Protect Patient Choice In Colorado

Jim Finnel

Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex News Moderator
Protect Patient Choice:
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Once again, the Colorado Health Department (CDPHE) has launched an attack on medical marijuana caregivers.

Hiding behind the Attorney General's questionable legal interpretation, the CDPHE has rejected the proposed definition of "caregiver" as put forward by the CDPHE Medical Marijuana Advisory Board. After studying the issue, the Advisory Board concluded that providing education about medical marijuana was sufficient to meet the definition of "caregiver". The CDPHE rejected that idea (and disbanded the Advisory Board!) and is now attempting to require caregivers to regularly assist patients with "activities of daily living" including transportation, housekeeping, meal preparation, and more. This ruling will limit patient choice and force patients to find caregivers who will not just provide quality medicine, but also provide additional, and often unnecessary, services.

The CDPHE is taking public comment on the proposed rules until April 20th, 2011 at 5:00p. Please tell the CDPHE to amend their proposal to allow patients to choose what services their caregiver should provide! Send them an email here: cdphe.MMRAdvisoryCommittee@state.co.us

DRAFT E-mail:

Dear CDPHE,

Hi my name is _______________ and I am a medical marijuana patient advocate. Please consider adopting the below amendment to the definition of "caregiver". These changes will protect patient choice of provider.

"Significant responsibility for managing the well-being of a patient" means, IN ADDITION TO PROVIDING MEDICAL MARIJUANA, AND UPON REQUEST FROM THE PATIENT, REGULARLY assisting a patient with ACTIVITIES OF daily LIVING, including but not limited to transportation or housekeeping or meal preparation or shopping or making any necessary arrangement for access to medical care or NON-MEDICAL MARIJUANA services."

Thank you,


Source: Sensible Colorado
 
I can see why they do all that for you you grow your own and you say your caregivers are your wife and boys. That makes it rather easy I say. Unfortunately it is not like that for all personal caregivers but as a caregiver I do things for my patients other than procure there meds for them I teach them how to grow there own and have a list of discounted services from licensed therapists in all fields from PT to massage and dietary.
:smokin:
 
On thing about this. Can most of the patients afford to pay for the extended services of a caregiver and provide them with a wage that will give them an acceptable standard of living. Housing, transportation, isurance, food, clothing.recreation, and these are only the bare necessities of living. My wife is totaly dependant on me to care for her and feed her and make sure she can get to her potty chair. The state of Mississippi approved her for aid for up to 35 hours a week. Kicker was, we had to find someone who could work for $7.50 an hour and then get them to jump through the medicaid hoops to qualify for that job. I couldn't even get any of her relatives to take the job and me being at home all the time, didn't know anyone that could/would help out. So we move back to Florida and she is approved right away for some help. That was over a year ago and we're still on the " WAITING LIST" for funding. In other words, there haven't been enough people die yet for her to get to the top of the list. So, if you don't happen to be on someones "A LIST" , should you just suffer till you die? I have no friends or family to help out. Cathy has no friends or family that will help out any kind of long term. So what are we supposed to do, eat shlt and die?
 
I am glad you have someone to do all that for you but unfortunately it is not possible for someone to do all that for 5 people let alone the numbers that the MMC's have. My question is this how come a personal caregiver is required to do much more that give meds out and the MMC's do not. They made the rules to circumvent those issues and so it would be easier to control and manage and raid the coffers you can not do that with personal caregivers because they are not aloud to be a business for profit. So they make it imposable for a person to be a caregiver to force everyone to the MMC's. Patients like yourself are fortunate to have family to help but in reality there are not many like you. That is why I teach my patients to grow there own and when they are comfortable I release them and then pick one up that I had to let go if they are still around. I believe in charity but I also believe a person has a right to choose what they want out of a caregiver and not have guidelines and requirements that are overreaching to the point no one can be a caregiver for them to choose one in which I think is a violation of our constitutional rights according to Amendment 20 in the Colorado Constitution.
:smokin:
 
Legal guidelines are designed now days for the politicians and not the patients. I just got back fro a psych evaluation and they are more interested in following the state of Florida's guidelines than helping patients. They want to set me up with a pyschiatric appointment, which the earliest would be in July, but say I have to be able to pass a drug screening test first. I could get past the screening but I'm not a liar and when asked when was the last time I used any cannabis, I would tell the " last night to be able to sleep". That would have consequences with me not getting any help. If you have a need, fufill it and keep things close to your chest. Don't let anyone that doesn't need to know about things like this know your business. It means an existance shut off, at least to some extent, from the rest of the world. But, considering the actions and tactics used by our government during what was supposed to be a more reasonable approach to the whole cannabis regulation situation, it is the only way to be safe. Good luck and stay safe.
 
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