Medical Marijuana Business Is On Fire

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Medical marijuana business is on fire

By Rob Reuteman, Special from CNBC.com

April 20, 2010

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/health/2010-04-20-medical-marijuana_N.htm?csp=obnetwork

 

Below are parts of the article. Maybe some of this information can be useful

 

DENVER — Medical marijuana dispensaries are springing up in Colorado's major cities like coffee shops, nail parlors, tanning salons or taco shops.

 

"This industry is like a bolting horse running out of a stable that's on fire," said Sierra Neblina, owner of the Medimar Haven dispensary in Lakewood, Colo. "We need to get a hold of our own industry."

 

 

"The changes are necessary due to the explosive growth in the number of medical marijuana applications," said Mark Salley of the Colorado Health Department.

 

 

Though Alaska, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington allow the practice, they are in various stages of start-up mode.

 

Similar ballot measures or legislation allowing medical marijuana are pending in 14 more states this year: Alabama, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee and Wisconsin. The City Council of the District of Columbia today considers a bill to allow the sale and use of medical marijuana.

 

Some dispensaries host doctors on site. Websites list regular doctors' hours. The state charges a $90 processing fee, and dispensaries usually add notary or other smaller handling charges, for a total patient cost of about $250.

 

Then there's the product. An ounce of medical marijuana currently costs about $350 and is considered sufficient to last about six weeks for the average patient.

 

Often, a dispensary offers a discount to a patient, who then lists it as his or her "primary caregiver." A patient may possess up to 2 ounces of pot or six plants for personal use, and a dispensary may have on hand 2 ounces of pot per patient.

 

A dispensary may provide a grower with its patient list; a grower may house six plants per patient.

 

Dispensaries, however, are far more than smoking dens. Marijuana is bought and sold in an array of edible forms, such as caramel corn made with marijuana-laced butter, chocolate-covered cherries, rice cake treats and frozen pizzas.

 

Mile High Ice Cream in Denver makes dozens of flavors with marijuana. There are bottled soft drinks, pills and tinctures.

 

Dispensaries also sell routine and advanced drug paraphernalia, including pipes, lighters, scented candles and smokeless "delivery systems" called vaporizers, the latter of which can cost several hundred dollars apiece.

 

Many dispensaries have expanded to offer massage, acupuncture and other alternative healing methods, usually arranging patient appointments and providing operating space for a practitioner.

 

In January, the Denver City Council passed a slew of new dispensary regulations aimed at bringing order to industry chaos and revenue to city coffers.

 

"Six months ago, Denver and Colorado were the Wild West of medical marijuana, with unregulated and untaxed dispensaries opening almost daily and the number of registered patients soaring," said Denver Councilman Charlie Brown, who sponsored the ordinance.

 

Now, an applicant for a dispensary license must submit a floor plan and security plan and apply for a zoning permit, a sales tax license and a burglar alarm license. Fees top $5,000 annually, plus ongoing sales tax.

 

Nearby Boulder passed a similar ordinance in 2009. Dispensaries and marijuana-growing operations there generated nearly $74,000 in sales tax revenue, though most of the estimated 105 businesses didn't open until September or later. (In Los Angeles, the city council is poised to pass regulations aimed at reducing the current 545 dispensaries to about 70, mostly through license fees and zoning.)

 

"With taxation comes legitimacy," said medical marijuana attorney Rob Corry. "This industry is one of the few that is asking to be taxed and legitimized to join the rest of the business world."

 

(More can be found in the article at the link given near the top)