Well, as we go, we are now pretty established, and most of the immediate challenges have been met, at least at this time. We all wait with bated breath to see what other demands either the state of CO, or the city of Denver will have us address.
We have been told, and are pretty sure, that the city has denied over 100 dispensaries their licenses based on zoning issues. Of course this is after they have paid the full 5000 dollars required, so the city has their money, but the dispensaries are in a bit of limbo. This is out a total of only 200 that sent in their applications, and there were 200 more that evidently did not send in the applications on time.
At this time, we appear to be safe (thank God), and seem to be staying one cautious step ahead of their ever-changing demands.
And our new and wonderful patients are just as concerned as we are about all the changes that can happen on a moments notice. They are concerned with our staying open as we have become a large part of their new life in dealing with Medical Marijuana, and we are all more than pleased with the success they are having in eliminating their pain. There are, it would seem, some who are using our medication for recreational use, just as many will use alcohol, beer, and prescription pills, and realistically, as long as done safely and discriminatory, we don't feel it is hurting anyone. We are not the ones who should judge.
But what is amazing are the ones who we see that are truly benefiting from this amazing medication. The stories are real, and they happen every day, and every person we help, makes us realize all the problems we have endured, seem worthwhile, truly.
We have a new patient (and new friend), who has visited us twice now, and she shared an amazing story. Her father died in his 70's of a form of dementia that is fatal, and unfortunately, she found out about 7 months ago that she was diagnosed with the same disease. Her strength and conviction of not letting this get her down is wonderful, but what has happened since the first diagnosis is even more amazing. She was given a prescription to help her deal with this problem, an anti-depressant that the doctor said would help her deal with her disconcerting news. It actually caused her to have a stroke in December, and they took her to the hospital, and did not expect her to live through her stay. But her strength and determination, with her family's love and support, got her through this ordeal. Now she is walking and talking, and getting around in a very normal pattern, and nobody would know she had recently had a stroke. She is amazing, kind, loving, and full of life. She has been told that her disease is fatal, and that she has no more than 8 years left in her life, unless a cure is found in the meantime.
To deal with her constant pain she has found us, and is thrilled with what our medicine has done for her in so many ways. To be able to help her, in any small way, just gives us added verification for what we do. It happens all the time, but this story is so meaningful to us, we needed to share it with all.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
Where does the time go?
It is crazy that the older we get, the faster the time goes. Has it really been a month since my last blog? Life is a time warp, and so much has happened, and all so quickly.
Well in early February we got the confusing and somewhat disconcerting news that we would have to apply to the city of Denver for a dispensary license. The charges would be $2000.00 for the application charge, and $3000.00 for the yearly license, all to be paid at once.
As we just started our business, it would be hard to make the payment, but we did what had to do, and put a required, very confusing and intricate plan together that the city required. We had to give them a diagram of the office, a diagram of the surrounding area, and the proof that there were no schools within 1000 feet. We needed to show them documents and diagrams of our security system and camera system, a copy of the lease highlighting our landlord's approval of the location, as well as where we put the safe. All employees had to go through a fingerprinting check that proved nobody had any felonies against them, and a couple of other smaller requirements.
We went downtown to the offices to put in our application, and it was a controlled chaos, where the whole process kept us there over 5 hours.
We had learned from publications in the area that there were over 400 dispensaries in business in Denver, but only 200 actually did what we did in putting in the application on time.
Well in early February we got the confusing and somewhat disconcerting news that we would have to apply to the city of Denver for a dispensary license. The charges would be $2000.00 for the application charge, and $3000.00 for the yearly license, all to be paid at once.
As we just started our business, it would be hard to make the payment, but we did what had to do, and put a required, very confusing and intricate plan together that the city required. We had to give them a diagram of the office, a diagram of the surrounding area, and the proof that there were no schools within 1000 feet. We needed to show them documents and diagrams of our security system and camera system, a copy of the lease highlighting our landlord's approval of the location, as well as where we put the safe. All employees had to go through a fingerprinting check that proved nobody had any felonies against them, and a couple of other smaller requirements.
We went downtown to the offices to put in our application, and it was a controlled chaos, where the whole process kept us there over 5 hours.
We had learned from publications in the area that there were over 400 dispensaries in business in Denver, but only 200 actually did what we did in putting in the application on time.
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