Lance Gurwell, who once had a photography studio in Iola and now lives in Colorado Springs, has suffered from severe back pain for several years, which led him to give a few thoughts on Colorado legalizing marijuana.
“I have possessed a medical prescription for marijuana and briefly tried it for my bad back. I found it helped tremendously with the pain, but I didn’t like the method of delivery … which for most people is smoking. Pills, oils, extracts, candies, soft drinks and aerosol sprays are available, but are expensive, so I decided to abandon the experiment.
“I live with constant pain.
“I believe it is at least as good a medicine as most prescription pain meds and the addiction factor is far lower.”
Gurwell said he struggled with addiction, which “had nothing to do with marijuana and everything to do with legal drugs. I now have five years of sobriety, having spent 30 days in rehab for addiction to methadone and Xanax.”
Gurwell said he had used marijuana “as a young man living in Kansas. I have had several friends have their lives turned upside-down because they were arrested for possession of a few ‘joints.’ In fact, when I was a reporter for the Chanute Tribune in 1978 I was arrested and charged with possession of a few seeds, fined and even had my name in the paper — but it wasn’t a byline.”
An observation: “The legalization of small amounts of cannabis (1 ounce or 28 grams) in Colorado has apparently not had the deleterious effects the hand-wringers and hard right have predicted. Crime has not risen. Widespread use by young people (under 18) has apparently not become a problem — at least no more than it might have been before. Those arrested for ‘driving while high’ remains small — far smaller than the number of arrests for drunk driving.”
Meanwhile, the state has raked in millions in taxes and fees from legalization, more so from medical use than recreational, he said, noting “there aren’t too many retail pot stores; there are hundreds of medical stores (statewide).”
The current political environment in Kansas precludes it from joining Colorado in legalizing marijuana, but it seems it should be a consideration, if nothing else to decriminalize possession of small amounts for personal use.
Not only would legalization be a taxing advantage, but sale and having use out in the open also would put more controls on consumption, just as is the case with alcohol.
A closer look at marijuana
