The Healthcare Foundation for the Yampa Valley will recognize Dr. Jim Dudley, 2010 Health Care Professional and Steve Dawes, 2010 Health Care Advocate. The two will be honored at the 2nd annual Doc Willett Health Care Heritage Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, September 1st at the Strings Music Festival Pavilion. The 7:00 p.m. cocktail reception is a time to congratulate the awardees. The program and presentation of the awards begins at 8:00.

When most people hear the term “lacto-fermentation,” they’re unsure of what it means.  Many puzzle out that it’s about fermenting with milk, perhaps.  Good job using your root words, folks, but the “lacto” in this case is not lactose but lactic acid.  In the process of lacto-fermentation, sugars and starches in the vegetables and fruits are converted into lactic acid by any of several different types of lactic-acid-producing bacteria.  The lactic acid, in turn, inhibits the growth of the types of bacteria that causes food to rot–thus preserving the food for longer periods of time.

Lacto-fermented foods have long been considered beneficial for digestion.  You’ve probably eaten some already, even if you didn’t know that’s what they were.  Sauerkraut is the most commonly eaten lacto-fermented foodin our culture, but other traditional foods include kefir and kimchee.  Just about any vegetable (and quite a few fruits!) can be lacto-fermented, including beets, turnips, radishes, carrots, cabbage, lemons, and (of course!) cucumbers.

So how does one make lacto-fermented foods?  Basically, cut up your desired vegetable of choice, pound briefly to release the juices, add plenty of salt, and cover in water, making sure the entirety of the food is submerged (put something heavy on top if needed).  Adding a few spoonfuls of whey (the watery, somewhat milky substance you find floating on the top of your yogurt) is usually a dead ringer for success.

For those of you who would like to experiment at home with lacto-fermentation, the following is a recipe for sauerkraut from Sally Fallon’s book, Nourishing Traditions:

Ingredients:

1 medium cabbage, cored and shredded

1 tablespoon caraway seeds

1 tablespoon sea salt

4 tablespoons whey (if not available, use an additional 1 tablespoon salt)

In a bowl, mix cabbage with caraway seeds, sea salt and whey.  Pound with a wooden pounder or a meat hammer for about 10 minutes to release juices.  Place in a quart-sized, wide-mouth mason jar and press down firmly with a pounder or meat hammer until juices come to the top of the cabbage.  The top of the cabbage should be at least an inch below the top of the jar.  Cover tightly and keep at room temperature for 1-3 days before transferring to cold storage. The sauerkraut may be eaten immediately, but it improves with age.

Makes 1 quart.

Ok… now this is officially crazy, you cannot exercise and watch TV.  Exercise and TV do NOT go hand in hand.  Exercise and TV do NOT have anything in common.  In fact, exercise and TV are NOT even used in the same sentence.  Not only do exercise and TV not belong in the same sentence, they are polar opposites.  Do you sweat when you watch TV?  Well, maybe if it’s a tremendously scary movie.  Do you run down the bike path and watch TV?  Well, maybe if you have a handheld TV device.  Do you stretch before watching TV?  Well, maybe if it’s before the big game and involves jumping on the couch and pacing the stairs.

I encourage you to put TV and exercise into the same sentence with a simple plan that gives a twist on commercials and puts pep back into your step after a couch potato session.  In fact, you may even get to watch MORE TV now that you have an exercise routine to go along with your favorite show.  Below are a few ideas that will jump-start your new TV fitness program.

1.  Try doing jumping jacks at every commercial.  Count your reps and beat that number at each commercial.  Food for thought, commercials are longer than the actual show over the course of the program so you many get a pretty good workout.

2.   Pick any three exercises and do as many rounds of them as you can before your show starts or during the previews of a movie.  For example:  5 jumping lunges, 10 handstand push-ups, and 15 squats.  Try for 5 rounds!

3.  Pick a character, every time that character says a certain word do 5 burpees.  For example:  say a character has a crush on another character, every time they say that persons name, you do 5 burpees.

4.  When a food commercial comes on, execute 15 push-ups.  If they mention a larger size, go big, do 25 push-ups.

5.  Grab a stability ball and do crunches for 2 minutes.  Yes, you can still see the TV while crunching.  Rest 30 seconds and repeat 2 minutes of crunches until the show is over.  Abs of steel guaranteed.

6.  Make it fun.  Wrestle for the remote!

That should get you started.  Get creative and have fun with it and before you know it exercise and TV will be in the same sentence at your place.  Now you have no excuse to be larger than Two and Half Men.  In fact, you may land a spot on Cougar Town with your shapely new body.  Get back on that couch, turn on that TV and get fit!

Sarah Coleman

Personal Trainer, Fusion Fit
CrossFitter, Steamboat CrossFit
Food connoisseur, My kitchen and yours
Outdoor Enthusiast, Everywhere

Oh yes, I am ready for some football and I suppose you are too. Let’s put aside the Yankees getting ready for a repeat. Let’s not concern ourselves with Lebron and the boys. Forget the possibility the C-melo just might “do what is best for his family” and not resign with the Nugs and head to the bright lights of NYC to run The Garden with Amare and CP3 in 2011. So let’s just focus on NFL. Now let’s specifically pay attention to the 2010 season and completely ignore the labor discussion talks in which it looks like the NFL team owners want to switch the profit percentages with the players. Apparently it is a 60-40 split right now, and the players like the 60% and if the owners try to switch, say it with me: LOCKOUT!!!! Now just as the Raiders start to look good, win a pre-season game, seem motivated to perform for Raider Nation. There is the chance of a player strike. Just another feeble attempt by the league to hold the dark one down. No, not me. Al Vadar Davis…Farve, Thanks buddy, I knew you could do it. I hope in the next few years when I try to retire from soccer [yeah right] that Capt. Emac, Dudley 2-times, P-town the magnificent, and SuperKeeper Big Bob take a road trip out to stagecoach and have an intervention with me and persuade me to keep running with the 2010 Coed Outdoor CHAMPIONS - Steamboat Medical. [snuck that in fo the team...] They don’t even have to offer me the million dollar bonus or incentives. Just a couple of gift certs and adult beverages and I am dressed and ready. Pre-season sort of really does not mean anything unless you are getting your head knocked off like 85 [oh -ochocinco] from the Cinci Bengals. He even tweeted that “this shit needs to cease before someone gets hurt.” I think Brady Q. just might be the QB Denver has been looking for ever since Jake left….You see the smirk on my face huh…I’ll admit, I am and have been and will continue to be a Tebowmaniac until dude is running the team and proves us all wrong. Lefties are lemon lime all-stars and there is nothing this right handed world can do to stop the south paw movement of greatness, that covers this incredible planet like a nice fuzzy warm blanket. Admit it, even left handed bowlers look smoother on the alley…Nothing we can do. If I had the option I would have left handed key boards required in every office. Don’t get me started on hanging clothes in the closet. So, I am testing our new on-line upload system  site. I hope it reads well, and if any readers of the black have suggestions, comments or inquiries. Do not hesitate to give a little feedback.

I’ll holla,

MeowwwwT

Mercury the planet of communication went retrograde on August 20, so it’s time to review, reorganize and repair. Be prepared for delays, misunderstandings and mishaps in communications and travel. This is a good time to fine tune and refine projects that we have all ready started on. It’s a good time to give the rational mind some rest and trust our intuition. Mercury goes direct September 13.

Mars and Venus are still together in Libra which means relationships of all kinds are very important to us now. Romance is also in the air!

August 26 – 27: On Thursday and Friday we are feeling feisty and ready to try something new. (Moon in Aries aspects Uranus, Jupiter, Pluto and Saturn.)

August 28: On Saturday we want to try something new in our relationships or meet new people. We are feeling romantic, social and friendly. (Moon in Aries opposing Mars and Venus.)

August 29-30: On Sunday and Monday we want to be comfortable and enjoy sensual pleasures. That also includes being out doors in beautiful Nature. (Moon in Taurus.)

August 31: Most of Tuesday is another mellow day. In the evening, when the Moon moves into Gemini, things speed up and we want to explore and study.

September 1: On Wednesday we are researching and exploring. There is a danger of misunderstandings and mistakes in communications, so double check your facts. (Moon in Gemini squaring Mercury retrograde in Virgo.)

September 2: We are feeling flirty and social on Thursday.  Good day for romance and fun with friends. (Moon in Gemini trines Mars, Venus and Neptune.)

September 3: We are getting new insights into how we can improve our work and relationships. It’s Friday and Labor Day Weekend starts. We want to be with friends and family. (Moon in Cancer aspects “the cardinal cross”, Sun meets up with Mercury.)

September 4: On Saturday we want to enjoy friendships, family and romance. We are also going through a healing in our relationships (Neptune and Chiron trine Venus.)

September 5-6: On Sunday and Monday we continue to have a good time. We are feeling playful and creative. (Moon in Leo.)

September 7: Back to work on Tuesday. We are not so sure about our relationships in the morning. Maybe it’s time to say goodbye? (Uranus in hard aspect to Venus.)

September 8: There is a New Moon in Virgo on Wednesday. It’s  a new beginning for organizing our work and daily schedule.We also want to be sure to take care of our health with good diet, exercise and relaxation.

Venus, the planet of love and money, moves out of pleasant Libra and into deep and passionate Scorpio. This means that our relationships take on a more committed and serious tone over the next weeks. We might not get what we want right away (due to a hard aspect between Jupiter and Venus on Wednesday), but later we’ll get something even better…

Also today Jupiter backs into Pisces until January of 2011. Jupiter will meet up with Uranus during this time. The two consciousness expanding planets are now back in Pisces. This means that we will be more interested in spirituality, art, nature and beautiful things. We will be more sensitive than usual, so good idea to avoid harsh environments. We will be more intuitive and psychic than usual, and we will much appreciate love and gentleness.  We might also want to study metaphysics or any of the intuitive arts during this time.

Lena is available for personal astrology readings, massage and healing sessions. She appreciates your comments and feedback.  You can reach her at lenasteed@comcast.net and 970-879-2444.  www.lenahealingarts.com

While beautiful and intriguing, some may want to learn a little more about the significance of the mandala itself. The sand mandala created at the library represented the symbolic ‘pure realm’ of Avalokiteshvara (Tibetan -Chenrezig). According to Buddhist legend, Avalokiteśvara is a bodhisattva (noble being) who vowed to heed the prayers of all beings in times of difficulty, and to postpone his own enlightenment until all beings had achieved nirvana. Hence, Avalokiteśvara, embodies the compassion of all the buddhas; past present and future. From a more subtle point of view, he represents the fundamental wisdom and compassion that abides as the basic nature of each of us.

The mandala represents the universe as perceived by an enlightened mind. Every aspect of the mandala has meaning: the four outer walls of the palace, colored white, yellow, red, green, and blue, represent faith, dilligence, recollection, meditation, and wisdom. The four gates, at the center of each of the four walls, represent the ‘four boundless attitudes’ of love, compassion, joy, and equanimity. Avalokiteshvara sits at the center of his world emanating compassion and protection for all. Indeed, the name Avalokiteshvara itself means ‘The one who continually looks upon all beings with compassion’. Avalokiteshvara is seated on a moon disc, symbolizing the illusory nature of all appearance, and a lotus, symbolizing compassion. He holds a jewel in his hands representing the pure nature of mind and wears an antelope skin around his right shoulder, symbolizing non-violence. Avalokiteshvara is imagined reciting the mantra ‘Om Mani Padme Hum’ which purifies negativity of mind and brings forth it’s innate quantities of wisdom and compassion. On the perimeter of the mandala is a ring of fire, which burns away confusion. While visualizing the mandala the meditator brings to mind and embodies the symbolic truths depicted. Finally, the dispersion of the mandala represents the impermanent nature of all things.

It is believed that simply seeing the mandala brings about a subtle transformation of peace and well-being to the observer, and the surrounding environment.

With the departure of the monks, we’re left to appreciate again the power and beauty of a life dedicated to goodness, not just that of the Drepung monks, but of anyone dedicated to the benefit of all, regardless of their particular faith, or way of life.

I was stunned the first time I saw the sculpture. I couldn’t get over how big and beautiful it is.

Maybe Michelangelo was playing games making it 17 feet tall, given that David was supposed to be the shrimp and Goliath the big guy. It makes you wonder how tall terrible Goliath must have been.

Along with his size, David’s perfect anatomy, the muscle, bone and veins that render him so lifelike, make it easy to understand why Michelangelo needed three years to complete the sculpture, and that the effort was one of love and respect for the human body.

My best sense of what he may have been thinking while chipping away at that giant block of marble is in a poem written much more recently, by Gregory Corso: “Last night the night at its nightest/the full moon a starless space/as sure as snow beneath snow is whitest/so shall the god surface the human face.”

This time around, I felt relieved seeing the work again. I turned a corner and there it was the centerpiece down at the end of a long room. From that distance, taking in its harmonies was instant and satisfying. One look at the crude copies that abound makes clear how good the real thing is.

Lots of interpretations exist about what’s going on, mostly because, unlike other works by Donatello and Verrocchio,  David isn’t  stepping on Goliath’s severed  head in a victory pose or holding it, dripping blood, as in Caravaggio’s savage painting.

Some art scholars see Michelangelo’s David marching off to battle, brimming over with courage and pride. But I like the interpretation printed on the base of the sculpture, saying Michelangelo’s David is the youth after he’s won, and that far from being cocky, he knows how lucky he’s been.

That’s my kind of David, a tough kid, proud he didn’t chicken out, who knows he’s lucked out.

I watched lots of people coming in to get a first glimpse of the statue. Many were not as enthralled as I was. Florence practically obligates you to get into “been there, done that” art appreciation mode, dulling the senses. Plus it was stifling hot.

However, one young woman who came in looked up and lit up all over when she saw the sculpture. I could read her lips saying, “Wow!” as she stumbled forward to get close. There she was, my kind of girl.

When I was a kid (back in the dark ages), we had programs in our schools that taught us respect for the land and for others. I can remember Woodsy Owl, a Forest Service friend of Smokey the Bear, coming to our classroom to teach us to “Give a hoot. Don’t pollute.” “Leave a place better than you found it” became a mantra. My parents were adamant that each of us Allens pick up litter whenever we saw it, to make the world a better place.

Litter is a huge problem in Steamboat Springs and Routt County. While we have the Zero Waste initiative at our free concerts, Yampa Valley Recycles to remind us to separate trash and recyclables, and the Yampa Valley Sustainability Council to teach us about energy savings and thinking twice about our choices and their impacts on our environment, we still have a problem with everyday litter. What makes it ok to toss beverage containers out of car windows, or drop cigarette butts on the sidewalk when you are done with that smoke? Who do you think is going to pick it up? Your mother doesn’t follow you around all day picking up after you. You should feel guilty for expecting someone else to clean up your mess.

Sure, Steamboat and Routt County have clean up days in the spring to prepare for our summer guests. But what about the rest of the year? The trash in the grass along highway 40 between town and the mountain is awful. Going west of Steamboat, past Lincoln Park, there is trash everywhere. My family cleaned that section of road during the spring cleanup for Routt County, and it now looks like it was never done. We filled 6 of those huge orange bags doing the section from Dream Island to the Stockbridge Center and back. How would you not know that the computer desk you were throwing out was no longer in the back of your truck? And, if it did fall out accidentally, wouldn’t you go back and pick it up? Sheesh!

Our guests comment on how dirty Steamboat Springs is. I hear it often. If you were in Seattle, you would notice how clean it is. The people in Seattle have undergone a cultural shift. They go the extra mile to recycle, dispose of trash properly, respect the land. We can do that too.

We live in a beautiful place. We are proud to live here. We enjoy nature all around us as do the guests who come here. We all must take care of this place we love so much. If you see litter, please bend over and pick it up. It’s good for your waistline. Please put that spent cigarette butt in your pocket until you can find a suitable place to dispose of it. Don’t throw trash in the back of your truck. Use the recycle bins on Lincoln Ave (and everywhere else) for your recyclables. Please take responsibility for your trash and the thoughtless trash of others. And PLEASE, encourage your friends to do the same.

Experts say the panicked reaction comes from an ancient impulse that perceives danger and reacts to survive. There’s neither clear thinking nor humility behind the instinct. The tendency is to conform and copy what others are doing even if that’s crazy. Stampedes are minds gone astray, literally being scared out of your wits.

For all the trouble we take to elevate ourselves above beasts, human stampedes show we may be kidding ourselves. Maybe it’s not for nothing that Spain’s Pamplona event is called “Running with the Bulls” and not away from them.

The closest I’ve come to such a situation was in a crowd outside a big stadium as a Bruce Springsteen concert was about to start. Somebody threw a firecracker into the air. You could almost feel everyone shift from thinking firecracker to thinking gunshot. Suddenly there was a human tsunami rolling right at me with no choice but to flee. Luckily, unlike in the tunnel at Duisburg, there was plenty of space to disperse.

The love in Love Parade probably is a nod to the memory of Woodstock, where, against great odds, including awful weather, almost nothing went wrong. That concert remains an amazing tribute to human good will.  It’s tempting to make comparisons to something lost regarding a sense of community in the forty odd years that have passed between then and the Love Parade, but the relevant connection to Woodstock is simply that, there, the crowd tore down the fences to get in. Even if people had spooked, nobody was squeezed in.

The Altamont concert is a dark memory of a music festival gone bad. There, Hell’s Angels in charge of security killed a guy with a billiard cue while The Rolling Stones were performing. That wasn’t crowd panic but it did have something to do with a bad vibe that was building. The smart money is on staying alert enough to sense trouble and head for the hills when it’s in the air.

More than ever, music today takes the listener far away, and more than ever, young people are ready to go.  The crowd control experts say to leave something awake inside yourself at concerts,  enough to sense if something is out of whack before a stampede explodes, and to mentally register where the exits are, just in case. That’s a large order when someone is stoned to the gills and only wants to go with the flow. Still, risking being crushed if chaos breaks out isn’t worth it.

There’s an idea that young crowds bring something to these huge music events to define them and make history. The Monterey Pop festival is where rock showed folk who’s boss. Some say rock went downhill from then on. Woodstock was peace and love and Altamont made clear that nothing lasts forever. Ultimately, the disaster at the Love Parade was due to greediness and poor planning by the concert organizers, Duisburg’s mayor and its PR man, and by the incompetence of the police. Duisburg will be remembered not for what young people brought to it but for the price they paid because older people let them down.

It’s Mid-June, 2009, early in the morning. I set up the shot glass and pour the brown, very aromatic liquid until it reaches the 30ml mark…no need to waste.

Some settled tap water was transferred into the watering container last night. I pour it back and forth one extra time to add a tad of oxygen and to it and mix it up good. The ph & ppms, are lookin’ good. BananaKush, Quail, GrapefruitSourDiesel aka SourFruit…just to name a few, all look back at me with 3-week-old hungry buds.

The timer hits the morning click, the garden slowly fires up. Exhaust fans kick on. One thousand watt bulbs are bit slower to rise. The little area grows as bright as the noon day sun…seems even brighter, but is not quite. Pretty soon, I’m wearing my sunglasses and the shot glass is not being filled for my own consumption. It’s a HydroFarm shot glass, with measuring increments… Earth Juice Bloom & Catalyst. A little Cal Mag. Not much else.

Walking inside my house, I feel better now knowing they are eating….now I can eat breakfast and continue planning my new business, as I get ready to go to my 9-5, 40hr/week job. I was beginning a new career. One of my own making.

My plan was to offer a “co-op” model dispensary incorporating local caregivers by giving them a place to legally get rid of their extra, top-shelf, home-grown medicine. There were no dispensaries in Steamboat at that time, but I knew I couldn’t be the only person with the idea. I quickly found out I was not.

Watching 2 other dispensaries open their doors in Steamboat was encouraging. The City Council was aware of my desire to open up my business, and I went ahead and rented an office in October for the future of the business. During this time, the Council looked into the way “co-ops” in California work and noticed they are Non-Profits.
As the third dispensary, organizing as a Non-Profit Co-op became my only choice. I researched the difference between an LLC and Non-Profit Cooperative Association (which is not extremely complicated) and created Natural Choice Co-op. Shortly after this time, I received the application from the City via email and noticed that a couple other people also received the email. Being that my idea was to group together as many caregivers as possible, I asked these other folks to pool together with me. One person took up my offer and became a partner, and we opened our doors in what we thought was a nice discreet and private location.

As the patient base in NW Colorado rapidly expanded, we noticed our small office was barely sufficient to handle the demand of our community. Our presence became quite obvious when we finally opened. We quickly began to think of new options for our business. These new options soon became our ONLY options. A new law was forming and we were watching it with baited breath. As all you cardholders are aware, Colorado House Bill 1284 and State Bill 109 became law in Colorado this past Spring. HB1284 is intense, comprehensive and all-encompassing, with it’s deadlines for application approval, which have mostly come and passed at this point, every single MMC owner across the State had a stressful July. All dispensaries, now called Medical Marijuana Centers(MMC) have to have completed a Business Application with the State disclosing their ownership status.

Caregivers can now only cultivate the plants for up to 5 patients in their homes and, as of August 1st, 2010, they are not allowed to sell their extra product to MMC’s, but are allowed to call their garden an Accessory Home Occupation (not for profit). If you notice, this means that these home occupational caregivers will soon have no outlet to sell their extra product to MMC’s.
So far, when asked about this, the State has responded that these caregivers are to “dispose” of the extra medicine. Where do they do this?….In a trash can?…In a bonfire?

In light of the new laws, Natural Choice Co-op has changed slightly, we found a new office, better suited for our retail location (1707 Copper Ridge Spur Unit A) that will work nicely for us, while we find the ultimate, permanent home for Natural Choice. As a “co-op” we were hoping to help local caregivers with an outlet for their medicine, but soon we will not be able to offer that service. Natural Choice Co-op is doing business under our register trade name “Natural Choice” and we have approached the City Council about the fact that the new law inhibits us from truly functioning as a “co-op” and we are in the planning stages of converting to an LLC upon the City’s approval.

We are currently the only Non-Profit MMC in the entire State. We have a plan to build our approved M.I.P.’s kitchen in the coming year, which we plan to create some unique infused products unattainable anywhere else in the State, for our Center and for wholesale purchase to select MMC’s. Natural Choice’s cultivation premise and kitchen, just like all other MMC’s, are private, wholesale operations with no retail foot traffic from these locations and any future employees of all MMC’s will be required to undergo a background check also.

In the coming year, Natural Choice will continue to offer a wide variety of medicinal marijuana in all it’s healthiest forms. Myself and our owners are striving everyday to make the most prudent choicest for our businesses future. We allowed ourselves a slow start to overcome many of the obstacles without wasting any precious business funds. If you are a cardholder in Steamboat and you have not heard of Natural Choice, please come see us. We are open to all patients, not just those who have signed us up as their MMC. Anyone can come check us out.

Natural Choice hasn’t been Steamboat’s Best Kept Secret for no reason. We have finally gotten to the point in our existence where we are prepared to handle the masses. We are hosting our Grand Re-Opening 2 Week Medstravaganza until August 20th with new products and new strains hitting the shelf daily!!

See our very informative website at naturalchoicemmj.com.

Greetings to all the current and prospective Medical Marijuana patients in Routt County and beyond. A couple of your friendly corner dispensary owners are teaming up with The Local to help bring insight to, and answer your questions about, our green scene.

While I anticipate much ink being spilled in this column on growing techniques, methods etc; My focus this issue will be on basic Medical Marijuana law and what YOU, the patient, needs to do to remain legal.

The medicinal use of cannabis was legalized at the state level by the voter-approved Amendment 20 in November of 2000. Patients-in-need from here on out could legally, so far as Colorado law was concerned, be recommended cannabis as a viable treatment plan by a licensed physician. However, it was not until the Obama administration took office and Atty. General Eric Holder stated publicly that federal agencies would no longer raid medical marijuana centers operating legally under state law, that Colorado’s MMJ industry took the shape we see today.

But, as is often the case with high-profile, media-friendly, headline-grabbing issues, our elected state legislators could not leave Amendment 20 well enough alone to guide our needs. And this past spring, the Colorado General Assembly passed two sweeping bills designed to regulate both the operational and diagnostic sides of MMJ. You can reference both of these bills at http://www.leg.state.co.us/ Search for HB 1284 and SB 109. You can also access all the required documents to complete an MMJ application packet at http://www.cdphe.state.co.us/hs/medicalmarijuana/index.html

So today, let’s just cover the basics. To become a legal MMJ patient in this state you must:

• Make and appointment with and receive a “Physician Recommendation” from a licensed M.D. or D.O.
• Complete a “Medical Marijuana Registry Application Form”
• Transmit these documents, along with a $90 check or money order, by a verifiable means (do this via USPS certified mail) to the Colorado CDPHE within sixty days of you doctor’s appointment.

My friends, please re-read the above three points. You are liable for arrest on a marijuana-related charge if you are contacted by a law enforcement official and do not have in your possession a copy of all three documents…..broken record time, here- HAVE YOUR PROOF OF TRANSMITTAL TOO!

A couple rules have changed, as well, regarding “caregiving.” A private individual may no longer care-give for more than five people and if one so chooses to name a caregiver, he and said individual or dispensary now “share” those famous six plants. Gone are the days where each entity could grow six concurrently.

Lastly- while it has always been illegal to consume or be under the influence of marijuana when driving, pen has now been put to paper making it illegal to ever consume MMJ in a vehicle or boat. This applies even when you are a passenger, keys aren’t in the ignition, etc. etc. Don’t make the mistake many have in assuming that an MMJ license gives one carte blanche to medicate anywhere, anytime. Your best bet is to practice the same discretion that has always been advisable, ie. keep those pipes and bags stashed….Out of sight, out of the officer’s mind.

Remember, the better you can protect your rights, the better you may assert them when necessary.