I love my state. I am a proud, born and raised Maryland girl, but GOTDAMNIT!!! Maryland, you've got to get your head out of your ass! I just read the most recent law amendment, updated September 21, 2018. 33 pages....of fluff and bullshit. There were 6 pages on the salaries of the 16 members of the commission. Ask me how many pages on patient rights. *taps fingers and buffs nails while waiting* ZERO!!!!! There are zero pages, lines, or sentences on patient rights on medical marijuana in Maryland. Why do I care about that? I'm glad you asked. I am a legal medical marijuana patient. I am also unemployed and actively seeking employment. On more than one occasion I have been denied employment due to my status as a medical marijuana patient. On all occasions I have provided my documentation and medical records supporting why THC is present in my urine. I have been honest and upfront about my patient status. One potential employer had gotten as far as the offer table. There was a salary and everything...then they retracted their offer. When I explained and reiterated my status as a medical marijuana patient, I was met with a simple "we don't recognize that." We. Don't. Recognize. That. If that isn't a super load of shit, I don't know what is. Needless to say I was very upset. There are states that have put employment discrimination clauses in place to protect their patients from experiencing what I have experienced. Why hasn't Maryland done this? Let's break this down. MMCC (Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission) requires patients to purchase from dispensaries within a certain time frame. There is no marijuana insurance (yes, that's a real thing) in Maryland, so you're paying out of pocket. Fine. That's no biggie because most of us been buying weed anyway. LMAO! However, if you're an unemployed patient and you are actively seeking employment, you're fucked. Being unemployed isn't easy, regardless of your mental health history. But you still need your weed to treat your ailments. How are you supposed to pay for it if you're A.) unemployed, and B.) denied employment for choosing to treat your ailments with a more holistic approach? *insert gif of Miss Jay asking how* How, Sway, how? Why am I not protected, Maryland? How is this benefiting patients? So 2 things can possibly be the outcome of such a shit situation. Either you can stop using cannabis to treat yourself until you can pass a urinalysis and gain employment which will mean serious suffering, especially for those of us who are treating pain, or you can go back to the Western medicine practices and use actual drugs manufactured from toxic chemicals with side effects that are sometimes nastier than what you're treating that are paid for by medical insurance to treat your ailments. It's like being stuck between a rock and a hard place. Maryland is unknowingly perpetuating the negative stigma of the lazy, unemployed, unproductive stoner who just sits around and smokes weed all day. Here's the thing about ailments, they don't give a damn about economics. They don't show up when it's monetarily convenient. They persist regardless. Whether you have $1,000,000 in the bank or -$302 in the bank, if you're a patient that migraine is going to hit you with the same impact and frequency. But the state has systemically decided that a better way of life is a right only the financially inclined can afford. How is that fair? How am I supposed to get my meds if I can't pay for them? Why don't I get a fair shot at a better wellness path? So Maryland,since I'm broke and unemployable, who got $5 on my weed?
