America was built by entrepreneurs that paved way for big business. There is nothing like being able to provide for a family without worrying about being laid off, or fired from a position. Farming has always been an American Cottage Industry. A community farm is always the best pick for the price. In Jackson we have two kinds of Farmers Markets. We have the regular farmers, and Medical Marijuana Farmers which are known as caregivers. A caregiver is a unique person. This person must have a love for people, and a green thumb for gardening. If a person cannot garden then caregiving would not be an easy job. What happens if a patient stumbles upon a caregiver that does not know anything about gardening? This happens a lot, and this is the reason that the Farmers Market exists. Let’s envision a caregiver is caring for four patients and his grow room is over taken by mold, or spider mites. What happens to the patients that the caregiver is providing for? If this situation would have happened before the McQueen verses Michigan Ruling the patient could have stopped down to the Farmers Market, and picked up the medicine that they need to treat their condition, while the caregiver gets his garden back on track. The situation after McQueen has turned dire. We now have caregiver to caregiver exchanges that are illegal. Leaving patients vulnerable and at risk without medicine if something desperate occurred inside the caregivers grow room. The McQueen decision took away the caregivers opportunity to obtain medicine for a patient when they are having issues, or shortage problems. Shortage problems occur when a caregiver is not able to produce enough medicine to satisfy the patient’s needs. This type of shortage occurs with cancer patients. It takes 2 pounds of cannabis to make a cancer patient 2 ounces of cannabis oil. Cannabis oil dosages can range from between 1 gram, and 3 grams a day depending on the patient. This type of demand produces shortages in a grow room. This is why having an option available such a dispensary or Farmers Market model comes to play. Saturday, and Sundays would come to life with the hustle and bustle of thirty caregivers bringing in their overages, medibles, salves, tinctures, oils, and other related medical marijuana products. A patient could walk in on a shoe string budget, and walk out with their hearts desire. A Farmers Market gives the patient an opportunity to work with other caregivers inside the network. The Farmers inside the market are compassionate, and work well accommodating low income patients, and the medicine needs that they have. Caregivers bring in their overages and the patients inside the market model will pay as low as $5 a gram, and never higher than $15 dollars a gram. The caregiver pays a table rental fee to the market, but 100% of the profit from the market goes to the caregiver. On the opposite end of the scale is a dispensary owner. This owner opens up a store and brings in cannabis from caregivers. This cannabis is called overage. This overage is sold to the dispensary owner, and the dispensary owner sells it back to the community and includes a hefty mark up. The cannabis is dispensed to the patient usually $15 to $40 a gram. This is why it is necessary to continue the Farmers Market Model. The Michigan Medical Marijuana Act clearly intended patients to work with caregivers, and not dispensaries. The State of Michigan should do as the people had intended. If they would have done this from the beginning we could have probably avoided all of this mess that is facing the State of Michigan patients and caregivers. The Farmers Market Model not only helped caregivers by removing the middle man dispensary owner. This made it possible for the caregiver to work one on one with patients, and it made it possible for really good growers to help more than just four patients. These caregivers contribute to the Farmers Market Patient Fund, which assists low income patients with obtaining free medicine, and free certifications. The Farmers Market hosted a series of social mixers that brought patients out from the prison of chronic illness. Socialization is an integral part of recovery. Every Friday at the Farmers Market would bring in a host of people ready for the Friday special, and Friendship soup. We played games, and listened to music this was an opportunity to build alliance the cold hard reality of life long illness. People with no hope, no family, and no friends played a pivotal role in the success of the Farmers Market Social Friday Mixer. All of the people inside the community are suffering with chronic conditions, and illnesses. These social opportunities bring people together and help build friendships that will last a life time. The majority of people using medical marijuana have no health insurance, and no means to afford health coverage. These people are low income and choose medical marijuana because they had a licensed practicing physician tell them that they qualify for medical marijuana. It would be no different than a Doctor writing a prescription for a pain pill, and then the State of Michigan closing all of the pharmacies. How can this type of abuse be allowed to continue? The voter’s defense of medical marijuana patients is needed. It was with deep compassion that the Michigan Voters approved the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act by
Posted on: Fri, 21 Jun 2013 02:43:17 +0000
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