The Medical Marijuana Effect

Story by Spencer Clifton | Photos & Design by Krista Kok

Smoke clouds billowed high above Seattle as Washington State’s Initiative 502 onmarijuana legalization and regulation went into effect in November 2012. As the growing recreational cannabis industry continues to be a thriving, yet heavily debated market in Washington, it may be easy for everyone to forget where marijuana reform started — medical marijuana.

Professional Opinions There were 42,997 patients registered in Washington State as medical marijuana users as of October 2019, according to the Washington State Department of Health. Each of these people turned to medical merijuana as a solution for varying health-related issues, whether it be mental or physical.

It is well-known that medical marijuana is used to help people with common mental health issues such

as anxiety or depression. Yet, Corey Gray, U.S. Army veteran and Washington resident, uses medical marijuana to help cope with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

“I’ve been using medical marijuana since about 2012,” says Gray. “I was anti-pot for 20 years until my psychiatrist [suggested] I try it for both the PTSD and the shaking that I was having, and it worked.”

Gray isn’t the only military veteran to benefit from using cannabis to treat his PTSD. Healthline states that “People who have PTSD but do not medicate with cannabis are far more likely to suffer from severe depression and have suicidal thoughts than those who reported cannabis use over the past year.” While smoking marijuana to treat PTSD might be a long-term solution for some, others are seeking short-term solutions to their health issues.

Mitchell Garrison, hematologist and oncologist at

Wenatchee Valley Clinic, has found that some of his cancer patients use cannabis, hoping to benefit from short-term use.

“We know that up to a third of our patients use it routinely,” says Garrison. “Appetite [stimulants] and anti-anxiety medications in cancer patients are common. I have a lot of patients that use it, not from my prescription, but I don’t have any problems if they do.”

Although Garrison sees cancer patients who use marijuana to help with their symptoms, he does not prescribe the medication in its traditional form. Instead, he prescribes a medication called Marinol which he says, in comparison to the marijuana plant, is “pharmaceutically made and not grown.”

Marinol is prescribed by Garrison because of its reliability in measuring doses and controlling what the patient is putting into their body. It “binds to cannabinoid receptors in the nervous system and is a synthetic THC cannabinoid,” says Garrison.

Despite this alternative, Garrison has found marijuana to be helpful for his patients when they have used it during his care. “The unfortunate side of this coin is people promote this as an anticancer medicine and they will forego cancer treatment with the substitute of marijuana therapy,” he says. Learning to use medical marijuana in capacities that do not interfere with outside medications or treatments may ensure better mental and physical safety.

The Industry Today It’s no secret that the marijuana industry has been growing, changing and evolving since I-502 was passed in Washington.

“When I started out, I was a medical patient and until Governor Inslee decided to [combine] recreational and medical together for the sake of profiteering, I was carded, I was licensed and I was growing for the medical community,” says Gray. But once the initiative passed in Washington, laws and regulations quickly started to change. “The way it is done now there is no sense in getting a card unless you are under 21 and in a medical need,” says Gray. Since the change of legal status in Washington, the testing standards for pesticides, fertilizers and grow operations have changed, according to Gray. He believes these changes have altered the products in stores so that they no longer suit his needs.

“I want something that was grown without chemical fertilizers,” explains Gray. “I had to know if it had been fertilized. I had to be able to know how it had been grown so … I can walk into a medical dispensary and I could say I have an issue with certain kinds of pesticides, or anything treated with those.”

Cory Smith, manager at The Farmacy, a marijuana dispensary in Astoria, Oregon believes this can be changed. “At The Farmacy we carry a number of different products that suit different people’s medical needs. Some products carry no THC … [only] CBD to account for people seeking pain relief.” THC is short for tetrahydrocannabinol and CBD is short for cannabidiol, both of which are natural compounds of the marijuana plant, according toHealthline. Smith notes that about half of the customers who come to his dispensary are lookingfor something to suit their medical needs.

“Part of our goal is to continue to have product that is suitable for our customers and meet their needs as patients,” Smith says. He explains that the medical needs of specificcustomers are important to the operation at his store.

Although Smith chooses to advocate for the medical needs of his customers, other dispensaries may not be as knowledgeable, especially since recreational marijuana has becomelegal.

Moving Forward Marijuana laws may continue to change in the years to come. Currently, some patients feel as if the direction of the industry is neither satisfactory nor favorable to the needs of medicalpatients. Addressing these changes, evaluating the stakeholders behind this industry and considering the perspectives of medical patients may allow people to better access the medicinethat they desire.