Reader Responses to Tricky Business

The cover of the March/April issue certainly caught my interest. It was interesting finding out how different alumni were involved with the cannabis community. While my own relationship with cannabis started one late night in Prospect Park, I spent much of my professional life not partaking. It wasn’t until I relocated to Santa Monica in ’09 that I thought about using cannabis again. After I obtained my medical recommendation a few years later, I found I was spending a decent amount of money at my dispensary. California’s Prop 64 was the impetus to educate myself about home growing. After much trial (and even more error) I was able to successfully harvest my first crop. The whole experience was very daunting. That was when I made the decision to start my own company, Plant Buddies (plantbuddies.com), to help people grow their own cannabis for personal use. From cancer remission to child autism to help as an alternative to opioids, knowing that we are able to help people who have made that decision to include cannabis in their lives is a really great feeling.

As with gambling, the heavy user is being hurt and will continue to be hurt, as the number of heavy users expands. There is minimal concern for the heavy user; maximum concern is to expand the business aspect (“total sales” $$$) to expand profits and drive higher tax revenues.

“Tricky Business” by Jane Sasseen contained an error. She writes: “Federal restrictions still classify cannabis as a ‘Schedule I’ drug as dangerous as heroin, hindering health research and restricting business development.” While marijuana and heroin are both Schedule I drugs, the criteria for being on Schedule I do not include ‘danger’ and do not compare one drug to another. According to the DEA, “Schedule I drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.” Sasseen is certainly correct that being on Schedule I hinders marijuana research and business development. 

Recovery centers frequently treat patients addicted to marijuana, many of whom are co-addicted to alcohol and other drugs. Moreover, leafy marijuana contains many of the ‘tars’ that make tobacco so harmful to health. Like alcohol and tobacco, it is not benign.