SALEM — Salem residents spoke in support of permitting a marijuana dispensary within the city in the city council’s April 15 meeting.

Michael Dombrowski, owner of Mike’s Meds and More, told the member of city council that he has been a pharmacist in Salem since 1992, and that due to his experience he has recently been approached by many residents to speak to them about the realities of medical.

“It’s been a hard year for a lot of people. Winter was hard. People had to drive out of the area to get these products, and there’s been a lot of concern about what has been said here at these meetings, so I’ve been asked by several people to come and maybe shed a different light on the topic, add a little fact to it, and maybe offer a little bit of a different perspective,” said Dombrowski.

Dombrowski told council that in his professional experience the introduction of medical marijuana to patients’ treatment plans had been entirely positive. He said that through its implementation he has been able to help several people transition away from opioids like morphine and oxycodone to the less addictive marijuana, improving their quality of life in the process. He also said that cancer patients can benefit enormously from treating their symptoms with marijuana.

“It’s unbelievable how effective these products are at treating nausea, vomiting, and stimulating the appetite. I also have dealt with several children using these products for seizure control. Considering the products that sell prescription wise where the side-effect profile is pretty bad, these products work very well and they’re very effective,” said Dombrowski

Dombrowski also said that marijuana had been highly effective in treating PTSD symptoms and replacing addictive sleep assisting medications. He said that stereotypical notions of marijuana users are inaccurate, and that he has seen patients of every socioeconomic class and career, and ages ranging from 21 to 95 utilize and benefit from medical marijuana treatment.

“In my career of all the antipsychotics, antidepressants and anti-anxiety I’ve given to people for the treatment of PTSD by far the medical marijuana has been the best product for these veterans suffering from PTSD and has also worked very well for anyone suffering from PTSD regardless of the cause,” said Dombrowski. “Recently I’ve also seen very successful transitions from sleeping pills like Ambien, Klonopin, and Xanax. Moving from these super addictive products to a gummy at bedtime seems to be working very well for people with a less addictive product with less side effects.”

He also pushed back against recent comments that marijuana is “a gateway drug” which he said had been debunked over 50 years ago. He said that it is clinically impossible to overdose on marijuana, and that alcohol has more significant side effects and is a carcinogen, noting that soon the surgeon general will be requiring alcohol have a label disclaiming it connection to six types of cancer and that 5% of deaths in the United States each year are attributed to alcohol abuse which does not include death caused by the effect of alcohol like drunk driving.

Dombrowski also stressed that marijuana is a naturally occurring herb, and that all humans have cannabinoid receptors in their brain and nervous system which play a role in regulating functions like appetite, sleep, metabolism, reproduction, perception of pain and mood; and that the human body naturally creates endocannabinoids like those found in marijuana as part of its homeostasis process.

“Long story short the fact we have these receptors in our bodies means this product is nothing we should be scared about,” said Dombrowski.

Cindy Slavens told council that her personal journey as a medical marijuana patient began in 2019 when she was diagnosed with a twisted sciatic nerve, which conventional treatments failed to alleviate.

“The pain was horrific, I had trouble walking, and since the treatments did not relieve the pain, my next step was opiates. I do not do opiates as they are too hard on my system, especially since suffering with side effects from the Covid vaccination due to being a carrier of the Epstein-Barr virus and having an autoimmune blood disease created from a workman’s comp incident in 1986 due to overprescription of medication,” said Slavens.

She said that she was approved for a medical marijuana card after a review of her existing treatment history, X-rays and pain levels, and that the pharmacists at the dispensary in East Liverpool helped to compile her treatment plan based on her doctor’s recommendations.

“All of my current physicians are very supportive of me using medical marijuana because there are fewer interactions. I cannot take Prednisone, I cannot take a lot of antibiotics, they destroy my body. Considering the treatment options, I feel relieved using medical marijuana,” said Slavens. “I typically use it at night so I can sleep due to bone disease. Had I gone the opiate route my life probably would have had a different outcome, I probably would have gotten addicted due to my pain level.”

Slavens ultimately urged council to see the benefits medical marijuana can have for people with medical conditions, and that a dispensary could have for the city.

“In summary medical and recreational marijuana has many benefits to reflect upon as opposed to negatives. A dispensary location in Salem would benefit many people as well as the city. I would prefer investing funds for initiatives that benefit the community and the city’s development,” said Slavens. “If Salem had a dispensary rather than travelling to East Liverpool, or Youngstown, or Alliance or wherever local money would be brought back into the city…I ask you not to allow your personal opinions about medical marijuana to override what the people voted for in the state of Ohio as it is the will of the people in our community.”

Barbara Sheets also spoke in support of permitting a dispensary in the city. She said that she had been a city resident since 1962, and that since moving to the city she had watched the community grow and miss several opportunities for growth in that time. She said that she felt that a dispensary would be a great possibility for the city as both a new business and an economic development tool. She also said that Salem has always been a progressive leader in Columbiana County from its involvement in the underground railroad, to women’s suffrage and the civil rights movement, and that by taking a stand and permitting a dispensary in the city, it could continue being a leader in the county.

Council voted unanimously to reschedule their next regular meeting, which would have been 7 p.m. May 6, the night of the upcoming primary election, for 7 p.m. the next night May 7. However, they subsequently rescheduled their next meeting again for 7 p.m. Thursday.