and Prisoner Release
Reflections ~
Coupled with our ability to begin legitimate research, we are definitely headed in the right direction. With insurance cover-
Independence Day Good News
and Prisoner Release
by Dolores Halbin, RN, BSN, contributing writer
During the week of May 17, an impressive number of grassroots cannabis reform organizations gathered in Washington, DC, for a lobbying week, talking to as many lawmakers and deal breakers as possible about advancing reforms to get our cannabis plant prisoners home and to provide safe access to cannabis medicine for our Veterans, the elderly, and the suffering. One of the organizations in attendance,“ Freedom Grow, Bringing Light to a Dark Cell,” run by Executive Director Kristin Flor, is held near and dear to my heart.
Not everyone burned in battle; some signed on to fight the fire, but this young lady took up the torch and hasn’ t stopped for over a decade. We have remained together on the battlefield for over ten years. Freedom Grow is a grassroots, volunteer-driven 501( c)( 3) organization, founded in Washington State in 2015, in response to Flor’ s dad getting the death penalty for a plant, as did my husband, only weeks apart, due to medical neglect while in jail. Flor could do nothing but hold her father’ s hand as he died, his ankles chained to the hospital gurney.
Flor’ s mother was sentenced and served three years, even after her husband passed, over a state-legal dispensary. Young Lance Gore served a hard ten on the same federal charges, also in Washington State. So obviously, getting these federal reforms is critical to getting our families and friends home!
Freedom Grow secured the release of two more of our political plant prisoners last month. After serving eight years, Damen Winning has been released. And after six years in federal prison, Peter Mitev has come home to his family.
Here in Missouri, thanks to the incredible volunteer efforts of attorney Joani Harshman and legal expert and co-founder of the Canna Convict Project( CCP), Christina Frommer, the last of the Missouri inmates that CCP helped to secure their freedom was release this past winter. From the time CCP formed in 2016 to today, the efforts of these two women have saved over one hundred years of combined time for inmates. Before Amendment 3 offered expungement, CCP’ s legal efforts secured the release of nine men.
I will never forget watching a five-year-old girl run across the bus station parking lot and jump into her father’ s arms, knowing him only from Skype calls from prison. Let us not forget them.
Small Gains Federally, but Adding Up
Looking at aerial pictures of our nation’ s capital, I feel like I’ m seeing something out of Mad Max: Thunderdome. Coupled with the daily drama of Congress, the fact that anything is getting done in DC is miraculous, but I believe in miracles.
As rulings on hemp play out in our state, a similar battle is unfolding in DC, with attempts to recriminalize hemp written into this year’ s Farm Bill. The pushback, both state and federal, has been sharp and immediate. As I said last month, we are now paying attention and fully engaged in our future rights. Three GOP members have filed separate amendments opposing the recriminalization efforts tacked onto this year’ s federal Farm Bill. The likelihood that the attempted recriminalization succeeds is slim, given the strength of our forward momentum.
Medicare and the VA
Hopefully, the big winners this summer will be veterans. In May, an amendment was passed to allow military veterans to get medical cannabis. No one is paying for hemp / CBD yet, but we are getting there, both through the VA and Medicare.
Forbes reported on April 16, 2026, that Medicare is adding a hemp and CBD research program. Jessica Rendall of Forbes writes,“ The new program, called the Substance Access Beneficiary Engagement Incentive, is limited in scope and applies only to participants in certain Medicare models. Still, the pilot program, which the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services( CMS) called a‘ milestone,’ opens the door for doctors to have a more hands-on approach to patients who want alternative therapies, and mirrors a growing acceptance of CBD as a health and wellness product.”
32 JULY 2026