Dispensaries

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Prospective N.J. Pot Dispensary Owners Have High Hopes

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 31, 2010 Dispensaries, Medical

Graphic: Phawker

In January, New Jersey became the 14th state to allow the use and sale of medical marijuana. The law goes into effect July 1, but it may be several months beyond that before the state has regulations in place and the “alternative treatment centers” — marijuana dispensaries — where patients will be able to legally get cannabis.

For now, dozens of hopeful entrepreneurs are quietly setting up nonprofit groups that will apply to run the first dispensaries in the most populous state outside California to legalize medical marijuana, reports Geoff Mulvihill of The Associated Press.

Anne M. Davis, a lawyer who consults with several people interested in opening dispensaries, said she’s hearing from current drug dealers who want to go legal, caregivers who already get marijuana for the sick, and career changers, including commercial real estate agents who are suffering in the slow economy.

“They think, ‘Hey, I’m going to open this great business and I’m going to make a fortune,” Davis said. “But that’s not what it’s going to be. It’s going to be very strictly regulated in New Jersey.”

California Medical Marijuana Workers Form Union

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 28, 2010 Dispensaries, Legislation

Graphic: Budhoe

Organized labor and California’s burgeoning marijuana industry are coming together for what is believed to be the very first time, after 100 employees at Oaksterdam University turned in their union cards and joined the 26,000-member Local 5 of the United Food and Commercial Workers, school and union officials confirmed Wednesday, reports Chris Roberts at the SF Appeal.

Oaksterdam, which includes a cannabis dispensary and plant nursery, as well as cultivation classes, is also the force behind California’s legalization initiative, Tax Cannabis 2010, through the deep pockets of founder and owner Richard Lee, who has given nearly $1.3 million to the ballot measure.

Police Raid Michigan Marijuana Smokers Club

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 27, 2010 Dispensaries, Medical

Photo: Church For Compassionate Care

Rev. Wayne Dagit: “I’m not serving pot, I’m serving the Lord”

The Tri-County Metro Narcotics Squad raided a marijuana smokers club outside Williamston, Michigan on Wednesday, but law enforcement officials are playing shut-mouth about exactly what happened there.

“They treated us like criminals, forced us to the ground, even though I have to walk with a cane,” said patient Terry Clark, 48, who said he suffers from arthritis, seizures and chronic pain.

Clark and the one other customer in the club at the time eventually were asked to show their state-issued medical marijuana cards, which they did, according to Clark. They were then allowed to leave.

The raid occurred at the Green Leaf Smokers Club, a private club opened in February, confirmed Lt. Tim Gill of the Narcotics Squad. Gill referred further questions to the Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office, reports Matthew Miller of Lansing State Journal.

Cops Claim Vitamins Are Methamphetamine; Raid Pot Dispensary

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 27, 2010 Dispensaries, Medical

Photo: Google Images

A bag of white powder that police seized last week in a California marijuana dispensary raid, claiming it was methamphetamine, was actually a nutritional supplement from GNC, according to the operator of the pot shop.

Three pounds of a brown substance that police claimed was hashish actually consisted of marijuana leaf trimmings processed to make cannabis butter, added Ian Stubbs, one of the co-directors of OCMS Healing Leaves, a cooperative in Fountain Valley, California.

“They made it sound worse than it was,” Stubbs said.

Stubbs said the operation, open since January, doesn’t have any way to reopen after police seized its marijuana and cash and froze its bank accounts, reports Jon Cassidy of The Orange County Register.

Pot Shop Owner Ordered Back To Jail For Third Time

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 26, 2010 Dispensaries, News

Photo: Indy Bay

Dispensary owner Rick Morse is back in jail for the third time on the same 15-day sentence

The owner of a Fresno medical marijuana dispensary is caught in the middle of an escalating battle between a sheriff and a judge, both of whom say they have the legal right to decide whether he stays in jail.

Fresno County Superior Court Judge Donald R. Franson on Tuesday sent Rick Morse — who has been jailed and released twice already — back to jail for a third time. This time, it came with a warning to the sheriff that Morse must stay behind bars until his 15-day sentence is served, report Paula Lloyd and Jim Guy of The Fresno Bee.

Judge Franson had earlier asserted state law gives him “the inherent power” to keep Morse in jail for his full sentence. The judge on Tuesday went even further, claiming that the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office must get the court’s permission before releasing a sentenced prisoner like Morse.

Maine Will Have Eight Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 24, 2010 Dispensaries, Medical

Photo: Opposing Views

Medical marijuana patients in Maine soon won’t have to go very far for their doctor-recommended and legally protected medicine. The state will announce the locations of eight regional dispensaries in July, reports Charles McMahon at SeaCoastOnline.com.

Earlier this month, the state started accepting applications from nonprofit corporations to become dispensaries under Maine’s Medical Use of Marijuana Act. The Division of Licensing and Regulatory Services (DLRS) in the Department of Health and Human Services will be in charge of the selection process.

The state will only allow eight dispensaries, one in each of Maine’s eight public Health Districts, according to a DHHS release. John Martins, DHHS director of employee and public communications, said the state has determined it will regionalize the dispensaries.

CO: Pot Dispensaries May Sue Cities That Extend Moratoriums

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 21, 2010 Dispensaries, Legislation

Photo: KRDO

Medical marijuana is legal under the Colorado Constitution, but newly passed regulations allow cities to ban the dispensaries that sell it. Now cannabis advocates are planning lawsuits if cities choose to ban the shops, reports Mireya Garcia of KRDO.

“They are missing the most important part of this — the patients,” said Michael Stetler, a dispensary owner in Pueblo.

The Colorado Springs Medical Cannabis Council works with local communities in Southern Colorado that have moratoriums in place. CSMCC officials said the longer communities take to figure out how to regulate dispensaries, the worse patients will suffer.

Oregon Petitioners Submit Signatures For Marijuana Dispensaries

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 21, 2010 Dispensaries, Legislation

Graphic: Mercy Center

Medical marijuana advocates on Thursday submitted 110,000 signatures, more than the amount required, for a ballot initiative allowing state-licensed cannabis dispensaries in Oregon.

The proposed measure, Initiative 28, would not change the qualifying medical conditions under which medicinal marijuana may be legally used, report Stacey Barchenger and Peter Wong of the Statesman Journal.

Backers of the initiative say it would fix serious flaws in Oregon’s 12-year-old medical marijuana program.

Oregon residents with doctor-approved medical marijuana cards can legally possess and use marijuana, but they cannot legally buy it. They must either grow their own or designate a grower/caregiver, who still cannot be paid for the cannabis, reports Peter Korn at The Portland Tribune.

Big Bucks Needed To Open Long Beach Pot Dispensary

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 20, 2010 Dispensaries, News

Photo: DispensaryFinder.com

Long Beach dispensaries like The Giving Tree will be “giving” hefty licensing fees to the city under a plan approved Tuesday by the City Council.

Don’t even think about opening a medical marijuana dispensary in Long Beach, California, unless you have a healthy bank account — and you’re willing to bet five figures on it, still with no guarantee of actually getting a shop.

The Long Beach City Council approved fees and charges at Tuesday’s meeting that start at $14,742 and could total more than $26,000 just for the application, then tens of thousands more each year, reports Harry Saltzgraver at Gazettes.com. The process outlined in the Medical Marijuana Collective Implementation Plan will be managed through the Department of Financial Management, but will also include participation by a number of other departments — each of which seems to have their hands out.

California CP Patient Sues City Over Pot Dispensary Ban

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 19, 2010 Dispensaries, Legislation

Photo: PR Newswire

Medical marijuana patient Malinda Traudt is suing the City of Dana Point as it threatens to shut down all dispensaries in the city.

Malinda Traudt, a blind and wheelchair-bound medical marijuana patient in Dana Point, California, has filed suit after the city threatened to shut down the collective where she gets the medical marijuana needed to stay alive and manage her pain.

Malinda was born with cerebral palsy, epilepsy, total blindness, and severe cognitive delays. Now 29 years old, she has been in a wheelchair her entire life.

Recently, she was diagnosed with severe osteoporosis, a degenerative bone disease. Malinda’s doctor gave her pain medication but, within hours, her kidneys began shutting down, her lungs filled with fluid causing pneumonia, she developed a high fever, and vomited for three straight days. Malinda’s physician recommended that her mother contact a hospice to arrange for Malinda’s final hours.

In a last-ditch effort to keep Malinda alive while managing her pain, Malinda’s mother and her pain specialist replaced the pain medication with medical marijuana. Almost immediately, Malinda’s fever subsided, she stopped vomiting, and her suffering lessened. Within days, she began to recover.

Malinda’s kidneys regained function, she was able to eat, and she began smiling again. Her pain became manageable and her quality of life improved significantly.

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