Jim Finnel
Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex News Moderator
Anderson resident and business owner Gina Munday, 48, is tired of being made to feel as if she is a criminal when she uses cannabis.
A long-time sufferer of chronic pain, Munday has legally obtained a Redding doctor's recommendation for personal use of medical marijuana. Until she started growing her own plants, she had to drive long distances - - often in pain - to a distant collective in order to obtain the controlled substance. Once there, she endured the sometimes lengthy process of signing up and processing as a member of a collective to obtain a several-weeks supply of the drug-laced cannabis plant.
"I was a waitress for many years and injured my back. I still get migraine headaches and I cannot sleep," Munday said of her condition that she eases with small doses of THC or tetrahydrocannabinol, the main psychoactive substance found in the female plant's buds.
A third option, that of purchasing the drug illegally on the street, has little or no appeal for Munday, who operates a residential construction company and considers herself a responsible, law-abiding citizen.
"For many people, it is often easier to obtain liquor without a license than to get medical marijuana," she said in an exclusive interview with the Valley Post.
In February, Munday formed a collective, The Green Heart, as allowed under California state law. She is currently involved in identifying and verifying medical marijuana recommendations held by 11 other individuals whom she then supplies with legal amounts of medical marijuana.
For her trouble, Munday is allowed to recoup her costs for growing supplies, light, fertilizers, water and other reasonable expenses but cannot make a profit off any transaction. Through her contacts with other collectives throughout the state, she is also able to supply her collective's members with other forms of THC including lozenges, suckers, essential oils, salad dressings, powders and herbs used for cooking, she said.
Under provisions of Proposition 215, passed in 1996 by 56 percent of California's voters and currently a part of the state's Health and Safety Code, people with a doctor's recommendation for medical marijuana ( cannabis ) may legally have in their possession up to 12 immature or non-flowering pot plants or up to six harvestable or flowering plants. A person carrying a valid recommendation may alternatively have up to 8 ounces of processed cannabis or THC-laden product, the same state law also allows.
It is the bud of the cannabis plant, not the telltale seven-pointed leaf, that contains significant quantities of the powerful THC that is considered a mood elevator, stress reliever and pain killer, among nearly 100 natural remedies that were previously listed prior to 1937 when the substance was outlawed in the United States, according to a Web site maintained by the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws ( NORML ).
Munday's difficulties in obtaining her cannabis legally, along with the expense in time, money and energy that she has invested in identifying and propagating several potent strains of cannabis with slightly different healing properties, has led her to want to share her knowledge and resources with others in a similar situation.
"We want to open a nice, professional dispensary where people can feel safe. We want to have a professional reception area where we will check their identification and verify the doctor's recommendation before we process their application to join the collective," she said.
Once a collective member is properly enrolled, only then will they be allowed into the dispensary's back room where the products will be displayed.
Munday was to make her second appearance in as many meetings before the Anderson City Council Tuesday, June 2, in order to request a zoning variance or rezoning that would allow such a dispensary in Anderson's city limits.
So far, neither Planning Director John Stokes nor city attorney Michael Fitzpatrick are holding out much hope that the council will consider the request.
"Unless it is addressed specifically in our zoning laws, it is not allowed," said Stokes, who has conveyed similar information to Munday.
"I don't have a zoned district that would accommodate her," Stokes told the Valley Post.
At the request of Stokes, Fitzpatrick issued a legal opinion on the question Thursday that flatly states such an amendment to the city's zoning ordinances should not be considered "because California law does not allow cities to pass ordinances in violation of federal law."
Munday noted that Redding has at least three and possibly as many as five such dispensaries.
News Hawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: Anderson Valley Post (CA)
Contact: news@andersonvalleypost.com
Copyright: 2009 The E.W. Scripps Co.
Website: andersonvalleypost.com : Anderson Valley, California, News, Business, Homes, Jobs, Cars & Information
Author: George L. Winship
A long-time sufferer of chronic pain, Munday has legally obtained a Redding doctor's recommendation for personal use of medical marijuana. Until she started growing her own plants, she had to drive long distances - - often in pain - to a distant collective in order to obtain the controlled substance. Once there, she endured the sometimes lengthy process of signing up and processing as a member of a collective to obtain a several-weeks supply of the drug-laced cannabis plant.
"I was a waitress for many years and injured my back. I still get migraine headaches and I cannot sleep," Munday said of her condition that she eases with small doses of THC or tetrahydrocannabinol, the main psychoactive substance found in the female plant's buds.
A third option, that of purchasing the drug illegally on the street, has little or no appeal for Munday, who operates a residential construction company and considers herself a responsible, law-abiding citizen.
"For many people, it is often easier to obtain liquor without a license than to get medical marijuana," she said in an exclusive interview with the Valley Post.
In February, Munday formed a collective, The Green Heart, as allowed under California state law. She is currently involved in identifying and verifying medical marijuana recommendations held by 11 other individuals whom she then supplies with legal amounts of medical marijuana.
For her trouble, Munday is allowed to recoup her costs for growing supplies, light, fertilizers, water and other reasonable expenses but cannot make a profit off any transaction. Through her contacts with other collectives throughout the state, she is also able to supply her collective's members with other forms of THC including lozenges, suckers, essential oils, salad dressings, powders and herbs used for cooking, she said.
Under provisions of Proposition 215, passed in 1996 by 56 percent of California's voters and currently a part of the state's Health and Safety Code, people with a doctor's recommendation for medical marijuana ( cannabis ) may legally have in their possession up to 12 immature or non-flowering pot plants or up to six harvestable or flowering plants. A person carrying a valid recommendation may alternatively have up to 8 ounces of processed cannabis or THC-laden product, the same state law also allows.
It is the bud of the cannabis plant, not the telltale seven-pointed leaf, that contains significant quantities of the powerful THC that is considered a mood elevator, stress reliever and pain killer, among nearly 100 natural remedies that were previously listed prior to 1937 when the substance was outlawed in the United States, according to a Web site maintained by the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws ( NORML ).
Munday's difficulties in obtaining her cannabis legally, along with the expense in time, money and energy that she has invested in identifying and propagating several potent strains of cannabis with slightly different healing properties, has led her to want to share her knowledge and resources with others in a similar situation.
"We want to open a nice, professional dispensary where people can feel safe. We want to have a professional reception area where we will check their identification and verify the doctor's recommendation before we process their application to join the collective," she said.
Once a collective member is properly enrolled, only then will they be allowed into the dispensary's back room where the products will be displayed.
Munday was to make her second appearance in as many meetings before the Anderson City Council Tuesday, June 2, in order to request a zoning variance or rezoning that would allow such a dispensary in Anderson's city limits.
So far, neither Planning Director John Stokes nor city attorney Michael Fitzpatrick are holding out much hope that the council will consider the request.
"Unless it is addressed specifically in our zoning laws, it is not allowed," said Stokes, who has conveyed similar information to Munday.
"I don't have a zoned district that would accommodate her," Stokes told the Valley Post.
At the request of Stokes, Fitzpatrick issued a legal opinion on the question Thursday that flatly states such an amendment to the city's zoning ordinances should not be considered "because California law does not allow cities to pass ordinances in violation of federal law."
Munday noted that Redding has at least three and possibly as many as five such dispensaries.
News Hawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: Anderson Valley Post (CA)
Contact: news@andersonvalleypost.com
Copyright: 2009 The E.W. Scripps Co.
Website: andersonvalleypost.com : Anderson Valley, California, News, Business, Homes, Jobs, Cars & Information
Author: George L. Winship
