Does Colorado’s Medical Marijuana Indigent Patient Plan Help Enough Patients

By Ron Crumpton

On Wednesday, the Colorado State Board of Health approved a new program that would provide a sales tax exemption on the purchase of medical marijuana for the states poorer patients.

However, advocates and some board members have expressed outrage over the program because many of the states indigent patients still will not qualify for relief. With the millions of dollars the program has collected in fees, they are upset that the program could not include more patients.

"I just think with however many millions of dollars, we could have done a better job," said Joelle Riddle, member of the board of health.

The new program was in response to the legislature’s passage of a bill earlier this year. The bill requires that the health department to find a way to provide free enrolment into the states medical marijuana program for indigent patients, normally $90 per year, and that the cards be marked as “exempt” from sales taxes.

According to Ann Hause, the department’s director of legal affairs, the department does not have the staffing to process the applications to determine who qualifies for the program. Therefore, they are using enrollment in existing programs such as Supplemental Security Income or food stamps, but advocates say the measure would not include other indigent patients including, but not limited to, those who receive Social Security Disability or Veterans Administration benefits.

"We thought we needed to start somewhere, and this is where we decided to start," said Hause.

HIV Patient Damien LaGoy

A medical marijuana patient suffering from HIV, Damian LaGoy, said that after rent, food, health and marijuana expenses he could not afford the application fee. LaGoy’s current income is $14 to high to receive help from the state.

"In two days, my license expires," LaGoy said to the State Board of Health. "I don't have the $90. I have $1.15 in my bank."

On a split vote, the board approved the department's proposal but vowed to examine the standards to see whether or not they should be expanded.

Many of the advocates believe that this is just another case of a compassionate legislature trying to do right by patients and the bureaucracy that is the Colorado State Board of Health, trying to undermine their decrees.

Since voters passed Amendment 20 in 2000, with all of the medical research in the last 10 years that shows marijuana to be beneficial in treating numerous diseases, the Colorado State Board of Health has refused to approve any new conditions for treatment with marijuana. The original eight conditions – cancer, HIV/AIDS positive, severe pain, severe nausea, glaucoma, cachexia, seizures and persistent muscle spasms – are still the only ailments approved for treatment.

This shows you the board’s opinion of medical marijuana.

Colorado Refuses to Approve Tourette’s Syndrome

The Colorado Board of Health rejected a petition to add Tourette’s syndrome to the list of medical conditions approved for treatment with medical marijuana.

“The vote was unanimous,” said Mark Shelly of the Colorado Department of Health.

In fact, Colorado has refused to add any new conditions to the list of ailments treatable by marijuana since voters  originally passed Amendment 20 in November of 2000.

"I don't see what we add to the mix by actually adding Tourette's under these circumstances," the board's president, Glenn Schlabs, told the Denver Post.

That is a puzzling statement when you consider that there are at least 11 different positive worldwide studies regarding the use of marijuana in treating Tourette’s syndrome dating back as far as 1988.

Currently, Colorado only recognizes eight conditions as being suitable for treatment with marijuana: cancer, HIV/AIDS positive, severe pain, severe nausea, glaucoma, cachexia, seizures and persistent muscle spasms.

There is a petition before the board to include Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, but medical marijuana advocates are not excited about the petitions chances of success. Many in Colorado believe that the board is unlikely to approve any new conditions for the program.

Judging from the fact that there have been no new additions to the approved list since the amendment passed, is a pretty good indicator that advocates in Colorado are justified in this lack of enthusiasm.

The facts are, the citizens of the state of Colorado voted for the passage of a medical marijuana law in their state. The law gave the Colorado Board of Health to oversee the program, but that board is not doing their job.

With all of the medical research conducted over the last 10 years, it incomprehensible that they have not approved any of these new conditions.

This is just another case of the government trying to overrule the will of the people because apparently the fact that the people of Colorado voted to amend that states constitution, means very little to people the people elected to represent them.