MARIJUANA SHOPS WAITING TO OPEN IN KELSO AND CASTLE ROCK

Kelso and Castle Rock may get the first medical marijuana
dispensaries in Cowlitz County, depending on the outcome of the
Legislature's battle with the governor about the state's medical marijuana law.

Gov. Chris Gregoire has threatened to veto a measure the Legislature
adopted Thursday that would create a system for licensing storefront
dispensaries and grow operations and protect some patients from being arrested.

Meanwhile, Kelso has received one business license application for a
dispensary, and Castle Rock has received two, including one from a
couple who will address the Castle Rock City Council on Monday night.
The rush to establish dispensaries is related to a provision in the
proposed legislation: If dispensaries established under the measure
are not registered with the state by May 1, they will be illegal until 2013.

Mandy Henderson and her partner Kirk Kightlinger have taken out a
year lease on a storefront at 105 Allen St., just across the parking
lot from Kelso City Hall and the police station, in hopes they could
open a dispensary next week. They've shared their plans with nearby
businesses and received any negative response, said Castle Rock couple.

Kightlinger, 48, said he wants turn a historically black market
industry into an above-board business.

"Hopefully with 100 percent accountability, the stigma will go away.
We want to set the standards," said Kightlinger, who has been using
medical marijuana for three years due to back injuries acquired from
years of construction work and laying hardwood floors.

"We feel that it's time and the market is already there. People are
already doing this," he said.

He and Henderson, 50, want to create a safe, comfortable place for
patients to obtain pain relief and learn about cultivating marijuana
and alternative methods of ingesting it. Henderson, who said she has
never used marijuana or any illegal drugs, just wants to help people.
She prefers the term "Compassionate Care Center" rather than dispensary.

"We're here to share knowledge and compassion and try to get this
product in the realm it needs to be," Kightlinger said.

Thursday, they met with Police Chief Andrew Hamilton and Mayor David
Futcher to discuss their plans.

"There's really no way you can let that happen under current law,"
Futcher said Friday.

But if the governor signs the bill, Hamilton said, "We'll have to see
what the law is. ... We're going to look at any business and evaluate
it and make sure they're complying with the law. I don't care what
they're selling."

If the law doesn't pass, Kightlinger and Henderson, who already have
invested $20,000 in the business, said they'll have to find another
use for the shop.

"We'll cease and desist and pack up. And we're not able to help our
community," Kightlinger said.

Two permits pending in Castle Rock

Julian and Melissa Robinson of Castle Rock will speak to the council
Monday about what they plan to call The Healing Hand of God patient
resource center. Initially the couple plans to open an information
center and clinic that would provide a doctor who could write medical
marijuana prescriptions - legally called "recommendations." The
couple also wants to open a medical marijuana dispensary if possible
and say it would be a clean, well-regulated business.

"This isn't something with pot smoke coming out the front door or
people loitering outside," said Julian Robinson, a medical marijuana
patient for five years for chronic back pain. "It will be very clean
and professional."

The council does not approve business license applications, but the
Robinsons said they wanted to let officials know their plans. Right
now they plan to open in the city's downtown hub on Cowlitz Street
West, but Robinson said he's willing to discuss other locations.

"We're not trying to come in and bull dog the whole town," Robinson
said. "We're trying to have a real nice impact on town."

City Attorney Frank Randolph said he's waiting for the outcome of the
legislative battle before researching the city's next step.

In addition, Charles Gilbert IV of Toutle has applied to open Puffin
Organics LCC in a mini mall off of Huntington Avenue North. His
application states the business will include indoor gardening
supplies, a patient exchange co-op and a dispensary.

Gilbert could not be reached for comment Friday.

The Castle Rock City Council meets at 7:30 p.m. in the Castle Rock
Senior Center, 222 Second Ave. SW.

Medical marijuana has been legal in Washington since 1998, when
voters passed Initiative 692. However, dispensaries are not legal.
Authorized patients are allowed to possess a 60-day supply of pot,
grow small numbers of plants and trade pot with one another.

Wednesday, Centralia police raided Lewis County's first medical
marijuana dispensary, Hub City Natural Medicine, seizing pot and
arresting a shop volunteer for possession and dealing.

Dispensaries are legal in Oregon, however. On April 1, Staypuff
Organics opened in Rainier, the first medical marijuana dispensary in
Columbia County. Customers must carry ID and an Oregon Medical
Marijuana Program card, available only from doctors or osteopaths.

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MARIJUANA DISCUSSION

One couple's plans for a medical marijuana clinic - and possibly
dispensary - will be discussed Monday at the Castle Rock City Council
meeting. The council meets at 7:30 p.m. in the Castle Rock Senior
Center, 222 Second Ave. SW.