By CHRISTINE CHANG Special to the Daily Press
WEST LA Standing in front of the medicinal marijuana cooperative Herbalcure, a guard trained in high-risk security makes eye contact with the occasional Mexican day laborer who wanders onto the property and motions for them to mosey on.
“They can’t even be in the parking lot unless they need medical marijuana,” said the guard, who asked to remain anonymous. “That’s how serious it is.”
Entering the dispensary at Pico and Sawtelle boulevards, its director, Dave Rios, explains that about 10 or so volunteers were on hand to provide help for those in need of medicinal marijuana.
While security was tight on the outside, the atmosphere inside is quite different.
“Take all of the pictures you need. There’s nothing to hide,” said Rios, a registered nurse who used to work in private and county hospitals. “There’s so much fascination with marijuana because the government portrays it as some sort of a mystery. Once marijuana becomes more commonplace, the fascination will subside.
“It’s an herb like anything else. It has its place.”
While medicinal cooperatives like Herbalcure are present in Southern California, they aren’t nearly as main-stream as those in Northern California. In 1996, California voters approved Proposition 215, making it legal to grow and use cannabis with a doctor’s approval for medicinal purposes.
Even though the measure passed, however, the government mostly maintains a “hush-hush” stance on all things concerning marijuana.
Because of marijuana’s subculture nature, theories abound as to why marijuana is not more widespread. While some maintain the government has a lot to do with researching only negative benefits of the herb and not investigating the positive, others feel the strong fibers of hemp are better for the environment and could put the forestry industry out of business.
For many, though, the effects of THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, cannot be understated in its ability to reduce and eliminate pain. Proposition 215 lists disease categories for which cannabis treatment would be appropriate, such as cancer, anorexia, AIDS, spasticity, arthritis, migraine, insomnia and lower back pain, among others.
“I’ve seen a lot of patients go through suffering without marijuana — those with cancer, AIDS, Alzheimer’s disease or Multiple Sclerosis — and it would be a lot less difficult and painful had they had THC,” Rios said.
The director smokes marijuana due to continued pain he suffers as a result of numerous knee surgeries. He has tried other drugs, such as Vicodin, but many medicines left him feeling nauseated or worse.
All patients who come to Herbalcure are equipped with a doctor’s note, which states that in their medical opinion, this patient has a need for cannabis. Minors are not allowed entrance, unless they bring their parents with a doctor’s recommendation.
Those who smoke the cannabis at Herbalcure are shown into a curtained medical room with a carbon filter. Besides smoking, patients may also intake cannabis through baked goods.
All of the products offered by Herbalcure are certified organic.
“Persons taking the medication should be responsible for themselves. That’s true of any medication,” Rios stressed.
Whether medicines are prescribed by a doctor or purchased over-the-counter, Rios pointed out there is no way patients can be monitored day and night over abuse issues.
“For example, if someone has AIDS and they need cannabis for appetite stimulation to combat the effects of wasting away, then they will need cannabis every day,” he said. “For others, cannabis is better for intermittent use, and that’s the way it should be.”
For Rios, 4:20 — or April 20 — is a day to emphasize the use of marijuana for medical purposes. He doesn’t condone recreational use, but admits that there may be preventative benefits for those who smoke marijuana. Still, not enough research has been done.
“As a society, we’re just not ready for the widespread use of marijuana,” Rios said.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 20, 2007. Read the original PDF.