medical marijuana

Feb 272013
 

It’s time that our Mayor and City Council do what’s right.  Californians approved medical marijuana collectives fifteen years ago, and they are now ready to legalize marijuana altogether.  Legalization at this point is inevitable and every person of sound body can easily get marijuana at school yards, parks and at street corners.  As the case of SLPD officer Jason Fredriksson showed, even cops are in the marijuana selling game.

The only people who have trouble getting marijuana are the old and sick patients who actually need it.  The attitude of City Council members like Diana Souza and Benny Lee, who want to deny pain relief to those suffering, is unconscionable.  And I don’t want to hear any excuses about how the “community doesn’t want it” (when surveys like this show that they clearly do) or that “patients can go elsewhere” (when that’s impractical for exactly the people who most need it).

Have some courage, put the needs of others beyond your own personal prejudices and pettiness.  Approve the dispensary once and for all.

Sep 062012
 

Candidate Prevaricates on his Stand on Touchy Subject

Benny Lee has long been a vocal opponent of Medical Marijuana dispensaries.  He believes that allowing any use of marijuana by adults sends the message that it’s OK for kids to  smoke pot.  He thinks people who smoke marijuana are dangerous and “unsavory”.

I think he’s been pretty clear about those positions, both on his writing for the Patch, and on the comments he made to the San Leandro City Council in favor of a ban on medical marijuana dispensaries, in the last couple of months.  Benny, however, is now seeking the Democratic endorsement on his run for San Leandro City Council.  So suddenly, he’s found the light and claims that he is not opposed to medical marijuana.  Right.

Rather than argue this point ad infinitum, I thought the best thing to do is hear what he had to say himself

Benny Lee’s Comments to the San Leandro Patch on Medical Marijuana Facilities – March 9, 2011

Benny Lee on Banning Medical Marijuana Facilities – June 18, 2012 (Audio)

Benny Lee’s Comments on the Proposed Ban on Medical Marijuana Facilities – July16, 2012 (Audio)

September 13 Update

Lee is playing the same flip-flopping card on another issue.  Last week, he told the San Leandro Times that “he doesn’t want to share his personal opinion on the [Halus] turbine.” Halus, a green-energy company that refurbishes wind turbines, wants to install one on their industrial zone property so potential clients can see their work.  Today, the San Leandro Times published two letters disputing that statement.  Former City Council member Howard Kerr makes reference to the letters Lee has sent to City Hall opposing the turbine and accuses him of trying to hide his anti-business activities.  Heron Bay neighbor Elie Parker, meanwhile, accuses Lee of lacking “integrity” and “strength” for agreeing to “lead the fight against the project” at a homeowners meeting, and now refusing to share his opinion.