Well, well, well. Public Servants of San Francisco, in uniform, in public -- once again, caught being mean spirited and disrespectful of another medical cannabis patient.
A well known and respected Elder and Candidate for Mayor at that who is a licensed Attorney and Barrister (United Kingdom)
This afternoon, the honorable potential Mayoral Candidate Attorney-Barrister Karla Gottschalk (aka nickname Belle Star) went down to The Elections Office at City Hall to file Election 2015 related documents and turn in signatures collected.
On the way into city hall, other residents cheered her on outside and she was happy and a bit anxious to be in the running.
As a medical cannabis patient, she uses cannabis for anxiety and stress, so she paused outside to medicate and relax before going into City Hall.
In fact, we recall when hundreds of cannabis patients of all ages would be cruising in and out of city hall to attend our former Medical Cannabis Task Force Meetings.
Historical Note: The SF MCTF went down in flames due to bad influences of big money interests trying to tax, fine, fee, burden, exploit and destroy our individual and collective rights to access cannabis freely, at cost no matter what others do.
Scores of patients and advocates went to City Hallon a regular basis to represent the hundreds of thousands of cannabis patients here and all over northern california that come and go here, for generations.
So, check this out. She goes in and one deputy (at security checkpoint) makes a 'big deal' because she smelled like cannabis and started some ridiculous 'law and order' crap and then other deputies joined in - making exaggerated, rude, demeaning remarks drawing lots of attention to her which causes harm. It makes her feel more anxiety and stress for being singled out for harassment by the deputies.
By contrast, my peers and I have gone through the checkpoints recently and in larger groups way back when we attended regular Task Force meetings.
We recall those Deputies (a few years ago) being a lot more adult, human, discreet and kind whenever we passed through their security checkpoint. They were 'mature' about cannabis or smells of cannabis. No big deal. We never felt 'weird' or experienced being treated 'different;y' or negatively by deputies in the past. They treated us with full dignity and respect.
So, what's up with these adolescent, out of touch with 2015, make a big deal out of nothing, disrespectful types of deputies who think they are Superior to a 'pot smoker' or user of cannabis and 'get highly offended' like a New York Dandy about the smell of cannabis ?
We don't know but we don't Deputies on payroll who are any but 100% Mature, Discreet & Professional when dealing with any resident, elder, disabled person or cannabis patient AND give be MORE professional and polite to folks running for office because the last thing they need is some 'acting out' and judgemental bias in public by pubic servants whose salaries are paid for by our taxes.
We want mature, professional adults in uniform with guns, not rude, out of control, condescending egotists which is what was witnessed here at City Hall today.
If those Deputies wish to Explain themselves publicly, they are free to post their comments below, if they have the backbone and stomach to be 'honest' about why they mistreat folks using cannabis 'differently' and 'negatively' as their conduct and speech bears out in this incident.
If Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi or a Chief of Deputies wishes to explain 'policy of deputy conduct' to do with the general public or specifically 'cannabis patients' who come to City Hall is, that would be even better.
Bottom Line is that Cannabis Is Medicine and We Are Patients using cannabis instead of Big Pharma, Narcotics and Alcohol.
If Deputies and Society & Media keep treating us wrongly and making such a big deal out of a plant from nature that causes no harm and heals, then perhaps there's a bigger message they're sending us. Statistics say Seven out of Ten Americans abuse or use narcotics and big pharma drugs, which include folks who are public servants as well as all our other residents.
So, in essence, folks who abuse power, liquor, pharma and narcotics want us to Join Them.
Maybe they demonize Cannabis because consciously or subconsciously they want us to Stop Using Cannabis and go spend $500 a month on Big Pharma, Narcotics and Liquor which we know causes violence, increased costs and loss of life for us all.
No thanks. We'll stick to reducing stress, living longer and thinking more by continuing our 10,000+ year old tradition and natural right to keep using cannabis freely and at cost and reject efforts to keep us down another 80+ years by intimidation, public ridicule and incentives to exploit cannabis for mega profits or get trapped into man made drugs, liquor and big pharma crap that harms us all.
s/J.Leonard, Co-Founder SF Cannabis Patients' Union
P.S. KUDOS to SFPD Mission Station Officer Petuya who stopped by on his Walking Beat to exchange apologies of sorts between himself, Karla Gottschalk (the mayoral candidate/cannabis patient in this story) and myself about Sit-Lie and Cannabis Issues.
Open, honest conflict often leads to better understanding amongst our perceived adversaries and less division between 'groups' being pitted against each in other in intolerant or negative ways (i.g. the story above).
