Editorial: The Mainstream vs. Medical Marijuana
April 14th, 2009 by Aaron
If pot is hitting the mainstream, it’s safe to assume the ball began rolling in California. The Golden State has very lenient state laws regarding marijuana especially in regards to the medical kind. This liberal approach has created a cultural storm that Miss Mary Jane couldn’t be much happier about.
Weed has gotten so big and mainstream in California that you can now get a diploma at a certified cannabis university. Ain’t that something. Oaksterdam University in downtown Oakland, CA offers classes on horticulture, budtending, politics, legal issues and edible cooking.
Los Angeles is awash in marijuana dispensaries these days. It seems every day a new dispensary is opening somewhere in greater L.A. Unfortunately, it’s these shops, not the actual marijuana, that is causing some uproar among residents of certain communities. Some people feel some of these businesses are a little too brash, their storefronts displaying large marijuana leafs to entice customers.
Then again, as it always is with marijuana, the problem is the mentality and decision-making of certain individuals, and not the drug itself. It’s the guys who are too eager to cash in on the legalization of marijuana that can sometimes cause the wrong kind of stir. Residents of certain neighborhoods aren’t too excited about some marijuana growers aggressively planting hundreds of plants in their backyards and turning the neighborhood in to a full blown pot field.
But for $1.3 billion of legal tax revenue every year, California isn’t going to be outlawing the green lantern any time soon. In fact, if anything, the lawmakers in the Golden State are pushing even more legal loopholes for medical marijuana.
As I mentioned before, pot is mainstream, and it began in California. I can only see that ball continuing to roll across the United States all the way to it’s beautiful eastern shores.
[img via JesseWarren on flickr]
They Finally Have a Weed College? Hooray!
September 30th, 2008 by PerryAfter years of prayer, it turns out someone was listening.
In Oakland, Ca., Oaksterdam University operates as America’s first official “Weed College” (apologies to Chico State and Humboldt).
Richard Lee, who by his own accord, has dedicated his life to the end of marijuana prohibition. He recently opened a university aimed at educated individuals on not only the legal aspects of marijuana cultivation and commerce, but also its history and movement. Described as part school and part political movement, the university is definitely something the informed smoker should know about.
