Cannabis expert hoping to pack the joint
Paul Stanford
Cannabis use for medicinal purposes has been going on since long before its recent Oregon legalization for recreational use, but there is still a lot that is not understood about its applications for groups like seniors, veterans and disabled Oregonians.
Compassionate Oregon, a non-profit formed to increase education about and access to medical marijuana, is holding a public educational forum at Chinook Winds Casino Resort this Saturday April 20.
“Our objective is to bring the attendees up to speed on medicinal uses, what to know when talking to your doctor and what to look for when purchasing medical marijuana,” said event moderator Anthony Taylor, an Air Force veteran who serves as the legislative director for Compassionate Oregon and chair of the Oregon Cannabis Commission and will moderate the panel during the event. “We have some very good presenters, like Janna Champagne, who is a retired nurse and a cannabinoid science professor. She’s actually quite young to have the word ‘retired’ in her title, but she has been doing a lot of work with the applications of cannabis for people with autism, and she found that retiring from nursing was the best way to keep moving forward with her work on that. That’s what her talk will be about.”
Keynote speaker Paul Stanford will deliver a talk titled “The History of Cannabis as Medicine and Why We Need it Today.”
Other speakers include Dr. Rachel Knox, MD, MBA, on the endocannabinoid system; Brenda Thomas, cannabis clinic owner on “How to become an OMMP patient;” and Michael Krawitz, executive director of Veterans for Medical Cannabis on “Access to Cannabis for Veterans.”
“Michael has been instrumental in getting the United Nations to move cannabis from the most to least dangerous category,” Taylor said. “We will also have a TED talk running that was given by Dr. Knox. We are also very excited that Miss Elvy Musikka is coming. She was the first ever federal medical cannabis patient for glaucoma treatment.”
The event will also include a silent auction, representatives from dispensaries and a few vendors.
“Smooth Roots in Lincoln City will have a table set up and a few others, too,” Taylor said. “Paul Stanford is also bringing his very cool collection of antique medicine bottles that had marijuana in the ingredients.”
Taylor, who has been lobbying on and off for cannabis reform since 1983, said that though his experience with the US Department of Veterans affairs has been positive, there are more avenues that can use more education.
“There are many positive applications for seniors,” he said. “We’d like this to be an alternative to opioid use at the end of life, for example. And for memory care patients, it reduces aggressiveness and agitation. That’s the kind of thing you will learn at the forum.”
The event runs from 4 to 8 pm at Chinook Winds Casino, located at 1777 NW 44th Street in Lincoln City. For more information, go to compassionateoregon.org.