VERMONT CONSIDERS MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES

MONTPELIER -- Here's what Shayne Lynn envisions somewhere in
Chittenden County: an office as non-descript as a doctor's office or
a pharmacy from which he would sell marijuana to those with
qualifying medical conditions.

There'd be a waiting room. Clients would be seen by appointment only.
There'd be security. He might also offer clients yoga, acupuncture
and Reiki. He'd probably grow the marijuana somewhere else, at an
indoor facility.

Lynn could become one of the first people to run such an operation in
Vermont if proposed legislation the Senate is expected to consider
this week passes.

Lynn, a 40-year-old professional photographer who lives in
Burlington, said he believes in marijuana's medicinal value for those
who suffer from chronic pain and he thinks it's wrong that such
people have nowhere legal to buy the relief.

"People having to go out and buy it on a corner from someone -- it's
not right," Lynn said. "I see this as an opportunity to run a
successful, local, nonprofit business which would provide medical
respectability to the current and future patients on the registry. It
would open a more honest, serious dialogue about the benefits of cannabis."

Medical marijuana has been legal in Vermont since 2004, for those
with qualifying illnesses -- including cancer, AIDS and multiple
sclerosis -- who sign up for the state's registry. The 2004 law
allows patients to grow their own marijuana, but advocates say many
find that a daunting task, leaving them with the prospect of making
illegal deals for street dope.

The state's medical marijuana registry specifies, "The Marijuana
Registry is neither a source for marijuana nor can the Registry
provide information to patients on how to obtain marijuana."

The answer, advocates say, is to legalize a small number of medical
marijuana dispensaries -- nonprofit operations that would grow
marijuana and sell it to those on the medical marijuana registry.

"They have a right to have this symptom-relief medication, yet we've
given them no ability to get it in a legal manner in which the
product is safe," said Sen. Jeanette White, D-Windham, chairwoman of
the Senate Government Operations Committee that passed the bill the
Senate will consider this week.

The bill has the backing of Gov. Peter Shumlin. With a series of
restrictions added that are designed to avoid problems seen in other
states, it also has the support of Public Safety Commissioner Keith Flynn.

Some worry, however, that the dispensaries will become drug havens
and the medical marijuana registry will quickly be flooded with those
looking for a legal way to smoke pot.

"A number of other states have had problems with abuse of registry
and crime surrounding the dispensaries," said Sen. Randy Brock,
R-Franklin, who voted against the bill when the Senate Finance
Committee considered it last week. He noted that marijuana, even for
medical use, remains illegal under federal law.

Avoiding pitfalls

Vermont has 344 people on its medical marijuana registry, each of
whom pays $50 a year and must provide proof from a medical
professional of a qualifying condition. Half of those on the registry
are over age 50 and one-quarter have cancer, Flynn said.

According to the national Medical Marijuana Project, Vermont has the
smallest medical marijuana program in the country.

One of those on the registry is Mark Tucci, a Manchester man with
multiple sclerosis who was involved in creating the state medical
marijuana law. He said he uses marijuana to quell side effects of his
multiple sclerosis, including vertigo, and has found it very effective.

Tucci said he grows his own marijuana but a few times a year could
use some help. He has been active in working on legislation to allow
dispensaries.

He has traveled to California and New Mexico to see how dispensaries
worked -- or didn't work -- there.

"I saw all kinds -- low-budget dispensaries that looked like crack
houses all the way up to ones with rooms where you can take
treatment," he said.

In most places, he said, the dispensaries blended into the landscape.
"It was treated like you and I standing in a Rite Aid," he said.

In California, dispensaries proliferated. Opponents say some of the
dispensaries there are a front for legalizing marijuana, with few
rules about who qualifies. Supporters say that's because the state
left it up to local municipalities to regulation the dispensaries.
Seven states and the District of Columbia allow medical marijuana
dispensaries, with varying rules in each state.

Sen. Richard Sears, D-Bennington, the lead sponsor of the Senate
bill, said the legislation is stacked with restrictions that will
make Vermont's situation different. "We've been taking baby steps in
Vermont. One of the benefits of baby steps is we've avoided the
problems of other states," he said.

One thing Tucci said he learned was that Vermont should not have
storefront dispensaries, where clients walk in to buy their
marijuana. Those generate more concerns about crime and abuse of the
registries. Thus, the Vermont bill would require clients to have an
appointment.

The Senate bill limits the number of dispensaries in Vermont -- the
bill currently calls for two but on Flynn's recommendation senators
plan to change it to four (Flynn said budget-wise that would bring in
more revenue from fees and make it more economical to monitor the
sites). The legislation allows only those on the medical marijuana
registry to become clients, paying the state a $50 fee to join. The
bill would limit the number of clients that may register with a dispensary.

The dispensaries would be allowed to cultivate up to 28 mature
marijuana plant at a time and 28 ounces of usable marijuana. They may
not be located within 1,000 feet of a school or day care, must have
security and limited access to the marijuana supply. The dispensaries
are subject to state inspection and auditing.

They would not be allowed to have anyone convicted of drug-related
offenses working there. There would be limits on the amount of
marijuana they could sell to a client. Would-be operators of a
dispensary would have to pay a $2,500 fee to apply and a $32,000 fee
for a license if approved by the state.

For Flynn, a former prosecutor who became state public safety
commissioner in January, restrictions on the number of dispensaries,
the number of clients and the set-up of the operations are key to his
support. His department would have a role in fine-tuning the rules if
the bill passes.

"It's a very defined set-up. There has to be an appointment made," he
said. "I'm never going to stand out there and say we want to put
marijuana in the hands of people on the streets. With this, we want
to put it in the hands of people who need it medically."

Fynn said it's also important to him to make sure the dispensaries
don't drain his department's budget. He asked for an increase in the
originally proposed fees so that they cover the two positions he
thinks he'll need to handle registration and monitoring of the
dispensaries. Lawmakers wondered if the $32,000 licensing fee was too
high but decided it could be changed later.

Flynn noted that local communities may have restrictions of their
own, including banning dispensaries. Still, Flynn expressed relief
that it if the dispensary bill passes this year he won't
simultaneously have to handle implementing marijuana
decriminalization, which is not expected to pass this year.

Brock, who is among lawmakers opposed to the bill, said he not only
worries about problems that the dispensaries will create, he remains
dubious of marijuana's medical value. "I think the jury's still out
on that," he said.

Running a dispensary

Lynn, a professional photographer who lives in Burlington, has been
following efforts in recent years to legalize dispensaries. With an
interest in alternative medications, he is among those interested in
establishing one in the greater Burlington area.

He concedes there are a lot of unknowns, given that no one's ever
done it here. He understands it's an unusual enterprise, growing and
selling something that's illegal except to a small market. Figuring
out the financing will be a challenge, he noted, because banks aren't
going to lend money for the enterprise.

Len Goodman, executive director of the largest dispensary in New
Mexico, said he had no experience growing or selling marijuana before
he started his operation in Santa Fe in 2009.

He operates an indoor growing facility that's separate from the
office where marijuana is distributed. The distribution office sits
in a strip mall near a yoga studio, a contractor, a fitness center, a
real estate office and a tattoo parlor. The sign on the door says
NMNM, the initials for New MexiCann Natural Medicine Inc., he said,
but the neighboring businesses all know it's a medical marijuana dispensary.

There are security cameras and alarms, but no guards, he said.
Occasionally, someone comes looking to buy marijuana without a
registration card, Goodman said. They are turned away and he has had
no problems with crime, he said.

"A lot of people were initially concerned about violence and a
potential crime increase," Goodman said. "We just haven't experienced
any of it."

Customers arrange their order by phone or mail and come to the office
to pick it up, he said. Goodman said he harvests marijuana every two
weeks and it sells out immediately. Unlike in some states, his
dispensary can only sell what it grows itself. Goodman also sells
edible marijuana products, including fudge, lattes and truffles.

"It's like a corner drugstore," he said, except the customers have to
belong to the club.

[SIDEBAR]

Medical marijuana in Vermont

REGISTRY: For information on Vermont's medical marijuana registry:
http://vcic.vermont.gov/marijuana_registry

DISPENSARIES: Proposed legislation the Senate is expected to consider
this week would allow a limited number of dispensaries in Vermont to
sell marijuana to those on the registry. To view the bill, S. 17,
visit http://www.leg.state.vt.us/docs/2012/calendar/sc110405.pdf and
search for "marijuana."