Can't Let Retailers Make Money Off Sick People

California Attorney General Jerry Brown, taking a cue from Boston Mayor Thomas Menino (who has resisted medical clinics in drugstores because "allowing retailers to make money off of sick people is wrong"), has decreed that all medical marijuana dispensaries in the state must henceforth operate on a nonprofit basis. Brown hopes his guidelines, which were welcomed by some California activists, will encourage the Drug Enforcement Administration to "back off." But the Marijuana Policy Project's Bruce Mirken observes, "The last I heard, Walgreens isn't a charity." Tell it to Menino.

The Los Angeles Times reports that medical marijuana prices will be "limited to covering overhead and operating expenses." Since operating expenses presumably include paying managers and other employees, that seems to leave some wiggle room.

A few weeks ago I criticized the federal prosecution of Charlie Lynch, a Morro Bay dispensary operator who did well by doing good. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Wait. I guess there is.