COMPASSION CENTER BIDS REJECTED BY HEALTH PANEL

PROVIDENCE - In a surprise move, the state Health Department on
Friday announced that none of the 15 applicants seeking to open the
state's first compassion center for medical-marijuana patients are
qualified to open their doors.

The announcement came in a four-paragraph e-mail that said all of the
applicants "either failed to meet the minimum scoring requirements or
they were disqualified from review for failing to comply with the
application requirements."

The department said it will begin the process of soliciting
applications again in October and the current applicants may reapply.

Health officials said nine of those applicants failed to meet the
minimum score requirements of the review process.

The department said it received "eight formal letters of concern"
about applicants, with allegations of non-compliance with application
instructions or regulations. The citations included claims that
applications had more pages than the department specified and raised
issues about zoning, financing and residency requirements, the department said.

"Upon a second review of the applications, HEALTH found that some of
these complaints had merit, and after final review disqualified all
15 applicants."

David R. Gifford, health department director said: "This is the first
time the department has undergone such a process. We are disappointed
that we could not select at least one applicant, but are optimistic
that by clarifying the application process we will have a clearer
process going forward that will yield at least one successful application."

Amy Kempe, spokeswoman for Governor Carcieri, said the governor met
with Gifford and was briefed on the department's decision Friday
morning. She said that Carcieri declined to respond publicly to the decision.

After soliciting proposals and getting the 15 applications in
mid-May, the department held a public hearing in late June on the
plans. It had originally intended to select by the end of July
applicants to open as many as three centers. The department extended
the time for the announcement to September for additional review.

Friday's announcement did not sit well with several of the applicants
and with JoAnne Leppanen, executive director of the Rhode Island
Patient Advocacy Coalition. The coalition concerns itself with
patients in the medical-marijuana program.

"This is just horrible," Leppanen said. "This is such a
disappointment that I cannot even tell you. I feel like the patients'
welfare is being lost in a bureaucratic haze."

According to the Health Department, there are 2,380 patients in the
medical-marijuana program, which the department has said is growing
by some 50 new patients weekly. It is the patient's responsibility to
find a caregiver, or licensed supplier of marijuana, to provide the
drug to ease pain, anxiety or other medical maladies.

Leppanen said that the compassion centers would allow the patients to
visit a reputable business that would grow and sell the drug. Now,
she said, patients often turn to disreputable caregivers or street
dealers for their marijuana.

Leppanen said that she reviewed many of the applications and she was
impressed with their thoroughness and the reputable people behind the
proposals. Among them are an acupuncturist, the state's former
auditor general, a retired Cranston police chief and a longtime educator.

Most of the proposed compassion centers would have been in the
heavily populated Providence metropolitan area, while there are also
proposals to open establishments in Woonsocket, South County and
Portsmouth. The applications totaled more than 1,000 pages and read
like detailed business proposals.

William Walter, president and chief executive officer of Innovative
Solutions for Non-Profits Inc., a proposed compassion center on West
Fountain Street, was not aware of the Health Department's announcement.

"I'm disappointed," he said. "Certainly, I do feel that we were
qualified. I'm sorry to hear it."

Walter said that his group will continue to try to be the operator of
the first compassion center in Rhode Island.

Chris Reilly, spokesman for the proposed Thomas C. Slater Compassion
Center on Harris Avenue in Providence, was stunned by the Health
Department's decision. He said that the Slater team was never
contacted by anyone in the department about problems with its
application. He said that he would like to know who was involved in
the review process and wants the department to provide him with
details on how they reached its decision on rejecting the Slater proposal.

Leppanen also said that she believes the review and scoring data
should be made public.

Reilly said that he does not know whether the Slater team will
resubmit its application for a process that may not be resolved until
next year.

"We are weighing our options," he said. "It's hard to say. We have to
sit back and really take a look at it."