Jacob Bell
New Member
STOCKTON - The city's first bona fide medical marijuana dispensary opens for business today, marking a milestone in Stockton's endeavor to bring the underground market into broad daylight.
Owners of Port City Health and Wellness will hold a soft opening, giving their employees a chance to ease into their jobs. On Thursday, they expect to be up and running in earnest.
Co-founder and attorney Michael Rishwain said he's well aware that medical cannabis divides the true believers from the skeptics. But he adds that both the state and city have written laws legitimizing its sale.
"We're providing a product people demand," he said. "What else can I say?"
Ross Moilan, district manager of California Water Service Co., and 16 of his employees share an office building with the start-up dispensary. Moilan said he doesn't know what to expect of the new neighbor.
He assumes the city's permitting procedure ensures that it will be run problem free.
"As long as our employees and customers are not impacted, then I don't have a concern," Moilan said. "I won't let it be an issue."
Rishwain opened the doors to The Record for an advance peek into the dispensary at 1550 W. Fremont St. From the front, the nonprofit business faces Interstate 5, and it backs up to the Stockton Deep Water Channel.
Rishwain said he and his colleagues have been careful to follow the city's newly written ordinance. That includes storing the cannabis each night in large safes and opening their books annually to city auditors.
Members coming in will first meet a pair of guards - one at the front door and a second allowing members from a waiting room into the dispensary area a few at a time, Rishwain said.
Only members with a physician-approved card will be allowed inside.
There, the newly remodeled business has the feel of an upscale retail store with soft music playing and the walls covered with wood paneling. It will employ 16 people, Rishwain said.
Among them, "bud tenders" at the counter will help members select from 30 strains of marijuana buds, depending on their ailment, Rishwain said. Flat-screen televisions display the menu of buds and edible products.
"We're all business people. We're all local," he said. "We want to conduct this like any other business."
Stockton's rules allow only three dispensaries, basing that on the city's population. Members are forbidden from smoking or consuming cannabis products in or around a dispensary.
The second of Stockton's dispensaries - Collective 99 in Eastland Plaza on Wilson Way - is expected to open for business in November, co-founder Stefanie Gernert said.
That shop is under construction, and Gernert and her colleagues are actively recruiting employees, Gernert said.
A third dispensary, Stockton Non-Profit Collective Inc., has applied to open at 3646 Telstar Place. That dispensary has received opposition from Chavez High School nearby. The city's planning commission is expected to consider its permit on Nov. 10.
Two other dispensaries in the Stockton area, but technically situated in San Joaquin County, have been told to cease and desist. San Joaquin supervisors in August banned dispensaries in unincorporated areas.
In Lathrop, at least one application has been filed with the city for permission to open a medical marijuana dispensary. City council members are still considering if they want to allow this type of business in Lathrop.
In Calaveras County, there are two dispensaries, one in San Andreas and another in Valley Springs, but the permitting and zoning of that business are a matter of dispute with county officials.
But Port City Health and Wellness holds its place as Stockton's first sanctioned dispensary. Its founders said their plans include offering members massages and yoga classes. The aim is to be a full-service wellness center.
Roger Todd, a Port City consultant, said he has given up trying to convince others of the benefits of medical marijuana. There are plenty who need it, and they also need a legitimate source, he said.
With Port City opening, the once dicey landscape of marijuana sales is changing, he said.
"You don't need to meet somebody on the street corner," Todd said. "You feel safe coming here."
News Hawk- Jacob Ebel 420 MAGAZINE
Source: recordnet.com
Author: Scott Smith
Contact: Contact Us
Copyright: Dow Jones Local Media Group, Inc.
Website: Out from underground
Owners of Port City Health and Wellness will hold a soft opening, giving their employees a chance to ease into their jobs. On Thursday, they expect to be up and running in earnest.
Co-founder and attorney Michael Rishwain said he's well aware that medical cannabis divides the true believers from the skeptics. But he adds that both the state and city have written laws legitimizing its sale.
"We're providing a product people demand," he said. "What else can I say?"
Ross Moilan, district manager of California Water Service Co., and 16 of his employees share an office building with the start-up dispensary. Moilan said he doesn't know what to expect of the new neighbor.
He assumes the city's permitting procedure ensures that it will be run problem free.
"As long as our employees and customers are not impacted, then I don't have a concern," Moilan said. "I won't let it be an issue."
Rishwain opened the doors to The Record for an advance peek into the dispensary at 1550 W. Fremont St. From the front, the nonprofit business faces Interstate 5, and it backs up to the Stockton Deep Water Channel.
Rishwain said he and his colleagues have been careful to follow the city's newly written ordinance. That includes storing the cannabis each night in large safes and opening their books annually to city auditors.
Members coming in will first meet a pair of guards - one at the front door and a second allowing members from a waiting room into the dispensary area a few at a time, Rishwain said.
Only members with a physician-approved card will be allowed inside.
There, the newly remodeled business has the feel of an upscale retail store with soft music playing and the walls covered with wood paneling. It will employ 16 people, Rishwain said.
Among them, "bud tenders" at the counter will help members select from 30 strains of marijuana buds, depending on their ailment, Rishwain said. Flat-screen televisions display the menu of buds and edible products.
"We're all business people. We're all local," he said. "We want to conduct this like any other business."
Stockton's rules allow only three dispensaries, basing that on the city's population. Members are forbidden from smoking or consuming cannabis products in or around a dispensary.
The second of Stockton's dispensaries - Collective 99 in Eastland Plaza on Wilson Way - is expected to open for business in November, co-founder Stefanie Gernert said.
That shop is under construction, and Gernert and her colleagues are actively recruiting employees, Gernert said.
A third dispensary, Stockton Non-Profit Collective Inc., has applied to open at 3646 Telstar Place. That dispensary has received opposition from Chavez High School nearby. The city's planning commission is expected to consider its permit on Nov. 10.
Two other dispensaries in the Stockton area, but technically situated in San Joaquin County, have been told to cease and desist. San Joaquin supervisors in August banned dispensaries in unincorporated areas.
In Lathrop, at least one application has been filed with the city for permission to open a medical marijuana dispensary. City council members are still considering if they want to allow this type of business in Lathrop.
In Calaveras County, there are two dispensaries, one in San Andreas and another in Valley Springs, but the permitting and zoning of that business are a matter of dispute with county officials.
But Port City Health and Wellness holds its place as Stockton's first sanctioned dispensary. Its founders said their plans include offering members massages and yoga classes. The aim is to be a full-service wellness center.
Roger Todd, a Port City consultant, said he has given up trying to convince others of the benefits of medical marijuana. There are plenty who need it, and they also need a legitimate source, he said.
With Port City opening, the once dicey landscape of marijuana sales is changing, he said.
"You don't need to meet somebody on the street corner," Todd said. "You feel safe coming here."
News Hawk- Jacob Ebel 420 MAGAZINE
Source: recordnet.com
Author: Scott Smith
Contact: Contact Us
Copyright: Dow Jones Local Media Group, Inc.
Website: Out from underground
