Is Medical Marijuana Going Big Business in California?

By: Neil Katz
Topics: Health Care ,; News ,; Cancer

(CBS)

(CBS) Medical marijuana took one step closer to becoming big business this week as an Oakland, Calif., city council voted to license four large growing and packaging facilities.

The ordinance still has one more hoop to jump through but it's expected to pass, leading to permits being issued by next January, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Small growers can already legally produce marijuana in Oakland. They were generally against the new measure, fearing bigger businesses may push them out of the market.

Oakland has long been on the vanguard of medical marijuana. Last year, the city's legal small growers produced "6,000 pounds of marijuana worth $28 million and requiring approximately 45,000 square feet of space to grow," according to the New York Times.

The city hopes the new plants will produce 70,000 pounds per year and become a major source of tax revenue and jobs. A separate ballot measure in November will give voters the chance to legalize recreational use of marijuana, presumably pushing up the demand on the new pot factories.

Medical marijuana is now legal in 14 states. The drug is commonly prescribed for glaucoma, nausea, poor appetite, and pain.

Smoking pot can also have side effects such as increased heart rate and anxiety. Marijuana smoke, like cigarettes, contains carcinogens, although, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, marijuana has not been proven to cause lung cancer. And driving while high on any drug is considered dangerous.

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by thcsupport September 2, 2011 6:49 AM EDT: Yeah of course medical marijuana going big business in California. Because California major state among all marijuana states and most of people from that suffer from cancer, HIV/AIDS conditions.; Reply to this comment


by tij12345 August 12, 2010 3:16 AM EDT: Medical Marijuana is big business among the 18-19 year olds in California that do not even have debilitating diseases. All they have to claim is they have insomnia and they are issued a medical marijuana ID cards. It is an explosive market for the young college students and the politicians do not even know that the California youth of today are applying for medical marijuana id cards just right out of high school. These young minds are led to believe that it is safe and common use among their age group.

Think how many overweight people there are in the USA and eating is legal. Food is not even that addictive yet there are lots of overweight people. How many diabetics are there today? Alcohol is legal and how many alcoholics are there?

Access to and use of marijuana will only lead to psychosis and mental issues if this is abused, family relations problems, living in a fake happy world, etc. It goes to show that the Californians have weak and damaged brains that can't handle real life without the use of marijuana.

Once they are off it, they do not know how to cope with life that no one would want to be around them unless they are high on drugs.

Politicians high on drugs. "Oh. Mr Politician, can you approve this million dollar expense?" POLITICIAN: "Sure. I am happy."

Those who advocate legalization are only dragging the innocent youth to the gutter with them.

This is the beginning of the destruction of California, the molden state. In fact, the youth is being destroyed right before our eyes with their LEGAL access to medical marijuana.; Reply to this comment


by shityhead July 25, 2010 3:53 AM EDT: The best thing we can do to stop big business is to contine to grow ourselves.

If everyone who needed marijuana grew it themselves.... there would be no need for any sort of Mass production to meet any need.

Its a Weed.. not computer science....KISS..Keep It Simple Stupid

Grow your own Weed put all stores out of business..; Reply to this comment

by TrentOs420 July 23, 2010 2:40 PM EDT

Why is Journey Healing Centers posting on all of the marijuana laws being voted on? It's simple they would rather you be on doctor prescribed narcotics. That way when your horribly addicted, they can sell you treatment. Think about this. Not one addiction recovery clinic in the US. Wants drug addiction stopped. Why, because they would all be out of business. Same with Journey Healing Centers they need addicts. They want addicts.

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by AttentionDeficit July 24, 2010 6:59 AM EDT: Not only that, but there are many "healing centers" that benefit from people being forced to "treatment" in lieu of jail after being caught with pot


by sobertoday August 5, 2010 2:12 PM EDT: My life was saved because of a "healing center". Today I work for one and I know that prescribed narcotics or not, addicts also take unprescribed narcotics and illegal substances. Many in the field would love for addiction to cease, sadly, it never will. Do they want marijuana to be legal or not - does it matter, people will smoke it whether it is or isn't. Doctors overprescribe anyways, the same will happen to marijuana.

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by recoveryadvocate July 23, 2010 12:39 PM EDT

Great, next thing you know we'll have gov't heroin, 50% of our income will go to taxes and socialized medicine will mean we have to wait three months for a routine exam at a doctors office if you can't pay outrageous amounts of money for a private doctor. Despite the positive and negative arguments obout marijuana legalization, there are longer-term problems that the behind-the-scenes advocates are trying to create - and you will find out they personally benefit from this.

Reply to this comment


by AttentionDeficit July 24, 2010 6:57 AM EDT: Not to mention the income flow that the critics are trying to insure


by wheelslarbac September 4, 2010 1:30 PM EDT: Medical Marijuana and Heroin would be a god send to the disabled and sick but I don't think it will ever be legal because of selfish evil people like you who are healthy and call yourselves do gooders who want to control other peoples lives but don't forget that those hurt the most are the sick and disabled Cancer victims, A.L.S. victims, M.S. victims, S.C.I. victims to mention those who need pain treatment but don't get all because of people like you and some kill themselves to end thier suffering., because doctors are to scared to write PX for
pain killers for the sick and the disabled all thanks to the D.E.A. drug war that has been a failure, the addicts do get it from their drug dealers but the sick can't get it, the luckyer ones are undermedicated and the unlucky ones are told to take over the counter pain killers all
because doctors are too scared to write for fear of the D.E.A.
These poor soles find that ending their lives is their only option which many do. That Dr Killer got a lot of A.L.S. and M.S. patients who
paid him to give them a drug to kill themselves. You Are So Disgusting
Shame On You. All You Care About Is Paying Less Taxes .I Bet You Make A Very Large Income And Should Be Paying More Taxes.


by tsigili July 23, 2010 10:58 AM EDT: Depends.....the last I heard the voters may not agree to legalize it, in which case they are back to square one.; Reply to this comment


by Lexcellent July 23, 2010 8:03 AM EDT: The 'big business' model will fail.We are not subjects of a King. We beat Fat King George. We are free citizens. Talk in Oakland centers about how much fire ins they should get to protect them from arson fires.Lots and lots, from what I hear.Home grows will continue. nothing is resolved.
Can no one make sense for 5 minutes??; Reply to this comment

by gammaha July 22, 2010 10:21 PM EDT

Alcohol related problems cost so much because alcohol is a very addictive poison that you can run your car on. Marijuana will save the country countless lives and money if just 10% of beer drinkers give up beer for marijuana brownies.
Remember some of these FACTS:
1.) Marijuana is less addictive than alcohol.
2.) Marijuana cannot kill you no matter how much you smoke or eat.
3.) Your motor skills are not impaired even close to the level of impairment caused by alcohol consumption.
4.) Violence will be reduced by bringing the huge underground marijuana market above ground were it can be taxed and regulated.

I understand you are concerned that without courts forcing people who don't have an addition problem but were simple caught with marijuana will no longer be force to pay for your treatment programs, but with all the new freed up resources the police will have with the legalization of marijuana, your stream of people caught with harder and dangerous drugs will keep you busy. You might have to actually work, since meth and crack are very addictive, were marijuana is less addictive than caffeine.

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by AttentionDeficit July 23, 2010 9:26 AM EDT: "Alcohol related problems cost so much because alcohol is a very addictive poison that you can run your car on."

Cars can run on hemp oil, they just get lost a lot


by blazer18b August 5, 2010 5:17 PM EDT: That was/is a GREAT statement of FACTS. Glad to see someone thinking along the same lines as myself. Now you/we have to convince them about the truth as you have stated. GOOD JOB!

by JourneyHeaingCeners July 22, 2010 7:04 PM EDT

Journey Healing Centers (AZ and UT drug and alcohol rehab centers) is concerned over increased addiction, crime and economic impacts of legalizing marijuana. The question is whether these tax revenues will really help the states dig out of the recession or create more costs. According to Businessweek, the latest studies show the U.S. collects about $8 billion yearly in taxes from alcohol, yet the total cost to the U.S. in 2008 due to alcohol-related problems was $185 billion, which created a huge loss. Based on 30+ years of experience working with clients fighting addictions, Journey Healing Centers? licensed doctors and therapists oppose the Medical Marijuana Propositions on the Arizona (Prop 203) and South Dakota ballots, along with California?s Prop 19 legalization for 21+ on the November ballot. If you have any drug or alcohol addiction questions, call our Free 24-Hour Hotline to speak with an Addiction Specialist: 1-866-774-5119

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by red_eyed_hooligan July 22, 2010 8:05 PM EDT: I sense that your only concern in the potential loss of revenue. If cannabis is legalized and people are not forced into rehab by the courts you stand to lose profit.


by AttentionDeficit July 23, 2010 9:25 AM EDT: Part of the inspiration for marijuana legalization is to cease spending huge tax dollars on a policy that has proven itself over and over to be wasteful and ill conceived. You speak of crime aspects of legalization. What are these crime aspects? And are they greater than the crime aspects of prohibition? One pot smoker is arrested every 37 seconds in this country.