I tapped Dr . Pertwee on the shoulder and said , “ Excuse me , Doctor ,” and passed him the joint . “ Why , thank you , nurse ,” he said . I felt like I had been abducted by aliens and taken to a better planet .
I reached up and put a hand over each of their heads . “ Are you alright , nurse ”? one of them asked me . I told them both I wanted what was in their brains . I had thought I knew a lot about cannabis until that day . I really did just want to osmose their knowledge , and I was pretty well medicated .
Moving Forward
We will assume our collective prayers I asked you all for last month will be answered before the June 9 – 11 , “ Patients Out of Time ” conference , and both Federal and the State of Kansas will have done the right thing and taken cannabis off the controlled substance list . I tell you right now , if this hasn ’ t happened by 4 / 20 / 2022 , I expect to be camping next to all of you on the Capitol lawn in Washington DC . Oh , and cannabis is legal there .
Part of the pending Kansas legislation is to treat cannabis as medicine , and if a physician is going to recommend the plant , the physician needs to know about the plant . Kansas will require their doctors to complete CEUs ( continue education units ) in cannabis medicine before they can write recommendations , and we will be right here to provide them . Patients Out of Time offers up to 13 hours of CEUs at the conferences , good for all healthcare providers , including doctors — again , with the serendipity .
We Have a Cannabis Army
I got a call from Mary Lynn while on the road home after stopping in St . Louis at BizCon . “ You guys have an army !” she exclaimed . And we do . I think , we don ’ t often realize this is something unique to Missouri . I don ’ t know how we did it or how it happened , but we have by far the most active and engaged with each other cannabis community in the United States .
Mayor Quentin Lucas has been a great help to us , along with an active , productive KC NORML Chapter . The mayor was willing to the speak truth and sign the decree decriminalizing cannabis in Kansas City , MO , which the awesome chapter of KC NORML had gotten on the ballot . Patients can attend the conference here without fear of getting arrested for using their medicine . However it occurred , we have something special , making us the perfect state to host this conference . Thanks to all of you who are already out there with boots on the ground .
If you are interested in helping , we have a Facebook page set up for the Patients Out of Time 2022 planning committee . We need restaurants that cater , musicians , drivers , vendors , and silent auction items ! It ’ s a really great opportunity for all of us to pitch in and shine the light on our state , our cannabis community , and to learn more than we thought possible about our sacred plant .
Dolores Montgomery Halbin , RN , BSN , and Ordained Nurse Minister resides in SW Missouri . After her husband passed in 2015 , she retired from nursing . She worked with the 2014-2018 Missouri campaigns for legalized medical marijuana . She continues as a cannabis reform activist volunteering with Canna Convict Project and working toward Federal decriminalization through educational speaking and freelance journalism . Dolores Halbin ,
doloreshalbin @ gmail . com .