DISPENSARIES TAP GROWING TREND

After 11 years of working as a carpenter, Billy Miller watched the
economy sour.

But after watching interest grow locally around providing marijuana to
patients legally registered to use the plant for medicinal purposes in
the state of Colorado, the Carbondale resident found his new calling.

The result is Aspen L.E.A.F. (Local's Emporium for Alternative Farms),
one of two medical marijuana dispensaries to open in Aspen last week.
Three other similar businesses are operating downvalley.

In a former dentist's office at the corner of Spring and Main streets,
Miller, 32, and two partners in the business say this is only the beginning.

Miller said Aspen is a test case, to see what kind of business a town
of 6,000 people can generate. He'd like to expand the L.E.A.F. brand
to other communities in the future.

The medicinal uses of the plant are slowly becoming better understood,
Miller said. It is extremely useful as an aide to chronic pain,
replacing pain killers that have nasty side effects, he said.

There are also economic benefits to be reaped. Miller's business acts
a "caregiver" to people who designate it as such. That means Miller
can grow six marijuana plants per patient. Other growers who register
as caregivers can also legally grow the plant, and then sell their
product to L.E.A.F. and other dispensaries. To encourage patients to
designate L.E.A.F. as their primary caregiver, Miller offers lower
prices to "members." A member pays $100 for 7 grams, as opposed to
$120 for cardholders who do not designate L.E.A.F. as their primary
caregiver.

Miller also offers marijuana in other forms, including cooking oils
($100 per bottle, great for salad dressings, Miller said) and
tinctures, which is a liquid extract made from the plant that is taken
under the tongue in a dose of three to 10 drops under the tongue.

Miller also hopes to bring in acupuncturists and massage therapists to
L.E.A.F. and one day offer classes on how to grow marijuana.

In a town where outdoor activities and manual labor have left many
residents walking wounded, Miller thinks he has an audience.

At the end of June, Pitkin County was home to 42 medical marijuana
patients, according to the official registry kept by the Colorado
Department of Public Health and Environment. While that may not sound
like much, consider that there were fewer than three medical marijuana
patients living in Pitkin County in June 2008.

Statewide, the numbers are also spiking. As of Aug. 17, there were
10,003 medical marijuana patients in Colorado. There were just 4,700
such patients at the beginning of the year. The state is expecting
about 15,000 medical marijuana patients by the end of 2009.

About 90 percent of people on the registry use marijuana to alleviate
symptoms of severe pain. Cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, muscle spasms and
nausea are other state-approved reasons to get a medical marijuana
card. Psychological ailments such as anxiety and bi-polar disorder are
not currently approved by the state for medical marijuana treatment.

In the last few weeks, Miller said he has seen 15 friends obtain their
medical marijuana cards and made "countless" referrals to local
doctors willing to help patients get registered with the state.

To obtain medical marijuana certification, a patient must get doctor
approval. The doctor then fills out a basic form and sends it in to
the state, which can approve or reject the application. Processing
typically takes 30 to 35 days.

It is up to the individual doctor to decide if they wish to recommend
patients for medical marijuana use. Not every doctor's office will
provide the recommendation.

Ron Razzore, co-owner of the Aspen Center for Cosmetic Medicine
practice, will recommend medical marijuana for a patient if he
believes it will be useful to them and if the patient meets the
state's guidelines.

To provide the recommendation, Razzore said medical documentation of a
prospective patient's chronic pain or other ailments is the surest way
to go.

Razzore, who practiced family medicine for 25 years before opening the
cosmetic medicine clinic, has "definitely turned some patients away"
for medical marijuana, he said, although most people he's seen have
had legitimate medical concerns.

I've always believed I'd rather someone smoke marijuana than take
Percocet or Vicodin," Razzore said. "I'm happy the state has finally
recognized that there are some benefits" to medical marijuana.

Colorado voters in 2000 amended the state constitution to legalize
marijuana for certain medical purposes. The federal government still
considers marijuana a Schedule I controlled substance, meaning the
feds see no recognized medical use for the plant.

But a statement made in the spring by U.S. Attorney General Eric
Holder that the federal government would cease to interfere with
states that have medical marijuana programs seems to be part of the
reason behind the proliferation of dispensaries in Colorado over the
last six months. Another is a recent decision by the Colorado Board of
Health, which declined to accept an amendment to medical marijuana
rules that would limit the number of patients a caregiver could have
to five. The proposed amendment was voted down in a day-long hearing
in Denver in July that was attended by hundreds of medical marijuana
advocates.

The state program is not free from controversy, however. Colorado
Attorney General John Suthers last week called for an investigation
into the high number of medical marijuana recommendations that are
coming out of some doctor's offices. State records indicate that one
physician, who is not identified, has issued more than 2,700 medical
marijuana recommendations. Another has issued more than 1,000.

Overall, about 750 doctors have submitted medical marijuana
recommendations in Colorado, but the top 15 recommending doctors have
made 76 percent of all patient recommendations, according to state
records.