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Special Committee Suggests Kansas Move Forward with Medical Cannabis
by Lisa Ash Sublett, Bleeding Kansas Advocates
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On October 30th, the Special Committee on Federal and State Affairs met to discuss the possible public impact of a state medical cannabis program and policy recommendations. The special committee recommended that the state move forward with establishing a state medical cannabis program, then further recommended potential regulations.
There have been more than a dozen cannabis-related bills put forward since 2006. This recommendation was a HUGE step forward for Kansas. Even though these recommendations are not binding to the overall legislature, it does carry weight with the other lawmakers. The belief among many capitol insiders is that this topic will be up for discussion right out of the gate when the new session of the Kansas legislature begins in early January. While some lawmakers may still be stuck on issues like FDA approval and state’s rights versus federal law, most were asking questions about how to best implement a state program and even asking about how to protect patients from overpricing and rights violations.
There has been a lot of misunderstanding about what was recommended and what it may mean for Kansas patients. First, while they did recommend that legal patients from other states be granted safe passage through Kansas, this was not meant as a substitute for establishing a state program for Kansas, as many misunderstood. It was simply presented as a policy point that they wish to see included. The committee recommended that the Ohio state medical cannabis program be used as an example. Many of us are all too aware of the many issues with the Ohio program. They also recommended that smoking and vaping not be allowed. I reiterate that these are not binding recommendations. If patients have concerns about these issues, the best thing you can do is to go to www.openstates.org, see who your senators and house representatives are, and then email and call them. Be aware that most lawmakers are not using their official emails off-session. It may be better to send to the official email address, but carbon copy or “cc” their other email. They also will not be answering their office phone until January. You will need to utilize one of their alternative numbers, if available. You can find all of this information on www.kslegislature.org. Just enter their names in the search box on the left. Let your lawmakers know that you support a state medical cannabis program for Kansas, and why. Then, if you disagree with the other recommendations of the committee, you must send research and information to help educate them and back up your stance.
Many people are working hard to educate lawmakers about the issues. Information that includes: the recent CDC findings pertaining to vitamin E acetate involvement in the vape-related lung illnesses; information about dry herb vaporizers and other types of vaporizers; why fast-acting inhalation methods work best for some symptoms; how proper regulation and enforcement equals prevention and protection for patients; and an outline of the problems that have occurred for patients within the Ohio state program.
Additionally, education on the fact that federal prohibition prevents FDA approval. Finally, 33 other states have established state programs with no fear from the federal authorities as federal lawmakers continue to prohibit the use of Justice Department funds to prosecute any participants of state-legal cannabis programs. They recently renewed this stance, as they have annually for the last five years. “The medical cannabis provision in question prohibits the Department of Justice from using its resources to prosecute individuals acting in compliance with state laws. The rider has been in place and renewed each year since 2014. 1
“Proponents of this, they want to get high,” Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter said to the committee. “That’s my opinion of it, and that’s the opinion of law enforcement.” The Kansas Medical Society is against the proposal citing a lack of FDA approval. “Until it’s proven medically effective, we don’t support legislating what can be prescribed in that arena,” said Rachelle Colombo, the society’s director of government affairs. I will just note here that, to date, there are now over 20,000 published studies or reviews in the scientific literature about cannabis and its active compounds. According to the World Health Organization, there is most assuredly established efficacy 2 and also per the National Cancer Institute. 3 Finally, the National Institute of Health has recently announced their new research project to investigate minor cannabinoids and terpenes for potential painrelieving properties. 4
The full list of who testified in opposition can be found, along with PDF versions of all the written testimony, both for and against, at http://kslegislature.org/li/b2019_20/committees/ctte_spc_2019_fed_ and_state_affairs_1/documents/.
All in all, this was an important first step. The work must continue, and it will take teamwork to see victory. It is time to come off the bench and join the push to the end zone. You can join our team at www.bksadvocates.org.
References:
1. https://www.marijuanamoment.net/senate-approves-billprotecting-medical-marijuana-states-from-federal-interventi on/ 2. https://www.who.int/medicines/access/controlledsubstances/6_2_cannabis_update.pdf 3. https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/cam/hp/ cannabis-pdq#_7 4. https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-investigateminor-cannabinoids-terpenes-potential-pain-relievin g-properties
How Do I Set Up My Medical Marijuana Home Grow?
Just ask Leah...
by Leah Maurer, Contributing Writer
A native Missourian, Leah Maurer is a cannajournalist, creative marketing consultant, and activist who now lives in Portland, OR. She is also the Editorial Lead at www.TheWeedBlog.com, a cannabis news and information publication where she serves as the Editorial Lead. Leah was very involved in Oregon’s cannabis legalization, helping found New Approach Oregon, an organization responsible for drafting and campaigning for Measure 91. Additionally, in 2014 Leah founded “Moms for YES on Measure 91,” its grassroots efforts proved pivotal in the passage of legalizing recreational/adult-use cannabis in the State. Leah is a social justice and cannabis activist at the core and hopes to see the prohibition of cannabis end on a federal level and normalize it across America — and someday, worldwide. As the medical cannabis regulations continue to be implemented in Missouri, medical marijuana patients are left with many questions as they navigate this new space (and freedom!). Word has it that the majority of Missouri MMJ patients plan to do home grows for sourcing their medicine, which is an excellent option and gives patients full control of strains, cultivation practices, harvest, and curing. Plus, how freeing will it feel to have cannabis growing in your house after decades of prohibition?
To begin, learn as much as you can about compliance for home grows. The regulations will likely continue to evolve. Still, for now, Missouri law states that registered MMJ patients are allowed to grow plants at home upon receipt of a patient cultivation identification card. There is an additional $100 fee to grow per patient with security regulations that must be followed. When you fill out your patient cultivation identification application, be prepared to ensure the state that your home grow will be enclosed, locked, and that only the patient (or patient and caregiver) will have access to it. One qualifying MMJ patient may cultivate up to six flowering marijuana plants, six nonflowering marijuana plants (over 14 inches tall), and six clones (plants under fourteen 14 inches tall).
For more details and to stay current on any changes, check the “Medical Marijuana” section of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) website.
Once patients know the rules and are in full compliance, they can move on to assessing which space in their home is best for the grow to be set up. Many patients choose a closet or otherwise contained space or use a grow tent to contain their plants.
Some factors to consider when choosing a space in your home are:
• Amount of space your plants will need • Whether your grow space will need protection from light (your grow space needs to be safe from any unwanted light, especially when the flowering period comes) • Airflow, temperature, and humidity • Cleanliness
After you have chosen a space in your home for cultivation, the main components that your home grow will need for success include:
• Lighting: The quality of light in your grow room is a crucial environmental factor in the quality and quantity of your cannabis yields • Air: Plants need fresh air to thrive and carbon dioxide for photosynthesis, which means you will need a steady stream of air flowing through your grow room. Temperature and exhaust fans are also something to consider here. • Controls/monitoring: Once you have selected your lights and climate control equipment, you may want to automate their functions. In particular, the timing of the light/dark cycle is essential when growing cannabis. • Grow medium: While there are many soilless options for growing cannabis, I always advise patients to begin with soil if they have never done this before. Hydroponics, rockwool, vermiculite, expanded clay pebbles, perlite, and coco coir, to name a few, are also options. • Containers: What type of container you use will depend on the medium, the system, and the size of your plants. Just remember that drainage is key here.
Pop-up homegrow room kits are perfect for small grows.
Nutrients: Growing high-quality cannabis flowers requires more fertilizer, or nutrients, than most common crops. Your plants need
Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium (collectively known as macronutrients) and will need micronutrients as well.
Water: Some water contains a high amount of dissolved minerals that can build up in the root zone and affect nutrient uptake. It also may contain fungus or other pathogens that aren’t harmful to people but can lead to root disease. For these reasons and others, many patients choose to filter the water they use in their MMJ home grows. Also, it’s imperative not to overwater your plants. Each of these categories has a multitude of different product options, far too many to list here! I advise taking each category and assessing it for what your space will allow and what will work best for you. Keep in mind that even if your plants grow indoors, they are not safe from pests, excessive humidity, and other hazards typical to any gardening activity. Yet, there is no essential need to stock up on every single product available; just provide the best care possible and observe the plants’ symptoms if any issues arise.
Generally, your local hydroponics shop can answer any questions you may have. If that doesn’t feel like a good option, I encourage you to attend a local NORML chapter meeting where you can meet other patients and activists who may be able to answer your questions or send you in the right direction.
While all of this might sound confusing and overwhelming, it’s truly not that difficult — the cannabis plant was nicknamed weed for a reason! If you can grow a tomato plant, you will very likely also have
success growing cannabis! Growing high-quality cannabis flowers requires more fertilizer, or nutrients, than most common crops. Visit your local Hydroponics and Grow supply store for help and guidance.
Have a cannabis education related question for Leah? I am Leah, the Editorial Lead at The Weed Blog, a St. Louis native, and have been a cannabis activist since 2010! I am excited to help answer all your medical marijuana patient questions as the Missouri industry and market emerges. Please send your questions to leah@theweedblog.com, and you may be featured in a future issue of The EVOLUTION Magazine. Thank you for letting me help you navigate this space as we push the cannabis movement forward together!
Cannabis versus Cancer
Part 1
by Peter Kershaw, Contributing Writer
One of the most significant figures in the history of cannabis prohibition is Richard Nixon. “Tricky Dick” ordered several “marijuana studies,” each predetermined to show that cannabis is highly addictive, socially destructive, and dangerous to mental and physical health. Not one of Nixon’s studies ever produced the results for which he’d hoped. In fact, they consistently showed quite the opposite. Studies that didn’t produce Nixon’s desired findings were buried.
One of these studies was commissioned via the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 1974 with the stated objective of showing a cause-and-effect relationship between smoking cannabis and lung cancer. When the study was completed the following year, it did show a cause-and-effect relationship. However, the effect proved to be exactly the opposite of Nixon’s wishes. The Medical College of Virginia’s study proved unequivocally that cannabis not only doesn’t cause cancer but that it curtails the growth of cancerous lung tumors and even kills off cancer cells. The findings should have prompted further studies, including human trials. Instead, the study was suppressed. When the Virginia Study ultimately leaked a decade later, it was ignored by the American medical journals, and it received scant press coverage.
Peter Kershaw is a best selling author of Economic Solutions (over 1 million sold). He is a cannabis grow consultant for OuiCann and manufacturer’s rep for Luminate Systems. Peter can be texted at 417.230.4445 or email at pkershaw.email@gmail.com. Nixon’s success in classifying cannabis as a Schedule 1 drug has, for decades, hamstrung any meaningful scientific research in the U.S. on the health benefits of cannabis. The Federal government predetermined that cannabis has no medicinal benefits and, therefore, no research can be performed that might show anything contrary. Universities and medical research facilities are heavily dependent on federal grant money. Producing a study resulting in findings contradictory to federal policy can, and probably will, result in any and all such grants thereafter being permanently cut off.
The scope of U.S. government anti-cannabis policy has reached around the globe. Thankfully, not every government has succumbed to such pressures. Israel is a prime example where the study of medicinal cannabis has been ongoing for many years. The findings there on the medicinal use of cannabis for many ailments are overwhelmingly positive.
American hospital system doctors find their hands tied in recommending cannabis to their patients (not so much for private practice doctors). However, we occasionally find examples of oncologists who may give a wink and a nod to cannabis for their cancer patients suffering from the life-threatening effects that come from chemotherapy and radiation. Even Big Pharma, at least to some limited degree, has seen the benefit of cannabis-derived drugs, as evidenced by the FDA approved Marinol. Marinol is prescribed for nausea that accompanies chemotherapy. Chemotherapy often results in significant weight loss due to persistent nausea. Patients can even starve to death. However, as is so often the case with pharmaceuticals, Marinol uses only one “active molecule” (THC) and therefore lacks the entourage effect of the plant’s many other cannabinoids. The drug often fails to produce the desired results. Furthermore, because Marinol is orally administered, nauseous patients will often just vomit it back up again.
There are more and more doctors who’ve come to recognize that using the burn and poison methods as cancer treatments are horrific for the patient and even life-threatening. There is even strong evidence to show that chemotherapy kills more people than it saves. Even if they survive chemotherapy, a patient’s long-term prognosis after undergoing such treatments is often dismal. Chemotherapy causes extensive organ and immune system damage from which a patient may never fully recover, which puts the body at a significant disadvantage in fighting off future cancers and other illnesses.
Cannabis has been scientifically shown to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors while not adversely impacting the immune system. Many people have seen complete remission of not just cancer but other serious diseases too. However, to achieve the desired results, one must consume a high dose and concentration of cannabis oil, over several months. It’s typically administered orally, by suppository, topically, vaping, or a combination of these.
A legendary figure in the world of medicinal cannabis is Canada’s Rick Simpson. In 2003, Rick was diagnosed with multiple skin cancers. He underwent repeated doctor treatments, but these only worsened his condition. After giving up on his doctors, Rick applied a drop of cannabis oil to a bandage and placed it on a cancer lesion. He reapplied the treatment several more times, and within three days,
Original RSO Oil is very dark — tar-like. Because of unsafe solvents used during the making of RSO oil, it’s advisable to buy the product at a Missouri dispensary. the cancer was completely healed. Rick ramped up production of his oil, ultimately providing it to many hundreds of patients. The results were remarkable. Rick became an activist and gained considerable attention across Canada with his “Rick Simpson Oil” (RSO). Like other cancer treatment pioneers who came years before him (e.g., Royal Raymond Rife, Max Gerson, etc.), he found himself being persecuted and prosecuted. Nevertheless, Rick soldiered on.
Given that anyone with the means to produce high-quality concentrated cannabis oil* can treat themselves or loved ones with only nominal expense, it’s unlikely we’ll ever see the day that the U.S. “healthcare” industry, and its lacky government protectors, will ever give their approval to treating cancer with cannabis. We can continue believing they know what’s best for us, or we can take our health into our own hands.
Next month, we’ll delve into the protocols and how-tos of cannabis oil for cancer.
Footnote: *Rick Simpson recommends no one produce the oil in the manner he originally did (he used cheap and unsafe solvents). The information is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content is for general information purposes only.
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When Owners of Cannabis Assets Pass Away
by Aubrey Gann-Redmon Contributing Writer
Imagine this scenario: Mary Jane has suffered from severe, intractable migraines for years. Mary goes to her doctor and learns that she has a qualifying condition. No other medication has worked, she heard cannabis might be able to help and wants to try it for her migraines. She obtains a doctor’s certification and applies to cultivate her own medicine. She’s approved, and she begins growing a strain anecdotally known to help migraine sufferers.
Mary is also a mother and a wife. She wants to ensure that her family members are safe and cannot access her medical cannabis at home. Mary keeps the grow room door locked and is the only one who knows where the key is hidden. She also locks up her medicine and paraphernalia in a safe that has a separate key, which is also kept in this secret hiding spot. Mary is compliant with the laws, and her headaches are dramatically improved. So far, so good.
Until, on the way home from the office one day, a tractor-trailer collides with Mary’s car on the highway. Mary is unconscious and taken to a hospital. Now what?
If Mary dies of her injuries, someone will have to notify the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) and turn over the cannabis within 30 days (see rule 19 CSR 30-95.030(9)). Presumably, this will fall on the shoulders of Mary’s spouse, who will have to notify DHSS, obtain a disposal order with a transportation manifest, and then deliver the cannabis to a dispensary for disposal. DHSS presumably picks the dispensary where the cannabis needs to be transported to for disposal, but currently, the regulations leave more questions than answers.
The problem lies in the inherent conflict between Missouri’s probate statutes and DHSS’s regulations. Under our constitution, patients now have a constitutional right to access cannabis if they are a qualifying patient, but who has the standing to exercise that right when qualified patients die? No one in the State of Missouri has legal authority to handle decedent’s assets upon death without at
least one of the following: (1) joint ownership (example: a joint bank account); (2) a beneficiary or pay-on-death or transfer-on-death designation (example: beneficiaries listed on IRAs or a life insurance policy or if a car title lists a transfer-on-death beneficiary, the beneficiary named gets the asset upon death); (3) the property is held in a trust by a trustee; or (4) someone petitions the probate court to open an estate for Mary and receives court authorization to handle the assets (usually a court order).
Currently, there is no permissible way under the rules to exercise options 1-3 for medical marijuana belonging to a patient, because only the patient has the right to access. The only way to delegate access would be to have a caregiver. Even then, the role of a caregiver is similar to a trustee or other fiduciary: they are permitted only to assist the patient in growing, processing, storing, possessing, transporting, and administering the medication. They have no authority to sell, gift, or otherwise transfer the cannabis. But, for the patient without such a fiduciary and a husband who doesn’t know where to find the keys to gain access to comply with the rules, what’s next?
Another conflict exists between the rules and the probate code. The probate code requires that an estate be opened within one year of the date of death, while the rules require disposal within 30 days. For a husband to obtain a probate court order so he can obtain access to the medicine might take longer than 30 days. In this scenario, a lawyer is left to wonder what the husband’s obligation is to carry out directives given by the DHSS that do not directly apply to him. He isn’t a patient. It isn’t his marijuana. He cannot access it. Yet it is presumably on his premises, so would he be liable by default? Probably. The rules have one primary purpose: to prevent diversion. Marijuana left idle is presumed to be prime for black market diversion, but the rules do not require the appointment of a fiduciary to handle the assets. The rules also do not seem to contemplate cannabis as an asset. Under any other circumstances, a crop would be an asset that would be reportable to the probate court in an inventory. But is it a crop, a medicine, or both? We trust families to dispose of medicine hospice leaves behind without government involvement, which is arguably more dangerous than cannabis because people can fatally overdose from those medicines (but not cannabis). The key difference? The federal illegality of cannabis.
Further muddying the waters is the fact that under Missouri statutes at Chapter 195 (our Controlled Substances Act), a schedule 1 substance is specifically defined as not having any valid medical purpose. When Amendment 2, now Article XIV of the state Constitution, was passed last year, it gave marijuana medical status. So, is it still a schedule 1? How can it be, if there is a medical purpose?
DHSS has yet to reschedule marijuana, and now there is a gray area in the law where the state constitution trumps the statutes.
Finally, if marijuana is sprayed with chemicals, or it is unknown what the plants were treated with, then the plants must be disposed of as hazardous waste. Who pays for that? The state? The dispensary? The estate? What if there are creditors for this estate who want the assets liquidated to pay the debts they are owed? Why can’t the state permit the dispensary to pay for testing, and if the tests come back clean, resell the cannabis legally through the dispensary and then give a portion of the proceeds to the estate to pay the debts of the decedent? Does the fiduciary of Mary’s estate have liability for not liquidating assets to pay creditors as instructed by statutes? What if those creditors sue the fiduciary? What if one of those creditors is actually the State itself? Can the estate get credit for the value of the labor, supplies, and product that were produced from Mary’s efforts? That’s what we do for Medicaid TEFRA liens — if the decedent was on Medicaid at the time of death, and the state put a lien on the decedent’s home so it can be repaid for benefits paid out during the decedent’s life, that lien is reduced by amounts paid by decedent to improve the value of the home.
As the law stands right now, there is a tangle of complex constitutional, statutory, and regulatory schemes that do not work cohesively with one another, and trying to sort out which laws take priority over others will pose a challenge next year and beyond. As we head into the largest wealth transfer this nation has seen as we lose our baby boomers to ailments of old age, it behooves us all to keep these issues on our radar, otherwise, we will watch hundreds of pounds of medicine be laid to waste, “up in smoke,” while needy patients across the state struggle to pay for their medicine. There must be a better way. Let’s find it together.
Aubrey Gann-Redmon is a partner at Spark! Legal Solutions, LLLP, the first 100% women-owned cannabis law firm in Kansas City, MO. Aubrey has been practicing in the area of probate and trust litigation for the last decade. With her partners, she assisted clients in preparing and filing over 20 cannabis business licensing applications in 2019. www.SparkLegalSolutions.com.
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Then and Now as Dispensaries Open Their Doors in Missouri
by Dolores Montgomery Halbin, Contributing Writer
Iam thrilled to have the opportunity to write for The Evolution northwest Bates County.” Bradley explains, “Gene had taken a couple Magazine. When I got the email from Bill (the Editor) requesting of hits when two strangers appeared at the door.” And they smelled an article for the January issue, the headline was “Dispensaries marijuana. Open.” Wow! And there it was again. That feeling so deep inside me, followed by a self-reprimand. You’re supposed to be “For the rest of the day, Halbin, 60, a retired air conditioning grateful, not angry! serviceman with a rare and severe form of glaucoma, sat quietly as I thought of the Grateful Dead song, “Trucken.” What a long strange his grandfather’s pipe collection,” said Bradly. trip it’s been, from a beautiful spring day in March of 2014, a Tuesday, when the giant black SUV pulled in our driveway and then swiftly left The “41” plants included the three ready-for-harvest, three more that with our lives as we had known them, drafting us into the legalization would have been ready to harvest in a couple of weeks, 15 clones, and movement. Now, five years later, we will open legal dispensaries in about a dozen of my tomato and pepper starts. Missouri. I thought about the first time I felt this way — at County Illustrates the Evolution of an Issue.” the Amendment 2 watch party at the Boulevard (March 29, 2014, Kansas City Star.) Brewery in KCMO in November 2018. Then about how I have felt since watching a billion-dollar A few days after the article came out, we were industry bloom under Federal prohibition. arrested on a $25,000 bond each. We spent a week I had to leave the watch party early. As everyone — but die, he did. celebrated the overwhelming “Yes Vote” numbers ensuring we would have legal, medical marijuana Jennifer Hess and her husband, Homer Wilson, in Missouri, I had to find a hallway to cry, scream, were watching TV on a Friday night last May with a place to bang my fists. It never should have come their two sons ages 11 and 15. They had just finished to this. My husband should have been at my side family pizza night and were in their pajamas when celebrating; instead, his ashes are spread over our strangers knocked on their door. The couple was favorite places — State parks. Probably illegal! He arrested for a bag of Cannabis. Their children were died a rebel, and I will continue his legacy. taken into Kansas State Custody where, at this This is a portrait of Missouri writing, they remain. The $50,000 each bond took Before that Tuesday, we had a four-day weekend inmate Charles White done by a the couple two weeks to work out. That was one day with the grandkids. We tailgated at our neighbor’s cellmate. Charlie is serving 10 too much for Homer. He died in jail the day they gun range during our monthly get together of the years for cultivation. He is mostly were to bond out. “Peckerwood High Society Gun Knife Slingshot blind and sees only shadows. He is and Bow Club,” officiated over by our 80-year-old an old man sitting behind bars. See I went to Eureka, KS, last fall to support Jenn at neighbor Dave. more about Charles on page 24. court. The quiet, shy 39-year-old was charged with My husband was a gun collector. His collection was generational ered around her and walked her past the gauntlet of police lined up to and meant the world to him and our then 12-year-old grandson. After testify about their part in the great Eureka, KS, Marijuana raid. One shooting practice, the two would spend hours together cleaning the police officer didn’t look old enough to have a chin hair. guns and talking about their day. officers carted out 41 plants, growing lights, a dozen or so guns and Bradly called the article “Marijuana Raid in Bates in jail. My husband died as a result. Not right away seven felonies related to one bag of weed. We gathJenn told me that day that she thought Homer died of a broken The weekend came to a perfect end with the St. Patrick’s Day parade heart. I agree. My husband’s heart broke when they took his on a Monday, but the luck of the Irish did not hold through Tuesday. garden and guns. But when we were handcuffed in front of our husbandsandshoved intopolicecarsin front ofthem, theybroke for Don Bradley from the Kansas City Star would write in the following good. The last time Homer saw Jenn, her hands were cuffed behind weeks, “Halbin’s place sits way out of town, off the blacktop, down her back,her nightgown had slipped down,exposing her nipples,and a dirt road, round a bend, over a bridge and deep into the woods in no one would cover her up.
In 1976, Robert Randall, a DC resident, was raided for his medical cannabis garden. Robert and his wife, my friend and fellow activist Alice Randall Leary, took their case to the Supreme Court and won. The couple did such a good job proving cannabis was the best treatment for glaucoma, they inspired the government to start using some of their cannabis/weed to help glaucoma patients. Although legendary for its bad weed, workers on the 12-acre “pot farm” in Mississippi started doing research on marijuana in 1968. Later, they became the first distributors of medical marijuana. Each patient with glaucoma received a tin with 300 pre-rolled joints in the mail every month.
In the 80s, under the harsh new War on Drugs, this program was abolished. Randall and other patients sued. As a result, those in the program continued to receive marijuana, but no one else was allowed to enroll. Today, there are just two patients alive still receiving those tins.
In 1998 the Federal Government purchased the patents on Medical Marijuana. Patent #6630507. Even with broad support from both sides of the aisle and certainly among the public, we have made little progress undoing the damage of Federal Prohibition or stopping the brutal raids.
There are an estimated 3,000 senior citizens serving life sentences. Some have been locked up for over 30 years — for a plant!
The Federal Government has been growing and studying marijuana for 51 years. That’s a long study. They have been distributing marijuana to glaucoma patients for 43 years, based on a 1976 Supreme Court decision! And, let’s not forget that really lengthy patent stuffed away in the U.S. Federal Government’s basement.
For a government to hide medical treatment or deny medical help to someone while it has the means to treat them is medical abuse and neglect. If they die, as a result, it is negligent homicide. If we tell a lie and hurt someone, that is a crime.
To deny children, veterans, and old guys like my husband with glaucoma lifesaving treatments while you hide the patents in the basement is beyond outrageous and criminal. If there is not tort here, tort does not exist. (Tort Definition: The law term which allows an injured person to obtain compensation from he who caused the injury.)
It has never been easier to make our voices heard. You can Google “who are my politicians,” enter your zip code, and all your politicians come up with links to email, call, or write them!
When we call the Governor, a cheerful aide answers the phone and has a dialogue with us, but if we never call, there is no dialogue, there is no change, and we don’t evolve. That’s our bad! Get involved, make change happen.
Dolores Montgomery Halbin, RN, BSN, resides in SW Missouri. After her husband passed in 2015 (as a result of incarceration for his cannabis garden used to treat his Glaucoma), she retired from nursing. She worked with the 2014-2018 Missouri campaigns for legalized medical marijuana. She continues as a cannabis reform activist working toward Federal decriminalization through educational speaking and freelance journalism. Dolores Halbin, doloreshalbin@gmail.com.
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80-Year-Old Blind Man in Federal Custody The Charles White Story
by Christina Frommer, Contributing Writer
Imagine you’re 80 years old, blind, and in failing health. How do you picture that scenario? Home with your family, under a trusted doctor’s care, comfortable in a loving environment? That is how most of us would like to find ourselves at 80. Now, imagine you’re 80-years-old in federal custody, spending what may be your final moments blindly wandering the halls of a dangerous penitentiary.
That’s the sad truth Charles (Charlie) White must “blindly” endure every day. You may have heard of Charles in recent years due to the bit of media and online attention drawn to his case, charged in rural Missouri in 2012 for conspiracy and cultivation of cannabis. The story of Charlie’s demise begins with a visit by the FBI to the wrong address, investigating unrelated identity theft. It ends with an illegal search of his property resulting in Charlie and his son-in-law Anthony Bearden’s conviction to 10 years each in federal custody.
Many may say, the two got what they deserved; after all, they broke the law, but I strongly disagree. The laws they violated were bad, harmful laws stemming from nearly a century worth of corporate greed, deeply rooted racist values, and fear tactics meant to control the perception of the masses. A message that has been perpetuated throughout our lives, and it is simply not true. This cannabis (hemp) plant is a medicine and can single-handedly replace our dependence on fossil fuels and synthetic textiles across the board. The most dangerous thing about cannabis is the laws surrounding it. And these two men are victims of the failed War on Drugs.
Personally, I think everyone should have a Charlie in their lives. Since we began our correspondence and advocacy, he has remained authentic and true. He has made me laugh, cry, and homesick as I sit in my home. Charlie is just an old hippy whose tenacity and wit never goes out of style. A man who loves gardening, listening to music, and chasing beautiful women (his words). He’s openly shared his life’s adventures, which are absolutely captivating. He’s a peaceful person who hasn’t harmed anyone, nor is he a threat to society, social progress, or safety.
As you can imagine, corresponding with a blind person can be difficult. Luckily, Charlie is well liked and has many friends to assist us. Though he can’t read what we write, he can type back. He just puts his hands in position on the typewriter and goes to town. He always includes a little bit of humor, which is much appreciated. He needs to keep that mental spark alive even when everything else seems to be falling apart.
Charles (Charlie) White and his wife.
As Charlie’s health is rapidly deteriorating, his safety remains at risk. For example, recently, he was walking with his walker when he accidentally bumped into another inmate and was nearly assaulted. He’s fallen down the stairs resulting in injuries. Charlie can’t watch TV, draw, or any number of other stimulating activities. Sadly, this leaves him vulnerable to conditions such as dementia due to age and lack of stimulation. For a short period this summer, Charlie was allowed to have a small garden. Unfortunately, the guards came back weeks later and ripped up his beautiful creations, and informed him, he hadn’t received permission through the appropriate channels and was not allowed to continue. Heartbreaking. I can’t imagine the loss he felt that day. He finally had a productive outlet, and it was taken away without warning or the ability to appeal.
So, how do we anticipate helping Charles? As we are ultimately seeking clemency for all our canna POWs*, we must approach the Fed’s a little differently. We are currently comparing his previously denied “Compassionate Release”* request with others that have been successful and filing a new one on his behalf. We must convince the warden that Charlie isn’t a threat. We must clearly articulate the ways in which his health and safety are at risk. We must make everyone understand the legal market he has always dreamed of and currently incarcerated for is now available. Yet, he can’t participate because he was a few years ahead of the game.
This can’t go on any longer. Currently floating around the internet is a Charles White clemency petition, which I encourage everyone to sign. Below, please find the link and give him your support. He’s very grateful to those who’ve already signed and thanks everyone for their commitment to his release. If you’re able to take a few minutes out of your day to write him a letter of support, here is his contact information: Charles White #05268-045 USP Leavenworth US Penitentiary Satellite Camp, PO Box 1000, Leavenworth, KS 66048. You can put money on his books by mailing a money order to: Charles White #05268-045, PO Box 47470, Des Moines, Iowa 50947- 0001. (You must include your full name and return address on the envelope.)
*A link to Charles White’s clemency petition, which needs your signature can be found at www.facebook.com/CannaConvictProject.
*The term “Canna POW” with all due respect to our valiant veterans is our acronym for “Prisoner of War on Drugs.” All Canna Convict Project Canna POWs are incarcerated for nonviolent offenses.
Christina Frommer is the co-founder of the Canna Convict Project. The mission of this collective is to assist Missouri nonviolent cannabis inmates with their release from prison; as well as create an exit plan that will assist them as they reintegrate back into society. Need Help? Contact Christina by email at cannaconvict@gmail.com.
VIGILANCE FOR EMPLOYEE RIGHTS IN 2020...
EMPLOYEE RIGHTS 2020
by Dale Sky Jones, Contributing Writer
Dale Sky Jones is the Executive Chancellor of
Oaksterdam University. Since 2007, Oaksterdam University (OU) has been the forerunner in providing the highest quality training offered in the cannabis industry from patients to regulators. OU is the first and only cannabis college with a comprehensive curriculum in cannabis business and horticulture. OU educates regulators, local officials, state agencies, and legislative staff. Its faculty is comprised of expert practitioners and academics. OU Alumni consist of over 40,000 from over 40 countries — are the most active in the world. Online classes are available at www.OaksterdamUniversity.com. Follow Dale Sky Jones @Oaksterdam and @DaleSkyJones. I t’s a new year, and change is coming performance, they will follow through with fast to Missouri. By this time next year, disciplinary measures or termination — even there will be hundreds of legal, medical if you are a qualified medical patient. marijuana (cannabis) businesses operating across the state. However, while Medical cannabis policy around employment this is excellent news for patients in need of is, unfortunately, foreboding for employees. safe access to medical cannabis, all is not safe THC in your system is rarely explicitly in this brave, new green world. Consuming allowed, even for therapeutic reasons. Drugcannabis, even with a medical ID card, can testing companies look for illicit drugs, which still have dire consequences. include THC, because it has “no medical use” Two recent polls conducted by Gallup and cannabis cannot be prescribed as other, far the Pew Research Center both found that more dangerous drugs can be. It is merely two-thirds of Americans approve legalization “recommended,” which offers no legal for adults, which is more than double from 20 protection. This is the current reality, and years ago. As we begin the new year, 33 states it is upside from how things should be. For plus our nation’s capital have legalized some instance, opium is illegal. Yet it is permissible form of cannabis use (that’s two-thirds of all to have opium in your system if you have a states for those counting at home). However, prescription for opiates or opioids. in the 23 years since California pioneered legal cannabis, failing a drug test can still The only legal option to pass a drug test would cost you your job, even as a qualified medical be a prescription for dronabinol (Marinol), patient. the synthetic THC pill. One can, ironically, As long as marijuana continues to be pharmaceutical company sells this classified as a Schedule 1 illegal drug by synthetic version to you, but the the federal government, consuming an cultivation of its identical natural edible on a Saturday night or smoking a form is federally illegal. joint to relieve chronic pain puts you at risk of termination, or not Now that an overwhelming getting hired at all. In all but a majority of states permit couple of those 33 states, it medical use, employers doesn’t matter if you have are left wondering how a medical recommendathat will impact the worktion or if the state has place. It is this quesdeemed adult-use legal. tion that all Missouri Your employer’s preferbusinesses are facing ence is the law when it in the coming year, all comes to cannabis, and because some staffers the workplace is a far cry from democracy. photo by Martti Tapio Salmela might choose cannabis over oxycontin.
Employers retain their right to establish and enforce a drug-free and alcohol-free workplace, as part of their obligation to public health and safety, and there are no laws that would ever force them to accommodate adult-use. When they believe that the use of a drug, be it legal or illegal, has the potential to create a safety hazard or impair job as far as federal policy goes. For this reason, receive a prescription for THC if a Missouri employers need to consider how medical cannabis use will impact their current policies and practices related to drug testing, as well as disability-related accommodations in the workplace. The big issue is knowing whether or not an employee is a danger “under the influence” while working — which we know current drug testing is
not adequate to answer. That edible you had last weekend, or on your vacation, is still in your system. Your employer has no way of knowing if you are medicating on or off the clock. We don’t know how to tell the difference between well people being “high” versus sick people being “better.”
This concern is one of the reasons why the State of Missouri is considering a bill that would allow any employer to drug test both current and prospective employees, using inadequate cannabis testing standards, and give employers the discretion to take action based on the results. Senate photo by Maxim Lupascu Bill 227 was introduced last year by the state senators and is still a frightening possibility, as it has strong support among senators. Though it will not make drug testing mandatory, when you take into consideration concerns of workplace safety, this bill encourages employers to cave into their worst fears. As a bonus, it will enrich drug testing companies using unscientific measurements that are biased against a natural, therapeutic substance.
Contact your state senator and let them know that you do not want this bill to pass. Tell your senator about Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, and Rhode Island — these are all states with statutes that expressly prohibit employers from discriminating against employees who are medical cannabis patients. And it is even worse to discriminate against those with disabilities, including PTSD and chronic pain. Look to Florida, where an estimated 300,000 card-carrying medical cannabis patients have learned the hard way that state law still permits employers and schools to enforce drug-free Concept Dispensary policies without consideration of their conditions. These unforeseen consequences led lawmakers to propose a new bill that will provide employment protections to medical cannabis patients.
Tell them about New York City, New Jersey, and Nevada, all following in the footsteps of Maine, making it illegal to skip over a job candidate simply because of their previous cannabis use. Beginning this year, prospective employees in these parts of the country no longer need to worry about whether they’ll be denied a job based on a pre-employment drug test, all because of that joint they smoked the week before. Keep in mind that these new laws do not pertain to specific jobs such as healthcare, construction, and others that have high safety concerns. Nor do they force companies to tolerate workers impaired on the job.
As the culture continues to shift in favor of cannabis legalization, these protections could be the beginning of the end for a discriminatory drug test that has been commonplace for decades. This shift is reflected in the courtroom as well as across the country. In years past, rulings had gone against medical cannabis patients, but more recent clashes between federal and state laws have come out in favor of the patient.
Stay vigilant, Missouri, the fight is not over. Do not take for granted the cannabis rights for which your vote has won. Your vote gave qualified patients safe access to medical marijuana. Now do not let them suffer loss of employment for simply making a legal, medical decision.
NOTE: If you live in Missouri and have a Medical ID card allowing you to take cannabis, but work on the Kansas side of the stateline, then you must know the Kansas laws regarding workplace drug testing policies. Help can be found at Bleeding Kansas Advocates at 913.396.9675 or www.bksadvocates.org.
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{Home Grown } by Jason Davis, Contributing Writer
Lighting It Up
Lighting Options for Growing at Home
Through our articles so far, we’ve discussed some of the basics of growing at home. This month we will discuss what can be considered the most important factor in any indoor growing environment. When customers visit Happy Rock Farms with the goal of putting together their first growing system on a limited budget, our advice is usually to prioritize lighting. While other factors are important, if plants aren’t receiving “good” light, plants will starve and not produce. Let’s review some of the more popular lighting types for indoor growing.
Fluorescent Lighting
Most of us are familiar with Fluorescent home lighting, and Fluorescent grow lighting is virtually no different. The sub-types of Fluorescent lighting commonly used for growing are Compact Fluorescent Lighting (CFL) and T5 Fluorescent Lighting. CFLs are those twisty bulbs that will fit into most standard light sockets. While it’s not recommended to use CFLs for the more advanced vegetative and bloom stages of growth, CFLs provide a low-intensity spectrum that is perfect for cloning and plants in the early days and weeks of growth.
On the other hand, T5 Fluorescent Lighting can be used for all stages of growth, from clone through bloom. T5s do not have the intensity or the spectrum produced by some of the more powerful grow lights we’ll discuss below, but for the average home grower, this type of light can be the perfect fit. There are, of course, a variety of T5 configurations, including 2- and 4-inch models, and units containing as few as two to as many as 16 bulbs. In the past few years, as technology has advanced and energy efficiency has become more of a focus, makers have innovated T5 bulbs in a variety of ways. In addition to full-spectrum bulbs, new bulbs now exist that allow growers more customization, including vegetative cycle spectrum specific (460 and 420) and bloom cycle spectrum specific (660 and 620), allowing more control over every aspect of the growing environment.
High-Intensity Discharge (HID) Grow Lighting
Gas discharge lamps can be traced all the way back to 1675 when a French astronomer noticed that the space inside his mercury barometer glowed when he moved it. However, it wasn’t until 1955 when Robert Coble discovered Lucalox or Aluminum Oxide Ceramic, high-pressure sodium lamps were developed. Originally (and currently), Mercury Vapor, High-Pressure Sodium, and Metal Halide lamps were used for
parking lots, roadways, tunnels, and other industrial, commercial, and civil purposes. Eventually, innovative growers found ways to move those lights inside, helping growers produce a powerful, full-spectrum, but unfortunately not very efficient light.
Typically, Metal Halide (MH) lighting is used for the vegetative cycle, while High-Pressure Sodium (HPS) lighting is used for the bloom cycle, but as with everything, there are exceptions. Frequently, it’s been found that MH lighting is helpful in the last week or two of the bloom cycles because it is helpful to the production of terpenes and the development of trichomes. HPS and MH lighting is industry-standard even today, with new innovations like double-ended lighting and more efficient digital ballasts helping to provide even more powerful, effective, and efficient results. One notable downside is that bulbs must be changed regularly, many suggesting as frequently as every six months.
LEC Grow Lighting
A new, more energy-efficient type of HID lighting has become popular in the past several years. Ceramic Discharge Metal-Halide, commonly called Ceramic Metal Halide (CMH) or Light Emitting Ceramic (LEC), can be used throughout the entire growth cycle and is only 315 Watts (a double-ended variety exists that is 630 Watts, as well). These lights operate similar to regular MH, except instead of using quartz, they use a ceramic arc tube, very similar to what’s used in HPS grow lights, and it has some distinct advantages. Compared to regular MH bulbs, LECs give off a more natural color, produce more usable light per watt, and last much longer. Often, when people are considering this type of lighting, they are also considering LED lighting because of their energy consumption benefits, bulb sustainability, and overall better yield per watt.
Light Emitting Diode (LED) Grow Lighting
HID Grow Lighting
More than any other light, I hear more conversation and controversy about Light Emitting Diode (LED) grow lighting. While some believe it’s the only way to grow, others think the technology “isn’t quite there yet,” and some people think it’s a big waste of money. What makes LED difficult to assess easily is the range of styles, types, and designs available. There are three main types of LED grow lights: “Spread Style” (seen in the Fluence Spydr and others), the “Traditional Panel” (Kind LED and others), and “COB style” (Spectrum King and others). Regardless of the differences, every LED grow light produces some spectacular results. Each is typically more energy-efficient, produces healthier plants, can produce a more targeted wavelength, operate at cooler temperatures, and is more environmentally friendly (no need to throw used light bulbs in the landfill). Unfortunately, these benefits come at a cost, and LED lights often have the highest initial cost of any grow light. Over time, however, LED lights become the least expensive as the average LED grow light will last at least 50,000 hours (under a 12/12 light cycle will give the user at least 4,100 days of light or 11 years).
The factors a grower must consider include the initial cost, ongoing cost, maintenance, grow room size, desired result, heat distribution, and as discussed above, much more. It’s the heartbeat of the entire system, and choosing one doesn’t have to be a complicated decision but is important and will impact every aspect of your grow.
Jason Davis is a lifelong Kansas City resident who co-owns and operates Happy Rock Farms: Fine Gardening and Hydroponics, providing highquality indoor gardening advice, classes, workshops, supplies, equipment, and tools to hobbyist and commercial growers, located in Midtown KC at 3816 Main Street. www.HappyRockFarms.com.
SEED Breeding 2.0
Brother Mendel and Mrs. Mendel own and operate Brother Mendel’s Selections, a breeder-direct purveyor of only the most premium, heirloom, boutique cannabis, and high-CBD hemp genetics. Visit them at www.facebook.com/ groups/homegrower or for more information, he can be contacted at brothermendelsselections@gmail.com.
An Introduction to Patient-Focused Breeding
Breeding 2.0 by Brother Mendel, Contributing Writer
The prospect of a new year and peace of mind of having a workable option growing season presents breeders for home cultivation. with exciting ideas about projects and opportunities. As breeders, Meanwhile, a feminized seed stock means in we truly enjoy introducing our theory that a patient need not fear maxing out supporters to new, hand-curated varietals. their state-regulated plant count with a crop We also care deeply about interacting with of male plants. Autoflowering plants present patients concerning their medical needs; a unique set of multifactorial challenges to communicating with patients and supporters breeders. Its biological makeup prevents is thus an integral part of what we have been cloning for perpetual harvest and precludes pioneering in recent years as patient-focused the possibility of doing a true backcross. It breeders. Our two related interests – breeding also means the plant presents with slightly and patients – require that we strike a careful higher rates of intersex traits than does the balance between listening and responding general population of photoperiod plants to patients in our consultations, as well as with which we have been accustomed to helping guide them toward work as breeders. Despite the cultivar best suited The concept of autoits challenges, we began to offer them therapeutic relief. flowering strains is incorporating feminized autoflowering varietals simple: in time, plants into our breeding schedule Because conversing with will automatically flower to provide access to highpatients offers us a window into patient wants and needs, often, these interas opposed to waiting for a specifically timed quality genetics to patients who want and need them. actions steer our breeding light cycle. Meaning, the Since we receive so many program in unanticipated plants begin to flower inquiries from patients directions. For example, over the past two to three all on their own after a new to medical cannabis, being patient-focused also years, new patients esperelatively short vegetative means that we help educate cially have increasingly period of 2-4 weeks. patients about the different inquired about feminized chemotypes available to seed stock in general, and autoflowering alleviate their symptoms, while simultanefeminized seeds in particular. I was initially ously offering a good range of seed stock puzzled by the sudden surge in popularity of for medicinal varietals. By way of example, feminized autoflowering varietals; this type of one of our most important projects in recent cultivar is relatively new to the canna-scene years has been cultivating chemotypes with and was not historically what a typical cultia 1:1 ratio of CBD to THC. These chemovars vator would have grown in the home garden. offer therapeutic relief for a wide variety of Throughout my interactions with thousands ailments because they have a fuller spectrum of medical cannabis patients over the past of cannabinoids, but in recent decades have few years, however, a recurring theme has not been prevalent in the cannabis commuemerged: a patient committed to home nity. It is only within the last 10 years, with cultivation needs some assurance of being more affordable and easy access to laboratory able to produce medicine rapidly and on a chemotypic testing, that high-CBD chemomanageable scale. With a fast flowering time types were identified, stabilized, and subseand a generally slighter canopy footprint than quently proliferated by breeders. They then their photoperiod counterparts, autoflowering became popular among breeders who began plants provide the patient-cultivator with the developing specific chemovars that affect a
Bean seeds grow similar to cannabis seeds, gradually emerging, seeking light.
wide range of symptoms. Introducing little-known chemotypes such as these to patients who will derive therapeutic relief from them is a source of great satisfaction to my breeder’s heart.
Focusing on patients and their requirements is at the core of our breeder’s program because, at the end of the day, we are here to facilitate access to the cannabis plant for people who can benefit from its therapeutic qualities. A wide array of businesses now makes up the burgeoning cannabis community, from dispensaries to grow shops to seed purveyors. Just as varied, a patient population exists, with a plethora of wants and needs. Among those who choose the therapy of medical cultivation, three main types of medical growers can be defined. Patient-cultivators embrace the holistic benefits of growing medicinally for themselves, while caregivers manage and tend medical gardens for patients who cannot or choose not to cultivate on their own. A breeder, meanwhile, is like a meta-caregiver, whose breeding projects directly serve the needs of thousands of people by providing access to high-quality genetic material for the other categories of growers. A breeder can only serve the broader community in this way through dedication to communication with patients about their symptoms, needs, and desires.
Listening, educating, and responding, that’s what patient-focused breeding is about.
