Pubdate: Thu, 21 Jul 2011 Source: Pikes Peak Courier View (CO) Copyright: 2011 Our Colorado News, Englewood, CO. Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/VPHRm3th Website: http://www.ourcoloradonews.com/tellercounty/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5272 Author: Pat Hill THE MEDICAL MARIJUANA BATTLEGROUNDS When Colorado voters approved the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes in 2000, little did most of them know that the issue would a decade later ensnare the state in a tangled web of entrepreneurs, a huge number of prescriptions for medical marijuana and competing federal and state laws. Mixed in with the conundrum stew are the public's perception of the positive/negative aspects of marijuana as a health benefit contrasted with marijuana as a harmful substance for teens and young adults. The issue lay dormant until 2009 when medical marijuana dispensaries exploded in Colorado, which today leads the nation in the capitalistic/medical enterprise. On July 1, however, the free-for-all came to a screeching halt as the state strengthened regulations for dispensaries and the Obama administration issued a reminder to the state that marijuana is still illegal under the federal government. Eagle's Nest Dispensary At Eagle's Nest Wellness Center on Ute Pass in El Paso County, Lono Ho'ala is among the regions's most most vocal proponents of medical marijuana. Compliant with state laws, nonetheless, Ho'ala admits to being a bit nervous. "They (the feds) could come in here, arrest me and I'd be in prison for the next 20 years," he said. "And that's nuts." Nervous or not, Ho'ala has no qualms about what he views as the historic role of the federal government on maintaining the War on Drugs, which still includes marijuana. "Marijuana is probably one of the most powerful natural medicines for many purposes that has ever been around," Ho'ala said. "I think that's why there's so much hype and so much effort to keep it illegal because pharmaceutical companies would be extremely threatened if this stuff ever becomes legal." Cynical about politicians and the American government as well as the role of lobbyists in setting policy, Ho'ala considers pharmaceutical companies leaders of the pack of those who oppose legalization. "Number two are the Mexican drug cartels that pay hundreds of millions of dollars to local judges and federal-government employees to keep marijuana illegal," Ho'ala said, citing an article last year in the Washington Times as his source. "But mom-and-pop operations like us in Colorado, California and other states with dispensaries are doing more damage to the Mexican drug cartels than all of the hundreds of billions of dollars that have been spent on this crazy war on drugs from the beginning." According to an article in the July 11 edition of Time Magazine, Americans consume $65 billion annually on illegal drugs, most of which are either produced in or go through Mexico. The article cites as its source the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. Third on Ho'ala's list of legalization blocks is the alcohol industry. "They are the ones that fought the legalization attempt in California," he said. "They don't want the competition from marijuana because it is not at all as addictive as alcohol, not even in the same league." The fourth group is the prison/law enforcement industry. "They are hugely profiting from these drug laws. And all four of those groups do not want to see marijuana legalized in any way, shape or form, no way," he said. "So we wind up with this schizophrenic government where, at the state level, what we're doing is legal, ethical, appropriate and socially beneficial to society when it's done the way we do it and the way the state intends for it to be done." As well a state's rights trump federal rights, according to the U.S. Constitution, Ho'ala said. Phantom Canyon Closes If the federal government would legalize marijuana, the whole issue would disappear, said Kathryn Chandler, who closed her dispensary, Phantom Canyon Apothecary, in Victor June 28. "Legalize it, regulate it; I think there is a place for regulation," she said. "You don't want the criminal element here. If you legalize marijuana you don't have to draw that line anymore between medical and recreational use. That's the hardest thing. And lest we not judge anybody because we're not inside anybody else's body, (we) don't know how they feel or what kind of pain they're in." For the state as well as the cities, dispensaries offer a windfall. Before opening the shop in June 2010, Chandler paid $4,000 to the city of Victor for the application and $4,000 for license fees in addition to $8,750 to the state. Comfort Care On Teller County property, Comfort Care pays about $10,000 a year to the Colorado Department of Revenue, which collects the sales taxes and as well as the fees. "But the thing with the feds is sort of an interesting situation," said Martha Vallina, co-owner of the dispensary. "When the Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division was set up, they were telling everybody they'd protect us from the feds, but I have not heard any response from them if we do start getting arrested." Like Eagle's Nest, however, Comfort Care is in for the count. "It's scary, but we're staying; they can take us all to jail." Vallina said. "We've got too many cancer patients and other patients with devastating diseases who really depend on us to improve their quality of life." Not only is the federal/state mix a concern, so, too, is the public's perception of marijuana users. "I'm passionate about the medicine and it aggravates me that there is so much incorrect information out there," Vallina said. "People don't even want to learn. "There is plenty of evidence that medical marijuana effectively treats some conditions. Building A Generation? The dark side of the issue, however, is the unintended consequences on Colorado's young people. Since the state legalized marijuana for medical use, treatment centers are treating more teens for marijuana addiction, according to a report from Thomas Crowley, director of the Division of Substance Dependence at the University of Colorado. Denver Health Medical Center reports that treatment referrals have tripled, with 83 percent of the teens that smoke marijuana daily saying they obtained it from a medical-marijuana card holder, Crowley reports. "Research shows that the brain is not finished developing until age 25, so whether young people use drugs, recreationally or not, they should always consider what any substance is going to do to a developing brain," said Debbie Upton, coordinator of North Teller Build a Generation. "The other recurring theme of the research is that as marijuana becomes more legalized the perception of harm is also going down. So it changes the social norm." Another point of concern raised by Upton is that according to Healthy and Drug Free Colorado, the potency of marijuana has increased 10-fold since 1970. Like Upton, Lisa Noble, coordinator of the Gold Belt Build a Generation in southern Teller County, is wary of legalization. Citing a survey done by the University of Michigan's Monitoring the Future and the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, Noble said there has been a recent increase in marijuana use in youth nationwide. "The increase in use among youth follows a 10-year decline," Noble said. "The trend parallels the increase in states with legalization of medical marijuana." A Student's Opinion At the Woodland Park High School, Kasey Allen, founding member of Students Against Destructive Decisions, hopes to stem the rise of marijuana abuse among her fellow students. Citing anecdotal evidence, Allen believes it's easier for young teens to get marijuana than it is to get alcohol. "With alcohol you have to have somebody buy it for you, but with weed, you just go get it," she said. William Schroeder, D.O, of Woodland Park Weighs In: "As a physician who has recommended medical marijuana I can unequivocally state that it has safely saved the lives of some of my patients. It has improved the lives of many others. The cannibanoid molecules from the plant are far safer and superior medicinals compared to tylenol, the ibuprofen-like drugs, narcotics and the valium-like drugs which kill and maim hundreds of thousands of Americans each year resulting in billions of dollars of loss to our health care system beyond their human toll. Toxicity, tolerance and withdrawal problems are not seen with cannabis and dependence and addiction appear to be rare. "Cannabis has allowed many of my patients to discontinue other drugs, like high-dose narcotics that are much more dangerous and destructive. Cannabis is often the only medicine that works for certain patients and is remarkably safe as a medicine with little side effects and no known adverse or deadly effects. Prescribing the other more deadly drugs when a recommendation of cannabis can replace them more safely is tantamount to medical neglect and malpractice. Prescribing the more dangerous drugs that cannabis replaces exposes our youth to much more threatening drugs of abuse. "While we should remain very concerned about illegal and non-medical usage of marijuana, especially among teenagers with developing brains, this should not be an excuse to remove life-saving medicinals from those who use them responsibly for legitimate medical needs. For our society, drugs like alcohol, tobacco, cocaine, narcotics, benzodiazepines, sedatives, inhalants and designer drugs like ecstasy are a very much more significant threat than cannabis." A Recent Bill Proposed On June 25, Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, and Rep Barney Frank D-Massachusetts, introduced HB 2306 which seeks to remove marijuana from the list of controlled substances and delegate the regulation of the substance to the individual states. "Criminally prosecuting adults for making the choice to smoke marijuana is a waste of law enforcement resources and an intrusion on personal freedom," Frank said in a released statement. Both congressman have admitted the bill has virtually no chance of passing, however, thus continuing the parallel universes of federal and state governments. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.