The Fallbrook Chamber of Commerce has an unlikely new member ---- a licensed medical marijuana dispensary.
Bob Riedel, co-founder of Mother Earth's Alternative Healing Cooperative Inc., said last week he joined the chamber for the same reasons other members join: It's a good way to get involved in the community and to network. The co-op has already signed up as one of the sponsors for Fallbrook's Dec. 5 Christmas parade, for example.
"We wanted to get involved with the community and to let people know who we are," Riedel said of his decision to apply for chamber membership. "We have an actual retail license. We are completely by the book."
Chamber directors said there wasn't any reason to deny the co-op membership, especially given that it's a state-sanctioned business. Chamber Executive Director David Bergeson said the board voted unanimously at its Nov. 3 meeting to grant the dispensary membership.
The board typically does not vote on membership requests ---- businesses turn in an application and pay an annual membership fee and they're in ----- but the co-op was a special case, Bergeson said.
"When the check and application came in, we all sat around with our mouths hanging open, like, 'What do we do?'" Bergeson said. "It was the first time the chamber has ever been confronted with what could be considered a controversial applicant."
The chamber's decision to admit the dispensary appears to be unprecedented in North County. Representatives at chambers in Vista, Oceanside, Escondido and San Marcos said they have no medical marijuana dispensaries as members.
Without guidance from other chambers, Fallbrook Chamber directors said they put aside personal opinions and based their decision on whether the business was legitimate and legal.
"I don't believe in it, but it's like I didn't believe in acupuncture until I found out it works," Bergeson said. "So I'm not the judge. We had no logical reason that we could come up with to reject their application.
"They are a legitimate business recognized by the state. Even though they may not be liked by everybody, they're still a legitimate business."
The co-op kicked off its membership with a $500 donation to the chamber for the Christmas parade. Representatives from the dispensary will ride in a car, although Riedel said he has not decided yet whether he'll mark the car with the co-op's name.
"We want to be really careful with that," Riedel said. "Children are going to be there and we don't want to give anyone the wrong idea or promote anything other than the natural healing side of things."
The nonprofit co-op dispenses marijuana to medical patients with a doctor's prescription. Some doctors prescribe marijuana to help patients suffering from pain, to increase the appetites of patients going through chemotherapy, and to relieve eye pressure for people with glaucoma, among other things.
The co-op has nearly 600 members ---- 80 percent of them between the ages of 50 and 80 ---- does not advertise, and does not allow anyone younger than 21 inside.
State attorney general guidelines say all marijuana dispensed by the co-op must be grown by members, so the dispensary offers free hydroponic marijuana growing classes. Members cultivate the plant privately for their own use and donate what they can't use to the dispensary, which sells or donates it to patients who can't grow their own.
Free marijuana cooking classes are available for members who need or want marijuana's medical benefits but can't or don't want to smoke it, Riedel said. The dispensary also produces Cannabinoid lotions that can be rubbed into skin to ease pain from illnesses such as arthritis.
California voters legalized marijuana for medical use in 1996 when they passed the Compassionate Use Act. The measure makes no mention of how or where the drug can be sold, but California Attorney General Jerry Brown has ruled that formal cooperatives registered under the state's Food and Agricultural Code, and even those organized as less formal "collectives," are legal under California law.
The county fought the state's medical marijuana law for years until the case hit a legal dead-end in May, when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from San Diego and San Bernardino counties.
Many marijuana dispensaries in the county have been raided since the decision, but his co-op has not, Riedel said.
Riedel said the chamber's acceptance is just one more example of the warmth and tolerance Fallbrook offers newcomers.
"Fallbrook is just an amazing town," Riedel said. "The people there are warm, friendly, understanding. I think Fallbrook is a diamond in San Diego that nobody knows about."
News Hawk- Ganjarden 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: North County Times
Author: MORGAN COOK
Contact: North County Times
Copyright: 2009 North County Times
Website: 'Mother Earth' Medical Marijuana Dispensary Joins Chamber
Bob Riedel, co-founder of Mother Earth's Alternative Healing Cooperative Inc., said last week he joined the chamber for the same reasons other members join: It's a good way to get involved in the community and to network. The co-op has already signed up as one of the sponsors for Fallbrook's Dec. 5 Christmas parade, for example.
"We wanted to get involved with the community and to let people know who we are," Riedel said of his decision to apply for chamber membership. "We have an actual retail license. We are completely by the book."
Chamber directors said there wasn't any reason to deny the co-op membership, especially given that it's a state-sanctioned business. Chamber Executive Director David Bergeson said the board voted unanimously at its Nov. 3 meeting to grant the dispensary membership.
The board typically does not vote on membership requests ---- businesses turn in an application and pay an annual membership fee and they're in ----- but the co-op was a special case, Bergeson said.
"When the check and application came in, we all sat around with our mouths hanging open, like, 'What do we do?'" Bergeson said. "It was the first time the chamber has ever been confronted with what could be considered a controversial applicant."
The chamber's decision to admit the dispensary appears to be unprecedented in North County. Representatives at chambers in Vista, Oceanside, Escondido and San Marcos said they have no medical marijuana dispensaries as members.
Without guidance from other chambers, Fallbrook Chamber directors said they put aside personal opinions and based their decision on whether the business was legitimate and legal.
"I don't believe in it, but it's like I didn't believe in acupuncture until I found out it works," Bergeson said. "So I'm not the judge. We had no logical reason that we could come up with to reject their application.
"They are a legitimate business recognized by the state. Even though they may not be liked by everybody, they're still a legitimate business."
The co-op kicked off its membership with a $500 donation to the chamber for the Christmas parade. Representatives from the dispensary will ride in a car, although Riedel said he has not decided yet whether he'll mark the car with the co-op's name.
"We want to be really careful with that," Riedel said. "Children are going to be there and we don't want to give anyone the wrong idea or promote anything other than the natural healing side of things."
The nonprofit co-op dispenses marijuana to medical patients with a doctor's prescription. Some doctors prescribe marijuana to help patients suffering from pain, to increase the appetites of patients going through chemotherapy, and to relieve eye pressure for people with glaucoma, among other things.
The co-op has nearly 600 members ---- 80 percent of them between the ages of 50 and 80 ---- does not advertise, and does not allow anyone younger than 21 inside.
State attorney general guidelines say all marijuana dispensed by the co-op must be grown by members, so the dispensary offers free hydroponic marijuana growing classes. Members cultivate the plant privately for their own use and donate what they can't use to the dispensary, which sells or donates it to patients who can't grow their own.
Free marijuana cooking classes are available for members who need or want marijuana's medical benefits but can't or don't want to smoke it, Riedel said. The dispensary also produces Cannabinoid lotions that can be rubbed into skin to ease pain from illnesses such as arthritis.
California voters legalized marijuana for medical use in 1996 when they passed the Compassionate Use Act. The measure makes no mention of how or where the drug can be sold, but California Attorney General Jerry Brown has ruled that formal cooperatives registered under the state's Food and Agricultural Code, and even those organized as less formal "collectives," are legal under California law.
The county fought the state's medical marijuana law for years until the case hit a legal dead-end in May, when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from San Diego and San Bernardino counties.
Many marijuana dispensaries in the county have been raided since the decision, but his co-op has not, Riedel said.
Riedel said the chamber's acceptance is just one more example of the warmth and tolerance Fallbrook offers newcomers.
"Fallbrook is just an amazing town," Riedel said. "The people there are warm, friendly, understanding. I think Fallbrook is a diamond in San Diego that nobody knows about."
News Hawk- Ganjarden 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: North County Times
Author: MORGAN COOK
Contact: North County Times
Copyright: 2009 North County Times
Website: 'Mother Earth' Medical Marijuana Dispensary Joins Chamber
