ACCESS
after a long fight, Whidbey island gets its 1st access point BY WES ABNEY PHOTOS BY DANIEL BERMAN
freedom in freeland. finally.
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island alternative medicine 5565 Vanbarr Place Unit F Freeland, WA 98249 (360) 331-2898 Open Tues-Sat 10a-7p Islandalternative.com
20/ocT. 2012 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF
ast February, Lucas Jushinski stood before the Langley City Council and said “I want to set the bar high... I want to show the community respect and that I belong here.” With full transparency and a true non-profit model, Lucas’s pleas fell on deaf ears within the city of Langley. The city wasn’t going to allow an access point. After months of planning and hard work his plan to open seemed doomed. For many the loss would have been the end of the line. But not for Lucas. Island Alternative Medicine opened on June 1, 2012, the first access point on Whidbey Island. “It’s felt really good to be open. I see the response from the community and it’s positive,” Lucas said. “We feel good here, to serve the patients.” IAM is the abbreviation used on the business logo, but it goes beyond the name to have a deeper meaning. It’s a message that Lucas has placed on his heart, and one carried by each of his fellow patients.
“It’s the belief that ‘I am alternative medicine.” he explained. “That’s why I like this. It’s helping patients who really need this medicine for their ailments.” Lucas served eight years in the Navy as a combat corpsman. As a front lines medic, he dealt with life and death on a constant basis. “When I was in Iraq, I was on the ground with the grunts. I was 24 years old and the first and only option for a soldier shot or hit,” he said in an interview with this magazine last February. “I was always on the front line... it was like being on-call in hell.” Now serving different types of patients, Lucas has transitioned smoothly to a new type of healing and treatment. “It’s mostly listening,” he said. “I’ve learned how to listen, how to ask the right questions, and how to look at the patients needs.” In addition to the top-shelf local MMJ, Lucas said Island Alternative
also works with a local chiropractor, massage therapist and a store called Living Green, which sells organic foods and natural medicines. This is all to promote an overall healthful lifestyle that coincides well with the use of medical Cannabis. “We really believe in treating the whole person,” he explained. “And we’ve been growing based off the patient’s needs.”
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nside the first medicine room (the second is under construction) patients will find 15 to 20 strains on average, all ranging from $10 to $15 donations. Everything is tested, and almost all the strains are locally cultivated. “There’s truly a ton of great medicine grown on island,” Lucas said. “The hard part is keeping enough in for patients.” Among the local strains the