Pubdate: Tue, 27 Apr 2010
Source: Herald, The (Everett, WA)
Copyright: 2010 The Daily Herald Co.
Contact:  http://www.heraldnet.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/190
Author: Bill Sheets

SMOKEY POINT SHOP'S POT SALES SURPRISE OFFICIALS

Marysville Tries To Sort Truth From Fiction In What, Exactly, 
Elevated Medical Treatment Provides To Its Customers.

MARYSVILLE -- City officials are treading  lightly in investigating 
what is advertised as a  medical marijuana dispensary in the city.

Elevated Medical Treatment opened in Smokey Point in  March. 
Dispensaries are illegal in this state.

Still, enforcement of medical marijuana laws is tricky,  officials 
say, and they want to make sure they're not  infringing on anyone's 
rights if they take action to  close the shop.

"We are going to go through this very carefully,"  Marysville chief 
administrative officer Gloria  Hirashima said Monday.

"My initial reaction was one of concern," City  Councilman Jeff 
Vaughan said. At the same time, "this  is pretty new territory," he 
said. "There's not a lot  of information about how cities plan to 
handle this  kind of thing."

Like Washington, medical marijuana is legal in  California. Cities 
there are in the midst of enforcing  ordinances that do not allow 
marijuana dispensaries and  have raided and closed dozens of the 
illegal  businesses.

Customers in California can also find easy  prescriptions to justify 
using the drug, whether it's  helpful for a person's genuine medical 
problem or they  just want to smoke dope.

The Marysville operation came into the public eye after  two 
suitcases full of cannabis valued at $50,000 were  stolen at gunpoint 
from a couple in Skagit County last  Tuesday.

The victims told police it was intended for  distribution to patients 
with medical permission  through the Smokey Point shop.

No arrests have been made in the robbery, a Skagit  County police 
official said Monday.

Elevated Medical Treatment is registered with the state  as a 
nonprofit organization. The group applied for a  business license 
with Marysville in late March.

On its application, it listed its intended service as  "holistic, 
herbal, alternative, organic remedies." The  application did not 
mention marijuana.

The organization's website, however, describes the  group as a "legal 
provider of medical cannabis in North  Snohomish, Skagit, Island, and 
Whatcom counties."

Several different types of cannabis are listed as  available, with 
descriptions accompanied by photos,  asking for donations of $10 a 
gram or $260 per ounce.

Marijuana was made legal for medical use in the state  by initiative 
in 1998. Businesses such as medical  marijuana dispensaries, however, 
are not, according to  the state Department of Health.

A patient who has a written recommendation from a  doctor for 
marijuana use may grow it or may designate a  provider to grow it for 
them if they are physically  unable to do so themselves, said Donn 
Moyer, a  spokesman for the health department. They may grow 
a  60-day supply of marijuana, defined as 24 ounces and 15  plants.

Under state law, it is illegal for anyone to buy or  sell the drug.

Michael Reid, a Seattle attorney representing Elevated  Medical 
Treatment, said Monday it's not so  cut-and-dried.

"It's de facto legal," he said. "If everybody treats it  as legal, it 
is indeed legal."

Regarding the marijuana that was stolen, he said, "it  wasn't 
theirs," referring to the dispensary. "They  don't have that much there."

Anna Laucks answered the door at Elevated Medical  Treatment on Monday.

Laucks, the shop's director, said the group is  concerned with 
helping patients.

"We really are straightforward about what we do," she  said. "We 
don't believe we're doing anything wrong. We  just want to see our 
patients' rights protected.

"We work on a patient-to-patient basis," she said. "It  never leaves 
the patient's hands."

Marysville City Councilman Jeff Seibert said if the  group is a 
legitimate operation, its license would  likely be granted. If not, 
it would likely be denied.

"I was a little bit shocked," Seibert said regarding  his first 
reaction to hearing about the operation.

Councilwoman Carmen Rasmussen said she's confident that  city laws 
are adequate to address the issue.

"I have full confidence in our police department to  address any 
situation that would not be legal," she  said.
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart