Pubdate: Sat, 20 Apr 2013
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2013 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: John Wenzel
Page: 1A

INDUSTRY GIVES BACK TO SHINE ITS IMAGE

Some Colorado dispensaries turn to philanthropy in an effort to gain 
acceptance and overcome a "black eye."

Recreational weed may be a reality in Colorado in the wake of 
Amendment 64, but its older brother, the medical-marijuana industry, 
continues to face financial and public-relations hurdles in winning 
acceptance from the wider business community.

Few know that better than the owners of Colorado's 675 medical 
marijuana dispensaries, many of which have met heated opposition when 
trying to become established in neighborhoods across the state.

"A couple of years ago, there was nothing in place to normalize the 
industry and keep that black eye from growing bigger," said Kayvan 
Khalatbari, co-owner of the Denver Relief dispensary. "People were 
still operating as if it was really underground, and once we got in 
we didn't want to be lumped in with those people."

So Khalatbari and his Denver Relief partner Ean Seeb founded the 
Green Team, a volunteer organization whose stated mission is to 
improve the perception of medical cannabis through community service 
and social activism. And they're not alone. "There's at least 10 
(Colorado dispensaries) I can think of that gave at least $10,000 or 
$20,000 to charity in 2012," said Betty Aldworth, deputy director of 
the National Cannabis Industry Association.

The growing movement of philanthropic-minded industry groups and 
dispensaries is turning Colorado into a national example of how 
marijuana businesses can improve their image while also getting their 
name out to potential customers.

Denver Relief, for example, holds a free monthly wheelchair and bike 
repair clinic and ongoing canned food and clothing drives, and is 
sending its Green Team to collect trash at downtown's "4/20 Rally" in 
Civic Center park on Saturday.

This year they joined with more than a dozen marijuana related 
businesses and are expecting 100 volunteers to meet at the Denver 
Relief tent to clean the park, adding to the nearly 900 hours of 
already logged volunteer time.

Khalatbari is also flying to Amherst, Mass., on Saturday, where he'll 
lead about a dozen volunteers the Green Team has recruited in a state 
that last year passed its own medical-marijuana laws.

"This is the first out-of-state test run so we'll see how it goes, 
but we'll be consulting in Arizona, Canada and elsewhere," Khalatbari 
said. "I don't think anybody else right now in the industry is 
focusing on the philanthropy aspect because they're too busy trying 
to keep their business together."

Money raised

Little information exists on coordinated image-burnishing efforts 
among dispensaries in other states, according to the Cannabis 
Industry's Aldworth.

"The data in this business is very difficult to come by," she said. 
"But there are a handful that do a great job tracking it."

She pointed to Denver Relief as well as Denver dispensary chain The 
Clinic, which holds an annual golf tournament sponsored by 
cannabis-related businesses to gather money for multiple sclerosis 
research. The Clinic has raised $50,000 for the cause since 2009 and 
hopes to raise another $25,000 this year alone.

"There's probably about seven 'specialty holes' out on the (golf) 
course and we allow companies to go out and set up a booth," The 
Clinic general manager Ryan Cook said of sponsors such as Dixie 
Elixirs and WeedMaps.

Critics say philanthropy is beside the point when the industry has 
yet to prove its products are safe and inaccessible to children.

"It's hard to be critical of anyone who wants to help out in the 
community, but are they doing everything they can to limit the 
negative impacts of their business?" asked Eric Anderson, spokesman 
for Smart Colorado, a group focused on "smart implementation" of 
Amendment 64. "There's so many tangible negative impacts of their 
core business that you would hope they would get their arms around 
that before they start branching out to trash pickup and food drives."

He also noted how various charities have refused money from tobacco 
companies, for example, because they don't want to be aligned with a 
negatively stigmatized business.

Indeed, Children's Hospital Colorado recently turned down a monetary 
donation from Denver Relief for the same reason, according to Khalatbari.

No "value judgments"

Dispensary advocates argue their efforts are more akin to 
passionately held beliefs soaking through their business models, in 
the same way Fort Collins' New Belgium Brewery has donated $5 million 
to progressive-minded nonprofits.

The board of Community Shares of Colorado, which has collected more 
than $22 million for Colorado nonprofits through workplace giving 
programs, has begun discussing opening its services to medical 
marijuana businesses. However, it is waiting on the federal 
government's opinion of Colorado's marijuana industry, since that 
will affect dispensaries' access to basic banking services - a 
Community Shares requirement.

"We do have a gift acceptance policy but we don't make value 
judgments on the type of businesses we will work with on giving 
campaigns," Community Shares chief executive Alyssa Kopf said."We 
raise money for a lot of environmental groups, but we would still 
work with an oil and gas company because we believe all their 
employees should have an easy way to give."

Colorado's medical-marijuana industry is expected to double its $200 
million annual sales by 2014, according to the Cannabis Industry's 
Aldworth, so it's inevitable that the money will outweigh the stigma.

"Just like in any other business, this is about corporate 
citizenship," she said. "Philanthropy impacts the bottom line, but 
these are people who are ethically motivated to do this and deeply 
involved in their communities. The challenge is finding a nonprofit 
that will take our money or volunteer time and be proud of it."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom