Why marijuana regulation is important?

Intro

There are different kinds of marijuana users around the world. Most people tend to fall into the category of people who don't really care about what kind of marijuana they smoke as long as they're getting high. And, most marijuana will cover that part without a problem.

Then there are people like myself, the "marijuana connoisseurs" as I'd like to think. I have been compared to a sommelier (wine expert) more than once. I understand and respect that there are different kinds of marijuana and they affect people differently. For example, Michelle Rainey, a marijuana activist in Canada, prefers Afghani Bullrider to help with her Crohn's disease. On another note, if you were looking for something that would help with sexual arousal, a nice sativa strain will do that such as Mikado. You won't find these strains at the "corner market". Michelle Rainey grows her own medicine and Mikado is available as seed, cheaply because it's not one of the more famous fast moving strains.

There are plenty of other strains, some "land race", or naturally occurring, and some created or bred by crossing different strains. Some are pretty much the same while others express different qualities in potency, smell, taste, effect, color, and so on.

Talkin Regulation

This is why I was happy to read this article: Is Cutting-Edge Marijuana Lab the Future of Legitimate Pot?. The tagline beneath the title reads,

"If pot is truly medicine, shouldn't it be standardized? A lab has big plans to test the potency of Cali cannabis sold in dispensaries."

The article itself is five pages long. Someone, Stephen DeAngelo, has had the sense to provide potency percents to let people know the potency of their marijuana.

"At downtown Oakland's Harborside Health Center, the hairy green buds have numbers. The new nomenclature beckons viewers from within seven gleaming glass display cases. Antiseptic white placards boast authoritative black digits. Each stands erect next to a Petri dish of high-octane "White Rhino" or "Afgooey Super Melt." They read: 7 percent, 11 percent, 18 percent, or 21 percent. Even 80 percent."

For the most part, we have to go by what we know or what we hear from others. Most of us accept that Mexican-grown marijuana is usually the weakest (more on that later). But, what's the strongest? I've had good experiences with Hempstar and Hush. They were, in my opinion, the strongest marijuana I've tried. But, were they the strongest? I couldn't tell you to be honest. Maybe Stephen DeAngelo can.

Marijuana Safety

He also gives a damn about the safety of the marijuana they sell. Most of us know and accept the fact that marijuana itself is rather safe. However, when we purchase marijuana, we don't always think about the environment or the grower which directly affects the marijuana we smoke.

For example, on the streets, you're more likely to find marijuana from Mexico. I don't know how many times I've pointed out how careless Mexican growers are with their marijuana. All of it comes seeded and seeds limit potency so the marijuana they grow naturally comes weak, the absolute weakest on the market. It's also packaged tightly into large bricks hence the term, Mexi-brick. The process of packing the marijuana so tightly increases the opportunity for mold to form especially if the marijuana hasn't been dried properly. Forunately, Mexican grown marijuana is usually so dry you have to rehydrate it just to make it smokable. Other problems include the long distances, time it takes to travel, and the conditions the bricked marijuana may go through to get from one point to the other. Anything can happen in that time to affect the marijuana.

The article points out:

"It's expensive to test every single thing that comes through the door — that's the price you pay with a decentralized supply system," Dave said. "But that's what you've got. You've got five pounds coming from here and two from there and one individual. I mean, a dog walks in the grow room, and wags its tail — anything can be coming off that dog's tail. It's gross. Fertilizers with E. coli. Compost teas that they don't make right, anaerobic tea that has elevated levels of E. coli and salmonella. It has to come. There's no way that this is sustainable. All it takes is one story of immune-compromised people dying from aspergillus infection. The myth that cannabis hasn't killed a single person in 3,000 years is allowed to go on. Well, it's not cannabis that kills people, it's all the shit that's in it."

Legalize and Regulate

Isn't it better, smarter, cleaner that someone has the sense to test for these things in the products they sell. Does anyone remember being taught about meat packing reform in the United States. Most people take it for granted these days. However, back then, it was not uncommon for canned meat to be spoiled green, contain whole rats or just parts, and be mixed with various other things that may not even be edible. It took government intervention to bring some safety to the meat packing industry.

Maybe if the US government gets its collective head out of its behind, perhaps it will legalize and regulate the marijuana industry, at least, for the safety of its own citizens. Let's just hope the government doesn't go too far.