Parenting and Cannabis

If people would simply stop lying about cannabis, so much would be resolved. A parent using cannabis for recreation is no different than a parent who has a beer after work. Well, at least cannabis is healthy..not so sure about the beer. But then I'm biased..I've never liked the taste of beer. And I don't drink anymore, so there's that. It's not a hard and fast rule, but I feel better when I don't drink alcohol.

Anyway, I read that in Colorado, our legalization Mecca, a bill was introduced which, if passed, will potentially complicate everyone's lives there. It seems that some lawmakers think that if a parent uses a controlled substance (which unless I missed something, cannabis is just that), medically or otherwise, it's time to take the kids away. SB 178, a gem of a bill, defines a "drug endangered child" and imposes criminal penalties on the child's parents if manufacturing or possessing controlled substances. Cannabis is a federally controlled substance, even though it's legal in Colorado. Although the bill's author seems to suggest that this doesn't apply to cannabis, no one really believes that.

I agree that kids shouldn't be around certain drugs. You know, like heroin, cocaine, meth and drugs like those. But cannabis is not a drug. It's a plant. Yes it has psychoactive properties. It also has medicinal properties. Typically we don't see the level of spousal abuse amongst those who use cannabis that we do with those who use alcohol. Plus, there's the added benefit of no addiction. And we have cannabinoid receptors all over the place that are just waiting to connect with the various compounds found in cannabis. It's what keeps us healthy. It's so funny that since I became a patient four years ago, my health has returned, so much so that I walk eight miles every morning. Right..cannabis is a bad thing..

It seems to me that every time something positive happens with respect to cannabis, some lawmaker finds a ridiculous way to circumvent it. If cannabis is legal in Colorado, then you can't take away kids from parents who use it. You can't make it impossible for parents who are also patients to use cannabis medicinally to deal with their health issues. They shouldn't have to fear losing their kids while getting well. No other patients have to deal with these kinds of things. Cannabis patients should be no different. If SB 178 doesn't apply to anyone using cannabis, then revise the bill to include that specific language. Otherwise, Coloradoans who use cannabis are at risk. Surely there are other laws on the books that define what "drug endangered" children are along with penalties for those who disregard them. Why does it need redefinition?

Last summer, the Oregon legislature legalized dispensaries. We voted them down, but they sprung up anyway, and the legislature decided to do something positive for all of us by legalizing them. And then, just before the application process began in March, they decided to let local areas temporarily ban them for one year. Never mind that they had roughly nine months to get used to the idea. And never mind that they looked the other way as the dispensaries opened without benefit of law. Now they suddenly are so overwhelmed by the possibility of a dispensary opening (or continuing to operate) that, oh my Goddess, they have to have a moratorium on them for a while longer. Spare me.

Washington state, our legalization problem child to the north, has legal patients who are going to trial federally in July, I believe, for following state medical cannabis laws to the letter. So, if this can happen in Washington, it can happen in Colorado as well. I also read an article that suggested the Feds might not deliver water to cannabis growers up in Washington as well. In my opinion, this is chicken shit. The Federal Government is going to have to deal with legalization sooner than later. They know it's safe and they know it cures all kinds of things. People are incarcerated for nothing at all. Lives are continuing to be ruined..all to preserve a lie told long ago.

Cannabis users are not criminals, nor are we unfit parents. Isn't it time the charade stopped?

End prohibition. Live in truth and with integrity. Legalize cannabis.

Enough already..

Robert Duncan went to prison Monday for working in a collective/dispensary in Northern California. The owner of the operation was sentenced to five years, Duncan to two. The business is legal in California, but that didn't matter to the feds. They prosecuted them and now they're serving time for something that is legal in that state. Oregon legalized dispensaries last summer. Applications began this month. Will it matter? Will they go to jail too? 

When is this going to stop? When are states going to stop letting the federal government arrest people for following state law? Where are the lawsuits on behalf of residents who are doing everything right, yet still lose everything? Where is the outrage from governors and legislatures? Law abiding citizens are helpless in the face of federal abuse. And that's what this is. Abuse. The feds have known for years that medical cannabis is legal in many states. Why haven't they taken steps to solve the parity issue between state and federal law? Why is it okay in their estimation to ruin lives? The cost to taxpayers is enormous to incarcerate everyone and then to deal with them when they come out of prison, jobless.

The whole situation is beyond ridiculous. No one should go to prison for a plant, especially one that has so much use, whether medicinally or industrially. Industrial hemp could have been so beneficial to our country, let alone the world, but the lie was told and sanity went away, replaced by a profit motive so great that honesty and integrity went right out the window. Isn't it about time that we got some of that back?

Two states have legalized cannabis. Washington is in the process of screwing over patients, which many of us saw coming during the I502 battle. Here's the thing..we didn't get medical cannabis laws passes so that we could get high. We did it so that we could get well. I realize the Washington State Liquor Control Board doesn't agree with that and views patients with disdain, but that's not based in reality. Patients will suffer in Washington if this happens. So, I hope someone steps in and stops these fools. Otherwise, patients will be in real trouble there. Things seem to be going better in Colorado, but there's always time for shenanigans to occur.

Alaska is set to vote on legalization this summer, and many more states, including Oregon, will have legalization initiatives on the November ballot. Washington DC decriminalized cannabis in limited amounts yesterday, instituting a $25.00 fine for up to an ounce. Imagine that..sanity in our nation's capital. Even Italy understands the travesty that cannabis laws have on people because they're poised to let 10,000 of their citizens out of prison for cannabis violations.

So much would be solved if the federal government would come out and say, once and for all, that cannabis laws should never have been instituted, that cannabis is safe, and that everyone who is currently incarcerated will now be released with their records expunged. It's the only fair thing to do at this point. The truth about cannabis is coming out daily now and the federal government's denial of the truth only makes them look dictatorial and small. Legalization is favored by the majority of citizens now, and those numbers would rise substantially if the government would be honest about this plant.

People suffer when governments lie. We've had too much of that in our history. It's time the truth was told. Cannabis is safe. Cannabis heals just about everything. Hemp can heal the earth. Stop the insane lie that has destroyed so many lives. I think we reached critical mass on this years ago. How about we do something positive for a change?

So, they're running out of weed in Colorado..

I don't know if Colorado distinguishes between medical dispensaries and retail outlets. I hope they do so that patients aren't affected by all those legally happy folks out there. Don't get me wrong..I'm totally pro-legalization. I'm not actually complaining, even though it sounds like it. Patients need their meds. So, I hope they got their priorities straight there.

I predict that Oregon will legalize this year. It would be nice if the legislature would do it, but it looks like it's going to be on our ballot next time. Oregonians won't sit tight while other states around us do it. We've had medical cannabis since 1998, so this is a natural step for us. Our Board of Pharmacy has already rescheduled cannabis from schedule one to schedule two, allowing for research. We almost did it last time, so fingers crossed.

Washington has chosen to let their Liquor Control Commission decide how legal cannabis unfolds in their state. Patients are at real risk there. Medical cannabis has been legal there since 1998 as well, and what I've been reading in the news has been troubling. Opponents to legalization will always exist and I hope that their voices aren't influencing the outcome there. Too many times, cannabis is legalized or decriminalized in some way, and then immediately, cities pass rules making it impossible for anyone to use it. This, in effect, circumvents the law in an effort to curtail if not completely stop any successful implementation. Some cities in Oregon tried this when the legislature legalized dispensaries earlier this year. Thankfully they were told they can't do that. Patients in Washington are encouraged to make their voices heard on this issue before their existing rights are taken away. 

Americans love their cannabis. It's not going away. Cannabis kills cancer. High CBD strains are useful in treating severe epilepsy. PTSD is alleviated by cannabis. Multiple Sclerosis responds well to cannabis. Diabetes apparently does as well. My RA was so severe that I thought I would die. Fifteen years I suffered - the last twelve were excruciating. Cannabis saved my life as it has countless others.

Those of us who have experienced what this plant can do to return us to health will not stand down on this issue. We can't. It's too important. We're done being lied to by our government about this safe plant. We're done being dismissed as stoners who lie about being sick to get their cannabis legally. See, we produce medical records because we actually have medical records which document our health problems. We don't get our cards here in Oregon unless we do that. So no one is getting over on this.

The legalization dominoes are falling everywhere. More states are legalizing for medical purposes and more are talking about full legalization. And with countries like Uruguay legalizing, and more interested in doing so, this will be a done deal before long. We need to embrace this..if only for the purposes of truth. Our government needs to stop lying to us. It's always done to increase corporate profits at the expense of the American people. Think about it. What if cannabis had never been prohibited? What if industrial hemp had never been prohibited. Where would we be now? Would as many people have died from cancer? Would we be in a different place energy-wise? Industrial hemp could be grown and processed into ethanol without the problems that corn creates. Hemp can be used for just about anything.

Legalization in Washington and Colorado gives me hope, even with all the inevitable stumbling blocks that occur, that some sense is returning. Lives can be saved with medicinal cannabis, and industrial hemp production will provide jobs and environmental protection in the process. Throw in a little marriage equality, a living wage, gun control, leaving constitutionally protected rights for women alone, and single payer..I'd be in liberal heaven.

Rumor has it 2014 is the year of the progressive. Let's make that a reality! And how about legalizing cannabis on a federal level? Who knows, a few bong hits during House sessions, we might get some compassion out of these guys. They might forget all the animosity and posturing and remember why they're there.  Alcohol breeds anger..cannabis, on the other hand, love, baby, love!!

Legalize..just respect patients in the process..

Washington State has written their cannabis rules. Most will need legislative approval. Personal growing has been banned. Evidently this would apply to patients as well. Current law allows up to fifteen plants. Once again, legalization is accomplished at the detriment of patients. Not everyone buys their meds at a dispensary. Many of us grow our own. Oregon just decided to legalize dispensaries, which will help the existing dispensaries that started under the guise of "clubs". We voted no last time on dispensaries. But that didn't stop enterprising dispensary owners from opening businesses. Depending upon where they opened, some were harassed and raided, and some weren't. It probably would have been better to wait until they were legal, but those of us who really understand the benefits of cannabis on our health sometimes become exuberant and do things anyway. I'm not talking about drug traffickers here. Some of these dispensary owners are patients themselves. They only want to help people and have taken the risk to do so.

I have said many times that I believe in ending prohibition. It was based upon a lie anyway and countless lives have been ruined to further that lie. But to legalize at the expense of patients doesn't make sense. We don't have to make patients' lives more difficult by allowing the recreational laws to influence or apply to the medical laws. Patients use cannabis to become healthy. I know for some this seems odd. But that's why we do it. And it works! We get healthy! I'm living proof of this.

Also, current law allows patients or caregivers to possess 24 ounces of useable cannabis. The new rules would drop that amount to 3 ounces. Here's the problem with that. Many patients process their cannabis into other forms for medicating. Some make oil, tincture, or capsules to medicate with. This takes more than 3 ounces to do. Expecting this from patients doesn't make sense and could change the course of their return to health. Some patients also use raw cannabis in their diet. They include it in smoothies and juice. The health benefits of raw cannabis are only now being discovered and the news is great! I use raw leaf and small buds in my morning smoothies. Ingestion in some form is typically more effective than smoking for many conditions. Using raw cannabis, for example, doesn't even result in a high. And now growers are creating varieties that are higher in CBD and lower in THC which will also have less of a high. Tinctures made from high CBD varieties are what parents are giving to their kids with constant and severe seizures. It stops them. (Watch Sanjay's special)  Smoking or vaporizing is optimum for some kinds of pain as well as muscle cramps. It's great when you need to relax and to clear your mind of troublesome thinking as many survivors of PTSD have discovered. And yes, you'll get high from that. And you'll feel better. Trust me on this. I'm a survivor and cannabis has helped calm my mind without the resulting side effects of an anti-depressant.

The point is, patients figure out what works for them and then they get well. Colorado left patients alone. I hope Oregon does as well when we legalize. I know letting go of long-held beliefs is at the bottom of these decisions. Sanjay Gupta's special aside, people still believe in the whole "reefer madness" propaganda.  It's not easy to suddenly believe that cannabis is a safe plant that should be available to everyone.

But as we legalize, please leave patients alone. In the mean time, we need to reschedule cannabis federally so that research can begin in earnest. We did this in Oregon and rescheduled from Schedule 1 to Schedule 2. Cannabis is a safe plant and should be scheduled even further down the list, if not removed completely. Stop trying to control something that is a personal decision. I still use Humira for my RA, but cannabis is what put my disease into clinical remission. I was so ill for so long that it may take time to discontinue the Humira. I also take Sulfasalazine, although it's been reduced by half. It would be nice to only take that one. The Humira scares me. I was also able to discontinue the anti-inflammatory drug, the narcotic, both blood pressure pills, and I'm down to 1 Metformin, which is also ending soon. This would have not happened without cannabis. I have no problem with western medicine. I just wish medical schools also included natural medicines in their curriculum. My medical experience has been lop-sided and would have been richer if I could have had meaningful conversations with my doctors about all forms of medicating. They shouldn't have to fear losing their medical license for talking to me about cannabis. So I don't tell them. And that's sad. It's not what I want. 

Prohibition must end. Simple as that. No one needs to freak out about it. States with existing medical cannabis laws must either leave them alone or make them better. States without medical cannabis laws need to enact them. And for pity's sake, keep the pharmaceutical companies out of this. It's the whole plant that heals. Not an unreasonable facsimile of, which is what these pill factories pump out. If what they produce isn't what we do in our kitchens, then it's not medicine. Sorry about that. A guy in front of a booth at Hempfest this year stopped me and try to sell me some cannabis oil. I thanked him and said I make my own. And you know what? He got a really odd look on his face. And it didn't seem like he was puzzled. It seemed like he understood what I was saying.

States should take a lesson from my experience at Hempfest and never underestimate the empowered patient. Because guess what else we are? Voters. Yes, we vote, among other things like raising families, holding down jobs, and helping our communities understand the truth about this wonderful plant. We're chatty like that..

Legalize..just respect patients in the process.