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Comment by cma | Hacker News Reader

> cannabis dispensaries

I’ve never seen a cannabis dispensary where masses of people crowd together and sing spittle into each other’s faces.

Surely when looking at same treatment, you have to consider the differences in exposure. Plus church can feasibly be done remotely, where cannabis dispensing involves some physical transfer (could be mandated to be delivery though, and no singing and reduced capacity could be mandated for church gatherings).

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Cannabis dispensaries are currently closed except for medical patients (I know, but if a doctor has written a prescription it is hard for the government to say no), and then only for curbside pickup. See here for example: https://www.airfieldsupplyco.com/mmj-recommendations

So churches clearly have more access these days which makes that argument silly.

The dispensary near me (Bay Area) has been open for non-medical non-pickup purchases for weeks. There's a translucent divider and a folding table in front of the counter to create distance, and the iPad menus are gone, but aside from that it seems like business as usual.

Really? Not the ones close to me, but I did not go out of my way to check recently. That does not seem to be essential businesses in my book, or more so than churches assuming proper social distancing rules.

To be fair my sample size is only two (2) establishments :)

> Cannabis dispensaries are currently closed except for medical patients

This is not true for San Diego county.

You can't go and browse, but both medical and recreational users can order online and pick it up or have it delivered.

There are (or 'were', at the moment) plenty of dispensaries with smoking rooms in the back full of people exhaling their droplets.

The were part is the key here, currently churches have more opportunity to be open (at least in bay area), so that part does not make sense.

If one type of church can be open then why not the other? I acknowledge the risk and wouldn't attend either, but the double standard seems apparent to me.

It isn’t about anyone’s individual risk, but the risk to the entire community, including nonmembers.

I think the isolation is a risk to the community too. We have to allow people some social contact.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/05/26/americans-w...

Cannabis is not in any way a church or recognized as a sincere held religious belief by the supreme court I believe if that is what you mean.

Nope, they don't recognize it as anything except a Schedule 1 substance. That's why it's weird that the weed shops are open but we're in here arguing about how those silly religious people should stay home.

As for the religion of cannabis, there's community, shared culture, ritual consumption of a specially-prepared substance, believers say how much it improves their life, etc. I even used to buy weed from here: http://coachellavalley.church/

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