Aurora Rotary - Newsletter - Archive (Jul 21, 2010)

Amendment 20 to the Colorado Constitution passed in 2000 legalized medical marijuana allowing patients and care givers to have 2 ounces and 6 plants of marijuana per patient. Amendment 20 is considered an "affirmative defense" against any criminal proceedings. It is still a federal crime to possess marijuana. For now, the feds are not prosecuting possession of marijuana. (An exception is an individual that was on Channel 9 showing his whole growing operation in his basement. The feds arrested him the next day and he is expected to do time.)

The "dispensary bill" preserves the local zoning option. The Aurora City Council has put a moratorium on granting dispensary licenses in Aurora for one year.

Marijuana is selling for $400/oz. from dispensaries and $150 on the street. Pot enforcement is occupying 40% of the narcotic department's time.

Chief Oates showed a map of residences growing and distributing pot. They are throughout Aurora. Problems associated with the operations, are extremely hazardous wiring, extraction chemicals going into the water system, and illegal guns.

Marijuana as medicine is nothing new, despite the current groundswell of laws making pot legal for medical uses. Here's a quick fact file on cannabis and its medical history, makeup, and legality.

1. "Marijuana" is a Mexican term that originally was applied to low-quality tobacco.

2. The plant was cultivated in China for therapy (and recreation) over 4,700 years ago.

3. More than 20 prescription medicines containing marijuana were sold in U.S. pharmacies at the turn of the 20th century. Pot-based medications were commonly available until 1942, when cannabis was stricken from the U.S. Pharmacopeia, the official compendium of drugs considered effective. From 1937 to 1942 the federal government collected a tax of $1 per ounce for such drugs.

4. More than 20,000 studies on marijuana and its components have been published, according to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, an advocacy group. Of these, around 100 have looked into therapeutic value on human subjects.

5. The federal government is in the pot-growing business. Under a federal contract, the University of Mississippi in Oxford cultivates marijuana for use by researchers, who have to be cleared by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

6. The plant has nearly 500 chemical compounds, more than 60 of which are called cannabinoids.

7. Fourteen states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington. But patients in these states face federal prosecution for using it—or for growing or possessing pot for medical purposes.

8. Federal law prohibits physicians from prescribing or otherwise actively supplying patients with the drug. But in 2002 the U.S. Supreme Court backed an appellate court ruling that physicians who discuss it with patients, or provide oral or written recommendations, are protected.

Golf Tournament

August 2 at Valley Country Club

Tom Pirog

Tom Pirog announced that there are 16 hole sponsors so far. Two more are needed. There are 70 players signed up so far. Tom would like to complete the signup soon because he needs to get the names to Valley Country Club.

New Sheriff in Town

Ron Maclachlan

New Sergeant at Arms Ron Maclachlan lays down the law.

Recent Resignations

Jeff Apitz and Kim Stuart have resigned from the club. Jeff and family are going back to Australia to take a job opportunity there.

Aurora Chamber of Commerce

Body Beautiful Collision Repair

Craig Wagner
Law Firm

Doug Evans Agency
State Farm Insurance Edward Jones
Ev Sequeira The Salvation Army