Dude! It's another sign of the Apocalypse!
Around the corner from my home in Denver sits a fairly lonely mini strip center. About a month or so ago it consisted of a pizza parlor and a liquor store with a vacancy in between. Then, some genius drove by and had a brainstorm. “Dude, what’s the perfect business to complement the pizza and liquor purveyors who comprise this mercantile center?” Thus CannaMart was born, or at least that’s the way I like to imagine it was born.
If you haven’t guessed what CannaMart sells, it goes by many names: Mary Jane, ganja, reefer, weed, dope, smoke, grass, wacky tobacky, diggity dank, marijuana and, of course, cannabis. I learned of its existence via the mouths of babes, namely my children, who noticed the new sign heralding this weed-dispensing establishment. That should have been my first warning that maybe medical marijuana isn’t the best thing for my community, but of course my interest was piqued.
Colorado voters legalized marijuana for medical use in 2000. At that time, the dispensation of said weed was quite restrictive. In 2007 a court lifted the five-patient limit and the next thing you know they were popping up all over Denver and other points and places around Colorado to the point that one of Denver’s main streets, Broadway, is now known as Broadsterdam.
Though I’d known of its existence – that is, legal medical marijuana – I was somewhat confused. Why isn’t it dispensed in pill form at a pharmacy? After all, it’s not the weed itself that provides the so-called medicinal effect, but THC and Cannbidiol (CBD), the active ingredients.
I had lots of other questions as well. The whole thing just seemed, well… off, for lack of a better term. So I figured the only way to get a handle on medical marijuana was to visit my local CannaMart.
The first thing I noticed was that all the windows are darkened, covered by black foam so that you can’t see inside. The barely-legible window sign told me that CannaMart doesn’t open until 11 a.m., an hour or two later than most businesses, but I suppose it’s best to keep hours similar to those of your “patients”.
I have to admit that I expected more of a third-world hashish market feel when I walked into the reception area, but it was actually more like a regular doctor’s office. I spoke with the receptionist through a clear bullet-proof window slot and asked her if I could speak with the proprietor.
Fortunately, I guess, she’s a partner in this business and was happy, or at least neutral, about talking to me about medical marijuana, so she buzzed me in through the locked door and into the belly of the beast.
Though she was fairly talkative and willing to answer most of my questions, she refused to give me her name or the name of her partner. In an ironic twist of fate, further research seems to indicate that this proprietor/partner is none other than Natalia, the Russian temptress who exchanged a series of love letters with the host of this blog.
I was also refused a request to take a picture or two of the medicinal area where patients can choose between varieties of smoke-able, edible, drinkable and encapsulated versions of marijuana. Natalia told me that CannaMart has an exclusive photography arrangement with someone else. Is that someone else a site dedicated to the celebration of the marijuana plant called Nug Porn? You be the judge. By the way, the existence of Porn Nug ought to tell you everything you need to know about whether or not marijuana is treasured for its “medicinal” value or for some of its other attributes.
I asked Natalia what motivated her to get into the Cannabis business. Besides her desire to “help people,” Natalia saw a recession-proof business opportunity. After all, she said, “What am I going to do? Sell cars? No one’s buying cars. Sell insurance? There’s an insurance agency on every corner. Real estate? The real estate market sucks.”
Despite Natalia’s reassurances that Cannabis outlets like CannaMart are legitimate, and I suppose that technically they are, my overall impression can be characterized in one word: sketchy. Why the secrecy? Even the business card she handed me didn’t have any names on it. Is it any wonder that marijuana “dispensaries,” or marts, are having a difficult time getting capital through their local bank?
Maybe I’m naïve, ignorant or both, but the medical value of marijuana is questionable at best. If there truly was medicinal value THC and CBD would have been regulated by the FDA and dispensed by pharmacies a long time ago.
The best I could get out of Natalia was that marijuana may be able to reduce pain and inflammation, relax muscles, relieve spasms, stimulate appetite (Duh! Just look at the pizza place next door!), reduce pressure inside the eye and other variations of the relaxation refrain. Anyone who’s smoked it is aware of the “benefits,” but is mainly concerned with the fringe benefits of simply getting high.
Ultimately, this has little to do with “medical marijuana” and everything to do with taking steps toward general legalization. That’s fine; let’s have that debate, but to place it under the guise of “medical marijuana” is dishonest.
Remember kind sage that alcohol was sold thru pharmacies during prohibition. But only with a doctors prescription.
I guess it isn’t possible for a drug to have positive medical effects and get you high at the same time? See pain killer or opiate please. Why does the author have an issue with marijuana in the first place….perhaps one night he got drunk. ate a lot of pizza and then decided to smoke leading to the spins and later violent vomiting a la Team America. I like to get high off of marijuana and later on in life i might smoke it because i need it to regain my appetite after radiation or chemo (i hope not though). I feel the drug can serve two purposes simultaneously. If it weren’t for harry j anslinger it probably would never be illegal in the first place. He decided to make a career out of the federal bureau of narcotics and linked marijuana into the same group as cocaine and opiates to gain popularity, fame, and a job as a career politician (That must really piss off Jeff Greene (ironic last name)) He gave us such great quotes as “There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the US, and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos, and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz, and swing, result from marijuana use. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers, and any others,” and the always popular…”“Reefer makes darkies think they’re as good as white men.”
Now I know why I think Taye Diggs is so hot. Thanks Harry for using science to end that mystery!
Dear Mr. “Richard” “Morgan” “Fliehr” “Sr”,
With all due respect, I really wish you’d read the article itself instead of making wild inferences about where I stand on the legalization of Mary Jane. Please re-read the last two sentences and then get back to me. If you would like to advocate for its legalization, or if you can provide a good reason why it should be dispensed in the manner it’s being dispensed here in Denver, I’m all ears, or eyes, or whatever. But whatever you do, please try to be sober when you do it.
Yours,
Club Soda
Dear Author,
Please excuse my ignorance, but tell me this: What is the point of your article? Are you questioning the medicinal qualities of marijuana, or are you expressing your concern about Medical Marijuana dispensaries being sketchy, or are you worried about general legalization of marijuana? Before you respond, I’d like you to consider the following information as being credible and 100% reliable. I am one of CannaMart’s owners, and I assure you that you won’t find a more reliable source of information regarding CannaMart.
First, you mention the secrecy surrounding this industry (or maybe just our store, you weren’t clear on that point), with tinted windows, bullet-proof glass, business cards with no names, etc. There are many perfectly good reasons for such measures. We are trying to be a responsible member of the community while keeping our business and employees safe, hence, tinting the windows, to keep transactions out of sight is a responsible move, not to mention required by the City and the State. City of Denver and the State of Colorado require dispensaries to have limited access areas where customers would be prohibited. It has nothing to do with secrecy, but everything to do with security.
The reason dispensaries are having a difficult time moving their cash through conventional banking, is the same reason why medical marijuana is not sold in pharmacies – Federal Law! You have claimed in your article that you have done some research…..well, if you had truly done some research, you would have never come with Natalia (which I will get to later), but you would have certainly come up with information regarding banking laws, FDIC, marijuana and the Controlled Substance Act, etc. You see, the reason banks do not want to open or maintain accounts for medical marijuana dispensaries, is not because of some moral issue, but for fear of jeopardizing their banking license, since every depositor is insured through FDIC, which is a Federal agency. There is only a handful of banks, willing to take on medical marijuana businesses, and they, I guess aren’t doing too well otherwise. Also, House Bill 1284, which passed in May of this year, legalizes banking transactions dealing with medical marijuana here in Colorado, but I guess it does not offer much protection for banks against the Feds.
You are obviously upset about not being able to take pictures inside our store. Forgive me for being blunt, but you have no business taking pictures inside our store. Have you tried asking a bank teller for permission to step behind the counter and take some snapshots lately? Or behind a pharmacy counter? It’s a security measure to most businesses, and especially one involved in marijuana trade. Because dispensaries carry cash and marijuana they make perfect targets for criminals, and letting someone take pictures, which can later be used to plan a break in or a burglary would be unwise. The reason, our business cards have no personal names on them is simple, we use business cards for our patients to have our contact info, and the reason you probably weren’t given a name is probably because you were the one acting sketchy and shady trying to get information under false pretences, without showing your Medical Marijuana patient card or law enforcement credentials.
Now, about Natalia. Of course, being of Russian heritage, I know many women named Natalia, but I have never done business with anyone named Natalia. I guess this goes towards your credibility (unless there was some humor there, which I didn’t get). You seem determined enough to write your article, but not determined enough to get the facts straight. Colorado Secretary of State keeps a database of all businesses in Colorado, which by the way is public information. Please pay a visit to their website, before making false statements.
It seems you wrote this article in hopes of having it read and commented on, and in doing so you have inadvertently increased search engine optimization for my business name. So I am going to return the favor and link this article to our Facebook page. Oh, and please tell me: what was the point you were trying to make?
I think his point was that the is a fool and he opened his mouth (talking with his key board) and removed all doubt
Stan,
I think you’ve smoked too much of your own medical supplies. You totally missed the humor of this article. Plus you operate a shady business. Most businesses that sell a federally controlled substance are shady. Welcome to the club.
Ruben,
I think your “recovering liberal”, home schooled, retard of a boss is wearing off on you, because you sound like an idiot as well. He defends a blogger on his own blog with a sketchy comment about your sketchy moves in a State-approved dispensary of a plant that is a panacea in the healthcare industry. Do you even have a clue about prohibition, and why only 14 states have the balls to go up against a nation that has been spoon-fed government propaganda about Hemp since the Great Depression? Since you and your boss seem to be web-educated circus clowns, you might want to take your head out of your ass and enlighten yourself or otherwise learn how the laws and the Tax Stamp Act have created this issue. This issue of legalization, regulation, and taxation, is as pragmatic as it can get on the side with any brains left. If you want to be among the walking automatons and continue to look uninformed or ill-informed (I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and say you really just don’t care and were just as bored as you were stupid to have written an article as low-brow as this one), why don’t you look around and explain to me who controls the Federal government? Corporations. Federal/Central World Banks. Lobbyists from those corporations raise campaign money to elect puppet rulers to carry out their self-will in their area of interest. To wit, concerning Cannabis, I will hope you consider the lobbyists in the industries of alcohol, tobacco, logging, Big Pharma, pesticide, and last but not least, the American prison industrial complex. These are the reason there are Prohibitionists with no logical arguments. If it were legal, you could control it more. Legalization would put drug cartels and their pushers out of business, and the government would have the opportunity to regulate the sale to a minor. Laws should not be created that you cannot enforce. Ask L.E.A.P. Enough retort; you aren’t deserving of intelligent repartee with regard to your ignorance about medicinal, industrial or recreational Hemp and it’s controversy in America. It’s sad that civil liberties and personal freedoms have come to this point in this country that we have to hope for change from people who created clandestine agencies out of the Executive Branch, who are out of control. They also appoint the highest levels of the judicial system; there is not a system of checks and balances in this nation anymore. Few are willing to open their mouth, and I speak for a silent majority (and you know this).
In conclusion, Stan made it clear to you in your own state. I wish Hunter S. Thompson would have penned you in the head after reading this article. Ruben, Henshaw, you should be ashamed of yourselves. Both of you need a spanking and a history lesson or three. You don’t seem to have a full grasp of anything related to this issue, which includes politics, American government, currency, world trade, medicine, history, or current affairs, even within your own state. Maybe you should be home schooled by Stan. I’ve wasted enough of my time with two more ignorant piles of bird shit in America. Enjoy your opinions; every asshole is entitled to one. Education may have lost in America and is “average” in comparison to the world, but that only excuses you. Don’t claim to be in the know, when it is crystal clear in your communication that you know little to nothing about what you choose to babble about.
“You obviously have a wonderful economy with words, Ruben. I look forward to your next syllable with great eagerness.” – Hobson Say goodbye to him, Michael.
This last comment was so detached from reality that at first I thought it was a spam comment, but according to Google this really is an original.
Who is Ruben and who is the boss? Anyway, this article is about how Cannamart is run by sketchy people. I live in Florida and know people who moved to Colorado for the sole purpose of growing and selling pot and ran into the buzzsaw of organized crime.
Nowhere in this article is the topic of legalization discussed. I am in favor of legalization. One good reason for legalization is to avoid sketchy businesses like the one mentioned in this article.
KG please don’t preach to people about history when you have such an obvious problem with reading comprehension.