There is a village called Malana in the heat of Himalayas, where we get creamiest of Hashish and it's freaking dope @elamental. You gotta try it if possible :-)
It is an integral part of Hindu culture and considered to be a Godly plant that has so many medicinal properties. I am planning to make a short documentary of cannabis culture in India as well, maybe later this year. People are now getting aware of the uses of cannabis and I hope it gets legalized very soon, considering we follow most of the things that west does. :') Cheers man!
I have heard Hashish from that part of the world has a very unique flavor due to the rare and unique soil composition in the area. Although you may have to put up some photos of flowers side by side with what we grow in Oregon, I have seen buds here that I consider among the best in the world. The area in Oregon we grow in is referred to as "God's country" by all the farmers there, cannabis or otherwise. It resides in an ancient volcanic lava flow strip.
Sounds like a perfect place to live in buddy! See you in Oregon someday :-)
Word hope to see you here as well, carpe dizum.
Thank you for your continued support of SteemSilverGold
Lovely pictures. Governance should stay out of our lives.. but I suppose legalization will be good for quality control and competition.. Though.. fuck the government.
What I found here in the free market for cannabis is that regulation actually pushes prices up and quality down. The free market is the force that naturally encourages price/quality competitiveness and innovation.
Right.
Yes F**k the government and all its corruption.
What a sad day for Oregonians now that the Oregon Liquor Control Commission is in charge.
Now you have to register with the state and have police walkthroughs...
Wow. What a way to roll back protection for patients.
And college kids now can buy essential medicine before patients. Let alone them being able to afford and buy it out from under the patients.
This is past sad. And we need to fight back.
There are powerful people in OHA fighting for us, we havent lost the war yet.
Would love to talk with them! And yeah we won't go down without a fight!
Fight the Power!
Um there are numerous uses for medical alcohol. If you use Cannabis for insomnia and i use alcohol how is it your use is medical and mine is not? I hated Canada's medical pot program, it was a special club to grow money for people who knew how to exploit the system. No more two tier system. It should be legal for all adults.
The market will decide if consumers want mass produced cigarette company weed or organic. It's going to cost more and if people want it they will pay more for it. If Oregon became a hub for weed growers exporting to other states, that's the fault of prohibition, Canada won't have that problem, there is nowhere left to export/smuggle it to.
Also full disclosure: I am applying for jobs at new dispensaries opening in my city in Canada.
Can you please name some medicinal benefits of drinking alcohol in large quantities? I can name many for consuming large amounts of cannabis products on a regular basis. Also, what diseases does alcohol cure/prevent? I can think of a few it causes for sure.