The 'immaculate conception' problem: Maryland medical marijuana growers must break law to grow plant

[Eugene]

Source: Baltimore Sun

The 'immaculate conception' problem: Maryland medical marijuana growers must break law to grow plants

By Erin Cox
The Baltimore Sun

JANUARY 6, 2016, 2:34 PM

Maryland's would-be medical marijuana growers face a conundrum known as the "immaculate conception" problem: How do you grow legal marijuana plants when it's a felony to obtain the seeds?

The first step in growing state-sanctioned legal marijuana is to break the law, a paradox that has regulators nationwide looking the other way while growers keep mum about how they start their businesses.

"It's a bizarre little legal problem that no one addresses," said Leah Heise, an attorney and CEO of the national advocacy group Women Grow. "States just turn a blind eye to it, and thus far, the federal government has turned a blind eye to the sprouting up of these plants."

In Maryland and nearly all states that have legalized some use of marijuana, setting up a growing operation involves a state and federal crime. Without exception, moving seeds or young plants — known as clones — across state lines is a felony. Even in states where recreational marijuana is now legal, the medical marijuana plants that fed its precursor industry originally came from illegal sources, industry experts said.

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Read more: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-marijuana-seeds-20170106-story.html

[PoliticAverse]

1. "involves a state and federal crime." - of course it involves a federal crime. marijuna is illegal..

at the federal level. Just because there is no state law against doing something doesn't necessarily make it legal.

Federal law > State law.

[Warren DeMontague]

4. which is why Federal law is going to need to be fixed.

Because as much as authoritarians may want to scream "Federal Law" the fact is there simply aren't the resources, Federally, for enforcement of marijuana laws on the ground in all the states.

And if the Feds push too hard on this deal, it's entirely possible that individual States will go "fuck you" and remove cannabis entirely from their law books, which will mean there is ZERO regulatory or law enforcement involvement at the state level. In short, a weed free for all.

I advise anyone currently experiencing a raging authoritarian hard-on at the thought of some great big federal power stopping 40 million or so people in this country from smoking pot to read this and consider the potential fallout.

http://www.thestranger.com/news/2016/12/21/24755256/one-way-to-protect-washington-states-legal-weed-market-from-trump-burn-it-to-the-ground

[NightWatcher]

2. In related news, I asked my Dr for a Med Cannabis Card when they come out

He said it wouldn't help me because no dispensaries were set up to sell yet and it wouldn't help me. I just chuckled and told him I had that part covered. I expected pushback but might actually get one from him once they start letting Drs hand them out.

A lot of people will operate illegally in the beginning. I hope that the law will allow each medical patient to have 2 oz on them at a time. People will start getting help even before the infrastructure is in place. I'll help those I can, if I can.

The "legal to have but not legal to get" problem will be handled differently by many people. I'll *cough* find a way to survive.

[Warren DeMontague]

6. It's funny how every state that legalizes recreationally, the media acts like this is some shocking

new issue.

"it's legal to smoke but not to buy so where are people gonna get it". Well, for one, News Flash: People have been smoking pot for decades in this country, legal or no. It's coming from somewhere.

Also, this is not a bug but a feature of these recreational laws. It takes time to get the regulatory apparatus up and running, but all the states which passed it in previous years have managed to do so in a timely fashion- some more than others, depending on how respectively recalcitrant their state governments were on the matter.

[stopbush]

3. What does that have to do with the immaculate conception?

The immaculate conception is the Catholic dogma that Mary was born without sin. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the virgin birth of Jesus. Are they saying that the MJ plants are born without sin?

Idiots.

[Warren DeMontague]

5. I thought it was that Jesus was conceived without being party to a sex act, because sex is bad.

Same sort of inane logic that says weed is bad, if you ask me.

[stopbush]

7. Nope. That's not it at all.

It has to do with the conception of Mary:

The Immaculate Conception, according to the teaching of the Catholic Church, is the conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary free from original sin by virtue of the foreseen merits of her son Jesus Christ. The Catholic Church teaches that Mary was conceived by normal biological means in the womb of her mother, Saint Anne, but God acted upon her soul, keeping it "immaculate".

The Immaculate Conception is commonly confused with the Virgin Birth of Jesus. Jesus's birth is covered by the Doctrine of Incarnation, while the Immaculate Conception deals with the conception of Mary, not that of her son.

Although the belief that Mary was sinless, or conceived with an immaculate soul, has been widely held since Late Antiquity, the doctrine was not dogmatically defined until 1854, by Pope Pius IX in his papal bull Ineffabilis Deus.[1] The Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8; in many Catholic countries, it is a holy day of obligation or patronal feast, and in some a national public holiday.[2] - Wikipedia

[Warren DeMontague]

8. Ah, I see.

Makes about as much sense as any of the rest of it, to my mind, meaning none.. but then, that's probably why I'm going to hell in a bucket.

[stopbush]

9. Well, I'm an atheist. We tend to know more about these religious nuances

than do the religious.

[Warren DeMontague]

10. I'm an Atheist, too, at least on some days of the week.

All depends on definitions, of course. Also a Taoist, a Buddhist, a Jew (marginally) a Pastafarian, a Subgenius, a Discordian Pope, etc etc.

and I like to pride myself on being fairly well informed about religious matters but I confess Catholic Doctrine confuses the everlovin' fuck out of me.