Pubdate: Sat, 27 Jun 2015
Source: Daily Freeman (Kingston, NY)
Copyright: 2015 Daily Freeman
Contact:  http://www.dailyfreeman.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3269
Author: William J. Kemble

HEIN AND HELSMOORTEL SUPPORT PROPOSED 'KOSHER' POT FARM IN SAUGERTIES

SAUGERTIES - Ulster County Executive Michael Hein and town Supervisor
Greg Helsmoortel have sent letters to the state in support of a
proposed pot farm that the developers say will observe "kosher
customs" in producing medical marijuana for Jewish patients.

The two elected leaders sent almost identical letters to state
officials this month, asking for approval of NY Growing Partners'
application for a marijuana-growing site on a Kings Highway property
owned by town resident John Mullins

"New York has the largest Jewish population of any state in the U.S.,
and a large percentage of that population observes kosher customs,"
Hein and Helsmoortel wrote. "By aligning its manufacturing [and]
production processes with kashrut - he strictest of kosher dietary law
- - New York Growing Partners is ensuring that all New Yorkers who could
benefit from the pain management qualities of medical marijuana have
access without having to go against the tenets of their religion."

NY Growing Partners is one of 43 applicants for up to five licences to
establish medical marijuana farms and dispensary facilities in the
state. The group, which consists of four investors who have a history
of purchasing nursing and senior care facilities in the New York City
area, have been in contact with Ulster County Industrial Development
Agency officials in an effort to fast-track the proposed operation.

The letters from Hein and Helsmoortel were based on models provided by
Jake Mendlinger, a senior account manger for NY Growing Partners'
public relations firm, Zimmerman/Edelson.

Mendlinger, in an email to Helsmoortel, said the request to use the
sample letter was an effort to meet state requirements that there is
an endorsement from the community. He asked that the local version be
submitted by June 5.

In the Hein letter, NY Growing Partners is lauded as having a "spirit
of equality, foresight and ingenuity, [which] mirror those qualities
that have long distinguished New York state."

"By selecting New York Growing Partners as one of its five registered
organizations for the manufacture and dispensing of medical marijuana,
New York will be ensuring access for all and serving the public good,"
the letter stated.

Helsmoortel said Friday that he did not actually have much information
about NY Growing Partners but that there will be a vetting process if
a license is approved for the Saugerties plan.

"We will take diligence when the time arises," he said. "Because it's
shovel-ready, it doesn't mean that anything can go in there. They
still have to fill out paperwork and present to us exactly what's
going to transpire there."

Helsmoortel said he sent the support letter because he believes the
operation would benefits the community.

"We want business in Saugerties," he said. "I'm not going to slam or
not support a business in its infancy that I feel will be beneficial
to the area, and I will pay strict attention to it as it moves forward."

Hein did not return a reporter's calls Friday.

NY Growing Partners comprises principals Alex Solodey, Michael
Melnicke, Leo Friedman and Pat DeBenedict. The four men bought the
Long Beach Medical Center on Long Island last year, and Melnicke and
Friedman were involved in an effort to buy the Hendon Garden Nursing
and Rehabilitation Center in Far Rockaway, Queens.

Under a state law signed last July by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, patients with
cancer, AIDS, Parkinson's disease and certain other medical conditions
will be able to obtain non-smokeable versions of marijuana that can be
ingested or vaporized. Also included in the final regulations are
certain spinal cord injuries, epilepsy, inflammatory bowel disease,
neuropathies and Huntington's disease and symptoms including severe or
chronic pain, seizures, severe nausea, persistent muscle spasms and
wasting syndrome.

The state health department is expected to grant up to five medical
marijuana licenses this summer, with each recipient allowed to
establish up to four dispensaries.
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MAP posted-by: Matt