Marijuana stems to seediness

Legalized medicinal marijuana was a grand experiment. I voted for it. If it had been successful, other states and probably the federal government would have followed California’s lead. It has failed. I again witnessed its failure in Lower Scholl Park. Realizing that the city’s Parks and Recreations Department can no longer properly maintain parks without volunteer help, I have begun a modest routine of picking up trash two days a week at Lower Scholl.

This Tuesday morning my dog and I found a pile of trash at an isolated corner of the park. It hadn’t been there when I made a sweep through this corner the previous Friday. First, I saw a cigarette butt discarded in leaves at the base of a brush-covered slope. Second, there was a small container labeled “Medicinal Cannabis.” I have encountered a number of these containers at the park in recent weeks.

I assume that those who left this mess were younger people who had taken advantage of the secluded place to consume marijuana they had purchased legally at a dispensary. I’m sure these persons are a lot healthier than the 76-year-old man (me) who cleaned up their mess. But if they continue the lifestyle indicated by their leavings at the park, they likely won’t reach 76.

The real problem with medicinal marijuana is the societal dysfunction it breeds. Those who use medicinal cannabis often either desecrate the secluded parts of our parks or gravitate to the seedy parts of our cities and make those places even seedier.

It is time we in California ended our defiance of the federal law that prohibits the production and sale of marijuana.

Gerry Rankin
Glendale