cannabisnews.com: Contra Costa Patients Seeking Easier Pot Access





Contra Costa Patients Seeking Easier Pot Access
Posted by CN Staff on March 15, 2004 at 07:52:43 PT
By Bruce Gerstman
Source: Contra Costa Times 
Oakley -- Tanya Anderson took nearly 100 pills each week to control her health, weakened by AIDS. The drugs caused a problem: They made her vomit the food she attempted to swallow. She dropped from 150 pounds to 96.Her body deteriorated further. Then, Anderson tried marijuana. She said she never had an interest in marijuana, but found that smoking a little with meals restored her appetite.
``It's keeping me alive long enough to raise my kids,'' said Anderson, the mother of an 8-year-old boy and 12-year-old girl.But Anderson and others like her in Contra Costa County have a hard time getting what they consider essential medicine. She and her partner, Darrell Tatar, who has HIV, must travel more than 40 miles to a cannabis club in Oakland.The situation is not likely to change soon, county officials say. Unlike Oakland or San Francisco, Contra Costa County officials say they have not heard much support for the medicinal marijuana movement.California is one of nine states that permit the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. Since voters approved a state ballot measure legalizing medicinal marijuana in 1996, ``pot clubs'' have popped up in California cities including San Francisco, Hayward, Los Angeles and Santa Cruz.But not in Contra Costa County. In Oakley, Anderson said neighbors and other parents never discuss medicinal marijuana. She said they consider marijuana alongside other drugs associated with crime.``It's just not something that people talk about,'' Anderson said. ``I don't know if it's the small town frame of mind -- maybe that's what it is.''Another distinction between Contra Costa and Alameda counties is a difference in law. Last year, California adopted a law regulating the amount of medicinal marijuana that patients can possess. The law allows patients to keep 8 ounces of marijuana for medicinal use. But it also gives each county and city the authority to establish a higher limit. About 15 counties and five cities have; most allow patients to have 1 to 3 pounds each.Neither Contra Costa nor any city in the county has modified the law, according to Americans for Safe Access, an organization that promotes medicinal use of marijuana.William Dolphin, the organization's communication director, said that while the law is ``woefully inadequate'' for people who grow their own plants, it may allow enough for people who purchase medicinal marijuana from clubs.Anderson agreed, but said the 80-mile round trip is difficult.``Some days I get out of bed,'' Anderson said. ``Some days I don't because I can't get comfortable.''Patients like Anderson need an easier way to get their medicine, said Chris Farnitano, a staff physician for Contra Costa Health Services. Farnitano writes notes that help his patients purchase cannabis from clubs.``I do think there is a need for a cannabis club in Contra Costa County,'' he said. ``A lot of our patients have a hard time getting to Alameda County.''Farnitano said some of his patients depend on marijuana to stay alive. If AIDS patients fail to keep down their medicine, the virus can mutate and develop a resistant strain, he said. Patients get sicker and the virus wears away their bodies faster.``It's probably the most critical factor -- whether they can keep their medicine down,'' Farnitano said. ``Marijuana for some patients really can be life-saving.''The county's top health official agreed that cannabis should remain available to people who need it for medicinal reasons, but he said obtaining it is easy enough now.Wendel Brunner, county director of public health, said the fact that marijuana clubs don't exist in Contra Costa County isn't a public health risk. He added that he has not heard of residents indicating an interest in starting one. Source: Contra Costa Times (CA)Author: Bruce GerstmanPublished: Monday, March 15, 2004Copyright: 2004 Knight RidderContact: letters cctimes.comWebsite: http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimesAmericans For Safe Accesshttp://www.safeaccessnow.org/CannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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