Pubdate: Thu, 02 Dec 2010 Source: Napa Valley Register (CA) Copyright: 2010 Lee Enterprises Contact: http://www.napavalleyregister.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/736 Author: Natalie Hoffman SIX VIE TO BE NAPA'S FIRST MEDICAL POT DISPENSARY Napa is on track to get its first medical marijuana dispensary next year, with six applicants seeking to be the one chosen. Passed in June, the city's new medical pot ordinance allows for just one dispensary to operate in the first year. The applicants vying to open Napa's first dispensary are: the Grateful Valley Compassion Center, Harmony Health & Wellness Center, Mr. Natural, Inc., Napa Holistic Remedies, Inc., Napa Organics and Remedia - - Napa Valley, according to Desiree Brun, who manages the process for the city. Contenders submitted applications from early August to mid-October. The city staff is set to name the victor in January or February, Brun said. Lowell Downey, a 17-year Napa resident and board member of Safe Medicine Access, a medical marijuana advocacy nonprofit, belongs to one of the groups, Grateful Valley Compassion Center. Grateful Valley's proposed dispensary would be run by locals, Downey said. It would start with a staff of seven, eventually employing as many as 15 people, he said. The center would donate a portion of profits to local causes, he added. Downey's group has hired Robert Jacob, who runs the Peace in Medicine medical marijuana dispensary in Sebastopol, as a business and security consultant. "The reason we respect them is there are very few dispensaries out there that really set the bar," Downey said. "We feel that they've been very helpful in giving us guidance," he said. Center employees would follow strict protocol, including regularly checking in with prescribing doctors and reviewing physicians' medical board records before dispensing medical marijuana to patients, Downey said. Emmanuel Donval of the nonprofit Harmony Patients' Center of Napa, Inc., is in one of the groups competing with Downey's. Using the name Harmony Health & Wellness Center, Donval's group plans on giving preference to hiring a local staff and - in line with state law - donating a percentage of its profits to local organizations, he said. "We propose to create a restricted fund that would be administrated by a local foundation," Donval said. "That's a very impartial way to distribute money to nonprofit organizations." Because of the ongoing tug-of-war between federal and state laws regarding medical marijuana dispensaries, the industry is in the early stages of developing standards. "Medical cannabis is an interesting industry in its development right now. There isn't a refined set of best practices," said Jacob, who began running Sebastopol's Peace in Medicine dispensary more than four years ago. Jacob said he's advising Downey's group about everything from dispensary equipment and running a legally compliant business to hiring and security practices. Hiring local employees is good business, he said. "For me, it is really important that dispensaries are locally owned and operated," he said. "Transparency and community relations is a key part to a dispensary being successful in a community." Bill Iverson, a Harmony board member and president of the Napa Spinal Cord Injury Network, is passionate about his group's plan to set aside 15 percent of net dispensary profits for local nonprofits. The money could serve local people with disabilities, the homeless and people struggling with mental health issues, he said. "Obviously, everyone needs money right now," Iverson said. "This is an opportunity that could be really advantageous to the community ... there's so much that could be done, it would be earth-shattering." The dispensary permit process will kick off after the city taps an applicant and concludes a comment period during which fellow applicants can weigh in, Brun said. [SIDEBAR] Who is bidding In line with Napa's new medical marijuana ordinance, six applicants are vying to open Napa's first medical pot dispensary. They are: Grateful Valley Compassion Center Harmony Health & Wellness Center Mr. Natural, Inc. Napa Holistic Remedies, Inc. Napa Organics Remedia - Napa Valley - --- MAP posted-by: Matt