Cannabis patients battle regulations and stigmas
Raising awareness about the benefits and fighting misconceptions is the goal of a series of town hall meetings put together by the Cannabis Patient Rights Coalition.
From government regulations to complaints from neighbors about the smell of legal growing operations, it remains an industry still learning to co-exist with the rest of the community.
According to the CPRC, 19,000 cannabis patients currently live in El Paso County.
Some buy their medication from dispensaries, while others grow it at home.
However, the number of plants they are allowed to grow remains a hot topic that could soon lead to a legal battle.
Earlier this year, the Colorado Springs city council voted to set a limit of 12 plants per household, but many patients or parents of patients say that doesn’t come close to the amount they need to meet their doctor’s recommended dosage.
“We have patients who were in remission, their cancer was controlled, they were not seizing anymore. Now they’re starting to see their symptoms resurface,” said group co-founder Bridget Seritt.
City leaders are also finalizing an ordinance to regulate any type of indoor grow operation, to make sure they don’t pose a fire hazard or other safety risk.
Members of the Coalition are involved in the development of that ordinance and say so far, it’s fair.
The biggest ongoing challenge for this industry might just be a “PR problem” as one man put it at the meeting Wednesday evening.
Patients say they are constantly fighting stigmas more associated with the recreational marijuana industry.
They maintain they are not using it to get high, but healthy, and using a remedy that for many does what no other drug has done so far.
Another enormous challenge for patients is affordability.
Depending on the type and amount of treatment they require for various diseases, the cost can run $1500-3000 a month, and none of it is covered by insurance.
That’s part of the reason patients are pushing for the higher plant count, to avoid some of those costs.
