I love activism. I love activists. I love people coming together for the common cause, but I could really give a shit about the egos that often go with the game of who's who. I have been doing some work in the development of a San Francisco Task Force for medical cannabis and the ego of some of the participants is troubling. We often lose sight of a collective message and give up a unified front because of the personal ambitions and unsavory backlash created by people who have no interest in advancing any cause but their own. The San Francisco scene is shattered and it is the wants of a few that have trampled over the needs of the many.

 

I am amazed that the birthplace of medical cannabis has been left for the dogs, as SF has a rich history of coordinated and well-executed activism. Too often one group decides to make a splash in the news by pulling a harebrained stunt and the rest of the community is forced to sit back and watch as there is no real coordination or strategy. These events are sparsely attended by SF standards, as you can get people to protest pink underwear in San Francisco and draw a far larger crowd than we continually see at these events. But why? 

 

Ego is an evil beast and some community leaders have bad habits of pushing their agenda on the community in the name of the movement. All too often other groups or people who express concerns are bullied and bantered into forgetting principle and allowing this madness to continue. Although there is a large collection of wise people and motivated activists in the city, it seems as if it has become easier to not speak up than to be accused of abusing the poor and not caring about patients. Put that drivel to rest. 

 

We are one movement. motivated by a common cause. If we continue to surrender our political capitol to an unqualified minority and continue to let frustration splinter our existence, we will continue to see the degradation of ideals, both at a governmental level and in public perception. As we speak, there is the formation of a task force set on influencing local regulation and legislation. In these meetings there is no clear representation of an entire community, yet there is a not-so-hostile takeover happening where dispensary operators are circling the wagons to protect their own interests. There is no clear representation of the providers, the cultivators, the producers and processors of medicine at the table. The tens of thousands of patients are represented by a handful of patient advocacy groups, and the vote of the dispensing collectives outweigh the patient and provider vote by a substantial margin. If we just want to let the collective operators make the rules and laws that govern the entire spectrum of the movement then why not just vote them onto the board of supervisors?

 

I ask a provider in say Mendocino, whom deals directly with several dispensing collectives in the city, do YOU want your operations to be regulated by a handful of people of whom you depend on a fair playing field to get the best price for your hard earned crop? Do you think that the people who set the price for patients should be allowed to dictate the very fabric of that relationship? Do we believe in checks and balances in our own movement and do we see it necessary to have all spectrums find a seat at the table?

 

But the ego is an untamable beast and if you saw the passion and ignorance by which many collective operators attempted to defend their turf, you would ask, "What are you so afraid of?" If you saw the unsavory manipulation of the proxy vote system being suggested you would laugh. As a group who is so threatened by people that are not San Franciscans discussing policy in San Francisco, they sure do depend on people outside of their city to provide safe and quality medicine for their patients. I wonder what would happen if everyone decided to take their medicines elsewhere. Who would suffer then? The underrepresented patient is who. 

 

All too often organizations base their right to operate on the backs of the patients and all too often patient advocacy organizations are in the pocket of the collectives and really do not defend the rights of the patient at all. There are blurry lines all over and we will wake up one day to find that this lack of clarity has resulted in a less than stellar result. We are all dependent upon one another to exist. Without a patient there is no collective, and without quality medicine there is no patient, and without a collective there is no safe and communal access for the patients. Why can't we all just get along?

 

I reflect on my experiences in the city and often wonder what has happened. From the days of the Rosenthal trial to now there has been a great shift in momentum. What was once the epicenter of medical cannabis political activism is now a fragmented and bitter reality. I hope that there is a way to find solace in the community, but it I will take a greater understanding than I see now to make this happen. I say leave the ego at the door and find a way to work more in harmony. What happens in SF has the ability to affect patient and provider rights throughout the state, the nation, and the world. Begin to act as the beacon of light that this community once was. Continuing in the same volatile manner as been seen in recent past is just not an option.