Pubdate: Tue, 27 Jan 2015
Source: Alaska Dispatch News (AK)
Copyright: 2015 Alaska Dispatch Publishing
Contact:  http://www.adn.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/18
Note: Anchorage Daily News until July '14
Author: Laurel Andrews

ALASKA CANNABIS CLUB PLANS TO OPEN MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARY ON 
LEGALIZATION DAY

Following an eviction from its clubhouse at the former Kodiak Bar in 
downtown Anchorage, the Alaska Cannabis Club is moving forward with 
plans to open a medical marijuana dispensary on Feb. 24, the day 
recreational marijuana becomes legalized in Alaska.

Come Feb. 24, "this is the place to get your weed," said club owner 
Charlo Greene, whose legal name is Charlene Egbe. Greene gained 
notoriety after quitting her job as a reporter on-air and revealing 
herself as the owner of the cannabis club.

But regulators warned that the club's business plans are dangerous.

The club moved back to its original location on Gambell Street in 
downtown Anchorage in mid-January, after being evicted from its 
clubhouse due to lack of insurance.

The current clubhouse, a gray, unmarked building, looks like a small 
home from the outside. Inside, the living and dining room have been 
converted into a lounge. On the far wall, a glass case displays 
pipes, edibles and a spice rack filled with bottles of different 
cannabis strains. A bedroom in the back has been converted into a 
small classroom where the club plans to hold educational seminars.

On Feb. 24, the clubhouse will open its doors to all medical 
marijuana cardholders, Greene said. Alaska's initiative allows for 
individuals to give as much as 1 ounce of marijuana to another 
person, and she is banking on that provision to begin her dispensary. 
The sale of marijuana remains illegal, however.

"Whoever comes in as a medical patient ... (they will) make a 
donation," Greene said, and get products in return, up to the 1 ounce 
allowed by the initiative.

Already stocked in the clubhouse Thursday were a variety of edibles 
- -- brownies, cake pops and other baked goods -- that the club will 
begin selling on Feb. 24.

Greene's legal reasoning behind starting the dispensary is that the 
initiative requires licenses for recreational marijuana businesses, 
not medical dispensaries. Her club functions as a nonprofit, she 
says, although it has not filed for nonprofit status. All proceeds 
are reimbursements for the growers and help the club stay open, she said.

Greene acknowledges that the term "donation" is a matter of semantics 
when referring to the exchange of money for pot. However, she claims 
that "donations aren't mandatory" and the clubhouse is following the 
letter of the law.

The clubhouse will also begin a "co-op" for its members who are 
recreational marijuana users, according to Greene. Members will 
exchange marijuana products between themselves, she said, buying and 
selling goods.

Here again, Greene insists the club is following the law. "There's 
nothing written about co-ops" in state statute, Greene said. 
"Whenever (the state) roll(s) out with something that says we can't, 
then we'll shift and we won't."

The club has secured two attorneys out of state, and is also working 
with two paralegals in Alaska, she said.

"This is what we've been assured is the way that it'll work," Greene 
said, without breaking the law.

Not everyone agrees.

"I would advise somebody absolutely not to do this," Anchorage 
criminal defense attorney Lance Wells said of the cannabis club's plan.

The initiative allows individuals to give each other marijuana, but 
not to set up medical dispensaries, Wells said.

"The courts aren't stupid," Wells said of using the term "donations" 
instead of sales. "You're just playing word games. I would say you 
probably don't have a legal defense."

Cynthia Franklin, director of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, 
which is overseeing implementation of the initiative, expressed 
frustration regarding Greene's plans.

"The word 'medical' doesn't magically make it legal," Franklin said. 
Businesses need licenses, Franklin said. The state will begin 
accepting business applications in Feb. 2016, according to the 
initiative language.

Cannabis is still a controlled substance, Franklin said. Activity 
that is not specifically covered under the initiative remains 
illegal. That includes co-ops, Frankin said. "That's not something 
that's specifically allowed."

In addition, the Legislature continues to introduce bills that will 
regulate cannabis and could shift the playing field. "You can't plan 
now for what the law is going to look like on Feb. 24," Franklin said.

Franklin said businesses such as Discreet Deliveries, which is 
delivering marijuana before the initiative even goes into effect, and 
the cannabis club are giving a bad name to those in the industry who 
are waiting for the regulatory process to play out.

Greene is "doing a disservice for everyone who is waiting to see what 
the rules are," Franklin said. "The voters voted for rules. The 
voters did not vote for chaos."

"It's just sad," Franklin said.

Greene's response to criticisms that she's ruining it for others?

"Get over it. My loyalty lies to my patients," she said.

Greene says the club has several hundred members, and doubts that the 
government would spend the time to shut down a medical marijuana 
dispensary servicing sick people.

"We're going to do it anyway. And no, I'm not really worried. Not at 
all," Greene said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom