DISPENSARY MAY BE ON WATER STREET

Augusta also in the running for site

WATERVILLE -- A former KFC on Water Street could be the site of one of
the state's first eight medical marijuana dispensaries.

The Department of Health and Human Services identified Friday the
three groups that would run six of those dispensaries.

Northeast Patients Group, an offshoot of a California dispensary
operator, will run four of them, including one in central Maine. The
group is proposing to open the clinic either on Middle Street in
Augusta or on Water Street in Waterville.

A Vienna couple, who also have ties to the California medical
marijuana industry, were chosen to run a dispensary in western Maine.
They've flagged a vacant office building on Route 2 in Wilton as their
site, but said they've looked into other locations in the Farmington
area, as well.

After state voters approved legalizing medical marijuana in November,
a task force appointed by Gov. John Baldacci decided to allow one
dispensary in each of Maine's eight public health districts. DHHS
received 29 applications from 17 groups to run those dispensaries. A
four-person panel reviewed and scored the applications during the past
two weeks.

Some residents in Waterville's South End said Friday that the former
KFC wouldn't be a good location for a dispensary, because they believe
it would attract more crime to a notoriously rough
neighborhood.

"They call this the ghetto. There's all kinds of stuff going on," said
Brenda Wentworth, who lives on Oxford Street, behind the KFC building.

Beverly Busque, who lives next door to the proposed site, said she
would do everything she could to stop it from moving there.

"I'm not going to have that. I'll be out there every day picketing.
It's going to get broken into," she said.

Kennebec County Sheriff Randall Liberty said he's doesn't think a
dispensary would raise the crime rate in a neighborhood, no matter
where it is.

"It won't if it's well-regulated," he said.

Liberty said he believes the state's guidelines will ensure that the
dispensaries are secure, but he wouldn't know for sure until they're
up and running. Liberty said he was traveling in Los Angeles last week
when two people were shot to death at a dispensary. It was one of
three dispensary shootings in that city within three days.

"It's yet to be seen, I guess," he said.

The city of Waterville wrote a letter confirming that the former KFC
at 13 Water St. is appropriate for a dispensary.

"If Northeast Patients Group is fortunate enough to be awarded the
District 5 dispensary, we will work closely with NPG to permit the
dispensary at 13 Water St. or in a location that will work best for
the region's patients," wrote City Planner Ann Beverage.

Nearby business owners said they wouldn't mind a dispensary in the
neighborhood.

"It's a medical dispensary. Would I have a problem being next to a
Rite Aid or CVS? No," said Randy Cook, who owns Radio Communications
and Aqua City Scuba at the corner of Water and Kennebec streets.

"I believe the state has enough controls and restrictions," he
said.

Wanda Theobald, an owner of Maynard's Chocolates in the Hathaway
Creative Center, said she supports the dispensaries and doesn't see
why Water Street would be a worse location than anywhere else.

"I think the neighborhood has a bad rap. I love it here. It's not as
bad as people think," she said.

The Northeast Patients Group indicated in its application that it
would rather open a dispensary in Augusta than in Waterville, but is
concerned that recently passed zoning restrictions in the capital city
would force the dispensary into a location that's not easily
accessible to patients.

Rebecca DeKeuster, executive director of Northeast Patients Group,
said she'll have a better idea of which location will make the most
sense after a meeting with DHHS later this month.

In addition to DeKeuster, who has seven years experience working in a
California dispensary, the group's board of directors is made up of
Cumberland County Sheriff Mark Dion; Winthrop resident Faith
Benedetti, a member of the state's medical marijuana task force; and
Paul Sevigny, a retired pharmacist from Holden.

The group also plans to open dispensaries in Portland, Thomaston and
Hermon. The marijuana for all four dispensaries will be grown at a
warehouse in Hermon, according to a press release.

The group expects to open its central Maine location in November. It
anticipates $702,130 in revenue the first full year of operation and
$1.5 million the second full year, according to its application on
file with the state.

The average price of marijuana sold by the group will be $340 per
ounce. State law allows certified patients to access up to 2.5 ounces
every other week. Northeast plans to offer discounts to veterans and
low income patients.

Statewide, the group expects about 1,000 patients to register to use
medical marijuana. In central Maine, the group expects to serve 175
registered patients within the first year.

The Northeast Patients Group also applied to the western Maine
district, but were beaten out by the Tim and Jennifer Smale, doing
business as Remedy Compassion Center, who earned 91 points on their
application -- the highest score received by anyone.

Tim Smale said Friday he plans to open his clinic in
December.

DHHS did not select groups to run dispensaries in two of the districts
- -- York County and Down East -- because none of the applicants earned
the minimum score of 70 out of 100 points. The state will continue
accepting applications for those districts through Aug. 20.

A business professor at University of Maine at Fort Kent, Leo Trudell,
was approved to operate a dispensary in Aroostook County. He was the
only applicant in that district.

Smale is the former chief executive officer of a national nonprofit
organization called The Independent Glass Association and served as an
advocate for independently owned glass shops, he said.

He's also a medical marijuana patient, who uses the drug to alleviate
the pain and nausea that come with his frequent migraine headaches.

Smale and his wife decided they'd like to get involved in Maine's
burgeoning medical marijuana industry last summer. To learn about the
field, they moved to California for nine months and worked with a
consulting group in Oakland, Calif., that helps people open
dispensaries.

"We're happy to come back to Maine and use what we learned from that
experience," Smale said Friday. "Our dream is coming true."