Pubdate: Tue, 11 Jun 2013
Source: Washington Times (DC)
Copyright: 2013 The Washington Times, LLC.
Contact:  http://www.washingtontimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/492
Author: Celina Durgin

PATIENCE WAITING FOR PATIENTS

Medical Marijuana Outlet Waits for Bureaucracy to Catch Up

Mike Cuthriell has navigated D.C. government regulations for 
two-and-a-half years to open a medical marijuana dispensary and now 
only needs a final inspection from the Department of Health before he 
can officially open his Metropolitan Wellness Center. But the center 
won't be able to stay open unless the health department sanctions one 
more thing: patients.

As of Thursday, 18 doctors had received applications to allow them to 
recommend medical marijuana to qualified patients, health department 
officials said. Forms that would allow patients to apply for 
registration cards are supposed to be available by mid-June, the 
agency said. The status of the forms is a matter of dispute. Mike 
Liszewski, policy director of the D.C.based nonprofit Americans for 
Safe Access, which promotes safe and legal access to marijuana, said 
his understanding was that the forms have not yet been created. But 
health department spokeswoman Najma Roberts said the forms have been developed.

Even if the health department does release patient forms later this 
month, Mr. Cuthriell predicts that marijuana dispensaries may have to 
wait additional weeks or months while patients complete a multi-step 
process to request the form and apply for a registration card.

Mr. Cuthriell said the financial effect of the delay is "a big 
question." The Metropolitan Wellness Center at Eastern Market in 
Southeast and two other dispensaries, the Takoma Wellness Center and 
Capital City Care, both in Northwest, are paying for security 
systems, rent, staffing and more so that if and when patients begin 
patronizing the dispensaries they are ready to receive them.

A November 2010 fiscal impact statement provided by the District's 
chief financial officer estimated that 800 patients would qualify and 
be registered to use medical marijuana and that the number would 
increase 50 percent each year for the first five years. Mr. Cuthriell 
and other dispensary owners used this number to gauge the potential 
size of their market.

The Metropolitan Wellness Center spends its time doing preparatory 
work, "little things, but we're not just sitting around," Vanessa 
West, general manager, said.

"Because we haven't had our final inspection by DOH, we're not 
exactly complaining yet," she said. "I'm more disappointed because 
there are patients who have a qualifying disease, but it's taking 
forever for physicians to get recommendation forms."

Asked about the frustrations expressed as a result of the delays, Ms. 
Roberts said three cultivation centers have been issued registrations 
and are growing medical marijuana.

"It takes 90 days to grow the plant. While the dispensaries are ready 
there is nothing to dispense until the product is ready," Ms. Roberts said.

Patients eligible to use medical marijuana include those with cancer, 
glaucoma, HIV, AIDS and conditions characterized by severe and 
persistent muscle spasms, such as multiple sclerosis. Patients 
undergoing chemotherapy or radiotherapy or patients using 
azidothymidine or protease inhibitors also qualify.

While lobbying a section of the federal tax code that bars businesses 
selling certain drugs - including medical marijuana - from making 
expense-related tax deductions, Ms. West was surprised that some 
representatives in Congress seemed unaware that the District had 
legalized medical marijuana.

The city has waited 15 years for implementation of the law. A 
congressional rider known as the Barr Amendment banned the District 
from funding legalization efforts since 1998, when 69 percent of 
voters cast ballots approving the use of medical marijuana in the 
District. The rider was lifted in 2009, clearing the way for the 
program's implementation.

Ms. West believes problems with the health department might be due to 
understaffing. City regulations stipulate an informational class for 
physicians about administering marijuana, but the class hasn't begun 
and many physicians remain in the dark about the legal parameters or 
even the existence of the District's medical marijuana program, said 
Morgan Fox, a spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project.

Of the 18 states that have legalized medical marijuana, the District 
is said to have the tightest regulations.

Kris Hermes, a spokesman for Americans for Safe Access, said the 
national trend has been toward state regulation, using a top-down 
approach with tight restrictions on the operation of marijuana 
dispensaries and cultivation centers. California, however, has a 
comparatively loosely regulated system at the state level, with some 
stricter local regulations.

New Mexico, which legalized medical marijuana in 2007, demonstrates 
the problems of failing to ramp up production and distribution fast 
enough to meet statewide demand. In the District, the problems lie on 
the demand side rather than the supply side, but playing catchup with 
qualification of doctors and patients is an analogous issue and "a 
bad sign," Mr. Hermes said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom