cannabisnews.com: Health Board Nixes Change To Colorado Pot Use
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Health Board Nixes Change To Colorado Pot Use
Posted by CN Staff on July 21, 2009 at 05:01:10 PT
By Colleen Slevin, AP Writer Reporting
Source: Associated Press
Denver -- Colorado's state health board has rejected a move to limit medical marijuana suppliers to helping only five patients at a time, allowing dispensaries to continue to thrive in Colorado.The board voted 6-3 Monday night to defeat the proposal by the state health department. The roughly 100 people still left in the hearing room after about 12 hours of testimony and deliberations applauded and yelled in support.
Board member Kindra Mulch of Burlington then tried to get the board to consider another limit, suggesting 50 patients instead of five, because she said Colorado voters never intended there to be large-scale businesses providing marijuana to patients. But after hearing from many of the 350 people who signed up to oppose the five-person limit, no other board members were willing to start negotiating another number.The state's chief medical officer, Ned Calonge, said he didn't know if the department would try to propose another limit on how many patients could be served by a supplier. He had warned the board that the state's medical marijuana program would "continue to grow out of control" without more restrictive rules, and said he lacked the resources to keep up.Opponents of the five-person limit argued the board didn't have a right to meddle in the constitutional amendment passed by voters in 2000. The amendment made Colorado one of 13 states that allow medical marijuana.They also said the limit would make it harder to find legal supplies of the drug and make it harder for dispensaries to survive and continue offering a range of marijuana varieties to treat different diseases.Dispensary owners and their employees were among the opponents. Other critics included a group of veterans who said marijuana helped them treat problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder, and a grandmother from the western Colorado town of Olathe who grows her own marijuana "like tomatoes" on her farm.The grandmother, 68-year-old Berta Jameson, is proud that her marijuana, which she uses to treat her glaucoma and arthritis, is grown outside without special lights or chemicals. She said the state should oversee dispensaries to make sure their plants, pot cookies and teas are safe and healthy, rather than limiting suppliers to serving five people at a time.But Calonge warned against spending more to regulate medical marijuana at a time when the state may have to make cuts to other public health programs because of the recession.Calonge, police officers and prosecutors also said the current system is susceptible to fraud and causes confusion over who can legally grow marijuana.The board did adopt another recommendation aimed at fighting fraud. Starting Aug. 30, all patients will have to get their signatures notarized on applications for the medical marijuana registry.Under the law, patients with certain conditions, including HIV, muscle spasms and chronic pain, can use medical marijuana as long as they get a doctor's approval and register with the state. The law permits patients or their designated caregivers to grow up to six marijuana plants or possess two ounces of usable marijuana.The law doesn't address dispensaries, businesses that have sprouted in Colorado to serve patients. Backers of the amendment say the dispensaries didn't exist when the law was passed.Calonge said the amendment defines a caregiver as a person, and he didn't think a dispensary should be considered a caregiver under the law.There are 9,112 people registered to use medical marijuana in Colorado, up 2,000 just in the last month. Ron Hyman, the state health department registrar who oversees the medical marijuana registry, predicted that at that rate, 15,000 people will be signed up by the end of the year. He credited the growth to the confidentiality of Colorado's registry and to the Obama administration's announcement that it would no longer raid medical marijuana facilities.Source: Associated Press (Wire)Author: Colleen Slevin, AP WriterPublished: July 20, 2009 Copyright: 2009 The Associated PressRelated Articles:Veterans, Dispensaries Oppose Colo. Pot Changeshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread24933.shtmlCrowd Stands Up for Access To Medical Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread24932.shtml
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Comment #18 posted by Hope on July 21, 2009 at 17:17:31 PT
Runruff Comment 6
"How about med-pharmers?
or pharm-med providers?"Interesting ideas.I've been thinking about it off and on. I keep coming back to medical grade cannabis provider. Or maybe just provider. Or medical grade cannabis grower. Or just grower or cannabis grower. If you say just"Grower"... prohibitionists will probably want them to grow corn or peas or something for them, too.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #17 posted by runruff on July 21, 2009 at 10:44:50 PT
50 Colorado states!
We could use a Colorado in every state!Oregon ain't bad either!
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Comment #16 posted by dongenero on July 21, 2009 at 10:43:35 PT
board member Kindra Mulch......
was apparently saved from herself as likely was her board position, by fellow board members who were not too keen on thwarting voters will in the presence of 350 some voters.That's how it should work. You propose silly things or try to sneak silly provisions in under the radar, and you get nothing. Now, remember what your role is as a public servant.
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Comment #15 posted by tintala on July 21, 2009 at 10:25:37 PT:
GLAD TO LIVE IN CO
we are up and coming in the cutting edge of "supplying " a safe medicine. The proposal was preposterous. I have never had a pharmacist, where i get my pain meds, help me do my grocery shopping, as they proposed to all caregivers, they wanted all caregiver to help patients with their daily activities. LOl
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Comment #14 posted by Storm Crow on July 21, 2009 at 09:21:31 PT
GCW's poll now stands at...
Legalize it- 74.17%Medical use only- 19.21%No way- 6.2151 votes and we are WINNING! If you count the med use only votes as a "yes", we have 93.38% That's a pretty clear majority! Please remind your politicians about this poll next time you write them! It is SO good that common sense is prevailing! Cannabis IS medicine!
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Comment #13 posted by HempWorld on July 21, 2009 at 08:24:31 PT
Amen greenmed!
The tables are turned forever, we cannot go back, only forward. The pictures on this page from the Denver Post brought tears to my eyes.What a bloody struggle it has been!
Cannabis Heals!
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Comment #12 posted by greenmed on July 21, 2009 at 08:08:46 PT
wonderful news
Congratulations to all the people of Colorado and especially the patients who will continue to benefit from a wider choice of varieties of cannabis suited for many indications.This decision really shows the power of the medical cannabis community who make the time and effort to influence policy. Numbers are important to elected officials, naturally, and this is the result when supporters activate to attend this type of community discussion. For some reason the antis just can't seem to garner this type of public show of action, beyond the few whose jobs depend on continued prohibition.Great work!
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Comment #11 posted by Cheebs1 on July 21, 2009 at 07:42:59 PT:
What a Great Idea
Look at this. This is the kind of out of the box thinking we need.http://www.examiner.com/x-13632-Detroit-Country-Living-Examiner~y2009m7d20-Should-Detroit-be-used-to-grow-marijuana
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Comment #10 posted by FoM on July 21, 2009 at 07:05:41 PT
Afterburner
I was like you. I was very tired and needed to call it a day. I went to bed happy!
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #9 posted by afterburner on July 21, 2009 at 06:52:56 PT
FoM
I saw this article late last night when I was trying the find the proposed changes to the role of caregiver. I guess I should have posted it, but I was too tired. I did go to bed happy though.Re-legalize canvas.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #8 posted by The GCW on July 21, 2009 at 06:50:32 PT
Reminder - POLL
POLL:
What do you think of medical/decriminalized marijuana?__Bad idea. It should stay illegal for all.__Good idea. Should be legal for all.__Mixed: Ok with medicinal but not outright decriminalization.http://www.summitdaily.com/
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Comment #7 posted by TroutMask on July 21, 2009 at 06:32:18 PT
It only makes "sense"...
"Ron Hyman, the state health department registrar who oversees the medical marijuana registry, predicted that at that rate, 15,000 people will be signed up by the end of the year."If you limit the number of patients per caregiver to 5, then you need more caregivers. To determine how many new grow operations (care givers) you'd need, divide 15,000 by 5 patients each. That's 3,000 new grow operations in Colorado. You DO NOT want 3,000 new grow operations in Colorado. They can't handle the hundreds that are here now. It's just common sense, government people!-TM
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Comment #6 posted by runruff on July 21, 2009 at 06:15:19 PT
Hope,
How about med-pharmers?or pharm-med providers?
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on July 21, 2009 at 05:52:31 PT
Another Great Picture
I can really related to this victory in Colorado.http://www.denverpost.com/portlet/article/html/imageDisplay.jsp?contentItemRelationshipId=2541108
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on July 21, 2009 at 05:50:18 PT
Medical Marijuana Vote a Victory for Patients
July 21, 2009A proposal that would have effectively shut down medical-marijuana dispensaries was rejected Monday night by the Colorado Board of Health. In addition to voting down a plan to limit medical-marijuana caregivers to five patients each, the board also refused to require that caregivers help patients with daily activities. The board did, however, agree to changes meant to prevent fraud — and left the door open to revisiting the cap on patients another time. The decision, which came after 12 hours of testimony and deliberations, was met with a loud cheer from the 50 or so people remaining in the audience on the Auraria campus, which had numbered 500 at the start of the day. People stood up, jumped up and down and screamed. "We're happy the board did the compassionate thing," said Brian Vicente, the director of Sensible Colorado, a pro-marijuana nonprofit advocacy group. "This is a win for Coloradan sick patients and the voters." SnippedURL: http://www.denverpost.com/ci_12879945
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on July 21, 2009 at 05:48:02 PT
A Wonderful Picture
http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site36/2009/0720/20090720__potsupport~p1.jpg
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on July 21, 2009 at 05:26:28 PT
It Made Me Think Of a Great Song
Crosby Stills Nash - A Long Time Gone - Woodstock 1969http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PFCgAhZEO8
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on July 21, 2009 at 05:19:03 PT
Way To Go Colorado!
It's been a long time coming but we are on our way now.
[ Post Comment ]
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