As editor of PM, I haven’t had a favorite issue of the magazine for quite some time. In my type of work, it doesn’t seem right to favor one issue or even one article over another. They are all excellent in their own way. But I have to admit to having a soft spot for December because its articles are both progressive and traditional.

The cover story on medical marijuana and how its use fits with local government policy is admittedly a forward-looking article. I suspect that some managers might think there are more important issues to deal with right now and pay this article no mind. A time may come, however, when the topic is more pervasive, and the December article will be ready and waiting to be read.

I was told that at this year’s fall conference of the International Municipal Lawyers Association, a session on medical marijuana titled “I’m a Joker, I’m a Smoker, I’m a Midnight Toker”: Islands of Legalization in a Sea of Criminality” was surprisingly well attended. Goes to show that other professions are paying attention to the emerging impact of this issue. I invite you to post your thoughts about December’s PM article and offer your opinion as to whether it is time to think about getting local policies into place.

In the next five years, I venture to say that managers will be addressing this issue just as much as they perhaps currently address on-the-job use of other types of pain killers and over-the-counter drugs, or even with other medicines associated with such chronic diseases as diabetes or asthma, which can cause issues for employees and thus, managers and supervisors, too.

Under the right circumstances, another December article titled “Doing the Right Thing” could bring a tear to a management eye. It describes how a local government helped two families keep their homes together after the ground around the homes gave way. Even when the local government wasn’t legally obligated to help the families, it turned a bad situation into something good. Isn’t that what local government management is all about: making sure residents have a safe and enjoyable place to call home?

I hope you find these and other articles in the issue valuable and worth commenting on with your colleagues. We’d love to hear from you in this blog space!