the reality to sink in ; we ’ d lost my income , and he didn ’ t have one because he was mostly blind .
There was only one group online in 2014 , Show Me Cannabis , with one lone attorney advertising . We didn ’ t know ( foolishly ) if we ’ d need an attorney yet , but called Dan Viets just in case , who invited us to present at the Law Committee hearing on medical marijuana in Jefferson City the next day , April 1 .
We circled in for a landing , arriving a few minutes late after the seizure moms had started testifying . “ You ’ re up next ,” someone in charge told us . But Gene wouldn ’ t budge . “ If you think I ’ m going to get up there and complain about a ‘ little eye pain ’ after those moms , well , I won ’ t . You go fight for them , honey ,” he said , kissing my hand .
So , I did . I was especially hard on the asshole senator complaining about thirdhand smoke getting on his clothes . “ How can you possibly be focused on your overcoat in front of these children and their moms ?” I scolded , shaking my finger at him . I was wearing my white lab coat , a nurse ’ s suit of armor .
Don Bradley from the KC Star contacted us for an interview . After the local paper made us look like Al Capone , we thought maybe we could garner empathy from a broader audience . And we did — a lot of empathy , and not just locally . Over the next few days , empathy came in from around the world .
A memo marked urgent should go out to the recently busted : Warning ! Don ’ t kick the rattlesnake nest while you ’ re in it ! It turns out our nest of rattlesnakes was not fond of hate mail . In addition to sympathy , the world was angry — anger directly aimed at the Bates County Prosecuting Attorney ’ s office and the Drug Task Force members . the world in nine countries and as many languages . Why weren ’ t they talking about those little kids we met who need cannabis to live ?
The New Set of Clothes
Benevolence ended abruptly Thursday , April 4 , 2014 , at 9 a . m . when we were arrested , bonds set at $ 25,000 each . Round one in the pissing contest as to who was boss of us had begun .
Bond reduction hearings in Bates County are on Wednesdays , so short of some philanthropist coming out of the woodwork with $ 50 grand ; we were guaranteed seven days in jail , no matter what .
I got that new set of clothes , an orange jumpsuit ( my worst color ) in one size doesn ’ t fit anybody , which was irritating . Prisoners don ’ t see the sun in jail . Maybe that ’ s why we get stuck in orange , to look sunny . It doesn ’ t work .
My 60-year-old , mostly blind husband with diabetes and no criminal record was given a mat and placed in an occupied single cell , forced to sleep on the floor of the Bates County Jail for that week .
As with many of our frail , elderly patients , the home invasion , their medicine seized , their families left in ruins , jail , the whole experience proves too much for them .
Gene lived long enough to attend the first reorganized KCNORML meeting with Jamie Katz as our new president on September 27 , 2015 , also our 40th anniversary . He was having trouble walking , but when he finally got settled , he said five words , “ Do this for the children .” Gene died six weeks later , on Thanksgiving night , 2015 .
We ’ ve done well for the grown-ups this past decade . Now , in 2024 , old guys like Gene can grow their plants in peace and treat whatever ails them , and for that , I am grateful . However , there is still only a handful of hospitals in the U . S . where children can receive their necessary cannabis medicine .
Ten years later , I ’ m sure my husband is “ rolling in his grave ,” as my grandmother used to say , asking us , “ When are you going to do this for the children ?”
The Second Fortune Cookie
To love and be loved is
I ’ ve had a fortune cookie lying around here for weeks . The dogs and I opened it this 2024 morning . I get the fortune ; they get the cookie . It read ,
“ To love and be loved is like feeling the sun from both sides .”
We had that , Gene and I , and for this , I will remain forever grateful .
The phone calls began . First , from our niece in Tampa . “ You and Uncle Gene are on the front page of the paper !” Then from my brother in London — Awkward ! Me : Who died ? My brother : Sis , do you want to tell me why you and Gene are on the front page of The London Times ? Me : Well , not really .
Truth is , I didn ’ t know why the AP picked up Bradley ’ s article or why it traveled around
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 .
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