Pubdate: Thu, 03 Oct 2013
Source: Tucson Weekly (AZ)
Copyright: 2013 Tucson Weekly
Contact:  http://www.tucsonweekly.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/462
Author: J.M. Smith

SUPPLIES DOWN SOUTH

Mr. Smith reports from Sierra Vista, checking in on one of two area
dispensaries

I can see Mexico from my backyard these days, which seems like a Sarah
Palin reference but is actually just simple truth.

Mr. Smith has gone on the road for a few months, landing for now on 24
empty acres near Coronado National Monument with high-desert grassland
sloping gently down about five miles south to Mexico. I can see the
wall. It's an ugly brown line stretching arrow-straight east and west.

Being here brings to mind all kinds of cannabis thoughts-about the
cartels that hold sway just a few miles from me and about the Border
Patrol agents I see cruising up and down the highway near my house
daily. Sometimes they just sit alongside the road, spending your tax
dollars to stop drugs mostly, since there aren't very many immigrants
crossing the border lately.

Cannabis patients down here between Bisbee and Sierra Vista have two
nearby dispensary choices to avoid supporting the cartels. I decided
to check out Sierra Vista Phytotherapeutics because I met owner Lisa
Landy once, and she seemed interesting. She's a former gynecologist
from Tucson who now splits her time between Sierra Vista and Tucson.
She ended her medical practice in 2000 after a back injury, and since
2010 has taken an interest in medical cannabis. She opened
Phytotherapeutics in May.

The dispensary, tucked into a nondescript commercial building off
state Highway 92 on the south edge of town, gets an immediate strike
for limited hours. They don't open until 11 a.m.-far too late for a
wake-and-bake-supply trip - and they aren't open at all on Sunday and
Monday. That's not a huge problem in Tucson, where there are choices.
Here, you're left Jonesin' unless you want to drive more than half an
hour to the Green Farmacy in Bisbee, which is at least open daily,
although not until noon most days.

The Phytotherapeutics front door leads to a tiny waiting area with a
bank-style window where the receptionist takes your info and a photo
for their files. This photo is a security touch that they claim
ensures I don't give my card to someone else to use. I'm not sure how
it helps, since my card already has my picture on it. All they have to
do is look at the card to see if it's me, no?

Anyway, a buzzer leads to another tiny waiting room with a TV and a
small library of cannabis materials. There are two tiny medication
rooms off this waiting area-one for flowers and one for edibles.

They had a typical selection of about 15 strains when I went, with a
full range of indicas and sativas. All their strains are the same
price-$20 per gram and $60 per eighth. They aren't selling quantities
yet, but their website allows preordering, which helps shorten your
time at the dispensary. Only a handful of strains had lab results
showing. The dispensary is still ramping up its grow site, so until
that steady inventory chain is in place, expect limited lab testing.
The dispensary's own first harvest should be in the next couple of
months, Landy said.

Phytotherapeutics gets a thumbs up for edibles. They have several
varieties of hard candies, chocolates, cookies and brownies from
Tucson and Bisbee. In addition, the dispensary has alcohol and
glycerine tinctures, which very few dispensaries are selling.
Tinctures are maybe the purest way to get cannabinoids. You can drip
them in coffee or tea or water or drop them under your tongue. Very
handy.

All in all, I'd say Sierra Vista Phytotherapeutics hits the mark, if
just barely. The hours are a bummer, but I like the pre-ordering and I
like their selection of edibles and tinctures.

[sidebar]

Mr. Smith approves. Sierra Vista Phytotherapeutics 1633 S. Arizona
Highway 92, Suite 7 Open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Tuesday through Friday;
11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday 520-335-8570; svphyto.org Pluses: It's
run by a doctor, so if you're looking for medical information or
advice, Lisa Landy, M.D., can help; carries tinctures, which some
dispensaries are shying away from while state authorities decide
what's actually legal Minuses: Border Patrol checkpoint north of
town; limited hours; limited lab test results for strains