Medical marijuana expo comes to quad cities

Nature’s Treatment Medical Marijuana Dispensary held their second annual medical marijuana expo at the Stern Center in Rock Island Thursday. 

In Illinois state lawmakers approved medical use in 2013. But first licensed dispensary didn’t open until 2015.

Directors say they estimated over 500 people turned out for the expo. They say the idea behind the event is to educate people who are interested in medical use, and introduce current patients to vendors. 

But while the U.S. continues to debate legalizing marijuana across the board, for some Illinois and Iowa residents, obtaining a medical usage card is no easy feat. 

For some, medical marijuana use is a matter of life or death. 

“I’m a cancer survivor myself, I was diagnosed my nineteenth birthday, went through a lot of chemo and radiation, had a stem cell transplant, used cannabis the whole time and it kinda helped me beat all those side affects to give me the strength to push on and get through it,” said Devon Gamboe, one of the directors of the expo and advocate for medical use. 

Gamboe says when he was battling cancer he was forced to use a “black market” for cannabis because it wasn’t legalized yet in his state. He said obtaining his card for the PTSD he was diagnosed with after cancer treatment wasn’t easy. He says now he has his card, but back then cannabis was the only thing keeping him alive during aggressive treatments. 

Now Gamboe says he hopes to educate people about medical use, and answer any questions they may have. 

Since Matthew Stern opened Nature’s Treatment almost two years ago, he says he’s watched the transformation first-hand. 

 “If you could see how happy the patients are at our dispensary that come in, they hug our employees, and they’re so thankful that they’re finally off these prescription drugs that they’ve been on for ten or fifteen years,” said Stern. 

For others, turning to medical marijuana is their last resort. Kelly Smith suffered a stroke almost four years ago and still can’t function well on his own. Karen Youngen-Smith says they’ve tried traditional medications, but nothing has worked. Now, they are looking into medical marijuana. 

 “Since we tried the Botox and that didn’t work, and just willing to try anything,” said Youngen-Smith. 

Karen Dohrn runs a group called Midwest Pharmers for Hemp on Facebook. She says she’s lost two sisters to terminal illness and says most of their pain was brought on my prescription drugs. Now she used medical marijuana to help with PTSD and anxiety, and wishes her sister’s could have been saved from their suffering. But Dohrn says going through the legal process was a hassle.

“It took five months for [my sister] to get her card and that is just totally ridiculous. A person that is sick or in pain could die before they get that card.” 

And while directors at today’s expo say some major hospitals are still reluctant to prescribe medical marijuana, they hope in time, lawmakers will see that the grass is greener on the other side. 

“Times are kind of changing. As it goes on we’re seeing a lot of more open arms to it. The big hospitals still aren’t fully there for it, but hopefully in the future the proof will be enough,” said Gamboe. 

There are currently 50 licensed medical marijuana dispensaries in Illinois. You can find that full list here.