Rollinger recently experienced end-of-life issues with two family members and questioned whether their last days would have been easier with marijuana rather than the massive doses of morphine that failed to ease the pain.
Marijuana has long been touted for easing the effects of cancer treatments, but the difficulty in preventing the abuse of the marijuana providers by young people or pushers outweighed Rollinger’s compassion for the ill.
Jim Hursh, founder of a nonprofit, 21-member collective looking for a location, cited his wife’s debilitating migraines eased by marijuana as an example of the benefits of the dispensaries.
“We have three daughters, and we understand the reasons for the concern of the community,” Hursh said. “However, people like my wife and many others with various ailments desperately need a venue that is safe, secure and regulated to obtain the medication so that she can continue to be a productive member of society.”
Mayor Kelly Boyd reported reading an ad in a local paper offering free delivery of medical marijuana.
“I don’t see any reason to have dispensaries in Laguna, now or in the future,” Boyd said.
Support for the dispensaries was also voiced by Scott Monte, president of Evergreen Health Alliance, who wanted to open his first dispensary in Laguna, and Sheridan Linehan, who told planning commissioners in May that he would like to open two cooperatives in Laguna. Both men supported the sale or sharing of “edibles” seasoned with marijuana if the council had approved the dispensaries.
