What Would Pfizer Do?

Another peculiar twist in the new medical marijuana law in Colorado is that it specifies that caregivers must sell their product at cost, although they are allowed to charge a fee for their caregiving service.

So that prompted me to think of how that fits into the world of medicines. What would Pfizer and the other pharmaceutical companies do if a law was passed ordering them to sell their products at cost? No, we and they believe that they have a right to make a profit on their products.

Obviously, then Colorado HB 1284 was not modeled after any other health care legislation.

It's more similar to liquor laws, in that it allows that cities or counties can opt out and declare themselves a dry county or dry town.

But it differs significantly from the liquor model in that it allows one person to own a chain of stores, where the liquor law says a person can only own one store at a time.

Given the new rules laid out in this law, a person would have to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars to open up each dispensary. To own a chain would take millions.

So say goodbye to entrepreneurs becoming small business owners. The green dynamo that was busy creating new jobs here is now grinding to a halt.

By the way, I am not writing this because I am a grower, caregiver or dispensary owner. I am none of these. I am simply an observer of the changes we are going through.

Laws are too frequently fashioned with the help of lobbyists and friends with vested interests.