(This post also appears as an article in the Summer 2022 issue of Salt Baked City magazine)

Did you know that Utah is the only state that allows firefighters to use medical cannabis during their off-hours?

The January 2022 Utah legislative session passed SB 46. This closed a loophole in prior cannabis laws and allowed for all Utah employees, including firefighters, to consume cannabis on their off hours with a valid medical card. So while Utah may not have the freedom to grow its own medicine like some states do, the State is continually pushing to improve access to medical cannabis for those who severely need it, and Dragonfly Wellness is at the forefront of that push.

We believe people across the country should have access to this life-changing medicine no matter their position and be trusted to act responsibly. To ensure that those who keep us safe in our community are safe themselves, we will be offering a First Responder discount at our pharmacy. But the question remains, why is Utah accepting medical cannabis for first responders, and how does it support them?

To better understand how the passing of SB 46 affects our patients, we talked to Connor Carpenter. He is a specialist for the Sandy City Fire Department, a hemp grower, and a medical cannabis advocate.

Carpenter became a firefighter after meeting the woman who would become his wife. It was made to be: her father, grandfather, and uncle had all been firefighters themselves and inspired him to devote himself to a new line of work. After marrying, Carpenter and his wife began growing their own CBD-rich hemp to create sleep-aiding medicine. Although he was finding moderate relief with CBD alone, he began adding a ratio of THC to the mixture and found the right balance his body needed to rest effectively - firefighting is no walk in the park and that extends to their off-duty hours.

“Firefighters don’t have great sleep habits,” Carpenter explained. Although THC and CBD products are a much safer alternative for helping induce healthy sleep, Carpenter says many other firefighters have routinely turned to alcohol or opioids to self-medicate on their off-hours.

Eighty-five percent of career firefighters reported drinking within the past month, up to ten days a month, which is about half of their off-duty days, according to surveys by the Center for Fire and Rescue and EMS Health Research. And although there isn’t much comprehensive on opioid use among firefighters, their high rate of injury and constant exposure to stress and trauma-inducing events puts them at a higher-than-average risk of developing a substance use disorder, according to indicators from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in a research bulletin from 2018. With over 2000 firefighters working for Utah, according to the website Firefighter Now, those addiction statistics could affect the lives of not only the firefighters, their families, and their friends, but also the lives of those in the communities they serve.

Carpenter saw this problem affecting his colleagues and knew he had to act. He started to provide CBD-rich topicals and tinctures through his family-run business TriCombzzz & Cripple Juniper Farms. As a cannabis patient himself, he also encourages them to apply for medical cards to reduce their dependence on alcohol and opioids. He explains:

“I can see a huge difference in their personality when they show up in the morning or even talking to them outside of work and talking to their families. To see some of the turnaround for these people is huge.”

The top two qualifying conditions for medical cannabis in Utah have consistently been chronic pain and PTSD, according to monthly reports released by The Utah Department of Health. Both conditions afflict firefighters, and emergency services workers in general, at a much higher rate than the average person, according to data from the CDC and SAMHSA.

It makes sense for firefighters to use cannabis in their off-hours - as it does for all EMS employees. These people put their lives at risk every day to ensure that our communities are safe and stable - so Dragonfly created a discount program specifically to help them get the medicine they need. If they can provide for us during our emergencies, shouldn’t we do the same for them?

THC 911: Cannabis For Utah Emergency Workers

Pride is about being out and proud as your genuine self and calling attention to the issues that still suppress the LGBTQIA+ community. Dragonfly Wellness has a mission to support our patients and our community and we simply could not do that without supporting Pride and everything it stands for. Afterall, it's likely that medical cannabis would not exist as it does without the efforts of LGBTQIA+ activists.

The use of cannabis as a form of medicine is well documented and can be traced back thousands of years across many different civilizations. But after the United States enacted cannabis prohibition, the conversation around its use as medicine largely fell out of the public consciousness until we were struck by the AIDS crisis.

In 1981, Queer culture was thriving in cities like New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. The 

 happened just twelve years earlier and true public acceptance seemed to be within grasp. Then a terrible epidemic swept the nation. One that went unacknowledged on the federal level for many years due to deeply racist and homophobic opinions of high level officials.

AIDS was killing BIPOC gay men on a daily basis as the Queer community was left to fend for itself. People had to watch friends and family succumb to a terrible illness with little recourse. But one of the few things that was able to help these terminally-ill patients in their time of need was cannabis.

Cannabis had been around in the gay and trans community for ages so they were no stranger to its potential relief when it came to the hellish symptoms of AIDS. Doctors at the time were prescribing experimental treatments that often came with their own awful side-effects, so cannabis was seen as a friendlier alternative. It was also the only option for many in the BIPOC community who were often systematically excluded from official drug trials.

Dennis Peron and his partner Jonathan West lived in San Francisco's Castro District throughout much of the '80s. When West died of AIDS in 1991, Peron became an incredibly prominent and outspoken advocate of medical cannabis. He had been selling it in the Castro District for years, and after seeing the immense positive effect it had on his partner and friends he would not rest until it was legally accessible.

Peron started by advocating for San Francisco's Proposition P which demanded that the city legalize medical cannabis. It passed by 80%, but Peron was just getting started. He then opened the San Francisco Cannabis Buyers Club, the first public cannabis dispensary in the United States.

He also succeeded in making medical cannabis legal state-wide. In 1996 California passed the Compassionate Use Act, becoming the first state to make medical cannabis a reality. Because of that precedent, we have seen a cascading effect of states choosing to legalize medical cannabis. All due, in no small part, to the consistent and passionate activism of the LGBTQIA+ community.

The prohibition of cannabis has significantly contributed to the marginalization of the LGBTQIA+ community and is inherently racist. Nearly half of all HIV cases in the country today affect the Black community despite making up only 13% of the population, and people of color are 3.7 times more likely to be arrested for possession of cannabis despite it being equally as prevalent in white communities. But as Dennis Peron and other activist heroes like him have shown, when a community comes together to help and protect each other, amazing things can be accomplished.

So before you take that edible to help you sleep tonight, or take a few puffs off your vape pen to keep you going during Pride, make sure you think about the brave people who fought hard and sacrificed everything to get us where we are today. Remember that they are still taking to the streets and shouting for justice. We honor them this day, and each day we are able to continue supporting our patients.

Pride + Cannabis: A Match Made In History

Rick Simpson Oil (RSO) was first created by the Canadian medical cannabis advocate the oil is named for. Simpson created a unique method of concentrating cannabis extract involving powerful solvents, heat, and a pressure cooker. It appears as a thick, dark, and viscous oil, usually contained in a glass syringe or ingestible capsules for ease of use. It is highly concentrated in THC and other cannabinoids and terpenes. Simpson used it as a method to treat himself and fellow cancer patients with great success. Since then he has freely offered the method of extraction to anyone interested in making their own.

In addition to cancer, RSO is said to treat:

Rick Simpson originally used the oil topically, applying it to bandages he wrapped around cancerous growths on his arm, but the oil can also be taken orally in the form of an edible or capsule. It is highly recommended not to vaporize, smoke, or otherwise inhale RSO as it still contains much of the fats and lipids from the original cannabis plant. The best use of RSO is to establish a daily regimen, using Simpson’s own method.

The goal of the Rick Simpson method is to gradually increase the amount of oil consumed each day, over 90 days.

Begin with three very small doses each day. These doses should be the size of half a grain of rice (1/4 a drop of RSO), taken about every eight hours. One in the morning, one around noon, and one at night.

Double the dose every four days. Most people will take three to five weeks to reach the maximum dosages of one gram of RSO per day.

Keep taking one gram a day of RSO until the full 60 grams are consumed. For most people, that’s about 8 or 9 rice-sized doses of RSO every eight hours.

Even after you finish a 12-week RSO regimen, you may continue to take the extract. You’ll want to reduce your overall dosage, though. Dial your dose back to a gram or two per month, split up into equal daily doses. For many users, this “maintenance dose” will be enough to carry on RSO’s possible benefits.

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