Since the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act passed in 2008, several dispensaries have opened in Washtenaw County. Two of which are within walking distance of campus.
The Third Coast Compassion Center is located on Hamilton Street. Founder Jamie Lowell started the center around two years ago.
“We were the first in the state to openly do what we do,” Lowell said. “We’ve worked with the municipal officials from the beginning. They ended up drafting a dispensary-based ordinance so that we can operate within the city.”
Lowell is confident that his establishment is a positive addition to the Ypsilanti community.
“We’re blessed to be able to help thousands of people with their healthcare,” Lowell said. “We’ve even heard people say that this act and our ability to help them participate in the program have helped them save their lives.”
Another dispensary, The Shop, is located on Cross Street. Mark has worked there since its opening, and openly expressed a similar care for his patients and the Ypsilanti community.
“It’s not about getting rich. It’s about taking care of the community and the patients’ needs,” Mark said. “I do believe we’ve done a great deal of good for the community. We’ve employed a good deal of people. A lot of our patients benefit immensely from this program.”
Amos, another employee at the Shop, expressed similar sentiments, and explained various ways their establishment is reaching out to the community.
“We’re in the process of dealing with the salvation army and youth groups. We told them we don’t want our names used,” Amos said. “We’re not doing this for a pat on the back. We want to help the community.”
Given marijuana’s longstanding status as a Schedule I drug, some might receive the optimism of these dispensary workers with skepticism, but they affirm that their establishments and the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act as a whole have benefited state and local citizens tremendously.
“When you see the benefits it does for people, it’s amazing,” Amos said.
Lowell agrees. “Helping people get off of having to take a handful of toxic, addictive pharmaceutical drugs with a non-toxic, non-addictive herb has contributed to improving the quality of lives of many people and in some cases saving those lives.”
Mark also expresses confidence that marijuana is much safer and sensible for the needs of many patients than the synthetic offerings of the pharmaceutical industry.
“Would you rather see someone deal with their pain coherently or be a mess on prescription drugs?” Mark said. “We help people here. A lot of people need us.”
Both dispensaries take extensive measures to ensure that they are responsibly operating within the legal parameters of the act.
“We do things that are important and reasonable such as taking security measures, consistently maintaining strict medical ID scrutiny,” Lowell said. “The types of things that create the safe access for marijuana and marijuana education.”
Despite the progress that has been made in reclassifying marijuana as a beneficial medicine, Lowell expresses concerns with the status of the act and its implementation:
“They haven’t implemented the original act properly yet. There’s still problems even getting people’s plastic ID’s sent to them. You can get your driver’s license in a day. You can get your hunting license in a day. It can take up to five months before a patient can get his or her medical marijuana license. They’re processing applications from February right now.”
Many of these problems are resultant of resistance to the act from people who still fear that cannabis has the potential to negatively affect the lives of its patients. Lowell finds these fears to be unrealistic.
“People talk about these health and safety concerns but there is no real evidence to support them,” Lowell said. “These concerns come from the behaviors that are born out of prohibition. The prohibition of cannabis has led to raids, property repossession, children being taken away from their parents, dogs being shot, etc.
“Those are the problems but again, they are resultant of prohibition. The only thing wrong with cannabis is the laws against them. The gateway theory – Amotivational Syndrome – there is simply no viable data to support those myths. The truth is if you could replace aspirin with cannabis, that would be an improvement. Aspirin is an extraction of birch bark and is responsible for several hundred deaths per year. The extractions from the cannabis plant or just the flower itself have not directly caused any deaths on record.”
There is also frustration among the medical marijuana community for the lack of support from the government and from people who still look upon the use of cannabis with disdain. It’s especially concerning to them because the act was not passed by politicians, it was voted on by the people of Michigan.
“This issue goes beyond marijuana, this is disrespecting the will of the people and the democratic process itself. It has become a civil rights issue as much as anything,” Lowell said. “It is good medicine and the people of Michigan said that it was, and that people should be able to use it for their healthcare. It works, and people are legally allowed to use it. Other people should respect that.”
Despite these problems, both dispensaries are doing their best to responsibly extend compassion to local patients. As to the future of both dispensaries, Amos from the shop said it best.
“The city has enough confidence in us to license us so we’re going to perform well above the standard that was set for us.”
