PORTLAND POT DISPENSARY SITE ON HOLD, GROUP SAYS

At Issue Is Whether A School Near The Proposed Congress Street
Location Is Licensed By The State.

PORTLAND - The group that plans to open Portland's first medical
marijuana dispensary expects to learn Monday whether it must find
another site.

Northeast Patients Group chose 959 Congress St. as its preferred home
for a state-licensed dispensary, which is scheduled to open in December.

But the property may be too close to the Deliverance Center, a church
that takes in drug addicts and alcoholics and houses a small private
school called the Christian Academy of Portland.

State law says "a dispensary may not be located within 500 feet of the
property line of a pre-existing public or private school."

Officials with the Department of Health and Human Services plan to
meet Monday to determine whether the dispensary should operate elsewhere.

"What we're trying to do is determine if (the academy) truly is a
licensed school," said Lucky Hollander, a spokeswoman for the department.

The state law applies only to schools that are licensed by the state
Department of Education, Hollander said, although she added, "we don't
want to be technical about this We have to get together with (the
involved parties) and mediate a solution."

The Rev. Stephen Reynolds, a pastor at the Deliverance Center whose
children went to the school, said Friday that he doesn't believe the
school has a license from the state.

The school offers kindergarten through 12th grade for children of the
church's families. It has been operating nearly every school year
since 1978, although it did not operate last school year, Reynolds
said.

It expects four or five students this fall, he said.

Reynolds said he fears that making marijuana available for medical
reasons will increase drug abuse problems, and he is especially
concerned about having a dispensary so close to where he is trying to
help people overcome drug addiction.

The church and school are at 1008 Congress St. A preliminary
measurement by city officials shows the building is more than 512 feet
from the building at 959 Congress St.

But "the distance from property line to property line is 443.785
feet," said Nicole Clegg, spokeswoman for the city.

Rebecca DeKeuster, chief executive officer of Northeast Patients
Group, said the group will work with state officials and the community
to find a suitable site, whether it's on Congress Street or elsewhere.

"We're waiting to hear back from the state," she said. "The
(preferred) property is certainly on hold."

Northeast Patients Group has not signed a lease for the space. It has
identified alternative sites, including 95 Preble St.