Jim Finnel
Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex News Moderator
Northern Colorado medical marijuana dispensaries are celebrating the Colorado State Board of Health's decision to reject a move that would have closed many of them.
The board voted 6-3 late Monday night to defeat a proposal that would limit medical marijuana dispensers to treating five patients at a time, altering a 2000 constitutional amendment that legalized medical marijuana.
Tim Gordon, a Fort Collins man who opened a medical marijuana dispensary last week, said the proposal made him nervous as he prepared to open a business.
"Every day, it's nerve wracking. But this isn't a business for me; it's a service," Gordon said, who uses medical marijuana for chronic pain stemming from an injury.
Gordon was among hundreds of patients and dispensary owners who testified at Monday's hearing in Denver.
"I think the board acted on the people's behalf," he said. "Their new proposals were not what patients want and were not in the patient's best interest."
Area medical marijuana providers said if the measure passed, it would have forced hundreds of patients out on the streets to either find medicine from new caregivers or buy the drugs illegally.
Pam Fleming, co-founder of EnerChi Healing Center in Fort Collins, said the changes would have forced her clinic to cut many of the more than 70 patients the clinic sees daily.
"How do you take a patient base as large as ours and pick a few people who you will continue to cultivate for?" she said. "It really comes down to the patient's right to choose who should cultivate their medicine and be their caregiver."
Under the law, patients with certain conditions - including HIV, muscle spasms and chronic pain - can use medical marijuana as long as they get a doctor's approval and register with the state. The law permits patients or their designated caregivers to grow up to six marijuana plants or possess 2 ounces of usable marijuana.
There are 9,112 people registered to use medical marijuana in Colorado, up 2,000 in the last month. Ron Hyman, the state health department registrar who oversees the medical marijuana registry, predicted that at that rate, 15,000 people will be signed up by the end of the year.
Proponents of the change to the 2000 amendment argued that the current law allows for fraud and causes problems for law enforcers when it comes to knowing who can legally grow medical marijuana.
Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden, who has previously spoken out against the 2000 amendment, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Medical marijuana vendors said in most cases, there are always bad apples in the bunch who do not follow the law, but most are in the business to help people.
Richard Present, co-owner of Nature's Medicine in Loveland, said patients who have paperwork but have not yet received state-authorized medical marijuana cards, cannot receive treatment until the clinic contacts the patient's doctor.
"We agree with the state doing what they want to do in all aspects of what they want to do except for the five-patient limit," he said. "There is a lot of fraud out there; but once again, the state has to figure out how they can deal with that and support the claims when there is fraud."
News Hawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: Loveland Connection
Author: Hallie Woods
Copyright: 2009 The Coloradoan
Contact: coloradoan.com | Fort Collins Contact Us | The Coloradoan,
Website: Northern Colorado pot industry cheers patient limit rejection | LovelandConnection.com | Loveland Connection
The board voted 6-3 late Monday night to defeat a proposal that would limit medical marijuana dispensers to treating five patients at a time, altering a 2000 constitutional amendment that legalized medical marijuana.
Tim Gordon, a Fort Collins man who opened a medical marijuana dispensary last week, said the proposal made him nervous as he prepared to open a business.
"Every day, it's nerve wracking. But this isn't a business for me; it's a service," Gordon said, who uses medical marijuana for chronic pain stemming from an injury.
Gordon was among hundreds of patients and dispensary owners who testified at Monday's hearing in Denver.
"I think the board acted on the people's behalf," he said. "Their new proposals were not what patients want and were not in the patient's best interest."
Area medical marijuana providers said if the measure passed, it would have forced hundreds of patients out on the streets to either find medicine from new caregivers or buy the drugs illegally.
Pam Fleming, co-founder of EnerChi Healing Center in Fort Collins, said the changes would have forced her clinic to cut many of the more than 70 patients the clinic sees daily.
"How do you take a patient base as large as ours and pick a few people who you will continue to cultivate for?" she said. "It really comes down to the patient's right to choose who should cultivate their medicine and be their caregiver."
Under the law, patients with certain conditions - including HIV, muscle spasms and chronic pain - can use medical marijuana as long as they get a doctor's approval and register with the state. The law permits patients or their designated caregivers to grow up to six marijuana plants or possess 2 ounces of usable marijuana.
There are 9,112 people registered to use medical marijuana in Colorado, up 2,000 in the last month. Ron Hyman, the state health department registrar who oversees the medical marijuana registry, predicted that at that rate, 15,000 people will be signed up by the end of the year.
Proponents of the change to the 2000 amendment argued that the current law allows for fraud and causes problems for law enforcers when it comes to knowing who can legally grow medical marijuana.
Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden, who has previously spoken out against the 2000 amendment, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Medical marijuana vendors said in most cases, there are always bad apples in the bunch who do not follow the law, but most are in the business to help people.
Richard Present, co-owner of Nature's Medicine in Loveland, said patients who have paperwork but have not yet received state-authorized medical marijuana cards, cannot receive treatment until the clinic contacts the patient's doctor.
"We agree with the state doing what they want to do in all aspects of what they want to do except for the five-patient limit," he said. "There is a lot of fraud out there; but once again, the state has to figure out how they can deal with that and support the claims when there is fraud."
News Hawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: Loveland Connection
Author: Hallie Woods
Copyright: 2009 The Coloradoan
Contact: coloradoan.com | Fort Collins Contact Us | The Coloradoan,
Website: Northern Colorado pot industry cheers patient limit rejection | LovelandConnection.com | Loveland Connection
