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I must say the pace of my life has picked up dramatically over the past couple of weeks. I didn't get around to finishing this entry until well into October, even though it's dated September.
My care-giver, Pacific Coast Cooperative was raided. This was on the 18th, on Thursday. I had been there the previous Tuesday.
And I never got around to finishing that post either and now it's November 19. It appears I managed to get through the entire month of October without making an entry. I made the news a number of times, and actually appear a few seconds in the video from WAMMFest that the Sentinel displayed on their front page for nearly a week.
I attended at least a half-a-dozen 'candidates forums', which were all pretty much panel discussions. There were 9 other candidates.
I saw Michael of Pacific Coast Cooperative at WAMMFest. He was out of jail, along with everyone else, he said. He was charged with sales I believe, but not conspiracy to distribute. I haven't heard anything more about that. I went by Greenway once and left nearly in tears when I saw their prices; $50 for an eigth of stuff that smelled like clover hay, i.e. it had been pollinated and was all but useless as medicine.
So I got on the internet and found I could save $200 by going to San Francisco, and so I have been spending the day on the train to San Francisco and back about once a month. In a way it is a blessing in disguise as it is good for me to get away and I don't mind the trainride.
The day after a candidate's forum which I can't remember right now, and the day of the County Democrats forum, it seems I was to be in court and didn't know it. Possibly the 24th of September. What I remember is that the day of the County Democrats forum I got a message from my lawyer saying I was supposed to be in court on marijuana charges but it was OK that I didn't show up as she was there and the charges were dropped.
I guess I should miss court dates more often?
I still haven't gotten my stuff back.
Well, I've accomplished my major goal, which was to post the WAMM video with me in the middle of it to my blog. I'll recap how things turned out in my next entry, which should be in November.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Saturday, September 06, 2008
On the Run
I'm actually writing this post on the 11th. I started it on the 6th, and wrote one sentence, and put it aside to finish later. I intended to finish it the next day, or the next, and here we are.
I've been very busy. I've spoken at two candidate forums so far, and I've been buried in 100s of pages of reports, such as the Master Transportation Study, hoping to speak intelligently on the issues of interest to these different groups.
And filling out questionnaires. I spent a lot of time on the questionnaire for the Police and Fire, and spent about $20 because they required it to be sent on a CD and my CD drive doesn't work, and also a hard copy, and my printer doesn't work, and it has to be returned Certified Mail. So that all cost about $20. But I mailed it on the afternoon they required it to be delivered, on Friday, and they didn't get it till the following Monday. So they sent me a letter informing me I did not follow their instructions and will not therefore be allowed to participate in their candidate's forum.
I was rather disappointed by that, but not surprised. I had really wanted to address that particular group.
But I haven't gotten any help at all. The only person that's offered to help in any way, is willing to speak for me at these forums in exchange for the title of "campaign manager". That burns me up.
I'm supposed to bust my butt filling out these questionnaires, not to mention all the forms, so that someone else can speak for me at the forums?
I think I did OK at the last forum in-so-far as I don't think I embarrassed myself and did get off at least one or two good responses. I realized I failed to mention that I was facing two trials for possession of marijuana, though I did mention that there is no emergency or transitional housing for medical marijuana patients.
I feel like I held my own.
Before that forum, earlier in the day, there was a hearing regarding lifting the smoking ban at the park for WAMM's fundraiser. I wore my marijuana t-shirt and went down there. I signed up to speak, and then changed my mind and scratched my name off. And then someone requested the item be pulled from the agenda because they objected. So then I got up to speak.
As I saw it they were denying sick and disabled the use and the enjoyment of the park for one day a year, and I found that reprehensible to the point of obscenity. I think I projected that pretty well with my attitude, but I can see now I failed to vocalize one important point. It just seemed to me that stating the obvious, that these people were sick, and weak, and most likely in pain and mobility challenged, and some of them shut-in - that stating that would be a waste of the two minutes or so I had to speak. I felt they were all very aware of that. And I wanted to use the silence between my words to emphasize how reprehensible I thought it was.
I did say something like, "What this is about is denying sick and dying people the use of the park for one day a year, for five hours." I said that I think it's very sad that it's only one day, and that they have to go in to a tent to do it. And that's when I should have said something about the pain, and how hard it is to get around. But time was short and I felt I needed to make the point that medical marijuana patients need to get on with their lives, and I, for one, do not intend to sit in my room all day "watching Jerry Springer".
And best I can recall that pretty much covers what I said.
Well, one member was absent and the vote was split 3/3 so it was put over till the next meeting on the 23rd, 4 days before the event is scheduled to occur on the 27th. The absent member is certain to vote for lifting the smoking bann so the event won't be crippled. However, I think one of the "for" votes could turn against, though I don't think it's likely.
I got a notice from MediCal that since they are paying for my MediCare part B I no longer have a $0 monthly "share-of-cost" (premium) but that I can now afford to pay the first $537/month of my medical bills. The best I can figure, my only recourse is to get $40+ worth of insurance I don't need to reduce my 'income' to the point that my $537/month share of cost becomes $0. And the reason I have to get insurance I don't need is because if I get insurance for something I'm likely to need that insurance will exclude anything I'm likely to need it for, and so I will have to pay for it myself, and so I need to get insurance for something I don't need in order to get my share of cost to $0 so that MediCal will pay for it.
Is that clear?
There are two very important questionnaires I should submit by Friday, but instead I spent the day trying to straighten out my MediCal, with no luck so far. I have a doctor's appointed scheduled for the 3rd or 4th which I am going to have to cancel, it appears, as now I am going to have to pay for it myself, and I can't possibly afford it.
I called my public defender yesterday and left a message about our need to talk before we go to trail for my possession of concetrated cannabis on the 29th. I have received no response. I have some ideas about how I think the case should go, in fact I think there already should have been a trial for dismissal, but apparently the Santa Cruz district attorney thinks it's important to put a medical marijauna patient on trial for possession of marijuana.
I'm wondering if they are going to get by with it, and every media in town is going to ignore it.
I've been very busy. I've spoken at two candidate forums so far, and I've been buried in 100s of pages of reports, such as the Master Transportation Study, hoping to speak intelligently on the issues of interest to these different groups.
And filling out questionnaires. I spent a lot of time on the questionnaire for the Police and Fire, and spent about $20 because they required it to be sent on a CD and my CD drive doesn't work, and also a hard copy, and my printer doesn't work, and it has to be returned Certified Mail. So that all cost about $20. But I mailed it on the afternoon they required it to be delivered, on Friday, and they didn't get it till the following Monday. So they sent me a letter informing me I did not follow their instructions and will not therefore be allowed to participate in their candidate's forum.
I was rather disappointed by that, but not surprised. I had really wanted to address that particular group.
But I haven't gotten any help at all. The only person that's offered to help in any way, is willing to speak for me at these forums in exchange for the title of "campaign manager". That burns me up.
I'm supposed to bust my butt filling out these questionnaires, not to mention all the forms, so that someone else can speak for me at the forums?
I think I did OK at the last forum in-so-far as I don't think I embarrassed myself and did get off at least one or two good responses. I realized I failed to mention that I was facing two trials for possession of marijuana, though I did mention that there is no emergency or transitional housing for medical marijuana patients.
I feel like I held my own.
Before that forum, earlier in the day, there was a hearing regarding lifting the smoking ban at the park for WAMM's fundraiser. I wore my marijuana t-shirt and went down there. I signed up to speak, and then changed my mind and scratched my name off. And then someone requested the item be pulled from the agenda because they objected. So then I got up to speak.
As I saw it they were denying sick and disabled the use and the enjoyment of the park for one day a year, and I found that reprehensible to the point of obscenity. I think I projected that pretty well with my attitude, but I can see now I failed to vocalize one important point. It just seemed to me that stating the obvious, that these people were sick, and weak, and most likely in pain and mobility challenged, and some of them shut-in - that stating that would be a waste of the two minutes or so I had to speak. I felt they were all very aware of that. And I wanted to use the silence between my words to emphasize how reprehensible I thought it was.
I did say something like, "What this is about is denying sick and dying people the use of the park for one day a year, for five hours." I said that I think it's very sad that it's only one day, and that they have to go in to a tent to do it. And that's when I should have said something about the pain, and how hard it is to get around. But time was short and I felt I needed to make the point that medical marijuana patients need to get on with their lives, and I, for one, do not intend to sit in my room all day "watching Jerry Springer".
And best I can recall that pretty much covers what I said.
Well, one member was absent and the vote was split 3/3 so it was put over till the next meeting on the 23rd, 4 days before the event is scheduled to occur on the 27th. The absent member is certain to vote for lifting the smoking bann so the event won't be crippled. However, I think one of the "for" votes could turn against, though I don't think it's likely.
I got a notice from MediCal that since they are paying for my MediCare part B I no longer have a $0 monthly "share-of-cost" (premium) but that I can now afford to pay the first $537/month of my medical bills. The best I can figure, my only recourse is to get $40+ worth of insurance I don't need to reduce my 'income' to the point that my $537/month share of cost becomes $0. And the reason I have to get insurance I don't need is because if I get insurance for something I'm likely to need that insurance will exclude anything I'm likely to need it for, and so I will have to pay for it myself, and so I need to get insurance for something I don't need in order to get my share of cost to $0 so that MediCal will pay for it.
Is that clear?
There are two very important questionnaires I should submit by Friday, but instead I spent the day trying to straighten out my MediCal, with no luck so far. I have a doctor's appointed scheduled for the 3rd or 4th which I am going to have to cancel, it appears, as now I am going to have to pay for it myself, and I can't possibly afford it.
I called my public defender yesterday and left a message about our need to talk before we go to trail for my possession of concetrated cannabis on the 29th. I have received no response. I have some ideas about how I think the case should go, in fact I think there already should have been a trial for dismissal, but apparently the Santa Cruz district attorney thinks it's important to put a medical marijauna patient on trial for possession of marijuana.
I'm wondering if they are going to get by with it, and every media in town is going to ignore it.
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