LEAF OF RELIEF

Biddeford's Medical Marijuana Dispensary Set to Open in March

BIDDEFORD - Bill Harnden's life has been one of almost constant pain.
He was born with degenerative disc disease and has chronic,
intractable back pain from the five fused discs along his spine. He
also had a non-malignant tumor on his brain stem removed, which has
caused significant pain in his neck. Although the 60-year-old man
from Auburn had worked in financial management, he had to give up his
job in 2007 because of his condition.

To manager his pain, Harnden was taking eight doses of the painkiller
Tramadol every day, which left him feeling sedated most of the time.

That was until June, when Harnden began using marijuana to ease his pain.

"It worked, nothing short of miraculously," said Harnden. "It's given
me a new lease on life. Thanks to the medical marijuana, I'm more
energetic. I lost 55 pounds."

Harnden has also cut down his dosage to one pain pill a day and
eventually plans to cut out Tramadol completely.

"I encourage those, if they think it could help, to give it a try,"
he said of medical marijuana.

Harnden said he became interested in the drug from the publicity
surrounding setting up new dispensary system in Maine after voters
approved a referendum in November 2009.

Marijuana for medical use has been legal in Maine since 1999, but it
had been an informal delivery system and patients wanting to use the
drug found it difficult in a number of ways.

Under the new system, administered by the Department of Health and
Human Services, the drug should be easier to access from the eight
dispensaries, one in each of the state's public health districts,
that are set to open sometime this year.

A dispensary in Frenchville is just "days away from opening," said
John Thiele, the program manager for the Department of Health and
Human Services' Maine Medical Use of Marijuana program.

In Biddeford, Canuvo Medical Marijuana Dispensary, on Well Spring
Road, is expected to open for business in March.

The process to get to this point has been challenging, said Glenn
Peterson, CEO of Canuvo. Many view marijuana primarily as a
recreational drug, so getting the necessary approvals to locate in a
community has been difficult, he said.

Some members of Biddeford's Planning Board and City Council said they
simply didn't like the idea of the drug being sold in the city and
were against allowing a dispensary. However, the state law regulating
dispensaries prohibits any outright ban of such a business.

Peterson sees a large part of his job as educating the community
about medical marijuana. He said he wants to assure those who think
that Biddeford will become a drug haven with easy access to marijuana
that this won't be the case. The laws regulating who is allowed to
purchase the product and requiring security measures to protect
against theft are very strict, said Peterson.

Only those suffering from at least one of eight medical conditions -
including cancer, glaucoma, and being HIV positive - will be allowed
access to the herb.

Even for those who qualify to use marijuana in the treatment of their
illness or condition, the process is not easy. A physician must send
a form to the state saying the use of marijuana would help the
patient. This can be difficult to accomplish, said Peterson, because
of the stigma marijuana carries.

Once a patient finds a willing physician, he or she must pay $100 and
file an application with the state, which will keep track of those registered.

After receiving their state registration card, a patient has three
choices: Growing the herb themselves, finding a caregiver who will
grow it for them, or purchasing the drug through a dispensary.

Before being awarded permission to open a dispensary, Peterson was a
caregiver and Bill Harnden was one of his clients. From treating
Harnden and others, Peterson said he has seen the benefits of using
marijuana as a treatment for pain and other diseases and conditions.

The start-up of the dispensaries is tricky, said Peterson. When
registering, each patient must indicate how he or she will get the
drug, but the dispensaries can't start growing the plants until they
have specific clients. From there, it takes about four months to
grow, harvest, cure and dry the marijuana.

Security around the facility will be tight, said Peterson. A video
camera will be installed outside the entrance and those entering the
facility will be buzzed in, according to Peterson's wife, Sage, who
is also working on the project. There are video cameras in other
areas of the facility as well, she said.

Regulations regarding record keeping for how much is grown and sold
are strict, she said, and only a small amount of the drug will be on
site, secured in a vault.

Those operating dispensaries have the option to grow the plants on
site, but the Petersons are planning to open their growing facility in Gray.

As to how many will use the dispensaries once they open, Glenn
Peterson is making no predictions.

"That's the big question," he said.

According to Peterson, 1,000 people have applied for registry cards
to use marijuana for medical use and 600 have been granted so far.

In addition, 80 doctors have written recommendations for their
patients to use marijuana, said Peterson.

"That's a good sign," he said. "They see the credibility of this."

There is significant need for marijuana for medical use, he said, and
the need will grow as doctors, patients and society in general become
better educated about its benefits.