Cannabis Patient Care - August 2021

CannabisPatientCareAugustIssue2021

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31 cannapatientcare.com august 2021 | cannabis patient care advocate focus by slave labor. In fact, there is a book called A History of the Hemp Industry in Kentucky (2) that documents the entire his- tory of the state's relationship with hemp. And we knew that day was going to come back." In 2019, although Carter and his team created bylaws and a business plan for their nonprofit called Cannabis Economic Di- versity Association (CEDA), and submitted them to the IRS for an employer identification number (EIN), the IRS turned them down, stating they were no longer allowing nonprofits asso- ciated with cannabis to be established. "Through CEDA, we wanted to provide technical assistance," Carter said. "We de- veloped and cultivated resources on all segments of the can- nabis space to educate and empower individuals and commu- nities that have been adversely affected by poverty and social injustice. But we also wanted to provide equal access as well as economic empowerment and resources to businesses who decide to engage in the cannabis space. We wanted to serve entrepreneurs, patients, and employees. We had a whole list of stakeholders, but CEDA didn't happen." What did happen is, that summer, Carter was on vaca- tion in Orlando and through various means, was able to con- nect with Roz McCarthy, CEO of Minorities for Medical Marijua- na (M4MM). A month later, she and her board chairman, Erik Range, asked Carter if he'd like to head up advocacy and poli- cy work for cannabis in the state of Kentucky. According to their website (3), the mission at M4MM is to cultivate "a culturally inclusive environment where diversity of thought, experience, and opportunities are valued, respected, appreciated, and celebrated." The goals at M4MM are to serve as a resource to their communities by providing information, referrals, advocacy, coordination, and education regarding cannabis legislation, events, activities, initiatives and discus- sions—all ideas that Carter was trying to achieve with CEDA. It was a natural fit for him and today Carter serves as the Ken- tucky State Director (4). "Of course, I did get involved with M4MM," he said. "I couldn't turn down an opportunity to share my story and develop relationships with others, so they could tell their stories. Cannabis is a natural medicine, and people need to know. I don't want people to be afraid to tell their story. If we could convince the politicians and the legis- lators to hear these stories, maybe that could change the tide." "That's how regulation works," he explained. "It's a give-and- take in the cannabis space. This space is in its infancy, so there is a lot of learning that's going on. We're doing a lot of crawling right now, especially regarding policy in the state of Kentucky." Legislators and Legislation Kentucky has 138 legislators; Carter has met with 16. "Most of the time, when you speak with a legislator, they tell you they're not educated on the subject. That's my role as state director—edu- cating them to the best of my ability to see where they stand. Let them know that if you're for it, great; if you're not for it, why are you against it?" Carter wants to find ways to get legislators on their side of legalizing cannabis in Kentucky, which could change the eco- nomic future of the state, not to mention other issues such as opioid addiction. "We have a natural medicine that can help al- leviate some of the issues we have with overdoses and people abusing prescription drugs," he said. But as he pointed out, it's too tough to accomplish anything in the cannabis space alone—it's a collective effort. "The can- nabis economy that we're building in Kentucky can flourish and be a beacon of light across the country, so others can use us as a model because we are going to be an epicenter for cannabis." Carter and his team are still in the process of getting their first piece of legislation passed. Ten cannabis-related bills have been introduced in the state, but the one with the most trac- tion was authored by Rep. Jason Nemes, House Bill 136: "An Act relating to medicinal cannabis and making an appropria- tion therefor." It was passed through the House, moved to the Group picture for Hemp Roots produced by Eva Mckend and Spectrum News. From left to right 1st row: Christopher Thomas (Spectrum News), Eva McKend (Spectrum News), George McGill, C.J. Carter, Trevor Claiborn (Founder of Black Soil), Ashley Smith (Founder of Black Soil), and Charles Jones (S'Hemply Made). 2nd row (left to right): Brennan Smith and Lamar Wilson (Founder of Sunjoined).

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