About Grass Roots Solutions | Cannabis Community Advocate
Patricia Smith is a Medical Marijuana Consultant, speaker, and newspaper columnist. GrassRootsSolutions (GRS) was founded by Patricia to promote and support causes aimed at ending the Drug War that has plagued this country for so many decades. By any standard the War has failed at an incalculable cost to taxpayers, families, and government social services. The deep cuts every state are being forced to make would be greatly lessened if we would only reform our outdated drug laws. Millions of dollars would be saved that could be put back into our social structure.
A slow and steady approach is the best way to work to change the current system.
Rather that lobby for full legalization, the first objective is to work to get marijuana reclassified from a Schedule I to a Schedule II drug.
This would enable a physician to legally prescribe marijuana to their patients without breaking the law and patients would not have to buy their medicine on the street from the criminal element.
It would virtually eliminate the prosecution of medical marijuana patients, their caregivers, and the people who grow their medicine for them. And it would allow researchers the freedom to conduct meaningful clinical trials of cannabinoid based medicines which have shown so much promise in shrinking tumors.
The US and State agencies of government that focuses upon the subject have known for decades that marijuana is less harmful – and more helpful – than a common aspirin, and yet hundreds of thousands of people are arrested and sent to jail every year for the simple possession of this plant.
It’s hard to reconcile the contradiction between the government’s stance on marijuana and it’s actions.
“They” say that it has no known medicinal value, and yet for years they given 300 pre-rolled marijuana cigarettes to patients in the “Compassionate Care Program” to treat glaucoma, muscular and bone disorders, and HIV/AIDS among other ailments on a monthly basis. How can it be good for all these conditions and have no “known medicinal value” at the same time?
Another goal is to educate the public.
For many, marijuana is still taboo and has the same stigma attached to it that HIV/AIDS had in the 1980’s.
To help alleviate people’s fears, Patricia has been working to educate the public by conducting free public seminars regarding the potential benefits of medical marijuana treatment . Her focus is on the many different ailments that have been successfully treated with cannabis therapy and how to use it in a safe and secure manner.
A solid belief that the medical marijuana community has a responsibility to set professional standards by testing their products for impurities like mold, fungus and bacteria or harmful pesticides; GRS promotes testing by professional labs.
Only 1% of the medicine being sold in dispensaries today is being tested.
- GRS believes a patient should know the THC and CBD content of their medicine so they can make an informed choice.
- GRS works to educate dispensary owners on the need to step up their game now.
- GRS believes that when MMJ does get regulated, things are going to change fast.
In the future – we expect that products will be subject to Health and Safety codes.
Not following these guidelines – whether voluntary or mandatory – will be the primary element (watermark, standards) the authorities will use to open or close dispensary clubs, collectives, shops run by small collective communities and turning them over to big business.
Let’s not give them a reason.
ASA – Americans For Safe Access
Families Against Mandatory Minimums
NORML
