Commentary

Funding Obamacare PR Campaign, Legalizing Pot and Public Access

By Neil Rubenstein

Observer Columninst

The farmers of northern Morocco are looking forward to the day when their legislators legalize the growing of marijuana. Their government would buy the crop and export for such products as textiles and medicines. The ruling party seeks to enact the bill within three years, with hopes it will lift the people out of poverty. Perhaps Governor Brown should send a group to Africa to "learn the business" and get taxes from the profits generated here in the Golden State.

For those who have or presently smoke tobacco, help is on the way. Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic are developing a breath test with 80% accuracy in detecting lung cancer.

And for those of us who enjoy coffee, be it hot or cold and any time of the day or night, life is good. The price of beans has dropped 60% in the past two years. Recently a pound of coffee futures was $1.16. Brazil may buy beans from its farmers to try to stabilize the price, so buy your favorite coffee now and tuck it away.

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Just say it isn't so . . . Sacramento has grants totaling $37 million for an Obamacare PR campaign. What a waste of our money.

From the Twenty Questions Medical File, what costs $8,882 in Argentina, $14,117 in China, $17,437 in Spain, $43,230 in Australia and $73,420 in the United States? It's a bypass. In India an artery-clearing coronary bypass is $1,555. The same procedure costs $106,385 at the Cleveland Clinic. Amazing.

Attention City Council members!!! 51 cities throughout our country as well as 10 states have passed legislation prohibiting city/state contractors from ever inquiring about job applicants' criminal histories. Many have paid their debt to society and when they couldn't get a job, resorted to criminal activity. This would prevent background checks.

And from Sacramento . . . In last month's executive board meeting of the California Democratic Party, policies were voted on in support of making pot legal.

Can someone call the mayor of Downey, Mario Guerra, about the ordinance to make it easier to offer incentives to attract firms? Downey could also give financial benefits to businesses in the form of grants, fee waivers, payments of insurance premiums or other means. Jobs, jobs, jobs is the name of the game.

Uruguay could soon become the first South American country to legalize marijuana. New approaches to what has become a "failed war on drugs" will use the money from the regulation bill to focus on public health and safety.

Judge Chalfant ruled recently that teachers' performance scores were available to the public under the California Public Records Act. The teachers, their union (United Teachers of Los Angeles) and Los Angeles Unified School District felt this was confidential personnel information that, if released, would create embarrassment and difficulty in recruiting teachers, but the judge ruled differently.