Patient Wellbeing Drives TRUCE Founder
by MADELINE FERGUSON
Christine Stenquist is here for the patients. Whether holding the hands of legislators or holding the medical marijuana industry accountable, she will remain committed to the patients, no matter what.
Stenquist is the founder and president of TRUCE (Together For Responsible Use And Cannabis Education), the leading Utah organization advocating for safe, legal access to medical cannabis.
“TRUCE is on a mission to educate the community and stakeholders about the benefits of medical cannabis as a tool for minimizing patient suffering and as a legitimate alternative to opioids,” reads the mission statement.
Stenquist is a patient herself. After being diagnosed with a brain tumor and living with chronic pain, she found the healing powers of cannabis. Now, she strives to help others get safe access to this healing plant.
You’ll find her at Utah’s capitol building advocating for patient rights, helping those ensnared in the criminal justice system, and also evaluating local dispensaries, to ensure patients are well treated.
Where Did It Start?
In 2014, Stenquist knew patients needed an organization as they fought for access to medical cannabis.
“We weren’t lobbyists, we were more about sharing our experiences. So, I created the non-profit,” she said. “I created an umbrella where patients could get educated about cannabis and learn how to advocate for themselves.”
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Stenquist’s goal was, and still is, to bridge the gap between party lines when it comes to cannabis legislation. She explained that cannabis doesn’t care whether a patient is a republican or a democrat or a libertarian.
“The need and desire to access cannabis is because all human beings suffer and we all have an endocannabinoid system,” she said.
Being A Woman & A Leader & And An Advocate
When asked about what it’s like being a woman advocating in the Utah legislature, Stenquist got emotional.
“It’s a tough issue to begin with. Women culturally are the caregivers to our families. In many cultures, women bear the responsibility of nurturing and tending to both the physical and emotional needs of the people in our tribe and trying to bring that kind of compassion into the political world. It is power, and it is hard. There is nothing compassionate about policy making and government,” she beautifully described.
As a cannabis patient and advocate, she knows and understands that healthcare should have a level of compassion, and a medical cannabis program should take into account the lives of people the plants can help.
“I just couldn’t understand how we couldn’t make this possible for everybody,” she said.
TRUCE’s Inspiration
Another place of inspiration for Stenquist was the group of mothers of epileptic children in Utah County who fought to get the CBD bill passed so their kids could have access. Stenquist realized she needed to pick up the flag and fight for all patients.
“We have to tip our hats to the epilepsy families who boldly risked a lot of potential criticism for wanting your child to try marijuana. To have that movement originate out of Utah County, which is viewed as a very conservative county … The (LDS) church has a stronghold there,” she explained.
After picking up that banner and leading Utah into a more compassionate place for medical cannabis patients through TRUCE, Stenquist says there is still work to be done even after Utah’s medical cannabis program began after proposition 2 was passed in 2018. There are still many roadblocks and issues for patients, which TRUCE is focused on improving.
“Just because we have a green check mark doesn’t mean we have a functioning program,” she said.
TRUCE is funded through patient donations, community donations and donated hours. If you’d like to get involved, visit them online.
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