I can see it now….Montel gets raided by the DEA and Geraldo is in tow with a whole film crew to cover it. It is interesting when celebrities venture off the beaten path into the cannabis production realm of the game. I think it is great PR and on paper, probably seems like a good deal, but it begs to question why a man with so much to lose would want to gamble on Eric Holder’s wishy-washy promises and Oakland’s misguided ordinance. But hey….stranger things have happened. The entire movement is becoming a surreal picture of bright eyed and bushy tailed go-getters. Where were all of these people when Bush was in office. I mean c’mon Montell- would’ve been nice to hear from you while armed agents were storming my house and rifling through my wife’s underwear because I made food-based medicines for patients like you. Why now? Nothing has changed from a legal perspective. You can still go to prison…..even for research. Don’t get me wrong- I appreciate the interest from a big time TV star personality like yourself. I read your book and your story touched me. Maybe you have the best intentions. Truth be told, I wish you all of the luck in the world, because it is hard for the DEA to justify busting the rest of us who have been on the front lines for many years. If you want to use your celebrity for something how about starting with the US Pardon Attorney and get all of the people who are doing years in prisons and living their lives as convicted felons clemency for doing what it is you are trying to do right now. That would be sweet….Let me know if you need a hand hanging the lights in the new place if it works out….
Montel Williams stops by to talk about medical pot
By Angela Woodall
Oakland Tribune
OAKLAND — Emmy award-winning former talk show host Montel Williams was in town Tuesday for a second time seeking information about opening a medical cannabis facility here.
He met with Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan, who said Williams was interested in applying for one of the city’s pot permits to grow refined strains of medical cannabis that he uses to treat the symptoms of multiple sclerosis. He was diagnosed with the disease in 1999. He has since become a vocal proponent of medical marijuana.
Williams did not respond to requests for comment. But in 2004, he promoted the benefits of medical cannabis on his popular “Montel Williams Show.”
He has said that medical marijuana has been more effective in treating the pain, depression and sleep disorders caused by the life-threatening, degenerative disease than pharmaceutical drugs prescribed to him.
Kaplan said that Williams visited in May and again Tuesday because he wants to open a facility to produce and research specific strains of medical cannabis.
Williams told CNN in 2009 that he has a medical marijuana ID card in two states. He has also publicly supported a recent bid to make medical marijuana legal to patients in New York, where he lives with his family. The New York bill would also put the distribution in the hands of pharmacies and define the ailments for which cannabis can be prescribed more narrowly than California laws.
Williams’ talk show ended in 2009. He
ounded the Living Well with Montel Health Association and Montel Williams MS Foundation. He became a spokesman for the pharmaceutical industry sponsored Partnership for Prescription Assistance, which helps low-income patients apply for free or reduced-priced prescription drugs.
His plans for the facility are indefinite in part because Oakland has yet to finalize plans to issue permits for growing medical marijuana, Kaplan said.
“But Oakland is definitely his first choice,” she said.
The City Council approved large-scale facilities last month but details are still being worked out, including permits for small- and medium-size growers.
Source: http://www.insidebayarea.com/news/ci_15843749