Pubdate: Thu, 09 Jun 2011
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Copyright: 2011 Associated Press
Contact: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/submissions/#1
Website: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/388
Author: Gillian Flaccus, Associated Press
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Cannabis - California)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

MEDICAL POT COLLECTIVE SPLITS RETIREMENT COMMUNITY

Laguna Woods, Orange County -- Joe Schwartz is a 90-year-old 
great-grandfather of three who enjoys a few puffs of pot each night 
before he crawls into bed.

The World War II veteran, who smokes the drug to ease debilitating 
nausea, is one of about 150 senior citizens on a sprawling, 
18,000-person gated campus who belong to a thriving medical marijuana 
collective in one of America's largest retirement communities.

The fledgling collective mirrors a nationwide trend as more senior 
citizens turn to marijuana, legal or not, to ease the aches and pains of aging.

But in Laguna Woods Village, these ganja-smoking grandparents have 
stirred up a heated debate with their collective, attracting a 
crackdown from within the self-governed community.

Many members of the 2-year-old collective keep a low profile, but 
others grow seedlings on their patios and set up workshops to show 
other seniors how to turn the marijuana leaves into tea, milk and a 
vapor that can be inhaled to relieve ailments from 
chemotherapy-related nausea to multiple sclerosis and arthritis.

The most recent project involves getting collective members to plant 
40 seeds from experimental varieties of marijuana that are said to 
have anti-inflammatory properties best suited for elderly ailments.

Under California law, people with a variety of conditions, from 
migraines to cancer, can get a written doctor's recommendation for 
medical marijuana and join a pot collective to get what they need or 
grow their own supply. All the members of Laguna Woods Village's 
collective are legal users under state law.

Susan Margolis, who sat on an advisory committee at the complex, said 
the debate has divided people along generational lines in a community 
where the average age is 78 but new residents can move in at 55. She 
estimated that up to 10 of her younger neighbors take medical pot for 
ailments but said many older residents are fiercely opposed.
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