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Miguel asked to smell the Blue Dream, the high end strain of marijuana – going for $65 for one-eighth of an ounce.
He was, it happened, the first medical marijuana patient last Thursday of Casa Grande's new medical marijuana dispensary, LeafLife.
Miguel, 25, who didn't want his last name used, discussed the different strains with Manager Brian Baldwin. Ranging from Blue Dream to Purple Monkey Balls, they were on display in glass jars behind glass cases framed in wood.
When it came to Blue Dream, Miguel liked what he smelled. He asked Baldwin if he could buy a blend of that with another strain.
Law requires everything to be sold in packages in discrete sizes, like one-eighth of an ounce, Baldwin said. No mixing.
"Is it as fresh in the package as it is in the jar?" Miguel asked.
"Yeah, I packed it last night," Baldwin said.
Miguel went with Blue Dream, for chronic back pain he's had since high school.
"Beats a handful of pills and a beer," he said.
The dispensary sits in a medical complex east of Casa Grande Regional Medical Center, in an area specially zoned by the city for a medical marijuana dispensary.
According to state regulators, it's the only such dispensary allowed in Casa Grande.
The counter area inside, where the card-carrying customers are allowed, is informal. The glass cases could just as easily be holding 51 flavors of ice cream. Instead, they contain – along with the smokable marijuana – edible cookies and candy. Cookies like Aunt Effie's snicker doodles are $10 each. There are topical creams as well, along with T-shirts and glass smoking pipes.
General Manager David Knapp said the dispensary is set up to make the customer comfortable, but conform to its surroundings.
"We're in a medical area, so we kept the front medical. Back here, it's nice and relaxing," he said.
The dispensary is listed as the nonprofit Medical Pain Relief with the Arizona Corporation Commission. Board members include the Gebran brothers, Phoenix-area restaurateurs, and Scottsdale contractor William Kostrivas.
The surrounding area includes medical offices. Sonora Quest Laboratories shares the same parking lot. The lab conducts tests for medical conditions as well as drug screenings for employers and government agencies. Two messages left at Sonora Quest headquarters in Tempe were not returned.
Dr. Jeremy Cull, an oral surgeon, has a dental practice across Sabin Drive from the dispensary. Cull said he was withholding judgment on whether the dispensary will prove a good neighbor.
"Medical marijuana has its place," he said. "If it's used appropriately, it's no issue."
If the place attracts "undesirable elements," he added, that would be different.
East of Cull's practice is Cancer Treatment Services Arizona.
Oncologist Ajay Bhatnagar with Treatment Services also took something of a wait-and-see approach. He wanted to make sure the dispensary promoted the use of medical marijuana for medication instead of recreation.
"I think it needs to be a safe area," Bhatnagar said.
The dispensary more than complies with security measures required by the state and the city, Knapp said. The lobby area is open to the general public, but bulletproof glass separates that from the clerk who checks the medical marijuana card against an Arizona Department of Health Services database.
The serving area is behind the glass and secure doors that can only be unlocked with an electronic card. Staff dressed in neatly pressed uniforms greet people.
One person at another nearby facility, however, said people in the area had objected to the dispensary. The person didn't want to be identified – not wanting to be drawn into any conflict.
Any protests now would be a bit late in any case, city Planning and Development Director Paul Tice said.
"The opportunity to comment was over two years ago," he said.
The Casa Grande City Council approved the medical marijuana zoning overlay in March 2011. Public comments were taken at three council meetings and at Planning and Zoning Commission meetings.
"We had a lot of public testimony at the planning commission on both sides, pro and con," he said.
No one within the medical community objected, he said. He also spoke with Rona Curphy, Casa Grande Regional Medical Center CEO. He wanted to make sure hospital officials had no formal objections.
"They had none," Tice said.
Because the dispensary is a permitted use, the owners did not have to get separate approval from the planning commission and City Council – as long as they followed state and local requirements for certification and in acquiring a building permit.
As for whether marijuana is really medicine, Bhatnagar is withholding judgment on that as well.
As a doctor, Bhatnagar said he has had little experience with it. He would like to see more scientific research supporting its use before he would recommend it for his patients.
The Department of Veterans Affairs, for its part, has a rule barring medical staff from recommending medical marijuana, said Lorraine Conn, chief of management support for the Southern Arizona VA Healthcare System.
Knapp said new patients, whoever they are, would be discouraged from just buying the legal limit of 21⁄2 ounces right off the bat.
"First, we find out what your problems are," Knapp said. "You want to try two or three different strains."
If the patient prefers an edible variety and wants to know how well it works, Knapp said, "I would suggest taking a bite out of an edible and waiting a half hour."
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: trivalleycentral.com
Author: Bill Coates
Contact: web@trivalleycentral.com
Website: Dispensary open in Casa Grande - trivalleycentral.com: Home
He was, it happened, the first medical marijuana patient last Thursday of Casa Grande's new medical marijuana dispensary, LeafLife.
Miguel, 25, who didn't want his last name used, discussed the different strains with Manager Brian Baldwin. Ranging from Blue Dream to Purple Monkey Balls, they were on display in glass jars behind glass cases framed in wood.
When it came to Blue Dream, Miguel liked what he smelled. He asked Baldwin if he could buy a blend of that with another strain.
Law requires everything to be sold in packages in discrete sizes, like one-eighth of an ounce, Baldwin said. No mixing.
"Is it as fresh in the package as it is in the jar?" Miguel asked.
"Yeah, I packed it last night," Baldwin said.
Miguel went with Blue Dream, for chronic back pain he's had since high school.
"Beats a handful of pills and a beer," he said.
The dispensary sits in a medical complex east of Casa Grande Regional Medical Center, in an area specially zoned by the city for a medical marijuana dispensary.
According to state regulators, it's the only such dispensary allowed in Casa Grande.
The counter area inside, where the card-carrying customers are allowed, is informal. The glass cases could just as easily be holding 51 flavors of ice cream. Instead, they contain – along with the smokable marijuana – edible cookies and candy. Cookies like Aunt Effie's snicker doodles are $10 each. There are topical creams as well, along with T-shirts and glass smoking pipes.
General Manager David Knapp said the dispensary is set up to make the customer comfortable, but conform to its surroundings.
"We're in a medical area, so we kept the front medical. Back here, it's nice and relaxing," he said.
The dispensary is listed as the nonprofit Medical Pain Relief with the Arizona Corporation Commission. Board members include the Gebran brothers, Phoenix-area restaurateurs, and Scottsdale contractor William Kostrivas.
The surrounding area includes medical offices. Sonora Quest Laboratories shares the same parking lot. The lab conducts tests for medical conditions as well as drug screenings for employers and government agencies. Two messages left at Sonora Quest headquarters in Tempe were not returned.
Dr. Jeremy Cull, an oral surgeon, has a dental practice across Sabin Drive from the dispensary. Cull said he was withholding judgment on whether the dispensary will prove a good neighbor.
"Medical marijuana has its place," he said. "If it's used appropriately, it's no issue."
If the place attracts "undesirable elements," he added, that would be different.
East of Cull's practice is Cancer Treatment Services Arizona.
Oncologist Ajay Bhatnagar with Treatment Services also took something of a wait-and-see approach. He wanted to make sure the dispensary promoted the use of medical marijuana for medication instead of recreation.
"I think it needs to be a safe area," Bhatnagar said.
The dispensary more than complies with security measures required by the state and the city, Knapp said. The lobby area is open to the general public, but bulletproof glass separates that from the clerk who checks the medical marijuana card against an Arizona Department of Health Services database.
The serving area is behind the glass and secure doors that can only be unlocked with an electronic card. Staff dressed in neatly pressed uniforms greet people.
One person at another nearby facility, however, said people in the area had objected to the dispensary. The person didn't want to be identified – not wanting to be drawn into any conflict.
Any protests now would be a bit late in any case, city Planning and Development Director Paul Tice said.
"The opportunity to comment was over two years ago," he said.
The Casa Grande City Council approved the medical marijuana zoning overlay in March 2011. Public comments were taken at three council meetings and at Planning and Zoning Commission meetings.
"We had a lot of public testimony at the planning commission on both sides, pro and con," he said.
No one within the medical community objected, he said. He also spoke with Rona Curphy, Casa Grande Regional Medical Center CEO. He wanted to make sure hospital officials had no formal objections.
"They had none," Tice said.
Because the dispensary is a permitted use, the owners did not have to get separate approval from the planning commission and City Council – as long as they followed state and local requirements for certification and in acquiring a building permit.
As for whether marijuana is really medicine, Bhatnagar is withholding judgment on that as well.
As a doctor, Bhatnagar said he has had little experience with it. He would like to see more scientific research supporting its use before he would recommend it for his patients.
The Department of Veterans Affairs, for its part, has a rule barring medical staff from recommending medical marijuana, said Lorraine Conn, chief of management support for the Southern Arizona VA Healthcare System.
Knapp said new patients, whoever they are, would be discouraged from just buying the legal limit of 21⁄2 ounces right off the bat.
"First, we find out what your problems are," Knapp said. "You want to try two or three different strains."
If the patient prefers an edible variety and wants to know how well it works, Knapp said, "I would suggest taking a bite out of an edible and waiting a half hour."
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: trivalleycentral.com
Author: Bill Coates
Contact: web@trivalleycentral.com
Website: Dispensary open in Casa Grande - trivalleycentral.com: Home
