ALICE CAMPBELL'S MEDICAL MARIJUANA STORY IN THE HDN THURSDAY

Wasn’t that just an enchanting story in Thursday night’s Havre Daily News spiritualizing local Pot grower Dustin Malley? I just had to close my eyes and through the descriptive words used by HDN reporter Alice Campbell I could literally see a kind, compassionate Dustin softly and tenderly singing old hippie songs to his infamous pot plants that he cares for, as Alice puts it, like they were his own “green, leafy children”. Alice’s well chosen words portraying Dustin as nothing more than a hurting farmer tending his own special kind of “garden” sanctuary while awaiting his version of the Great Pumpkin nearly brought tears to my eyes.

Alice further went on to do a wonderful job describing all the aches, pains, suffering, and the malady of afflictions that Dustin endures because of a prior injury which is what lead Dustin to become a “Doctor of Pot” or a caregiver, as the State law terms the word. The modern users of Dustin’s product are no longer to be referred to as potheads, stoners, burnos, tokers, druggies, or weedheads as the new political correct term is “patient”.

However, the Corrector does take exception to some of Alice Campbell’s “facts” in this story.

According to www.dphhs.mt.gov  8,604 people are registered as patients, and 109 of those reside in Hill County. Out of the 2,231 caregivers in the state, 15 are in Hill County.

The fact of the matter is using the same source Alice cited in her story we see 10,582 people are registered as patients in Montana, 139 which reside in Hill County. Of the 2,635 people that are registered as the growers, or caregivers, 20 reside in Hill County. Even more interesting to the Corrector is the 288 new patients that received medical marijuana cards in a reporting period from March 1st to March 7th. We are sure Alice’s facts were correct a couple weeks ago when this story first broke but the change in numbers just shows how rapidly this business is growing. Check the facts yourself at this link; http://www.dphhs.mt.gov/medicalmarijuana/mmpcurrentpatientcount0110.pdf  The Corrector is of the opinion that this could become a runaway train if this “industry” is left unsupervised as is now the case in the State of Montana. Is this really what the people voted for?

The HDN story with Alice’s apparent fixation on the positive aspects of this controversial business went on to portray many of the things that Dustin has done to insure the safety of his business and clients. Dustin purposely chose his growing operation’s location in an area in Havre that was zoned commercial intermediate to enable him to meet his “patients” in a safe area. He uses a systematic approach to growing with air systems, PH balanced water, organic fertilizers, timed and metered lighting and his grow rooms being kept clean and sterile. The newspaper story portrays the thoughts and considerations put into this operation as truly breath taking. The Corrector wonders if the only thing balanced in this home is the ph balanced water? I can also close my eyes and visualize the pain-free smoking daddy playing happily with his children in amongst the pot growing operation with a HDN reporter fawning over him and it is absolutely touching.

Alice Campbell of the HDN certainly has written a descriptive story but it lacks that fair, balanced, and unbiased aspect that newspapers attempt to convince us they always portray. Your personal convictions, prejudices and opinions should be left to blogs or the opinion page, rather than a source we trust for accurate news. What was the editor thinking in allowing an article such as this in an above-fold position in our local “news” paper?

What do our readers think of Alice’s story? http://www.havredailynews.com/cms/news/local_headlines/story-170203.html

The following are some exterior pictures of the “clean, sterile, and well operated” growing operation depicted in Alice’s organic farmer caregiver story.