Cannabis Holiday Health Fair Update

[Jim Finnel]

The Cannabis Holiday Health Fair was a huge success. Over 2,000 people attended, with over 40 exhibitors. Denver City Councilman Charlie Brown and state Sen. Chris Romer stayed for several hours and many patients had an opportunity to express their concerns about their restrictive bills. Thanks to our volunteers and exhibitors and to the people who attended and helped spread the word!

 

[Jim Finnel]

Seeds For Growth Planted at Medical Marijuana Fair

Medical marijuana inched a step closer towards gaining widespread acceptance in Colorado with Sunday’s Cannabis Holiday Health Fair.

More than 40 businesses, two lawmakers and hundreds of people showed up to the medical marijuana fair that was held at the Holiday Inn, 4849 Bannock St. According to Laura Kriho of the Cannabis Therapy Institute — the event’s organizer — the fair accomplished its mission of showing the public what medical cannabis is all about.

“It’s really exciting to nurture the little seeds and introduce ourselves to the community and show how professional we are and how important we are to the economy,” said Kriho. “I think we’ve done that very successfully.”

Attendees at Sunday’s fair were spread between growers, sellers, patients and lobbyists of medical marijuana. There were at least five self-described curious people who said they wanted to get a better feel of the burgeoning industry.

Among the patients were nursing home resident Sandra Henderson. Medical marijuana allowed her to stop taking 200 milligrams of methadone a day, and has helped with the pain and nausea caused by a rare disease she developed several years ago, she said.

“Events like this give (medical marijuana) exposure, which we need,” she said.
As medical marijuana dispensaries have “sprouted like weeds” since the Colorado Board of Health decided this past summer not to limit the number of patients a caregiver could have, other related businesses have also cropped up. At Sunday’s fair, a non-mainstream security company that sets up advanced video recording systems for dispensaries and grow operations, and a Denver laboratory that tests the chemical profile of medical marijuana products made their cases to medical marijuana dispensaries on why they are worthwhile investments.

Patrick Gubitose, lab tech manager for Full Spectrum Laboratories, argued that his company helps give medical marijuana dispensaries an advantage over the competition by allowing them to show customers exactly what is in their drug.

“It lets people know it’s a safe product,” he said.

The two Colorado lawmakers who have been leading the push to regulate the industry — Denver City Councilman Charlie Brown and Sen. Chris Romer, D-Denver — both made appearances at the fair. For over an hour, Romer talked with attendees and defended his bill to an often-disagreeing crowd.

Brown also made the rounds talking with businesses and attendees.

“(Medical marijuana is) the fastest growing business in our city, and to deny that would be a mistake,” he said.

Brown’s initiative to regulate the medical marijuana industry on the city level will be heard again by the Denver City Council Safety Committee on Wednesday. The initiative seeks to set up a licensing system for dispensaries and limit how close they can be to another dispensary or place of education. The initiative’s latest draft also calls for levying a $2,000 application fee and $3,000 annual license fee on dispensaries, though Brown said he is willing to debate those fees.

Attendees at Sunday’s fair were split on the initiative. Medical marijuana patient Jennifer Grimes said she thinks an increase in regulation would legitimize the industry, while patient Thomas Staw argued that there is no need for the city to get involved.

“Voters approved it 2000,” he said, referencing the constitutional amendment that allowed marijuana for medicinal use in Colorado. “The government always just screws things up.”


NewsHawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: statebillnews.com
Author: Gene Davis
Copyright: 2009 State Bill Colorado
Contact: State Bill Colorado|Colorado legislative news and more
Website: Seeds For Growth Planted at Medical Marijuana Fair|State Bill Colorado