Potent Prescription for Ailing Counties: Ahimsa Internationals Proposed Medical Cannabis Safety Program Benefits California Treasuries

Ahimsa International submits ingenious proposal for statewide Medical Cannabis Safety Program to generate billions in revenue for California counties, reduce the state budget deficit, regulate the cultivation and dispensation of medical cannabis, minimize patient reliance on the black market, and fund unique programs for at-risk, drug-addicted and delinquent youth.

Ahimsa International Press Release

March 9, 2004

Los Angeles, California -- Ahimsa International (Ahimsa), a nonprofit organization, on March 5th, submitted to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and California county supervisors a proposal for a program advocating a comprehensive approach to SB 420 compliance, including statewide, county-owned medical cannabis dispensaries.

The Medical Cannabis Safety Program (MCSP), designed to regulate the cultivation and dispensation of medical cannabis, would minimize patient reliance on the black market, and fund dynamic rehabilitation for drug-addicted, delinquent, and at-risk youth. Once implemented, the program could generate billions in revenue for debilitated California counties and reduce the state budget deficit.

Ahimsa International is committed to developing innovative programs to help reduce and prevent social and environmental degradation," says Ahimsas president, Ms. Dana Jay. Our proposal for a self-sustaining, statewide county program that prioritizes health and safety demonstrates this commitment. The MCSP is a potent prescription for seriously ill patients, environmentally devastated state and national forests, and ailing county and state treasuries."

Governor Schwarzenegger was requested to encourage and empower county officials to take action to implement the MCSP as an immediate, remedial measure to comply with SB 420, and to rejuvenate devastated county budgets.

As a result of a lack of regulation by either the USDA or the FDA, the MCSP will provide responsible administration and regulation of the cultivation and dispensation of safe medical cannabis to qualified patients. Designed to prioritize and ensure the safety of patients, implementation of the MCSPs five-pronged approach will involve the cooperation of the California Medical Cannabis Growers Guild, the Medical Cannabis Safety Center, the California Medical Cannabis Directory, Ahimsa International, and California counties.

The best way to assure chronically ill patients of getting pure, medicinal-grade cannabis is to control cultivation conditions, and ultimately, to perform quality control testing on the medical cannabis prior to dispensing it. In this way, we can accurately assess what contaminants are being consumed by patients," asserts Jason Fishbain, representative of Safe Access Now, an organization dedicated to reasonable medical marijuana guidelines. Ahimsas Safety Program is the only program I know of which will provide patients with this level of safety."

The MCSP addresses yet-to-be-fully-recognized health and safety hazards, including patient health risks due to contamination of medical cannabis by pesticides, herbicides, and bacterial and fungal agents, and severe environmental damage to watersheds, wildlife, and forest resources caused by abundant illicit marijuana gardens.

According to conservative estimates by the DEA, the illicit cannabis industry in the United States likely grosses over 108 billion dollars annually. Cultivation operations in California alone are estimated to produce more than 10 percent of the nations cannabis. By redirecting the flow of profits from the black market into county treasuries, the counties move simultaneously towards self-sustainability and a victory in the war on drugs.

Ahimsa is asking individuals and organizations to please support county and state officials in taking action to see the diminishment of a marijuana black market and the replenishment of county and state treasuries through the implementation of the Medical Cannabis Safety Program.

Other unique programs developed by Ahimsa include: the Social Crisis Zones Research Study, a 5-year, diagnostic examination of the devastation experienced in Americas inner cities, and the Terra Vista Youth Leadership Center, an alternative to incarceration of violent juvenile offenders. Also awaiting funding is the Altruistic Heroes Program, a student-created Web site museum allowing at-risk youth to interact with 2000 historical heroes.

For further information about the MCSP, Ahimsa International, the California Medical Cannabis Growers Guild, the Medical Cannabis Safety Center, and the California Medical Cannabis Directory please visit www.AhimsaInternational.org and www.Cannabis-Directory.com.

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Dana M. Jay, President
Ahimsa International

P.O. Box 435
Agoura Hills, CA 91376-0435

ahimsa@AhimsaInternational.org
www.AhimsaInternational.org

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