[Russ responds: Only if you establish residency in that state. And you can only use medically if you stay in that state; a card from any state won't help you in Texas.]

Thanks for your reply email.

1) I stand corrected re for-profit dispensaries. However the confusion re “non-profit” dispensaries is exactly what is going on in California and Colorado. A recent dispensary owner in Hollywood commented on NORML’s podcast ‘The Stash’ about how his non-profit was paying him a salary of $10,000-$20,000 per MONTH. Hard for most of us to believe “non-profit” when that’s more than most for-profit doctors and pharmacists make–combined.

2) So…you want to give those same profit-driven growers a storefront now? Why? What have they done to earn the respect and trust of the medical cannabis community with their $70 ‘eighths’?

3) True, legislatures are going to craft more conservative mmj bills. When they do so, they readily cite the abuses of California (and Colorado, somewhat) as the prime reason for their cautious concerns.

Also,even with the citizen initiatives passed between 1999-2008, they average only 7.4 plants and 1.8 ounces possession limit; four cover only 3 of the 5 basic rights, and three cover only the “Big 8″ conditions with no extra conditions, so even the people who are so ahead of the politicians are dialing back medical marijuana laws.

4) Unfortunately, from NORML’s perspective, the larger effort to legalize cannabis is being somewhat balkanized by some medical cannabis-only advocates and some cannabusinessess who, happy with the political gains and ‘legal’ profits provided to them by the multi-decade advocacy efforts of the so-called ‘legalizers’, project to their supporters, media and elected policy makers that they’re only for adult citizens having access to cannabis via the permission of a physician.

This is the dreaded ‘boxed canyon’ presented by medical cannabis law reforms to citizens and policymakers who favor total legalization, rather than medicalization.

I agree that passing new mmj laws is critical, but I disagree about constantly “improving” the existing laws. With seemingly every session, the Oregon legislature’s “restrict mmj” bills always outnumber the
“improve mmj” bills. If a dispensary initiative passes, I can see AOI and LEO lobbying hard for stricter doctor/patient rules and stricter evaluation
of “chronic pain”. I can already hear Dan Harmon saying “Well, now that the legitimate mmj patients have a place to access medicine, they don’t really
need 24 plants and 24 ounces anymore, do they?”

Any “improvement” is going to come with horse trading and compromise –

I wish I concurred with you re the availability of medical cannabis seriously changing public attitudes in favor of full legalization.

However, medical marijuana isn’t convincing people that responsible healthy adults should be able to use cannabis, it is convincing people that sick and disabled people should be exempted from the otherwise vexing and acceptable policy of arresting, prosecuting and incarcerating healthy people.

NORML is all for broad coalitions of groups and people who have the best interests of the marijuana consumer in mind–but not necessarily the needs and wants of cannabis producers or sellers.