EDITORIAL UP IN SMOKE FLOURISHING `MEDICAL' MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES SHOW HYPOCRISY OF LAW.WHO knew that a cancer epidemic had struck Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. ? Not the doctors or hospitals, which report nothing unusual. But the happy folks who run the ``medical'' marijuana marijuana or marihuana, drug obtained from the flowering tops, stems, and leaves of the hemp plant, Cannabis sativa (see hemp) or C. indica; the latter species can withstand colder climates. dispensaries sure do. In just a year, the number of pot dens in L.A. has jumped from five to 60 -- suggesting that this must be the world's biggest cancer cluster cancer cluster Epidemiology A cancer that occurs in a group of people living or working in a geographically defined region who may share one or more environmental factors–eg, DES, and a characteristic lesion–eg, vaginal adenoCA, in common. See Clusters. . Or, as is more likely, the state medical-marijuana law that voters approved in 1996 is being badly abused. City Councilman Dennis Zine, an ex-cop, has called for a moratorium A suspension of activity or an authorized period of delay or waiting. A moratorium is sometimes agreed upon by the interested parties, or it may be authorized or imposed by operation of law. on any new dispensaries -- a sensible action to take while proper regulations are developed to comply with the law. Surely 60 marijuana storefronts will be more than plenty to meet the city's legitimate needs until it gets this problem controlled -- cancer epidemic or not. |
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