It is hard to believe that the legal use of medical cannabis will have been the law in Maryland for two years come this December. Compared to its progressive counterparts in the country, Annapolis lawmakers took a considerably longer time embracing the plant’s medicinal benefits despite substantial evidence documenting its extraordinary capacity to heal and comfort those in need.
There are a number of reasons for this tardiness, but the first is a long and painful history with drug problems in Maryland. It didn’t matter what kind of illegal substance it was, and communities only saw their devastating effects as the source of addiction, crime, and a host of other issues that destabilizing neighborhoods and destroyed families.
The other was that any kind of approved use would send a very mixed message to young people. Just when law enforcement leaders were warning their communities about cannabis being a “gateway” drug that led teenagers to far more dangerous and possibly fatal opioid abuse, it was hard to balance that danger with some possible benefits.
In the end, Maryland has joined 32 other states in the legal use of medical marijuana, but there remains a cloud over its use and application. Even with two dispensaries serving the Mid-Shore, a certain stigma still exists on its use and its users.
The Spy, in partnership with Hippocratic Growth, LLC, the owner of Ash+Ember of Centreville, believes it is important to help our readers understand more fully the use of the plant and how it may improve the lives of loved ones suffering from a variety of ailments.
We begin as the region ends its anti-opioid “Goes Purple” month of September with the counterintuitive use of cannabis to help addicts stop using these powerfully addicted and fatal drugs.
Ashley Herr, the co-founder of Ash+Ember, talks about this very misunderstood use for cannabis and the remarkable impact it is having on those struggling to end their addiction.
This video is approximately three minutes in length. For more information about Amber+Ash services, please go here. Disclosure: Chestertown Spy publisher and editor Steve Meehan is a principal in Hippocratic Growth, LLC.
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