A CHANGE TO MEDICAL POT ORDINANCE WOULD AFFECT THE ILL

The proposed change in the current ordinance concerning medical
marijuana will create a severe hardship for poor, aged, disabled and
chronically ill persons in Del Norte County.

As it stands now, a patient can grow enough medication indoors in four
months to last a year. The proposed changes will force ill patients to
work year round to cultivate medication indoors. This will cause an
unnecessary financial burden by drastically increasing their
electrical bill. It will cause security problems for these chronically
ill patients because bad people will know they grow all the time and
they are easy victims. Instead of being stressed and frightened for
four months a year and get a break, we will be forced to live with the
stress endlessly. This will cause additional health problems for us.
That covers those of us that can afford the equipment and cost to grow
indoors.

The aged, disabled and chronically ill patients that have to grow
indoors during the summer because they cannot afford the equipment
will be prevented from growing enough medication to sustain them
throughout the year. They will need to purchase their medication.

Then you have the aged, disabled and chronically ill patients trying
to live on $800 a month social security who can't grow their
medication, who are forced to purchase their medication because no
insurance covers the cost.

Right now you can go to the local medical marijuana outlet and
purchase one-eighth of an ounce (4 grams) for $50. An ounce costs
$300. Most of us consider this price outrageous. Especially since
poor, aged, disabled and chronically ill patients living on fixed
incomes are the ones paying the cost.

The local businessman that runs one of the medical marijuana outlet
has purchased a home, new vehicles and a boat on the backs of the
aged, disabled and chronically ill poor patients since he opened the
outlet. Change the ordinance and the price will go up for us.

This change in the ordinance proposed will drastically increase the
cost to the patients who can least afford it. The proposal will
increase the cost to grow and purchase medication. Many will be forced
to purchase when they were able to be self-sufficient.

This proposal was not very well thought out. I think it is fair to
assume that the coalition does not have a clue as to what they are
talking about. They should know that what they propose is not
sufficient to take care of the needs of the patients and the increase
in cost will cause unnecessary suffering.

The coalition and county should propose some price controls on medical
marijuana and help to defray the increase in cost for those of us who
are poor. We are already hammered by the Medicare Part D plans that
have inflated the cost of our other medications if they cover them at
all. Don't make us any poorer than we already are.

Earl Commins,

Crescent City