Pubdate: Mon, 11 Mar 2013 Source: Boston Herald (MA) Copyright: 2013 The Boston Herald, Inc Contact: http://news.bostonherald.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/53 Note: Prints only very short LTEs. Author: Christine Mcconville Page: 8 BIZ GROUP SEEKS SLICE OF MEDICINAL POT 'PIE' A Bay State business group that has filed corporation papers to set up labs to analyze marijuana has hired lobbyists who are working with a legislator, pushing a bill that would make the group's services mandatory for anyone selling medicinal pot. Dorian DesLauriers, a Franklin entrepreneur, said he incorporated five companies and formed a medical marijuana advocacy group in the four months since Bay State voters legalized medical marijuana to get "a slice" of what he says is a booming business. "How big is the pie?" DesLauriers said. "We have a population of 6.4 million people, and 12 percent of that group suffers from diseases that qualify for medical marijuana." DesLauriers andbusiness partner Robert Edmonds Hunt of Colorado, who is affiliated with Rocky Mountain Hydroponics in Colorado, set up their nonprofit Coalition for Responsible Patient Care on Jan. 17 to "advocate for sensible policy." The pair's lobbyists, Lynch Associates, collaborated with state Rep. John Scibak, a South Hadley Democrat, on his bill, filed on Jan. 18, to require that all medical pot sold in Massachusetts be tested in a state-certified lab, according to CRPC, Lynch Associates and Scibak. It calls for the creation of a state Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division and a seed-to-sale monitoring program. Their effort comes as the state's Department of Public Health has been working on regulations it is expected to unveil in the next few months. A DPH spokeswoman would not comment on Scibak's bill or the status of DPH's own proposed regulations. Peter D'Agostino of Lynch Associates told the Herald, "On behalf of our client, the Coalition for Responsible Patient Care, a Massachusetts trade association, we worked with and provided language to legislators, including Representative Scibak, amending the language of Question 3 where deficiencies exist related to public safety and patient access, based on CRPC's members' experience in other jurisdictions." Scibak said he filed the bill after a Lynch lobbyist "approached me to talk about shortcomings" in the state's new law. Scibak said his bill aims to protect patients. "There should be some quality control," he said. DesLauriers said he set up Massachusetts Dispensary, Massachusetts Compassionate Care Center, Massachusetts Apothecary, Apothecary Care and Proverde Laboratories "as an entrepreneurial decision." He said he hired Lynch to help get his businesses going. Hunt could not be reached for comment. Medical marijuana critic Heidi Heilman said the developments highlight her fears: "People are seeing this as a business opportunity, and unfortunately, it capitalizes on the vulnerable, the sick, and dying, and the young people who legal marijuana gets diverted to." - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom