The border, where medicinal marijuana seeps over the line.
Posted by December | Posted in MEDICINAL CANNABIS, MISC. | Posted on 30-09-2009
Tags: Dispenary, medicinal, MEDICINAL CANNABIS, MISC., pot, THC
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With the passing of Proposition 215 the medicinal marijuana industry has grown to staggering heights, leading a revolution meant to accommodate the ever growing masses of critically ill patients. California started the trend in 1996, followed by a slew of states that crafted their laws based on the success and failure of that first and most forward-thinking state. Living in a place where medicinal marijuana is legal, under state law, has been a blessing to my family and many others in my community, but living near the border of one of the strictest and profoundly old-fashioned states, has made for an interesting dissection of culture.
Fort Collins, Colorado has long been hailed one of the best places in the entire country to live. It has also become well-known for being a great place to raise a family, go to school, and rock climb but Fort Collins has also become well-known as one of the best places in the country to obtain Organically Grown Medical grade Marijuana. Dispensaries around the state have started popping up, in order to provide a location for Medical Marijuana patients who need the medicine but are unable to grow their own.
In Fort Collins you can walk into the store and buy pot from the shelf like any other commodity, but a short 40 miles North finds you in Cheyenne Wyoming, where you can purchase a trunk-full of explosives (that are illegal in Colorado) but any amount of marijuana will get you 90 days in the county jail, and a $1000.00 fine. Wyoming, while their stance on fireworks remains relatively loose, the use of marijuana in the state remains illegal.
As a medicinal marijuana advocate I carry with me a certain responsibility to educate people. Yesterday, when a retirement party 
took me to Wheatland Wyoming, I found myself intensely debating the medical use of marijuana. Knowing that my legal rights for medicinal use end at the Colorado state border, I hadn’t prepared for what happened next. An elderly man sat on the edge of the patio. His face weathered from years of hard work, but a pleasant smile that made me think he had significant love for his grandchildren. He wore a POW hat pulled deep onto his head, as if he had not taken it off since he came home from the Vietnam War. He spoke quietly about the things he had seen there, the devastation of the lives of the men involved . We sat in rapt attention as he told stories of drug abuse in the jungle, and how many of his friends had become addicted to heroin. When he overheard the heated discussion on medicinal marijuana, his ears perked and he sat forward in his chair.
Whenever you are in a situation with a group of people you hardly know, a dance must be done to in order to gauge your surroundings. When discussing all hot topic issues be it abortion, gay rights, or socialized health care, Tact is your most faithful friend. We all sat listening to his stories, the children playing idly in the yard. The man who had spent much of his life fighting for mine and the same man who proudly wore the hat that said he had been there and that he had seen the war first hand and ultimately that he deserved respect, dug into his trouser pockets and produced a fully loaded chillum.
“Anyone still partake?” He said over the rim of his glasses as the five of us sat in silence. No one moved. No one went to grab the pipe out of this man’s hand and no one said a word for a moment. As a Colorado Resident, hell bent on protecting my medical status from the eyes and ears of people that needn’t be aware, I found myself smiling. I thanked him for the offer, but declined his offer of medication kindly.
I know that marijuana has touched all walks of life, but this was a first. He went on to explain the use of narcotics in his life and what medications were prescribed for the pain he endures daily. Percocet, Vicodin, Morphine, I cringe with the last one knowing morphine is as addictive as heroin and most doctors prescribe it like candy. No one takes his offer, after all, marijuana is a crime in the state of Wyoming and even at a backyard barbecue the majority of us still aren’t willing to break the law. The man medicates himself in front of the crowd, with a quiet click of a lighter, the slow inhalation of a deep but untroubled breath and the release of the smoke into the sky. He does not get up from his chair, but sits quietly sipping pink lemonade from a giant cooler perched nearby. I watch as he relaxes comfortably back into his chair. Marijuana is illegal in the state of Wyoming, and many others, yet there is no moral urging to stop this man from doing the one thing that makes him feel better, legality aside.
The question as to why Medical Marijuana is so beneficial to some can be answered in this one simple interaction. When pain becomes a constant in your life, be it because you spent your youth fighting wars on our behalf or are diagnosed with a painful disease, pain relief is necessary to live your life. Doctors will prescribe pills, patches, shots and serums to help with your pain and at the expense of more side-effects.
The problems within mainstream medication doesn’t end with the addictive qualities of opiates, but in the inability to control your dose. Marijuana is (usually)inhaled and the pain relieving effects are felt within minutes. When you take a pill, you must take the entire pill and wait half an hour or so for it to kick in. Pain relief with marijuana is faster and can be readily regulated to avoid taking more medication than needed. No pill can do that for you.
The ride home was quiet, a somber atmosphere and an unspoken urge to help. I sighed as I crossed the state border, back to Colorful Colorado. My home, where sick people who need pain relief can medicate to their liking. Where people with crippling arthritis can be prescribed a non-invasive anti-inflammatory agent, without losing the ability to play with their grandchildren and love their spouse. A place where the growth and cultivation of medical grade pot, is accepted and encouraged.
Colorado is a progressive state, and the residents here welcome the ever-changing landscape in this garden of green. The legalization of Medical Marijuana in Colorado has affected thousands of people. Almost 7,000 people are currently on the registry with the number growing steadily. Those numbers according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s website:
altogether. Unfortunately, not every state is interested in changing a long-held opinion against the weed that was once grown on the grounds of the White House by none other than Major General George Washington, who in a letter to his farmers said “Make the most you can of the Indian Hemp Seed. Sow it everywhere.”
The battle lines have been drawn, Pro-Pot Supporters will give you a hundred reasons why legalizing marijuana is good for the economy and the people in it. Anti-Pot Supporters will also give you a hundred reasons why legalization should be thwarted altogether. Whatever line you stand on, whichever flag you wave, Do everyone a favor and educate yourself on the facts. Ask questions, explore the facts for yourself and keep an open mind.
took me to Wheatland Wyoming, I found myself intensely debating the medical use of marijuana. Knowing that my legal rights for medicinal use end at the Colorado state border, I hadn’t prepared for what happened next. An elderly man sat on the edge of the patio. His face weathered from years of hard work, but a pleasant smile that made me think he had significant love for his grandchildren. He wore a POW hat pulled deep onto his head, as if he had not taken it off since he came home from the Vietnam War. He spoke quietly about the things he had seen there, the devastation of the lives of the men involved . We sat in rapt attention as he told stories of drug abuse in the jungle, and how many of his friends had become addicted to heroin. When he overheard the heated discussion on medicinal marijuana, his ears perked and he sat forward in his chair.
Whenever you are in a situation with a group of people you hardly know, a dance must be done to in order to gauge your surroundings. When discussing all hot topic issues be it abortion, gay rights, or socialized health care, Tact is your most faithful friend. We all sat listening to his stories, the children playing idly in the yard. The man who had spent much of his life fighting for mine and the same man who proudly wore the hat that said he had been there and that he had seen the war first hand and ultimately that he deserved respect, dug into his trouser pockets and produced a fully loaded chillum.
“Anyone still partake?” He said over the rim of his glasses as the five of us sat in silence. No one moved. No one went to grab the pipe out of this man’s hand and no one said a word for a moment. As a Colorado Resident, hell bent on protecting my medical status from the eyes and ears of people that needn’t be aware, I found myself smiling. I thanked him for the offer, but declined his offer of medication kindly.
I know that marijuana has touched all walks of life, but this was a first. He went on to explain the use of narcotics in his life and what medications were prescribed for the pain he endures daily. Percocet, Vicodin, Morphine, I cringe with the last one knowing morphine is as addictive as heroin and most doctors prescribe it like candy. No one takes his offer, after all, marijuana is a crime in the state of Wyoming and even at a backyard barbecue the majority of us still aren’t willing to break the law. The man medicates himself in front of the crowd, with a quiet click of a lighter, the slow inhalation of a deep but untroubled breath and the release of the smoke into the sky. He does not get up from his chair, but sits quietly sipping pink lemonade from a giant cooler perched nearby. I watch as he relaxes comfortably back into his chair. Marijuana is illegal in the state of Wyoming, and many others, yet there is no moral urging to stop this man from doing the one thing that makes him feel better, legality aside.
The question as to why Medical Marijuana is so beneficial to some can be answered in this one simple interaction. When pain becomes a constant in your life, be it because you spent your youth fighting wars on our behalf or are diagnosed with a painful disease, pain relief is necessary to live your life. Doctors will prescribe pills, patches, shots and serums to help with your pain and at the expense of more side-effects.
The problems within mainstream medication doesn’t end with the addictive qualities of opiates, but in the inability to control your dose. Marijuana is (usually)inhaled and the pain relieving effects are felt within minutes. When you take a pill, you must take the entire pill and wait half an hour or so for it to kick in. Pain relief with marijuana is faster and can be readily regulated to avoid taking more medication than needed. No pill can do that for you.
The ride home was quiet, a somber atmosphere and an unspoken urge to help. I sighed as I crossed the state border, back to Colorful Colorado. My home, where sick people who need pain relief can medicate to their liking. Where people with crippling arthritis can be prescribed a non-invasive anti-inflammatory agent, without losing the ability to play with their grandchildren and love their spouse. A place where the growth and cultivation of medical grade pot, is accepted and encouraged.
Colorado is a progressive state, and the residents here welcome the ever-changing landscape in this garden of green. The legalization of Medical Marijuana in Colorado has affected thousands of people. Almost 7,000 people are currently on the registry with the number growing steadily. Those numbers according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s website:
- 8,315 new patient applications have been received to date since the registry began operating in June 2001. Thirty-two (32) applications have been denied, 18 cards have been revoked, 171 patients have died, and 1,390 cards have expired, bringing the total number of patients who currently possess valid Registry ID cards to 6,704. The renewal rate is 56%.
- Seventy-two percent of approved applicants are male.
- The average age of all patients is 27. Currently 4 patients are minors (under the age of 18).
- Sixty-three counties (98% of counties) in Colorado have registered applicants. Forty-nine percent of patients reside in the Denver-metro and Boulder area, with the remainder of patients found in counties throughout Colorado.
- Patients on the Registry represent all the debilitating conditions covered under Amendment 20. Severe pain accounts for 88% of all reported conditions; muscle spasms account for the second-most reported condition at 24%.
- Forty-six percent of patients have designated a primary care-giver (someone who has significant responsibility for managing the patient’s care).
- Over 600 different physicians have signed for patients in Colorado.
altogether. Unfortunately, not every state is interested in changing a long-held opinion against the weed that was once grown on the grounds of the White House by none other than Major General George Washington, who in a letter to his farmers said “Make the most you can of the Indian Hemp Seed. Sow it everywhere.”
The battle lines have been drawn, Pro-Pot Supporters will give you a hundred reasons why legalizing marijuana is good for the economy and the people in it. Anti-Pot Supporters will also give you a hundred reasons why legalization should be thwarted altogether. Whatever line you stand on, whichever flag you wave, Do everyone a favor and educate yourself on the facts. Ask questions, explore the facts for yourself and keep an open mind.
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If Marijuana has no medicinal value, why is the medical community trying to make a synthetic medicine from the healing properties of this plant?
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AntiSoccermom is an alternative parenting site for those of us that refuse to parent within the constraints of modern society. Covering everything from parenting to pot-politics, there is always something new to read. Check out AntiSoccermom's Radio show at JohnDoeRadio.com and catch up with her on facebook. 
It makes me sad hearing people diregard the medicinal purposes of marijuana. Most of the people I’ve spoken with that are against it, don’t even think about how much it helps other people.I have never been able to understand the logic behind trying to make some illegal that has no use to you, nor is anyone shoving it in your face. Some people are willing to let people suffer with the pain they have, because they ‘dont like the smell’ or because some idiot in their family did something incredibly stupid while smoking pot.
What ever happened to “to each his own?” I mean, the gentleman that you spoke about kindly offered some, but did not shove it in your face after you declined.
I understand parents not wanting it around their kids, but regardless they are going to be introduced at some point, wether its illegal or not. &If they aren’t, they’ll be exposed to something worse. All you can do as a parent is tell your kids the truth and hope they make the best of it.
I really like this post, and I am very glad there are non-pot smokers like you out there that still support it because you know the truth! Thanks for this.
Thank you for weighing in. To each his own.
A very relevant, yet underplayed component to the issue of marijuana legalization is generational, which might well be a gamechanger. Obama, and many of his key appointees, are members of Generation Jones-—born 1954-1965, between the Boomers and Generation X. Many top national commentators (from Newsweek, NBC, CNN, etc.) have spoken about the importance and relevance of GenJones as the new generation of leadership; this could be a gamechanger re. the drug issue for at least two reasons:
1) Jonesers are by far the biggest pot smokers compared to the other generations. While Boomers are associated with pot, it was only a small, albeit very visible, segment of Boomers who actually smoked pot back in the day. Govt. and independent studies show that Jonesers as teens (in the 1970s) smoked 15 to 20 times more pot than Boomers did as teens. And not only did Jonesers smoke much more grass than any other generation of teens in US history, but still today–in middle-age–smoke it a remarkable amount. The data is really striking.
2) One of the key collective personality traits consistently attributed to Jonesers is their pragmatism; they are far likelier to put aside ideology and deal with drugs in a realistic and practical way.
Here’s a page with a good recent overview about GenJones:
http://generationjones.com/2009latest.html
If ever there was a generation of leadership open to legalizing pot, it probably is Generation Jones. And if there ever was a time that the country might be open to this change in drug laws, perhaps it’s now…
That is very interesting, I am going to dive deeper into the generation Jones idea. Thank you, thank you thank you!
I hope that time is now.
Although I’m not generally a proponent for medical marijuana (for my own reasons), I’m not opposed to it being used. The issue is regulation. Medical marijuana needs to be held to the same standards as any other prescription drug, and suppliers need to have the same types of regulations in place that pharmacists do. Abuse of medical marijuana should be held in the same regard as abuse of a prescription drug. A drug is a drug is a drug, and even if it helps a person, it should still be taken very seriously.
Not to stoke the fire, but even if I were in a backyard barbecue, I would never offer up my asthma medication for anyone who wanted it, even if my fellow attendees also had asthma. Or likewise, if I was with a friend who wanted to avoid pregnancy I would not offer my birth control to them.
I appreciate that you mentioned than no one took up the man’s offer. Whether he was using it medicinally or not, he demonstrated one of the biggest issues in the marijuana legalization battle – recreational use of the drug. As long as there is not a clearly defined difference, then medicinalizing advocates will struggle. There are too many legalization advocates who are not in need of the drug’s medicinal properties.
No matter what you think of doctors, they are the ones who should be making prescription decisions. If we regulate some prescriptions, we must regulate all of them.
And just to clarify, I think the argument that marijuana is “safer” than alcohol is just silly. Let’s then focus on creating tougher laws for alcohol rather than legalizing more substances.
Marijuana is safer than alcohol, but that doesn’t make it safe altogether. I would never take a pain pill and get behind the wheel of a car, and Id never take a hit, or a shot or a snort of anything before doing so either. Comparing one evil to another just doesn’t make sense. I agree.
Drug abuse (and you know my stance on this) needs to be treated as drug abuse, no matter if the substance is illegal or not. Its important to set open and realistic expectations for all medications but the DEA’s stance of OUR DRUGS OVER YOUR DRUGS just doesn’t work in my book. I think it should be regulated similar to alcohol, with age limitations and a strict set of consequences in the event of abuse. And that is coming from someone with legal right to it.
I’m so glad to see articles about the importance of medical marijuana.
I have suffered over six years with crippling migraines due to a head injury I sustained at work. The accident was random and I had lost a lot of brain activity immediately following the experience. Doctors proved to be non caring in the fact that they wanted to give me narcotic after narcotic, painkillers, and even anti depressants that altered the mind even more from how badly rearranged it already had become due to the head injury. My body knowing these pills were bad for me had quickly built up an allergic reaction that ended up hurting many other areas of my body, and rather than relieving pain, they actually started causing me more pain. Once I knew that marijuana had helped me to cope with the medical problems I have without any bad side effects, I knew that I would never have to take anything else, especially man made pills or any drug that doctors are testing on humans like their rats in a lab. More money for the doctors when pills are concerned. But I’d rather trust what comes from the earth naturally.
I am alive today thanks to marijuana.
Anything can be good or bad depending on how everyone has the choice to abuse or respect a specific power or privilege. I’ve seen good men turned into beasts due to the consumption of liquor, which is legal. The only negatives I’ve seen concerning marijuana has been from the the fact that it is illegal. Why is something that can aid in healing medical problems illegal when alcohol, a substance that does nothing but cause medical problems is legal.
Something has to change in this country for the better. Hopefully it will be soon.
I’m struggling with a balancing act between pain relief and opiate addiction. I take hydrocodone (vicodin for those that don’t know) all day every day to get pain relief but I hate being on them and the battle to get off them is a horrible one. Unfortunately where I live (Oklahoma) I know there is no chance of me being able to feel safe legally by using marijuana for that pain relief, despite that it is so much easier to deal with than hydrocodone. It is so much safer, there are no withdrawals, it works faster, and you can just take it only when you actually need it. To top it all off, for me there are almost no side effects whatsoever (as long as it’s decent quality), a far cry from the dry skin, teeth issues, and massive weight gain thanks to the hydrocodone. Did I mention the emotional havoc? Pot does the opposite, if anything. It just isn’t fair. I care more about keeping my ass out of jail than being comfortable because I am too sick to be in jail, so I don’t use what makes more sense for me. I wish people would realize that if pot were legal, the average pot user stereotype would change from those who usually abuse it to those who use it in moderation. It isn’t the pot, it’s the people who use the pot, and as with anything, the fact that it’s illegal brings out the worst and gives it a bad name.
Legalize it.
This is supposed to be the land of the free
Obama is fucking his constituents (homies) that got him elected by not having the sense to remove the federal government’s laws on the matter, especially since they overstep the bounds and prerogative of the federal government’s mandate.
The first Presidential candidate to support legalization (or removal of federal interference) is almost guaranteed to win. Who will it be…
http://www.antisoccermom.com – da best. Keep it going!
[...] problem with Prohibition is the enforcement, still a point of tension in the current marijuana debate. In 1921 a book was written by one of our most forward thinkers, Albert Einstein where he stated [...]
It’s better to leave Windows XP and just upgrade your laptop. It’s much better. Besides, Windows XP is way better then Windows Me. Windows Me is obsolete and many programs that can run with XP, can’t run with Me.
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I’d rather take any natural medicine over something that was designed in a lab.
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Good article….as a person who suffers from pain due to degenerative disc disease, what kinds of marijuana are good for treating the pain that my condition creates? Every time I have ever gone to the doctor to get help with the muscle spasms, shooting pains in my arms and inflammation in my neck……they send me home with about 60 vicodin, oxycontin or addictive drugs that stop working after a few days. It’s certainly been my experience that marijuana does help with the pain because it relaxes my muscles and reduces the tension at the site of injury. I have read that MJ has analgesic qualities and that some strains are better than others for pain…….how do I know which is which?
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The bottom line is that marijuana is safer than alcohol in every way, and should be treated the same. It is straight up unfair that you can purchase alcohol practically on every corner, while marijuana remains illegal and stigmatized. This must change. I don’t drink alcohol, at all, but I do enjoy occasional marijuana use. I guess I’m an outlaw, but I am not a criminal! joe
[...] is the intelligent choice for pain control. The government has offered marijuana in pill form, so that they can profit from this [...]
I want to quote your post in my blog. It can?
And you et an account on Twitter?