It’s not often when making a prediction you hope you’re wrong, but that’s the case for me today.

My prediction? within the next year or so we will have a medical marijuana dispensary in Fountain Hills.

I realize for some of you this type of establishment may be a welcome sight, but to me this whole Proposition 203 was a joke that only creates more so-called “legitimacy” toward legalizing weed.

It’s one more fuzzy line in the sand that keeps moving toward the message that drugs are OK and should be legalized – thereby saving billions in enforcement costs and opening up the money-generating floodgates for tax revenues.

Since nicotine and alcohol are “legal” drugs, many think marijuana ranks right up there with those types of substances that, really, are no big deal.

Despite scientific and medical research to the contrary, however, these same people see pot as a recreational drug that just mellows people out and makes them better persons in the long run.

But for those who work with drug addicts, nothing could be further from the truth. in fact, something like weed is often just a temporary stepping stone toward more dangerous drugs and a disastrous life of addiction.

The majority of voters might not feel the practical consequences by 2011 or 2012, but this whole Prop 203 thing will come back to bite taxpayers in this state (despite hefty revenue projections) due to enforcement and regulatory consequences and unforeseen consequences.

Proponents say our “system” will be better than those in California and Colorado, but I remain highly skeptical.

The Fountain Hills Town Council will likely lean toward implementing zoning restrictions that are tougher than the prototypes out there – with the noble intent of keeping dispensaries out of here – but I’m not sure if they can be totally successful.

Under the latest proposal, such facilities would have to be located near Colony and Panorama drives in C-3 zoning.

I mean, really, do we need 124 dispensaries spread across the great state of Arizona? there are actually hundreds of thousands of legitimate medical patients clamoring for weed to relieve the pain and suffering?

During the campaign you didn’t hear much about Marinol, did you, the “legal” THC substitute that doctors can prescribe for symptoms such as nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy? you don’t get high from Marinol, so why would you want that when you can get the “real” stuff?

Fountain Hills the past few years has had, I believe, three (maybe four) different smoke shops, but they all eventually went out of business.

There are already plenty of “entrepreneurs” setting up preliminary shop and waiting on the sidelines to issue medical marijuana ID cards and open up dispensaries.

That’s why I have no doubt someone will open up one out here. as with most social trends – one shop alone is no big deal by itself – but the big picture does not bode well.