Editor,
Ordinary Mexican marijuana was always around when I was in college and in the Army, back in the ‘60s and ‘70s. It was okay, at least compared to alcohol or other drugs. The THC content back then was around two percent if you were lucky. In 1996, I voted for medical marijuana, knowing it would benefit many, harm few; 1996 was also the last year I had any.
Today, you can use your phone or computer to browse a Weedmaps index of 18 nearby stores that provide Laguna Beach home delivery. Each dealer has a website with a wide range of California-grown super-hybridized buds and derivative products. The varieties for sale are listed in order of THC content, ranging from around 20 percent up to 35 percent. Not two percent, like in the hippie era. Twenty to 35. Yet more powerful, are dozens of “concentrates,” for connoisseurs.
California permits anyone with an easily-obtainable medical marijuana card to possess eight ounces of curated buds (about a half-gallon), plus six mature plants (about the size of Christmas trees). An effective “dose” of smoked bud is around .2 grams. At that rate, eight ounces would yield 1,133 “doses.” Plus whatever you grow in your backyard or garage. It’s impossible to run out — just order more.
Contrary to claims by Proposition KK advocates/investors/speculators, there is no compelling need for a so-called medical marijuana dispensary in Laguna Beach. It’s a Trojan horse, anticipating the passage of Proposition 64, which will make “recreational” marijuana use legal starting the day after the election, Nov. 9. KK locks in a monopoly on southern Orange County retail marijuana sales. So, high stakes. Whatever fees or taxes accrued to the city would be chump change.
Laguna Beach is a small town; residents exercise local control, support top-rated schools, and encourage family-friendly businesses. The least we can do is vote no on Proposition KK.
Joel Harrison, Laguna Beach
