Publius visits California

          After a short trip on BART, San Francisco's public transit system, we suddenly emerged in front of a building with the words - CHAMP, Service, Hope and Compassion - stenciled on the wall.

          As we walked through the wrought iron front door, Mike is into an amazing nonstop discourse about the requirements of membership to CHAMP: valid CA state ID Card or CA Driver's license, plus a valid Medical Cannabis User ID Card with the physician's statement having been presented to receive the cannabis card. - Remember, this is California, where cannabis is legal under Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act (1996) - so, being from Illinois, it felt like another world to me.

           Mike was on a roll as we climb the stairs - CHAMP is a member funded, member run, not for profit community wellness center - It is dedicated to the physical and mental health of the medical cannabis user - CHAMP believes medical necessity dictates that patients have safe access to cannabis - And that their cannabis be free of mold, mildew, and pesticides.

           We reach the top landing, and like he has recited a thousand times before, Mike points out the bulletin board and starts to answer the most commonly asked question before you have to ask: "The medicine provided by CHAMP is for medical use only and NOT for re-sale." A few introductions to the staff and we walk to the end of the counter. I try not to stare and be too obvious, or maybe it was just me, but I felt the most peaceful  feelings I've  ever experienced. This was no regular doctor's office. Here were comfortable chairs and couches, coffee tables with bowls filled with pretzels and popcorn and fresh fruit. There were a dozen or so people of various colors, ages and backgrounds sitting around chatting and enjoying one another's company. A woman nearby was preparing her meds to be used in a vaporizer - it looked like one of those Jiffy Pop bags - only filled with cannabinoids.

          Then I remembered that this was a medical club. It made me wonder what they were talking about. - Cancer? - Chemotherapy? - The death or well being of a friend?  With those thoughts on my mind a moment of sadness sets in - but up pops Mike again. "Want a drink?" he asks. I looked at the can of Ensure in his hand and politely turn it down. Mike tosses the can to a guy sitting on a couch and he begins teaching me again. He describes the different types of medicine offered and says that some people have never used cannabis before, so teaching patients about their options is part of what CHAMP does. With decades of misinformation about marijuana, it is vital  that people teach other people about cannabinoids and their healing properties.

          I ask about the rules for purchase.

     "One ounce per person per day: - some come and make their purchase and leave, some stay because of the safe surroundings. We've learned that patients meeting together teach each other. They talk about how to take  their medicines and which strains of cannabis work well. And it's good to hang out and share stories - it helps in the healing."

          "How long can they hang out?

     "That depends - usually about an hour per day."

          I ask Mike - "What if someone is all alone, broke and bedridden with no one to help them?"

     Mike raises his eyes and looks straight into mine - "Yeah, we help them. I'll get on my bike and deliver it to them if I have to - that's what we do."

          As he was talking I recalled the words painted out front - Service, Hope and Compassion.  

          This is a different and appealing kind of healthcare - one that develops our ability as humans to offer comfort, care, connection and compassion. In place of insurance forms, sterile rooms with staff going through the motions and making you feel less than human, at CHAMP one can just be and connect with other patients - with others who are working on healing. It is not the specialized offices of a cardiologist, neurologist, urologist, psychologist, or ophthalmologist. At traditional healthcare facilities you feel separated from other patients. But here I saw individuals coming together to share in the healing. No matter the health issue, from cancer to the common cold, the ECS plays a role in our body of health - the same way a healthy digestive system does.

          I take one last look around, thank the staff for their hospitality and down the stairs we go. In moments we are back out on the street and the spell broken - another reality. Damn, all the questions I wanted to make sure to ask started coming back to me. How long was I there? I look at my watch and figure about an hour - rules are rules.

          I fly home to Illinois and have a hard time describing my CHAMP visit to myself - let alone my friends. I cannot find enough words to describe the care and compassion. Yeah, people were sitting around consuming cannabis, but that's not what it was about.

          I guess it doesn't really matter what I felt at the time - as CHAMP was forced to close its doors by our federal government only a month after I visited. Now, more than seven years later, perhaps what mattered was what I experienced - and it changed my life.

Publius

Search terms

California Proposition 215 (1996): Attorney General Holder Cannabis: Derek Rea: Michael Barbitta: CHAMP: Cannabinoids and anticancer.

Research and selected readings

2009: Cannabinoid action induces autophagy-mediated cell death through stimulation of ER stress in human glioma cells, Salazar, et al. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2009, Vol. 119, pp. 1359-1372.

1998: The endogenous cannabinoid anandamide inhibits human breast cancer cell proliferation, Vincenzo Di Marzo, et al, The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States, July 7 1998 Vol. 95 No. 14, pp. 8375-8380.

1975: Cannabinoids suppress Lewis lung carcinoma cell growth in mice (Antineoplastic activity of cannabinoids), A.E. Munson, et al, Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Vol. 55, No. 3, September 1975, pp. 597-602.