As I write these words, on the other side of Conz Street, Western Mass residents are strolling into Northampton’s New England Treatment Access on opening day to purchase medical marijuana from the area’s first dispensary.
Would that have seemed possible in 2007?
As far as marijuana goes, acceptance levels among the skeptics have gone from, “Get out of here with that wacky weed talk, stoner,” to “Hem, haw, I see that marijuana has its benefits.” And laws are catching up to those views. Medical marijuana is now legal in some form or at least decriminalized in 27 states. Recreational marijuana is legal in four states: Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and Alaska.
Massachusetts is one of five states — we join Maine, California, Nevada, and Arizona — with ballot initiatives that could put the question of full legalization in voters’ hands next November.
The message is clear: Laws nationwide are adapting to marijuana’s more acceptable status in the U.S., but they are not yet fully compatible with the reality of treating people with the herb medically. What’s going on with Florence medical marijuana consultant Ezra Parzybok seems like an excellent example of the divide between pot law and common sense.
In late-September local law enforcement officials arrived at Parzybok’s home without a warrant and confiscated his marijuana plants. In addition to being a consultant, Parzybok is a legal medical marijuana patient.
Though it was local officers who took the pot, members of the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office told the Daily Hampshire Gazette that State Police plan to file a criminal complaint against Parzybok with District Attorney David Sullivan and the charges would be related to marijuana. The facts of the pending charges were not available as of press time.
I wasn’t too surprised when I heard Parzybok had a run in with police over medical marijuana. He’s a vociferous proponent of medical marijuana in the Valley. Within recent years, Parzybok paved a path for himself as a consultant. When medical marijuana was legalized, he got a license and began growing, using the plants to treat his anxiety and insomnia. As marijuana policy changed and bureaucracy made it difficult for dispensaries to open and patients to access marijuana, Parzybok provided guidance. Possessing a scientific mind, Parzybok familiarized himself with the various strains and hybrids and brought his expertise to his client base, helping them determine which strains were right for their ailments and ascertain the proper dosage. One of his clients was Douglas Valentine, an arthritis sufferer with a blog, counterpunch.org. In a post, Valentine writes about how after receiving a medical marijuana prescription from Dr. Jill Griffin, Parzybok unquestioningly rubbed some of his handmade healing ointment high in CBD (cannabidiol, one of 85 active cannabinoids thought to have medical applications) into Valentine’s fingers. Valentine says everyone should be able to get the relief that marijuana brings.
Maybe Parzybok got a little ahead of himself and the law — but if he did so to help sick people, the state should cut him some slack. It was the commonwealth, after all, that legalized medical marijuana more than a year before it could be purchased from a dispensary, leaving patients scrambling to find their medicine. In a year and a month from now marijuana could very well be entirely legal — if voters approve a recreational ballot measure.
District Attorney David Sullivan has spoken against legalization, but — given widespread support for marijuana in the Valley — has vowed not to waste time and resources pursuing small-time marijuana cases. Given that promise, this is all seems a little strange. As rumors fly of helicopters scouting around Florence, which is where Parzybok lives with his wife and two young children, Orwellian-tinged paranoia is buzzing through the community. Northampton Police Chief Jody Kasper told the Advocate she knows nothing about any helicopters flying around Northampton, but she’s heard the talk. She also promised that, though Parzybok’s was the second marijuana bust in which police entered a home and confiscated weed plants in a one-week span, it was mere coincidence. “We are not doing any new sort of initiative to specifically target marijuana growers,” Kasper said. “Those two cases are completely unrelated.”
Now, as once-legal growers are deprived of their plants — and dispensaries that cost millions of dollars to establish are the only ones with the green light — we should give thought to whether or not we’re turning marijuana into Big Pharma. In this area, like many areas, will big money win?
Medical marijuana legislation is a murk monster emerging from a swamp — it still has a long way to go. The law is the law and yes, we all have to play by the rules. But we can also be mindful of the law’s shortcomings as we head into unknown territory. Let’s all take a chill pill — or, God forbid, something greener — and give pot consultants like Parzybok some room to breathe.•
Contact Amanda Drane at adrane@valleyadvocate.com.
