Home Growers are NOT the Bad Guys

I have issues with one of the "pros" constantly promoted whenever a ban on dispensaries comes up, and it is this:

"The proposed ban will not ban medical marijuana. Rather it will take purchases out of highly regulated, secured and taxed centers and push them into our neighborhoods. There are already problems associated with growing in residences, including home invasions, fires, and rental proper...ty damage. The lack of monitoring also increases the risk of child access as excess product is easily diverted to the black market. Medical Marijuana Centers are necessary to keep our neighborhoods safer." — Sweet Leaf Pioneer

This argument pits patients and caregivers, growing marijuana legally as provided in the Colorado Constitution, against dispensaries, grow houses and infused products manufacturers, not even mentioned in the original Amendment 20, I might add. Essentially, this arguement tells the public that anyone growing marijuana in their home is a threat to the community.

C'mon people. We in the industry know this isn't true. And we also know that the ability for a person to grow their own herb is key to the legalization of cannabis for medical use that we enjoy. In fact, dispensaries wouldn't even exist if they didn't cling so tightly to the caregiver label in the first place.

Stop confusing the public by disparaging those who choose to grow their own at home. Stop condemming the very patients who come to you to supplement their personal harvest. Just because you're regulated doesn't make you better, it just makes you another option. Stop trying to be the only option!

The rights of patients and caregivers must remain primary!

Relief in New Jersey

Michael Oliveri, a muscular dystrophy patient; his mother, Christiane, left; and Diane Rivera-Riportella react in Trenton, N.J., on Jan. 11 after the New Jersey Legislature approved a bill that would make the state the 14th in the nation to legalize the use of marijuana to help patients with chronic illnesses.

(from MSNBC.com)

Letter to the Editor on behalf of Illinois MMJ Patients

This letter to the editor appeared in the Chicago Tribune. This letter could have been written about people in any state that has not yet approved the use of medical marijuana. In my opinion, it is very well written and accurately represents my sentiments and those of many others like me. On behalf of all of us, thanks Dan!

Legalize cannabis for patient use

On Election Day last year, Michigan voters made their state the 13th to allow seriously ill patients to use medical cannabis upon the recommendation of a physician. Now, 71 million people -- about 24 percent of Americans -- live in one of the 13 states that allow the doctor-advised, medical use of cannabis.

Suffering patients in Illinois, however, still face arrest for relieving their symptoms with an effective treatment option.

Such a measure enjoys massive support in Illinois. A 2008 poll conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling and Research shows Illinois residents favor allowing seriously and terminally ill patients to use marijuana for medical purposes by a 68 percent to 27 percent margin.

There are already patients in Illinois using cannabis to treat a serious disease or debilitating condition, and they should not have to turn to the criminal market for relief. Most people do not want send a cancer patient to jail for using a treatment his or her doctor has recommended. A 1990 survey of cancer specialists that appeared in the Journal of Clinical Oncology found that 54 percent of those surveyed favored the controlled medical availability of marijuana, and 44 percent had already suggested at least once that a patient use marijuana.

Illinois legislators have a responsibility to ensure seriously ill patients are exempt from state-level prosecution for using a medicine recommended by a physician. Cannabis can improve the quality of life for many patients, and it doesn't have the side effects of some addictive pharmaceutical drugs.

Opponents of medical cannabis often claim laws permitting its use are a step towards legalizing cannabis for everyone or it would send the wrong message to children. None of the states that have passed medical cannabis laws have legalized cannabis for recreational use, and reports on youth cannabis usage rates, where data is available, have shown a decline in teen use after the passage of those laws.

Illinois should not delay in protecting these patients -- for some it is truly a matter of life or death. Moreover, cannabis is a safe, natural medicine and doctors in Illinois should be able to recommend that patients use it if the situation dictates.

-Dan Linn, Illinois Cannabis Patients Association