Dr . Lisa Roark — A Story to Tell
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that absolutely wants to micromanage every aspect of her patients ’ healthcare ( her words ), the couple applied for a dispensary license . This way , she could control access for her patients . Town Hall meetings changed to industry meetings , and Dr . Roark was starting to feel the loss of family time grow with each weekend gone .
“ As a reporter whose job it is to seek information and educate the public , the logical step was to reach out to medical professionals . I called five , but none of them would talk to me except Dr . Lisa Roark ,” Dembo writes of that interview .
“ When you first told me about medical marijuana , I did my own research . I learned how narcotics were the standard treatment for children with epilepsy but carried a Black Box warning ( can cause death ), but marijuana works and doesn ’ t kill anyone . I mistakenly assumed this research would immediately capture the medical community ’ s attention ,” explained Dembo . ( Clipping of that article above , courtesy Cassville Democrat .)
Right !!??
Street Cred
Everyone from SW Missouri has one point we all agree on ; we are hardheaded . But we also don ’ t like to be lied to . Dr . Roark hit the Town Hall circuit to extrapolate the truth of MM from Refer Madness . When she came out swinging , she will never know the sigh of relief those of us stuck working the trenches of District 7 had .
Dr . Roark opted out of HMO ’ s and nightmare hospital-owned practices in 2015 and opened her local clinic , Roark Family Medicine and Health Spa , in Cassville . She practices holistic medicine , teaches nutrition , and offers massages . She takes no insurance but instead charges a low monthly fee for unlimited services to her town folk . Dr . Roark is a hometown girl , born and raised in Cassville , the town doctor , and well-known and respected throughout her community for her impeccable integrity . And the townspeople showed up to hear what she had to say . Those meetings were packed , often with more than a hundred people .
She even held a final Town Hall in Cassville the night before elections , giving anyone in town the opportunity to come and ask questions , and that meeting was full .
The Larva — coming up with a plan .
On passage of A2 , none of us knew what dispensaries would look like , or how long they would take to open . Being the kind of physician
Dr . Lisa Roark ( on left ) and Alice Mangan , owner of Alice CBD , and veteran RN held a Town Hall in Cassville the night before 2018 elections . ( Photo courtesy Cassville Democrat )
With the campaign over , A2 passed , the application paperwork finished for the dispensary , Griff took his wife to Mexico for some much-needed R & R . However , the trip did not go as planned , and Dr . Roark experienced her first “ industry ” snake bit , followed by the next . Just for the record , I was done the day the “ leadership ” began to call cannabis an industry . She is a sacred plant , dammit , not an industry .
To be continued ...
Next month : the Industry , MS , and Quarantine . “ I had gotten off the plane from Mexico for treatment of MS . I was bald , sick , puffed up on steroids , and I had come back to a different world and quarantine ,” remembered Dr . Roark . “ I was standing in the parking lot of my clinic doing COVID testing , and one of my really sick , 70-year-old patients was refusing her test . I tore off my mask , my shield , my PPE , revealing my head full of stubby black hair , growing back like pubic hair . I told her to look at me . LOOK AT ME , I demanded . I do not take any government money . Not one dime . Do you really think I am going to insert a government chip in your nose ?”
Stay tuned until next month for more about his amazing story .
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 .
50 JULY 2023