Pubdate: Sun, 21 Mar 2010
Source: Durango Herald, The (CO)
Copyright: 2010 The Durango Herald
Contact: http://durangoherald.com/write_the_editor/
Website: http://durangoherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/866
Author: Garrett Andrews
Note: Herald Staff Writer Chuck  Slothower contributed to this report.

MARIJUANA CLINIC OPENS IN DURANGO

New business sells locally farmed medicinal strains

Durangoans now have a sixth source for medicinal  marijuana, located
in downtown, and operating under a  slightly different business model.

"I'm a farmer. My angle is the agricultural one," said  Kai Hill, a
former vegetable grower and co-owner of  Durango Wellness, which he
opened in Suite 105 of the  Crossroads Building with his wife three
weeks ago.  "This is an amazing opportunity for the American  farmer."

Though he doesn't grow marijuana, Hill said the going  rate is about
$2 million for a ton. By way of  comparison, he mentioned hay, which
sells for less than  $100 per ton.

"It's a no-brainer," he said. "It's just a much better  cash
crop."

Hill says Durango Wellness has an answer to the  conventional
"warehouse-style" supply route common to  dispensaries across
Colorado. He sells strains farmed  by local patients, for a
commission, calling the model  a patient-to-patient collective.

Fifteen locals had grown the product Hill had on hand  Thursday,
including strains of with slang names such as  "Sweet Island Skunk,"
"Afghani Goo" and "Urkle."

Under state law, medicinal marijuana patients can grow  up to six
plants for personal use. Dispensaries will  often step in as providers
and maintain the plants for  the patient. Most owners won't say where
the plants are  grown.

Hill thinks his model serves patients better by  allowing him to offer
lower prices. He said he tries to  match those found on the street.

Grams are $15.

"People are price shoppers," he said, and if they want  to, they can
patronize weed dealers. "They're well  within their rights to do so."

For its distinctions, Durango Wellness is similar to  other
dispensaries in many respects. The store is  divided into three
sections: storefront, waiting area  and medicine room. The medicinal
marijuana is weighed  and stored behind a steel door and deadbolt
lock, as  per the city's ordinance, a framed copy of which was
sitting several inches away from half-filled Mason jars  in the
medicine room.

Hill's is the first local business to get a license  since the city
passed a dispensary ordinance last  October, though all the others are
expected to be in  compliance with the law.

Among other conditions, the city of Durango requires  all dispensaries
to maintain security cameras and  operate only between the hours of 8
a.m. and 8 p.m.  Owners are prohibited from using the words
"marijuana"  or "cannabis" on exterior signage, as well as "any  other
word, phrase or symbol commonly understood to  refer to marijuana."

Joe Keck, director of the Small Business Development  Center at Fort
Lewis College, said no dispensary owners  had developed business plans
with the center's help.

Hill is the first tenant to occupy Suite 105. The  office suite had
been vacant since construction on the  Crossroads Building wrapped up
three years ago.

Phil Bryson, co-owner of Crossroads, said having  Durango Wellness in
the building hasn't presented any  problems.

"They're a well-run company, and they're really more  about wellness
than they are just dispensing medical  marijuana," he said.

Bryson said Durango Wellness works closely with others  in the
building, including a masseuse and an  acupuncturist.

"I'm not sure if we would support it if it was a pure  dispensary, but
they're pretty integrated with other  folks in the building," he said.

Hill says he and his wife, Sarah, are hoping to expand  to carry fresh
produce from local farms. They've  applied for a food handler's
license and expect to be  approved sometime next month.

The artwork of Stanton Englehart decorates the waiting  area and
medicine room, and this month, paintings by  Bob Zahner that hang in
the storefront area are for  sale.

Hill keeps a 10 percent commission from selling  artwork. But he said
he was uncomfortable divulging the  cut he takes from medicinal
marijuana sales.

Brochures in the lobby list "pain freedom" fourth in an  order of five
wellness priorities, after "nutrition,"  "fitness" and "sleep." Hill
said that's because  medicine - marijuana included - often is abused,
prescribed needlessly or treated as a magical cure-all.

"Our focus is on wellness. We are not a dispensary," he
said.

Herald Staff Writer Chuck  Slothower contributed to this report.
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D