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A bad wreck four years ago left Raymond Alloway with chronic pain in his back, neck and legs and triggered migraine headaches.
A year after the accident, he discovered marijuana as medicine and got authorized to use cannabis to relieve pain and headaches.
Alloway, though, chose to go beyond helping himself: he and a friend decided to dive into the still-murky, unregulated world of medical marijuana to help other patients get their medicine. They got their nonprofit business license from the state in April and they operate West Sound Quality Co-Op on Mile Hill Drive.
"We provide a place where patients can meet with other patients so they can get their medicine," he said.
Alloway, 30, is among a growing number of patients who've made access to medical cannabis far more available in Kitsap County in the past two years. And, as the son of former local drug detective Roy Alloway – long known for his career in marijuana law enforcement – he wants to play by all the rules as best he knows them.
"We want to abide by anything they throw at us," he said of Kitsap County regulations. "We want to be here for the patient."
Raymond Alloway said his father's work earned the retired detective notoriety in the medical marijuana community. But he believed his dad was just trying to enforce the law. (Roy Alloway is currently serving two years in federal prison for illegal gun sales.)
"He got a bad rap, but they were bending the rules," he said of the people his father investigated.
Those suffering from ailments and diseases including AIDS, cancer and arthritis venture to the nondescript home where West Sound Quality Co-Op operates. For a $10 a gram donation, patients can choose from different strains of cannabis, including one known as "Alloway 420," named by a Seattle medical marijuana activist named after Raymond's father.
A LITTLE MORE COMFORTABLE?
Medical marijuana advocates, including patients like Alloway, say there has been a shift in recent years toward more public – and safer – access to medicine in the county.
"Kitsap was a county where patients really had to watch their back over the years," said Philip Dawdy, spokesman for the Washington Alternative Medicine Alliance. "But I think both sides (patients and law enforcement) are becoming a little more comfortable with each other."
There are more places in Kitsap and around the state that issue authorizations for medical cannabis for patients presenting a qualifying illness or ailment. Blue Horizon Medical, a naturopathic clinic that also provides cannabis authorizations to patients, opened in Silverdale in June.
One of those is Cloud 9 Cares, founded in 2009 by medical marijuana patient Jeff Raub. It functions as a kind of middleman, finding medical cannabis for the patient and then delivering it to them in exchange for a donation.
In 2009, Raub, who uses cannabis to relieve pain from breaking his back twice, got a business license through the state's Department of Revenue and got some office space off Bucklin Hill Road in Silverdale.
He said he provides medicine for about 100 to 150 qualified patients each quarter, sometimes not even accepting donations if the patients can't afford it. When they can, he tries to keep it affordable, with a suggested $10 a gram donation.
"We just want patients to be as comfortable as possible, without fear of prosecution or excessive cost," he said.
SHIFT IN PRIORITIES?
Steve Elliott, a Kingston resident and medical marijuana patient who authors the "Toke of the Town" blog and a column for Seattle Weekly, said he has noticed more access to marijuana for authorized patients in Kitsap.
"To see progress happen before our eyes makes me happy," Elliott said.
Why there are more places available to get it in the county is a more difficult question to answer.
Kitsap County Prosecutor Russ Hauge said his office has not altered its stance – that dispensaries are illegal – and that prosecutors continue to examine any case referred to them by law enforcement in that light.
"We've not changed priorities or processes in any way on our end," he said.
Kitsap County's two local drug task forces say they respect the medical marijuana law but will investigate allegations of drug-trafficking, even if someone has doctor's authorization to use medical cannabis.
West Sound Narcotics Enforcement Team Sgt. James Mjor points out that in "99.9 percent" of marijuana investigations, a person will cite a doctor's authorization to have pot.
But Mjor said the team will put its efforts toward the most serious drug threats. And right now, "heroin is a big priority," he said. "It's killing people."
Detectives can and do investigate marijuana complaints, though, and if they find evidence of drug dealing and profiting, they won't hesitate to take action, he said.
Bremerton Police's Special Operations Group confirmed that the number of marijuana cases it's investigating are down. Randy Plumb, the group's sergeant, said that like Mjor's team, they've had to prioritize cases because of limited resources.
Plumb said detectives respond to complaints in the community about marijuana and have inspected homes to ensure compliance with the medical marijuana law. But if evidence of drug-dealing surfaces – a person has a digital scale, packaging material, text messages discussing transactions, a safe, perhaps even a gun – it's going to pique detectives' interest.Raub, Cloud 9 Cares owner, has had his own run-ins with the law. He's been stopped in a car multiple times by officers who, upon smelling marijuana, questioned his medical status, took marijuana and reported back to prosecutors. He's been investigated by both local drug task forces (though he was not convicted in either case). He's also been a victim of robbers who knew he was a medical marijuana patient.
Ultimately, he said he's tried to stay in bounds of the state's medical marijuana law, but he understands the risks involved of working in the industry.
Raub said he ensures that at all points along the way, the marijuana is always handled by qualified patients and that they stay within the law's maximum allowable amounts: 24 processed ounces.
The fine print on a Cloud 9 Cares form new patients fill in spells out the transaction: "Any donations received are only compensation for time, nutrients, electricity costs and other factors involved in the process of production and delivery of medical grade marijuana and not toward the sale or purchase of medication itself."
"I'm proud of what I do," Raub said. "I know people sometimes see it as an alternative drug-trafficking system. But there's a lot of people who truly benefit from medical cannabis."
News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: kitsapsun.com
Author: Josh Farley
Contact: Staff and Contacts for Kitsap Sun
Website: Access to medical marijuana expands in Kitsap » Kitsap Sun
A year after the accident, he discovered marijuana as medicine and got authorized to use cannabis to relieve pain and headaches.
Alloway, though, chose to go beyond helping himself: he and a friend decided to dive into the still-murky, unregulated world of medical marijuana to help other patients get their medicine. They got their nonprofit business license from the state in April and they operate West Sound Quality Co-Op on Mile Hill Drive.
"We provide a place where patients can meet with other patients so they can get their medicine," he said.
Alloway, 30, is among a growing number of patients who've made access to medical cannabis far more available in Kitsap County in the past two years. And, as the son of former local drug detective Roy Alloway – long known for his career in marijuana law enforcement – he wants to play by all the rules as best he knows them.
"We want to abide by anything they throw at us," he said of Kitsap County regulations. "We want to be here for the patient."
Raymond Alloway said his father's work earned the retired detective notoriety in the medical marijuana community. But he believed his dad was just trying to enforce the law. (Roy Alloway is currently serving two years in federal prison for illegal gun sales.)
"He got a bad rap, but they were bending the rules," he said of the people his father investigated.
Those suffering from ailments and diseases including AIDS, cancer and arthritis venture to the nondescript home where West Sound Quality Co-Op operates. For a $10 a gram donation, patients can choose from different strains of cannabis, including one known as "Alloway 420," named by a Seattle medical marijuana activist named after Raymond's father.
A LITTLE MORE COMFORTABLE?
Medical marijuana advocates, including patients like Alloway, say there has been a shift in recent years toward more public – and safer – access to medicine in the county.
"Kitsap was a county where patients really had to watch their back over the years," said Philip Dawdy, spokesman for the Washington Alternative Medicine Alliance. "But I think both sides (patients and law enforcement) are becoming a little more comfortable with each other."
There are more places in Kitsap and around the state that issue authorizations for medical cannabis for patients presenting a qualifying illness or ailment. Blue Horizon Medical, a naturopathic clinic that also provides cannabis authorizations to patients, opened in Silverdale in June.
One of those is Cloud 9 Cares, founded in 2009 by medical marijuana patient Jeff Raub. It functions as a kind of middleman, finding medical cannabis for the patient and then delivering it to them in exchange for a donation.
In 2009, Raub, who uses cannabis to relieve pain from breaking his back twice, got a business license through the state's Department of Revenue and got some office space off Bucklin Hill Road in Silverdale.
He said he provides medicine for about 100 to 150 qualified patients each quarter, sometimes not even accepting donations if the patients can't afford it. When they can, he tries to keep it affordable, with a suggested $10 a gram donation.
"We just want patients to be as comfortable as possible, without fear of prosecution or excessive cost," he said.
SHIFT IN PRIORITIES?
Steve Elliott, a Kingston resident and medical marijuana patient who authors the "Toke of the Town" blog and a column for Seattle Weekly, said he has noticed more access to marijuana for authorized patients in Kitsap.
"To see progress happen before our eyes makes me happy," Elliott said.
Why there are more places available to get it in the county is a more difficult question to answer.
Kitsap County Prosecutor Russ Hauge said his office has not altered its stance – that dispensaries are illegal – and that prosecutors continue to examine any case referred to them by law enforcement in that light.
"We've not changed priorities or processes in any way on our end," he said.
Kitsap County's two local drug task forces say they respect the medical marijuana law but will investigate allegations of drug-trafficking, even if someone has doctor's authorization to use medical cannabis.
West Sound Narcotics Enforcement Team Sgt. James Mjor points out that in "99.9 percent" of marijuana investigations, a person will cite a doctor's authorization to have pot.
But Mjor said the team will put its efforts toward the most serious drug threats. And right now, "heroin is a big priority," he said. "It's killing people."
Detectives can and do investigate marijuana complaints, though, and if they find evidence of drug dealing and profiting, they won't hesitate to take action, he said.
Bremerton Police's Special Operations Group confirmed that the number of marijuana cases it's investigating are down. Randy Plumb, the group's sergeant, said that like Mjor's team, they've had to prioritize cases because of limited resources.
Plumb said detectives respond to complaints in the community about marijuana and have inspected homes to ensure compliance with the medical marijuana law. But if evidence of drug-dealing surfaces – a person has a digital scale, packaging material, text messages discussing transactions, a safe, perhaps even a gun – it's going to pique detectives' interest.Raub, Cloud 9 Cares owner, has had his own run-ins with the law. He's been stopped in a car multiple times by officers who, upon smelling marijuana, questioned his medical status, took marijuana and reported back to prosecutors. He's been investigated by both local drug task forces (though he was not convicted in either case). He's also been a victim of robbers who knew he was a medical marijuana patient.
Ultimately, he said he's tried to stay in bounds of the state's medical marijuana law, but he understands the risks involved of working in the industry.
Raub said he ensures that at all points along the way, the marijuana is always handled by qualified patients and that they stay within the law's maximum allowable amounts: 24 processed ounces.
The fine print on a Cloud 9 Cares form new patients fill in spells out the transaction: "Any donations received are only compensation for time, nutrients, electricity costs and other factors involved in the process of production and delivery of medical grade marijuana and not toward the sale or purchase of medication itself."
"I'm proud of what I do," Raub said. "I know people sometimes see it as an alternative drug-trafficking system. But there's a lot of people who truly benefit from medical cannabis."
News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: kitsapsun.com
Author: Josh Farley
Contact: Staff and Contacts for Kitsap Sun
Website: Access to medical marijuana expands in Kitsap » Kitsap Sun
