Medical Marijuana and its impact on government medical spending.

Medical Marijuana and its impact on government medical spending.

Why have I heard nothing in this new health care plan about medical marijuana? The government is saving a ton of money due to the growth in the medical marijuana industry, but no one is talking about it in a real way. I have decided that I may have a unique perspective on this issue and have decided to throw my two cents in on the topic.

First of all, I am a female under 40 with severe and debilitating Fibromyalgia, the kind that forces doctors to shake their heads and prescribe one ineffective man made medicine on top of another while I waste away and my quality of life diminishes.

My sole health insurance is provided to me is under medicare/medicaid. This is because I am completely disabled and the doctors do not allow me to work, or even to attend school. So I am forced to be on government programs like Social Security Disability and Social Security Income (SSD/SSI).

Before I was placed on the Colorado Medical Marijuana Registry in June 2009, I would have to visit a doctors office several times a month, sometimes several times a week, sometimes with several appointments booked the same day with specialists and tests, physical therapy, and there were to many trips to the emergency room to count.

I went to the ER out of sheer desperation, I went just so I could get comfortable enough to have a bit of sleep after a week or more of lingering in a painful place that seemed to be located in deep within the realm of a narcotic distorted pain haze, a no-where-land that seemed to be somewhere between life and death. AND I WAS MISERABLE!

Since I was approved for the medical marijuana registry I haven't needed near the amount of services from the medicaid/medicare program. In fact, aside from bit of dental work, a doctor visit and medications for a bad cold, I haven't seen a doctor at all. I haven't needed to.

How many others are there like me? Meanwhile, the price of my medicine increases as the MMJ movement grows. I am stuck having to make really hard decisions like, do my husband and I pawn our wedding and engagement rings to get my medicine? Or do I pawn them and buy some food? (I ended up pawning the rings, having nothing else of value to pawn, and buying both medicine and food.) We promised ourselves we would get them back, but I ended up crying my eyes out when I realized I can't afford to get them out of hock. I live in a 1968 Winnebago and am almost starving to death as it is. Now don't get me wrong, my life has been profoundly changed by this medicine, and any hardship I may have to endure is truly worth the benefits of this plant!

Each year, the government gives people on SSI/SSD a cost of living increase. I have had a cost of living increase of up to $200 per month in past years. This is supposed to be based upon the economy and how much it actually costs to survive, but this year mycost of living increase for my entire household is less than $5 a month for 2010. I won't disclose what that is an increase from, but I will say have no trouble qualifying as well below the federal poverty guidelines.The government actually told me in writing that the cost of living had not increased any this year!

Now the other side of the coin. The people who are inside the movement are making money on it too. If you are low income and can't afford your â??mainstream pharmacyâ?� medicine, you can go to various organizations and they will help you to buy your medicine, sometimes even on a regular basis if they are necessary and not covered by insurance, but that doesn't include mmj. If your medicine is MMJ no one is willing to help you unless you happen to be lucky enough to find a care giver who actually gives a care if you have medicine or not!:hippy::rastasmoke:

There is no fund or organization to help people like me get my medicine when I can't afford it. There is no way for a person who wants to help to donate money to people in a position similar to mine.

"So what," you say? Well let's look at this... The high price can force a person in my position to go back to buying their medicine off the street where it is less expensive, but also less potent, less safe, more dangerous to obtain, and the process of obtaining it can be a risk to your health with long periods in the cold and encounters with strange germs. I personally counted avoiding purchasing on the street as one of the largest pluses to getting on the registry, and yet I see people like me being forced back there.:wtf:

So the government ignores the money it saves, and many of the dispensaries in the area seem to have little social conscience about the price a person like me can pay to have their medicine. It costs me a minimum of 5% of my combined household monthly income for 3 days medicine, for 30 days, that's 50% of my household income - and that is using a bare minimum dosing. Someone needed to say something on this. I decided, I was as good a voice as any.

Now that I'm off my rant for the morning. I just wanna say Thanks to all the people out there helping to make it possible for people who need this medicine to have it. Have a Happy Holiday all, and Blessings to you all! :hippy::thumbsup::jointsmile::thumbsup::rastasmoke ::D:)

I agree with your analysis on the cost of mmj. I can remember when an oz cost $20 and it was good stuff even back then. There will be the profiteers, but if its a true non-profit, then they should make allowances and have a fund to assist fixed income patients. But, I really don't see it getting much better if the state's themselves try and take it over completely. they simple can't be trusted either at this stage of the game. As with everything else in this country, it all boils down to money, and there are and will be those who are only in it for the money. MMJ is not cheap and is nearly as expensive as some prescription meds. In my opinion, a real non-profit mmj dispensary or what ever you want to call it, should have an income based sliding scale for meds for verifiable fixed income patients. In order for that to happen though, the non-profit needs outside donations to help cover the cost that those with the income to pay in full can't cover. A move in this direction will prove the validity that mmj is medicine, not just another gold rush bubble. If a mmj whatever can't cut it @ $10 a gram, with a 10% state/federal tax then they are gouging patients and need to cut their overhead cost. :twocents:

Is kept artificially inflated by prohibition. Now I grow on a "shoe string" budget, but it costs me only about $20 to produce an ounce of cannabis in my little closet set up (compost/organic soil, $3 tubs from Walmart, CFLs & fluoros). If I grew outdoors, the cost would be even less.

I recently bought some powdered ginseng (cheapest kind) for $30 a pound. Ginseng is hard to grow commercially. It takes years to produce a few ounces of dried roots. Yet the price is far lower than cannabis.

Cannabis is an annual. It is a weed that can be grown almost anywhere, even in Siberia (ruderalis)! An outdoor plant can easily produce a pound of product. And the price per pound??? What is wrong with this picture??? :wtf:

Many people could benefit from a few plants tucked in among the rose bushes or in a sunny window. Our seniors and others on fixed or low incomes could save a fair amount of cash each month by growing their own. Unfortunately, cannabis is medically legal in just 1/4 of the states and many people are not familiar with its many medical uses. Please click the link in my sig to learn about MMJ from hundreds of scientific studies and articles. I think you will love what you find!


Granny :hippy:

Hi there stormcrow, I really wanna be growing for myself as you suggested, and did try my hand with a Super Silver Haze Clone I called "Eve". She was doing really well, and looking so tasty:hippy:. Unfortunately, I had to move from one Recreational Vehicle to another mid grow. I couldn't normalize the conditions quick enough (the new RV leaks air like a strainer) and unfortunately "eve" passed away:sorry1:. We are planning on weatherizing, and then converting a small closet we have into a grow room. Any suggestions you can offer for cutting costs in this department and what is cheap and works, would be greatly appreciated.:rastasmoke:

I can't understand why the dispensary owners of various states haven't formed a fund for low income people independently or as a group. It would be a great promotional tool as well as an activism push, etc. There are many benefits if they will only drop the green of greed from their eyes and pick up the true spirit of the green herb.

WOW Granny Storm Crow. the link you provided is great! I'm gonna give it to my care giver and post it as a link on forums I frequent if you do not mind. Gonna be digging into some reading on Granny's List for a while! THANKS!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gypski

I agree with your analysis on the cost of mmj. I can remember when an oz cost $20 and it was good stuff even back then. There will be the profiteers, but if its a true non-profit, then they should make allowances and have a fund to assist fixed income patients. But, I really don't see it getting much better if the state's themselves try and take it over completely. they simple can't be trusted either at this stage of the game. As with everything else in this country, it all boils down to money, and there are and will be those who are only in it for the money. MMJ is not cheap and is nearly as expensive as some prescription meds. In my opinion, a real non-profit mmj dispensary or what ever you want to call it, should have an income based sliding scale for meds for verifiable fixed income patients. In order for that to happen though, the non-profit needs outside donations to help cover the cost that those with the income to pay in full can't cover. A move in this direction will prove the validity that mmj is medicine, not just another gold rush bubble. If a mmj whatever can't cut it @ $10 a gram, with a 10% state/federal tax then they are gouging patients and need to cut their overhead cost. :twocents:

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A "true non-profit" should be giving it away for free with no cost to the patients EVER, poor or not. REGARDLESS OF THEIR OVERHEAD^.

That's the whole idea behind the NON-PROFIT BUSINESS MODEL. SUCK IT UP COMPANY FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT......FREE SERVICES AND PRODUCTS. Just my opinion.....

jamessr, I am sorry, but you are wrong. A non profit will sell their goods. All proceeds go back into running said non profit and helping who they set out to help. Does Goodwill give away anything in thier thrift stores. NO.

I am a caregiver in WA and I GIVE my patient all the medicine he needs and then some. I also make sure he gets the best I have. Poor guy is under 30 and undergoing his second round of chemotherapy for recurrance.....

I don't even ask for donation to defray costs, and have refused offers of same. This is the problem with the dispensary setup.

hi WashougalWonder's,

It is caregivers like you who make it possible for patinets like me to survive. Thanks on behalf of your patients from someone who understands! My caregiver helps with some free meds, but nothing like what you have going. You are a great example for others.

It's because pharmaceutical companies have tons of influence on our government..and synthetic THC pills are much more profitable than a flower..no R & D with cannabis so no excuse to jack cost up..

Hi Mad1010,

I completely agree. I have no problems paying some for my meds... that is only fair. But I wanna know the money I spend helps others like me. I also don't need to be paying 50% of my income to stay barely comfortable. I'd like to be able to pay a reasonable precentage of my income and have all the medicine my body requires. I know that may seem a little unrealistic, but a girl in pain can dream. lol

Here in Colorado it is the wild wild west right now. If I happen to have to go somewhere other than my primary caregiver, my $$$ will probably end up in a growing bank account of some green gold rush eyed caregiver who could really care less if I have effective meds or not.

Also in the non-profit model there is room for patients to preform services for compensation in medicine. The Patient works at the dispensary/caregivers location according to the patients abilities and the dispensary/caregivers needs. My caregiver is for profit (there seem to be no NONprofit dispensaries near me), but regularly trades my services in clerical/computer work either from home or in his office for meds when I am strapped for cash.

Absolutely! It is criminal the amount of influence the drug companies have. I was on so many medications before I got on the registry.... Number of traditional prescriptions I take daily now - ZERO.:cool::D

Now the government was paying for all those meds through medicare/medicaid, plus all the doctor visits to get, maintain, and change dosing on those prescriptions right? Some of those meds by themselves cost the government thousands of dollars a month!:wtf:

:(I always felt guilty about my personal burden on the American Taxpayers. But this year I don't have to feel guilty cause I have a Christmas present to the American Taxpayer. I got on the MMJ registry. Now I do not go to the mainstream doc unless I need antibiotics, am off all prescriptions, and have even quit tobacco (been struggling to do that for more than a decade!). :hippy:

The government is saving many thousands of dollars a year on me alone, and yet I have to struggle to obtain this money saver for the American taxpayer. That much cut in government spending on the part of an individual... I should get a freaking medal or something LOL

Herb Herb Herb Merry Christmas American Taxpayer:jointsmile:!

I made the list to be shared. :thumbsup: (Thought you'd like it! lol) I belong to about 30 MJ sites, but there are SO many- I'll take any help I can get! :D

And you can get your own forwardable copy in WORD or PDF by sending an email to the address at the bottom of my sig. It makes a good (and free :D ) holiday present to all the cannabis users, doctors and politicians on your card list! Share it around, we need to educate everyone!


Granny :hippy:

When your total family income is less than $1100 a month due to SSD/SSI, you can absolutely be forced back on the streets to get your medicine.

My medical condition requires a minimum of 1/8 oz of smokeable every 3 days to just to keep me off narcotics, not crying, and not be stuck in bed. I have NEVER had the pleasure of having enough medicine on hand to decide on what a good "comfortable" dosing schedule would be, even though I do have a relatively compassionate caregiver.

What I am trying to say is that there is something fundamentally very wrong with the fact that I am to poor to even know what the appropriate dosage for my amount of pain is, yet the government is saving a bunch of cash and the MMj industry is getting the "lion's share" of the rest of my income. It is frustrating to feel like you are falling through the cracks even further. It is frustrating to see others get wealthy while you starve. Sometimes you feel invisible, and I know for a fact I am not the only one out there feeling this.

My dream is to be able to get some land and set up an initial grow op that would end up growing into a Nonprofit MMj retreat/community/caregiver for patients like me to be able to get their medicine and/or live in a more affordable and kind setting, using their personal talents to benefit the community.

While I have the heart and the ability to do this work (given time and medication), I unfortunately have no capital for such a venture and am praying the universe will see fit to make it happen. I have researched many aspects of this and it is very feasible, however getting investment in such a venture is not my forte.

I live in an RV and am willing to set up shop in any state with a registry. This kind of setting would be great publicity for a "for profit" dispensary who could also offer my nonprofit meds cheap to their own low income patients. inquire further at [email protected]

Is there someone, anyone out there who hears my plea and wants to help me actually do something other than sit in online forums and b*&@h about the problem and hope someone does something? I have plans, just need some help bringing them to fruition.

I have this planned out so that I could be self sufficient (NO MORE SSI/SSD and I could actually contribute to charities instead of needing help from them!) and never have to worry about being hungry or without my necessary medicine as well. In time, many others could be helped with food and medicine grown on the land.

Want to know what I'm looking at for my dream?: search [email protected] at
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