Editorial: More Than Just Hits From A Bong

[Michael Komorn]

Editorial: More than just hits from a bong

 

 

opinion

 

 

New state rules requiring medical pot caregivers to provide actual care are in line with what voters approved in 2000.

 

By The Denver Post

 

 

 

http://www.denverpos...ana/ci_18295131

 

 

 

 

 

It's about time the state got a grip on the role of medical marijuana caregivers.

 

The vote Wednesday by the state Board of Health to require caregivers to provide sick patients with, well, care in addition to marijuana is a long time coming.

 

The regulations are in line with Colorado's 2000 medical marijuana constitutional amendment, an appellate court decision and state statutes.

 

But since the regulatory changes will circumscribe the efforts of those who see medical marijuana as a backdoor route to legalization, the rules also drew howls of protest.

 

Nevertheless, the rules are reasonable.

 

The constitutional amendment describes a caregiver as someone who has "significant responsibility for managing the well-being of the patient."

 

State statute says that simply providing medical marijuana doesn't cut it. Furthermore, a 2009 Colorado Court of Appeals decision rejected the idea that all you had to do to be a caregiver is to provide marijuana to people with medical marijuana cards.

 

The board's vote requires caregivers to engage in support activities, such as housekeeping, preparing meals and making arrangements for health care.

 

While we have concerns about how authorities will enforce these rules, they are in keeping with the original aim of the amendment — to give seriously ill people relief by allowing them to smoke marijuana without fear of prosecution.

 

Instead what we got in recent years was an explosion of people, many of them young men, complaining of "debilitating" and "chronic" pain in order to get a medical marijuana card. There are now some 124,000 people on the registry.

 

We are glad to see the Board of Health acting to rein in the role of medical marijuana caregivers, even if it is a couple years too late.

 

In the summer of 2009, the state Board of Health declined to pass regulations that would have limited medical marijuana caregivers to five patients each. (State lawmakers subsequently passed legislation including that limit).

 

In failing to take that action two years ago, the board opened the door to the convenience-store model of medical marijuana distribution. It was an opportunity that so-called ganjapreneuers seized upon.

 

The state legislature's efforts since then to regulate medical marijuana dispensaries, which we have always viewed as an unfortunate expansion of the constitutional amendment, served to legitimize the dispensary model.

 

A return to pre-dispensary days appears extremely unlikely given that it would involve shutting down hundreds of businesses and destroying their investments.

 

However, the rules passed by the Board of Health regarding caregivers are a positive step in bringing some order to Colorado's medical marijuana scene.

 

 

 

Posted by:

 

Michael Komorn

 

18006563557

[solabeirtan]

gimme 2zs of the colliegreen, a cheesburger, fries ana cokacola. Can I get it de-live-red, to: !

[Letterhead954]

Sure glad our law isn't like that. Not many people have what it takes to be a nurse. I bet they end up with far fewer growers. Not good for the patients.

[CedarSpringsCG]

Not to mention, if a PT gets mad at their CG for any reason, he calls the LEO and says "he isn't caring for me" and blamo, unfounded prosecution. And all the PT has to say is "He refused to take my trash out on Wednesday", even though the CG wasn't supposed to even come by until Friday.

 

I think if they do this, they should have to force insurance companies to pay for care giver services.

 

cedar

[The Digital Nomad]

This should be balanced - why not view ourselves as professional healthcare workers that work with medical marijuana? Wouldn't that make us look more legitimate?

Of course, this should use contracts that sipulate exactly what caregiving services will be. The good news is, patients will be paying for 'caregiving services' not just buying marijuana - so then caregivers would be more legitimate?

 

I don't want more regulation, but we should have more training, we should be offering more than just meds to patients.

 

-DN

[purklize]

The board's vote requires caregivers to engage in support activities, such as housekeeping, preparing meals and making arrangements for health care.

 

Doctors are responsible for caring for their patients. Does this mean they have to scrub toilets too?

 

Bad news all around.

[BubbleBerryKush]

I would do that for my patients, I would care for them 24/7, but that care will cost money. I recently had a family member need 24 hour care for the last 4 months of their life. Lets just say that care does not come cheap, 7k a month is about what 24 hour care costs. So if you want that level of care MM would just be a layer of care within that care agreement.

[Guest thequietone]

 

 

I don't want more regulation, but we should have more training, we should be offering more than just meds to patients.

 

-DN

 

So what do we do if the patient only wants you to grow for them. Not every patient wants or needs someone to provide more for them. For instance I have a patient who has 24 hour attendant care and only needs me to provide meds. I have another one who is healthy enough to do house work and cook, take care of flower beds and loves doing those things. In both cases I provide meds and friendship to them. I never just run in and out I always stay and visit with them. It should be the caregivers and their patients decision on the amount of care to be given by the caregiver not the states.