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Disabled veterans Greg and Matthew Bechtel looked like businessmen as they spoke before the Albany City Council last month, with close-cropped hair, neckties and a serious demeanor. Meanwhile, Oregon State University students Jake Lewis and Ryan Smith, a couple of clean-cut 20-somethings in recently purchased suits, have been making the rounds of the Corvallis business community and meeting with local officials. The Bechtels and the OSU students appear all-American, but their plans are controversial in Albany and Corvallis, and especially concerning to law enforcement.
They intend to open storefront medical marijuana dispensaries, and are essentially lobbying officials for their support. These new faces don't fit the typical stereotypes associated with pot, however. Think businessmen and entrepreneurs, not Cheech and Chong. Medical marijuana users also don't fit a single mold, said Greg Bechtel, 35, an Air Force veteran. "People think of Oregon Medical Marijuana Program patients as long-haired, tie-dye-wearing, bearded hippie types, and that's not the case at all," he said. "We have veterans, the elderly community," added Matt Bechtel, 37, who served in Iraq and has post-traumatic stress disorder.
Even though Oregon has passed a law allowing dispensaries, the future of those businesses is still uncertain. Some cities have moved against them with legislation, with officials adamantly opposed to the marijuana outlets. And law enforcement officials, including those in Linn County, are lobbying hard against dispensaries, as well.
Dispensary Rules
House Bill 3460, passed early last year by the Legislature, is an effort to solve a nagging problem with the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program. Under OMMP rules, medical marijuana patients must either grow their own or find someone to grow it for them. The new dispensary law creates a third-party system for matching patients with a reliable supply of cannabis.
The law directs the Oregon Health Authority to create a registry of state-approved dispensaries and develop regulations for their operation. The agency will begin accepting applications March 3 and is widely expected to do a land office business, with some observers predicting 200 or more filings. A 13-member advisory committee, including several representatives from the mid-valley, has been meeting to hammer out rules for licensing and running dispensaries and released its third draft of proposed regulations last month.
Among the Highlights:
- Dispensary operators must pass a criminal background check that screens for drug offenses but not other crimes.
- Fees for the initial application and annual renewal are $4,000.
- A dispensary must be in an area zoned commercial, industrial, mixed-use or agricultural. It cannot be within 1,000 feet of an elementary or secondary school or a career academy attended primarily by minors, nor within 1,000 feet of another dispensary.
- All marijuana must be kept in a secure area, and alarm and video surveillance systems are required.
- Marijuana must be tested for mold, mildew and pesticides.
- Dispensaries must ensure that only registered OMMP cardholders have access to marijuana, and records must be kept of all transactions.
The rules are still in flux, and some are being hotly contested. Corvallis Police Chief Jon Sassaman and state Rep. Andy Olson of Albany, a former state trooper, are among committee members lobbying for tighter controls, including broad criminal background checks and training requirements for all dispensary workers. "Those are concerns for me," Sassaman said. "I think communities want to ensure that there is some form of quality control."
But fellow committee member Todd Dalotto thinks the rules may be too stringent in some regards. A horticultural scientist and cannabis industry consultant who owns CAN! Research in Corvallis, Dalotto thinks the proposed controls are adequate to ensure that irresponsible dispensary operators can have their licenses revoked. "I don't see any reason to overregulate it," he said. "I basically would like to see cannabis regulated like other, similar industries."
Business Opportunity
Lewis, 25, is a senior in sociology at OSU. Smith, 21, majoring in physical therapy and athletic training, is also a senior. But when the Oregon Legislature voted early this year to approve a dispensary system for medical marijuana, the two saw a business opportunity they couldn't ignore. For now, Oregon law does not allow anyone to make a profit – or even earn a salary – from medical marijuana. Dispensaries, like growers and caregivers registered under the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program, can only be reimbursed for the actual costs of the service they provide.
And for now, Smith and Lewis say they're content to operate on a nonprofit basis, providing a much-needed service to medical marijuana patients at the dispensary they plan to open early next year. Like many other Oregonians, however, both believe legalization of recreational pot is inevitable, and when that day comes, they aim to have their business positioned for success. One of the first things they did was sign a lease for 2,000 square feet at 300 S.W. Second St. in downtown Corvallis, across from the post office.
Locking down a location was critical because of the exclusion zones written into the law. In a midsized community like Corvallis, that means there will only be a limited number of potential sites where a dispensary could operate. "We were trying to weed out any competition – no pun intended," Lewis said. The partners say their dispensary, called The Healing Center, will offer dried marijuana in smokable form as well as a variety of oils, creams, capsules, tinctures, infusions and edibles, such as honey. It will also have a retail section selling water pipes, bongs, vaporizers and accessories.
They've rented space just down the street at 300 S.W. Jefferson Ave. and contracted with Southern Oregon Alternative Medicine to provide clinical services at least one day a month, when Dr. Kathleen Kleinert will see patients looking to sign up for the medical marijuana program. The office is scheduled to open this week. They plan to purchase a CO2 extraction machine for producing cannabis oil, which can then be infused into edible products, and have opened negotiations with manufacturers of chocolates and soda pop. For now, edibles can be used to deliver precisely measured doses of medicine to cardholding OMMP patients, but if Oregon follows the lead of Washington and Colorado, they could be used to deliver a legal high.
"Until it becomes legal, we can build up a soda brand," said Smith. "We're going to call it CannaCoke." Lewis and Smith have also invested time in building up goodwill in the community. Dressed in suits and ties, they've attended Chamber of Commerce mixers, contacted the downtown association and met with the mayor and chief of police. "The reaction has been extremely positive," Lewis said. "They've all been doing everything they can to help us."
Craving Legitimacy
On a recent weekday, the air inside Matt Bechtel's apartment was pungent with the aroma of marijuana, both from plants and a large salad bowl filled with about a half-pound of buds. On Pandora with classic rock settings, Steve Miller randomly came on, singing about being a joker and a smoker, among other habits. The Bechtel brothers use medical marijuana, but they also are caregivers and growers. People with medical cards show up at the apartment to get pot, and, at times, smoke it in the residence.
In essence, they are already running a dispensary. The brothers don't want to be seen as drug dealers, though, and they welcome House Bill 3460. "It enables us to actually have a storefront," Greg Bechtel said. And that means greater safety for themselves, their plants and, most importantly, their patients. Although medical marijuana is legal, without storefronts, it has the feel of a secret scene, complete with shady characters, the Bechtels said.
"We're underground and I hate it," Greg Bechtel said. He casually mentioned that one of their patients was robbed trying to purchase medical marijuana. Matt Bechtel said that marijuana, while called "weed," is actually difficult and expensive to grow – it costs about $2,000 to get a decent light setup and other equipment. And many patients end up purchasing their medical marijuana off the black market,because they don't know how to connect with a legitimate grower, the Bechtels said.
Other patients who try to grow marijuana can find themselves the victims of burglaries where people steal their plants. While the brothers support House Bill 3460, they still have issues with the way dispensary rules are being written. For starters, the Bechtels' patients, or those who they dispense to, won't be able to smoke at a dispensary.
The Bechtels said that could mean that people will get kicked out of their apartments. Landlords who disprove of medical marijuana sometimes put clauses into renters agreements where they can evict anyone using pot, legal or not. The brothers also are worried about the limited number of spots where a dispensary could operate in Albany, so they're in the process of securing a lease. Currently, the brothers get reimbursed for the costs of growing marijuana. They stressed that they are not professional growers, however.
"We live on our disability," Greg Bechtel said. "This is what we do to help people." The Bechtels said they benefited as medical marijuana patients by switching from prescription narcotics to treat pain. They want to help others do the same, they said. But they realize that if they open a dispensary, they could be in a position to capitalize if marijuana is completely legalized.
Fighting Against Dispensaries
Not all Oregon cities want marijuana dispensaries, and the cities of Medford and Tualatin have banned them. The League of Oregon Cities has taken a stance that municipalities should be able to regulate or prohibit dispensaries.
Dexter Johnson, state of Oregon Legislative Counsel, responded with an opinion Nov. 5 that cities can't prevent or restrict the operation of medical marijuana facilities. Jim Delapoer, Albany city attorney, said that the matter likely will be resolved in a costly court case, where even the winner loses financially.
"Let another city fight this fight," Delapoer added, during an Albany City Council meeting Nov. 6. Delapoer advised the city to wait before taking any action, saying the law was a moving target, and the costs involved could be heavy. The Albany City Council seemed nearly split on the issue during a previous meeting in October, with some councilors adamantly against marijuana dispensaries, and others wanting to allow the operations within town.
The Corvallis City Council has been staying informed on developments with the new law but has not discussed whether to consider banning dispensaries. Mayor Julie Manning said she's not aware of any sentiment on the council to move in that direction and points out that Corvallis may not have the legal framework in place to initiate a ban.
"A business license has been a mechanism that (other) city councils have looked towards as being a local way to keep dispensaries from opening," she said. "(But) Corvallis doesn't have a business license." Albany also doesn't issue business licenses. The city of Lebanon has taken no stance on dispensaries, said Mayor Paul Aziz. But its police chief, like others in the area, has spoken out against them.
Police Concerns
Linn County's leading law enforcement officials are worried that dispensaries will pose a serious problem for the public. Last week, District Attorney Doug Marteeny, Sheriff Tim Mueller and the police chiefs of Albany, Lebanon and Sweet Home sent a letter to the Linn County commissioners, mayors and city councilors urging them to fight dispensaries. "We are concerned that California's drug-dealing dispensary system will be duplicated here," it states (the letter was also sent to the Democrat-Herald and appears on Page A7 as an op-ed piece).
The letter talks about dispensaries in Oregon's southern neighbor where people are enticed into establishments to meet with doctors, and then receive a prescription and buy marijuana on the spot. The law enforcement officials also take a shot at Oregon's medical marijuana system in general. "'Substantial pain is the nebulous medical condition listed on 56,572 of those (58,000) marijuana card applications. ... It is clear that a lot of people just want to get high and are abusing Oregon's medical marijuana system to do so," the letter states. In an October interview, Albany Police Chief Mario Lattanzio said that dispensaries will pose a regulatory headache and increase illegal pot use and intoxicated driving.
Lattanzio previously worked in Arizona, where dispensaries were already operating. Sassaman, the Corvallis police chief, has a number of concerns about the new law, including how it will play out in the home of Oregon State University. "We have a major university that sits at the heart of our city," he pointed out. "We're going to have a host of 17-, 18- and 19-year-olds leaving home for the first time and trying to figure life out, yet the way the law is written, we could have a dispensary sitting right across the street from the university." In his role on the rules committee, Sassaman said, he's doing his best to ensure there are "bright lines" that clearly define what dispensaries can and cannot do. He's also waiting for the Corvallis City Council to decide whether to enact any ordinances of its own. Once the rules are enacted, he'll enforce them. "I'm going to follow whatever the law is," he said. "If that's state law or some layer of local law, I'm going to follow whatever the law is."
News Moderator - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Gazettetimes.com
Author: Kyle Odegard and Bennett Hall
Contact: Contact Us
Website: Dispensaries light new fire under pot debate
They intend to open storefront medical marijuana dispensaries, and are essentially lobbying officials for their support. These new faces don't fit the typical stereotypes associated with pot, however. Think businessmen and entrepreneurs, not Cheech and Chong. Medical marijuana users also don't fit a single mold, said Greg Bechtel, 35, an Air Force veteran. "People think of Oregon Medical Marijuana Program patients as long-haired, tie-dye-wearing, bearded hippie types, and that's not the case at all," he said. "We have veterans, the elderly community," added Matt Bechtel, 37, who served in Iraq and has post-traumatic stress disorder.
Even though Oregon has passed a law allowing dispensaries, the future of those businesses is still uncertain. Some cities have moved against them with legislation, with officials adamantly opposed to the marijuana outlets. And law enforcement officials, including those in Linn County, are lobbying hard against dispensaries, as well.
Dispensary Rules
House Bill 3460, passed early last year by the Legislature, is an effort to solve a nagging problem with the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program. Under OMMP rules, medical marijuana patients must either grow their own or find someone to grow it for them. The new dispensary law creates a third-party system for matching patients with a reliable supply of cannabis.
The law directs the Oregon Health Authority to create a registry of state-approved dispensaries and develop regulations for their operation. The agency will begin accepting applications March 3 and is widely expected to do a land office business, with some observers predicting 200 or more filings. A 13-member advisory committee, including several representatives from the mid-valley, has been meeting to hammer out rules for licensing and running dispensaries and released its third draft of proposed regulations last month.
Among the Highlights:
- Dispensary operators must pass a criminal background check that screens for drug offenses but not other crimes.
- Fees for the initial application and annual renewal are $4,000.
- A dispensary must be in an area zoned commercial, industrial, mixed-use or agricultural. It cannot be within 1,000 feet of an elementary or secondary school or a career academy attended primarily by minors, nor within 1,000 feet of another dispensary.
- All marijuana must be kept in a secure area, and alarm and video surveillance systems are required.
- Marijuana must be tested for mold, mildew and pesticides.
- Dispensaries must ensure that only registered OMMP cardholders have access to marijuana, and records must be kept of all transactions.
The rules are still in flux, and some are being hotly contested. Corvallis Police Chief Jon Sassaman and state Rep. Andy Olson of Albany, a former state trooper, are among committee members lobbying for tighter controls, including broad criminal background checks and training requirements for all dispensary workers. "Those are concerns for me," Sassaman said. "I think communities want to ensure that there is some form of quality control."
But fellow committee member Todd Dalotto thinks the rules may be too stringent in some regards. A horticultural scientist and cannabis industry consultant who owns CAN! Research in Corvallis, Dalotto thinks the proposed controls are adequate to ensure that irresponsible dispensary operators can have their licenses revoked. "I don't see any reason to overregulate it," he said. "I basically would like to see cannabis regulated like other, similar industries."
Business Opportunity
Lewis, 25, is a senior in sociology at OSU. Smith, 21, majoring in physical therapy and athletic training, is also a senior. But when the Oregon Legislature voted early this year to approve a dispensary system for medical marijuana, the two saw a business opportunity they couldn't ignore. For now, Oregon law does not allow anyone to make a profit – or even earn a salary – from medical marijuana. Dispensaries, like growers and caregivers registered under the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program, can only be reimbursed for the actual costs of the service they provide.
And for now, Smith and Lewis say they're content to operate on a nonprofit basis, providing a much-needed service to medical marijuana patients at the dispensary they plan to open early next year. Like many other Oregonians, however, both believe legalization of recreational pot is inevitable, and when that day comes, they aim to have their business positioned for success. One of the first things they did was sign a lease for 2,000 square feet at 300 S.W. Second St. in downtown Corvallis, across from the post office.
Locking down a location was critical because of the exclusion zones written into the law. In a midsized community like Corvallis, that means there will only be a limited number of potential sites where a dispensary could operate. "We were trying to weed out any competition – no pun intended," Lewis said. The partners say their dispensary, called The Healing Center, will offer dried marijuana in smokable form as well as a variety of oils, creams, capsules, tinctures, infusions and edibles, such as honey. It will also have a retail section selling water pipes, bongs, vaporizers and accessories.
They've rented space just down the street at 300 S.W. Jefferson Ave. and contracted with Southern Oregon Alternative Medicine to provide clinical services at least one day a month, when Dr. Kathleen Kleinert will see patients looking to sign up for the medical marijuana program. The office is scheduled to open this week. They plan to purchase a CO2 extraction machine for producing cannabis oil, which can then be infused into edible products, and have opened negotiations with manufacturers of chocolates and soda pop. For now, edibles can be used to deliver precisely measured doses of medicine to cardholding OMMP patients, but if Oregon follows the lead of Washington and Colorado, they could be used to deliver a legal high.
"Until it becomes legal, we can build up a soda brand," said Smith. "We're going to call it CannaCoke." Lewis and Smith have also invested time in building up goodwill in the community. Dressed in suits and ties, they've attended Chamber of Commerce mixers, contacted the downtown association and met with the mayor and chief of police. "The reaction has been extremely positive," Lewis said. "They've all been doing everything they can to help us."
Craving Legitimacy
On a recent weekday, the air inside Matt Bechtel's apartment was pungent with the aroma of marijuana, both from plants and a large salad bowl filled with about a half-pound of buds. On Pandora with classic rock settings, Steve Miller randomly came on, singing about being a joker and a smoker, among other habits. The Bechtel brothers use medical marijuana, but they also are caregivers and growers. People with medical cards show up at the apartment to get pot, and, at times, smoke it in the residence.
In essence, they are already running a dispensary. The brothers don't want to be seen as drug dealers, though, and they welcome House Bill 3460. "It enables us to actually have a storefront," Greg Bechtel said. And that means greater safety for themselves, their plants and, most importantly, their patients. Although medical marijuana is legal, without storefronts, it has the feel of a secret scene, complete with shady characters, the Bechtels said.
"We're underground and I hate it," Greg Bechtel said. He casually mentioned that one of their patients was robbed trying to purchase medical marijuana. Matt Bechtel said that marijuana, while called "weed," is actually difficult and expensive to grow – it costs about $2,000 to get a decent light setup and other equipment. And many patients end up purchasing their medical marijuana off the black market,because they don't know how to connect with a legitimate grower, the Bechtels said.
Other patients who try to grow marijuana can find themselves the victims of burglaries where people steal their plants. While the brothers support House Bill 3460, they still have issues with the way dispensary rules are being written. For starters, the Bechtels' patients, or those who they dispense to, won't be able to smoke at a dispensary.
The Bechtels said that could mean that people will get kicked out of their apartments. Landlords who disprove of medical marijuana sometimes put clauses into renters agreements where they can evict anyone using pot, legal or not. The brothers also are worried about the limited number of spots where a dispensary could operate in Albany, so they're in the process of securing a lease. Currently, the brothers get reimbursed for the costs of growing marijuana. They stressed that they are not professional growers, however.
"We live on our disability," Greg Bechtel said. "This is what we do to help people." The Bechtels said they benefited as medical marijuana patients by switching from prescription narcotics to treat pain. They want to help others do the same, they said. But they realize that if they open a dispensary, they could be in a position to capitalize if marijuana is completely legalized.
Fighting Against Dispensaries
Not all Oregon cities want marijuana dispensaries, and the cities of Medford and Tualatin have banned them. The League of Oregon Cities has taken a stance that municipalities should be able to regulate or prohibit dispensaries.
Dexter Johnson, state of Oregon Legislative Counsel, responded with an opinion Nov. 5 that cities can't prevent or restrict the operation of medical marijuana facilities. Jim Delapoer, Albany city attorney, said that the matter likely will be resolved in a costly court case, where even the winner loses financially.
"Let another city fight this fight," Delapoer added, during an Albany City Council meeting Nov. 6. Delapoer advised the city to wait before taking any action, saying the law was a moving target, and the costs involved could be heavy. The Albany City Council seemed nearly split on the issue during a previous meeting in October, with some councilors adamantly against marijuana dispensaries, and others wanting to allow the operations within town.
The Corvallis City Council has been staying informed on developments with the new law but has not discussed whether to consider banning dispensaries. Mayor Julie Manning said she's not aware of any sentiment on the council to move in that direction and points out that Corvallis may not have the legal framework in place to initiate a ban.
"A business license has been a mechanism that (other) city councils have looked towards as being a local way to keep dispensaries from opening," she said. "(But) Corvallis doesn't have a business license." Albany also doesn't issue business licenses. The city of Lebanon has taken no stance on dispensaries, said Mayor Paul Aziz. But its police chief, like others in the area, has spoken out against them.
Police Concerns
Linn County's leading law enforcement officials are worried that dispensaries will pose a serious problem for the public. Last week, District Attorney Doug Marteeny, Sheriff Tim Mueller and the police chiefs of Albany, Lebanon and Sweet Home sent a letter to the Linn County commissioners, mayors and city councilors urging them to fight dispensaries. "We are concerned that California's drug-dealing dispensary system will be duplicated here," it states (the letter was also sent to the Democrat-Herald and appears on Page A7 as an op-ed piece).
The letter talks about dispensaries in Oregon's southern neighbor where people are enticed into establishments to meet with doctors, and then receive a prescription and buy marijuana on the spot. The law enforcement officials also take a shot at Oregon's medical marijuana system in general. "'Substantial pain is the nebulous medical condition listed on 56,572 of those (58,000) marijuana card applications. ... It is clear that a lot of people just want to get high and are abusing Oregon's medical marijuana system to do so," the letter states. In an October interview, Albany Police Chief Mario Lattanzio said that dispensaries will pose a regulatory headache and increase illegal pot use and intoxicated driving.
Lattanzio previously worked in Arizona, where dispensaries were already operating. Sassaman, the Corvallis police chief, has a number of concerns about the new law, including how it will play out in the home of Oregon State University. "We have a major university that sits at the heart of our city," he pointed out. "We're going to have a host of 17-, 18- and 19-year-olds leaving home for the first time and trying to figure life out, yet the way the law is written, we could have a dispensary sitting right across the street from the university." In his role on the rules committee, Sassaman said, he's doing his best to ensure there are "bright lines" that clearly define what dispensaries can and cannot do. He's also waiting for the Corvallis City Council to decide whether to enact any ordinances of its own. Once the rules are enacted, he'll enforce them. "I'm going to follow whatever the law is," he said. "If that's state law or some layer of local law, I'm going to follow whatever the law is."
News Moderator - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Gazettetimes.com
Author: Kyle Odegard and Bennett Hall
Contact: Contact Us
Website: Dispensaries light new fire under pot debate
