Pubdate: Wed, 02 Dec 2009
Source: Spartan Daily (San Jose State, CA Edu)
Copyright: 2009 Spartan Daily
Contact: http://www.thespartandaily.com/home/lettertotheeditor/
Website: http://www.thespartandaily.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1386
Author: Samantha Rivera
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

MULTIPLE MEDICAL MARIJUANA CLUBS BUD IN SILICON VALLEY

Rice crispy treats, lollipops, cookies and marijuana in  its
traditional form are offered at the San Jose  Cannabis Buyers
Collective, San Jose's first medical  marijuana dispensary.

"I think it's a long time coming," said Erika Taylor  Montgomery,
spokeswoman for the dispensary. "There are  over 75, 000 patients in
San Jose and there were no  medical dispensaries."

Montgomery, a patient at the dispensary, said patients  previously had
to travel to San Francisco, Oakland or  Santa Cruz to purchase their
medical marijuana which  was time consuming and also dangerous for
patients who  suffer from diseases like Parkinson's disease.

The dispensary opened four months ago and currently has  a little
under 2,000 registered patients, Montgomery  said.

Students who have a verifiable medical marijuana card  and are found
with an amount of marijuana that does not  exceed their prescribed
amount will not have it  confiscated, said Michael Santos, detective
sergeant  for the University Police Department.

"We have dealt with medical marijuana in our past and  know how to
deal with people who have medical  marijuana," Santos said. "We have
no opposition to it  and we don't have any position on having one
(dispensary) in San Jose."

The dispensary is the only dispensary that requires its  patients to
be over 21 years old in San Jose and gives  new patients a two-day
waiting period before they can  purchase medical marijuana, Montgomery
said.

The two-day waiting period allows for the dispensary to  verify that
the card is not counterfeit and time to  check with the patient's
physicians, she said.

"All other clubs sell to those 18 years and older, but  we don't
because someone who is 18 may still be in high  school, and we don't
want to be in a position where we  are serving students," Montgomery
said.

The dispensary has no limit on how much marijuana they  sell their
patients since some may not visit very often  and like to stock up on
it in one visit, she said.

Montgomery said she is aware some may possibly think of re-selling
their medical marijuana, though it is clearly stated that is not
allowed, but there would be no advantage since the price of it in the
dispensary is the same as it would be for a street dealer.

Five other dispensaries have opened in San Jose within the last three
weeks, Montgomery said.

"We are somewhat concerned that they opened so quickly and hope San
Jose sets rules and regulations for the dispensaries," she said.

Montgomery said she thinks this is a tremendous step toward the
legalization of marijuana.

She said as long as the city sets guidelines, situations like the one
in Los Angeles, where there are over 500 unregulated dispensaries, can
be avoided.

"I don't think San Jose citizens want that here," Montgomery
said.

Kasey Rose, a junior child development major, said she thinks
marijuana should be legalized.

"(The) crime rate will go down and we can tax it," she
said.

Santos said he thinks there are other cities or counties with many
dispensaries, but that hasn't led to the legalization of marijuana in
the state.

He said he thinks it will take a lot more for than many dispensaries
opening for society to accept the legalization of marijuana. 
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