Dispense With The Nonsense: Cheers, Jeers, Sighs and Raspberries on The Front Lines of Reefer Madness

A Busy Department of Health Earns a Variety of Responses

Pennsylvania lawmakers wisely put the administration of the medical cannabis program in the hands of the Department of Health (DoH), as medicine should be, and not under departments that handle alcohol, tobacco, firearms or explosives as some other states have. So I like to cut them some slack when they have to make decisions about things like marketing. The regulations dictate that all companies with permits to grow and/or dispense must get all their advertising material approved by the DoH before it can be used. And all events—every single appearance at anything from a major conference to a farmer’s market—must be approved in advance as well. So they earn a solid SIGH this spring for taking so long to approve a recent cannabis expo that at least two major growers could not attend. A couple of others did get permission, so there was no problem with the event. Apparently, most of the growers would like to attend many events and the “deciders” are just buried. We hope they can get this process streamlined soon. One event that DoH did have a problem with was a major recreational festival held in Scranton on April 20. A decidedly pro-recreational event, promoters were miffed, to say the least when a few weeks before the date, DoH said no PA permitted growers or dispensaries could attend. One might wonder why they would not allow medicinal businesses to market to those with a predisposition to their product—which earns them a big RASPBERRY. Maybe when adult use is legal, everyone can relax a little, and the medical businesses can market wherever there are patients. DoH does earn a big CHEER for recently suspending the medical license of one certifying physician for three years due to his erratic behavior. He posted many videos to YouTube that critics called extremely unprofessional. Even supporters admitted he was eccentric at best. When patients complained to the DoH that he often seemed stoned in the office, they pulled the plug. Though a certified medical cannabis patient, he is, like all physicians, expected to be straight while treating patients. We’ll leave him unnamed as this sort of activity need not be associated with the hard work of dedicated professionals throughout the industry who take their responsibilities very seriously.

I ♥ Radio But I H8 Cannabis

The stench of Reefer Madness may be fouling the airwaves of media behemoth I ♥ Radio. A recent cannabis educational expo in the Pittsburgh area was not allowed to advertise on any of their local radio stations. Apparently the word “marijuana” sets off all sorts of alarm bells. Promoting that physicians would be on hand to provide Medical Marijuana Certifications to qualified patients at a dramatically low price was absolutely verboten. So big JEERS to a music company, which owes at least a part of its popularity to the cannabis use of some listeners, but turns up its nose at real medicine for real patients.