The Washington Post underlined their social liberalism on Tuesday by promoting so-called “medical marijuana” in the District of Columbia with a cute headline: “D.C.'s cannabis capitalists prepare for weeding out.” The online headline celebrated "D.C.'s pot pioneers." Reporter Paul Schwartzman's report had zero space for critics of legalized pot, and made no attempt to address the obvious question of whether all this marijuana is “medical,” or is a transparently fraudulent cause for most pot smokers. It began by imagining a McDonald's of marijuana:
Montgomery Blair Sibley might be best known as the lawyer who defended the "D.C. madam," the infamous [and eventually, suicide-embracing] escort service owner who claimed to attend to the needs of Washington's elite.
Sibley has a new focus these days, one that's luring a rabbi, a waitress, a State Department technician and a gaggle of other fledgling entrepreneurs: growing marijuana and selling it to sick people in the nation's capital...
But the District is only part of Sibley's grand plan, which is to turn his growing operation into a national chain as ubiquitous as, say, McDonald's. "I want to be the Ray Kroc of medical marijuana," Sibley said, referring to the man behind the golden arches.
Every new industry is driven by risk-taking pioneers, and it's no different with medical marijuana in the District...
Instead, the Post chronicled the "dreams" of pot enthusiasts for becoming profitable drug pushers, and then returned to Sibley:
Sibley, 54, is a descendant of a long line of American titans, including a great-great-grandfather who was the namesake for Blair House, across from the White House. Another great-great-grandfather founded Western Union. A lawyer for 30 years, Sibley was suspended by the Florida bar in 2008 for failing to pay $100,000 in child support, leaving him with time to pour into his new business.
Seriously? The Post finds its lead heroic character in the Pot Chronicles is depriving his kids, and it only suggests it gives him more free time for his pot dreams? This is turning into big business, and yet there's still no interest in whether all this pot-smoking is "medical" in nature:
As an industry, medical marijuana has exploded since the mid-1990s, with 15 states and the District approving legislation. In 2002, there were 11 dispensaries in the United States, according to Americans for Safe Access. Now there are about 2,000.
Schwartzman concluded by underlining how pushers are out there to "help people," like the rabbi in Takoma Park with the father who had multiple sclerosis, and perhaps Maryland can become "more inviting' for marijuana enthusiasts:
Clayton Williams, 45, an electrician from Baltimore, also sees purpose in growing marijuana for the sick, something he said he has done unofficially in his city. He was ready to apply for a District license - "Congressional Cannabis" was a name he came up with - until he learned at a recent meeting that the city won't accept applications from convicted drug felons. A couple of years ago, he said, Baltimore police arrested him after finding 104 pot plants in his basement.
Still, Williams said he has not lost hope. The District may be off limits, but his home state and others are considering proposals to legalize medical marijuana. If they're more inviting, he said, he's ready to grow.
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