Pubdate: Sun, 17 Mar 2013
Source: Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA)
Copyright: 2013 Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Contact:  http://www.telegram.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/509
Note: Rarely prints LTEs from outside circulation area - requires 
'Letter to the Editor' in subject
Author: Donna Boynton

MEDICAL MARIJUANA A REALITY IN MAINE

Dispensing a Solution

BIDDEFORD, Maine - Glenn Peterson owns a business in the lower level 
of a commercial condominium office complex off of busy Route 111. His 
work is done behind a series of securely locked doors.

The only way to get in is to be buzzed in. Only if you are expected. 
Only if you are recognized.

Inside is where Mr. Peterson, a self-described frugal farmer and 
artist, plies his trade.

"I don't make things. I solve problems creatively," Mr. Peterson said.

The problem he is focused on currently: illness and pain. The 
creative solution he is offering: medical marijuana in all its 
various forms - buds, extracts, balms and baked goods.

Mr. Peterson and his wife, Sage Peterson, own Canuvo Inc., a medical 
marijuana dispensary that holds one of eight dispensary licenses in 
Maine. Canuvo serves York County, and Mr. Peterson said his 
dispensary and the marijuana that he is licensed to grow is just an 
extension of his art.

Since 1999, Maine has allowed for patients and caregivers to grow 
enough marijuana to serve five patients each. In 2009, Maine passed 
legislation that allowed for medical marijuana dispensaries, and 
those rules took effect in August 2010. Canuvo was granted a 
dispensary license and a growing license, and has been serving 
patients since 2011.

Massachusetts could soon have similar dispensaries throughout the 
state. Massachusetts is among 17 states that allow for medicinal use 
of marijuana, with the approval of Question 3 in the November election.

While the Massachusetts Department of Public Health's draft 
regulations are expected to be made public by the end of this month 
and could be in effect as early as May, many communities are drafting 
their own local regulations. The Massachusetts Attorney General's 
Office last week rejected a proposed ban in Wakefield; however, 
communities can place a moratorium on dispensaries or enact restrictive zoning.

In Westboro, the town meeting Saturday approved a zoning bylaw 
amendment to allow medical marijuana dispensaries to be located in 
the adult entertainment zone by special permit. The bylaw also did 
not allow marijuana cultivation to be included in its agricultural definitions.

In Spencer, the Board of Selectmen plan to place an article on the 
annual town meeting warrant for a moratorium on locating dispensaries 
in town for one year in order to further study the issue.

Mr. Peterson is familiar with that reaction.

He's struggled with local regulations; he's struggled with helping 
his patients past the stigma of using marijuana; he lives with the 
risk of knowing that while what he is doing in Maine is legal, it 
still violates the federal Controlled Substances Act.

In Biddeford, marijuana dispensaries are allowed in business, 
industrial and medical zones. Canuvo purchased the ground-level 
office from Southern Maine Medical Center.

The Petersons have invested a significant amount of personal capital 
in to the dispensary business, and every day of the last 30 months to 
serving their patients. They - and their staff - are also risking 
federal jail time and seizure of all their personal assets.

"The patients have to be your foremost reason for doing this," Mr. 
Peterson said.

Mr. Peterson is at once part professor, part working man and part 
medicine man in appearance: He wears two pairs of round-lensed 
tortoise-framed glasses on top of his hairless head, a tweed jacket 
with a button of a marijuana plant with the words "Buy local," over a 
sweater vest and a denim shirt. He sports a well-worn pair of 
Chippewa boots on his feet, and a pack of Camels discretely tucked 
into his pocket. He holds his cigarette between fingers that are 
chapped and calloused.

A former chairman of selectmen, he is well-spoken in politics, both 
in terms of local and legislative issues, and as a cannabis user for 
many years, he is well-spoken in the botany of marijuana plants, 
science of its effect on the human body, and its medical benefits.

Those who come to Canuvo are patients, not customers or clients. They 
are patients with medical conditions ranging from cancer to seizures 
and from AIDS to ALS. They are young adults, working-class men, 
middle-aged women and even grandmothers who seek treatment from 
Canuvo. The average age of his patient is 45.

"They are at the end of their rope," Mr. Peterson said, adding that 
medical marijuana is closer to the last resort than their first 
option. "There are on so many prescriptions. OxyContin is not a 
solution. They come to us. They don't know what to think. Many are 
hesitant. They consult with us. When you advocate for your own 
health, you change you life around. People are more active, they are 
moving, they are eating better. They are changing their lives and 
don't have to walk around in a pharmaceutical haze."

Starting a New Journey

The six-seat waiting room on some days is standing room only. Other 
days the wait spills outside. There, patients will often turn to each 
other to discuss their illness and treatments and trade advice. 
Friendships have been formed in the waiting room, a community 
resource beyond the locked doors where it is about helping each other.

The patients are called individually and accompanied by a staff 
member into one of two dispensing rooms. There, they choose medicine, 
from measured vials of buds in their naked, raw state - which Mr. 
Peterson dubs his 'potnography' - balms and ointments, tinctures and 
even tea, all depending on the patient's preferred method of intake.

The goal of medicating with marijuana is not to reach intoxication, 
but comfort.

"With medical marijuana, you consume enough to ease the pain," Mr. 
Peterson said. Under Maine state law, a patient is allowed a maximum 
of 2.5 ounces. The base price for cannabis at Canuvo is $350 per 
ounce. On average, patients consume 7 grams - or .25 ounces - a week. 
Based on that amount, 7 grams will cost a patient about $87.50 a 
week, or $4,550 a year.

Medical marijuana is not covered by insurance and patients pay out of 
pocket, in cash.

Patients who come to the dispensary have to show their 
recommendation, a photo copy is made, and on the initial visit an 
intake form is completed and then the patient meets with Mrs. 
Peterson to discuss how the dispensary operates, what is offered, 
what the patient is experiencing, what kind of relief they are 
seeking, and how best the dispensary can help them.

"We sit down with people for as long as it takes for them to get 
comfortable," said Mrs. Peterson, a former corporate marketing 
executive. "If you don't have any experience with cannabis, it can be 
overwhelming. We want people to know that we are here supporting them 
on this new journey."

Mrs. Peterson said what she has found by working with patients on 
their initial intake forms is that the common denominators are that 
they want to reduce their reliance on pharmaceuticals and they want to live.

"They want to go on with their lives, and they partner with us," Mrs. 
Peterson said. "Working with that concept, we ask them to focus on 
the little wins. People aren't going to walk in, smoke medical 
marijuana and be cured. We talk balancing their lives as an adult, 
what products might be suitable for them. People are in a lot of 
pain, and they just want enough for that pain to go away. They don't 
want to feel stoned."

'It's Just Magical What Cannabis Can Do'

Canuvo has a patient base of about 700 patients, many buying 1 or 2 
grams a week. On average they serve about 200 patients a week and 
with their expanding patient base they are looking to add a 
dispensary room within the facility they have. Most patients come 
once a week or biweekly.

The Maine Medical Association opposed the law in 1999 that allowed 
patients and caregivers to grow marijuana, and later took no position 
on the expanded legislation to allow for dispensaries and an expanded 
list of qualifying conditions. The Maine Medical Association works 
with doctors educating them on how to work with patients who want to 
use marijuana as medicine, as well as counseling doctors who opt not 
to participate in the program to best deal with their patients.

The Maine Medical Association opposed the bill last year that 
eliminated the requirement for patients using marijuana to register 
with the state, and is opposing the bill this session that will 
eliminate the list of qualifying conditions.

"My members overwhelmingly believe if they do that, we are just 
legalizing marijuana," said Gordon Smith, vice president of the Maine 
Medical Association. "Our physicians will just be inundated with 
requests to prepare certifications for people who really want to use 
it for recreational purposes. The medical aspect would just be a 
front for legalization."

There are 25 different strains of cannabis available on site at 
Canuvo, and roughly 40 strains are grown at the off-site facility.

The recommended application is not smoking;rather, it is 
vaporization, tinctures or edibles.

Many people use a tincture in the morning and, if needed, supplement 
it with a cannabis-infused chocolate coin later in the day.

What patients purchase depends as much on what works as it does with 
what is most economical.

The three-page menu of offerings changes each day, and the baked 
goods are made daily. On an afternoon two weeks ago, the kitchen 
smelled of rich, chocolate homemade brownies.

Karen Knight, Mr. Peterson's sister, is Canuvo's baker. She had 
removed a fresh batch of cannabis brownies from the oven and had them 
cooling on a counter.

Ms. Knight begins baking each day in the morning before the 
dispensary opens. Ms. Knight also prepares the dispensary's newest 
product - tea - which is brewed from chopped plant stalks and mixed 
with ginger, peppermint or green tea, and sold as Canna Tea in glass 
bottles to be drunk at room temperature or iced.

Through the use of his cannabis products, Mr. Peterson says he has 
helped some patients completely eliminate their dependence on heavy 
narcotics to manage pain, such as OxyContin.

"It is unbelievable how powerful this can be," Mr. Peterson said. 
"It's just magical what cannabis can do."

One patient, his accountant's son, has suffered from severe migraines 
since age 12. Now in his 20s, the migraines were so frequent and 
debilitating that he often lost days at a time to the pain.

"He recently sent me a picture of the 12 prescriptions over the last 
dozen years that didn't work. He uses a tincture daily. Now he is 
getting those days back."

What products are used to treat which ailments is dependent on the 
patient, and a bit of trial and error to see what works for them.

"People need to figure out how to incorporate this in into their 
life," Mr. Peterson said.

Chuck Neal adds a tincture to his morning coffee every day, and uses 
a vaporizer, which he prefers because it is more economical.

Mr. Neal lost his leg after an ATV accident 10 years ago. When his 
leg was amputated above the knee, he lost more than a limb. He became 
isolated, homebound, and on a steady dosage of OxyContin - 200 
milligrams a day - to relieve the pain in the leg that is no longer there.

He became a patient at Canuvo on June 4, 2011, and in six months 
reduced his OxyContin dosage by half. By the end of April 2012, he 
was off of OxyContin. He now goes out in public, and the man, who 
once had to use a wheelchair, has lost 80 pounds and walks with canes.

"I had no quality of life," said Mr. Neal, a former truck driver. "At 
times I didn't think I would walk again. I have always hoped I would 
go to crutches, but now that I've lost 80 pounds in a year, I am 
hoping to go down to one cane."

After forming a relationship with Mr. Peterson, Mr. Neal was offered 
a job as the receptionist/security guard, who is often on-call when 
the dispensary is closed for emergencies.

His bearded face and jovial welcome are what greet patients as they 
are buzzed in to Canuvo. He often shares his story with the patients 
as they wait. He notices that many new patients are nervous the first 
few times they enter.

"It's amazing some of the changes you see in people between their 
first and fourth visits here. I see and hear a lot of success stories 
- - people who have gotten off of opiates and narcotics," Mr. Neal said.

A Risk Worth Taking

Mr. Peterson has been self-employed all his life. As a caregiver, he 
has grown marijuana for patients, but nothing on this scale.

"We've had other businesses, but this one is full of risk. I am 
facing 20 years in prison for violating the federal law; I could lose 
everything - all my assets - if the feds decide to come."

However, Mr. Peterson said Maine is an independent, open-minded state.

"This is a good environment to take a risk. I know the police. I used 
to appoint them in my town when I was chairman on the Board of 
Selectmen. I know the sheriff in my county. It's the sheriff that can 
invite them in or keep them at bay. I've trained my staff in what to 
do if we get raided."

Yet with knowing all of the risks, he still pursued the dispensary. 
Why? Simply because someone had to, and he and his wife had enough to 
invest without relying on outside investors to be able to control 
Canuvo from seedling to sales.

"Most people don't understand the huge risk involved," Mr. Peterson 
said. "It is like fire-walking - as long as you keep going, you won't 
get burned; as long as you have faith, you won't get burned."

To prevent diversion to non-patients, Canuvo is required to track 
sales and consumption.

"If we see someone purchasing more than normal, we question that," 
Mr. Peterson said. "Occasionally, it gets back to us that someone is 
selling it on the black market and we tell them it is time to move 
on. There are a lot of patients who need this. Anyone who is going 
against this program is denying it to someone who needs it and we 
won't tolerate it."

There have been no incidents in the two years since Mr. Peterson 
opened Canuvo that have required a police response, save for the 
dental practice employees that share a common storage area who 
occasionally set off the alarm.

"We take that as a good omen," Mr. Peterson said. "Our patients look 
out for us."

The patients, in turn, have shown their gratitude in kind. The art 
that decorates the walls are paintings and photographs made by the 
patients. Those who don't paint offer the other talents they have - a 
mechanic has offered to check Mr. Peterson's car in the parking lot, 
a patient will bring in baked cupcakes - the non-cannabis kind.

He is as much their lifeline as they are his.

"If I am ever arrested, I fully expect my patients to show up with 
chains and tow trucks to break the bars and get me out of prison," 
Mr. Peterson said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom