Shelby Lucero: Cannabis Patient and Professional Tells Her Story

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From patient to compassionate use provider, she landed in jail before bouncing back on her feet:

Shelby Lucero of Sacramento, California, is both a patient and businesswoman – she’s the owner of Greenway Commerce, a known cannabis business compliance consulting firm. But her history with the powers of the plant runs so much deeper as a patient and more. As the former Director of the Sacramento NORML chapter – she’s seen a lot – and that includes the back seat of a police car and the inside of a jail cell. On the Fourth of July in 2012, Lucero’s business by name of Holistic Healing Center was raided by the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office. In the heat of this, she was charged with a total of seven felonies which were all cannabis-related – and was put in jail for 30 days. “I was in my jail cell,” she told a local TV station in a report from back then “I Just got my fresh orange clothing on. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’ve only seen this from movies.” This started what would be an intense battle for freedom that didn’t end until the passage of Proposition 64 in California – which required that those convicted of nonviolent cannabis-related cannabis be released from jail and records expunged. “I walked away with an infraction and paid a $45 court fee,” she stated about the end result. But, if we were to limit Shelby’s work to only her escape from a prison sentence or business and advocacy with NORML, we’d miss out on the true inspiration behind what she does. She’s a cannabis patient like many that are reading this. As well, she was featured as a cannabis professional in a recent ABC Report.

Legendary Dennis Peron, the voice behind Prop. 215, along with his brother Brian Peron and Patrice Mahoney – here with Shelby at a 2013 Conference

Shelby has been an activist for over 15 years, but she was a patient and that’s how it all started. “I was diagnosed with a stage 3 cancer and was actually bleeding when using the bathroom, it was bad” she shared with me. Often cancer will come like a thief in the night – no warning and no way to even know something is wrong until the diagnostics are made. From my own experience our body feels off but so many symptoms are like the flu or in other cases mimic other health issues. One thing for sure, the world is on fire talking about cannabis oils and cancer – including Shelby “I used suppositories with whole-plant extract RSO (Cannabis Oil with THC), CBD, and THC capsules while being treated with both chemo and radiation, it helped me get through it” she shared. She’s not alone in using cannabinoid medicine to offset the damage chemotherapy does and to enhance its ability to kill cancer and not the person having the treatment. Some patients will go after THC or even CBD oil alone – and not include integrative medicine such as Lucero did.

When I asked her what advice she’d give people about discussing how the plant works with others, including doctors, her response was “We should always share positive cannabis conversations.” Most would agree as to when negativity spreads it’s like a wildfire. Positivism helps heal us as much as the plant or other healthy activities do, and when we share our positive outcomes with healthcare professionals it makes a huge impact. Shelby told us how using plant extracts and more helped her through the battle to stop the pain “cannabis made me feel comfortable – more so than opiates.” She went on to state “cannabis will make you feel better, it uplifts your spirits and gives you an appetite and a sense of humor while enduring a trying time.” Now that’s some advice we’d love to spread around the globe – anyone fighting a serious health issue knows what it’s like to be in pain, to be depressed, anxious, and unable to eat. There’s a way to fight cancer without giving up a belief in the western medical system and treatments, and her story is a testament to that. As much as many pushes for cannabis oils alone in a cancer battle – sometimes that could be a bit more than dangerous. Aggressive cancer needs aggressive treatment and often patients will start the cannabis oil protocols too late in the game.

There are many concerns floating about in regards to the mighty plant and the healthcare industry, we thought we’d get some input from Shelby about that. “The myth that doctors won’t work with you isn’t true – and I have Kaiser! My doctors not only allowed it, but they also encouraged my cannabis and CBD use.” Many are so worried nowadays about the disclosure of cannabis use to their doctors – fearing the unknown and expecting their doctor to just say no. Times are changing and doctors are seeing their patients use fewer pharmaceuticals. What many need to understand is that physicians are under fire for prescribing medications and prefer patients to useless. As well, continued medical education events nowadays are almost always loaded with doctors that do share their cannabinoid medicine knowledge. This is creating change and it is slow – but it’s happening. In states where cannabis has been legal for years or decades such as California, we see many more in the healthcare with knowledge – at least enough to say it’s okay to use it.

We discussed why people are afraid of cannabis – especially the high of THC for those that are new to it or speculating on using it. “People always say that they don’t want to get high and that’s one of the main reasons why they don’t use cannabis but then they get hopped up on opiates. Cannabis is safe for you and you can control your high – it’s nonaddictive a natural product” was the message she gave to spread to the masses. Too many are worried about what a plant may do while they ingest too many pills to count – and many of those pills actually cause cancer while the plant is known to battle it. Even the drugs given to us in western medicine to fight cancers are very carcinogenic – so Shelby’s message is an important one. We can all overcome adversities. She’s gone from behind bars to promoting the plant and becoming deep within the industry. You can contact her on her both LinkedIn and Facebook. It’s always nice to know another industry professional that’s the real deal with a story much like many of us that have fought off serious illnesses with the plant.