NEVADA CITY LOOKS TO COLFAX MEDI-POT SHOP FOR GUIDELINES

COLFAX -- If Nevada City leaders choose to allow medical marijuana
dispensaries in their town, they may look 15 miles southeast to a
well-established facility as a template for the future.

In front of a small, one-story house near Interstate 80, a large,
gray-bearded man guards the entrance. You won't get past him and into
the Golden State Patient Care Collective without a recommendation
from a physician.

Once inside the building, a receptionist checks the validity of the
doctor who signed your recommendation.

The building's unmistakable scent leaves no doubt what's for sale here.

The collective's co-owner, Jim Henry, said the group has worked for
the past five years to cultivate a product and facility that is safe
and reliable for the collective's 1,500 clients.

As Nevada City looks to craft an ordinance that may allow such stores
in town, police Chief Lou Trovato and Councilwoman Sally Harris have
visited the facility, hoping to gain some insight into how the place operates.

Next week, new mayor Reinette Senum is planning a visit to the
facility, ahead of possibly setting guidelines for the operation of
dispensaries at their July 22 meeting.

Nevada City resident Harry Bennett has applied for a business license
to operate a dispensary in town. So has Henry, and he's watching the
situation closely.

We've had a model over here for the last five years that we're very
proud of," said Henry, who lives in Nevada County. "It's not about
making money -- it's about helping people."

Like Bennett in Nevada City, Henry has been a medicinal marijuana
user since shortly after the Compassionate Care Act was approved by
California voters in 1996.

Henry, 60, said marijuana has helped him overcome the pain of cancer,
and he uses it daily; he wouldn't say what kind of cancer he has.
(Bennett also declined to talk about his ailment in an interview with
The Union.)

Surveillance cameras record each visitor's entrance into Henry's
store. Once inside, customers first walk into an intake room to have
their recommendation checked.

A second room houses shelves stocked with large jars filled with
dried marijuana of all kinds for various ailments. They have names
like "Sour Diesel," "Blackberry," "Jack the Ripper" and "Blue
Dreams," with a litany of accompanying scents.

Their prices are clearly marked, ranging from $15 to $60 per
one-eighth of an ounce.

The same room is stocked with popcorn and chocolate, prepared with
marijuana butter. More shelves also contain hard candy made with
marijuana. Liniments made of cannabis leaves and alcohol can be
rubbed on joints to ease arthritis. Marijuana cookbooks line yet more
shelves; one of the more popular volumes is called "The Cannabible."

Though he wouldn't release the amount of sales tax he sends into
Colfax city coffers, Henry joked that on some days, the nonprofit
collective raises more sales tax revenue than the nearby McDonald's.

The collective also is active in community service, helping with the
Independence Day fireworks in town. Shriners Hospital honored them
recently for contributions.

Henry is convinced of marijuana's effectiveness to ease pain and said
it doesn't have the addictive qualities that he believes some
prescription drugs have.

Almost every patient that comes in here, they're taking our candy,
and they're replacing OxyContin," Henry said, referring to a powerful
painkiller. "The pharmaceutical companies have ruined us. What we get
to do (here) is help people. Never in the history of the world has
anyone overdosed from marijuana use."

The safeguards in the store have greatly improved public perception
and kept crime to a minimum, Henry said. He's never had a police call, he said.

Customers can't smoke on the premises or use any of the material
until they've left the store. Each patron is given a one-page list of
guidelines for use and purchase of the products.

"I wanted to make sure the federal government has no reason to come
in here," he said.

At a Nevada City Council meeting Wednesday, residents were divided
over where to put a new dispensary, and council members said they
would craft an ordinance that fits the city's needs.

Harris visited the collective and noted its many safeguards.

It may come down to zoning issues, said new Mayor Senum.

"I want to make sure it's safe and secure," Senum said. "I want to
get a good sense of what (the collective) is like."

She'd like to see no more than one such dispensary in town, Senum
added. "We know we have to limit ourselves and protect our
interests," she said.

Henry said he has been wanting to open a dispensary in Nevada County,
where he lives and owns property, but the political climate hasn't
been right. He wants to set up a collective that includes a resource
room for people seeking alternative ways to treat their ailments,
plus all of the same security features in the Colfax store.

Nevada County "is where our roots are, and we've raised our family
here," Henry said. I know (the city council) wants it to happen
safely. I'm proud of the way they've acted. They want safe and easy access."