GRAY AREA ON DELIVERY OF GREEN BUDS

Humboldt Ordinances Don't Specify Legality of Door-To-Door Service

Mirroring a trend seen throughout the state, Humboldt County medical
marijuana patients can now purchase buds, hash, plants and even
medicine-infused edible treats without leaving the comfort of their own homes.

Across California, medical marijuana delivery services are popping up
in the hundreds, as the medical marijuana industry moves from a legal
gray area into even murkier waters. In some counties, the delivery
services are being viewed by some as an attempt to bypass local
ordinances specifically designed to prohibit medical marijuana dispensaries.

Others, however, argue that the delivery services mitigate many of
the concerns that surround medical marijuana dispensaries -- the same
concerns that seem to fuel moratoriums.

In Humboldt County, most dispensaries contacted by the Times-Standard
said they don't offer delivery services, citing a variety of reasons.
But, there's at least one medical marijuana clinic that operates
exclusively through deliveries.

If you're looking for Delivery 707 you won't find it in the phone
book. In fact, it doesn't even have a storefront or a street address:
Just a website, an e-mail address and a phone number.

While the business didn't respond to calls and e-mails from the
Times-Standard, its website, www.delivery707.com, clearly lays out
its business model. The membership-based cooperative offers
"discreet" delivery services of a variety of medical marijuana
products to qualified patients anywhere in the county. Patients can
place online orders 24 hours a day, seven days a week -- or phone
orders during business hours -- and receive their orders on the next
business day. And, the site assures, patients' privacy will be protected.

"A Co-op director will deliver your medication," the site states. "We
are knowledgeable, compassionate and very discreet. Prior to
delivery, and unless otherwise notified, you may receive a phone call
verifying the driver is nearing arrival. We understand and respect
your privacy."

The website offers a colorful menu, offering numerous strands of
marijuana, from "Blackberry Kush" and "Green Crack" to "Purple
Diesel" and the currently sold out "Purple Erkel." The online store
also offers bubble hash (a kind of concentrated marijuana) and plant
starts, as well as a variety of edible, marijuana-infused treats,
including "Star Particle" cupcake mix and "Amazing Grace" brownie mix.

The site makes very clear that it's not a marijuana free-for-all, and
requires patients to provide proof that they are 21 years of age or
older, have a valid and current physician's recommendation for the
use of medical cannabis and have either a driver's license or a
California Department of Health and Human Services medical marijuana
identification card. Further, the site says that all applicants must
be approved by the co-op director and assures that sales tax is paid
on all transactions.

Interestingly, none of the county's other dispensaries contacted by
the Times-Standard offer delivery services.

At Arcata's Humboldt Patient Resource Center, Director Mary Ellen
Jerkavich said the dispensary doesn't offer delivery services due to
both legal and safety concerns. She said it was something that was
discussed when the center opened more than 10 years ago, but was
never considered seriously.

In addition to worrying about the prospect of employees being robbed
and having medicine in the less-secure confines of cars and things
like that, Jerkavich said providing a delivery service also comes
with the additional costs of gas and insurance. She also pointed to
the legal gray area, saying she hasn't found anything that expressly
permits deliveries.

"For me, it seems to be primarily a safety and legal issue," Jerkavich said.

The Humboldt Cooperative Director Dennis Turner agreed that
deliveries aren't expressly permitted.

"There's no regulatory direction that says you can go that way,"
Turner said. "While it seems like there's definitely a need (for
delivery services), I don't think that the industry has developed
enough for that to be a reasonable pursuit on our part."

While Turner said The Humboldt Cooperative likely won't delve into
the world of deliveries until it is expressly permitted by law or the
Humboldt County medical marijuana ordinance, others have taken the
lack of an expressed prohibition on the practice as a green light.

In San Mateo County, which has seen many of its cities enact
moratoriums on medical marijuana dispensaries, delivery services seem
to be thriving, with many offering deliveries into the very cities
that prohibit physical dispensaries.

Lawyers for the dispensaries have argued that while cities have the
power to control dispensaries through zoning rules, they have no
power to control who drives into their towns.

Local attorney and longtime medical marijuana activist Greg Allen
said there is currently nothing to legally prevent local dispensaries
from delivering.

"State law is silent on the issue," Allen said. "There's really
nothing in the county ordinance that would make it unlawful, either."

In addition to being lawful, Allen said he thinks the delivery
services could actually go a long way toward lessening many of the
ancillary impacts that concern neighbors of dispensaries.

"A lot of the issues that cities have had with medical cannabis
dispensaries have to do with problems of basically patients coming to
the facilities and creating more traffic in the neighborhood," he
said. "If you take that out, then really there's certainly less of
an impact on any particular neighborhood."

Further, Allen said delivery services can serve a crucial role in the
mission of medical marijuana advocates, which is to provide safe
access for all patients.

"Generally, people who are seriously ill tend to be poor," Allen
said. "So, these are frequently people who may not be able to afford
their own motor vehicle or may not be physically able to drive
themselves. Frankly, delivering to people like that seems like a
very good thing."

With the city of Eureka and Humboldt County's proposed medical
marijuana ordinances still under construction, it remains unclear if
they will address the delivery issues specifically.

For his part, Allen said he would like to see the Eureka ordinance
expanded to touch on deliveries.

"The ordinance that they're working on right now is really silent on
this issue and, frankly, it actually makes a certain amount of sense
to me to maybe expand the ordinance a bit to address it," he said.