I have mixed opinions about it but it sounds a little ridiculous to me. But, at least they have to take a pix and submit their fingerprint first.

You know, if someone is in need of marijuana for their pain and this is what does it for them, then I'm all for it. What do I care how someone else chooses to medicate themselves?

OMG! We HAVE to find a way to scam/rob this machine!

PS I hope it's good pot.

That's crazy.

It baffles me that doctors can prescribe marijuana but that patients are breaking the law if they fill their prescription. Aren't most of the people prescribed marijuana terminal cancer patients anyway? Really, what's the harm in letting them live out their last days in peace?

I think we need to look at it logically, and run studies and tests and make darn sure that this should be an illegal substance. I've known people who have done it, and it doesn't seem any more harmful than alcohol- how many people get high and beat their wives and children, or get high and go on a high-speed chase with the cops? Really, I think it should be legal, and be subject to the regulation and taxation of any other adults-only substance.

i can understand where the need for this came from but i don't htink that it's the best of ideas. just look at the episode from entourage - where turtle was able to get a card for the stuff - i think that it's a bad idea in the making

Bookish, most people in California are not prescribed medical marijuana for terminal illnesses. It is so ridiculous how easy it is to get a medical marijuana card it is laughable. Most of my friends there have one, and they are not terminally ill.

That being said, I am all for legalizing marijuana, medically or not. There is a lot of money to be made by legalizing it. However I don find it a bit neglectful of California making it legal with out a substantial way of finding out if a person is driving under the influence of Marijuana. I find this part dangerous, and responsible of California

I meant IRRESPONSIBLE, not responsible

I love that part of the comment "I've known people who have done it..." Hehehehe...

Ummm..."just look at the episode from Entourage"???

Oooookay.

Just legalize the stuff already.

I wasn't sure about it at first, but they were talking about it on the radio this morning and said that a couple people dispensing it have been robbed at gunpoint or shot. If using a machine makes it safer for the pharmacist, then fine. Do it. And you can't just go in whenever you want. They keep a log of how often you're refilling the prescription.

True, cine_lover. Didn't Mischa Barton get busted coming out of a clinic? I think it was her and Cisco, and it was shut down after that.

herb is a plant....."I crossed and imaginary line with some plants..." -George Jung. The government doesn't want people to think too much...that is the real reason it isn't legal. Oh, and all the money they make by seizing property from pot smoking "criminals." By the way I don't even smoke pot.

Actually, terryt18, that was factual, however funny you may have found it. I'm six years younger than my husband and his school crowd, and they're the ones who used to use it. I myself was homeschooled and grew up under constant (and paranoid) supervision- when I was young there was no opportunity to break the rules, and when I got older I was too aware of what I had to lose should I be caught.

I'm sure it was factual, Bookish. I was amused by your turn of phrase only, and did not mean to imply you were less than truthful.
Your screen name presupposes no less.

that is weird, you have to admit. legalizing pot or not, that is weird.

It's such a joke. Anyone can get a 215 card if they know the 'right doctor.' I think medicinal marijuana is beneficial to some people but so many people are abusing it. I'd rather have them not legalize it. People don't understand that driving under the 'influence' stands for pot too. We have enough problems, legalizing MJ is a bad idea.

The federal government doesn't really have a right to make any drug illegal, as far as I'm concerned. While a vending machine sounds ridiculous, if they have an actual security guard there and other security measures, I can't see the harm.

Thanks, terryt18, sometimes tone doesn't always come across well in type. I may have read more into it than was there!

And NurseDeAnna- I'm for the legalization of marijuana, but it's still a drug and should be regulated like any other drug- driving while under the influence of marijuana should be treated just like driving under the influence of alcohol.

I'm inclined to think that there would be fewer people driving (or even remembering how to drive a car, or put a key into an ignition) after getting high than already regularly stagger out of bars on weekend nights and drive themselves home. Personally, I'm of the mind that grown adults should be able to do what they want as long as it doesn't hurt other people, but DUI and DWI definitely fall into the line of reckless endangerment, and I'd like to see the penalties for those crimes be severe enough to act as a deterrent and not a slap on the wrist.

I'm gonna pass the bong around. Puff, puff, pass.

totally agree with you Bookish. MJ should be legalized because...oh lord, i don't have enough time to go into all the reasons why it should!

suffice to say, i used to work for a drug-reform non-profit and i was well-schooled in the unfortunate ways the government has prevented the legalization of marijuana. i hope someday soon (SOON!) the people in power will realize how much more sense it would make to regulate it (and make money) than prosecute it (and lose money).

i'm not sure how i feel about this...yet.

I don't understand why this is making news, but the LEGAL drugs that are far more dangerous don't get paid attention to.

This is a big reason why I'm voting for RP. He says the federal "war on drugs" is a failure, and I agree. Just legalize it!

Oh and I don't smoke pot. Neither does my husband.

I am consistently amazed at how sane and thoughtful the sugar readers are. There is a distinct lack of trollish, idiotic behaviour here. Bravo, people!

AKirstin, I agree with you. There are occasionally ignorant, uneducated comments (and sometimes rude, personal attacks), but I am used to that. What has surprised me is the number of intelligent, informed and eloquent discussions that I see from the women on this site. It gives me hope! (Especially when I see the number of women on this site who support Ron Paul!)

LilRuck I agree- there are so many harmful LEGAL drugs out there, it's crazy.

I have known a cancer patient that required a $100 pill 7 times per day. That is $700 PER DAY! If there is a cheaper alternative to help them deal with pain, they should be able to use it!

I have also heard that some studies show that THC actually inhibits carcinogens, and I think that more studies are need to see if we could harness that for cancer prevention.

I am pro-legalization, for medical and private use. I think a standard "field sobriety test" could be used on drivers to judge if they are indeed impaired. However, an old Fire Captain once told me, "I have seen tens of thousands of car accidents. I have never found pot in any of the cars. Alcohol containers, plenty. But never weed. Smokers are in the slow lane getting passed by grandmas."

The most important thing about it being illegal for me is this: The very fact that it is illegal, makes it more valuable and ups the crime associated with it. It makes it more expensive, and it increases the number of non-violent offenders in jail. If it was legal, everyone could enjoy pot butter, and not need to even smoke it (lessening risk of lung cancer).

One more thing!

I don't think it is the government's job to save us from ourselves, rather it is to protect our freedoms. I think in regards to drugs, the government should let us know FACTUALLY what risks are involved with what drugs...and then let the citizens make the decision whether or not to use it.

I think drugs like cocaine, heroin, and meth have shown that they cause a physical dependancy which leads to a drain on society (increase in crime). I think that drugs that have these proven effects should be illegal because one user's dependancy interferes with other citizen's rights because of the increase in crime they cause.

Jill I actually had the same thing told to me by a cop about never finding weed as the result of an accident.

Ah marijuana, we buy it, dry it, grind it into a fine powder and put it in our hair food back home. Makes the hair grown like it's going out of fashion.

Jillness I thought you were advertising Ron Paul's drug policy there for a minute =)

I completely agree.

This is so funny, cuz my boyfriend seen a special on TV about these the other day, and was hounding me to look it up. They have to security guards beside the machines at all times.
If marijuana was legalized, prison over crowding could be greatly reduced. You could release all the people locked up for only marijuana crimes. Personally I think everyone has their poison, whether it be marijuana, spreading your legs, drinking, shopping, working, or eating. Don't judge others because their poison isn't the same as your's.
Marijuana was illegalized due to the effect it was having on the cotton industry. Then, they released a bunch of propaganda to make everyone think it's evil. I'd prefer to be around someone who just smoked a joint than someone who just had a beer. Atleast the high person isn't gonna blame being a slut on pot.

Nya - that sounds like a good idea! of course, people here often prepare it with other things (formaldehyde, for example), so i don't think i could do that with any of the stuff that ... someone ... might have... around ... somewhere...

okay, move along. nothing to see here.

anyway, i don't have a problem with legalizing it. honestly, it would drop the crime rate in my area a lot, and considering the crime rate where i live (Boston), that's saying a lot.