Customer experience tips that will keep people coming back.
New product reviews keep you informed of the latest gizmos.
How to effectively advertise your collective without breaking the bank.
Stay current on new laws, zoning changes and other official matters.
issue 1 | summer edition | 2012
Dispensary Magazine An over-the-counter counter culture publication
L.A. Dispensaries Victorious Big Appeals Court Win!
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EXCLUSIVE INSIGHTS
budtending made easy
by jason scoby
Setting the standard in Arizona How Elements Caregiver Collective is leading the pack with the latest in touchscreen budtending technology
For all advertising inquiries, please contact Marcus (909) 653-6955 or visit http://dispensarymagazine.com for more information.
Call (800) 753-2240 or visit http://store.cannajobs.com to order your Vape-Pen. 2|
Dispensary Magazine Summer Edition, 2012
4. Letter from the Editor Hello Cannabis Industry, We read you loud and clear.
Summer Edition, 2012
CONTENTS
6. Cannabis Industry Uses Money and Protections for Associations under the MMPA By Jason Browne
10. Budtending Made Easy Jason Scoby shares an excerpt from his book and DVD.
16. Sky Lab Ranch by Jens-Peter Sonnthal
20. FEATURED: MMJ Activism by Doug Banfelder
28. MMJ Dispensaries: Legal or not? by Michael Chernis
32. The Hydroponic Nutrient The ongoing quest for the best.
35. Couch Lock Taffy By Steven Sanborn 40. Elements Caregiver Collective Setting the standard in Arizona with the latest technology.
Dispensary Magazine PUBLISHER Robert F Calkin, 420 Media Group EDITORIAL TEAM Kimberly Gephart Jason Scoby SALES TEAM Marcus Evans Lora Mae Jaslow CONTRIBUTORS Doug Banfelder Jason Browne Michael Chernis Soilent Green Javier Gutierrez Ken Hoffman Trey Hutch Steven Sanborn Jens-Peter Sonnthal Jerred Tudela John Veit
For advertising inquiries visit http://dispensarymagazine.com or call Marcus (909) 653-6955
Copyright Š 2012 Dispensary Magazine
Summer Edition, 2012
Dispensary Magazine | 3
DISPENSARY MAGAZINE | Editorial
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Dispensaries are under assault. The very idea of a dispensary in the neighborhood is enough for some people to get out there and fight as if their lives and property values depend on it -- most times with little or no legitimate information about the medical marijuana industry. By Robert F. Calkin
THE N I MBY AT TITUDE IS EV ERYWH ERE . M E D I C AL M ARI J U AN A MI G HT BE LEGAL, BUT TH EY DON’T WAN T I T “C ORRU PT I N G THE CHI LD REN O F TH E CO MMUNITY” . When I told someone I was starting Dispensary Magazine, some people asked why. “Aren’t they closing down all the dispensaries now?” they said, as if it were a done deal. They seemed to think it was inevitable that dispensaries would go the way of the 8-track tape. “Isn’t the federal government against dispensaries?” they also queried. “Why would you do this?” Why? Because of the Pendulum.
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What is the Pendulum you ask? Well, for those of us who have been in “the industry” for more than thirty years, the Pendulum is the thing that swings back and forth, back and forth, legalizing one day, prohibiting the next. One step forward, two steps back. If you were fighting for legalization back in 1976 like I was you might have thought it was just around the corner. Ten years tops. But as the years rolled by legalization would gain momentum, then inevitably lose interest amongst the public. It was frustrating to watch as little gains were made here and there, only to be re-legislated out of existence.
Dispensary Magazine Summer Edition, 2012
MOST OF ALL, WE HAVE TO BELIEVE THAT THE PENDULUM WILL SWING BACK AND DISPENSARIES WILL BE MORE PROMINENT AND IN GREATER NUMBERS THAN EVER. IT’S INEVITABLE.
It might be “normal” but it takes a lot of getting used to, especially for all the self-entitled newbies who have entered the business and expect full access toot sweet. Just remember that Rome wasn’t built in a day. We have a lot of work ahead of us to create awareness and educate the public about the safety and efficacy of a properly run dispensary. We need to sponsor research done by universities to back up claims that dispensaries lower crime in their neighborhoods. We have to be responsible business owners and collective members so we don’t put a black eye on our cause. Most of all, we have to believe that the Pendulum will swing back and dispensaries will be more prominent and in greater numbers than ever. It’s inevitable.
For Job Seekers Apply online for free to jobs in the cannabis industry. Video interview with employers and recruiters. Find the job of your dreams, in a growing industry. Use our social network to connect with the right people.
For Business Owners Post your job listings for free. Interview online with video, voice and document sharing. Network with other businesses in your area. Use our group pages and forums as your virtual office.
Visit cannajobs.com today. Summer Edition, 2012
Dispensary Magazine | 5
CANNABIS INDUSTRY USES MONEY AND PROTECTIONS FOR ASSOCIATIONS UNDER THE MMPA
By Jason Browne In the past year, an alarming legal argument has been put forward in California by the opponents of medicinal cannabis, and it’s being used to deprive qualified individuals of the right to present a medical defense to criminal charges in our courts. They are attacking our right to form Associations (organizations made up of patients and their support networks). This is meant to deprive whole communities of safe access to cannabis. It is imperative that our movement, both here in California, as well as in Michigan, confront this legal strategy head on, in our criminal and civil courts.
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Dispensary Magazine Summer Edition, 2012
Our opponents have completely misread the Medical Marijuana Program Act (a.k.a. SB420) and are asserting that California law allows qualified individuals (patients, their primary caregivers and personal assistants) to associate together merely for the purpose of cultivation, but not for the purposes of harvesting/processing, providing a space, transporting, storing, using, distributing or even possessing our cannabis! Our ability to form collectives and cooperatives was directly addressed in Section 11362.775 of California’s Health and Safety Code, which states that “Qualified Individuals who associate within the State of California in order collectively or cooperatively to cultivate (cannabis) for medical purposes, shall not solely on the basis of that fact be subject to state criminal sanctions...”. The only single fact that could reasonably be inferred from this Section of the Statute is that qualified individuals are protected from Sanctions that are based on their formation of such Associations. The operative words here are really that “qualified (individuals) who associate in the state of California...shall not solely on the basis of that fact be subjected to criminal sanctions.”
We have qualified immunity from seven entire statutes, yet only one of those protections (cultivation) is mentioned in the first part of the sentence, as a reason for qualified patients to associate together. The Compassionate Use Act (a.k.a. Proposition 215) protects qualified individuals from sanctions for the cultivation and possession of cannabis. It is absurd to suggest that our second cannabis law (the M.M.P.A.), listing seven statutes that qualified individuals are exempt from, must somehow be construed to only exempt us from criminal charges for cultivation, and not for the other listed statutes. Another tactic used by prosecutors is to paint all cannabis farmers and distributors as “profiteers”. California laws include language regarding the reimbursement of “primary caregivers.” Prosecutors and law enforcement officers are mistakenly assuming that Collectives and Cooperatives do not already possess legal methods of seeking reimbursement for their operating expenses.
In order to apply this logic, prosecutors have lately relied on some very strange hypotheses. Namely, that Collectives must be communist-run farms in order to qualify...or that the staffing of any non-profit or not-forprofit associations can never be paid positions...or that labor is not an operating expense, when applied to cannabis farms or dispensaries that operate in a collective or cooperative manner. All three of these assertions are patently absurd, yet they are being argued in courtrooms across California, as we speak. Some of these cases are winding their way through the appeals court process. However, whenever local judges buy into this flawed legal argument, most qualified patients cannot afford to appeal their rulings and are effectively being denied their rights of Due Process. Additionally, many cities and counties have mistakenly defined associations to mean only “dispensaries”, and when applied to matters involving the licensing or zoning requirements of dispensaries, they are actually re-
stricting patients’ rights to associate for any lawful purposes whatsoever. Our rights to associate together, for any purposes (including the cultivation, procurement or uses of cannabis), must be acknowledged and protected. In California, we’re asking for the sponsors of the M.M.P.A. to release a new congressional letter of intent, to clarify these matters so that legitimate associations of qualified individuals can exercise their rights under our State laws, without running afoul of the criminal justice system. We must not allow our opponents to reverse the meaning of the laws that we have voted to change. We must not allow democracy to fail. Jason Browne Full Circle Cannabis Consultations www.fullcirclecannabis.com
Jason Browne serves as an expert witness and courtroom investigator, educator and consultant to the medical cannabis industry. His firm is based in California, and they are now expanding to provide services throughout the U.S.A.
CALIFORNIA LAWS INCLUDE LANGUAGE REGARDING THE REIMBURSEMENT OF “PRIMARY CAREGIVERS.”
THE BL AC K BY JERRED TUDELA Summer Edition, 2012
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Jason Browne Project Manager Cell: 707-974-8264 Office: 530-528-0215
Full Circle Cannabis Consultations
P. O. Box 9152 • Red Bluff CA 96080 jasonbrowne@fullcirclecannabis.com courtservices@fullcirclecannabis.com
www.fullcirclecannabis.com 8|
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BUDTENDING MADE EASY A N E XC ERPT F ROM TH E BOOK
BY JASON SCOBY
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Budtending is following a passion-more of a dream. I wanted to find a career that I loved and enjoyed going to work in every day. My career in cannabis was really kind of thrown in front of me. I started dealing with medicinal marijuana members when I started a delivery service some years back, and through meeting each member I started to learn more and more about symptoms, ailments and what strains went well together. We had some great results. I was able to help some people get through some really tough times in their life, and kind of transitioned more into a brick-and-mortar location. The next step was not only
Dispensary Magazine Summer Edition, 2012
running a dispensary, but servicing the members and making sure that they were being taken care of effectively. I’m a great listener and I really do want to dig deeper to find out why somebody is looking at medicinal marijuana as something to help them get through their illnesses and their ailments. I thought if I could actually get people to open up and work with me I could get them results. I never considered myself a doctor or a pharmacist, but I do know what strains are effective and the different cannabinoids that work best with each patient. Plus, I enjoy
PHOTO BY JAVIER GUTIERREZ
the feedback. I think that’s one thing that’s kind of been lost in our business, or in our industry—is actually trying to get the feedback from the members on what works and what doesn’t work. So, bud tending to me is not as much about getting a member their medicine as much it is as trying to find the right medicine for that member.
out there—knowing which ones are effective— for your anxiety, or for sleeping, or—if you are having trouble eating. Trying to find out what strains are out there, if they’re available at the right price, how you can get them into the shop and get them out to the members. I think that’s really one of the main things that we focus on, on a daily basis.
You really have to know your members and know what’s out there. You have to understand the industry and make sure that you’re always trying to find the best medicine for each individual circumstance. There’s hundreds of different strains
The reality is that I was out there in the industry trying to find the best meds available, and through acquiring great cultivators as part of my team I was able to have some of the more popular strains and was able to get them into my own shop. From
there, bud tending became more of my day-to-day operations. It was never really what my focus was going to be. My focus was more on the members, and bud tending just became the name of the game. It was mainly trying to take the members, sit them down, get them to feel comfortable with me, find out what they needed and then having those strains help them--and now the term is “bud tending.” It’s good, old-fashioned hands-on counseling. The skills I feel you bring to the table definitely include a passion for medicine. I think you have to have the personality to be able to
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deal with so many different types of people. I was once asked what my average member was like and after thinking about it for quite a bit of time, I decided there really was no average member. I have members that are eighteen years old, of all races, religions, creeds, all the way up to seventy-five, eighty years old. At the end of the day, they all come in for the same reason. They have an ailment and they need something to help them get through the day. I was not really hired as a Budtender. It was just a matter of starting my own collective, or my own private club or group. I decided it was something that I wanted to do--transition out of a corporate environment and run a collective. Collectives are usually started by individuals and they’re just private groups of people—membership based organizations. So, I formed my own collective, and absolutely built it up. There’s probably three thousand members strong that count on me to be a source for the medicine, and that’s how it’s viewed. In
body about how I’ve helped change their life. We’ve had some great stories on some projects that we’ve worked on. One woman, for instance, with Parkinson’s disease, came in not having any idea about medicinal marijuana. Being able to explain the process about how she would go about it and why it could help her throughout her day-to-day life was a challenge. The first time that we met her, she was on eighteen Percocets a day, constipated, in pain and struggling horribly with her disease. We had to help her up the two stairs to get her through the front door the first time we met her. Getting the feedback from her three or four days later after her trying medicinal marijuana for the first time—when she came in and said that she was off of the Percocets completely was probably the one day that I had a tear come to my eye and really said, this is why we do what we do! It works. Is it for everybody? No, but there are those members out there and when we find them, we can really be impactful. That’s why I bud-tend and that’s really what my goal is every day, is to try to find that one member that we can change their quality of life, just by using a product with such a stigma attached to it. I think that’s how we’re going to end up changing the way people look at it here in the U.S. Read the next chapter in our upcoming issue.
this business you need to take it to the next level. You can go to shops and ask to work for somebody, but I just jumped in, both feet first, and started my own collective. I’ve grown it slowly. It was never a big dream of mine to have a million members. It’s more about trying to help those members that are in need, especially family, friends and people within the community that I’ve grown up with. Slowly but surely I’ve just done more and more homework on each one of the medications and I’ve taken it almost to another level as far as trying to understand every strain that’s available so that we can get them out to the members. There’s really not much upward career movement being a bud tender. You can move up to a management position and move up through the ranks as far as the Board of Directors go within a collective. My goal as a bud tender is to get that feedback everyday from some12 |
Dispensary Magazine Summer Edition, 2012
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SKY RANCH LABS B Y J E NS- PE TER S ONNT HAL
Sky Ranch Labs had it’s humble beginnings in central California. Two very different chemistry students in a CHEM 1A lab discovered a mutual appreciation of the importance of medicinal cannabis. Their like-mindedness developed into a fledgling idea. Together they entered the world of medical cannabis alchemy. Their aim was to bring patients in dire need the highest quality medicines available. There is a high concentration of medical marijuana collectives and CO-OPs from Oakland to Carmel, California. The establishments closer to Oakland and San Francisco are mostly brick and mortar. There are many brand-new delivery services popping up along the central coast from Santa Cruz to San Luis Obispo. While most of these dispensaries have a reputation for carrying high quality flowers and edibles, they lack affordable, high quality concentrates. Some dispensaries have great 16 |
extracts but the donation amounts are excessive, up to $90-$100 per gram! Generally a dispensary offers a choice between bubble hashes, also known as water-extracted hashes, and honey oils, a full melt “dabable” concentrate. The standard of extracts that are available is subpar and the variety is seriously limited. Sky Ranch Labs decided to change this situation, taking on the competition head on by approaching dispensaries that already stocked concentrates. During its incubatory stage Sky Ranch Labs were inspired by the Rick Simpson story http://www.phoenixtears.ca/. They researched and experimented with various extractions, purification, and filtering techniques. Once their positive results were conclusive they approached collectives in Santa Cruz, starting with the Santa Cruz Patients Collective
Dispensary Magazine Summer Edition, 2012
or S.C.P.C. It was the first place they had come across a stable “fullmelt” concentrate known as Jolly Rancher. S.C.P.C were happy to take samples. The partners left thinking,” Ok; now that was the hard part. Now all we have to do is wait for them to call.” When that did not happen a follow up call was made. S.C.P.C stated that they liked the concentrate but that they were currently stocked up and also had a previous relationship with another patient collective contributor. They suggested that Sky Ranch Labs please check back periodically because things were always changing. Sky Ranch Labs realized it would have to branch out and target newly formed dispensaries. These would most likely be in need of patient collective contributors, as they had not been open long enough to attract all the suppliers they would need. Sweetleaf Caregivers is a mobile caregiver based out of Santa Cruz. They service most bay area cities as
well as Monterey County. When Sky Ranch Labs had been focused on flowers, they had tried to become a vendor at Sweetleaf, but they were brand-new and understaffed and the meeting fell through. It was decided to try again. Despite low expectations about this second scheduled meeting, there was still optimism. Sweetleaf agreed to a test run and a consignment based agreement with stipulations for the time allowance between reimbursements. This was a foot in the door, which taught the partners valuable lessons about working on consignment in this industry. Do not agree to consignment reimbursement, unless you have the patience and capital to ride out promises of payment and deadlines not being met. When a collective gets into a legal battle or gets shut down, the contributor, who has donated his or her time and medicine to help the other patients of the collective, gets the short end of the stick. It is at the collective’s discretion when and how much of the total owed it decides to pay the contributor, regardless of prior written or unwritten agreements. Therefore it is strongly encouraged that new contributors be wary of dispensaries that seek contributors who donate their hard work on a consignment basis. There was some good that resulted from this first relationship with a dispensary as a contributor: constructive criticism. Sweetleaf Caregivers gave us feedback with every order. They shared the comments and concerns of the patients. They
explained what they were looking for in their concentrate. Sky Ranch Labs used this information to tailor their product, which at the time was only honey oil, to these desires and concerns. Sky Ranch Labs actively sought new dispensaries to carry their extracts, visiting every dispensary within 100 miles. Meetings were set up and samples supplied to over 30 different dispensaries. During this time Sky Ranch discovered Tetra Labs’ dominance in the market and decided to sample their offerings. Their packaging and marketing was superior. However the medicine seemed to have the same disadvantage as Marinol. It just wasn’t very medically effective. Sky Ranch Labs decided, in order to compete effectively, it needed to better promote its brand and professionalism. The discovery of Robert F. Calkin’s book, Starting your Own Medical Marijuana Delivery Service was instrumental in bringing about this new direction. Shortly thereafter Sky Ranch relocated to southern California. This decision proved to be inspired. Sky Ranch Labs began by setting up meetings all over Southern California, from Malibu to San Diego. More than 50 different establishments were visited and samples delivered to all that showed interest. Despite positive feedback, response was the same. The dispensaries were too stocked right now, but try back in a few days or weeks. Then they would put Sky Ranch Lab products on their selves. Slightly discouraged the partners decided to dig out the card that Bob Calkin had included with his book and give him a call. After a consultation he suggested getting the concentrate tested. A meeting was set to deliver samples for testing. The test came back with astounding results 81.9% THCA 5.02% CBD 3.25% CBN for a total active cannabinoid level exceeding 90.2%!
This was the ticket to differentiating ourselves from the rest of the market. Vape-Pen agreed to use the concentrate for their cartridges. After this, Sky Ranch Labs cracked the stable concentrate secret and brought out 3 new stable concentrates; Amber glass, known as Amber Ice or Shatter by some, Gold Dust, and Rose Wax. Today, Sky Ranch Labs is in the process of constantly improving and expanding. It has enlisted the services of CannaBassSolutions.com, and CannaBassSolutions.info to help with sales and distribution. This leaves Sky Ranch Labs the freedom to focus on what it does best; develop the best medications, maintaining the integrity of the natural terpenes and flavonoids, that increase the medicine’s efficacy, while preserving compassionate pricing. Today Sky Ranch Labs extracts can be found in over 20 dispensaries throughout central and southern California. Be a discerning consumer and look for Sky Ranch Labs products at your favorite dispensary.
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BY DOUG BANFELDER
MMJ ACTIVISM
FORMER U.S. HOUSE SPEAKER TIP O’NEILL OFTEN PROCLAIMED, “ALL POLITICS IS LOCAL”. AND MAN IS, BY NATURE, A POLITICAL ANIMAL. SO, THOSE WORKING IN THE CANNABIS INDUSTRY MIGHT WELL INTERPRET THIS AS: “IF YOU’R E IN MMJ, CONGRATULATIONS - YOU ARE ALSO IN POLITICS.”
“GOOD PUBLIC POLICY FOR ANY EMERGING INDUSTRY IS LARGELY A TRIAL AND ERROR PROCESS” 20 |
Welcome to politics and the law of the jungle. O’Neill certainly knew how to get elected. But how many of our professionals realize how important it is to keep working the personal and community politics, day in and day out, long after the votes are counted?
Once an MMJ enabling bill is passed, either by legislative process or ballot initiative, and a state’s program is implemented, cannabusiness owners understandably shift their focus to the business at hand, and everyone else who fought so hard for victory goes off to do other things. Yet the battle in many ways has really only then begun - and it’s always an unpleasant shock to find out just how easily those newly-won rights can be lost. Why this is so isn’t surprising – entrepreneurs are all about doing business, and getting a new venture up and running from scratch is a lot of work. Advocates move on to enjoying the fruits of their labor because, after all, “the law has passed.” This is a big mistake, however, as our opponents never rest. For them a loss is but a bump in the road, a
Dispensary Magazine Summer Edition, 2012
“TACTFUL, STRATEGIC, PROACTIVE ENGAGEMENT HELPS ONE BECOME KNOWN...”
temporary obstacle to their ultimate goal of continued prohibition. They don’t quit because the game in many ways favors their side, especially in having the support of the power structure and therefore easy access to city, county and state politicians. And they carry in their back pocket the bludgeon of federal law, wielding the CSA with puritanical fervor and conviction. These realities keep decades-old and deeply-ingrained institutional, cultural and political forces lined up against us.
The Question So what are effective strategies for overcoming opposition, solidifying the gains made and the creation of new opportunities? Considering that our rights are won or lost by perception and politics, the development of strong regulatory frameworks and a greater level of pro-active community and political engagement are two good answers. While our movement has many strengths, universal recognition of the benefits of reasonable regulation and a motivated base of politicallysavvy patients, caregivers and business owners are not among them. Fortunately, we need only better utilize enlightened self-interest to
build our own personal spheres of influence and thus, political clout. This issue we will focus on why cannabusiness owners should support regulation that protects their local community’s interests and how personal polticking engenders good will and a positive perception for both our businesses and ourselves as MMJ advocates.
Too Little Regulation Doesn’t Help - It Hurts The development of good public policy for any emerging industry is largely a trial and error process, and although model MMJ legislation promoted by national advocacy groups has often demonstrated great foresight, any omissions, and of course the law of unintended consequences, has sometimes made for ugly consequences. Take, for example, both California and Colorado, where new laws gave patients and others new rights, and businesses sprang up everywhere to serve them. Too many businesses, perhaps, and definitely “everywhere”, including next to schools, parks and religious facilities, mixing what many average citizens felt were
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Dispensary Magazine Summer Edition, 2012
good and beneficial property uses along with new uses they weren’t so sure about. The result? Concerned neighbors, both individually and in groups, complained to their councilpeople and other officials, pressuring them to “do something!” about all the dispensaries. Now some of these communities are greatly restricting their MMJ industries by creating new zoning rules, while others are going all-out and enacting total bans. A prime example is L.A., which at this moment appears poised to pass an ordinance that will shutter all shops within city limits – an unimaginable scenario to many industry observers just a few short years ago. The same situation – too many pot shops clustered in given locales - has engendered a powerful backlash in numerous Colorado cities and towns as well, with residents fearful of crime and lowered property values supporting outright bans against dispensaries in a number of communities. Much of this pushback is due to the lack of zoning restrictions that, in 20/20 hindsight, should have been included in the original enabling legislation. The absence of such rules has allowed residents in neighborhoods inundated by clusters of MMJ businesses to effectively argue against what they consider a “negative use” of commercial properties within their communities. Similar concerns have factored into the implementation of the Washington, D.C. program, where everyday residents have supported neighborhood advocates’ very vocal resentment of potential grow and dispensary sites being located in their areas. National advocacy groups have learned from these hard lessons, with zoning and permitting of MMJ businesses now being built into their pro-
posals. Arizona is a good example of this, with its Prop 203 allowing cities, towns and other local jurisdictions to enact “reasonable restrictions” on the zoning and permitting of MMJ enterprises. This is a major step towards putting the public more at ease with the tremendous paradigm shift we are bringing to society.
hoods. In this particular case the applicant had a significant and somewhat unusual hurdle: A major sporting goods manufacturer’s headquarters is located in the area, and coincidentally, has among it’s in-house law staff a conservative city councilman.
Regulation Alone Isn’t Enough A set of rules, no matter how stringent, doesn’t guarantee community acceptance of your MMJ business, however. Despite tough zoning and permitting requirements that promise a high level of local control, many Arizona dispensary applicants have still seen their siting proposals rejected due to the stigma about cannabis that continues to permeate the body politic and is generally encouraged by the entrenched enforcement bureaucracy of police, prosecutors and politicians.
Yet consider this: had the prospective dispensary owners implemented a proactive community engagement strategy, meeting and greeting the shopkeepers, other business owners, and yes, the councilman, they could have processed the feedback, adjusted accordingly, and possibly succeeded. Instead, they had to abandon a very suitable spot and continue the hunt for a more hospitable location.
The Threat From Within For example, one would-be Phoenix dispensary operator had found a suitable building in a part of town known for it’s low-end commercial uses: marginal retail businesses in decaying strip malls, sketchy convenience stores, and blighted industrial properties. One might think that nearby merchants would welcome a well-capitalized, highly security-conscious new business locating in a formerly vacant building; one would be wrong. Instead, the exact opposite occurred: the mere “threat” of such a business locating to the area was enough to spur the formation of a new merchant’s association adamant that no “pot business” would be allowed there. Organizing Principle #1: There is nothing better for building unity than a (perceived) threat to the well-being of the common good - a fundamental truth for every level of human organization, from nations to neighbor-
Montana has been seriously affected by a different set of issues, suffering greatly at the heavy hand of the feds. Prior to that, however, local opponents, from statehouse politicians to the media, were able to foment dissension among cannabis advocates, so when push came to shove there was not enough cohesion left within the ranks to mount a successful defense. For whatever reason(s), our realm seems to generate, and tolerate, an astonishing degree of acrimony between individuals, which too often then develops into competing factions. There is nothing wrong with fierce competition, provided the fighting is kept within the confines of the marketplace. It serves no business owner or advocate well to allow the divides to become so deep that we cannot act in concert against threats to all. Ultimately, such failures cause greater harm
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to the industry and movement than the acts of our most determined opponents.
What About the Feds? While it may certainly be true that no amount of local rapport-building can eliminate the federal threat, those in states with similar concerns (all of us!) may want to give it some consideration nonetheless. Why? Perhaps a fellow Rotarian’s brother-in-law is a DEA agent or Federal Marshal, or works in your state’s U.S. Attorney’s office. If they personally know, like and trust you as a concerned citizen, you have a better than average chance of avoiding unwanted actions against you or your business. It sometimes does boil down to simple human relations, so improving one’s odds by developing a “good neighbor” reputation should be incentive enough to keep one’s network of community relationships well tended.
Public Support – A Liability? We are, and should consider ourselves, part of a new American majority that is increasingly comfortable with public policies allowing cannabis as medicine, or even as a fully legalized (and well-regulated) intoxicant. There is, however, one potential trap in this burgeoning
public approval: being lulled into a complacency based upon the mistaken belief that what is acceptable and normal for us is equally acceptable and normal to others. On this issue the rubber truly meets the road. While polls might show public approval of a broad concept (such as “medical marijuana for the seriously ill”), the implementation of that same concept can become a threat when it means one’s child will be walking past an MMJ business on their way to school. But if it’s your dispensary, and you’re known and respected within the community as a concerned citizen, such fears may never materialize. If they do, at least you’ll have already open lines of communication and a good reputation from which to build a successful dialogue addressing any neighborhood or local authorities’ concerns.
Proactive Engagement Affects Perception of You, Your Business As these examples demonstrate, MMJ businesspeople have every good reason to increase their spheres of influence at the local level. Tactful, strategic, pro-active engagement helps one become known, liked and trusted within the greater
community, and serves two vital needs: creating the goodwill necessary to protect your business, and enabling one to favorably influence policymakers and other local opinion leaders. Those of a political bent or the naturally gregarious may be comfortable raising their public profile, while others may prefer to operate on the downlow to avoid attracting attention. It depends upon your risk tolerance, but either can be a smart strategy. The key is simply to participate and demonstrate a sincere desire to become a part of your community’s social fabric. Showing up at local public, social or fraternal organization’s events immediately begins building one’s brand as a concerned citizen. Leave off your MMJ hat for the time being. All members of a community share an interest in reducing crime and blight, helping the homeless, supporting a school, preserving the environment, and/or addressing the panoply of other social issues that require time, energy and funding. Every community offers multiple chances for volunteers to engage in such purposeful social activity. So, if your goal is “only” (!) to keep your doors open, serve patients, maintain a staff, contribute to the economy and make a living, becoming a friendly, familiar face willing to lend a hand might is a great path – especially if more directly engaging your particular legal, political and/ or media environment poses greater risk than you are comfortable with. Those seeking a higher profile you may wish to serve on a committee or board; again, there are many positions available for those willing to volunteer their time and talents. Both approaches provide ample opportunity to build relationships with
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“WE ARE, AND SHOULD CONSIDER OURSELVES, PART OF A NEW AMERICAN MAJORITY THAT IS INCREASINGLY COMFORTABLE WITH PUBLIC POLICIES ALLOWING CANNABIS”
other community leaders in social, non-profit and business circles. In addition you develop a rapport with your local councilman, their staff and other local elected officials. Their interest in serving the public is made easier by your involvement – concerned citizens help them by performing an “eyes and ears on the ground” function. Make this reality a factor that works for you instead of against you – while engaged citizens with an anticannabis agenda have easy access to policymakers, level the playing field by being on at least some of the same “teams” while also enjoying such access, thereby increasing your likelihood of success in starting and maintaining your dispensary or other cannabusiness. Reasonable regulatory schemes that address community concerns help protect our industry from chaos and the resulting public pushback. Cannabusiness owners implementing proactive community engagement
strategies create significant opportunities for themselves by adding value to their community. The best defense truly is an enlightened, proactive offense. Doug Banfelder is an insurance agent specializing in MMJ business coverage. He is also a political junkie, MMJ lobbyist, community advocate and caregiver under the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act. You can reach him by phone at 480-3159051, by email at dougb@psigllc.com or on the web at www.PremierDispsensaryInsurance.com
Summer Edition, 2012
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MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES: LEGAL OR NOT?
BY MICHAEL CHERNIS
M I C H A EL C HER N I S IS A N AT TORNEY WITH A B N E R C HE RN I S , L L P, L OC AT E D I N S A N TA MON I CA, C A AND IS LICENSED IN B OT H C AL I F ORN I A AN D N EW YORK . H I S P R AC T I CE F OCUSES O N REP RESENTING M ED I C AL M ARI J U AN A C OL L E C T I VE S A N D RELATED BUSINESSES O N FORMATIO N AN D C OM PL I AN C E I S S U E S , AS WEL L A S I N STATE C RI MINA L PRO SECUTIONS.
There is a great deal of confusion about the current state of California law with respect to medical marijuana “dispensaries.” While everyone (I hope) understands that Federal law makes dispensaries and any cultivation or related activities illegal, and subject to theoretical criminal penalties, as well as property forfeiture, many people I consult with who may be seeking to enter the business, are either confused or misinformed about the state of California law. It seems appropriate for Dispensary magazine, and its readers, that we clarify both the legality and meaning of dispensaries in plain terms.” In 2003, the California Legislature passed SB 420, also known as the Medical Marijuana Program Act (“MMPA”), which includes a section .775, sometimes referred to in criminal cases as the “collective/cooperative defense.” Specifically, this section provides that mmj patients “who associate within the State of California in order collectively or cooperatively to cultivate marijuana for medical purposes, shall not solely on the basis of that fact be subject to criminal sanctions” for cultivation, possession, transport and/or sales of marijuana, when 28 |
they act in association with other medical marijuana patients. I realize the language may seem hard to read, let alone understand. Don’t be concerned, you are not alone. Its meaning has been extensively debated and litigated for years, in large part, because this provision, codified as Health & Safety Code §11362.775, is the only provision in the California statutes that legitimizes what have become known as “dispensaries.” Many people invoke the Compassionate Use Act “CUA”, also known as Prop 215, when speaking about dispensaries, but that is a mistake. The CUA offers no protection to dispensaries, because it only protects individual activity (cultivation, transport, possession), as distinguished from those same activities when engaged in association with other persons. Although the CUA also protects such activities when performed by a “primary caregiver” on behalf of an individual mmj patient, the California Supreme Court in the Mentch case held that a dispensary is not necessarily a “primary caregiver,” and thus did not fit within the scope of the CUA. Section .775 of the MMPA, in
Dispensary Magazine Summer Edition, 2012
contrast, expressly protects person’s who “associate … in order collectively or cooperatively to cultivate marijuana for medical purposes,” and thus covers group efforts, such as a grow or garden for a collective of MMJ patients. It is important to remember that a dispensary is merely the place where the plants or medicine cultivated by the patient collective is physically distributed to the collective’s members – think of it as a pharmacy counter, where instead of distributing chemicals manufactured in a lab they are distributing the product of plants grown in a garden. The garden is sometimes located on the dispensary premises, and sometimes off-site. But in either case, a collective is essentially a garden, and the dispensary is the pick-up window. Because section .775 provides protective to collective cultivation activities, it is critical for anyone seeking to operate a dispensary, and of course for anyone being prosecuted for a crime related to medical marijuana. The problem in California has been, however, that section 775 makes no mention of dispensaries, as opposed to cultivation, and provides no operational guidance concerning the way they must oper-
tors as well as code-enforcement attorneys for Los Angeles, have also taken the position that no money can change hands between a dispensary and its patients, except perhaps where the contribution is to reimburse the collective for gardening costs, but the issue of expense reimbursement and what is fair pay for dispensary operators and cultivators is open to debate. This makes it incredibly difficult to obey the law, even when acting in good faith to do so.
ate to fall within its protections. In particular, there remains a great deal of confusion concerning whether they must operate as “non-profits,” and if so what they actually means. These unanswered questions around section .775 make it challenging, to say the least, for anyone operating a mmj collective, in whatever form, including as a storefront dispensary. It has contributed to an environment where criminal prosecutors in different counties apply different interpretations of what is legal, and city attorneys seek to force the closure of dispensaries either pursuant to local bans or allegations of the dispensary being a “nuisance.” For example, in Los Angeles the current (and outgoing) District Attorney has taken the ridiculous position that section .775 only immunizes the gardening of the marijuana plants, and not the dispensing, such that a collective member must participate in the gardening and then transport from the garden their own share of the finished bud. This would require mmj patients – many who are physically disabled or otherwise seriously ill – to effectively work for their meds. This absurd and tone-deaf argument has been asserted in various criminal cases. Prosecu-
The legal uncertainty, and in turn the largely un-checked enforcement action against dispensaries, is in large part due to the lack of case law addressing many of the nuances of section .775 and the operational issues affecting dispensaries. Although there are several Court of Appeal cases that have addressed .775, and even offered positive interpretations, these cases for the most part have not squarely addressed issues such as “profit,” and what they have said has fallen short of providing solid protection in the view of prosecutors. For example, in People v. Urziceanu (2005), the Court of Appeal for the Third District (there are 6 different districts of the Court of Appeal in California) applied section .775 to immunize the operator of a homebased FloraCare collective from criminal liability for sale of marijuana to mmj patients. In People v. Hochanadel (2009), the Fourth District Court of Appeal held that “if a storefront dispensary managed by primary caregivers or medical marijuana patients is truly operating as a cooperative or collective, it and its operators might have a defense to arrest and prosecution under section 11362.775.” (Emphasis added). These cases, while important, and seemingly helpful, did not address some of the more nuanced issues facing dispensary operators.
The cases also offered little hope with respect to preventing cities from banning dispensaries. In 2011, several cases validated the ability of cities to ban dispensaries, and rejected the argument that the MMPA pre-empted cities from doing so. Fortunately, two of those cases – Inland Empire Patient’s v. Riverside, and People v. G3 Holistic – both from the Fourth District are now being reviewed by the California Supreme Court of California which is expected to make a ruling next year on the issue of dispensary bans and pre-emption. At the same time, the Supreme Court is reviewing Pack v. Long Beach (2011), in which the Second District Court of Appeal held that federal law precluded cities from granting licenses to dispensaries. This made a number of cities, including Los Angeles, scrap plans to license dispensaries. What is most troubling about Pack is that this precedent resulted from a challenge by a sore loser who did not win a dispensary permit in the Long Beach lottery, and then effectively blew up the entire lottery and in the process threatened the future of marijuana collectives and dispensaries. Earlier this year however, dispensary operators received some good news. In People v. Colvin (2012), the Second District held that section .775 provides criminal immunity for persons transporting marijuana to dispensaries for distribution to members. This is a significant decision because it flatly rejected the argument made by prosecutors, that .775 only covered pure cultivation activities, and not derivative transport or sales. It also rejected the notion that some magic percentage of members must participate in the cultivation to qualify for immunity protection under .775. Then one
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week later, another gift, of sorts: the Fourth District issued a decision in City of Lake Forrest v. Evergreen (2012), and overturned a city ban on dispensaries, holding that it violated the MMPA. The Lake Forrest case is, however, a mixed bag, because the Court also held that only transport around the collective garden, and not between the dispensary and the off-site garden, is protected, which directly conflicts with Colvin. It also held that only dispensaries with on-site grows are within the scope of section .775, and that off-site gardens are not protected. The Supreme Court has decided to review the Lake Forrest case, but not Colvin, which means at least for the moment the former is not the law, but that latter case is. The bottom line is that while federal law, and the disturbing tactics employed by the Obama administration against dispensaries and marijuana legal reform generally remains a very serious obstacle to dispensaries and their operators, the State law in California is still full of holes and potential landmines. Hopefully the Supreme Court will resolve some of these issues next year. Until then, I recommend that if you want to be in this space, you retain a good compliance lawyer, who also understands how these issues play out in criminal cases, as well as a CPA or tax professional. It is much better – both in terms of stress and finances - to have these people on your team before you venture into this territory and find yourself with a problem.
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Our Do and Don’t Checklist •
Don’t try explaining things to police… let your documents (and attorney) do the talking.
•
Don’t share any confidential medical information with officials or the public (such as patients’ diagnoses).
•
Don’t use “paperwork” on patients that you don’t know and that you don’t have a contractual relationship with.
•
Don’t grow more plants or plant canopy than you require in producing the amounts of cannabis your patients need.
•
Don’t say you’re a “primary caregiver” unless you know what it means and you really qualify.
•
Do learn your Rights of Association and how to operate in accordance with state laws.
•
Do track 100% of medical cannabis, from seed to flower and from the garden to the patients.
•
Do pay your people above the table and do learn your tax obligations.
•
Do get the right information, before you expose yourself to liabilities or unnecessary sanctions.
•
Don’t duplicate or amend other forms you’ve received and then expect them to work. Get the real deal, complete with live consultations.
•
Always have a criminal defense attorney ready, a civil attorney retained, and a Third Party to hold legal funds.
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PHOTOS B Y BY KEN HOFFMAN
THE HYDROPONIC NUTRIENT BY KEN HOFFMAN T H E H Y D R O SHOP. TH E P LA CE PACKED WITH S M E L LY OR G AN I C GOODNESS TH AT JUST MA K E S YO U FEEL G OOD . TH E P LA CE WHERE FOR S O M E T HE F R ON T DO OR IS IN B ACK, SH OP TA L K EN SUES, AN D INEVITABLY TH E TOPIC OF N U T R IEN T S C OMES UP. So, which nutrient is the best? Perhaps the more appropriate question goes a little something like; which is the best one for the gardener’s type of crop, the grow medium, the environmental conditions in the grow space, the water quality, budget, level of experience, etc. You get the picture. While that may sound like things are getting overcomplicated, consider how many new indoor gardeners get lulled into an under complicated indoor garden mindset. You know, just buy two of these and some of these, plug this ‘lil box in and, cha ching Super 32 |
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Yield. Not that shiny expensive equipment isn’t good a good thing; it usually is. More often than not, however, I see a new gardener with a dime garden setup, stressed out and at a complete loss for how to get back on track. Their buddy that’s been growing for years set them up, but the new gardeners’ crop isn’t looking so hot and good buddy isn’t around somehow. That’s tough because these plants aren’t the kind of thing to stroll into the local garden center with asking questions. The first crop for a new gardener is so critical. I know it sounds like a child development brochure, but it applies here. A successful first crop can be really exciting and motivating, especially if it’s not top shelf. A failed crop just plain sucks and can cook off the budget, and frustrate investors,…fast. If one were to ask 10 well experienced growers what the best nutrient is, they would more than likely get 10 completely different answers, or scolded and sent packing. The ones that answered, they’re all correct! Imagine, every one of those 10 growers is using the best nutrient and strategy,… for that gardener’s type of crop, the grow medium, the environmental conditions in the grow space, the water quality, budget, level of experience, etc., etc., etc. They’re all different answers and they’re all right. That helps explain all of those bottles that most indoor gardeners seem to love to collect too! Some growers use several bottles of this that and the other, while others simply use a general one part hydro-
That car ain’t gonna make it to the finish line and want to celebrate. The driver knows how to drive, but simply does not have the knowledge or experience to effectively drive that car at a race winning level. Knowledge, skill, and experience. That’s the grower that can consistently run their indoor environment with different strains, and top shelf results.
ponic nutrient and a generic bloom booster. Both strategies have yielded excellent results so what’s the story here?! Different strokes for different strains, methinks. Read on. Over the years I’ve had the privilege of interacting with a number of gardeners; some of extraordinary skill and experience, and many enthusiastic up and comers. Consider your favorite sport or trade. I’ll use my favorite race car analogy here. Let’s say the indoor gardener is the driver. The race car represents the well laid out grow space complimented by all of the latest equipment and, of course the super nutrients. Well, in spite of the fact that the sure to win high tech race car (the garden) is ready to go, the driver (the gardener) isn’t. They got a perfect score on the driving test though.
I would suggest that for most indoor gardeners, time and resources are best spent fine tuning the indoor garden environment. For a new gardener just starting out, keeping it simple and small for even just one crop cycle, can really make a huge difference in the overall gardening experience and success of subsequent crops. Consistent and appropriate indoor garden conditions will have a far greater impact, good or bad, on the harvest than what brand of nutrient was used. Each feature of the indoor garden must compliment the others. To that, I consider the gardener a key garden feature. When humidity, temperature, CO2 levels, and lighting get out of whack the plant experiences stress. Stress can slow or even stop growth and then nobody cares how awesome the nutrients are. The plant can no longer use them. I think that most would agree that when the plants stress, growers stress. The real tragedy of the situation is that any sense of accomplishment, pride, or personal gratification, go up in smoke, in a bad way. The indoor gardener’s job is to become a feature of the garden, provide the plant with whatever it needs, how much it wants, and when it wants it. The rest is up to genetics and/or who or what you scream when you hammer your thumb instead of the nail. Nutrient manufactures have come out with some very stable and complete nutrients in recent years. For the most part, any of the commercially available hydroponic nutrients will meet the nutritional needs of just about any crop, including those produced for medicine. The experienced gardener understands the plants’ language and can adapt their nutrients or strategy to meet the plants needs seamlessly. As for trying to answer the age old question of which nutrients and additives are the best, as the good witch once said: “well silly, the plants will tell us that.” At the end of the day a quality medicinal crop can be effectively produced with nearly any modern nutrient package. The practiced hand and experience of the grower is a garden feature too often overlooked. Grow safe and use a measuring cup.
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HAPPY COUCH TAFFY
P HOTOS BY TREY HUTCH
MIRACLES The power to heal is a rare gift, especially for a young man of 24, but Ryan Valdes is fortunate enough to have discovered his purpose in life when, several years earlier, he ventured into the craft of homemade cannabis candies. At the time,
B Y S T EVEN S AN D B ORN
it might have seemed like a fun way for a teenager to get high and satisfy his sugar cravings in the process but Ryan was intrigued by the medicinal qualities of the marijuana plant that he and his buddies often smoked. In the beginning, Ryan just made hard candies, and the buddy who showed him how was making cannabis candies and brownies for an elderly roommate who wanted to alleviate some of her aches and pains with marijuana but didn’t want to smoke it. As Ryan learned about the various ingredients and the proper cooking temperatures and such, one thing that bothered him was the use of butane during the cannabis oil extraction process. He felt it wasn’t the healthiest of extraction methods and brought it up one time as his friend added some of the oil into a brownie mix. “Isn’t that made with butane?” “Yeah, but it’s cool,” he remembers his friend saying. It was that general indifference which Ryan claims fueled his fire and set him on the path to make the healthiest candies possible. That
very night, he had a dream that he was making salt water taffy with cannabis, even though he had never made taffy before. In the dream, he gave it to his Grandmother and he remembers that she said something along the lines of “thank you for doing this because everyone needs this.” In the subsequent days and weeks Ryan researched and experimented with taffy recipes found on the internet. He used butter at first for extracting the cannabis oil, but later switched to coconut oil after he became concerned about the saturated fats in the butter. The transition from hard candy to taffy was relatively easy given that the two used the same ingredients and the only challenging part was mastering the art of ‘hand pulling’ the taffy, which introduces air into the candy mixture and gives it its doughy texture. Weeks after his inspirational dream, Ryan experienced another key moment which convinced him that he was on the right path. A friend named John had an elderly father who suffered from Alzheimer’s,
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among other ailments, and wasn’t getting any sleep. The Ambien he was taking wasn’t working and Ryan thought his taffy could help. Whether John’s mother required convincing or not, the family agreed to give it a try. They stopped using the sleeping pills then waited a few days, allowing John Senior’s system to clear out before giving him half a piece of taffy. Within 45 minutes he had fallen asleep and slept the entire night. When he awoke the next day he recognized his wife and said hello to her for the first time in nearly a year. Even though his taffy was a success, Ryan spent another year perfecting his recipe. The most significant change was his switch from the use of butter to coconut oil during the extraction and cooking process. The coconut oil was in line with his intention of only using the best, healthiest ingredients and the healer in him was intrigued by the beneficial properties of the oil which had been touted by one of his favorite products, Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap. His respect for the quality of the soap and for Dr. Bronner himself led to Ryan buying all of his virgin coconut oil directly from the com-
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pany. With all the ingredients locked in place, the only thing that changed from batch to batch was the flavor. Ryan has so many gourmet fruit oils to choose from at the bakery supply store he frequents that he just tries to surprise himself each time out. He uses four flavors in each batch, but one or two are usually the predominate ones like his recent Mango Lemon or past favorites Orange Watermelon, Pomegranate Lime and Key Lime Pie, from his dessert line. “One thing I hear a lot is I’ve never had a flavor I didn’t like. I hear that all the time,” Ryan confided. When Ryan first took his cannabis taffy, which he calls Happy Couch, out into the world, the first dispensary to give him a chance was in Temecula. From there it’s been a slow expansion to about a dozen clinics which is halfway towards his goal of 20-25 dispensaries statewide. By adding one or two clients at a time, Ryan can maintain a consistently high quality from batch to batch in what is a time-consuming process that takes 48 hours for cannabis oil extraction and another day making and pulling the taffy in an industrial kitchen.
Dispensary Magazine Summer Edition, 2012
It’s this dedication to quality combined with the care, love and healing energy he puts into every batch that gives Ryan confidence that he makes the best cannabis candy available. More and more patients have been thanking him and while they’re likely treating a variety of ailments, the three most common uses of the taffy that Ryan has noticed are for pain management, the treatment of nervous disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, and anxiety issues. He knows there are other medicinal benefits as well and hopes that more research is done into what he refers to as the “multi-dimensional aspects of this flower” that he would love to spend the rest of his life exploring. But for now he’s just happy the taffy can help people in some way, shape or form.
Steven Sanborn 13307 Meyer Rd, Apt A Whittier, CA 90605 Steven Sanborn has no experience in the medical marijuana industry but brings a fresh eye, curious mind and sense of humor to his assignments.
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SPOTLIGHT | Elements Caregiver Collective
ELEMENTS CARE The perception within the community is still being formed; therefore this time is most critical in creating the proper impression in the public for the value and importance of medical marijuana dispensaries in Arizona. At Elements, our goal has always been to create a community-friendly user experience. Our philosophy is evident the moment you step across our threshold. It starts with our mission statement “to consistently provide our patients with access to legally recommended, quality cannabis as an element designed to enhance the other naturopathic and conventional therapies used to treat their debilitating illness”.
FEATURING STATE OF THE ART TOUCH SCREEN BUDTENDING TECHNOLOGY.
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Dispensary Magazine Summer Edition, 2012
Elements offers the security of SmartVend™ technology while creating a sensory experience for mind, body and spirit in a warm, inviting environment staffed by a professionally trained, caring and knowledgeable staff. Elements has the look and feel of a high end med spa, which creates a welcoming environment for our patients. All staff members are identified by uniform, whether light green medical scrubs or a monogrammed white lab coat
Setting the standard in Arizona. F R O M C ON C EPTI ON, ELEMENTS CAREGIVER C OL L E C T I VE HAS S O U GHT TO EX CEED EXPECTATIONS WITH IN T HE C OM M U N I T Y. T HE A R I ZON A MED I CAL MA RIJUA NA A CT IS STILL I N I T S I N FAN C Y AS A P P L I CATI ON S F OR DISP ENSARIES H AVE ON LY J U S T B EE N AC C EPT E D B Y T HE STATE AF TER MO RE THAN A YEA R D E L AY.
GIVER COLLECTIVE which sets an immediate tone of professionalism. That impression carries through with the layout from the concierge desk to the oxygen and tea bar to our learning center. The organic interior is comprised of a light bamboo tile that harmoniously blends with the light pale green walls and chocolate espresso counters. Elements interiors are well lit, accent lighting abounds, creating a warm and inviting environment. The accent lighting and light color palette enhances the deep green plants and organic design. The heart of the Elements system is the SmartVend™ technology that incorporates a). a cashless transaction system, b). HIPPA compliant patient confidentiality records, c). biometric safeguards and d). automated cannabis vending monitored by trained staff. Since the collection of cash and the vending of the medicine are automated, the staff’s focus is on customer service, patient verification and state compliance. While customer service will be comparable to a conventional dispensary, the primary assets - the Cash and the Cannabis - are automated in a tamper-proof system. The competitive advantage
of Elements dispensary is seamless patient flow. Although there are numerous inherent safeguards and safety measures in place, the entire process will appear seamless to the patient. Upon entering the collective, patients are greeted immediately by a knowledgeable Cannabis Consultant who tours new patients through the facility and our procedures. After a medical history is taken, the consultant works with the patient to determine which strains currently available are best suited to the patient’s symptoms. Those strains are then viewed through a magnified acrylic cube. Once the patient has made their final selection their Can-
nabis Consultant assists with their SmartVend™ purchase. The patient may choose to view their medicine using the amplified viewer to confirm the quality of their medicine. One satisfied, the patient’s purchase is sealed in a tamper resistant package for transport home. Elements’ patients are assured a secure, professional and indeed, enjoyable experience on premises. Patients are encouraged to linger inside; enjoy a cup of herbal tea or premium water, partake of the oxygen bar, take a class or peruse the selection of wellness books and merchandise in-house.
O XYGE N B AR ON S I T E
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Elements’ emphasis on holislow income patient programs, and tic health extends to the patients’ community partnerships, Elements choice of ingestion. Smoking the Caregiver Collective sets the bar for medicine is discouraged and the neighborhood relations. We plan to use of one of the many smokeless be an active member of our chosen options available from vaporizers to communities for a very long time. Pure Bliss Premium Medibles is en- We take this role as a privilege and a couraged. Our medibles are created responsibility. on site by our own award winning, professionally trained chef. Elements Look for an Elements Caregiver carries a full line of premium preCollective opening soon near you! pared products from our butters and oils to cereals, cookies, brownies and candies to take and bake entrees. Elements is more than medicine; albeit our core mission, we also offer wellness classes, Cooking with Cannabis classes, in-home cannabis-infused massage, educational seminars, patient fairs and social gatherings. Through our charitable giving,
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Medical Marijuana Testing B U D GE NI US® AC C EP TS CANNA B IS SELECTION S F ROM YOU R S T R A I N COL LEC T I ON A ND RETURNS TO YOU THE M OS T C O M P REHEN SI VE R EP ORTING PACKA GE IN TH E I N D U S T RY. At your request, a BudGenius® team member visits you at your dispensary. Each collected sample is then assigned a unique BudGenius® StrainId™ and delivered to one of our regional laboratories across the USA. Shortly thereafter you will be notified by email that your BudGenius® reports are available online. Within 24 hours you will receive your physical reports at your doorstep. If you choose to provide your BudGenius®
StrainId™ to your patients (and we highly recommend that you do!), they too will then be able to learn important details about your products to help guide their medicinal purchases. All of your testing results are stored online within your BudGenius® Portfolio™. This helps to organize all your reports into one convenient location. From your portfolio you may choose which reports you want to share to the public, and which that you may want to keep private (a pesticide problem perhaps?). As a dispensary you may choose to send notification of your new strains to your customer base, and as a grower you can share detailed results on your fantastic new crop to prospective buyers.