MARIJUANA CLINICS COULD SPUR NICHE INDUSTRY

Helping Patients Get Approved May Be Lucrative

Southfield -- A new medical clinic here specializes in helping
patients qualify with the state to treat their health problems with
medical marijuana.

The nonprofit The Hemp and Cannabis Foundation opened the clinic, its
first in Michigan, in December. That's the same month a
voter-approved law went into effect legalizing medical marijuana to
ease the pain of certain illnesses specified by the state, such as
cancer, glaucoma, Alzheimer's disease and HIV/AIDS.

State regulators will begin accepting applications on Saturday from
patients who want state authorization to acquire, grow, transport or
possess marijuana for therapeutic use.

"If a patient has a qualifying condition, then our doctors will help
them get a permit," said chief executive Paul Stanford, adding the
clinic pre-screens patients to ensure they've already been diagnosed
with an illness approved for treatment with medical marijuana. The
clinic doesn't sell or dispense marijuana, because that's against the law.

The Portland, Ore.-based organization is taking roots in what could
soon become a budding niche industry in Michigan.

"You're looking at a $10 million annual industry that physicians
aren't going to turn their backs on for too long," said Brad
Forrester, a communications director for the Michigan Medical
Marijuana Association, which began organizing last year and is
applying for nonprofit status with the state.

Stanford said he sees the clinic's role as simple: to provide
patients with access to doctors willing to write the state-required
certifications qualifying them for a medical marijuana permit card.

Despite the drug's legalization in more than a dozen states for
medicinal use, many doctors won't recommend it -- either because they
fear legal reprisal or don't see it as the best therapeutic option.

New Revenue for Michigan

The clinic, the first of its kind in Michigan, charges about $200 for
patients looking to get a year-long medical marijuana permit.
Multiply that by the estimated 50,000 patients that supporters say
the law will help, and medical professionals are looking at a
significant new revenue stream.

"That's a nice chunk of change," Forrester said.

For the THCF clinic, the new law is already paying off. It has
logged more than 380 patient visits since its opening in temporary
space on the 19th floor of a Southfield office tower.

On a recent day, patients were seated in a boardroom-style conference
room, where the foundation's staffers educated them about medicinal
marijuana, how it can be taken -- by smoking or ingestion -- and
about its potential hazards. Attendees, for instance, were advised
not to operate a motor vehicle after using the drug.

For patients like Dave Rice, a 30-year-old Brighton resident who
suffers from arthritis pain brought on by a severe knee injury, the
clinic is providing a more natural alternative to narcotic
pain-relievers to soothe his symptoms.

"This might be something that can relieve my pain and help," Rice
said, noting he was interested in taking the marijuana in pill form,
rather than smoking it -- an option Stanford said many patients
choose to avoid a cannabis-induced high.

The foundation also expects to see competition arise in Michigan from
other medical clinics or doctors' offices setting up shop to meet the
growing demand for medical permits. That's been the case in other states.

While the foundation has not set daily hours here -- only opening a
couple days a month -- Stanford said he hopes to have a permanent
medical center by May and is hiring staff, including a doctor. Right
now, the foundation is using a doctor from its Denver location.

Michigan could see other industry outgrowth, such as stores selling
pot-growing equipment.

Use Will Be Well-Regulated

The new law could seed another line of business: a caregiver, a
person designated to help the ill cultivate or obtain medical
marijuana, Forrester said.

"Caregivers are going to be an industry here in Michigan, as well,"
he said, noting the association's Web site,
www.michiganmedicalmarijuana.org, will make space available to
caregivers who want to advertise their services.

Under the new law, caregivers also must register with the state, be
older than 21 and have no felony drug convictions. Caregivers can ask
patients to compensate them for the costs of their service -- such as
money spent on growing equipment or buying seeds -- but can't legally
sell the product.

The Michigan Department of Community Health will closely regulate
doctors and medical clinics that certify patients for clinical
cannabis use, watching for abuse, said Melanie Brim, a department
director. The department will monitor doctors who appear to churn
out high volumes of prescriptions, checking to ensure they're not
certifying patients without an in-person exam and a careful look at
their medical records, Brim said.

The Michigan State Medical Society, which opposed the original ballot
initiative, doesn't have an official position on clinics specializing
in medical marijuana, but shares some of the health department's
concerns, said David Fox, a medical society spokesman.

Fox said the society advocates communication between specialty
doctors and primary care physicians to safeguard against possible
drug interactions and to ensure the medical care isn't fragmented.

"You'd want to have a bona fide doctor-patient relationship,
including the transfer of medical records," Fox added.