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!!

They Can't Be Serious..

And here we go. Washington State Liquor Control Board, in its infinite lack of wisdom, is proposing to allow over 200 possible pesticides on cannabis sold in the new retail outlets. I guess that's one way to control people..make them sick, or worse. And rumor has it they're trying to gut the medical cannabis law as well. No home grow..just pesticide-laden cannabis sold to consumers. Great work, people.

In case anyone was confused on this issue, when voters vote yes on a new law, city, county, and/or state officials cannot then try to circumvent in some way the new law. Oregon's legislature said yes to dispensaries and several cities, including Medford, said no. So the state's attorneys issued a letter stating they couldn't do this. Since it looks like we will be legalizing soon, this is a positive omen. 

I have to believe the problems we're beginning to see in Washington, similar to those in Colorado, are a reflection of those in power disagreeing with the new law. These are the same people who disagreed with the medical cannabis laws, so none of this is really surprising. The nonsensical 5 nanogram DUID limit is an example of giving something, yet making it impossible to have. If it were actually based on fact, then fine, but we all know it's not. So let's lock up some more people for doing something legal.

Oregon has published the rules for dispensaries for comment. One problem I see with it is that it does not require dispensaries to send their cannabis for testing to an independent lab. I would imagine with all the comments I know have already been made, and the comments pending, this will be changed. I wouldn't feel comfortable buying anything from a dispensary that did its own testing. That's why Washington's 200+ pesticide rule is so nuts.

Look, bugs aren't okay, because you know..fecal matter and all. But pesticides aren't okay either. We have to stop thinking in terms of acceptable loss. Elevate the standards for once. (I was going to say, set standards high, but that was too punny.) People with compromised immune systems cannot ingest fecal matter or pesticides. Nor should anyone else. So let's make sure the labs are doing their jobs correctly and require dispensaries to use them. And no icky stuff..please.

I've read that patients in Washington are organizing and responding to the proposed new rules. Please reconsider some of what you're proposing. And leave patients alone. Leave the dispensaries alone. If anything, make life better for patients. When people are that ill, and nothing else works, cannabis makes the difference between health and illness. And sometimes, between life and death. 

#Peace4Patients.. and everyone else..

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.
 

Stop taking children away from legal cannabis users

Evidently CPS workers don't understand the idea of legal cannabis users. So let me explain this to you.

States pass laws. Sometimes they involve cannabis. Get used to it. We've been lied to all this time about the safety and efficacy of this plant. Parents who use cannabis are not criminals, especially if they've been granted a legal way to use it such as for medicinal purposes. There's nothing here to protect a child from.

In the case of Washington state, they legalized cannabis for recreational purposes in addition to their existing medicinal cannabis law. The law protects parents from this type of harassment. Why would CPS in Washington state tell Billy Fisher that he shouldn't have custody of his daughter because he's a cannabis patient? Have they lost their minds? He wants custody to save her from an unsafe situation she's been in. Here's a guy who actually wants to take care of his child! He wants to protect her and give her the best life possible. He loves his little girl. And CPS wants to prevent him from doing so based on a lie.

Billy Fisher uses medicinal cannabis because of a degenerative disc condition. The state wants him to go into treatment and have two years of UA's during his follow up care for his so-called cannabis dependency.

Thanks for waiting..I had to scream for a bit.

Cannabis is NOT addictive. Those of us who use it medicinally or otherwise are not addicts. We're not drug traffickers. We're not criminals. We don't deserve to have our kids taken from us for using a safe plant to deal with our medical conditions. Because if we get to lose our kids for this, then so should anyone who drinks alcohol or uses prescription drugs. Especially in a state where it's legal recreationally.

There will be a rally hosted by Serra Frank from Moms for Marijuana International on the steps of the Spokane County Courthouse on October 3rd. It starts at 11am with a press conference beginning at 11:30. The link below gives details for anyone who can attend in support of Billy and his daughter.

We need to stop this travesty before it goes any further. #Peace4Patients

The Fight for Lilly Fisher