A LOOK INSIDE A MICHIGAN MEDICAL MARIJUANA FACILITY IN BAY COUNTY

PINCONNING - A business some local and federal authorities don't feel
should exist is operating in Pinconning. The Bay Area Herbal Clinic
supplies marijuana to people with illnesses.

Wesley "Wes" Crumby, chief operating officer of the business, said
his service is not only needed, but is helping more than 100 people
deal with pain and debilitating medical conditions.

"We truly believe we are doing the right thing," said Crumby, 51, of
AuGres, a certified patient and caregiver under Michigan's medical
marijuana law. "I think that everybody in this industry believes that
patient-to-patient transfer is the right thing."

Bay Area Herbal Clinic, 209-4 N. Mable, calls itself a cooperative
marijuana dispensary that supplies about 125 patients enrolled in
Michigan's medical marijuana program with about 30 kinds of
marijuana. The clinic opened its storefront in June.

The marijuana types have names such as OMG, Pinconning Paralyzer
(currently sold out) and Northern Lights. The plants are grown by the
clinic and other people certified as caregivers under Michigan law.

Walk into Bay Area Herbal Clinic, which occupies a former doctor's
office next to Norm's Country Place Bar & Grill, 201 N. Mable, and
the smell of marijuana is in the air. But there are no plants in
sight and the waiting room is as clean as a doctor's office.

The business offers certified Michigan medical marijuana patients
marijuana ranging from about $300 an ounce to $15 a gram ($425 an
ounce), depending on the variety. Crumby said a limited number of
plants and processed marijuana are at the secured facility.

"We stay under all the numbers, whether it's in our grow area, or
whether it's in our dispensary, or whether it's what we have on hand.
We try very hard to make sure we are always legal," Crumby said.

Crumby, who's owned a number of software businesses, said no one uses
marijuana on Bay Area Herbal Clinic property. But patients come to
purchase a drug that provides relief for their conditions.

"Generally speaking, they're all people that need these services that
don't want to take Vicodin anymore, that don't want to take OxyContin
anymore," he said.

Yet the legality of Crumby's business is debated.

James McCurtis, a Michigan Department of Community Health spokesman,
said the state law - passed by more than 60 percent of voters in 2008
- - does not specify if dispensaries, or caregiver cooperatives, such
as Bay Area Herbal Clinic are legal or illegal.

"I know there are a lot of medical marijuana clinics throughout the
state and I know that ... law enforcement, towns and cities ... are
having trouble grasping what is legal, what isn't legal," said
McCurtis, whose department processes the medical marijuana
applications and issues the licenses. "The law doesn't address it."

Cultivation, possession and distribution of marijuana - even for
medicinal reasons - remains illegal under federal law. But President
Barack Obama's administration has said it will not pursue medical
marijuana growers who abide by state laws.

McCurtis said dispensaries are not violating any Michigan laws and,
unless a local municipality outlaws the business, nothing hinders the
business from operating.

On Dec. 20, the Pinconning City Council voted 6-0 for an ordinance
that effectively bans future marijuana dispensaries within city
limits. The new ordinance does not affect Bay Area Herbal Clinic,
which set up before the ordinance was approved.

"We have control of it in the future," said Pinconning Mayor Robert
K. Hall. "The way the ordinance is worded and everything, we could
never have another one in town."

Local law enforcement officials say they don't plan to do anything
about medical marijuana dispensaries operating under the law's guidelines.

"Unfortunately, when the voters of this state enacted this law, I
don't think a whole lot of thought went into it," said Bay County
Sheriff John E. Miller. "What they effectively did is legalize marijuana.

"It's problematic. We'll have to deal with it. There's a great
potential for abuse."

Crumby agrees that there is a potential for abuse and possibility of
the drug getting into nonpatients' hands, but people can say that
about alcohol and other prescription drugs.

"Kids in high school are going to get it whether they get it from
(someone who obtains it from clinic) or not, and I know that's not a
great answer, but I can't stop that," Crumby said.

Ron Leach, one of six employees who is a caregiver and patient at Bay
Area Herbal Clinic, said the dispensary takes all precautions to
ensure only qualified patients are receiving marijuana.

"We go out of our way to make sure our customers know the law ... so
there is no problem," said Leach, a 29-year-old Vassar resident.
"There's a business side and there's a customer side to this and I
don't want to see any of these people get in trouble."

New patients at Bay Area Herbal Clinic check in at a reception desk
in the lobby and continue to a sign-in station, such as at a doctor's
office, where they are advised about the types of product available.

According to the most recent statistics from the MDCH, the department
has issued 45,808 medical marijuana patient cards and received more
than 83,550 original and renewal applications since April 2009. Card
holders can have up to 2 1/2 ounces of ready-to-use marijuana and up
to 12 plants kept in an enclosed, locked facility. Patients can
choose to have a registered caregiver grow the drug for them.

MDCH officials maintain a confidential list of those who have
obtained registry identification cards.

For more information on Bay Area Herbal Clinic, call (989) 879-6008
or go to bayareaherbalclinic.com. The clinic is open from 9 a.m. to 5
p.m. weekdays.