Tamara Palmer

Berkeley Receives Proposal for Senior Citizen-Focused Marijuana Dispensary

A proposal for a marijuana dispensary that caters to senior citizen is being considered in Berkeley.

Sue Taylor, former senior outreach coordinator at Harborside Health Center, hopes that her proposal will be accepted and she will be permitted to open Berkeley's fourth overall dispensary.

Taylor told "The Hash" podcast on East Bay Express that the most resistance she's gotten when doing presentations about her proposed center is from older black men and women and older white Republicans, but "if I have the opportunity to give the presentation and education behind the plant and what it does. . . by the end of the presentation, the light bulb goes on and they're more accepting of it."

She said that cannabis-infused creams and tinctures can be particularly helpful for seniors with arthritis and other physical pain who have never smoked before, pointing to her 89-year-old sister-in-law who experienced relief after Taylor rubbed some cream on her knees.

"I'm gonna eliminate the stigma from this plant and [promote] its healing part," she said. "I am gonna help seniors to live a better quality of life as they age. They can have fun, they can be healthy, they deserve better."

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