Cannabis, Survival, and County Issues

I am writing in response to Michelle Kendall’s article, “Cannabis is Medicine.”

I live in unincorporated Carpinteria and am
a vocal and strong critic of the county’s scheme to regulate cannabis
operations, particularly in the three-plus square mile area of Carp Valley
along Foothill and Via Real. I also believe the current regulatory treatment of
medicinal cannabis for its future as an effective drug is counter-productive.

I am a 30-year survivor of stage 3 colon
cancer. I did not use cannabis but simultaneously with surgery at Stanford and
57 weeks of chemo, I found and continue several other methods to take some
level of personal control over my survival. I have a friend who is now a five-year
survivor of stage 4 breast cancer. At first independently and now under
supervision of her oncologists, she has used cannabis in conjunction with
“state of medicine” therapies. She also has a very deep faith.