Pubdate: Thu, 22 Jan 2015
Source: Westword (Denver, CO)
Copyright: 2015 Village Voice Media
Contact: http://www.westword.com/feedback/EmailAnEmployee?department=letters
Website: http://www.westword.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1616
Author: William Breathes

WHY IS THE STATE ATTACKING CAREGIVERS?

Dear Stoner: My caregiver says he's going to stop being a caregiver 
by the summer and that the state is probably going to make it hard to 
be one, anyway.

Sick Sally

Dear Sick Sally: He's right. The state is trying to set strict limits 
on the number of patients that caregivers can serve; it might also 
force them to reveal where caregivers grow their herb.

The real question is this: Why is the state attacking people who are 
trying to help others, working within a system that's been in place 
since 2001? We're talking about caregivers who have already 
registered with the state and are already doing everything they are 
legally required to do, a group that handles 4,680 patients - just 
3.9 percent of the 116,216 total patients in Colorado. Meanwhile, 40 
percent of patients have a dispensary grow their cannabis, and any 
cannabis purchased at a dispensary can be diverted to the "black 
market" as easily as any grown by a caregiver. All this in a state 
where any adult over twenty can grow up to six plants in his home. 
But despite all this, the Colorado Department of Public Health and 
Environment is picking on the smallest group (the ones arguably 
providing the most beneficial services to patients).

Really, state officials are trying to milk more money out of medical 
marijuana because they didn't see the huge patient transition to 
recreational pot that was predicted. And we wouldn't be surprised if 
there were a few dispensary owners and "industry groups" grumbling to 
lawmakers about this, as well.

Dear Stoner: What do you smoke in a week?

24/7 Toker

Dear 24/7: How much do I smoke in a week? Pounds, son. I'm bubbling 
through ounces of oil by the week. Boom. No, seriously, I probably 
smoke way less than you would think for a guy who writes a column 
called Ask a Stoner. Not to say that at one point I didn't puff tuff 
all day long and have a tolerance that required half-gram dabs to 
truly get me lifted, because I did. But lately I've not been using 
near as much. I have a good session two, three nights a week 
"recreationally." Medically, I'm toking less as well - one or two 
hits for nausea, instead of several bowls. Maybe it's just me getting 
old and having kids; maybe it's because I'm getting my stomach issues 
more under control. But whatever the reason, I've actually found that 
my slowdown has increased my enjoyment: When I do puff now, I get a 
much more complex buzz and really feel the differences between 
strains more distinctly than I did when I was puffing every day, all day.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom