"Too High to Fail: Cannabis and the New Green Economic Revolution" Blog Post Two

Doug Fine found the farm he'd be researching for the 2011 growing season at a board meeting of a local cannabis trade group called MendoGrown. Its purpose, according to Matt Cohen (the head of MendoGrown), is to bring about capitalism to a legitimized cannabis market. The (for now) nonprofit, share-the-wealth board members and growers believe their model will provide the best, most consistent, and most reliable medicine for patients. MendoGrown has "cousins" in states where medicinal cannabis is also legal. Aaron Bluse (friend and colleague of Cohen) is an independent franchise owner of a publicly traded, multistate cannabis dispensary chain called Altitude Organic Medicine located in Denver, Colorado. Bluse told Fine in an interview, "I'd like my grandkids to know me as a legitimate, honest businessman. American from the ground up."

MendoGrown and Altitude Organic Medicine represent the future for the post-Drug War cannabis market. "When alcohol prohibition ended on December 5, 1933, there were brewers and distillers ready to go the next day," said Cohen. Fine added to Cohen's observation, "One day's bootleggers are the next day's San Francisco Giants billboard sponsors."

Obama Backs Free Syrian Coalition Group in Syria

On Tuesday, December 11, the Obama Administration announced (formally) that it recognizes the leading coalition of Syrian rebels who are fighting Syrian President Bashar Assad's oppressive regime. I am content to know that Obama's position in Syria is similar to my position. Supporting a secular coalition is the most effective move at this point in time without direct intervention. The Free Syrian Army is categorized as a secular group which sounds nice to the American population. The United States government has made it clear that there will be no support for extremist groups who are fighting alongside the Free Syrian coalition in order to topple Assad's struggling regime. Americans know too well the consequence of backing and supporting Al-Qaeda during the Cold War to take down the Russians in Afghanistan. Al-Qaeda "turned" on America and became an enemy of the state soon after the Cold War came to an end. Assad is a part of the Alawites, a branch of Islam, but Sunni's in Syria often denote the Alawite minority in Syria as being non-Muslim. This tension between the majority Sunnis who have been oppressed by Assad's regime has caused an ultimate backlash on the repressive Syrian government. The BIG question in regards to Syria remains the same: who will take over in Syria following Assad's demise? The Obama Administration is hoping for a democratic uprising, but don't keep your fingers crossed because history reflects difficulty in establishing a democratic government in the Middle East even after full-blown revolution (Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia).

Gun Control U.S.

Following the shooting that took place Friday morning at Sandy Hook Elementary, the issue of how to stop unstable individuals from being able to possess guns in the United States is on the minds of millions of Americans. At this point in time, it's too easy for anybody to get a hold of a firearm in the United States. Individuals with extreme mental illness find a way to get their hands on guns. I believe the solution to prevent school shootings is beefing up school security and making it a law to require schools to have one combat-trained employee who carries a firearm. The little extra tax money required in each community for this costly law could prove to be a literal lifesaver. Gun control laws will not stop people who want guns (criminals, mentally-ill individuals) from getting guns. Gun control laws aren't the solution to this issue, but it remains the government's responsibility to protect students at school.

"Too High to Fail: Cannabis and the New Green Economic Revolution" Blog Post One

Albert Einstein said in 1921 in reference to alcohol prohibition, "The prestige of government has undoubtedly been lowered considerably by the prohibition law...for nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law...than passing laws which cannot be enforced. It is an open secret that the dangerous increase of crime in this country is closely connected with this." Einstein and Doug Fine (author of Too High to Fail: Cannabis and the New Green Economic Revolution) are in agreement when discussing prohibition's destructive effects on society. The only difference between Fine and Einstein is the drug of which they are referring to: cannabis. In Chapter One of Too High to Fail, Fine starts off his journey inside the medicinal cannabis industry in Mendocino County, California. Mendocino County is famous for its creation and effective use of its 9.31 program often named the "Zip-Tie Program." Every registered cannabis plant in the county is required to wear a bright yellow anklet--total annual cost for a farmer to be a part of the 9.31 Ordinance Program is about $8,500. This type of regulation is ideal because it helps the government keep track of every bud while adding a new source of governmental income to help raise a county deficit that has been hit hard.

Thirty-three-year-old Matt Cohen considers himself to be a farmer. The plant he grows, however, has been in a longstanding state of illegality in American society since the 1920's and 1930's. Cohen often finds himself dialing 9-1-1 when his farms' laser sensors alert him of movement in his crop. Today, the aboveground and locally legal cannabis cultivators of Mendocino County think of those alarm bells to the police the same way the denizens of Philadelphia treated the peals of the Liberty Bell in 1775. Matt Cohen was as aboveground as the hardware store owner or the vintner next door, and thus was protected from thieves by law enforcement.

Why law enforcement protects growers and users there, but not here?
The battle of finally putting an end to cannabis prohibition comes with internal, domestic struggles. Law enforcement follows local law, but I find it unfair that laws regarding cannabis as a medicine is inconsistent depending on state and county. (Don't get me started on the outdated, uselessness nature in terms of cannabis prohibition of the Controlled Substances Act). Sheriff Allman of Mendocino County admitted to Fine that he'd much rather get a call that involves someone using cannabis than alcohol, let alone cocaine, meth, or prescription drugs. Allman said, "I've never seen a stoned man beat his wife--he generally just plays video games." The implication of Allman's statement backs Fine's reasonable belief that cannabis plays a beneficial role in helping the sick amongst other components, while economically fixing a struggling agricultural county.