Pubdate: Wed, 23 Dec 2015
Source: Garden Island (Lihue, HI)
Copyright: 2015 The Garden Island
Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/Fyr3Cplk
Website: http://thegardenisland.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/964
Author: Alden Alayvilla

MEDICAL MARIJUANA PRICE MAY GROW

Enclosed-Growing Rule Could Cost Kauai Dispensary Investors Millions

A definition in the interim administrative rules for medical 
marijuana dispensaries posted this month could cost Kauai dispensary 
investors millions of dollars in utility and construction costs.

According to the interim rules, medically-grown marijuana shall be 
grown "in an enclosed indoor facility," as required by HB 321, the 
state law creating the dispensary program. An enclosed indoor 
facility rules out greenhouses, which proponents say could cut 
utility costs by half.

The structure would need a concrete floor and rigid steel sides that 
encloses the facility with all entry points secured, according the 
Department of Health. Additionally, the interior of the structure may 
not be visible from the outside.

"With these rules being that we have to be all indoor, those high 
utility costs will be reflected in the product," said Jud McRoberts, 
Kauai Dispensary Project lead director, who is part of a group of 
stakeholders planning to apply for a dispensary license in January. 
"It really puts the patient in a place where they're going to have to 
pay a little bit more because of electricity costs."

State Sen. Will Espero, D-Ewa Beach, the Senate lead for HB 321, said 
the enclosed indoor facility definition was added to ensure patient, 
product and public safety.

"The primary concern was security and since this was the first effort 
for dispensaries to help appease opponents, individuals that had 
concerns with access and other problems, we thought and felt that 
having it in a secured area would help with those concerns," Espero said.

McRoberts said, if built, the Kauai dispensary would have two 
production centers with no more than 3,000 plants for each center. 
the motion said.

The Supreme Court granted the injunction earlier this month after a 
district judge in Honolulu allowed the election to proceed, ruling 
that it's a private election to establish self-determination for the 
indigenous people of Hawaii. Opponents say the process unfairly 
prevents Hawaii residents without Native Hawaiian ancestry from participating.

Nai Aupuni, the organization created to guide the election process 
and convention, called off the vote last week, and instead offered 
delegate positions to all 196 candidates. As of Monday, nearly 100 
people accepted, Nai Aupuni said. The others had until 11:59 p.m. 
Tuesday to decide.

"Having been thwarted in choosing delegates through race-based 
balloting, respondents seeks to achieve the same result through 
evasion, ... to use the same racebased process to select delegates, 
hold the convention and referendum, and secure tribal status, before 
applicants can be heard," the motion said, which also asks for monetary sanc-

At 8,000 square feet each, the growing centers could cost McRoberts 
and his investors $3.6 million to construct and $1.5 million a year 
in electricity costs.

Those costs, McRoberts said, could kick up prices of medical marijuana.

"At the end of the day, it's about the patient. If they're having to 
pay twice as much because we're growing indoors, they might say, 
'Hey, I'd rather get it off the black market,'" McRoberts said.

Rep. Jimmy Tokioka, D-15, Kauai, who voted against HB 321, agrees 
that medical marijuana should be grown in an enclosed indoor 
facility, but said photovoltaic should be considered to cut utility costs.

"Given the climate and temperature that we live in and the solar 
projects that are out there, it would be to the advantage of whoever 
applies and gets the permit to have a solar farm near their 
operation," he said. "If it's going to be grown, it needs to be grown 
indoors, and Hawaii has the perfect climate for photovoltaic usage of 
whoever has the dispensary."

However, there are downsides to photovoltaic, McRoberts said, 
especially when each growing center can house 3,000 cannabis plants.

"What you would need to supplement for the amount of panels would be 
astronomical," he said. "We would need two to three acres of PV panels."

The interim rules will remain in effect until July 1, 2018.

Espero said lawmakers are discussing whether the rules may be changed 
to include secure greenhouses.

"Obviously if we're going to make changes it should be sooner rather 
versus later since we're looking at the application period coming 
up," he said. "I'm checking to see if the DOH can add a little more 
clarity of the issue on the cost of electricity and the cost of 
growing marijuana indoors and the high electrical bills that would 
come with that."

A greenhouse operation would save KDP stakeholders, McRoberts said, a 
third of the utility costs compared to an enclosed facility.

"When you look at the costs, you're looking at a third: $15,000 to 
$20,000 a month to grow medicine if not less," McRoberts said, 
referring to one growing facility. "You can still have the same kind 
of security measures, sanitation measures that the state is looking 
for by using a secure greenhouse."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom