Pubdate: Mon, 15 Jul 2013 Source: Herald, The (Everett, WA) Copyright: 2013 The Daily Herald Co. Contact: http://www.heraldnet.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/190 OREGON DISPENSARIES OK'D, BUT DETAILS STILL ELUSIVE PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The Oregon Legislature just put the state medical marijuana program in the plant-inspection business. But that's not all. Under a broad set of authorities granted by the passage of a bill approving medical marijuana dispensaries, the state program will soon also run background checks, conduct on-site safety inspections and perform financial audits. It's all part of a legislative effort aimed at legitimizing the hundreds of Oregon dispensaries already operating in a legal gray area. As part of the bargain, the dispensaries will now submit to the same kind of scrutiny - and paperwork - as other types of businesses. "There are many (dispensaries) right now that are paying taxes, paying worker's comp, taking care of employees," said Oregonians for Medical Rights lobbyist Geoff Sugarman, who drafted the bill. "The responsible thing to do for patients is to regulate these facilities." Gov. John Kitzhaber is expected to sign the bill, which was passed by the Oregon House on July 6. Under the new system, a patient gives a grower or caregiver permission to take excess marijuana to a dispensary, which will reimburse the grower for the expense of cultivating the plant and distributing the pot. The dispensary then charges the patient, though those costs aren't necessarily the same number. In a new twist on the current system, growers will also be able to charge for their labor. Specifically, "transferring, handling, securing, insuring, testing, packaging and processing usable marijuana and immature marijuana plants and the cost of supplies, utilities and rent or mortgage." That has opponents to the dispensary system alarmed. State Rep. Andy Olson, R-Albany, said he agrees marijuana has a medical use, but said the bill approving dispensaries will lead to widespread abuse. "HB 3460 allows operators to set their own prices!" Olson said in a letter urging Kitzhaber to veto the bill. "Even currently it is being sold at a profit." Much about the Oregon dispensary system remains uncertain, because the Legislature gave the state marijuana program broad latitude for writing the dispensaries' rules and a March deadline for doing it. For one, the process by which the dispensaries will be audited is unclear. The bill directs the dispensaries to maintain records of transactions - what they spent, what they spent it on and who their customers are. - --- MAP posted-by: Matt