cannabisnews.com: Insurance Covers Hilo Woman's Marijuana 





Insurance Covers Hilo Woman's Marijuana 
Posted by CN Staff on July 24, 2003 at 15:52:00 PT
By Hunter Bishop, Tribune-Herald
Source: Hawaii-Tribune Herald 
A Hilo grandmother whose medical marijuana plants were stolen received $2,000 from her insurance company for loss of four plants. Tammy VanBuskirk, 57, who smokes marijuana to treat glaucoma, has a Hawaii state permit to grow a limited amount of marijuana at her Sunrise Ridge home, and to use it with a doctor's approval. VanBuskirk said the plants were stolen from her yard on May 5.
"They jumped my fence and grabbed what they could," she said. The burglar fled when her groundskeeper's son spotted him in the yard, she said. The boy ran to get his dad, but by then the burglar was gone, leaving a trail of plant debris in his wake.Early that evening, someone came back and made off with the remaining plants while VanBuskirk was inside her house, she said.She filed a police report but no arrests were made. She then filed a claim with American Reliable Insurance Company, based in Scottsdale, Ariz.VanBuskirk bought the homeowners policy when she moved into her home about 18 months ago. Nine months after she bought the house she received her permit to grow and to use marijuana to treat glaucoma. This was her first crop in Hawaii. "Prior to this I'd never grown outside."The former Washington state resident also was permitted to use marijuana for glaucoma in Washington. "They were legal long before Hawaii," she said. "I moved to Hawaii when it was not legal (here)."Hawaii is one of eight states and the District of Columbia with medical marijuana laws, and the state Narcotics Enforcement Division reports that about 920 medical marijuana permits are currently in effect statewide.According to Hawaii's law, adopted in 2000, patients with permits who are under a doctor's care may possess up to 3 ounces of marijuana and grow up to seven plants at a time to alleviate suffering.The largest plant in VanBuskirk's yard had grown 6 feet tall and 8 feet wide, she said. It was visible from the street despite a 6 - foot rock wall that the thief had to scale to get into her yard. "I grew it in front of God and everybody. The police were well aware of the plant."She has a only a small amount of marijuana remaining and must either wait until her next crop matures or attempt to obtain what she needs illicitly, VanBuskirk said.She's considering a 6 - by - 6 - foot fenced dog - kennel - like enclosure with a car alarm to thwart future burglaries. She could go back to growing indoors but the electricity cost for the lights is prohibitive. "I'm still working on ideas," she said.She said her local insurance agent, whom she declined to name, was reluctant to report her claim.A spokesperson for American Reliable Insurance in Arizona, who did not want to be identified, said the company has paid two similar claims in California. VanBuskirk's is the first the company has paid in Hawaii.VanBuskirk said the case is significant because the mainland insurance company recognized the Hawaii law over the federal prohibition of all uses of marijuana.The federal government continues to oppose states' medical marijuana laws, and in March a federal judge in California refused to block the U.S. government from potentially prosecuting two women whose doctors say marijuana is the only medical relief for their ailments. Federal law does not recognize marijuana as a lawful drug, the judge ruled.But as long as the medical marijuana is sanctioned by the state in which a permitted user makes the claim, the insurance company considers pot plants like any other plant or shrub, the company spokesperson said.VanBuskirk received $500 for each of the four plants stolen. She filed the claim for more than $500 per plant - she declined to say how much more - but her policy carries a limit on the amount per plant.The insurance company applied the policy's $1,000 deductible to the excess amount of the claim, however, and sent VanBuskirk a check for $2,040.31, which includes small amounts for damage to a money tree and vegetable plants in her yard.The largest plant likely would be worth more than $500 if processed and sold on the street, but medical marijuana permit holders are prohibited from selling their crops. The plant also was so big that it might have yielded more than the legal amount VanBuskirk may possess."I would have to give some away," she said. "But I have to be careful about that. There are a lot of gray areas in the law."I go strictly by the law and the rules," she said, and considered giving her excess pot to the police. "I want to see this program work. I don't want to go blind. I'm just growing what I need."VanBuskirk believes in religious use of marijuana and uses it for spiritual reasons as well as medicinal. She describes herself as a "born - again baptized believer in Jesus Christ," but is not affiliated with any church that considers marijuana a required sacrament. She first started using medical marijuana after being diagnosed with glaucoma in the 1990s in Washington. Her doctor was unfamiliar with the treatment, but after a year of using it he told her it was unusual to find no deterioration of her condition."It doesn't take away the pain, it prevents it from happening," she said, by reducing the pressure inside the eyeball that glaucoma causes. Marijuana also relieves a debilitating pain in her back. "It helps with many things. It brought my blood pressure down and relaxes my muscles."VanBuskirk, who has four adult children, 10 grandchildren and an 11th on the way, continues to be active despite her ailments. "I have business to take care of. I'm not a down - and - outer," she said. "Under a controlled situation I find marijuana to be a miracle drug for me. It makes my life a lot easier to live. I value my eyesight and it works."Source: Hawaii-Tribune Herald (HI)Author: Hunter Bishop, Tribune-HeraldPublished: Thursday, July 24, 2003Copyright: 2003 Hawaii Tribune HeraldContact: editor hawaiitribune-herald.comWebsite: http://www.hilohawaiitribune.com/Related Articles:Insurers Spurning Medicinal Pot Usehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16935.shtmlLost Your Stash? You're In Good Hands http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10638.shtmlCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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Comment #1 posted by afterburner on July 24, 2003 at 16:38:02 PT:
The Insurance Company Is Right:
Cannabis is just another plant, like tomatoes or lettuce. Now, in Toronto or Hilo people are reporting stolen cannabis to the police or the insurance company, as it should be. Now, when the federal governments finally get on board, the economy will begin to flower.ego transcendence follows ego destruction, Bush is right, the economy is improving, he just doesn't know how.
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