Pubdate: Wed, 27 Jul 2016
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2016 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122

DOCS GONE WILD ON POT REFERRALS

It would be impossible to argue these days in Colorado that patients 
who use medical marijuana aren't getting a pretty good deal.

As in the earliest days of legalization, most Coloradans are 
comfortable giving patients or their caregivers the right to grow 
several plants. For years now, dispensaries catering to patients have 
been plentiful, as are a variety of products intended to address 
particular ailments and issues. And the state doesn't collect a sin 
tax on medical marijuana patients.

So it strikes us as unreasonable and irresponsible to believe that a 
single patient would need access to 75 cannabis plants or more at any one time.

No wonder, then, the state Medical Board last week took action 
against four doctors who officials say recommended grows of at least 
75 plants to more than 1,500 patients. As The Denver Post's John 
Ingold reports, it's the first time the board has taken action 
against doctors for allegedly over-recommending grows of this size, 
though we wonder why.

Yes, the state acted too hastily in suspending the doctors without 
due process. A judge on Friday temporarily blocked the suspensions of 
the doctors' licenses. Denver District Court Judge Ross Buchanan 
wisely noted that if the punishments are the first of their kind, the 
doctors in question should have had time to defend themselves against 
the claims.

But to the larger point: Why so much weed? Some patients and their 
advocates argue that using marijuana over time leads to greater 
tolerance levels, and some kinds of delivery systems for THC and 
cannabinoids - like edibles, oils and concentrates - require far more 
of the devil's lettuce to make than what you would roll up in a joint 
or pack in a pipe or vaporizer.

Marijuana harvests are conducted every three to four months, 
depending on the strain, and industry experts peg the retail value of 
a single plant at about $1,000. We might not be medical 
professionals, but we find it unimaginable that a single patient 
could have such a tolerance or such complicated cooking processes to 
necessitate the retail equivalent of $225,000 to $300,000 worth of dope a year.

We'd also be dopes to believe that no one with that amount of 
marijuana would ever be tempted to engage in black-market or underground sales.

The apparent abuse might not appear great as a percentage of the 
whole. The bulk of the more than 106,000 licensed medical marijuana 
patients in Colorado - 86 percent - are recommended to grow the six 
plants we've come to consider as normal under the law. But the 
potential for blackmarket temptation is significant, and all the more 
so if you drill down into the larger picture of grow recommendations. 
State records current through the end of May show that 478 patients 
have recommendations for more than 75 plants. Another 1,324 patients 
have permission to grow between 50 to 75 plants. More than 2,200 have 
been recommended to grow between 26 and 50 plants.

The state is correct to worry about excessive grows. Its laws are 
more than liberal toward marijuana users, and the risk to harming the 
public's good will that exists if thousands of people are allowed to 
privately grow large numbers of plants is too great.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom