Pubdate: Mon, 14 Sep 2009
Source: Record Searchlight (Redding, CA)
Copyright: 2009 Record Searchlight
Contact:  http://www.redding.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/360
Author: David Benda
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/dispensaries
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana - Medicinal)

MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES BOOM IN NORTH STATE

Cristal Dawn Speller saw a need in Redding for her medical marijuana clinic.

So the Glendale-based doctor opened Natural Care For Wellness in 
downtown Redding in July and has been doing brisk business.

Speller, who went to Stanford University Medical School and 
specialized in pediatrics, opens the center on Fridays for three 
hours and typically sees between 20 and 50 patients. Each pays 
Speller $175 for a one-year recommendation - renewals are $150 - that 
allows them to use, purchase, grow and transport cannabis in California.

The 41-year-old physician flies up each week to see patients. She 
also operates a clinic in Chico, which opened in 2007.

"I started here in Redding because I noticed last year that more and 
more patients from Redding were going to Chico," Speller said.

Hardly a coincidence, medical marijuana co-ops doing business in 
Shasta County have increased dramatically in 2009.

Responding to the sudden growth, the cities of Anderson and Shasta 
Lake recently passed temporary moratoriums on medical marijuana shops.

Supervisors of Shasta and Tehama counties on Tuesday will consider 
taking up 45-day bans on new collectives. The Shasta County measure 
was spurred by the opening of Your Cottonwood Collective in the 
historic cattle town.

But with the Obama administration declaring that it will stop 
frequent raids on cannabis co-ops and dispensaries, the businesses 
already have gone main street in the north state.

River Valley Collective opened in late July next door to the historic 
Cascade Theatre on Market Street in downtown Redding.

Trusted Friends, a co-op that opened late last year, has seen its 
membership blossom to some 2,700 people, a 50 percent jump since 
June. The nonprofit recently relocated to Pine Street in downtown 
Redding and opened a second location on Churn Creek Road in Redding.

In fact, co-ops doing business in Redding have gone from four in June 
to more than 10 today.

"I think with the viewpoint of the current administration and also 
our economic situation, people are trying to survive right now," said 
Michael Vasquez of Trinity Gardens Inc., which opened on Railroad 
Avenue in Redding in July.

Redding doesn't have a specific ordinance for the nonprofit co-ops 
within the city limits. The city treats them like pharmacies and 
requires they do business in appropriately zoned areas.

Vasquez and others want the city to further regulate marijuana co-ops 
before they start showing up on every corner. They even suggest 
putting a city tax on sales.

The Los Angeles Times reported last week that there are 966 
dispensaries registered in Los Angeles.

In July, Oakland voters approved a 1.8 percent tax - on top of the 
typical sales tax - on gross receipts of cannabis businesses. Oakland 
officials estimate the tax will raise $294,000 in additional revenue in 2010.

"There's been no discussion related to implementing new or burdensome 
taxes of that nature," Redding City Manager Kurt Starman said.

Starman, though, suggests it would behoove Anderson, Shasta Lake, 
Shasta County and Redding to work together on regulating the co-ops 
to avoid "unintended consequences," such as a plethora of medicinal 
cannabis shops opening in one location.

"I think it's important for us to be consistent," Starman said.

Tawnya McKee, who has smoked marijuana medicinally for about 13 
years, would like to see a cap on co-ops in the area.

"You need some kind of control - like not by schools," McKee said. 
"Before you know it, there will be a pharmacy in Walmart selling marijuana."

McKee, 32, visited Speller on Friday to "become legal." Marijuana 
helps McKee cope with the effects of endometriosis, a painful 
condition in which the tissue that normally lines the uterus grows in 
other areas of the body. McKee said she can't tolerate pain 
medications like Vicodin.

"I don't have to hide anymore," McKee said of getting a 
recommendation, which she received after spending 10 minutes with Speller.

Speller asks all of her patients to bring either a note from a 
doctor, medical records or a radiology report before she will write 
up a 12-month recommendation. Speller said she has written thousands 
of recommendations since 2005.

Insurance isn't accepted, but Speller tells patients they can forward 
their receipts in hopes of getting an insurance reimbursement.

Speller said the side effects of marijuana are few and many patients 
suffering with pain have found relief from the herbal remedy.

"It's medicine like any other. That's the way I treat it," Speller said. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake