Brother and sister hope to open medical marijuana dispensary in Blythe

[grace]

Brother and sister, Juan and Aira Madariaga, hope to open a medical marijuana dispensary for Blythe residents suffering from illnesses that can be treated with marijuana.

 

Suffering an abnormally high cancer rate in Blythe, local patients must not only endure endless days of pain and sickness, they must also make frequent trips out of town for treatment, which only adds to their misery.

 

Oftentimes those treatments include chemotherapy, which makes a cancer victim even more ill before making them better.

 

In 1996, California voters passed Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act, which gave cancer patients and others who suffer debilitating illnesses, the right to use marijuana to ease their discomfort. In 2004 the state legislature approved SB 420, which allows patients to form medical cultivation collectives, sets limits on how much marijuana patients may have, and established a statewide, voluntary ID card system under the watch of county health departments.

 

Two counties in California, San Bernardino and San Diego, challenged the laws in court claiming that federal laws overrode state laws and that possession of marijuana was illegal even if state law made it legal.

 

The two counties lost the suit and the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the case, which sealed the states' right to allow medical marijuana.

 

Since that time hundreds of medical marijuana dispensaries have opened in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento and other cities and counties. Voters in the city of Oakland, by an overwhelming margin, recently approved a tax measure on marijuana sales and other California cities are following suit.

 

Other cities and counties, including Riverside, have enacted moratoriums to stop the opening of dispensaries in their locales until further studies can be performed.

 

The city of Blythe imposed its own 45-day moratorium at Tuesday's City Council meeting, after Juan and Aira Madariaga applied for a business license to open a dispensary in Blythe in order to relieve those with recommendations from their doctors to use the herb from having to make the long drive to Palm Springs where the closest dispensary is located. The Council did so with the request that the Madariagas' work with them in order to come up with guidelines that would work for the city, its residents and the patients who would be using the dispensary.

 

For 30 minutes the Council and city staff peppered Juan Madariaga, who is from Blythe but has worked with a dispensary in the Santa Monica area for some time, with questions as to the how the operation would be run. Even after the vote on the moratorium was taken, Juan Madariaga continued to field questions from the council.

 

"I would hate to be a patient undergoing chemotherapy and have to drive two hours to Palm Springs to get medication," said Juan Madariaga, himself a cancer patient.

 

Despite only using the herb once or twice in his life, as a lymphoma cancer patient being treated at Tower Oncology, a branch of Cedar Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, Juan Madariaga began to see a difference in patients who began using marijuana rather than conventional medicines to treat the effects of chemo.

 

"In there you see things the rest of the world doesn't," Juan Madariaga said. "A lot of sick people that are dying and unable to eat anything. I would see them again the following week and they looked so much better because they began using cannabis. It's a miracle. They're a whole different person and their life is that much better. You can see the healing process taking place."

 

Juan Madariaga said his goal now is to educate people as to the benefits marijuana provides to patients and to be able to provide them a choice between prescription drugs and marijuana.

 

"Once you see what it does for folks, then why not allow people to have a choice?" he asked. "Give them one more option to be comfortable and get to the level they need to feel well."

 

For Aira Madariaga, her experience with medical marijuana came before the 1996 Compassionate Use law was voted on.

 

The Madariaga patriarch, father of Juan and Aira, had already survived kidney cancer when he was stricken with lung cancer. Rather than just watching him waste away from the disease, she obtained some pot on the streets and cooked it into brownies, which he consumed, allowing him to eat other foods.

 

"He wasn't able to eat and he hadn't ate in six or seven days," she said. "Sure enough I gave him some brownies and though he was only alive for three weeks after that, he was able to eat. When someone is on their death bed and you know something this simple is going to make a change, then you're willing to do it."

 

Juan Madariaga said that like any drug, marijuana is not an option for everyone but that it should be an option for everyone. He said that when he was first diagnosed with cancer, the doctor told him they didn't know what he had but that they knew what they were going to give him. At one point he said he was taking 37 different pills a day with one treating the side effects of the others.

 

"Conventional medicine can be great," he said. If not, though, this should be an option. If it's not your thing, it's not your thing but if the cannabis works for you, you almost feel violated being unable to get it. To use it is a personal decision and a personal choice. We're the vehicle to get it to patients."

 

Juan Madariaga explained that there are two distinct strains of the weed that are used for medicinal purposes, indica, which is for healing the mind and sativa, which is for healing the body. He said that while there are many side effects related to prescription medication, there are only three side effects from using marijuana: sleepiness, hunger and dizziness.

 

He said that of 12 local doctors he interviewed concerning medical marijuana use, 10 are making the recommendation for their patients.

 

While he expects some opposition to opening of the Madariagas' dispensary, he said they want the business to operate in an open, legal and ethical environment. While most council members and city staff seemed open to the idea of a local dispensary, Blythe Police Chief Steve Smith said he was opposed.

 

"I would prefer we put together an ordinance banning marijuana dispensaries," Smith told the Council.

 

On the opposite end, Councilwoman Carie Covel, herself a recent cancer patient, said she wanted city staff to come to a resolution with the Madariagas prior to the 45-day moratorium.

 

"I never chose that option for my treatment," she said, "but if I had, I would want to be able to go down the street and buy it in Blythe rather than have to drive to Palm Springs."

 

Juan Madariaga said he would be open to a town hall meeting of some sort where he, his sister, medical marijuana legal counsel and others could meet with local residents to discuss their concerns and get answers to their questions about the proposed business.

 

"It's a new world, a new day and time to be educated on stuff," he said. "I'm hoping I'm helping someone."

 

Author: Marty Bachman, Editor

Date: 10 September 2009

Source: blythecannews.com

http://www.blythecanews.com/main.asp?Secti...articleID=12165

[dutchdevil]

interesting.....

[Syb3 rm3nt41_%20]

In california it is now possible to obtain permits by simply stating to a doctor that ' i am very depressed/anxious/stressed and would like to try a natural alternative to these radiculous misunderstood pharms'... I know of people with med permits, when will oz grow up ?!