Pubdate: Fri, 25 Sep 2009 Source: Union, The (Grass Valley, CA) Copyright: 2009 The Union Contact: http://apps.theunion.com/utils/forms/lettertoeditor/ Website: http://www.theunion.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/957 Author: Zuri Berry, Staff Writer Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/dispensaries Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana - Medicinal) MEDI-POT CO-OP IN THE WORKS A new medical marijuana co-op in Nevada County is now openly seeking members as the discussion for safe access continues to sting area residents amid pot busts and possible dispensaries. Nevada County resident Charles Day has worked for months to formulate the co-op, Harmony Holistic Health, and is now prepared to accept members for the "grassroots, membership-based collective," according to an advertisement placed in The Union and on the co-op's Web site, (www.harmonyholisitchealth.org). "We're good people, trying to do a good thing," Day said. "I don't want this to be about me." From an organizational standpoint, the co-op would only benefit members as outlined by state law and the California attorney general, Day said. It would not have a "storefront presence." "No, we don't need a location at this time," Day said. "We have the people. "(The co-op) is a closed circuit and all functions in regard to the medicine stay within the circuit," Day explained. "It is clearly stated within the law that the diversion of that medicine is not OK. It really is necessary to serve and protect our membership." Harmony Holistic Health as an organization that not only would provide medical marijuana, but would supply necessary information regarding members' rights under state law. "Most people, who are legally qualified patients, walk out of the doctor's office with no information," Day said. "They don't have the information they need to be safe, or protected." The co-op would also help with information for personal cultivation, Day said. Down the road, the organization would by providing services for other holistic health methods, said Day, who is a general contractor and uses medical marijuana for chronic pain. He also has a medical marijuana card; one of only four people in Nevada County who carry that distinction. Harmony Holistic Health comes to fruition less than a month after the Nevada City Council voted to draft an ordinance banning medical marijuana dispensaries. It also comes at a time when Grass Valley and Nevada County have moratoriums for medical marijuana dispensaries. "I'm a little disappointed to see that access to (medical marijuana) is being slowed," Day said. Day has sought legal counsel to help formulate the co-op, but has not consulted District Attorney Cliff Newell, or spoken to Nevada City Vice Mayor Robert Bergman who opined that a co-op was possible in Nevada County without the need for a dispensary. "When (Bergman) said that, I knew it was time," Day said. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake