By Loretta Sword, The Pueblo Chieftain, Colo.

Jul. 26--Patients who are listed on the state health department's Medical Marijuana Registry will host a meeting at 7 p.m. Monday at Robert Hoag Rawlings Library, 100 E. Abriendo Ave.

The gathering, one of a series held every month on the fourth Monday, is intended to explore ways of bringing together the public, medical marijuana patients, caregivers and other interested parties to discuss issues pertaining to the use of medical marijuana in Colorado.

Patients who are considering the option of medical marijuana as an alternative to narcotic and prescription medication are invited to learn more about the program and meet others who have already made the choice.

The meetings are intended to be educational only and are not a resource network where potential patients may find doctors who are involved in the program or providers of medicinal marijuana.

There will be no doctors on site, and group rules prohibit any discussion of how to secure medication, within or outside of the program guidelines. Members are hesitant to publicize their names and phone numbers because of recent seizures of legal medical marijuana crops by Pueblo County law-enforcement officers.

For more information about the meetings, log on at: http://www.medmarijuana.meetup .com and follow the link to the Pueblo meeting.

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Copyright © 2008, The Pueblo Chieftain, Colo.