By Savannah Peña
Since medical marijuana was approved by Arizona voters in 2010, many of Tucson’s dozen dispensaries have turned to educating users about medicinal benefits rather than simply distributing their product.
“The focus was education in the beginning, and it still is even though we’ve gotten so much busier,” said Thomas Hunt, operations manager at the Downtown Dispensary on East Sixth Street. Education was owner Moe Asnani’s main purpose when he opened the dispensary in 2013, Hunt said.
The more educated people are about the use of medical marijuana the more aware they become of not only the effects but also the medicinal value, Hunt said.
“The good thing about marijuana is that it creates this homeostasis between a person and nature because sometimes we just pass through life without feeling what’s going on, and marijuana helps you have more of a central feeling with nature and with life, ” Hunt said.
Marijuana has been found to help reduce pain and inflammation in joints because of the CB2 cannabinoids, which have an affect on a person’s physical being.
Medical marijuana may replace harsh “Western medicine” or synthetic drugs because it is a natural alternative, Hunt said.
“The focus was education in the beginning, and it still is even though we’ve gotten so much busier,” said Thomas Hunt, operations manager at the Downtown Dispensary on East Sixth Street. Education was owner Moe Asnani’s main purpose when he opened the dispensary in 2013, Hunt said.
The more educated people are about the use of medical marijuana the more aware they become of not only the effects but also the medicinal value, Hunt said.
“The good thing about marijuana is that it creates this homeostasis between a person and nature because sometimes we just pass through life without feeling what’s going on, and marijuana helps you have more of a central feeling with nature and with life, ” Hunt said.
Marijuana has been found to help reduce pain and inflammation in joints because of the CB2 cannabinoids, which have an affect on a person’s physical being.
Medical marijuana may replace harsh “Western medicine” or synthetic drugs because it is a natural alternative, Hunt said.
Josh Case is a prime example of the positive effects of medical marijuana. The 21-year-old from Michigan has been using medical marijuana since he was 16. Case first got his medical marijuana card in 2014 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, because of his rheumatoid arthritis after his doctor suggested it could help. Case said synthetic drugs left him with distressing side effects; he often felt depressed, sleep deprived, and he experienced a loss of appetite. “We just tried to do everything we needed to do so I could feel better and be happy again,” Case said. Hunt said medical marijuana allows patients to abstain from the perpetual cycle of using multiple medications that only mitigate the symptoms. | Savannah Peña |
Tramadol, oxycodone and morphine for pain, which are all strong, addictive drugs.
“I cut out so many other meds when switching over,” Case said. “A big thing in high school for me was that I couldn’t sleep or eat. And I’d throw up because of how bad the pain was, and the opioids didn’t help me eat.”
Case and Hunt said medical marijuana has positive impacts and there is no such thing as over educating people on this perplexing drug and its effects.
“People just aren’t educated enough to say, ‘That doesn’t make any sense, why would I want to take one pill that is going to have five different side effects to fix one thing and end up taking more pills to fix those side effects?’” Hunt said.
Shawn Portillo is also a medical marijuana user. The 21-year-old began using medical marijuana to help with stress and anxiety when he was 17. Using marijuana, he said, has improved his concentration and has helped him with physical injuries he got from motocross racing and wrestling.
Portillo said that medical marijuana has also helped him sleep better, which has been an issue for him because of his ADHD.
“The benefit of smoking for me is it’s helped with my mental health and with multiple injuries. I think it’s definitely better for you than alcohol and tobacco,” Portillo said. “I’ve been able to sleep better, concentrate better and be a happier person.”
Kaye Godbey, a project coordinator at the University of Arizona who works with polysubstance misuse and abuse prevention, said she strongly believes there is still not enough research and information on medical marijuana. “
We don’t have enough research and we’re kind of shooting in the dark. The way they prescribe marijuana is the equivalent of you going into a pharmacy and the pharmacist saying, ‘Pick whatever one you want,’” Godbey said. “There’s just so many things that could go wrong with it.”
Godbey said using medical marijuana can be just as dangerous as taking synthetic drugs, but drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration have been studied and approved to help with certain conditions.
“When you go get medication someone’s already tested your weight and what happens with your weight and they know a lot of things, and they try really hard to match your needs with the dose they’re prescribing,” Godbey said. “In the case of medical marijuana, we know nothing, and yet we allow the consumer to choose their medication. Hunt, Case and Portillo agree that society has painted a negative picture of people who use marijuana.
“The stereotypical ‘stoner effect’ is that we’re always happy, and even though it is a stigma and maybe it is true because we tend to be more positive and less stressed,” Hunt said.
Portillo agreed that marijuana continues to be stigmatized.
“I feel like I’ve been categorized as a partier or troublemaker when in reality I use medical marijuana to help me calm my nerves and sleep better,” Portillo said.
“I cut out so many other meds when switching over,” Case said. “A big thing in high school for me was that I couldn’t sleep or eat. And I’d throw up because of how bad the pain was, and the opioids didn’t help me eat.”
Case and Hunt said medical marijuana has positive impacts and there is no such thing as over educating people on this perplexing drug and its effects.
“People just aren’t educated enough to say, ‘That doesn’t make any sense, why would I want to take one pill that is going to have five different side effects to fix one thing and end up taking more pills to fix those side effects?’” Hunt said.
Shawn Portillo is also a medical marijuana user. The 21-year-old began using medical marijuana to help with stress and anxiety when he was 17. Using marijuana, he said, has improved his concentration and has helped him with physical injuries he got from motocross racing and wrestling.
Portillo said that medical marijuana has also helped him sleep better, which has been an issue for him because of his ADHD.
“The benefit of smoking for me is it’s helped with my mental health and with multiple injuries. I think it’s definitely better for you than alcohol and tobacco,” Portillo said. “I’ve been able to sleep better, concentrate better and be a happier person.”
Kaye Godbey, a project coordinator at the University of Arizona who works with polysubstance misuse and abuse prevention, said she strongly believes there is still not enough research and information on medical marijuana. “
We don’t have enough research and we’re kind of shooting in the dark. The way they prescribe marijuana is the equivalent of you going into a pharmacy and the pharmacist saying, ‘Pick whatever one you want,’” Godbey said. “There’s just so many things that could go wrong with it.”
Godbey said using medical marijuana can be just as dangerous as taking synthetic drugs, but drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration have been studied and approved to help with certain conditions.
“When you go get medication someone’s already tested your weight and what happens with your weight and they know a lot of things, and they try really hard to match your needs with the dose they’re prescribing,” Godbey said. “In the case of medical marijuana, we know nothing, and yet we allow the consumer to choose their medication. Hunt, Case and Portillo agree that society has painted a negative picture of people who use marijuana.
“The stereotypical ‘stoner effect’ is that we’re always happy, and even though it is a stigma and maybe it is true because we tend to be more positive and less stressed,” Hunt said.
Portillo agreed that marijuana continues to be stigmatized.
“I feel like I’ve been categorized as a partier or troublemaker when in reality I use medical marijuana to help me calm my nerves and sleep better,” Portillo said.