Joe | Dec 18, 2011 | Comments 1
We’ve reported a lot on theeconomic destruction now ripping through San Diego and the rest of California thanks to the recent federal crackdown on medical marijuana in the state.
Before I started writing exclusively for The 420 Times website and magazine, I had some articles published in Nug Magazine, which covers the medical marijuana scene in San Diego.
I contacted the folks at Nug Mag about the situation in extreme southern CA, and publisher Ben G. Rowin emailed me back with the low-down on what’s going on.
“The Federal Intimidation of collectives and their landlords here is San Diego is by far the worst that I have heard about in California,” Ben said. “I feel that the people in LA and other markets in California have gone through this already, like in 2007 when similar letters were sent to all the collectives there. But San Diego has always had more difficulty than other areas. I strongly believe it is for a few reasons, we have a more conservative base here in SD and we are a border town.“In 2006 the local government here, with assistance from the Feds were successful in closing all the dispensaries that were open at that time. Patients were forced to grow their own medication or acquire it from black market resources. Some collectives continued to operate in a limited capacity but literally there was almost NO safe access. I personally used to drive to LA during those years to get my medicine. But in 2008 the locations began to pop up again and it really exploded in 2009 after the now infamous ‘Holder Memo.’
“During my trips to LA in 06-08 is when I started to see publications for Medical Cannabis, (including yours) that were giving out information to the public and helping patients better understand the issues that faced them as a community. Which is why I decided to launch NUG in San Diego in 2009. Up until we launched in 2009 there was nothing specifically for the San Diego Market and I had been in the magazine and newspaper business for years and had been a patient since early 2000 and one of the original members to Steve McWilliams Shelter from the Storm collective.
“For the last few years it has been great to see that patients were able to access their medicine in a safe and legal environment, and people in this city have grown and learned so much that I feel the ‘cat is out of the bag’ already. I know that the intimidation is and will continue to close retail locations for the time being. BUT I believe that providers will continue to care about their patients and either move toward a delivery only type of service or find other ways to assist their patients. I see it more as a rough patch than a total wiping out of dispensaries.”
So what about Nug Magazine itself?
“Will it effect our publication…YES! It already has…we have dropped from a strong 96+ page monthly down to a 48 pager. However we are now refocusing our sales teams to bring in other types of businesses that want to reach our readers and we have no plans of stopping. We will continue to get information out to our readers regarding medical cannabis and cannabis in general as we strongly believe in the freedom for ALL to use the safe non toxic plant. But we have also been doing editorial coverage on music, art, healthy living, food and much more, so our readership demographics are very wide and our readers support is strong.
“As far as my thoughts on the future of the MMJ industry in SD as well as California in general…I believe that regardless of the attempts to stifle the growth of the industry, there is NO stopping it. Cannabis has only been illegal for 70+ years but has been used for thousands of years and will continue to be used for as long as humanity is on this planet. Prohibition of any kind doesn’t work and will never work. I think that things will begin to bounce back, it may be months, it may take a year or longer…but things will turn around again for sure.”
All of us in the industry hope things do turn around, and soon. Imagine the thousands of stories around the state from businesses just like Nug. Hundreds of dispensaries and collectives closing, affecting not only patients but thousands of employees from budtenders to delivery drivers to writers and advertising salespeople.
Many jobs lost, with more to come. And we are about to enter the most monumental year in cannabis law reform history, especially in states like California that will have legalization on the ballot in November.
Will marijuana legalization change things in CA, or will it make the feds even more hell-bent on asserting their authority over the state? Time will tell, and we will be right here, supporting safe access for legal patients everywhere and bringing you the latest news and opinion on cannabis worldwide.
And be sure to check out our Open Letter on Behalf of 30 Million Cannabis Usersand join us in our fight!
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