Two years in a row since I arrived, Myrtle Beach hosted Seattle Hempfest: a celebration for Marijuana or “the world’s largest marijuana decriminalization gathering.” This year, the envelope was, again, pushed a bit further. Jonathan Martin of Seattle Times reported:
Squeezed between a Ben & Jerry’s cart and a booth selling rolling papers, two naturopathic doctors worked briskly through a line of patients. … The ads offered authorization to use medical marijuana for one year for $150 if the patient had medical records; $200 with no medical records.
The state law (RCW 69.51A.005) that legalize medical marijuana said,
Qualifying patients with terminal or debilitating illnesses shall not be found guilty of a crime under state law for their possession and limited use of marijuana;
Persons who act as designated providers to such patients shall also not be found guilty of a crime under state law for assisting with the medical use of marijuana
Further, the law explains that “pain unrelieved by standard medical treatments and medications” qualifies: headache, stress, muscle pain, arthritics, back pain, mood swing, menopause, or just about anything. The challenge is to find a willing provider. That problem, the market sure has solved.
Since this substance is illegal federally, doctors cannot prescribe it, they can only recommend. That means medical professional are not regulated with any laws at all. The state laws protect them and no federal laws were broken either. The laws actually prevent medical professional to actually apply Marijuana medicinally, since that will be illegal under federal laws. So, medical Marijuana’s real serious purpose is recreational. Of those 100,000 or so who attended Hempfest. The majority probably agreed.
This is just silly.