Pubdate: Wed, 27 Apr 2016
Source: Colorado Springs Independent (CO)
Column: Cannabiz
Copyright: 2016 Colorado Springs Independent
Contact:  http://www.csindy.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1536
Author: Nat Stein

MEDICAL MARIJUANA ADVOCATES RALLY FOR GROWING RIGHTS ON 4/20

In addition to all the consumption-oriented festivities that went 
down on April 20, a march on City Hall brought a small but mighty 
crowd of medical marijuana supporters out to vent some frustrations. 
Their message? Leave our plants alone.

Amendment 20 may have legalized medical marijuana back in 2000, but 
patients now feel their rights are under attack. That attack comes in 
the form of a proposed ordinance to limit all residences in the 
Springs to 12 marijuana plants total, period, no matter how many 
adults, patients or caregivers live there.

Around 30 diehards turned out to voice their discontent on Council's turf.

Notable among the crowd of patients, their family members and 
supporters were two candidates for City Council - Joseph Carlson and 
Hemp Hurd - both of whom intend to make cannabis a central part of 
their campaign.

Carlson's take on the matter: "I say leave it alone, let them grow. 
We should be focusing on the rapists, the murderers - not the patients."

Federal and local law enforcement have both raised concerns about 
so-called "home invasions," which is when out-of-staters move into 
Colorado's legal marijuana haven, grow a ton of plants in a 
residential home then ship it to thirstier markets throughout the 
country. Fear of that kind of criminal activity is what's driving 
plant count limits here in the Springs and in municipalities around the state.

Legitimate medical marijuana users, like 47-year-old Tammie Bruner, 
worry about shouldering the consequences of a few bad actors. She 
moved here in September from Kentucky to get better access to the one 
medicine that works against her seizures: cannabis.

"I was shocked to come here and find out they were still coming after 
my medicine," she told the Independent.

If she can't grow all her plants at home she'll have to make up the 
difference at a dispensary. And that, Bruner says, is an expensive prospect.

"It costs like $45 a gram and that only lasts me two days if I'm 
really careful. It takes a lot [of cannabis] to control my seizures. 
And that's the only reason I have my life back," she says. "I don't 
want to become a criminal again, I just want to be healthy and happy."

Pamela Bailey, who suffers from a chronic illness, is also wary. 
"They're trying to force us back to dispensaries," she said, pointing 
out the only task force members with ties to the marijuana community 
were two dispensary owners, not patients or caregivers.

The plant-count ordinance will have its first reading in front of 
Council at Tuesday's regular meeting (after press time.) According to 
Council administrator Eileen Gonzalez, several marijuana-related 
ordinances are scheduled for vote on May 10, which means they would 
take effect two days prior to the expiration of the moratorium on May 25th.

Speaking of the moratorium's approaching death, councilor Larry 
Bagley wants a resuscitation. At Tuesday's meeting he'll propose 
extending the current freeze on medical marijuana licensing for 
another year. During that time, another task force would convene to 
study some unresolved issues like non-residential caregiver grows, 
marijuana advertising, co-location (read: Gas and Grass), 
4/20-friendly Air BnB-style rentals, odor and energy use.

Notably, the new task force might run a little differently than the 
first. Included in Bagley's proposal is the recommendation that 
members not be Council-appointed and that patients, caregivers, 
physicians and industry experts actually be included this time around.

Meanwhile, medical marijuana advocates are hurriedly and aggressively 
organizing more opposition to the plant limit proposal.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom