Backward Federal Law

The rash of robberies targeting Bay Area cannabis dispensaries is no surprise given the cash only nature of the industry, due to backward federal law and the institutional bias against non-pharmaceutical medicine. Decriminalizing marijuana--now recognized as a safe and effective analgesic for arthritis sufferers--is long overdue, evidenced by the majority of states where voters have legalized it.

Tenderloin

Those who remember HBO's The Wire will likely recall the chaos that ensued when a Baltimore police commander created an unofficial 'drug containment zone'. In plain English, that means a neighborhood where criminal dealing of drugs on street corners is given a pass by the police, thereby sacrificing the safety of those who reside in these low income communities of color. For the City of San Francisco to tolerate such a policy in the Tenderloin determines in part the futures of the 3,000 kids who live there.