Because of a number of facets and institutions in our culture, among which are "immediate gratification", post 911 fear (yes Virginia 911 was very successful) , nanny state needs, dumbing down of the culture, etc., etc., we use technology (primatily IT systems) to help implement the seeming helpful laws and subsequent regulation and implementation. The IT industry flourshes accordingly, an example is Oracle (watch their BILLION $$$ Americas Cup entries starting late this spring). Lets take medical MJ......and I offer a quote from the Denver Post page as a foundation for this little ditty:
"The technology was supposed to efficiently track medical marijuana from seed to sale — the catch-phrase that came to define Colorado's efforts to regulate what had been an outlaw business. Field investigators could walk into any dispensary or grow operation and with a digital reader instantly collect data from tags attached to everything from newly potted plants to pot-infused lol lipops.In July 2011, the state Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division signed a $636,000 contract with a Florida company to build the system using Radio Frequency Identification, or RFID, technology.
About nine months later, the project was shelved because of a budget shortfall — just one unfulfilled promise in a regulatory system often held up as a national model and serving as the foundation for how the state will regulate recreational pot legalized by Amendment 64 last fall."
Read more: Medical marijuana dispensaries: High-tech tracking system unfulfilled - The Denver Post
http://www.denverpost.com/news/marijuan ... z2OUq6HWca
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Being one of those IT geeks, the rule is that you hook the fish up front and via change orders or other unknowns not defined in the solicitation spec a $100,000 project will eventually come in at 10 times the initial estimate.
This is just the tip of the berg in this small regulatory/implementation program....we the taxpayers certainly cannot afford state or local clerks to implemrnt at, at least $100,000 a year with full benefits for each clerk...hundreds would be needed without IT tools......and warehouses of documents. The IT tools are also very expensive. Hopefully our elected representatives and TABOR will stop the silliness.
With few resources what will we do also about recreational pot and the very intrusive gun laws (especially background checks for sales between individuals and tracking magazines) ?? Once the clerks get the laws in hand they will develop the regulations and implementation systems.........watch out your wallet. A favorite CYA used by locals is to ask WDC for funds to pay for the regulations and implementation.....that way local clerks and pols can make massive mistakes and we the people will not see the incompetence.
Laws which require implementation such as POT and guns as examples follow a classic systems development model, well known to many engineers and math types:
CONCEPT - DESIGN - BUILD - DEPLOY- OPERATIONS
The political process only addresses the CONCEPT phase (laws)
the easy part. The other four phases are where most well intentioned CONCEPTS (LAWS) FAIL......and fail often. But the politicians who have a vested interest in the CONCEPT rarely take responsibility for the disasters that happen frequently. IF there are criminal penalties involved the costs are exceptionally high as enforcers, courts, judges, jailers, parole officers, intervention facilites add to a staggering cost.....which have very little inpact on the initial need to control and regulate rather mundane activities of citizens.
The attempt to regulate medical pot seems to be coming apart and thank goodness after over 100 years adultry and underlying (pardon the pun)room rental are no longer criminal activities in that the Gov just signed laws to repeal those laws. We have an opportunity to not saddle the people of CO with massive costs by minimal regulation of both pot and guns. OR it will fail.......again.
