Apparently residents of Long Beach are going to pot...

dispensaries located outside the city limits.  There is one such dispensary next to the place we play trivia on Wednesday nights and I happened to notice tonight that they had more paper signs up on their window than normal.  So I stopped and read.  The gist of the diatribe is that the mayor of the city of Long Beach has apparently declared "war" on medical marijuana dispensaries and because they fear what might occur, the operators of this facility have temporarily closed down.  They will refer existing clients with valid physician prescriptions for medical marijuana elsewhere, but will take on no new clients.

Just one more indication that the time has come to legalize, regulate and tax marijuana just like cigarettes.  The only difference between the two any more is that cigarettes have been proven to be harmful when used as intended.  No such proof has yet been offered about marijuana.  Now bear in mind I've never even inhaled.  Never tried either pot or cigarettes.  Nor would I, even if I had a good set of lungs, rather than these that have had their capacity reduced by illness and scarring.  I have no axe to grind in this debate on a personal level.  I don't like being around people using it, because the odor bothers me.  So I don't go to people's homes for events where I know someone will light up.  That's my preference and my issue and I carry it just fine.

We're struggling to pay for the things our governments need to provide at the city, county, state and federal level.  Marijuana use is something easily taxed and people would be willing to pay a reasonable tax.  The sellers would have no trouble passing on that tax to their customers, particularly since complete legalization would lower costs and thusly prices.

I hope the mayor of Long Beach loses the next election, solely on this issue.  But then again, maybe they will have been the catalyst to fight harder to fix this issue once and for all.