Residents display mixed reactions to end of debate on legalizing cannabis

mixed reactions

By TAMMY BAIN 

Lori and Bill Munson had hoped that legalization of medical marijuana in Nebraska would allow them to find effective ways to control their daughter Ashley’s seizures.
Through four brain surgeries, doctors have removed the entire left hemisphere of Ashley’s brain. Ashley, 18, still suffers seizures daily — despite the surgeries and a vagal nerve stimulator, which sends pulses of electricity to the brain’s longest nerve.

The Munson family and others like them had their hopes dashed Tuesday night, when the Nebraska Legislature struck down LB 643, which aimed to legalize cannabis products for medical purposes.

But for community activists and others in North Platte, the vote relieved fears about the effect of medical marijuana use on the community.

In their search for answers, the Munsons came across cannabidiol, also known as CBD oil. Derived from the cannabis plant, CBD oils contain minimal amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the main psychoactive compound in marijuana.

At first, the Munsons were unable to bring CBD oil across state lines. Now, because CBD oil is a hemp extract that is grown agriculturally in Colorado, they can legally obtain it.

But the Munsons had little information about appropriate dosage for CBD oil. Ultimately, the amount they gave Ashley was so small, the oil had little effect.

Ashley now is on restrictive antibiotics and won’t be able to use the oils again for months, but her family would like to try again. Many of Ashley’s other medicines have dangerous side effects, including potential damage to her liver and other organs, her parents said.

“Even if it doesn’t stop her seizures, it could help her brain function,” Lori said.

But some community activists say the risks of allowing legalized marijuana of any form outweigh the benefit.

Because marijuana isn’t regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, the lack of dosing information and frequency information are dangerous, said Sandee Kroon, co-chair of Community Connections Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition.

Kroon referenced State Sen. Tommy Garrett, of Bellevue, who introduced the medical marijuana bill.

“Tommy Garrett thinks this is the be-all, end-all. It’s not,” Kroon said. “There is going to be a much greater accessibility to youth.”

Kroon and others with Community Connections in North Platte voiced concerns that medical marijuana would lead to the state legalizing recreational marijuana.

“It isn’t going to be [dispensed by] a pharmacist like at Bill’s U-Save [Pharmacy],” she said.

But a pharmacy-like atmosphere is exactly what Colin Fury, legislative aide for Garrett, and Ally Dering-Anderson, a pharmacist and clinical assistant professor at University of Nebraska Medical Center, foresee if medical marijuana were eventually legalized.

Dering-Anderson said licensed professionals would be able to help families like the Munsons with dosages and regulations, while also keeping marijuana out of the wrong hands.

“If your community activists believe we’re going to let this [medical marijuana] loose, that offends me,” she said. “This isn’t going to be a bait and tackle. This is going to be a pharmacy for pharmacists.”

But Dr. Dwight Larson, a family practitioner in North Platte, expressed concerns about “government people” making medical decisions.

“We don’t know the side effects [of medical marijuana] and neither do they,” he said.

Larson has given presentations about the harms of drug use. Like those at Community Connections, he also fears that medical marijuana could be the first step to recreational marijuana laws.

“I think it’s a foot in the door,” he said.

Dering-Anderson acknowledged those “who despite our best efforts take quality prescriptions and sell them illicitly.” But for the most part, she claimed, those who seek medical marijuana would use it for its intended purposes — alleviating seizures, pain and other ailments.