Pubdate: Tue, 8 Sep 2009
Source: Times-Standard (Eureka, CA)
Copyright: 2009 Times-Standard
Contact: http://www.times-standard.com/writeus
Website: http://www.times-standard.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1051
Author: Dave Stancliff, For The Times-Standard

THE HUMBOLDT COOPERATIVE PLANS FOR THE FUTURE

Dennis Turner isn't afraid to walk between two worlds if it means he
can achieve his goal of helping people. He knew when he started The
Humboldt Cooperative in Arcata in November of 2003 that nothing but
challenges lay ahead.

Challenges don't bother him. He's used to them. His roots are deep in
Humboldt County's history, since his family first moved to the area in
1890. While Turner grew up in the Santa Rosa area, he was no stranger
to Humboldt County and often visited his "Uncle Jimmy," who lived in
the area. He also married a local girl named Martha.

In 1973, Turner launched his career in helping people as a guidance
counselor at McKinleyville High School. By 1978, he was running a
research team for the Department of General Services in Sacramento.

He received his master's degree in career counseling at Humboldt State
University in December of 1994 and went to work for the Department of
Rural Human Resources in Crescent City. After six years, he became
restless and decided it was time to move on.

By 2000, the times were changing as to the role of marijuana in
society and Turner became interested in the therapeutic aspects of the
controversial herb. Convinced that cannabis was good thing for those
who needed it, he researched what it took to start a medical marijuana
clinic.

Dealing with the paradox of state and federal laws was like tip-toeing
through a minefield, according to Turner. He wanted to start a
community service that could expand into other services. This involved
tons of research and talking to a lot of people, something Turner has
no problem doing. Most of the time he wears a smile that invites
others to join him.

He realized he was setting out upon a road with plenty of potential
ambushes. While the state said it was OK to do certain things -- like
having a certain number of plants -- the federal government didn't see
it the same way, raiding dispensaries and prosecuting medial marijuana
growers.

"I wanted to provide a needed service, but I also knew that I had to
have a game plan if I wanted to stay open," Turner said in a recent
interview. That meant structure. So he formed the Humboldt California
Association, the umbrella organization for the Humboldt Cooperative
Management Group (HCMG). He put together a staff of promising and
bright young accountants and office personnel for HCMG.

 From the very beginning, Turner said, he made sure the Humboldt
Cooperative cooperated openly with the state and county regarding his
business transactions. "That meant planning ahead," he explained.
"From the start, I got a pretty clear message from the state Board of
Equalization; they basically said, 'Don't flaunt your operation or
we'll take you down.' They issued bulletins to be used as guideposts,
and we did our level best to comply with them."

That meant an abundance of caution on Turner's part. He made sure the
quarterly sales taxes were always paid on time and considered it an
investment in the future. He figures clinics that did not take his
precautions will be sorry and might face paying back taxes someday. By
setting up a financial framework in advance, he intends to be ready
for any new regulations.

He also made sure to establish a good working relationship with the
city of Arcata while he built a foundation that would someday take the
entire operation to another level.

Turner developed an integrated management matrix which enabled one of
his employees, Ron Honig, to create a system that provides real time
monitoring of the organization's finances.

With a touch of pride in his voice, Turner said, "We plan on giving
the city of Arcata access to this system after we have all the bugs
worked out. Then if they have any questions they'll be quickly
answered with this amazing amount of accessibility."

The foundation is expanding now as he prepares for the next phase,
which he believes will include the legalization of marijuana. The most
recent addition to the plan began on Aug. 6 when the Emerald Triangle
Management Group (ETMG), a nonprofit organization, was formed.

"The word is that to be on the right side of new laws, clinics need to
be nonprofit organizations and closed groups. They also need to be
legal cooperatives. We're street legal right now," Turner said, "but
we have to look ahead to a time when the game changes and cannabis
becomes legal."

Turner's answer to that uncertain future has been to form ETMG and to
invite other medical marijuana clinics to join the group's nonprofit
umbrella.

Turner's recipe includes a community vegetable garden for patients,
with the surplus going to local food banks. The group is currently
looking for agricultural properties to suit that goal.

"We're going to have one garden in each of the local six counties," he
said with a grin. "No hoping here. We're going to do it." He also
noted that The Humboldt Cooperative has supported local community
nonprofits with infusions of cash since its inception.

"We're not just about being a 215 clinic," he said. "We're working
with the people to improve their quality of life."

Knowing that legalization looms in the future, Turner said he wasn't
concerned about the ramifications that would bring. The information
he's managed to glean suggests that the cannabis prices won't be
significantly less when the day comes. How the whole legalization
process will shake out, he doesn't know. No one knows yet.

California Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, introduced
legislation recently titled Marijuana Control, Regulation, and
Education Act, or AB 390, that would tax and regulate marijuana in a
manner similar to alcohol.

Local officials have been reluctant to comment on AB 390. North Coast
Assemblyman Wesley Chesbro, D-Arcata, said the bill is in such
preliminary stages that he's not ready to talk about it yet.

Turner said he's got his structure in place -- a good track record
with the local authorities and he will continue to build upon that.
Success depends upon the overall ability to adapt to change, according
to Turner.

When asked his goal in life, he said, "I strive to be a good
administrator." 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake