Town Hall on Medical Marijuana Initiative Q & A

Kirsten Hindershot
Q. How much does marijuana sell for per ounce?
A. 125/ounce in Navajo County- actually I would say, it depends where you buy it, from whom you buy it and the quality of the THC- it can range from around $80 to $240

KC Clark
Q. How many joints in one ounce?
A. It depends how big you roll them.

Kirsten Hendershot
Q. Why are the results of government studies, Of the benefits of smoking marijuana being contradicted at this meeting?
A. I would need to know what governmental studies are being referred to. I spoke of studies done in New Zealand, Great Britain, NIDA, and Harvard- as well as some other medical studies- I did not examine any government studies

Dr Jennifer Foran
Q. If marijuana causes psychic problems what are the alternative medications to marijuana. I am hyperactive and marijuana helps. I wish someone there that is pro was represented.
A. There are many alternatives to being hyperactive. In the long run because THC increase the Dopamine in the brain it creates more hyperactivity and tricks the brain into thinking it has made neuro-chemicals it has not son the chemicals are no longer being made. It depressed the production of them. THC may help attention deficit in the short run, but it exacerbates it in the long term. It is hard to say what would help without more specific, common suggestions are having structured days and consistent days, taking Omega 3 fish oil, and have allotted time frames to compete assignments.

Kirsten Hendershot
Q. Isn’t synthetic chemicals vs the real thing is a plant?
A. A lot of illnesses do not have to be treated with chemicals. I would prefer to use substances that have had long term studies on the effect of the illness and then have comparison research to see which is the most effective to treat the illness.

Kirsten Hendershot
Q. Can you give some examples of the types of patients that will be given the advantage of having some quality of life due to medical marijuana. More specific.
A. Cancer and AIDS victims can be helped with nausea with THC. Chronic pain can be helped with THC, but I do not know the long-term effects of this on the body, if the chemicals that are being depressed by the THC are going to create more pain in the long run.

Kirsten Hendershot
Q. Why does pot cause more problems than alcohol?
A. It has more effects on the Dopamine and Serotonin on the brain. These chemicals affect short-term learning, reflexes, and cognitive development. The THC stops chemicals from going to the “pleasure center” and so eventually people may stop caring about themselves, people, and things. In addition, it increase anxiety and depression. It can lead to a psychotic break if one has a pre-disposition to this and can cause the break to come much sooner. More youths on THC go on to use “harder drugs” and there is a strong link between THC and increased violence (because of the changed brain chemistry). Alcohol has it’s own set of symptoms and one cannot say it is better or worse, just different.

Debe Campbell
Q. Since there will be only 120-125 providers, will only be towns with providers get taxes or will they spread out taxes to all Arizona towns?
A. As the initiative is written, there will be no tax revenue.

Debe Campbell
Q. SB1222 says $20 per ounce luxury tax for non-profits. Why are you saying no tax.
A. As the initiative is written, it says the dispensaries are non-profit. The Arizona Senate passed SB 1222 Mar 25, which allows the state government to levy taxes on medical marijuana, should the initiative pass in November. Several Republicans -- including Senate President Bob Burns -- voted alongside Democrats to pass the bill, which would subject weed to the state's 5.6 percent sales tax and throw an additional $20 "luxury Tax" on each ounce of weed sold.

Kirsten Hendershot
Q. Is the board’s job to provide statistics as to alcohol, tobacco and marijuana deaths?
A. If the board being referenced is the Navajo County Drug Project, its aim is to provide substance abuse prevention education and information.

Kirsten Hendershot
Q. You seem to infer that the use of this and other drugs causes abuse and other societal issues. How can you be sure this number of issues would not be the same in society due to other mental or emotional factors. Do you have studies that separate the factors?
A. Some of the studies I have looked at have separated out these issues, not all of the studies have

Kirsten Hendershot
Q. Anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, bipolar and other symptoms can be treated with marijuana instead of narcotics. Why aren’t we taking advantage of a naturally grown substance that can treat so many problems?
A. The illness listed above are made much worse by THC because of the chemical changes in the brain. It can bring on a psychotic break much sooner and will increase all of the symptoms of the other illnesses listed. While one is high, they will feel better, but it creates more problems because it depresses the brain from making what it needs to make to address the illnesses.

Q. If I am a legal cardholder and can legally smoke marijuana in my home and that happens to be adjacent to school property, what are my rights and restrictions?
A. If the THC is smoked in the home and not on school property there are no restrictions.

Kirsten Hendershot
Q. Why is the law written in such a way to discourage people from voting in favor of something that might bring some quality of life to some peoples lives that are already difficult.
A. The proposition is what we have to vote on and cannot be re-written

Brad Carlyon
Q. Why do you keep hammering on California but say nothing about New Mexico or Maine. People are more familiar with California. Can you not work with this initiative to change the prosecution points?
A. No. The organizers of the initiative put together the language without consulting with groups such a prosecutors, law enforcement, etc. The initiative process makes it nearly impossible to amend without going through the costs of another initiative.

Brad Carlyon
Q. Mariajuana is as bad as heroin?
No.
Meth?
No.
It is treated the same.
No, marijuana laws in Arizona differ from the laws dealing with use of methamphetamine.
Why isn’t booze against the law.
There are laws prohibiting the use of alcohol by those under 21 and when a person can be under the influence of alcohol.
Or at least prohibited from advertising?
It is evolving. While alcohol manufacturers can advertise their products, the advertising can’t show the alcohol being consumed.

Brad Carlyon Q.
When is this society going to stop talking about “don’t do drugs” and start talking about self-control, moderation, taking personal control of oneself and building a successful life in school and at home?
A. The “don’t do drugs” program fits within the framework of self-control (the ability to tell your peers “no”) and building a successful life. There was a long-time marijuana user that I dealt with who believe in “moderation” and “proper” use of marijuana. He would invite teenage boys into his home and offer to teach them how to use marijuana. Then, while they were under the influence of marijuana he would try to seduce them.

Brad Carlyon
Q. What is the cost to law enforcement to arrest drug users and what is the profit margin of these arrests?
A. Is this for all drugs crimes, users and sellers, marijuana and meth? The cost would vary. If a cop stopped a vehicle that reeked of marijuana smoke it would not take long to determine if probable cause to arrest existed. On the other hand, an investigation of a person selling methamphetamine in our community could take hundreds of man-hours. There is no “profit” to be made.

Brad Carlyon
Q. SB1222 says $20 per ounce luxury tax for non-profits. Why are you saying no tax.
A. SB1222 excludes medical marijuana dispensed from a registered nonprofit medical marijuana dispensary from the Transaction Privilege Tax (sales tax) and use tax exemption for drugs and medical oxygen, regardless of whether the medical marijuana is dispensed through the written certification of a physician. SB does imposes a luxury tax of $20 on each ounce of medical marijuana dispensed from a registered nonprofit marijuana dispensary. This luxury tax, if it passes legal challenge, will not be dispensed to the municipalities and counties like sales taxes are.

Brad Carlyon
Q. As the initiative is written, it says the dispensaries are non-profit.
A. Means that “profits” (revenues in excess of costs) can’t be distributed. Does not preclude an owner of a dispensary from collecting a salary of a quarter-million dollars per year.

Brad Carlyon
Q. Thousands of people in the US are killed by tobacco and alcohol. There are no records of overdosing on marijuana.
A. And thousands of people die from marijuana for the same reasons they die from alcohol and tobacco.

Q. Colorado has more outlets than Starbucks, Why?
A. Supply and demand.

Brad Carlyon
Q. Anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, bipolar and other symptoms can be treated with marijuana instead of narcotics. Why aren’t we taking advantage of a naturally grown substance that can treat so many problems?
A. Marijuana also causes anxiety, depression, schizophrenia and other mental health disorders in people. Mental health problems aren’t treated with narcotics, but other types of medications.

Brad Carlyon
Q. Is marijuana more harmful than narcotics?
A. Some studies have found that one marijuana cigarette is comparable to smoking five tobacco cigarettes.

Brad Carlyon
Q. I hear the folks here say this law will make it easier to get pot. Theoretically, this drug is supposed to be tightly controlled. Pot is already everywhere. It is in schools, in prisons. Why is decriminalizing pot going to make it any easier to get?
A. Because people who obtain pot through “medical” recommendation will be able to grow their own and keep their marijuana in the open instead of hiding their use. Moreover, it will no longer have the social stigma of being illegal and become more socially acceptable to use.

Town Hall on Medical Marijuana Initiative Attendee Comments

Why are you not willing to listen to the people. There are millions of users and the dealers are the ones making profit. I do not agree with synthetic drugs but cannabis is a plant. It grows naturally. We should be able to harvest a crop as we see fit.

I would like to know why the scientific reports that show the medical benefits are censored but the truth is ignored.

I believe the benefits of marijuana are not being addressed. Many symptoms treated by narcotics can instead be treated with marijuana.

Over 100,000 people die every year from prescription drugs. I have seen no evidence that pot kills anyone. FDA & Congress are in the back pockets of the big drug companies. The FDA & Congress has no desire or monetary incentive to say anything good about pot or endorse it because they can't control it.

Experimentation is part of human nature. When will we be held accountable for our individual choices as responsible American citizens.

I am a Viet Nam veteran. I was on heavy duty meds that were harmful. "Life everlasting" is what my grandmother called marijuana. Marijuana helps with my pain without side effects.

FDA approved drugs for bipolar disorder caused pancreatitis. The doctor recommended smoking marijuana and now I am better as a result, where FDA meds made me sicker.

Change the laws. Tax marijuana and dispensaries. Make money on something a growing number of Arizonans want.

I am a successful businessman in the area and enjoy relaxing at the end of a long day with a drink and a joint. It is not a gateway drug and not harmful but has benefits.

I've been smoking for 40 years and am not psychotic. It's silly what they are saying. I will discuss quantum physics with anyone.

Marijuana is not a gateway drug. Alcohol is a gateway drug.

Save the trees. We can use hemp for resources.

As a parent who was in the marijuana smoking scene all through high school, why should I be more comfortable with my child going to a drug dealer's home rather than an average working citizen with a card. Because we know. If they want it, they will get it. And I have seen personally many drug dealers' homes. That is the only reason it is a "gateway" drug. Because of drug dealers.

Marijuana is natural. A drug is government made. The difference is the chemicals.

The holding of people in jail for marijuana changes costs Arizona taxpayers far to much. If marijuana is legal, you can tax it high. Arizona would make money on marijuana instead of losing money.

If marijuana is decriminalized, it would heavily decrease the illegal drugs coming from Mexico. If the people can have it legally, they wouldn't deal with buying marijuana from foreign countries.

THC vs pharmacies. They only care about the money. No mater how potent the product is, it's money

Marijuana helps with pain. I started smoking at 16 and I'm now 60. I tested in the top 6% in the nation in aptitude test. Marijuana related to crime increase in nonsense.

If pot lacked its intoxicating properties, I think the cry for legalization wouldn't be so bad.

Charge them for the other narcotics and not for the marijuana. If marijuana was legalized it would stop international drug wars.

Why are we calling it a drug. Man makes drugs. God made marijuana.

The law is written to discourage the legalization.

People will get marijuana legally or illegally. If marijuana became legal, crime rates would decrease dramatically.

Marinol is artificial. It has no THC in it. It has as much nicotine as a pack of cigarettes. If it was already legalized there would be no bloodshed. Limit the number of stores in an area.

If it were legal, it wouldn't be breaking the law. Would you rather have a kid on a pill or be on a couch chilling. Natural herbs or pill filled with meth and speed.

The panel has completely misconstrued the issue. It is one sided. I am disabled and marijuana helps my pain. Pain has nothing to do with enforcement.