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.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
6:45 AM, and it does not seem as though we have time to do all the things that need doing. I am sure that is for everyone in this crazy fast world, but it sure applies with us and our new business.
It has been one hell of a ride so far, and both Kim and I have come to realize that we are pioneers in a new field that has some huge implications for so many. As in all matters, there will always be grey, but this business seems to bring out much of the black and white as well. People have been most opinionated on both sides of the arguements of medical marijuana, and the passion in many cases is to the extreme.
We have been more than pleasently surprised at what we have found after opening our little business, and it is with these feelings that we keep stepping forward to make this business successful. To a person, both young and old, pained and emotional, male and female, as well as advantaged, and not so advantaged; all we have met, we like immensely. Our patients have already become part of our family, and I believe with many, we have become part of them as well. It is about providing a very unique product, with most unique properties, and we have seen amazing results that have absolutely helped these people. There have been only good and great stories of the many we have already helped, and it is truly dissappointing to know how many others have judged what we are doing without realizing the benefits that this medication provides.
I do not want to get on a high horse and preach to all, but I think we have seen so much incredible positives in providing relief to so many, that I want to explain a bit of what we have seen and felt.
We have an HIV positive patient that came to us walking with two canes, and needing help to sit. He cannot stand for more than a couple of minutes at a time, and unfortunately is in constant pain. We spent about two hours with him, just listining to his story, and helping him with the medication we thought might be best. The next day, he called to thank us for the first full nights sleep he received in 2 years.
A young college boy with a terrible back came in and you could see by the way he walked and stood, that his pain was more than uncomfortable. He wanted to study for school, but the prescription meds given to him by his physician made it impossible for him to focus on what was necessary, but our medication was such that it relieved his pain, but gave him enough awareness that now he could study and perform as well.
How many young adults, and for that mannor, undiagnosed adults suffer from some form of ADD, anxiety, emotional stress, or something similar. Our medications can help relieve all of these difficult disorders but without any of the side effects that many prescription meds seem to impart on those who take them. With a bit of experience and mental focus, most all can function similarily to what they need, but now have the internal or physical relief that they need.
Well, have to go again--- running late for a date.
It has been one hell of a ride so far, and both Kim and I have come to realize that we are pioneers in a new field that has some huge implications for so many. As in all matters, there will always be grey, but this business seems to bring out much of the black and white as well. People have been most opinionated on both sides of the arguements of medical marijuana, and the passion in many cases is to the extreme.
We have been more than pleasently surprised at what we have found after opening our little business, and it is with these feelings that we keep stepping forward to make this business successful. To a person, both young and old, pained and emotional, male and female, as well as advantaged, and not so advantaged; all we have met, we like immensely. Our patients have already become part of our family, and I believe with many, we have become part of them as well. It is about providing a very unique product, with most unique properties, and we have seen amazing results that have absolutely helped these people. There have been only good and great stories of the many we have already helped, and it is truly dissappointing to know how many others have judged what we are doing without realizing the benefits that this medication provides.
I do not want to get on a high horse and preach to all, but I think we have seen so much incredible positives in providing relief to so many, that I want to explain a bit of what we have seen and felt.
We have an HIV positive patient that came to us walking with two canes, and needing help to sit. He cannot stand for more than a couple of minutes at a time, and unfortunately is in constant pain. We spent about two hours with him, just listining to his story, and helping him with the medication we thought might be best. The next day, he called to thank us for the first full nights sleep he received in 2 years.
A young college boy with a terrible back came in and you could see by the way he walked and stood, that his pain was more than uncomfortable. He wanted to study for school, but the prescription meds given to him by his physician made it impossible for him to focus on what was necessary, but our medication was such that it relieved his pain, but gave him enough awareness that now he could study and perform as well.
How many young adults, and for that mannor, undiagnosed adults suffer from some form of ADD, anxiety, emotional stress, or something similar. Our medications can help relieve all of these difficult disorders but without any of the side effects that many prescription meds seem to impart on those who take them. With a bit of experience and mental focus, most all can function similarily to what they need, but now have the internal or physical relief that they need.
Well, have to go again--- running late for a date.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
And it keeps on going
So we sold our business and our house in Sanford, FL and said good-bye to some of the best friends and family anyone could ever have, and made our move to the beautiful city of Denver. We owned a Medispa that was only open for 2 years, but the friends we accumulated from there was truly amazing. To a person they were the warmest, nicest, and most fun people we could ever imagine, and truthfully, if there are any regrets we have, even now, are the many friendships we had in Florida, that are a bit difficult to maintain. The good news in this, is that my wife and our many friends still stay in touch, and will visit us at our new home here in Colorado.
In the Meantime however, we had to get to CO to get involved in this new and exciting business, so we loaded up the van, followed in a truck, and sped out of town in Sept of 09. We headed to Pensacola to say Hi and good-bye to our family there, as that is where my wife was born and bred. Well, the truck would not go over 60, a wiper blade was broken, the headlight slightly bent, and the window had a leak. This trip was not going to be the fun we thought it would be, and it would only get worse.
My son and his sister went to a beach bar in Pensacola the night before we were leaving for CO., and a drugged drink meant for our daughter Colby, was injested by Chase our son. He had no idea, but the boy passed out on the way home at 1 in the morning, and we had to take him to the hospital the next morning, where he was found to be dehydrated and drugged by someone at the bar. Six others had the same drug given to him said the ER in Gulf Breeze, but thank God, he was okay, as we got on the road just one day late.
This was a bump in the road on our cross-country road trip, as we soon realized there would be quite a few more bumps. Problems with the truck, spending the night in Tornado alley in Kansas, and the crowning jewel of the bummer trip, was when our truck gave out in the middle of Kansas on Hwy 70 with semi's going by at 80 and my wife panicking because of it.
We called Budget customer service, and each call was worse than the previous, with nothing getting done by anyone, and the name customer servive really coming into question. Finally a 12 year old mechanic (or so we thought)came out to help us, and after 2 trips back to nowhere for parts that wouldn't work, he towed the truck to the booming metropolis of Hayes, Kansas (Hayes??).
We had dinner, stayed the night in this wild and crazy town 9watching cable), and woke up to find that nobody could fix the truck. They wanted to send us back 100 miles to a bigger city, or send another truck to us and have it reloaded, but after some crazy and explicit conversation, they decided to tow us 300 miles to Denver.
so what does this have to do with the Dispensary Diaries. not much, but it sure was an interesting story for us, and realistically a fine beginning to what began as a long road to a very interesting change of career.
I will fill you in on more as we go, but for now we are out. Bye
In the Meantime however, we had to get to CO to get involved in this new and exciting business, so we loaded up the van, followed in a truck, and sped out of town in Sept of 09. We headed to Pensacola to say Hi and good-bye to our family there, as that is where my wife was born and bred. Well, the truck would not go over 60, a wiper blade was broken, the headlight slightly bent, and the window had a leak. This trip was not going to be the fun we thought it would be, and it would only get worse.
My son and his sister went to a beach bar in Pensacola the night before we were leaving for CO., and a drugged drink meant for our daughter Colby, was injested by Chase our son. He had no idea, but the boy passed out on the way home at 1 in the morning, and we had to take him to the hospital the next morning, where he was found to be dehydrated and drugged by someone at the bar. Six others had the same drug given to him said the ER in Gulf Breeze, but thank God, he was okay, as we got on the road just one day late.
This was a bump in the road on our cross-country road trip, as we soon realized there would be quite a few more bumps. Problems with the truck, spending the night in Tornado alley in Kansas, and the crowning jewel of the bummer trip, was when our truck gave out in the middle of Kansas on Hwy 70 with semi's going by at 80 and my wife panicking because of it.
We called Budget customer service, and each call was worse than the previous, with nothing getting done by anyone, and the name customer servive really coming into question. Finally a 12 year old mechanic (or so we thought)came out to help us, and after 2 trips back to nowhere for parts that wouldn't work, he towed the truck to the booming metropolis of Hayes, Kansas (Hayes??).
We had dinner, stayed the night in this wild and crazy town 9watching cable), and woke up to find that nobody could fix the truck. They wanted to send us back 100 miles to a bigger city, or send another truck to us and have it reloaded, but after some crazy and explicit conversation, they decided to tow us 300 miles to Denver.
so what does this have to do with the Dispensary Diaries. not much, but it sure was an interesting story for us, and realistically a fine beginning to what began as a long road to a very interesting change of career.
I will fill you in on more as we go, but for now we are out. Bye
Monday, February 1, 2010
Our next post
So now it seems we should continue the story of how we all got involved in this crazy new business. While I want to share this story from the beginning, I may have to stop at certain points, as there are too many amazing stories coming in to our business on an almost every day basis. My wife has become a believer, and that alone is amazing as she is white bread from Pensacola, and barely knew what grass was before we got started.
But let’s get back to the beginning of sorts. My wonderful nephew, Steve, has always had a love affair with marijuana, and even with the illegal implications, it never stopped him from partaking and enjoying. He got involved in growing it, and has become an expert in so many aspects of what, how, and where. It is quite amazing. What is probably the most interesting part of this, is that he is a great young man, with a passion for life and also this medicine, and I can tell you from the fact that I have known him all his life, that it is this medication that has helped him stay mentally normal for most of his life. His personality is such that he really does need this to help him get through life. He works very well, converses well, and emotionally gets by, and it is because of medical marijuana, that his life is what it is. I am not sure when he came to this realization, but those who know him best, realize he is better because he uses this medication.
So when he heard that Colorado was opening up to the legalization, cultivation, and distribution of medical marijuana, he packed his bags, went to visit his brother who was already living there, and has never left. Research, attorneys, real estate, a house in the mountains, and soon, work was begun with a passion.
Now my wife’s son, who is now my son, has lived in Co for about 4 years, and when he ran into my nephew, a relationship and bond was established. He too has found that MM has helped him quite a bit as well, as he is typically a bit nervous and antsy. The medicine keeps him more stable, and interestingly a bit more focused as well. He can control this, and though he may use it a bit for the pleasure side of things as well, he is in control of what he does about 99 % of the time.
His involvement was to help distribute, and help in the growing process, and with a mutual passion, the two, and a few more, got started on this revolutionary road.
Well shortly thereafter, our son called us, and offered us an opportunity to come out to Co and open a medical marijuana dispensary. And that is where it all began.Now we are here, and the story just keeps getting better, as we have new state regulations, new city regulations, and 400 new dispensaries that have just recently opened up in this wonderful town of Denver.
But let’s get back to the beginning of sorts. My wonderful nephew, Steve, has always had a love affair with marijuana, and even with the illegal implications, it never stopped him from partaking and enjoying. He got involved in growing it, and has become an expert in so many aspects of what, how, and where. It is quite amazing. What is probably the most interesting part of this, is that he is a great young man, with a passion for life and also this medicine, and I can tell you from the fact that I have known him all his life, that it is this medication that has helped him stay mentally normal for most of his life. His personality is such that he really does need this to help him get through life. He works very well, converses well, and emotionally gets by, and it is because of medical marijuana, that his life is what it is. I am not sure when he came to this realization, but those who know him best, realize he is better because he uses this medication.
So when he heard that Colorado was opening up to the legalization, cultivation, and distribution of medical marijuana, he packed his bags, went to visit his brother who was already living there, and has never left. Research, attorneys, real estate, a house in the mountains, and soon, work was begun with a passion.
Now my wife’s son, who is now my son, has lived in Co for about 4 years, and when he ran into my nephew, a relationship and bond was established. He too has found that MM has helped him quite a bit as well, as he is typically a bit nervous and antsy. The medicine keeps him more stable, and interestingly a bit more focused as well. He can control this, and though he may use it a bit for the pleasure side of things as well, he is in control of what he does about 99 % of the time.
His involvement was to help distribute, and help in the growing process, and with a mutual passion, the two, and a few more, got started on this revolutionary road.
Well shortly thereafter, our son called us, and offered us an opportunity to come out to Co and open a medical marijuana dispensary. And that is where it all began.Now we are here, and the story just keeps getting better, as we have new state regulations, new city regulations, and 400 new dispensaries that have just recently opened up in this wonderful town of Denver.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Let's be creative
Yea,
We probably should have started writing this before, but my wife and I are in day 35 of starting our new Medical Marijuana Dispensary with our son.
Who would have believed this would happen at all, let alone to us. It has been an exciting ride, and the stories are getting better, and the reality of it all is more like a storybook.
Our background as a couple couldn't be more varied, but for our new business, I think we all bring a lot to the table.
My wife Kim is a southern belle from Pensacola, FL.. You can count on 2 fingers the number of times in her life she has tried marijuana in her first 50 years, that is before coming to Colorado. She still rarely lights up, but we have decided to try it to see if we can use if for sleep instead of Ambian, a prescription drug that has caused quite a few uncomforable side-effects. I have caught her walking, eating, and talking in her sleep on this medication, and we hear from many others that they too have had some bad effects from these little pills.
I too have used them in the past, and they worked pretty well, but since moving to the Denver area, I have tried substituting the MM, and have found this works as well, with no side effects. Yea! I am the first success story I have visibly seen, and I am becoming a big believer in this amazing medication.
Now my background is quite different from my wife's, as I am a child of the sixties and early 70's. I went to and graduated from University of Florida in 1972, so recreational drugs were a part of my life in those days. I smoked marijuana for years in my 20's and less so in my 30's. I would occasionally participate in my 40's, and by the time I got to the 50's, it was quite a small part of my life. I lived in Florida all those years, so the fact of doing something illegal did not sit well in regards to my professional life. So an occasional new year celebration, a birthday, or just the opportunity to hang with some of my young relatives gave me as much of the weed as I needed.
It was this past summer of 09 that we received a phone call from our son who was and still is living in the Denver area about the legalization of medical marijuana, and the fact that our nephew was going to be starting a grow operation that would be quite lucrative for those involved. As my nephew had a considerable amount of experience in the growing part of the business for a number of years previous, I had confidence that the whole ride could be very interesting. We were given the opportunity of moving out to Colorado and setting up the retail portion of this new and exciting business, and really had very little idea what we were in for.
Look for our next post as to our continuing path to this new and revolutionary venture, and the ups and downs that have occurred.
We probably should have started writing this before, but my wife and I are in day 35 of starting our new Medical Marijuana Dispensary with our son.
Who would have believed this would happen at all, let alone to us. It has been an exciting ride, and the stories are getting better, and the reality of it all is more like a storybook.
Our background as a couple couldn't be more varied, but for our new business, I think we all bring a lot to the table.
My wife Kim is a southern belle from Pensacola, FL.. You can count on 2 fingers the number of times in her life she has tried marijuana in her first 50 years, that is before coming to Colorado. She still rarely lights up, but we have decided to try it to see if we can use if for sleep instead of Ambian, a prescription drug that has caused quite a few uncomforable side-effects. I have caught her walking, eating, and talking in her sleep on this medication, and we hear from many others that they too have had some bad effects from these little pills.
I too have used them in the past, and they worked pretty well, but since moving to the Denver area, I have tried substituting the MM, and have found this works as well, with no side effects. Yea! I am the first success story I have visibly seen, and I am becoming a big believer in this amazing medication.
Now my background is quite different from my wife's, as I am a child of the sixties and early 70's. I went to and graduated from University of Florida in 1972, so recreational drugs were a part of my life in those days. I smoked marijuana for years in my 20's and less so in my 30's. I would occasionally participate in my 40's, and by the time I got to the 50's, it was quite a small part of my life. I lived in Florida all those years, so the fact of doing something illegal did not sit well in regards to my professional life. So an occasional new year celebration, a birthday, or just the opportunity to hang with some of my young relatives gave me as much of the weed as I needed.
It was this past summer of 09 that we received a phone call from our son who was and still is living in the Denver area about the legalization of medical marijuana, and the fact that our nephew was going to be starting a grow operation that would be quite lucrative for those involved. As my nephew had a considerable amount of experience in the growing part of the business for a number of years previous, I had confidence that the whole ride could be very interesting. We were given the opportunity of moving out to Colorado and setting up the retail portion of this new and exciting business, and really had very little idea what we were in for.
Look for our next post as to our continuing path to this new and revolutionary venture, and the ups and downs that have occurred.
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