LEGAL MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARY OPENS IN WHITTIER

WHITTIER - Dolores Enriquez and Robert Ortiz of Pico Rivera and Sandra
Newby of Whittier opened up the city's newest business this week.

Like most new enterprises, customers are slow to come in but they
still came up with the money to join the Whittier Area Chamber of Commerce.

But the three merchants have had to go through more than most to open
their business because they operate the city's first legal medical
marijuana dispensary.

It took them 15 months before getting the necessary permits and then
another three months to open.

"There's overwhelming joy but I don't feel like it's hit me yet,"
Ortiz said Friday.

"We've been at this so long," he said. "Not until I really start
seeing the community embrace us, will I know we finally have arrived."

If successful - they expect to bring in between $300,000 to $400,000
in annual revenue - the three hope their nonprofit organization can do
more than just provide marijuana for sick people.

"We want do a wellness center," Enriquez said. "If somebody has cancer
and needs a massage they could get it. We could have counseling. We
want to have a food bank, a blanket bank and a clothing bank."

The 984-square-foot office at 8116 Byron Road, suite D, has the look
of a medical office with a few differences.

You go through a metal detector to enter the lobby and a security
guard watches as you come in.

Their office has 16 security cameras and remote entry doors that are
magnetically locked.

Ortiz's office is situated in a way that he can see the entire
office.

They have invested about $150,000 into the building, legal fees and
rent.

Capt. Jeff Piper of the Whittier Police Department said the dispensary
has met city rules.

""We have a good working relationship," Piper said. "(Enriquez) has
maintained great communication with the Police Department. We've had
no issues with them. Anything we've requested, they've done
efficiently."

In order to enter the next room where the marijuana is kept, you must
be a member of the collective.

To become a member, you have to be age 18 or older and have a
recommendation from your doctor that you need medical marijuana or a
state or county medical marijuana card, Ortiz said.

Even then, Ortiz said he and his employees will verify with the doctor
that the recommendation was real and also check with the California
Medical Board that the doctor is licensed.

You must bring that recommendation every time you come, he
said.

There is no cost to being a member but you make a "donation" to get
the marijuana. It can be as little as $5 and as much as $400,
depending on its quality, Ortiz said.

They get the marijuana from its members who trade it in for money or
the ability to get other cannabis, he said.

Their quest to open a medical marijuana dispensary began in 2005.
Enriquez, who is Ortiz's mother, said she got the idea through her
other son, John Fernandez of Montebello, who has been smoking
marijuana because of knee problems.

"He had his first knee surgery at the age of 4 and then a second
surgery at the age of 12," she said. "He found the only thing that
worked for him was smoking marijuana."

Fernandez suggested that she open a dispensary and Enriquez, Ortiz and
Newby, a family friend, began looking for sites.

They found this location, obtained a lease and applied to the city in
early 2009.

At the same time, the City Council, which in 2006 had approved an
ordinance allowing medical marijuana dispensaries, decided to
reconsider the law.

On a 3-2 vote, the council kept the ordinance in place and then in
October 2009 on the same vote approved the permit for the Whittier
Hope Collective.

Not everyone is happy they're open.

"I think they should close it," said Lilly Anaya, 29, of Whittier. "I
know a lot of people who have the (medical marijuana) cards who aren't
sick. It's too easily accessible."

Tony Munoz, 74, of Whittier, said he doesn't really care about what
people take.

"I just think they should tax it," he said.

And the state sales tax does apply to the dispensary, Ortiz
said.

The Whittier Area Chamber of Commerce was happy to sign them up as a
new member, said its president, Dean Harako.

"We're welcoming to all businesses," Harako said. "They're a legal
business with a license in Whittier."

Ortiz said they joined the chamber because they want to be a
good-standing member of the community.

And, yes, they're planning on hosting a grand opening celebration the
chamber provides for all of its members.