Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
Medical marijuana is so mainstream now in Calaveras County that growers and patients meet regularly in the Mountain Ranch Town Hall and donate thousands of dollars to youth programs and the Friends of the Calaveras County Sheriff.
Collective Patient Resources, which advocates for patients and even provides free marijuana to low-income patients with chronic or terminal illness, is even considering filing for federal nonprofit corporation status so that donations to the group will be tax deductible.
People walking into Saturday's meeting of Collective Patient Resources in Mountain Ranch wouldn't necessarily know they were at an event connected to medical marijuana. Gray hair and conservative attire dominated in the room, interspersed with a few younger individuals in dreadlocks and T-shirts among the 35 people present.
And the stories people discussed were primarily about illness and legal hassles, not rock concerts or youthful rebellion.
Megan Guthrie, for example, talked about her daughter, Abigail, 15, who has a variety of severe health conditions, including quadriplegic cerebral palsy. Collective Patient Resources recently added Abigail to its patient assistance program, providing lozenges high in cannabadiol, a compound in marijuana with anti-inflammatory and muscle-calming properties.
"Not only do I think it'll be huge for her, I'd go on the record as saying we think it can do such great things, we'd like to be a part of a collaborative garden, so we can grow and give back to dispensaries and really support this cause," Guthrie said.
Guthrie, like many of those connected to medical marijuana, also said she wants to do her part to educate the larger community so that medical marijuana will be "legitimized."
"Because with kids like Abigail, western medicine has no good answers," she said.
Yet that quest for legitimacy continues to stir waves, not so much with the doctors who recommend medical marijuana, as with the communities where it is grown and used, and even the law officers charged with upholding the California Compassionate Use Act approved by voters in 1996.
Cultural conservatives who view medical marijuana as a front for illicit drug use appear often at public meetings in Calaveras County to vent their frustration with the industry's growth. And both Calaveras County Sheriff Gary Kuntz and Candace Keesey, the president of the nonprofit Friends of the Calaveras County Sheriff, acknowledged that that cultural divide is also present within law enforcement.
That divide erupted recently after Collective Patient Resources donated $5,000 to the Friends of the Calaveras County Sheriff, a nonprofit that raises funds to benefit the Sheriff's Office.
"There was some administration in the sheriff's office that was not happy about that donation," Keesey said.
Kuntz also acknowledged that some in his department do not see medical marijuana as legitimate. He, however, says legitimate patients have nothing to fear from him.
"It's state law," Kuntz said. "I firmly believe by the end of 2016, we will have marijuana be legal in the state of California. I have no doubt in my mind."
Meanwhile, many medical marijuana patients and growers say they remain fearful that they will be targeted by anti-marijuana individuals within law enforcement. Many of those present at Saturday's meeting in Mountain Ranch declined to be interviewed or photographed.
At the same time, the economic power of the marijuana industry appears to be growing in Calaveras County.
Tom Liberty, spokesman for Collective Patient Resources, said in addition to the donation to the Friends of the Calaveras County Sheriff, the group since May 1 of 2014 has given more $31,000 to various local charities, including $5,000 to the new veterans court program, $5,000 to the Blue Mountain Coalition for Youth and Families, $6,000 to the Valley Springs Youth Center, and $2,000 to the Friends of the Rail Road Flat Elementary School.
The group is now preparing to spend another $6,000 to $9,000 to repair the building that houses the Valley Springs Youth Center. Collective Patient Resources members are also donating their time to plan and conduct some of that work, members said.
"We've always donated to things we absolutely believe in," Liberty said.
Liberty acknowledges the obvious political dimension to the donations. Like any other industry, medical marijuana faces regulation. Calaveras County staff members are currently developing a zoning ordinance that could limit the location and quantity of marijuana grown in medical gardens.
"We've never brought it up to the board," Liberty said of his organization's many donations to local charities.
"But this one's for all the marbles. When we go up to the board we'll roll it out. Don't think something like this doesn't count."
The Valley Springs Youth Center is in District 1, which is represented by Board of Supervisors Chairman Cliff Edson.
"Don't think that when you're Cliff Edson, and the aftercare program in your district is only open because cannabis cultivators and patients have thrown 15 grand at it in the past few months, that he won't have a hard time going, 'Well you shouldn't be able to do that anymore.' It's important stuff," Liberty said.
A number of Calaveras County's elected leaders have acknowledged that in the past six months they've been approached frequently by people wishing to lobby them about the pending medical marijuana garden zoning ordinance.
"I've gotten five, six, seven calls from mostly females, mostly in their 60s, saying, 'Don't take our marijuana away from us,'" said Kuntz.
Kuntz said he's not worried about 60-year-olds taking marijuana for illnesses. Instead, his concern is about illicit drug cartel grows hidden on private ranches or on public lands. *edit*
In contrast, Kuntz views medical marijuana regulation as a matter for county code enforcers.
Kuntz also made it clear that he had no connection to the donation made by Collective Patient Resources and was not aware of it until after the fact.
Keesey, too, said that the donation has no impact on her organization's goals or approach to supporting the Sheriff's Office.
"Don't give us money thinking you are going to win anybody over," Keesey said.
"A couple people in administration did not like it," she said of the donation. "But we did not give the money back."
"I seriously thought somebody was going to ask me to give the money back. That's how much of a hot-button issue it is."
At the same time, Keesey said that while she is neutral on the question of marijuana's legitimacy as medicine, she wants to accept help from those who offer it.
"Just because you sell medical marijuana doesn't mean you don't want the best for your community."
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Med pot industry donations go mainstream - Calaveras Enterprise: Calaveras County's Most Trusted News Source
Author: Dana Nichols and Joe Klarer
Contact: editor@calaverasenterprise.com
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: Calaveras Enterprise: Calaveras County's Most Trusted News Source
Collective Patient Resources, which advocates for patients and even provides free marijuana to low-income patients with chronic or terminal illness, is even considering filing for federal nonprofit corporation status so that donations to the group will be tax deductible.
People walking into Saturday's meeting of Collective Patient Resources in Mountain Ranch wouldn't necessarily know they were at an event connected to medical marijuana. Gray hair and conservative attire dominated in the room, interspersed with a few younger individuals in dreadlocks and T-shirts among the 35 people present.
And the stories people discussed were primarily about illness and legal hassles, not rock concerts or youthful rebellion.
Megan Guthrie, for example, talked about her daughter, Abigail, 15, who has a variety of severe health conditions, including quadriplegic cerebral palsy. Collective Patient Resources recently added Abigail to its patient assistance program, providing lozenges high in cannabadiol, a compound in marijuana with anti-inflammatory and muscle-calming properties.
"Not only do I think it'll be huge for her, I'd go on the record as saying we think it can do such great things, we'd like to be a part of a collaborative garden, so we can grow and give back to dispensaries and really support this cause," Guthrie said.
Guthrie, like many of those connected to medical marijuana, also said she wants to do her part to educate the larger community so that medical marijuana will be "legitimized."
"Because with kids like Abigail, western medicine has no good answers," she said.
Yet that quest for legitimacy continues to stir waves, not so much with the doctors who recommend medical marijuana, as with the communities where it is grown and used, and even the law officers charged with upholding the California Compassionate Use Act approved by voters in 1996.
Cultural conservatives who view medical marijuana as a front for illicit drug use appear often at public meetings in Calaveras County to vent their frustration with the industry's growth. And both Calaveras County Sheriff Gary Kuntz and Candace Keesey, the president of the nonprofit Friends of the Calaveras County Sheriff, acknowledged that that cultural divide is also present within law enforcement.
That divide erupted recently after Collective Patient Resources donated $5,000 to the Friends of the Calaveras County Sheriff, a nonprofit that raises funds to benefit the Sheriff's Office.
"There was some administration in the sheriff's office that was not happy about that donation," Keesey said.
Kuntz also acknowledged that some in his department do not see medical marijuana as legitimate. He, however, says legitimate patients have nothing to fear from him.
"It's state law," Kuntz said. "I firmly believe by the end of 2016, we will have marijuana be legal in the state of California. I have no doubt in my mind."
Meanwhile, many medical marijuana patients and growers say they remain fearful that they will be targeted by anti-marijuana individuals within law enforcement. Many of those present at Saturday's meeting in Mountain Ranch declined to be interviewed or photographed.
At the same time, the economic power of the marijuana industry appears to be growing in Calaveras County.
Tom Liberty, spokesman for Collective Patient Resources, said in addition to the donation to the Friends of the Calaveras County Sheriff, the group since May 1 of 2014 has given more $31,000 to various local charities, including $5,000 to the new veterans court program, $5,000 to the Blue Mountain Coalition for Youth and Families, $6,000 to the Valley Springs Youth Center, and $2,000 to the Friends of the Rail Road Flat Elementary School.
The group is now preparing to spend another $6,000 to $9,000 to repair the building that houses the Valley Springs Youth Center. Collective Patient Resources members are also donating their time to plan and conduct some of that work, members said.
"We've always donated to things we absolutely believe in," Liberty said.
Liberty acknowledges the obvious political dimension to the donations. Like any other industry, medical marijuana faces regulation. Calaveras County staff members are currently developing a zoning ordinance that could limit the location and quantity of marijuana grown in medical gardens.
"We've never brought it up to the board," Liberty said of his organization's many donations to local charities.
"But this one's for all the marbles. When we go up to the board we'll roll it out. Don't think something like this doesn't count."
The Valley Springs Youth Center is in District 1, which is represented by Board of Supervisors Chairman Cliff Edson.
"Don't think that when you're Cliff Edson, and the aftercare program in your district is only open because cannabis cultivators and patients have thrown 15 grand at it in the past few months, that he won't have a hard time going, 'Well you shouldn't be able to do that anymore.' It's important stuff," Liberty said.
A number of Calaveras County's elected leaders have acknowledged that in the past six months they've been approached frequently by people wishing to lobby them about the pending medical marijuana garden zoning ordinance.
"I've gotten five, six, seven calls from mostly females, mostly in their 60s, saying, 'Don't take our marijuana away from us,'" said Kuntz.
Kuntz said he's not worried about 60-year-olds taking marijuana for illnesses. Instead, his concern is about illicit drug cartel grows hidden on private ranches or on public lands. *edit*
In contrast, Kuntz views medical marijuana regulation as a matter for county code enforcers.
Kuntz also made it clear that he had no connection to the donation made by Collective Patient Resources and was not aware of it until after the fact.
Keesey, too, said that the donation has no impact on her organization's goals or approach to supporting the Sheriff's Office.
"Don't give us money thinking you are going to win anybody over," Keesey said.
"A couple people in administration did not like it," she said of the donation. "But we did not give the money back."
"I seriously thought somebody was going to ask me to give the money back. That's how much of a hot-button issue it is."
At the same time, Keesey said that while she is neutral on the question of marijuana's legitimacy as medicine, she wants to accept help from those who offer it.
"Just because you sell medical marijuana doesn't mean you don't want the best for your community."
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Med pot industry donations go mainstream - Calaveras Enterprise: Calaveras County's Most Trusted News Source
Author: Dana Nichols and Joe Klarer
Contact: editor@calaverasenterprise.com
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: Calaveras Enterprise: Calaveras County's Most Trusted News Source
