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New rules ease patients’, caregivers’ minds
By Robyn Lydick
Dr. Eric Hatch sleeps better at night now that the Department of Justice will not be investigating legal medical cannabis suppliers.
“I don’t have to worry about losing my home and my business,” the chiropractor said.
The Obama administration announced Oct. 19 that only marijuana growers and suppliers using medical use as a cover for other cultivation or distribution would be prosecuted. Growers, caregivers and patients working within the laws of their respective states would not be prosecuted federally.
Hatch provides medical cannabis to his patients on the Colorado registry through Hatch Wellness Center in Highlands Ranch. It isn’t all he does, but it is the fastest-growing service he offers. Until the Department of Justice released the directive to leave law-abiding patients and providers alone, Hatch envisioned federal agents coming in his doors, taking the plants and inventory and shutting down the rest of the business: massage, accupressure and chiropractic care.
On the day of the Department of Justice’s announcement that providers of cannabis for medical use operating within their state’s medical marijuana laws would not be prosecuted, Hatch’s phone did not stop ringing.
Most calls were for referrals to a doctor who could start the process of getting on Colorado’s medical marijuana registry.
Hatch works with two patient coordinators, one on South Federal Boulevard and one off Yosemite and Park Meadows Boulevard in Lone Tree.
Tee Davis, of coloradomedicalmarijuana.com, said he is seeing an increase in clients, and he expects the trend to keep rising.
His Web site tracked 800 new, unique visitors Oct. 19, the day the Department of Justice released new guidelines.
“That’s about a 20 to 30 percent increase in traffic,” Davis said.
That interest could be a harbinger for wider acceptance of medical cannabis and its users.
Hatch started thinking about opening the dispensary after his sister, a card-holding patient, expressed concern about the situations where she had to get her medicine.
“You’ll have to get it for me,” she told Hatch.
“It was just like getting street drugs,” Hatch recalls.
His experiences led him to offer the service in a professional doctor’s office setting. He spoke with several attorneys and learned the laws governing dispensaries. He’s made contacts with growers, although he said that took time.
He opened for medical cannabis business in late June.
As of June 30, 339 Douglas County residents held patient cards, up from 218 on May 31.
Davis expects a two-month backup at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, which oversees the program and registry.
Under state law, once an application packet is sent to the state, the assumption is that it is accepted. So, if a patient sent her records and application in, she could immediately purchase medical cannabis.
Amendment 20, passed by voters in 2000, legalized marijuana for medical use for specific conditions.
Those conditions include spasms, chronic or severe pain, seizures, nausea or loss of appetite connected to cancer or other diseases, including AIDS.
“I don’t have to worry about losing my home and my business,” the chiropractor said.
The Obama administration announced Oct. 19 that only marijuana growers and suppliers using medical use as a cover for other cultivation or distribution would be prosecuted. Growers, caregivers and patients working within the laws of their respective states would not be prosecuted federally.
Hatch provides medical cannabis to his patients on the Colorado registry through Hatch Wellness Center in Highlands Ranch. It isn’t all he does, but it is the fastest-growing service he offers. Until the Department of Justice released the directive to leave law-abiding patients and providers alone, Hatch envisioned federal agents coming in his doors, taking the plants and inventory and shutting down the rest of the business: massage, accupressure and chiropractic care.
On the day of the Department of Justice’s announcement that providers of cannabis for medical use operating within their state’s medical marijuana laws would not be prosecuted, Hatch’s phone did not stop ringing.
Most calls were for referrals to a doctor who could start the process of getting on Colorado’s medical marijuana registry.
Hatch works with two patient coordinators, one on South Federal Boulevard and one off Yosemite and Park Meadows Boulevard in Lone Tree.
Tee Davis, of coloradomedicalmarijuana.com, said he is seeing an increase in clients, and he expects the trend to keep rising.
His Web site tracked 800 new, unique visitors Oct. 19, the day the Department of Justice released new guidelines.
“That’s about a 20 to 30 percent increase in traffic,” Davis said.
That interest could be a harbinger for wider acceptance of medical cannabis and its users.
Hatch started thinking about opening the dispensary after his sister, a card-holding patient, expressed concern about the situations where she had to get her medicine.
“You’ll have to get it for me,” she told Hatch.
“It was just like getting street drugs,” Hatch recalls.
His experiences led him to offer the service in a professional doctor’s office setting. He spoke with several attorneys and learned the laws governing dispensaries. He’s made contacts with growers, although he said that took time.
He opened for medical cannabis business in late June.
As of June 30, 339 Douglas County residents held patient cards, up from 218 on May 31.
Davis expects a two-month backup at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, which oversees the program and registry.
Under state law, once an application packet is sent to the state, the assumption is that it is accepted. So, if a patient sent her records and application in, she could immediately purchase medical cannabis.
Amendment 20, passed by voters in 2000, legalized marijuana for medical use for specific conditions.
Those conditions include spasms, chronic or severe pain, seizures, nausea or loss of appetite connected to cancer or other diseases, including AIDS.
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