Pubdate: Mon, 23 Sep 2013
Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal (NV)
Copyright: 2013 Las Vegas Review-Journal
Contact: http://www.reviewjournal.com/about/print/press/letterstoeditor.html
Website: http://www.lvrj.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/233
Author: Sean Whaley

POT DISPENSARY ANGST RISES

Some Rural Counties May Limit or Ban Legal Sales to Patients

CARSON CITY - It may be a case of "one toke over (the next county) 
line" for some Nevada medical marijuana patients anxiously waiting to 
get the drug from state-licensed dispensaries starting next year.

Some Nevada counties and cities might balk at the idea of licensing a 
dispensary as allowed under legislation passed this year, forcing 
patients to drive to an adjoining county to get the product.

Lyon County officials are considering a proposal by the sheriff to 
ban the establishment of a dispensary in unincorporated parts of the county.

Other rural counties and cities might do the same.

"I think there is a lot of apprehension in the rural counties about 
how it is going to work," said state Sen. Pete Goicoechea, R-Eureka. 
"There is not a lot of support for it in the rurals. The counties I 
represent are looking the other way. They hope it goes away."

Goicoechea, who voted for Senate Bill 374 creating the dispensaries, 
said the concern is that they will create a wide-open black market 
for marijuana.

"How can you tell if the marijuana in a patient's possession came 
from a dispensary or the black market?" he asked.

But state Sen. Tick Segerblom, D-Las Vegas, who authored the measure 
to give medical marijuana patients a simpler way to obtain the drug, 
said he does not expect access to be a big issue after regulations 
are approved by the state Health Division to regulate the 
establishments. The regulations are expected to be adopted by April 
1, with dispensaries likely to begin operating late in 2014.

The more populated counties are expected to move forward with 
licensing of the dispensaries, he said.

"If Clark or Washoe County did not move forward, it would be a 
problem," Segerblom said. "But Lyon County is not far from Carson 
City or Washoe County. If access does become an issue, the 
Legislature can revisit it in 2015."

The city of Las Vegas last week enacted an ordinance placing a 
six-month moratorium on the licensing of dispensaries, but the move 
was temporary, until the state regulatory process is clarified.

ISSUE CALLED COMPLEX

City Councilman Stavros Anthony said the issue is complex. Issues 
include where dispensaries should be allowed to operate and how to 
ensure they serve medical patients only.

Anthony said elected officials must respect the fact that Nevada 
voters approved a constitutional amendment creating the medical 
marijuana program. But it also is true that marijuana remains an 
illegal drug under federal law, he said.

That's why he supported the moratorium, which will give officials 
time to address any concerns.

"If we decide to go ahead, we want to do it right," Anthony said.

The dispensary bill, signed into law by Gov. Brian Sandoval in June, 
is intended to fulfill the Legislature's obligation to make marijuana 
available to those with valid medical cards.

Voters gave final approval to the program in 2000, and much of the 
bipartisan legislative support for the bill this year came from 
lawmakers who said the wishes of the voters needed to be addressed.

The current system requires patients to grow their own or get it from 
caregivers who grow it and donate it to their patients. The reality 
is many buy the drug from illegal suppliers.

The new law authorizes one pot dispensary in each of Nevada's 14 
rural counties, up to 40 in Clark County, 10 in Washoe County and two 
in Carson City.

Segerblom said the law allows local jurisdictions to opt out.

"If a rural county or city doesn't want to do it, that's fine with 
me," he said.

Access issues can also be addressed by the "grow your own" provisions 
remaining in the new law, Segerblom said.

ACCESS PROBLEM PREDICTED

But access may be an issue for some patients even with the new law, he said.

If Pahrump opens the only dispensary in Nye County, residents of 
Gabbs, nearly 300 miles north would have a long drive to get the 
drug, Segerblom said.

Clark County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani, who authored the bill 
establishing Nevada's medical marijuana program in 2001 as a member 
of the Assembly, said she believes Southern Nevada jurisdictions will 
work cooperatively to establish dispensaries once state-level 
regulations are in place.

"I think we're fine," she said. "It would be shortsighted not to take 
advantage of this. We can create a good model."

Giunchigliani said the "grow your own" provisions in her 2001 bill 
were adopted in an effort to keep the federal government from 
cracking down on the program. During the Bush administration, John 
Walters, the nation's first drug czar, campaigned against efforts to 
relax marijuana laws, including legalization efforts in Nevada that 
ultimately failed.

The Obama administration recently announced it will not challenge 
voter-approved laws in Washington and Colorado permitting 
recreational use of the drug.

Giunchigliani said the result of the 2001 legislation is that many 
patients have had to buy the product on the black market.

"Sick people should not have a tough time getting their medicine," she said.

Jeff Fontaine, executive director of the Nevada Association of 
Counties, said many county officials are waiting for clarification 
from the state on how the dispensaries will operate. The potential 
economic benefit is a topic of conversation as well, he said.

LeRoy Goodman, mayor of the Lyon County city of Fernley, said city 
officials still are gathering information.

"We just want to see how this will proceed," he said. "The city will 
do what is in the best interest of its citizens."

Goodman said he does not have strong feelings either way on the 
medical marijuana issue. But the potential economic impact to the 
city will be part of any discussion, he said.

Assemblyman Tom Grady, R-Yerington, who represents Lyon County in the 
Legislature, said he supports the proposed ban on dispensaries in the 
county. He voted against the bill in the Assembly.

"I don't think it's necessary," he said of the new law. "People who 
need the drug are getting it now."
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