Just this week, a new report to be published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs showed us that medical marijuana dispensaries do not increase crime.

Well, apparently that report didn't take into account the boom in business that medical marijuana dispensary bans provide for violent south of the border drug cartels. It seems the only crime to rise in relation to medical marijuana is when it's banned or cities and counties try to remove tested, regulated, and safe medical marijuana from within their boundaries. 

In yet another case that makes you wonder how 'compassionate' doctors and medical professionals truly are, a dying patient was denied a kidney transplant and removed from the waiting list for using medical marijuana legally under the state of California's medical marijuana laws. Ironically, the marijuana was the only medication that was able to stimulate Toni Trujillo's appetite, allowing her to increase her protein levels, something that is an extreme concern for dialysis patients, which Trujillo has been for five years. 

What good is a state constitutional amendment regarding a patient’s right to use medical cannabis, when the amendment does not provide any constitutional rights? This is exactly the outcome this past week in the Beinor vs. Industrial Claim Appeals Office and Service Group Inc., a Colorado appellate court case on appeal to the Colorado Supreme Court.

Rhode Island is the latest state to jump on the marijuana reform band wagon. Seventeen states along with Washington DC have approved the use of marijuana for medical purposes. Fourteen states have also passed legislation to decriminalize possession of stated quantities of marijuana. Rhode Island which allows medical marijuana is now poised to pass legislation to also decriminalize possession for non medical users.

The state’s General Assembly voted last week to enact legislation that would eliminate the fear of jail time and large fines for possession of an ounce or less of cannabis. The penalty would be a $150 civil fine and confiscation. Also, there would be no criminal record.

Following this weeks Public Safety Committee’s recommendation to the Los Angeles City Council to adopt Councilmen Jose Huizar and Mitch Englander’s “gentle ban” closing down ALL medical marijuana dispensaries in the City of Los Angeles until the state Supreme Court decides on the legality of permitting dispensaries, I ponder what they are thinking, because obviously they are not. They are currently using the California Supreme Court’s granting a review of the Pack v City of Long Beach case as an excuse to avoid creating any legitimate regulations regarding dispensaries within the city of Los Angeles. In fact, the Los Angeles City Council has failed to draft an ordinance in over five years that would establish any level of governance for medical marijuana dispensaries. Each of their failed attempts has resulted in dozens of lawsuits and the continued proliferation of dispensaries in the city. Onerous ordinances and outright bans have not and will not work.

When passing laws to shutter medical marijuana dispensaries, many cities and counties are relying on the idea that there is increased crime in areas with dispensaries. But that's apparently not the case at all. "The reality is, we haven't had any evidence to support those claims," said Nancy J. Kepple, M.S.W., a University of California, at Los Angeles researcher. 

Kepple was the leader of a new study to be published in the July edition of Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs that revealed that neighborhoods with medical marijuana dispensaries do not have higher crime rates than neighborhoods that don't.