Greetings Welcome to the second issue of Montana Connect - YOUR Patient/Caregiver Resource. First and foremost, I would like to thank our advertisers for their support. We have quite a few who have committed to keeping Montana Connect in your hands for an entire year. We could not do this without their advertising, and supporting us. I sincerely encourage you to support them. If you are looking for a caregiver, please look to our advertisers first, and choose the one most suited for your needs. There are some very good ones on our pages. When you shop for other items, please support those advertisers too! We have grow shops, glass shops, magazines, and various services. We truly hope to make Montana Connect YOUR Patient/Caregiver Resource, and when you support our advertisers, you allow them to keep supporting us. Thank YOU too, subscribers, readers, and fans. In my travels I have met some of the most wonderful folks. I have had pleasure to meet many caregivers and patients. My Facebook page has grown exponentially, and I am so blessed to have such a supportive group of new friends. I hope to have many more! Look for Montana Connect on Facebook and be sure to “Like” it to receive updates and daily news feeds. We also network and meet folks all across Montana - and the Nation! Hope to see you there! A LOT has been happening VERY quickly since the last issue. I attended the sub committee meetings in late August. I was rather alarmed to find there were only a handful of medical marijuana supporters there every day. THANK HEAVENS for those who were there - but folks - we have GOT to get moving and save our industry. Many of you may be unaware, but a lot of damage has been caused to our movement over the past few months, a lot of VERY hard work virtually unraveled before our eyes in the newspapers. We have a lot of work to do to repair the collateral damage. Voters have been disillusioned by the bad press, and compassion has been forgotten about. Also - our leaders seem to have forgotten how to be LEADERS, and they keep trying to model a bill revision after other states whose populations and demographics have absolutely NO relevance to our great state. We HAVE to act - NOW. I cannot stress how important voting is. I have been a registered voter since the day I turned 18. I take it very seriously. Voting is our voice - and right now we need to YELL with our votes. It is the only way to protect our medicine and tell our politicians that we as patients ARE a voice to reckon with. Please visit www. votesmart.org - punch in you zip code - and see who your candidates are. Keep your eyes peeled for good “Canna-dates” as I call them these days - and support them. Put up a yard sign, help them campaign, answer their questions. Many have SO MANY questions, as they have never been involved with medical marijuana. You might be surprised to learn just how many of them have friends or family who are patients!
Walk proud folks, please act responsibly, and if you see someone out there who is not, counsel them and guide them in the right direction. The press and law enforcement are always there, looking and watching, waiting for somebody to do something wrong. With all the “grey areas” in the law right now, there are many varied interpretations as to what is legal, and what is not. If you are in question about something do not act on it until you get an answer. Call your attorney. Network with other patents and caregivers. Start e-mail and phone trees to share information. Remember, not everybody is on the Internet. If you know folks who are not on the Internet be sure to share news with them. Keep them informed too. Register to vote and understand the issues. Attend meetings, and fill your cars with supporters when you go. We need you more than ever now to participate and save our medicine! See you in October! Hiedi
Disclaimer: Montana Connect Magazine would like to remind readers to be aware that the sale, possession and transport of viable cannabis seeds are illegal in many countries and particularly the USA. We do not wish to induce anyone to act in conflict with the law. Montana Connect Magazine assumes no responsibility for growth of these seeds where prohibited by law. Montana Connect assumes no responsibility for any claims or representations contained in this publication or in any advertisement. All material is for entertainment and educational purposes only. Montana Connect does not encourage the illegal use of any of the products or advertisements within. All opinions are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of Montana Connect. Nothing in this publication may be reproduced in any manner, either in whole or in part without the expressed written consent of the publisher. All rights reserved. All advertised products and offers void where prohibited. Occasionally we may use matter we believe to be placed in the public domain. Sometimes it is not possible to identify or contact the copyright holder. If you claim ownership of something we have published we will be pleased to make a proper acknowledgement. All letters and pictures sent are assumed to be for publication unless stated otherwise. Montana Connect is not to be held responsible for unsolicited contributions. No portion of this publication can be reproduced for profit without the written consent of the publisher. Advertising Policy Statement: Montana Connect Magazine is not responsible for the actions, service or quality of the products and businesses advertised in this publication. We will not knowingly support unethical practices of any advertiser. If you choose to purchase a product from one of our advertisers, please tell them that you saw it in Montana Connect Magazine.
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Who’s Your Farmer? You are! by Chris Lindsay
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Over the past several months there has been a debate at various levels of government amongst those of us who participate in the state medical marijuana program, and those out in the public as to the need for regulation. As I write this, some type of regulation seems inevitable and while at times a consensus appears to be emerging, we often seem to be heading backwards as fast as we are moving forward. Of course, to say we will be regulated is to beg a critical question: Who would do the regulation? Some candidates that have been floated include the Department of Commerce, the Department of Revenue, the Department of Justice, the Department of Agriculture, or the Department of Labor. Where do we fit? Part of the problem here is that we have bought into the myth that we are a wholly unique industry. Of course, we think we are special because we grow marijuana for a living. I mean c’mon – what caregiver hasn’t thought at some point they could star in a pretty decent reality TV show? It’s shocking! It’s something we had to break to our parents. We all had to sort out how to answer the question “So what do you do…?” Many of us had never really been around a live marijuana plant before one was growing by our own hand, and now we find ourselves in the business of propagating, growing, harvesting, and selling marijuana. So of course that’s, well, different. Then we start to think about how uniquely devoted we are to our craft. It’s a niche market and requires some very specialized know-how. It’s a 24/7/365 life, and vacation is for people who don’t know what real responsibility means. Our ability to make the most of nature translates directly to our income, and we live from feast to famine, comparing the calendar in the grow operation with the calendar in our checkbooks. We pay huge costs for equipment most of us are still trying to pay off. People who don’t know anything about what we do think we are rich. Conversations about nutrients are really interesting. We slow down in front of ranch supply stores to check out the water tanks.
In fact, all that really means, is that we are farmers. To think about it, there is very little difference between most of what we do and the life of practically every farmer in Montana since well before it was a state. Hard work around the clock? Earning a living from controlling nature? Bringing the harvest in to feed the family? This is old stuff, and in fact agriculture has been part of the fabric of this region for millennia. So all you pot farmers, get over it; yea, its marijuana farming, but first and foremost, its farming. To spend much time setting ourselves apart from this truth is to ignore the biggest asset we have – the fact that Montana is one of the leading agricultural centers in the world. Not surprisingly, farming is one of the things Montanan’s do best. Montana has the research capabilities of two universities, each with leading Ag departments. We have a seasoned farming community that goes back generations. What’s more, we have something that no other state has: The Montana Department of Agriculture. California has been in the medical marijuana growing business for a little while now, and some may feel like it is too far out front for lil’ ol Montana to compete. In fact many of our exports currently go to California because, even though it is also an Ag state, the population is huge. We are one of the many breadbaskets that feed the population centers on the coast and elsewhere in the country. Why would marijuana be any different? Our situation is different than California in another important aspect, however. California’s own Department of Agriculture has taken a hands-off approach due to their many complicated connections to Federal funding. Montana does not have the same restrictions, and this allows our own Department of Agriculture to regulate, manage, and then support medical marijuana’s place as a valuable cash crop in the state, similar to its many other crops. Want someone to look after your interests as a family-run farm? The Department of Ag has been there, done that, for decades. If - and perhaps when - medical marijuana is traded between states, the De-
partment of Agriculture can support farmers by helping us develop a competitive edge in the national market. Montana barley is some of the leading barley in the world, and the Department of Agriculture sends folks from Montana around the globe to make sure importers from Japan and Europe see the amazing work our own farmers do. And those Idaho spuds you buy at the store? They use Montana starter potatoes produced here and shipped to Idaho to put in the ground. Research and development through government grants, as well as coordination with Montana farmers improved our crops, helped our farmers, and made us more competitive. Montana State University has research labs to develop varieties of crops that work well for our farmers. What if MSU helped develop a strain of medical marijuana that works particularly well in Montana, and can be crossed with other popular strains? How might that affect the industry here? Would a strain that works well in Montana’s climate or is more resistant to pests help you? As regulation looms, there are only so many choices for who manages medical marijuana in the state. Will it be the department that manages criminals like the Department of Justice, or banking and insurance companies like the Department of Commerce? Or how about the professional licensing boards found in the Department of Labor? Where it actually belongs, of course, is in the part of this state’s government that actually knows something about farming. Where is the “caregiving” aspect to this? After all, a caregivers’ job is both as a farmer, but also as a pharmacist – explaining how to take marijuana as medicine. Within the Medical Marijuana Act, a caregiver has agreed to undertake the responsibility for managing the well being of a person with respect to medical use of marijuana, and that is a real responsibility. In light of that important responsibility, is the Department of Agriculture any less appropriate, or do any of the other Departments start to look better? I do not believe so. When your day begins with sunrise, and you’re worried about air circulation
See FARMER on pg 24
Dramatic Rise in Prescription Painkiller Abuse Among Americans by Danna Goldhaber Contributing Writer
Recently, U.S. health officials reported a 400 percent increase over 10 years in the proportion of Americans treated for prescription painkiller abuse. The report also said the problem cut across age groups, geography and income. The dramatic jump was higher than treatment admission rates for methamphetamine abuse, which doubled, according to figures from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. They said 9.8 percent of hospital admissions for substance abuse in 2008 involved painkillers, up from 2.2 percent in 1998. The percentage of people admitted to treatment for alcohol dropped by 5 percent and for cocaine dropped by 16 percent over the same period. Even the White House commented on the study saying that the spikes in prescription drug abuse rates were “dramatic, pervasive, and deeply disturbing”. But what caused the numbers to increase in the first place? According to research, people abuse prescription drugs for a variety of reasons, including: • a perception that prescription drugs are “safe,” or at least safer than illegal drugs like cocaine and heroin • a perception that misusing or sharing these drugs is not illegal, when in reality it may be considered a felony • the highly addictive nature of many prescription drugs • a lack of training within the medical and pharmaceutical professions. Only a minority of doctors, nurses and pharmacists have received training in recognizing and dealing with addiction or drug diversion. The most commonly abused prescription drugs are: • Opioid painkillers, such as oxycodone (OxyContin) and those containing hydrocodone (Vicodin) • Sedatives and tranquilizers, such as diazepam (Valium) and lorazepam (Ativan) • Stimulants, such as methylpheni-
date (Ritalin) — commonly used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
a patient’s treatment plan. A noted orthopedic surgeon with the University of Pennsylvania Health System, who asked that his name not be used in this article, stated that the primary course of treatment begins with over-the-counter medications and physical therapy. If the patient requires surgery, then shortterm use of prescription pain medication is warranted. Patients are routinely monitored to insure that they are using the medications as prescribed. He stated that he has, on more than one occasion, refused to write refill orders for patients. With an increasing number of Americans becoming addicted to prescription painkillers, there is an even greater need to develop alternative treatment plans. While the use of prescription pharmaceuticals may, for some patients, be a necessary evil, they can also benefit from other forms of pain treatment. With more states legislating for the use of medicinal marijuana for a variety of ailments, doctors should be educating themselves on its benefits and should not hesitate to recommend it for their patients. Personal opinions and societal beliefs should not color a physicians decision to do what is in the best interest of their patients. In light of this study, physicians routinely trained to automatically select the most “appropriate” pharmaceutical should now begin to think outside the box and develop alternative treatment plans.
It is estimated that more than 50 million Americans suffer from chronic pain. When treating pain, healthcare providers have long-wrestled with a dilemma: How to adequately relieve a patient’s suffering while avoiding the potential for that patient to become addicted to the pain medication? Because about 70 percent of Americans, approximately 191 million people, visit their primary care physician at least once every 2 years, doctors are in a unique position-not only to prescribe medications, but also to identify prescription drug abuse when it exists. They should also be the first person to help the patient recognize the problem, set recovery goals, and help the patient to seek appropriate treatment. Screening for prescription drug abuse can be incorporated into routine medical visits by asking about substance abuse history, current prescription and OTC use, and reasons for use. Doctors should take note of rapid increases in the amount of medication needed, or frequent, unscheduled refill requests. Doctors also should be alert to the fact that those addicted to prescription drugs may engage in “doctor shopping”- moving from provider to provider in an effort to obtain multiple prescriptions for the drugs they abuse. How many doctors actually do this? According to a spokesperson from ~Danna Goldhaber is the co-owner of Hahnemann University Hospital in Phil- Town Center Homeopathic Medicine. adelphia, it is a requirement of all doctors practicing within the University’s health system. The doctors are instructed that they are not to refill a prescription originally written by another physician and they are to call referring physicians to check on the number of prescriptions that have been written for a particular patient. While preventing or stopping prescription drug abuse is an important part of patient care, healthcare providers should not avoid prescribing or administering stimulants, CNS depressants, or opioid pain relievers if needed. It is always the choice that prescription painkillers not be the first line of defense in
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Medicinal Cannabis Success Stories by Hiedi Handford
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As I hung up the phone I smiled to myself. I had just hung up with Irvin Rosenfeld, Senior Vice President of Investments at Newbridge Securities Corporation out of Ft. Lauderdale Florida. Irvin Rosenfeld handles millions of dollars worth of accounts, and now he is going to help me help folks here in Montana. That is a HUGE thing for me to smile about with such a fantastic patient advocate as Irvin. Rosenfeld is much more than a stock broker - he is also a patient using Federally dispensed medical marijuana for a serious bone disorder he was diagnosed with after a baseball injury at the tender age of 10. Rosenfeld is not a Montana patient - he is a Federal patient, with a very unique tie to Montana. In the 28 years he has been receiving his medical marijuana at no charge from the Federal government, there were never any studies performed on him, or ANY of the Federal patients for that matter. That is until Dr. Ethan Russo conducted the ONLY study performed on 4 of the 6 surviving patients of the Federal Compassionate IND program at the University of Montana. The Chronic Use Study was conducted over a 3-day period in the Spring of 2001 on the University of Montana campus. The entire study and videos presented at the 2002 Cannabis Therapeutics Conference in Portland Oregon is available here: http://www.medicalcannabis.com/Cannabis-Science/chronic-use-study I encourage you to read the study and watch the videos of the presentation. In a nutshell - amongst all 4 patients studied - here is what they found: 1. Cannabis smoking, even of a crude, low-grade product, provides effective symptomatic relief of pain, muscle spasms and intraocular pressure 2. Cannabis patients are able to reduce or eliminate other prescription medicines and their accompanying side-effects. 3. Clinical Cannabis provides an improved quality of life. 4. Side effect profile of NIDA Cannabis in chronic usage suggests some mild pulmonary risk. 5. No malignant deterioration has been observed. 6. No neuropsychological or neurological deteriorationon has been observed.
7. No endocrine, hematological, immunological sequelae have been observed. Basically - in my interpretation - it says Cannabis has been very good for these folks with very little to no adverse reactions. Rosenfeld is returning to our great state in October as the featured speaker at the Montana Medical Growers Symposium scheduled for October 10-11, 2010, Columbus Day weekend. He will be speaking about his experiences as a Federal patient, how parents can deal with children with devastating disorders, and the importance of Hemp in today’s world. After being a Federal patient for almost 29 years, he has a wealth of experience to share! Rosenfeld will have copies of his book “My Medicine” available for sale and he will be signing copies at the event. I have had opportunity to read his book, and loved it. I am adding a brief excerpt from his book from a part that moved me deeply. Irvin is an accomplished sailor, and he had opportunity to sail on the British ship Tenacious - and the crew was very sympathetic to his needs. “All too soon the week was coming to an end. On Saturday, I was again on duty from 4:00am to 8:00am. Since the ship docked, there wasn’t a lot to do. The weather was hot and sticky with no breeze. The harbor was
still and quiet. At 7:00am I was told to raise the flags. I raised the British flag first and then figured it would be appropriate to be smoking my medicine as I raised the American flag. So I lit up, and just as I started raising the flag, loud speakers all around our ship started blaring out the Star Spangled Banner ~ as played by Jimi Hendrix ~ at top volume. Our head engineer had arranged everything and that’s why my watch had duty again at that time. The entire harbor reverberated as I raised the American flag on a British ship, smoking a joint, with the U.S.S. Eagle docked right in front of us. It was one of those moments one will never forget. I had never worked so hard in my life, nor have I ever enjoyed a week more. When I asked for permission to leave the ship I was almost in tears. The ship, the people, the camaraderie, the sailing - what a time! I will be back.” This is just one tale from his many adventures and I cannot say how much I truly enjoyed it. It took me to peaks of happiness, and woes of despair. What a ride! If you can’t wait until October to get your copy - be sure to visit www.mymedicinethebook.com to get your copy. Bring it with you and Irv will sign it! We will have full coverage of our visit with Irvin in the October issue. See you then!
Patient Awareness Vet For Rights We are presenting this patient story in a bit of a different manner. On July 14, 2010, the Helena Independent Record ran a story titled State lawmakers say medical marijuana abuse is “out of control”. In the forums we found Vett4rights story. We have re-printed this with permission from the patient who requested not to be identified.. We have also included the post he responded to by a character on the forums named “Purple”. We appreciated Vett4rights response - and hope all others will conduct themselves in the same manner when responding to flaming forum posters. Purple said on: July 14, 2010, 2:03 am As if this wasn’t seen to coming? Those making the decision must have fried too many of their brain cells from previous use of that drug in their earlier days. Vett4rights said on: July 14, 2010, 11:50 am Purple, you seriously have no idea do you. You talk down to people with an opinion based argument every time....you have that right, for sure....but if you use factual information, you may get further. Fact-The compounds sought after in the cannabis, is in fact a lipid soluble compound. The neurons (nerve cells) in all human bodies are lipid based. Fact-To bring it down to a “Purple level” (I’ve coined this term with friends who like to discuss your postings) Compounds that are either polar or non-polar, biochemically speaking, will absorb compounds that are of the same make up. In the world of chemistry we say...”Like dissolves like.” Fact- The human body produces many endocannabinoids, of which a few are isolated. Incidentally, the few that are isolated are an exact, carbon copy, of the same found in the trichome glands of many cannabis sativa, cannabis indica, cannabis afghanica, and cannabis ruderallis plants. Fact-All human beings are slightly different, just as ibuprofen (Advil) works good for me, acetaminophen (Tylenol) may work for you. The way this works is; there are receptor sites on the surface of cells that have a certain shape and polarity that make it specific to allow one compound to attach to it, and inversely it keeps others out.
This being said, it could open the possibility up that one medicine, say medical marijuana would work better than say, hydrocodone, an opiate/ACAP mix. One MAAAAAAAJOR difference here is....you can’t make hydrocodone at home...haha. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have money like Lily, Pfizer, or GSK. So I can’t lobby like they can. Let’s say 20% of current traditional medicine users switched to a home grown medicine, and quit paying out for the oxycodone, vicodin, colonipin, etc. 20% of the drug companies combined income would be more than you or I can fathom. Quite the motivator for greedy people. To all that read this, I may seem like a liberal pink-o commie who just wants it to be ok to get stoned. Not the case.....not at all. I served overseas as a grunt, early on....not my favorite topic of conversation. It scarred me unbelievably; I never got shot, or blown up with an IED. But I live in a constant haze from not sleeping from nightmares, and panic attacks. I went to the VA for help; the very caring staff there has tied hands in the form of a federal formulary. I was placed on medicine that would lower my blood pressure so much when I stood up, I would pass out. The beauty of this medicine is, the VA was the only entity allowed to prescribe it for nightmares....even though it was a med to lower blood pressure. I was on another that made me gain so much weight it was a concern for my overall health. Another would snow me so bad I would sleep 1218 hours, wake up and feel like I was in a dream, I couldn’t function. And then the Benzo’s....at one time I was on ativan, colonipin, alprazolam, and temazepam....if you know anything about those meds, you know they are all in the same drug class, and highly habit forming one by one, let alone 4 at once. Even a “harmless anti-depressant,” Celexa....I still to this day feel the residual effect of the withdrawal. I was so groggy and out of it from polypharmacy I told my doc at the VA, and they put me on
a stimulant for people with ADD/ADHD. All to mask the side effects of other meds. ALLLLL this mess, and under the guidance of a VA Doc, whose hands are tied to the VA mandated formulary. All in all I was on 10 meds with 2 available for panic attacks... that equals 12 meds. Now since I am a VA patient I didn’t pay for those meds....YOU did...they aren’t cheap, and the VA would keep me on them for life if I was OK with it. Roughly one year later, I am traditional med free. I don’t get the best of sleep, but I can function at a job and college, quite well actually. My new medication bill for medical marijuana I pay myself via electricity, water, and growing supplies. I am happier, I have less panic attacks, my banged up knees don’t hurt as much, I sleep better than when I was on 5 sleep meds from the VA....all from a plant I can grow at home, but because it is not socially acceptable, I have to hide in the shadows. I went through the proper channels, and I do so in compliance with the states laws, and I don’t worry about being harassed by the law so much....it’s my staff at school, my employer, my family, even some of my friends. Why is this???? Because it is too taboo still, because it takes a large portion of revenue from a corporate conglomerate like Pharmaceutical Companies....I buy all local equipment when possible, I pay my power bill to NWE, unlike drug companies who put corporate offices in Bangladesh so they can evade taxes, and use foreign labor sources. Where is the patriotism there??? I’m the one who is chastised.... I along with other MMJ patients say yes, we do need more regulation.....but let’s consult some experts on this subject, the patients, caregivers, and families of patients. Talk to a patient; ask them questions if you don’t know about it. Too bad we didn’t have a red flag rally like this for kids put on Ritalin and Sero-
SeeVET on pg 11
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What Rock Is All The Chronic Pain Hiding Under?
by Lee Wiser, L.D.
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Several years ago, I experienced an epiphany! It began one evening, while reading a book, “The Emperor Wears No Clothes” – By Jack Herer (Absolutely a recommended must read for friends, foes and seekers of truth alike). That night my journey into the truth about the prohibition of cannabis began. There is no way you can read this book and not get angry...! That night I learned that congress had passed the marijuana/cannabis prohibition based on racism, cronyism, yellow journalism and propaganda... a law that has continued to ruin the lives of millions of our fellow citizens to this very day! What is now facing the medicinal marijuana patients of Montana is that many fellow Montanans don’t realize that their firmly rooted opposition has a foundation based on a government sponsored misinformation campaign. Unfortunately, the opponents of medical marijuana sincerely feel that they’re doing the right thing... not realizing their emotions are based on an unsubstantiated prohibition that was designed to benefit a few at the expense of many. That brings me to the latest falsehood now being proliferated around Montana
by a misinformed, but vocal minority... and, that is the issue of phantom pain. This is not the phantom pain you associate with what an amputee experiences, but the chronic pain that those with good intentions, but inaccurate information, seem to think doesn’t exist... even when their own legislative commissioned scientific studies document and prove otherwise! In a recent public comment it was stated that there couldn’t be 12,000 people in Montana suffering from chronic pain. My own recollection was that about 25 percent of the population was experiencing some degree of chronic pain on a continuous basis. So, I contacted a former professor of mine who is a retired board certified pathologist and had served as an academic dean at both medical and dental schools. He confirmed that at least 25 percent of Americans (that would equate to about 250,000 Montanans) experience chronic pain, to some degree, on a regular basis. Admittedly, my expertise in epidemiology is practically non-existent and I’m not a rocket scientist either. Fortunately, the good news is that neither of those skills was incumbent on researching the frequency and occurrence of chronic pain in the human population. There is literally a plethora of scientific documentation substantiating the 25 percent figure for the occurrence of chronic pain in our population... including a “Made in Montana” study which substantiates that the number of individuals with chronic pain has been grossly underestimated by the unknowing... and not over abused, as many would lead you to believe!
What is really exciting about these scientific studies is that the distribution of age grouping and the occurrence of chronic pain is almost identical, percentage-wise, to the Montana Department of Public Health & Human Services own statistics... and, so are the findings. Don’t get me wrong - I am not excited about the multitudes of Montanans suffering from chronic pain. However, this readily available documentation is proof to the naysayers that there is an epidemic of chronic pain in Montana whether or not legislators agree... as they are entitled to their opinions, but the facts are the facts... period! So, what is perceived pain anyway? Why is one person’s pain threshold on a scale of 1 to 10 not necessarily the same as the next person? This is because a 10 is generally recognizable to all observers, but the lower you go on the scale the more subjective and individualistic the classifications become. One person’s six could be another person’s four! This doesn’t mean that a six hurts any less, but that the perception of chronic pain is different from one person to the next. Ask a group of people to taste test 10 sugar cubes, with each cube being slightly different than the next, and then have them try to explain how sweet each one was on a scale of one to 10. Sweet is sweet, just as salty is salty and tart is tart, etc., and no one can describe these flavors in a manner that actually portrays the personal perceived sensation they’ve experienced. Even the dictionary cannot put “sweet” into words that describe the actual sensation you’re experiencing at the physiological level, but everyone can agree on one thing and that’s what
sweet tastes like. Chronic pain is no different. Let me make a suggestion. We can try and explain the truth about cannabis, and the benefits of the medical marijuana industry in Montana, until we’re blue in the face or we can make a simple, but impactful, change by voting for lawmakers that are prepared to read their own guidelines for treating chronic pain. At least, we would have educated officials, instead of emotional ones, making impactful decisions about chronic pain and the life, liberty and pursuit of happiness of their constituents... all their constituents! The lack of knowledge of Montana’s lawmakers very own study on chronic pain, commissioned by the very legislature to which they are sworn to serve is embarrassing to say the least. The question then becomes, “Can the legislature determine who is in how much pain and put that into statute?” Until they can explain what sugar tastes like... I think not! ~Lee Wiser, L.D., works with Montana Tree of Life Medical Services and is currently starting a speaker’s bureau to address the issue of reintroducing industrial hemp for food, fiber, fuel and therapeutics to gaurantee the future of American economic independence. He was the co-author, campaign manager and lobbyist for I-97, the denture initiative, which created the health care profession of denturitry, in 1984. Lee holds Montana denturist license #1, has served on two state health care professions regulatory boards and has been the lobbyist for the denturist profession, and other issues, for the past twenty-five years. Comments can directed to Lee at montanatreeoflife@gmail.com
Good Medicine Cannabis Butter (CannaButter) Recipe CannaButter is something that many people would love to know how to make. To be honest it is quite simple. However, you want to do it right as errors can be expensive. If done properly using this recipe you can maximize the quality and quantity of the CannaButter you make. To start we will begin by listing some of the things you are going to need: **Proper Clothing Is a MUST. When you have fats and water together they tend to be very volatile and burning your arms is not a part of this recipe. So please use HOT GLOVES and long sleeves as you may or may not accidentally burn yourself.**
Materials you will need:
- A strong grinder to grind the Cannabis material. - A stove to heat the CannaButter. - A medium sized heavy duty sauce pan/pot with lid. It’s important to have the pot the same size as the element that it is on to ensure even heat distribution. - A measuring cup. - A whisk or a large fork to mix the material with the water/butter solution in the pot. - Cheese cloth to strain the material before cooling. - A bowl large enough to hold and cool the CannaButter material. - A space in your refrigerator to cool and separate the water from butter. - A heavy duty plastic wrap to handle and compress the CannaButter into a smaller, easier to handle shape. - A freezable container to store the material - A space in your freezer to store the finished product. Please Make sure you have all these things before you begin and have them set aside as you will need them immediately during and at the end of the CannaButter making process.
Note:
To make a strong CannaButter you will need to adjust the amount of Cannabis you use in accordance with the strength of butter you would like. This recipe will make about 350g of medium-grade strength CannaButter. Remember you will have a small loss when handling the material.
Ingredients you will need:
- 1lb of unsalted butter. - 2 cups of water. - 1 ounce of Cannabis. The better product you use the better the butter will be.
To Prepare:
Begin by grinding the Cannabis material very very fine. Grind it beyond the extent that you would grind it if you were smoking it. Make your Cannabis a fine powder. An electric coffee grinder dedicated to the purpose of grinding Cannabis can be used as well. When done grinding you want a bowl of very fine Cannabis material.
Cooking:
Bring 2cups of water to a covered boil. Once the water is boiling, add your butter and melt it in the water. Once the butter is melted, reduce the heat to a very low setting so that when covered the CannaButter will simmer but not boil. Now add the ground Cannabis material to the water and butter solution. Once you add the Cannabis powder you will want to whisk and mix it into the pot thoroughly, so that there are no clumps and nothing stuck to the bottom. Now that you’ve made sure there are no clumps in the solution, place the lid on the pot and leave the heat on a minimum temperature. The CannaButter is now ready to simmer and cook for 2224 hours. This amount of time is important. It is required to extract the THC from the finely ground Cannabis. However, you do not want to cook the CannaButter any longer than 24 hours. NO MORE THAN 24 HOURS. After 24 hours the THC will degrade and the butter will go bitter. During this 24 hour cooking period you will need to check on the CannaButter every few hours to ensure that the boil is not too strong and to ensure that the butter has not reduced too much. If you find the solution reducing faster than expected it does not hurt to add a few table spoons of water over the 24 hour period.
Extraction:
Once you have simmered the CannaButter, turn the heat off. Let the solution sit for 2-4 minutes and remove it from the heat. USE APPROPRIATE CLOTHING AS THIS IS WHERE YOU CAN BURN YOURSELF You are now ready to extract the used Cannabis material from the CannaButter solution.. Place the cheese cloth over an open bowl and ensure that when the liquid is poured through the cheese cloth will not go with it. The idea here is to strain the solution using the
See CANNABUTTER, pg. 11 9
Ruderalis ~ The Autoflower Crusader by S_a_H
Strength and Honor For many, Autoflowers (AF) are a new way to grow. In reality, autoflowers have been around for a long time but because of such a small stature and low potency autoflowers have been largely overlooked by the bigger canna community. But in the last 10 years that oversight has been slowly changing the minds and grow rooms of many a grower around the world. From the many online forums I have been a member of many are in other countries like Germany, Italy, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Canada. Breeding has led to some big changes and they keep coming. But now let’s get into some of the differences between a true autoflower and a regular 12/12 strain. But before we go too far, what I consider to be a “ True Autoflower “ strain means that it is going to flower with the lights on 24 hours a day everyday from the time the seed sprouts until harvest 8-10 weeks later. With a “ true AF “ its going to flower on any lighting schedule you are using for whatever. They can be mixed in with your regular 12/12 strains and still flower. They can be in your veg room that is on say a 18/6 (meaning the lights are on for 18 hours and off for 6 hours) and still flower, or you can run lights 24/7. I have run AF’s on all of these light schedules with good results. If they are getting more light they are going to have a larger yield and be more potent, but if 12/12 is what you have, it’s going to work.
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I feel if you have to run them on a schedule other then 24/7, I would recommend 18/6. Just like when you drop your regular 12/12 strains into flower or on 12/12 they stretch the same rings true for AF’s when you drop under the 24/7, they stretch. One thing I have never truly believed is the argument that they need a dark cycle. As long as the plant is feeding and light is present it should just be a never closing factory of production. What I like to do is get a group of autoflowers growing on 24/7 and then start some 12/12 seeds to veg right along side of the flowering Autoflowers and when the AF’s are ready to come down the 12/12 plants should be ready to drop into 12/12. The next misconception with autoflowers is the fact everyone says “You cannot
clone a autoflower” so someone has to try and think they are the first to accomplish this huge feat. But it’s not that you cannot take a cutting from your autoflowers and root them in a cloner or whatever you use, YOU CAN !!!!! But since “true autoflowers” can flower on any light schedule means the cutting you took is going to root just fine but since it cannot go back into vegetative state it just roots and then continues to flower until its life is over. So you end up with an even smaller plant and a really small yielding plant. Lastly for this issue I would like to discuss lighting. I really think 1000w lights are just too much for AF’s since the main bulk of AF’s are mainly in the 8-30 inch category. 600w units are really great all the way around here especially if you can afford the adjustable wattage lights with both HPS/ MH on board. But I have completed some interesting grows like the one under the kitchen table in my spare room using just two 65w CFL bulbs with four plants getting me a nice little haul. Sure it’s not what I would have gotten on a 12/12 strain but I had little headroom and the start to finish of 8 weeks was nice. I have also used three 126w LED units to do a nice grow of 14 AF’s on a 2 x 4 shelf in my closet. In the next issue I’ll be happy to take a few emails for questions and I’ll be talking about grow pot size, when to transplant, and what I feed them. ~S_a_H is the forum moderator for Autoflowers on InnerCannagraphic Magazines website
CannaButter Continued from Page 9 cheese cloth so that you will not have bits of cannabis in the solution. Most of the THC is extracted by now. Once the solution has been strained through the cheese cloth and the material collected, you will have a solution in a bowl and cheese cloth full of soggy Cannabis material. Squeeze and extract as much of the solution from the cheese cloth and material as possible. The butter solution is what you want, not the bi-product of the soggy Cannabis. Remove as much of the solution as possible into the bowl.
Cooling:
Place the bowl with the CannaButter solution into reserved space in your refrigerator and let it cool for a few hours, even overnight. This process will separate the fats from the water. The fat being our CannaButter. During this process you will be able to see the progress of the butter as it cools, much like watching Jell-o go firm. However, you want to let it sit long enough to ensure the complete separation of the fats from the water.
Removing Your Butter and
bad or lose any potency before you get around to using it. The butter will melt quickly once it warms up.. so handle it quickly and keep it in the freezer as much as possible. Enjoy your CannaButter! CannaButter can be used in a range of things to include baked goods like muffins,cookies, candies, and brownies. Some simply enjoy CannaButter on toast. Whatever you decide to use it in or on, remember that you do not want to re-cook it. Baking it into something for a short period of time (about the length of time it takes to bake cookies or muffins) will not harm your CannaButter at all.
Vet Continued from Page 7 quel.....THOSE are 2 off the top of my head that need regulated. Protect your rights, from your ability to say what you wan,t to your ability to carry a firearm, and your right to use medical cannabis.....protect them ALL! AMEN Jesse! Please remember folks when responding to the opposition always use facts and figures and irrefutable evidence. Also - never attack back - no matter how badly you want to. Peace, love, kindness, and cold hard facts and figures will win every time!
Storing:
Removing the butter from the bowl may seem a bit tricky...but will be considerably less messy if you use the Heavy duty plastic wrap to handle the now solid butter. Simply remove enough plastic and use it like a doggy bag to remove the top slab of CannaButter from the bowl. Pat dry the CannaButter to remove any excess water. Now use the plastic wrap to compress the CannaButter into a smaller more manageable size. Store in a freezable,airtight container or mason jar.
Note:
Depending on the amount of CannaButter you make, it may be better to use a slotted spoon or spatula instead of your hands. KEEP FROZEN AT ALL TIMES. If kept frozen the butter will not go
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Guest Opinions
Kate Cholewa Both inside and outside the emerging medical marijuana industry, there’s a seeming schizophrenia when it comes to the character of cannabis. Inside the industry, there are growers committed to providing a quality medicinal product who will drive the miles and the hours to make deliveries to the sick and homebound. On the other hand, the industry sponsors cannabis expos with babes in nurse outfits and fishnets slinging samples. That winners of the U.S.’s first Medical Cannabis Cup last June in San Francisco were chosen by “expert tasters” suggested that the criteria wouldn’t have much to do with relieved nausea or reduced inflammation. It did suggest, however, that the judges might be wearing propeller beanies. Outside the industry, the same schizophrenia prevails. On the one hand, communities and policymakers argue that cannabis needs to be treated as a medicine. But then they turn around and zone providers into red light districts. The federal government maintains cannabis’ Schedule 1 status that by definition means it has no medicinal applications. Meanwhile, in 2003 the U.S. government received a patent for the use of cannabinoids (a chemical compound found in cannabis) as antioxidants and neuroprotectants. These contradictions don’t indicate subterfuge. What they indicate is that the attempt to reduce cannabis to one of our preprogrammed, tidy categories has inter-
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fered with our capacity to comprehend its reality. Cannabis does not “fit in.” It is not like liquor. It is not like oxycotin. Good/ bad. Safe/scary. Like booze. Like pharmaceuticals. Dangerous. Spiritual. The prevailing seeming schizophrenia in regards to cannabis won’t be resolved by reducing cannabis to fit our minds’ preconceptions. It will be resolved as we allow our minds to hold a larger, more complex, and more accurate idea. This need to define a thing by comparing it to something else is natural. But when it comes to cannabis, this reductionist impulse and either/or classifying obscures reality, and not dealing with reality tends not to lead to good policy. Whether seeking legitimization by association or seeking a template for regulation, the impulse to cram cannabis into a pre-existing category begs the question: Why would any industry with such promise want to be aligned with, or worse, absorbed by, such dysfunctional systems as the health care industry, the pharmaceutical industry, or the vice industry? How does such association serve as a foundation for legitimization? Rather than trying to align with so-called legitimate industries, the cannabis industry and the community can instead create a new set of standards. We can mandate organic. Disallow genetic modification. Create incentives for energy efficiencies and the development of technologies transferable to other industries. Build protections for small businesses. We’ve watched industries rise that have detrimental, or even devastating, impact on all of life. “Regulations” have been the rules under which they must operate if they wish to continue destroying life and harming communities. It seems we might want to redefine “regulations” so that they refer to those principles that must be adhered to in order not to be detrimental to communities and the planet. If the cannabis industry demonstrates that it can thrive within such a value system, it can serve as a model and set the standards other industries must live up to in order to be deemed legitimate. Can you not see a dark future where some semi-toxic spray is used on cannabis grown on an industrial farm that makes buds looks crystalline and feel sticky while
also serving as a preservative as the product is shipped cross country? Nightmare. So, if we’re going to regulate, let’s make it count. Right now, we are the industry. The people. Not some corporate giant. It’s local. As corporate powers get a hold of the industry they will work to pass laws that get rid of the diverse, uncentralized, burgeoning economy we are currently experiencing. Staving them off and creating an industry that works for society just may be one and the same effort. We’re accustomed to the stale mission of reform, banging our heads against entrenched industries, systems, and bureaucracies. Somehow, it has blinded us to the fact that this industry doesn’t need to be fixed, or controlled. It needs to be created. Built. Discussions as to whether or not some people are sick enough to have medical marijuana cards or whether the city should allow three dispensaries or thirty are well and good, but there are other far-reaching issues we can attend to that can make these other concerns moot, or allow them to self-resolve. Cannabis is likely a game changer for our culture. All the signs are there, the irrationality and the resistance to data. It may be that an accurate understanding would strike at other assumptions and potentially undermine a paradigm, perhaps a medical one, or a biological one. Perhaps a social one, or the paradigm of industry itself. At the edge of new ideas, there are those who perceive a pending loss while others exalt in a sense of promise. So it is, every time. ~Kate Cholewa worked as lobbyist and policy wonk for twenty years. She tried to get out. The medical cannabis issue drew her back in. She’s served as a commentator for MT Public Radio and has spent the past year writing and politicking about the cannabis issue in three states. She blogs at www.cannabisandculture.com.
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Proposed Changes To Current Law Could Leave Some Of Montana’s Ill Without Medicine “To be honest I’m a little worried man,” Jerry says with a nervous chuckle. It’s a beautiful late summer afternoon in the Bitterroot Valley, and Jerry and I are sitting on the back porch, enjoying some fine Chocolate Thai, taking in the afternoon sun. We’ve been discussing recently proposed amendments to Montana’s Medical Marijuana Act – their implications, and the potential impact on the MMJ industry. What we’re talking about, of course, is LCMM01 — a draft bill recently approved by the Children, Families, Health and Human Services Interim Committee. The fledgling legislation aims to temper the pioneering nature of the medical marijuana industry -- closing “loopholes” and clearing up perceived ambiguities within the current law. “I just don’t understand how these guys can overturn what the majority of people voted in,” Jerry says as he exhales, “it just doesn’t make sense to me.” Jerry is not alone in his frustration – the draft bill has much of the medical marijuana industry rumbling about a loss of patients’ rights, and worried about the safety and sustainability of cannabusiness in the upcoming years. Among many other points of contention, LCMM01 contains a stringent set of standards for physicians when writing mmj recommendations, coupled with a dual diagnosis requirement for a chronic pain mmj recommendation. It prohibits the inclusion of probationers and parolees from the mmj program, and contains a complete repeal of the affirmative defense. How would these changes impact the people of Montana? Would they improve our current system, or only create more problems for the very citizens Montana voted to protect? Caregiver Tiffany Jenks, of Tiffany’s Treats, thinks patients will suffer if the proposed changes take place. “Why would they (legislators) want to make a difficult life more difficult?” asks Jenks, “many of our patients are struggling. Our chronic pain patients collect either a disability or workers’ comp check, when you have a family that just doesn’t stretch far enough. I just want remind those guys up in Helena that times are tough. Most of us have to fight for every dollar to make ends meet.” Jerry, however, has a different concern all together, one perhaps with even graver
implications for Montana’s ill. Jerry, whose name I’ve changed despite his very vocal and persistent protests, is a medical marijuana patient – he is also under the supervision of the Montana Department of Corrections. “I was diagnosed with MS in early summer 1999 – I was 22 years old,” explains ‘jerry. “The pain was unbearable,” he remembers, “and my body felt out of control. I couldn’t control the shaking, I couldn’t speak, couldn’t feed myself. Nothing they gave me worked, I didn’t want to go on like that.” Through a concerned friend, Jerry discovered cannabis. “I thought it was a miracle,” he recalls “Nothing else had worked and then all of sudden bam – grass? Man that was wild.” Jerry began to grow his own medicine, avoiding the criminals and profiteers so often associated with black market marijuana. He was arrested in the summer of 2002 when a neighbor caught a whiff of his flowering garden. In 2002 there was no affirmative defense, nor medical protection. In 2002 when one consumed, grew or possessed marijuana it was a very serious crime, one which carried stiff penalties, regardless of the reason. Jerry, however, remembers the judge being somewhat sympathetic, “My lawyer explained my condition, why I was growing the marijuana – that’s why the judge gave me fifteen years probation instead of prison.” And so Jerry sits out a punishment for committing a crime, which is no longer a crime. Because he grew a medicinal herb to treat his MS. He will potentially lose access once again to the only medicine that works for him -- the very medicine that got him into this whole mess to begin with. Does this seem like sound policy to anyone? At the crux of this conundrum lies the simple truth that unlike much of mankind, illness does not discriminate. It will not recognize age, nor race; sexual preference, religious affiliation or moral predisposition. The exclusion of adults under state supervision, like jerry, from Montana’s medical marijuana program, is not only morally objectionable, but runs in conflict with every American’s eighth amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment. I,
for one, can think of nothing more cruel or unusual than denying another human being the safest most effective medical treatment possible because of their past indiscretions. It is exactly because of stories and situations like these that the whole concept of ‘medical cannabis’ was never intended to be the omega of this discussion, but rather a stepping stone to a greater level of policy reform. It is the general public’s acknowledgement that substance use, and abuse, has been poorly addressed through law enforcement and the greater criminal justice system. That broad, sweeping prohibitions, and reactionary public policies often have unintended consequences, and unintended victims. It is the acknowledgement that prohibition has succeeded in nothing but creating a black market commodity, spurring a larger level of unregulated production, violence, and corruption. It is the people standing together against federal oppression, collectively stating their refusal to be another casualty of this war on drugs. That we will not help create another drug war widow, or watch yet another child grow up an orphan of failed social policy. Because the reality remains the war on cannabis is, at heart, a war on people. It’s a war on our neighbors, our friends, our sons and our daughters -- it is a war on our God given freedoms. In 2004 I voted to end that war. ~Doug Chyatte is the leader and organizer for Montanans for Responsible Legislation. He can be reached at dchyatte@m4rl.org Please visit their website at http://www.m4rl. org Montanans for Responsible Legislation is a nonprofit group working to ensure safe access and equal treatment of Medical Cannabis patients and providers. Through civil litigation, public education, and our lobbying activities with the Montana state senate and House these goals are achieved. We serve as an unbiased, community supported interface with the state legislature voicing the concerns and desires of the greater Montana Cannabis community.
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Setting a Higher Standard by Debbie Woodland In the blossoming industry of caregiving, some caregivers and facilities clearly stand above the rest. Montana Advanced Caregivers (MAC) in Billings is setting a higher standard of care for their patients. Jason Smith and Rich Abromeit pride themselves on the motto “Where Patients are our Family.” It truly is a family atmosphere when you visit their location on Moore Lane in Billings. Patients are welcome to come in and see the garden and learn the process of cultivating some of the best medicine possible. MAC is striving to be a resource center of education and their clients come from all walks of life and their ages range from 18-92. The partners offer integrity at every level. “It’s our obligation to produce quality medicine on a continual basis,” said Smith. “And we have a really good bed side manner with the patients. It wasn’t just ingrained in me the way I was raised but also when we were doing home delivery. I had come over here from another state not knowing anybody. Your patients become your family, especially when you are accepted into their homes and they invite you to their family functions, or they call you when they are at the hospital or when they’re on their death bed.” The pair initially set up in Roundup. Most of their patients were in Billings and they offered delivery service to each one of them. They decided the move to Billings would eliminate some of the travel on icy roads and they could service their patients better. They put in for their city business license in November 2009 and received it on May 6, 2010 - the same day the moratorium was established in Billings. They beat the clock by 4 hours. Considering some of the events that had taken place during that time in Billings, i.e. the fire-bombings and the city council’s decision to number the amount of canna-businesses, the caregivers have had to overcome some obstacles. Prior to moving into their current location they went around and talked with the neighbors to be sure they were comfortable with this type of business in their area. Surrounded by a VFW club, a church, a fitness center and an appliance store, you don’t notice anything out of place in the cul-de-sac, and everyone is friendly. At the time of interview, preparations were being made for a Special Olympics event to be held in the parking lot shared jointly. “We went around introducing ourselves to the neighbors before we even leased the place,” said Smith. “I felt like there was an obligation there.” ”It’s not like we asked their permission,” added Abromeit, “but we visited with them and asked them how they felt about it. Most of them are “live and let live” just like other Montanan’s around here.”
Jason Smith and Rich Abromeit pose in their facilty. Photo by Montana Connect.
MAC strives to educate the community, as well as their patients. They have an open door policy with their patients and welcome them into the garden or to assist with trimming. If the patients are growing their own medicine, MAC has made themselves available to offer advice and answer any questions the patients may have. “We’re more of a patient resource center here,” said Smith. “We let our patients tour our garden. It’s their plants as far as I’m concerned. Just because we’re raising them and doing everything, it’s still their plants. We wouldn’t have them there if they didn’t assign us as their caregiver. So, they don’t just pick up their meds here, they do trimming here, if they want. They can bring their plants in. Most people would be afraid of what they’re going to bring into our garden. If you’re on top of your garden you’re going to be all over it. You know--act like a bug and go over it as if you were one yourself. To me, if you let them (the patients) all go through, I’m all for it because if you have closed doors, it raises questions and suspicion. We want them to know exactly where their medicine is coming from, they get the hands on, they get to trim it and carry it out. They know it’s grown right here.” Patients return because of the family atmosphere at MAC. A patient ”Joe” (unidentified for fears of losing his job) likes the open and educational atmosphere that MAC
provides. “They’re great people, we can just come in here and hang out and visit,” said Joe. “They always ask how you are doing. They bring people in sometimes to just help clip, the patients help and come in just to see things. It’s that kind of environment, if we have any questions they can answer them. They will answer any questions about how to grow, or just anything. It’s an open book here; these guys will tell you anything you want to know. You treat them with respect and they’ll do the same thing. I think it’s more that they are patient oriented.” While success can be measured by patient satisfaction, there is also a price to be paid. The partners work around the clock to make sure the patients are taken care of, sacrificing time with their families, and often fringing on sacrificing their own health. “When you caregive, you caregive for everybody else but yourself to be honest with you. I don’t take care of myself. I put off going to the dentist forever and still put off going to the eye doctor, I’m blind in my right eye. That’s just what happens. I’m living this way because there are people’s lives that actually depend on it,“ stated Smith. “It’s all about compassion,” added Abromeit. The pair established the Montana Advanced Caregivers Assistance Program, to offer low income and terminally ill patients their medicine free of charge. What originally started out as a business to make money, has become so much more to them. “The way I look at being a caregiver is I eat, breathe and sleep this,” said Smith. “ I knew there would be money to be made, actually I thought there would be a lot more in it, but it’s just like any business when you have crop insurance, liability, workmen’s comp, alarm systems, and on and on and on. It’s just like any other business, except you’ve got a lot of political air around this one. You’ve got certain businesses that don’t want to deal with you because of what you do, then you’ve got the other ones that are standing in the shadows waiting with their hand out but they don’t want to be seen, they’ll just take your money. Their choice of helping people has come at a cost to their families and the current events have not left them with some fears of re-
Purple Rain glistens in the sunlight. prisal. Abromeit has had his vehicle and home vandalized. “They sliced the tires on my vehicle, so I had no way to get anyone out in an emergency, to the hospital. My fiancée just had a grand mal seizure. I’m suffering greatly for this ‘money’ that I’m making, so is my family,” said Abromeit. “The thing about it is though; there are a lot of people that are benefiting from it. There are a lot of sick people out there that are sick and dying and they need our help, they need our medicine. If we don’t do this 24/7 they don’t get the
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medicine or the help that they need. I guess basically you create your own prison.” While the responsibility of the business can be viewed as their prison, it is also seen as their sanctuary. “Yes, that’s what we’ve built,” said Abromeit. “You know you start to take on that much responsibility and before you know it, it’s almost out of control the amount of responsibility you have, because you have all these people’s lives in your hands.” Smith added, “You’ve got the weight of the world on your shoulders, but it’s our choice to care.” “It’s totally our choice,” said Abromeit. “This is our gift, our reason for being.” Through MAC’s dedication to their patients, they are “Setting a Higher Standard of Care” and loving every minute of it.
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Jason and Rich share a laugh with the camera crew at Montana Advanced Caregivers
They stream two high quality cameras with high quality audio, and there is also a chat room for live audience participation. The Hot Box has a live call in phone number at 406-204-4687. If you call when the show is not live, you can leave a message. For everything else Hot Box podcast related, go to hotboxpodcast.com you Welcome to HotBox - a LIVE can also e-mail Sandy or Mat podcast show for YOU - the at info@hotboxpodcast.com Montana medical marijuana patient, caregiver, advo- In every episode medicate, or activist. It is also cal amarijuana news from for folks who may just want across the state and our to know what is going on in nation is discussed. Guests the medical marijuana in- from across Montana are dustry in Montana. Tune in! invited to participate LIVE on the show. HotBox can The Hot Box podcast was also be found on Facebook! created by Sandy Himsl and Be sure to sign up for chat Mat Lee, with the first epi- and log in! If you miss an sode airing May 25th, 2010. episode, podcasts of each The Hot Box podcast does show are available for free live audio / video shows ev- download. Never miss an ery Tuesday and Saturday episode! See you there! at hotboxpodcast.com/live. Growing with Bozeman and helping Bozeman grow
Hey ~ Probation and Parole folks ~ did you know you CAN vote? Yup - it’s true! As cited by Rock the Vote.com - Montana Probation and Parolees are eligible to vote immediately upon release from prison. http://www.rockthevote.com/ election-center/state/montana. html In Montana - you CANNOT vote if you are currently institutionalized in a penal institution or if a court has determined a person to not be of sound mind. So - if you want to be able to continue to treat yourself with medical marijuana and not have your right taken away from you - PLEASE get involved! Learn the issues, register to vote, and above all ACT RESPONSIBLY! Medical marijuana treatment is a privilege that many probation and parolees stand the chance to lose due to some bad conduct purported by others under supervision. Many probation officers across the state are very frustrated by the blatant disregard about the law
- and have reported instances of objectionable behavior statewide. If you ARE one of these folks - please STOP. Think of the patients you are hurting by your behavior and show them some compassion. One person’s actions should not influence a group as a whole, but unfortunately with cannabis, this has been more common than not. PLEASE act responsibly, and within the law. If you are on probation or parole - practice extra vigilance to protect yourself, your card status, and your RIGHT to treat yourself medically however you choose and in the manner most appropriate to suit your needs. Do NOT let others jeopardize you and your card holder status. Protect your privilege at all costs - and VOTE to have your voice heard. If you’re worried about being called in for jury duty, think about it this way ~ wouldn’t it be nice to be on the OTHER end of the courtroom and get paid for it?
Serving the Gallatin Valley for 21 years
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Jimmy One’s Gardening Tips…
Intro to growing So, you’re thinking about growing your own medicine? There are lots of questions that you should be asking yourself right now. It may seem overwhelming, but don’t worry! Relax; take a deep breath and SMILE! You’re legal to grow your own medicine now (be very certain that you are following all of the rules)! With a little education, YOU can do this! First and foremost, if you are planning on growing your own medical marijuana, you need to think of WHERE you will locate your garden. Will your garden be indoors or outdoors, will your garden be in a green-
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house? If you are planning on an outdoor garden, remember that we are in Montana and we regularly experience a short growing season. If you are planning an indoor garden, the best place is in a basement if you have one to use. The basement is usually a great environment for an indoor garden. It appears that when your garden is located in the ground, it helps keep your garden at almost perfect temperatures year around. An added bonus? Your security is much better in the basement. Not everybody has a basement, so you will need to look at other options that may include an attic (beware of heat), spare bedroom, or closet. Maybe you don’t want or are not able to locate your garden inside of your home, so you may consider the garage or a shed. Are none of the options listed above a good option for you? You may want to consider a portable grow room. Probably the biggest disadvantage of locating your garden outside of the house is security. The further from the house, the more tempting it may be for somebody to
want to try and take your medicine. Room Options Include: 1. Basement 2. Spare Room 3. Garage 4. Attic 5. Outbuilding 6. Greenhouse 7. Outdoor Garden 8. Portable Grow Room This column has been your intro to growing, and things to consider when planning on where to locate your garden for growing your own medical marijuana. Each edition of Montana Connect, I will teach you something about growing. In our next issue, we will learn about different growing techniques (soil or hydroponics) as well as a Q&A section from this subject. ~Jimmy One is an active Montana Medical Growers Association (MMGA) member and is with Jimmy1 “Green Thumb” Gardens at http://www.NeverHaulWaterAgain.com. Questions, comments and suggestions can be directed to Jimmy One at jimmy1@neverhaulwateragain.com
Historical Facts Early Chinese doctoring was based on the concept of demons. The only way to cure the sick was to drive out the demons. The early priest doctors used marijuana stalks into which snakelike figures were carved. Standing over the body of the stricken patient, his cannabis stalk poised to strike, the priest pounded the bed and commanded the demon to be gone. The cannabis stalk with the snake carved on it was the forerunner to the sign of modern medicine – the caduceus The stalk of the hemp plant has two parts, called the bast and the hurd. The fiber (bast) of the hemp plant can be woven into almost any kind of cloth. It is very durable. In fact, the first Levi’s blue jeans were made out of hemp for just this reason. There are over 60 chemicals in marijuana which may have medical uses.
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The Montana Medical Growers Association is coming up on its one year anniversary. We hope you will be able to attend. It is scheduled for October 10-11 2010. See www.montanamedicalgrowers.org or our Facebook page for more details. You may also call 1-406-640-0910 for details.
In the News
There have been a number of factors that have now increased the patient count in Montana to over 19,000 and the number of caregivers to 3,900 as of June 30, 2010. When many Montana physicians were prohibited by their employers to recommend medical marijuana to deserving patients or they felt they did not have enough information to feel comfortable making recommendations, there became a shortage of available physicians forcing deserving patients to drive multiple hours to find a physician. Traveling clinics were established to help ease the physician shortage. This gave many patients the opportunity to receive their recommendation who otherwise would not have been able to get one, due to where they live or the reluctance or refusal of their primary physician to sign their medical recommendation. Some of these tele-clinics have come under scrutiny by the State Board of Medical Examiners for the Physicians not providing the appropriate patient standard of care to patients. It is essential that any clinic, whether it is with a physician present or via tele-clinic, remembers that the Montana Medical Marijuana Initiative was designed for patients with a medical need. Recommendations given to individuals who do not fit the current
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criteria could very well have a devastating impact on those patients that desperately need and deserve medical marijuana. Our struggle now is not about moving medical marijuana forward or adding conditions or improving patient access to quality medicine as it should be; it is about trying not to lose ground. As more and more physicians are gaining additional education on medical marijuana, they are becoming more comfortable with making recommendations for qualified patients. Patients can feel secure in knowing that the State Board of Medical Examiners is keeping an eye on licensed doctors and ensuring that all patients receive the Standard of Care that is required. Additionally, many facilities have eased the restrictions placed on their doctors, such as was recently done by the Department of Veterans Affairs, offering VA doctors the opportunity to monitor medical marijuana licensed patients in their care. While the great majority of caregivers have been following the rules, asking about gray areas in the law and being respectful of those that may disagree with us, there have been some very misguided actions by a few. One concern is the ongoing “in your face” approach that we have continued to see on the front page of the newspaper. The people engaging in these acts have been misguided, believing that people not in favor of medical marijuana will just get used to it. It is important to look at the history of the different social movements to understand how the actions of individuals have made positive impacts or, in some cases, had disastrous results. The concept of civil disobedience has a long tradition, but the misguided steps of some have used it at the wrong time in the development and advancement of medical marijuana in Montana. This type of action may be necessary in a movement that is either stagnant or just starting. However in the case of medical marijuana in Montana, things were moving along well, and we were gaining the support of those just learning about the benefits of this medicine as we moved forward in our education initiatives. The problems caused by a small minority have been instrumental in giving an excuse to
those against medical marijuana to shut down medical use in some cities and have limited the availability of the medicine to Patients that need and deserve this medicine. A number of us participated in the Children, Families, Health and Human Services Interim workgroup this summer attempting to guide the legislature toward potential new legislation. Unfortunately, the negative press regarding events that occurred totally sidelined our efforts to reach a reasonable compromise. As a result, we now find ourselves again defending the rights of the patients. Shame on those who have caused this backlash. By publically stating the law is of no consequence, that everyone should get a card regardless of medical condition, or that 8 minutes is too long for an appointment is a slap in the face to every patient that may now have a more difficult time obtaining the medicine they so rightly deserve or, in some cases, could have their licenses revoked because it was obtained at a questionable clinic. All too often zealots find their mark in history not as they had planned. We have come too far to let the actions of a few totally derail the positive impact and professionalism that the majority of caregivers in the State have brought. Another thing that should be mentioned to all caregivers and patients in the State of Montana: there have been an increasing number of complaints of individuals, including agents from law enforcement, attempting to solicit illegal activity from law abiding patients and caregivers. Now all of this activity is, of course, not just perpetrated by law enforcement and their informants. It is also individuals that either do not qualify for a medical marijuana license or do not wish to legally obtain one. A number of patients are being solicited to sell medicine to a non patients. This is a common rouse to try and entrap a patient. As a patient you are not permitted to sell any medicine to anyone. As a caregiver make certain you only serve the patient who has selected you as a caregiver and never sell more than one ounce per transaction. Above all, keep detailed records in terms of your plant count, inventory and sales records.
We are asking all caregivers and patients to make certain they are not entrapped by seemingly legitimate requests by individuals posing as patients and to report to a hotline <info@montanamedicalgrowers. org> the names and telephone numbers of anyone trying to make suspicious purchases. It will be our attempt to bring to light who these individuals are and to assist in exposure and or prosecution where possible.
November Elections
We are less than 2 months away from the mid-term elections. Medical marijuana seems to be at the top of the list as the most important issue at stake in this election. Candidates running for office will fall into 4 different categories: 1. Candidates wanting to repeal medical marijuana 2. Candidates wanting to legalize marijuana 3. Candidates wanting to completely overhaul the current medical marijuana law 4. Candidates wanting to fix the things that are broken but not a complete overhaul. Everyone must be registered and vote in the upcoming November elections. If you are not registered to vote where you currently live, register today! If there is no candidate in your district that will support the medical marijuana movement, you have until September 24th to register as a write-in candidate. We will attempt to determine where each candidate running stands on the various issues involved with medical marijuana. Stay tuned to different websites (http://www.montananorml. org or www.montanamedicalgrowers.org where we will be providing voter information. If you are not registered to vote where you currently live, register today! The MMGA & Upcoming Events On October 10th and 11th the Montana Medical Growers Association will have its annual meeting. Irvin Rosenfeld, one of 4 surviving federal medical marijuana patients, will be our guest speaker. That’s right, a federal patient who every month receives approximately 9 ounces of medical
marijuana grown by the federal government. In addition, we will have a symposium and will host seminars and panels to help everyone become more informed on the realities of medical marijuana in Montana, new research on medical conditions with anticipated participation from the traditional medical community, and information on the law and legal issues presented by law enforcement. Plan on attending both days at the Red Lion Colonial in Helena. The MMGA continues to grow with 6 chapters now and more on the way. For information about chapter meetings please contact our Chapter Directors or info@montanamedicalgrowers.org: Central – (Helena) Ron Rosenthal rosenthalron@hotmail.com North Central - (Great Falls) Brandon Tillett brandon@montanamedicalgrowers.org South Central – (Bozeman) Charlie Gaillard joinergroup@aol.com North West – (Kalispell/Whitefish) Ed Docter ed.tamarack@gmail. com South East – (Billings) James Haney heavenscentcannabis@gmail. com South West- (Missoula) Taylin Lang taylnlang@gmail.com For those of you with no e-mail access - Please call 406-640-0910 to contact your chapter director. If you have e-mail access - please contact your chapter director directly. Be safe, follow the law as it is written, and we will be able to positively influence the 2011 legislation. The more negative press (which is mostly what the press wants to print), the more difficult it will be for the legitimate legal caregivers to provide the necessary medicine to the patients in the state of Montana. Visit www.montanamedicalgrowers.org for up to date information on the law and issues regarding medical marijuana in Montana. Be sure to find us on Facebook too!
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Patients May Suffer from “Bad & Ugly” -Changes to the Law-
by Tom Daubert Founder/director Patients & Families United
Patients will be deeply affected by the 2011 Montana Legislature. It is possible the medical marijuana law will be significantly improved, to the benefit of patients as well as law enforcement and others who have had concerns – and this is certainly the goal Patients & Families United has been striving for since the end of the 2009 session. But it also likely that in addition to improvements, the Legislature will adopt provisions that create enormous new difficulties – and draconian penalties – for a great number of already suffering patients. The 2009 session ended with legislators having a supportive understanding of the importance of medical marijuana to varied kinds of patients – and legislators seemed to appreciate that the growing community of patients and caregivers was focused on doing things well and following the law. But things have changed drastically. Legislators today are under enormous pressure to make drastic changes, and their prevailing impression is that our law is horribly broken. Highly visible traveling “caravans” that dispensed hundreds and even thousands of patient recommendations in a single day; ostentatious and arrogant public behavior by some people,
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including those who launched these “clinics”; and the appearance of flashy “dispensaries” operated in some cases by people who had long been known as felons by local law enforcement… these factors over the past year have produced predictably severe, negative effects on the public standing of Montana’s medical marijuana law. Measures to repeal our law entirely will be introduced, but in my view they won’t pass. But other likely proposals will be very difficult to stop, and Montana patients stand to lose cherished ground that we were the first in the nation to win. For example, the right of people on probation to be legal patients if their medical conditions warrant is likely to be lost. In addition, lifetime loss of patient privileges may become a penalty for registered patients convicted of diverting cannabis to non-patients or who break the law in other ways. As of mid-August, three proposed changes are especially awful for patients – and don’t necessarily address the problems that motivate the legislators who support them, either. The worst of the proposals so far: Chronic pain patients would be required to obtain a recommendation from two separate physicians, one of them a pain specialist. This would functionally penalize pain patients for their medical woes, costing extra money few patients have and in all likelihood preventing most genuine chronic pain patients from obtaining registry cards. Why? Because Montana has so few pain specialists, it appears probable that most currently registered pain patients would be unable to gain access to these physicians even if they can afford the long-distance travel and significant fees that would be involved. This tentative decision by the interim committee constitutes a gross overreaction to the impression legislators have acquired that many of the state’s registered chronic pain patients do not suffer pain significant enough to warrant the use of cannabis. And this new constraint is unnecessary in light
of numerous other changes the interim committee has been planning that would govern the physician-recommendation process. Our view is: Tighten up the physician-recommendation end of things, but don’t target particular medical conditions; leave it to licensed physicians, not legislators, to make medical judgments about specific patients – following a solid and more medically defensible procedure than some of the recommending physicians have used to date. A stricter procedure for physicians to follow, that respects the medical judgments only they have the training to make, can resolve the “abuse by unworthy patients” issue that legislators perceive without punishing the thousands of genuine pain patients the law was intended to help. Keep in mind: national data applied to Montana suggest that at least 25,000 adult Montanans lead lives seriously debilitated by pain that is completely untreated or undertreated at best. Our state’s medical cannabis law is meant no less for their fair choice than for patients who suffer cancer, glaucoma or any of the law’s other cited qualifying conditions. Does state law require two physician prescriptions, one from a pain specialist, before a person may receive Oxycontin? No caregiver-to-caregiver exchanges of cannabis allowed. This would have obviously devastating effects on most patients unless the Legislature makes other changes, such as allowing patients to obtain cannabis from any legal caregiver, increasing the plant and medicine possession limits specified in the law, or creating some kind of regulated “bank” via which one caregiver’s “overage” could legally become another caregiver’s supply, as needed. The plain fact is that even the best growers suffer crop failures at times, and most caregivers experience days or weeks during which they have no available supply. If caregivers lose the option of helping each other through dry spells (currently a gray area in the
law), patients will suffer severely. This issue is critical in light of the fact that a huge percentage of medical marijuana patients in the past needed opiates and other prescription drugs. Cannabis has allowed them to reduce or eliminate their use of these other drugs – as a result of which they no longer have ready access to them during times of no cannabis. No affirmative defense of any kind. This would be an enormous setback for patients, particularly unless the Legislature were to make numerous improvements in the law that currently seem politically unlikely. Law enforcement officials want the lines between legal and illegal cannabis to be drawn clearly in black and white – and patients wouldn’t disagree with that goal so long as the lines are drawn broadly enough to allow them to function as needed to relieve their medical conditions. Those of us involved in the use of medical marijuana well understand the host of legitimate reasons for at least occasionally possessing more than a single ounce of cannabis at a time, for example (one of the important situations where the
affirmative defense clause applies). If patients lose the right to explain themselves in a court defense, if needed, the worst-case risk is that state courts will be rendered as punitive as federal courts, in which the legitimacy of medical use is unrecognized and a defendant is literally prohibited from even mentioning “medical marijuana.” There are many ways the Legislature could effectively address law enforcement concerns about the law’s existing affirmative defense clause without eliminating the affirmative defense completely and in all cases. Patients & Families United is working hard, behind the scenes, using a careful strategy to oppose proposals like these, and we remain cautiously optimistic about our long-term prospects to defend patient rights next winter. It will be critically important that patients participate in this year’s elections by voting and in next year’s lobbying effort at the Legislature. But the wrong kind of lobbying, including angry or juvenile behavior, can do far more damage to patient rights than no lobbying at all. Toward the goal of mounting an effective, positive effort for patients next
winter, Patients & Families United plans to hold a series of meetings and workshops in various locations around the state later this year. We will announce these gatherings well in advance via our news/update and other means. We invite caregivers who are willing to help us educate and organize the patients they work with to contact us soon, by emailing doebare@aol.com. If you are not receiving our periodic e-newsletter and updates, please ask to be added by emailing info@mtpfu.org ~Tom Daubert managed the campaign for I-148 in 2004 and founded Patients & Families United in 2006 to represent the interests of medical marijuana patients as well as pain patients, whether they use cannabis or not. He was the primary author of all the bills to improve the
Medical Marijuana Act considered at the 2007 and 2009 legislative sessions, and has led other drug policy reform efforts in Montana since 2005. He has lobbied all but one session of the Montana Legislature since 1981.
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Granny Storm Crow’s List How this list came about“If the truth won’t do, then something is wrong!” Those were the furious words of my grandfather to my Mother. I had walked in from joyfully stuffing my face with red raspberries in the garden, straight into “war zone”! My gentle grandfather in a fury, his hand raised! Mom was just beginning to shrink back away from him. They saw me and quickly sent me away. But it was too late, the scene and the words were seared into my 5-year-old brain. That was over 55 years ago, but I still remember it clearly. My grandfather was a minister, one very short step away from God in my young mind. It was one of those life changing moments. It is still rare for me to tell a lie. I never found out what my Mother’s lie was. As a child, I suffered a traumatic head injury. Another child tried to murder me with a hammer. I was left with frequent migraines. At 19, like many rebellious teens, I tried cannabis. It took about a year for me to make the connection between using cannabis and the absence of my normally frequent migraines. I have used cannabis ever since. I am an avid reader. While perusing an old book on herbal medicine, I read how the little old ladies of Mexico made and used a cannabis/tequila rub on their arthritic hands. Then I met Joey, an epileptic
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musician. He told me another interesting fact- when he had pot he could cut his medication in half! On a camping trip years later, I smelled an unmistakable odor. Following my nose, I was totally shocked to find a grandmotherly lady in her 70s puffing away on a delicate oriental pipe. “Parkinson’s. And the pot’s way cheaper than the pills!” Her nephew kept her well supplied, she said. We had a nice chat about various medical uses of cannabis. Epilepsy, Parkinson’s, arthritis, and my migraines! What else was it good for? Yet every news article on cannabis that I saw, claimed one new horror after another. Men grew breasts and were impotent. Women became sterile, or miscarried. It made you crazy and murderous. Made you lazy and do nothing. It caused cancer and heart attacks...What I had learned on my own and from others and what I was being told in the press were so different! What was the truth? I began researching. I printed the first studies up and kept them in a notebook, just as a personal reference. The notebook quickly filled. I started a Word file of the URLs and on July 30 2007, I posted it. It continues to grow. Here’s some of what I have found. All I’ve done is copy the URLs, then put them all in some semblance order for everyone to use as a reference. Please feel free to share this list with anyone who could ben-
efit from it. The list can be found in it’s entirety at the website listed below, but be sure to watch future issues for excerpts of Granny Crow’s list. http://forum.grasscity.com/medicalmarijuana/314173-granny-storm-crowslist-2009-a.html
Farmer Continued from Page 4 around your plants on days above 90 degrees, you’re a farmer. The fact that you might know that a heavy sativa is a better fit for something like PTSD does not change what you do in your garden. The Department of Agriculture ALREADY regulates farming activities across the state and has done so for many years, and under heavy regulatory schemes. Farmers themselves often very involved in postfarming activities and education, and the Department of Agriculture provides assistance to farmers in ways to increase the value of their produce. I believe the Department can assist the marijuana farmers in a similar way. What can you do to help us get where we belong? For starters, you can register your grow operation as a nursery under the Department of Agriculture. It costs $25 to apply, and it actually gives you access to some of the resources of the Department just for asking. Go visit http:// www.agr.mt.gov/crops/nursery.asp for more information on obtaining your nursery license. Next? Tell your representative about the work you do and where you think you belong in our new world of regulation.
How to Choose the Caregiver that is right for you Choosing a caregiver can be a very daunting experience. When you first walk into a caregiver’s location, the experience is surreal for many. It is easy to get distracted and forget to ask questions. Here are some things to consider when selecting a caregiver to suit your medical marijuana medication needs: How do you intend to treat your condition? Will you smoke or vaporize? Do you have any desire to smoke? Have you considered edibles? Tinctures? Is cost a factor? Does the caregiver have a low-income plan? SO many questions! What is a patient to do? First – sort out in your mind which method you think may be more effective for you. Some patients treat only with edibles, some only with bud, and some with both. The most immediate form of relief with medical marijuana is smoking or vaporizing. THC is immediately taken into the blood stream and effects are felt within minutes, if not simply a few seconds. These methods are a more “measured” way of dosing with medical marijuana as effects are felt almost immediately and the patient can simply wait a minute or so to see how the relief is and gauge upon how they feel if they should smoke or vaporize any more. Smoking is the most common method associated with the use of cannabis. Cannabis is most typically smoked in a pipe or a joint. Some people prefer to use a bong to smoke their cannabis. A bong is a pipe with water in it, and the water cools the smoke before it is inhaled.
If you are completely against the idea of smoking medical marijuana you may want to consider trying a vaporizer. A vaporizer is a unit designed to heat and vaporize only the THC from the plant matter. What you are actually inhaling is not plant matter smoke, but a vapor of THC that delivers immediate relief. Many “Cannaseurs” like to both vaporize AND smoke their cannabis as vaporizing allows for the full flavor of the THC to be enjoyed, and the plant matter has another taste entirely with some strains. There are actually cannabinoids deep within the plant matter that are extracted only by smoking. Vape Weed is the remains of the plant matter post-vaporization. Some patients save this “vape weed” for times when they are really suffering or not sleeping, and they smoke it in a pipe. By smoking it in the pipe with the hotter flame and heat it releases the deeper cannabinoids in the plant matter and the patient finds a deeper pain relief. Vape Weed is very effective for insomnia in some folk. It can also be used for cooking. It is important to know and understand what products and methods of canna medicine are available to you to treat whatever symptom may ail you. Different caregivers are good at different things. It is important to make a list of things you require – or think you may require, and discuss them with your physician.
first your certifying physician. Take notes prior to appointment, and check off questions as they are answered. What meds can be eliminate with Canna medicine? What meds should I keep no matter what? INCORPORATE canna medicine into your health care. Even if your regular attending physician did not sign your recommendation, tell them you are practicing canna medicine and you wish to incorporate it into your healthcare. Educate your health care personnel. Ask questions of potential caregivers to find the one who is right for YOU. How many patients do they currently serve? Is there enough medication for everyone all the time? Do you grow all of your own medication? Do you provide edibles? Tinctures? Ask what products and strain varieties they have. Ask if they are in perpetual harvest with their garden. Not all of these questions may be of utmost importance to all patients, but simply a list and guideline of the questions patients may want to ask. Please keep in mind here – each of us have different needs and what works for one may not work for another. The positive thing about Canna Medicine is, you can never kill yourself or overdose when medicating with medical marijuana. The only downside is in the beginning of treatment, figuring out dosages. The worst that can happen is you may need a nap.
Key points to note here are:
Learn about Canna Medicine and how you wish to treat yourself. Do not be afraid to ask questions. Ask
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Medical Marijuana Independent Poll
On July 24, 2010 an independent poll was conducted by Ed Docter, Quinn Micklewright, and James Blair at the Heritage Days event in Columbia Falls. The folks polled were simply attending the heritage days event and volunteered to fill out survey. Over the course of the day – 104 people were polled. You will find the results below:
1. Did you vote yes or no on Montana’s Initiative 148 to legalize the use of medical marijuana? YES NO N/A 55% 32% 14% 2. Are you satisfied with the current law? YES NO N/A 38% 53% 9% 3. Do you believe in the medicinal advantages of marijuana? YES NO N/A 88% 12% 0 4. Do you support full legalization of marijuana? YES NO N/A 69% 28% 2% 5. Are you currently prescribed any pain medication? YES NO N/A 59% 41% 0 6. Do you believe that medicinal marijuana is beneficial to your local economy? YES NO N/A 77% 18% 5% 7. Do you believe that medicinal marijuana should be regulated YES NO N/A 77% 17% 6% 8. Do you believe a doctor should be allowed to prescribe/recommend medicinal marijuana? YES NO N/A 91% 7% 2% 9. Are you currently up to date with the issues involving medicinal marijuana? YES NO N/A 63% 34% 3% 10. Are you aware of the rise in pharmaceutical pain killer abuse? YES NO N/A 85% 13% 2%
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Important Election Dates
Oct. 4 – 5 p.m. deadline for regular voter registration for General Election Oct. 5 – Beginning of late registration period for General Election Nov. 2 – Federal General Election Fall elections are approaching quickly. The importance of getting out and voting in this election can’t be stressed enoug. We are precariously close to losing our medical marijuana program. as we know it. There are many recommendations being presented that can make the program so unusable that it might as well not exist. Now is our chance to vote for the people that will make these decisions in January, decisions that will affect all of our lives. I f you are not registered to vote, please do so as soon as possible. Your number must be counted. Listed below are links to guide you through the voting process and stay informed. Educate yourself on the candidates. Check out the link for the mail in voting, a.k.a. the Absentee Ballot. Absentee voting is easy and convenient. You receive the ballot in the mail, sit at your desk, call the candidates and discuss the issues as you vote. When you’re research is complete, the absentee ballot can be mailed or dropped off at any time before the the general election. Make a point to contact your legislators! They need to know the true numbers of the medical marijuana community, and to understand that we are the third party that will affect the voting numbers in the next election. Above all, be polite! Overemotional ranting is counterproductive. Sources of information: http://leg.mt.gov/css/About-the-Legislature/Lawmaking-Process/contact-legislators.asp For more information, to see if you’re registered to vote, etc. http://sos.mt.gov/vote/index.asp Sign up for mail in (absentee) voting, and other information http://sos.mt.gov/Elections/Vote/index.asp The MT NORML voter guide w/ information on the candidates. http://files.montananorml.org/2010VoterGuide_20100603. pdf The site of the Children and Families interim committee. Here you can read their recommendation report and listen to the minutes of the meetings. http://leg.mt.gov/css/Committees/interim/2009_2010/Children_Family/
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