TEL AVIV MEDICAL MARIJUANA OUTLET NABBED IN STING

Store suspected of overselling to customers, which make up
overwhelming majority of the 500 patients allowed to use cannabis by
Health Ministry.

Police detained three people associated with a cannabis distribution
outlet in Tel Aviv for questioning yesterday, on suspicion of selling
more than the prescribed amount of drugs to customers.

The store is operated by the Tikun Olam non-profit organization, the
Health Ministry's official grower and supplier of medical marijuana.
The overwhelming majority - 85 percent - of the 500 patients permitted
by the Health Ministry to use cannabis are clients of this store,
located on Tel Aviv's Ibn Gvirol Street.

In recent weeks, the Tel Aviv police had an undercover agent pose as a
client holding a Health Ministry prescription for cannabis, after they
suspected salespeople of supplying clients with more than the
prescribed quantities.

The agent purchased the drug with the prescription a few times, before
demanding 10 grams more than the prescribed amount, saying the amount
she was prescribed wasn't helping her and that she needed more.

Eventually the agent persuaded the saleswoman to give her a larger
amount of the drug.

The association chairman and two of its members were detained for
several hours for police questioning yesterday before they were released.

Sources in Tikun Olam said yesterday that the undercover agent who
pretended to be a patient had begged repeatedly for more cannabis,
saying she cold not stand the pain. The saleswoman finally broke down
and sold her an additional 10 more, the sources said.

"Only someone who knows the need for the drug understands someone
else's need," one of the outlet workers said yesterday. "The people
working here are sick and only they know what it means to suffer. The
policewoman took advantage of that."

A Tikun Olam source added that the Health Ministry recently issued a
tender for a permit to grow and market medical cannabis. Companies
bidding against Tikun Olam for the tender had spread rumors about them
to the police to weaken the group's chances of winning the tender.

"The association distributes four tons of cannabis annually and if
after an undercover police investigation all the agent managed to
steal was 10 grams, then we must be the world's most secure drug
company," said Tikun Olam attorney Ronen Schein.

Patients who found the store locked yesterday went to the police
station to wait for the release of the salespeople. One leukemia
patient went to the station, where he asked people there to bring him
the cannabis urgently.

"I can't eat anything because of my treatments," he said. "Without the
cannabis, I can't tolerate the pain."