Readers support changes to laws regarding Cannabis sativa

The results of last week’s poll are interesting.

Q: What are you thoughts on Cannabis sativa? (Pick up to three)

1. Industrial hemp is not a drug and farmers should be allowed to grow the crop 97 [24.49%]
2. Possession should be decriminalized 96 [24.24%]
3. Medical marijuana should be legalized in Missouri 74 [18.69%]
4. Possession of small quantities should be decriminalized 48 [12.12%]
5. The “medical” need is abused where allowed 38 [9.6%]
6. The drug is bad and possession should remain illegal 18 [4.55%]
7. Other answer… 16 [4.04%]
8. If industrial hemp is allowed it would be used to hide the growing of the drug 9 [2.27%]

Note that people could select up to three answers. Thankfully the ‘industrial hemp is not a drug’ answer got the most votes.  But it is also clear many of the readers that voted in the poll favor some form of decriminalization.

The “other” answers were:

1. It should be legalized and taxed.
2. it doesnt do as much damage as liquor so i dont see why its not legal already.
3. don’t care
4. This seems off topic
5. Legalize It!
6. Marijuana should be 100% completely legal!
7. Full legalization
8. Full legalization for all purposes
9. It’s a slippery slope but some new options should be investigated.
10. Legalize it!
11. It should be treated like alcohol
12. Full Legalization – How whiskey is legal but weed isn’t speaks of our hypoc
13. Marijuana should be legalized and taxed.
14. Legalize all uses
15. legalize it! and i don’t even smoke!
16. use taxes from its’ sale to finance states that are bankrupt.

As attitudes about Cannabis and the drug marijuana relax, cities will need polices to deal with the change.  The next ten years will be interesting as the laws change.

– Steve Patterson

Poll: Cannabis sativa, medical marijuana and cities

I’ve inhaled once, the year was 2005 and I was 38 at the time (There Is A First Time For Everything). I was with three friends, all very responsible adults, and I was curious.  I see marijuana as less destructive than alcohol or tobacco.

DENVER — Medical marijuana dispensaries are springing up in Colorado’s major cities like coffee shops, nail parlors, tanning salons or taco shops.

It’s been 10 years since Colorado voted to allow the use and sale of marijuana for medical reasons. But in the past six months, the number of patients and dispensaries has skyrocketed.  (USA Today)

I should note that a friend, who is a doctor, sent me studies showing connections to cancer.  I don’t doubt the connection.  She questions the need for many that have prescriptions, where legal. As states begin to legalize medical marijuana the cities in those states are faced with policy issues about dispensaries.

OAKLAND, Calif. – Like hip-hop, health food and snowboarding, marijuana is going corporate.

As more and more states allow medical use of the drug, and California considers outright legalization, marijuana’s supporters are pushing hard to burnish the image of pot by franchising dispensaries and building brands; establishing consulting, lobbying and law firms; setting up trade shows and a seminar circuit; and constructing a range of other marijuana-related businesses.  (NY Times)

Cannabis sativa is often misunderstood:

Cannabis sativa is an annual plant in the Cannabaceae family. It is a herb that has been used throughout recorded history by humans as a source of fiber, for its seed oil, as food (see hemp), as a drug (see cannabis (drug)), as medicine (see medical cannabis), and for spiritual purposes (see spiritual use of cannabis). Each part of the plant is harvested differently, depending on the purpose of its use.

While hemp is not a drug, growing it is illegal.  Environmentally friendly hemp products are imported or hemp material is imported so products can be made.Federal lawmakers need to allow farmers to grow industrial hemp.

The poll this week is designed to get your thoughts on Cannabis sativa.  I hope I have a good variety of answers.  This week I’m testing the ability for you to select up to three answers.

– Steve Patterson

President Casino license to proposed gaming facility along the River Des Peres?

Pinnacle recently agreed to close the President Casino on the St. Louis riverfront and local officials are scrambling to keep the license within the City of St. Louis.

“On Thursday, the Missouri Gaming Commission staff announced it wants to hear by May 1 from casino companies and political jurisdictions interested in the license, which will become available this summer when Pinnacle Entertainment plans to shut down the President Casino downtown.” (St. Louis pursues casino license)

Last month Pinnacle’s River City Casino opened in South County where the River Des Peres meets the Mississippi River so others are now looking up the River Des Peres for a new casino site. I’ve got word that today, April 1, a casino operator will announce plans for a casino complex near Gravois & the River Des Peres.

Do we have any casinos remaining that are located in actual boats?

– Steve Patterson

Mapping Loop & Cherokee restaurant districts

I’ve long been a fan of UrbanSpoon.com and their iPhone app for finding restaurants. Listings are based on location and when you find a place it shows you others nearby. I’ve rated over 125 restaurants and added 14.  I’ve got a very long wish list of restaurants to try. Other sites like Yelp exist but I really like UrbanSpoon.

But one thing really bugged me – how they grouped the restaurants.  Restaurants on Cherokee near Jefferson were grouped in “South Grand” and Pi on Delmar in St. Louis was in “University City.”  Trying to see a list of restaurants in either area was impossible because they were mixed with others.  But now it has changed.

Delmar Loop is now it’s own area as is Cherokee:

This change came about because I contacted them and worked with their mapping software to create these two areas.

– Steve Patterson

Next deadline on Edward Jones Dome quickly approaching

Last week the agreement to sell the St. Louis Rams to Urbana, IL businessman Shahid Khan was announced in the news:

“The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the team’s owners, Chip Rosenbloom and Lucia Rodriguez, have agreed to sell the team to Illinois businessman Shahid Khan.” (USAToday)

Any sale must be approved by the NFL.  If the sale goes through it would very likely mean the Rams would not be leaving the St. Louis area.  But sale or not, the requirements of the lease remain in place:

“The next scheduled deadline for first-tier status is March 1, 2015. But the process that could lead to the Rams getting out of the lease and potentially relocating starts much sooner – in just 2 1/2 years.

On or before Feb. 1, 2012, the CVC must deliver a preliminary plan for first-tier improvements. The overall plan must include a financial plan, as well as the source of those funds.

The Rams then have until March 1, 2012, to notify the CVC if they approve or disapprove of those plans.

At that point, the Rams have until May 1, 2012, to submit an alternate plan, with the CVC then given until June 1, 2012, to accept or reject the Rams’ alternate plan.

If the CVC rejects the Rams’ alternate plan, the matter goes to arbitration on June 15, 2012. The arbitration must be completed by the end of 2012.

If no agreement is reached, the stadium lease would then convert to a year-to-year lease, with the Rams free to move after the 2014 season.”  (Source: ballparks.com)

So the CVC now has less than two years to put together a plan to satisfy the requirement that the dome be among the top 25% in the NFL.  We don’t yet know how much money is required, or where it would come from.  I’m sure the CVC folks are already sweating bullets thinking about it.  If the CVC meets the lease requirements then the Rams will be obligated through 2024.  At that point the dome will be more than 30 years old and the lease will terminate.

Assuming we get past this next deadline, I think we will hear talk around 2018-2020 about a new facility.  The poll this week asks where you think a new facility should be located.  I think any future facility should not be located downtown.  Baseball works well in an urban context — there are many more home games, the required facility is smaller, and baseball stadiums are more visually open. Football stadiums belong outside of an walkable urban context: suburbia basically.

By 2012 we may be asked to fund improvements to the Edward Jones Dome. If we are going to come up with additional money I want that money to go for a new facility outside of downtown. Put it next to MetroLink in Illinois or on the site of the former Chrysler plant on I-44.

– Steve Patterson