BOULDER - For chronic pain try some Kush or Orange Blossom. For appetite issues, go for the Orange Haze or Haze Wowie.
Like brownies or cookies? No problem. Prefer ice cream or suckers? Not a concern. Rather inhale? Mary Jane won't disappoint.
Medical marijuana is a budding issue in Colorado. From Breckenridge to Denver to Nederland, the Centennial State has garnered national attention, as being one of 14 states that legalized medical marijuana.
Though details are still being hashed out on the state and local levels, more than 100 dispensaries and about 20 growing operations were granted licenses in Boulder and Broomfield counties thus far.
And the number of medical marijuana patient applications has inundated the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment meaning there are more registered patients too.
Mark Salley, the department's spokesman, said his office saw a huge change in July when the department decided not to limit the number of patients a caregiver could help.
"We were averaging about 175 applications in the mail in July compared to the average of about 600 a day (now)," he said. "Prior to that we were able to keep up. We never had a backlog."
As of Sept. 30, 2009, the latest information the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has, 17,356 people were on the medical marijuana registry. Salley said if they didn't have a bottleneck, there would likely be about 30,000 people on that list.
Without being registered, people can't legally buy marijuana.
In order to become a registered medical marijuana patient in Colorado, people need to first meet with a Colorado licensed physician and be diagnosed with at least one of eight debilitating medical conditions: cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, cachexia, severe pain, severe nausea, seizures or persistent muscle spasms.
The most common ailment in Colorado is severe pain. But what designates "severe" is up for interpretation. One doctor may classify it as massive migraines that keep people in bed all day. Another may think menstrual cramps are severe enough for a patient to toke up.
Regardless, with that doctor's written recommendation, whether it's a primary care physician or doctor at the dispensary, patients fill out a form with their name, address, birth date, Social Security number, photocopy of their Colorado driver's license or ID card and send the state $90 to apply for a registry card.
But many doctors are hesitant to recommend the use of marijuana.
"Our reluctance is based on this: The science that supports the use of medical marijuana is not as strong as we'd like it to be," said Mark Laitos, a Longmont physician and president of the Colorado Medical Society.
While there are a few published reports that argue medical marijuana is a valid treatment, Laitos said many doctors don't see enough evidence to comfortably recommend it.
"I believe that we will learn, once research takes place, that there is a role for marijuana," he said.
The hesitation also comes from legal differences at the federal and state levels.
Though medical marijuana is legal in Colorado, and the U.S. attorney general vowed not to prosecute related cases, it's uncertain how long that vow will last. So doctors are reluctant.
Laitos said the lack of evidence and threat of legal repercussions are equally weighted when it comes to physicians' hesitancy recommending marijuana.
With proposed legislation in Colorado, many physicians who see patients at, and are paid by, dispensaries could have to modify their practices.
"A physician may not conduct an examination of any patient for the purpose of diagnosing or certifying a debilitating medical condition on any premises where medical marijuana is sold or distributed," according to a state document with proposed statutory language.
It also states, "A physician certifying a debilitating medical condition for any applicant for the medical marijuana may not have any economic interest in any enterprise that provides or distributes medical marijuana."
That could eliminate doctors seeing patients at dispensaries.
"That's an ethical issue for the doctor involved," Laitos said. And he thinks the specific language is to help eliminate those issues.
Shaun Gindi, co-owner of Louisville-based Compassionate Pain Management, a medical marijuana dispensary, said some physicians make a living as dedicated medical marijuana doctors.
He said some earn $100 per patient and see 70 patients per week.
One way for nondispensary-based physicians to satisfy their craving for evidence is for the government to reclassify marijuana.
It's currently a schedule 1 narcotic in the same category as ******, *** and ecstasy, and it's illegal to use it for medical studies. Other drugs like morphine, ******* and *************** are schedule 2 narcotics.
Laitos said if the government reclassifies it, labs can conduct studies to gain the needed medical evidence, and it'll be more accepted in the medical community.
But without doctors who are willing to recommend marijuana as an alternative treatment, patients may have a hard time legally obtaining it.
One patient, John "Tony" Rosario, has been smoking weed since he was 15. Now, he's a registered medical marijuana patient and uses it to treat chronic pain.
Like many medical marijuana patients, Rosario said he uses marijuana as an alternative to pain medication because it's not addicting, works just as well or better, and it has few side effects
Many dispensary operators fight stereotype
'Caregivers' serious about providing alternative medicine
BOULDER - Long-haired hippies chilling behind a table in tie-dyed T-shirts with black lights and pot-leaf posters behind them are what many people picture when they hear the words "medical marijuana dispensary."
But they're not all like that.
Sure some bong-related businessmen likely have become "caregivers" to make a quick buck before shutting down once regulations restrict their sales. But others are in the business to help provide an alternative to traditional medicine.
Medical marijuana dispensaries, commonly referred to as caregivers, are often secure, discrete locations set up like doctor's offices - but with the smell of herbs instead of sterilization.
"We actually do have patients," said Shaun Gindi, co-owner of Louisville-based Compassionate Pain Management. "They're not a bunch of stonies."
Gindi and co-owner Steve Caplan started dispensing marijuana in fall 2009. And like many other dispensaries, theirs combines marijuana with a wellness clinic that includes acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine and other holistic remedies.
But just because Compassionate Pain Management is an inviting environment doesn't mean people are generally accepting of marijuana use to control pain and other ailments.
Many landlords don't want "our kind of business," Gindi said, and many businesses don't want a dispensary next door for fear of break-ins and other safety issues.
At the recent Boulder Economic Council 2010 Forecast, local developer Stephen Tebo, owner of Tebo Development Co., said he regularly receives phone calls from people looking to lease space to start a medical marijuana business.
He said he'd only accommodate the businesses if he thought they wouldn't hurt his surrounding tenants.
After all, there have been numerous reports of medical marijuana burglaries since dispensaries started becoming more prevalent late last year.
But for business owners and patients, dispensaries remain a place to go for a vast array of marijuana strains - ranging from blueberry to pineapple express to white widow - and edibles like chocolate chip cookies, suckers, brownies and even ice cream.
"There is legitimate use for this product," said Collier Kaer, co-owner of Boulder-based Top Shelf Alternatives LLC, a medical marijuana dispensary and grower.
Whether people come in for a few pot-laced cookies, or a few grams of marijuana, dispensaries offer a place for people to have nearly instant access to what they feel is the best medicine. It prevents patients from buying pot from dealers on the street and storing more than they need at home, Kaer said.
Plus, dispensaries add jobs and tax revenue to area communities, Caplan said. But business is still tough - despite being on the forefront of the medical marijuana movement.
Unlike other businesses, Gindi said he can't write off many business expenses, such as utilities and rent, because medical marijuana is federally banned. So despite one common misconception, medical marijuana dispensaries don't make a huge profit.
He said they sell between 10 and 30 pounds of marijuana per month and typically have a $20 markup per one-eighth ounce, which he said is a standard amount. He said an "eighth" is about $50.
Though many patients have a "primary caregiver," they can float around to any dispensary they want. That enables businesses like Compassionate Pain Management and Top Shelf Alternatives to assist about 500 and 300 patients respectively.
And that number is growing for both businesses as people accept using marijuana as a medical treatment.
Grower uses computers for top-quality yield
BOULDER - Legally growing marijuana has become a budding industry since the medical alternative began gaining popularity last year.
While there are few licensed growers in Boulder and Broomfield counties, in part due to moratoriums enacted by most municipalities, growing pot is much like running a greenhouse.
Collier Kaer, co-owner of Boulder-based Top Shelf Alternatives LLC, a dispensary and grower, said it's a computerized process that needs to be high tech in order to create a consistent, high-quality cannabis plant.
"There's a lot that goes into it," he said.
From making sure the grow lights are turned on the correct amount of time and placed a specific distance from the plant, to ensuring the right nutrients are used and the right amount of carbon dioxide is supplied, the "bud tender" has his or her hands full.
Typically, a grower will have a tall, healthy mother plant from which "clones" are cut to create replicas of the mother and, eventually, harvest the cannabis bud.
It often takes 90 to 120 days from the time the clone is cut to the time the bud is harvested. Then, after another five weeks of curing, the marijuana is ready for sale.
Kaer said knowing when to harvest the bud is much like knowing when to harvest a peach or apple: It's based on experience. With marijuana, he said the bud is ready when it's tight and has a large amount of Tetrahydrocannabinol crystals on it. Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, is the main psychoactive drug in marijuana.
As with dispensaries, growers abide by few regulations. It's up to each grower to produce the quality and consistency of pot they want - or that their customers demand. However, many growers welcome regulations as they think it'll weed out the illegitimate businesses.
While regulations are few and far between, one controls how many plants each grower can cultivate per patient. Now, each grower can have six plants per patient, but only three can be flowering and producing marijuana.
While some proposed legislation could limit the number of patients assigned to a caregiver, commonly called a dispensary, currently, growers can have up to that six per patient.
Kaer, who uses between 4,000 and 5,000 square feet of his 10,000-square-foot building to grow plants, said he's not growing the full six per patient. In that space, he's growing about 30 different strains of marijuana for use as edibles and smoking.
He said one of the state's concerns is regarding the use of pesticides during the grow cycle. The state wants to ensure there's a safe level present if at all. It's also concerned that during the curing process mold doesn't grow on the drying plant.
However, growers share those concerns. Without a quality product, they won't be able to sell it.
Shaun Gindi, co-owner of Louisville-based Compassionate Pain Management, said he and his staff inspect every shipment of marijuana they get to ensure consistency and quality.
Though he doesn't get his marijuana from Kaer, he said if something is wrong with the supply he receives, he sends it back. And he's already established good relationships with his growers.
"Unless we know them and know where the product comes from, we won't touch it," Gindi said.
Once growers learn how to consistently produce a quality crop, Kaer said it's easy to replicate the process. But establishing those parameters varies by strain making it difficult.
Marijuana dispensaries
Licensed dispensaries by municipality:
Boulder - 83
Broomfield - 0
Erie - 0
Lafayette - 2
Longmont - 8
Louisville - 2
Lyons - 6
Nederland - 6
Superior - 0
Cannabis growers
Licensed cannabis growers by municipalities:
Boulder - 17
Broomfield - 0
Erie - 0
Lafayette - 1
Longmont - 0
Louisville - 0
Lyons - 0
Nederland - 0
Superior - 0
Legal stances
Most municipalities in Boulder and Broomfield counties have a moratorium in place on allowing new medical marijuana dispensaries or growing operations.
Boulder - dispensaries allowed
Broomfield (city/county) - dispensaries not allowed (council anticipates adopting a moratorium at Jan. 26 meeting)
Erie - moratorium through April 11
Lafayette - moratorium through April 28
Longmont - moratorium through June 30
Louisville - moratorium through April 20
Lyons - moratorium through April 9
Nederland - dispensaries allowed
Superior - dispensaries not allowed (board anticipates adopting a moratorium at Jan. 25 meeting)
Medical marijuana by the numbers
17,356 - number of registered medical marijuana patients in Colorado
1,982 - number of patients in Boulder County
176 - number of patients in Broomfield County
90 - percent of patients reporting "severe pain" as primary condition
73 - percent of registered patients that are male
40 - average age of patients
30 - percent of patients reporting "muscle spasms" as condition
24 - number of medical marijuana ID card applicants denied
21 - number of medical marijuana ID cards revoked
2 - number of municipalities in Boulder and Broomfield
counties allowing new medical marijuana dispensaries
Source: Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment as of Sept. 30, 2009.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 Magazine - Cannabis Culture News & Reviews
Source: Boulder County Business Report
Author: Ryan Dionne
Contact: Boulder County Business Report
Copyright: 2010 Boulder County Business Report
Website: Cannabis Controversy
Like brownies or cookies? No problem. Prefer ice cream or suckers? Not a concern. Rather inhale? Mary Jane won't disappoint.
Medical marijuana is a budding issue in Colorado. From Breckenridge to Denver to Nederland, the Centennial State has garnered national attention, as being one of 14 states that legalized medical marijuana.
Though details are still being hashed out on the state and local levels, more than 100 dispensaries and about 20 growing operations were granted licenses in Boulder and Broomfield counties thus far.
And the number of medical marijuana patient applications has inundated the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment meaning there are more registered patients too.
Mark Salley, the department's spokesman, said his office saw a huge change in July when the department decided not to limit the number of patients a caregiver could help.
"We were averaging about 175 applications in the mail in July compared to the average of about 600 a day (now)," he said. "Prior to that we were able to keep up. We never had a backlog."
As of Sept. 30, 2009, the latest information the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has, 17,356 people were on the medical marijuana registry. Salley said if they didn't have a bottleneck, there would likely be about 30,000 people on that list.
Without being registered, people can't legally buy marijuana.
In order to become a registered medical marijuana patient in Colorado, people need to first meet with a Colorado licensed physician and be diagnosed with at least one of eight debilitating medical conditions: cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, cachexia, severe pain, severe nausea, seizures or persistent muscle spasms.
The most common ailment in Colorado is severe pain. But what designates "severe" is up for interpretation. One doctor may classify it as massive migraines that keep people in bed all day. Another may think menstrual cramps are severe enough for a patient to toke up.
Regardless, with that doctor's written recommendation, whether it's a primary care physician or doctor at the dispensary, patients fill out a form with their name, address, birth date, Social Security number, photocopy of their Colorado driver's license or ID card and send the state $90 to apply for a registry card.
But many doctors are hesitant to recommend the use of marijuana.
"Our reluctance is based on this: The science that supports the use of medical marijuana is not as strong as we'd like it to be," said Mark Laitos, a Longmont physician and president of the Colorado Medical Society.
While there are a few published reports that argue medical marijuana is a valid treatment, Laitos said many doctors don't see enough evidence to comfortably recommend it.
"I believe that we will learn, once research takes place, that there is a role for marijuana," he said.
The hesitation also comes from legal differences at the federal and state levels.
Though medical marijuana is legal in Colorado, and the U.S. attorney general vowed not to prosecute related cases, it's uncertain how long that vow will last. So doctors are reluctant.
Laitos said the lack of evidence and threat of legal repercussions are equally weighted when it comes to physicians' hesitancy recommending marijuana.
With proposed legislation in Colorado, many physicians who see patients at, and are paid by, dispensaries could have to modify their practices.
"A physician may not conduct an examination of any patient for the purpose of diagnosing or certifying a debilitating medical condition on any premises where medical marijuana is sold or distributed," according to a state document with proposed statutory language.
It also states, "A physician certifying a debilitating medical condition for any applicant for the medical marijuana may not have any economic interest in any enterprise that provides or distributes medical marijuana."
That could eliminate doctors seeing patients at dispensaries.
"That's an ethical issue for the doctor involved," Laitos said. And he thinks the specific language is to help eliminate those issues.
Shaun Gindi, co-owner of Louisville-based Compassionate Pain Management, a medical marijuana dispensary, said some physicians make a living as dedicated medical marijuana doctors.
He said some earn $100 per patient and see 70 patients per week.
One way for nondispensary-based physicians to satisfy their craving for evidence is for the government to reclassify marijuana.
It's currently a schedule 1 narcotic in the same category as ******, *** and ecstasy, and it's illegal to use it for medical studies. Other drugs like morphine, ******* and *************** are schedule 2 narcotics.
Laitos said if the government reclassifies it, labs can conduct studies to gain the needed medical evidence, and it'll be more accepted in the medical community.
But without doctors who are willing to recommend marijuana as an alternative treatment, patients may have a hard time legally obtaining it.
One patient, John "Tony" Rosario, has been smoking weed since he was 15. Now, he's a registered medical marijuana patient and uses it to treat chronic pain.
Like many medical marijuana patients, Rosario said he uses marijuana as an alternative to pain medication because it's not addicting, works just as well or better, and it has few side effects
Many dispensary operators fight stereotype
'Caregivers' serious about providing alternative medicine
BOULDER - Long-haired hippies chilling behind a table in tie-dyed T-shirts with black lights and pot-leaf posters behind them are what many people picture when they hear the words "medical marijuana dispensary."
But they're not all like that.
Sure some bong-related businessmen likely have become "caregivers" to make a quick buck before shutting down once regulations restrict their sales. But others are in the business to help provide an alternative to traditional medicine.
Medical marijuana dispensaries, commonly referred to as caregivers, are often secure, discrete locations set up like doctor's offices - but with the smell of herbs instead of sterilization.
"We actually do have patients," said Shaun Gindi, co-owner of Louisville-based Compassionate Pain Management. "They're not a bunch of stonies."
Gindi and co-owner Steve Caplan started dispensing marijuana in fall 2009. And like many other dispensaries, theirs combines marijuana with a wellness clinic that includes acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine and other holistic remedies.
But just because Compassionate Pain Management is an inviting environment doesn't mean people are generally accepting of marijuana use to control pain and other ailments.
Many landlords don't want "our kind of business," Gindi said, and many businesses don't want a dispensary next door for fear of break-ins and other safety issues.
At the recent Boulder Economic Council 2010 Forecast, local developer Stephen Tebo, owner of Tebo Development Co., said he regularly receives phone calls from people looking to lease space to start a medical marijuana business.
He said he'd only accommodate the businesses if he thought they wouldn't hurt his surrounding tenants.
After all, there have been numerous reports of medical marijuana burglaries since dispensaries started becoming more prevalent late last year.
But for business owners and patients, dispensaries remain a place to go for a vast array of marijuana strains - ranging from blueberry to pineapple express to white widow - and edibles like chocolate chip cookies, suckers, brownies and even ice cream.
"There is legitimate use for this product," said Collier Kaer, co-owner of Boulder-based Top Shelf Alternatives LLC, a medical marijuana dispensary and grower.
Whether people come in for a few pot-laced cookies, or a few grams of marijuana, dispensaries offer a place for people to have nearly instant access to what they feel is the best medicine. It prevents patients from buying pot from dealers on the street and storing more than they need at home, Kaer said.
Plus, dispensaries add jobs and tax revenue to area communities, Caplan said. But business is still tough - despite being on the forefront of the medical marijuana movement.
Unlike other businesses, Gindi said he can't write off many business expenses, such as utilities and rent, because medical marijuana is federally banned. So despite one common misconception, medical marijuana dispensaries don't make a huge profit.
He said they sell between 10 and 30 pounds of marijuana per month and typically have a $20 markup per one-eighth ounce, which he said is a standard amount. He said an "eighth" is about $50.
Though many patients have a "primary caregiver," they can float around to any dispensary they want. That enables businesses like Compassionate Pain Management and Top Shelf Alternatives to assist about 500 and 300 patients respectively.
And that number is growing for both businesses as people accept using marijuana as a medical treatment.
Grower uses computers for top-quality yield
BOULDER - Legally growing marijuana has become a budding industry since the medical alternative began gaining popularity last year.
While there are few licensed growers in Boulder and Broomfield counties, in part due to moratoriums enacted by most municipalities, growing pot is much like running a greenhouse.
Collier Kaer, co-owner of Boulder-based Top Shelf Alternatives LLC, a dispensary and grower, said it's a computerized process that needs to be high tech in order to create a consistent, high-quality cannabis plant.
"There's a lot that goes into it," he said.
From making sure the grow lights are turned on the correct amount of time and placed a specific distance from the plant, to ensuring the right nutrients are used and the right amount of carbon dioxide is supplied, the "bud tender" has his or her hands full.
Typically, a grower will have a tall, healthy mother plant from which "clones" are cut to create replicas of the mother and, eventually, harvest the cannabis bud.
It often takes 90 to 120 days from the time the clone is cut to the time the bud is harvested. Then, after another five weeks of curing, the marijuana is ready for sale.
Kaer said knowing when to harvest the bud is much like knowing when to harvest a peach or apple: It's based on experience. With marijuana, he said the bud is ready when it's tight and has a large amount of Tetrahydrocannabinol crystals on it. Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, is the main psychoactive drug in marijuana.
As with dispensaries, growers abide by few regulations. It's up to each grower to produce the quality and consistency of pot they want - or that their customers demand. However, many growers welcome regulations as they think it'll weed out the illegitimate businesses.
While regulations are few and far between, one controls how many plants each grower can cultivate per patient. Now, each grower can have six plants per patient, but only three can be flowering and producing marijuana.
While some proposed legislation could limit the number of patients assigned to a caregiver, commonly called a dispensary, currently, growers can have up to that six per patient.
Kaer, who uses between 4,000 and 5,000 square feet of his 10,000-square-foot building to grow plants, said he's not growing the full six per patient. In that space, he's growing about 30 different strains of marijuana for use as edibles and smoking.
He said one of the state's concerns is regarding the use of pesticides during the grow cycle. The state wants to ensure there's a safe level present if at all. It's also concerned that during the curing process mold doesn't grow on the drying plant.
However, growers share those concerns. Without a quality product, they won't be able to sell it.
Shaun Gindi, co-owner of Louisville-based Compassionate Pain Management, said he and his staff inspect every shipment of marijuana they get to ensure consistency and quality.
Though he doesn't get his marijuana from Kaer, he said if something is wrong with the supply he receives, he sends it back. And he's already established good relationships with his growers.
"Unless we know them and know where the product comes from, we won't touch it," Gindi said.
Once growers learn how to consistently produce a quality crop, Kaer said it's easy to replicate the process. But establishing those parameters varies by strain making it difficult.
Marijuana dispensaries
Licensed dispensaries by municipality:
Boulder - 83
Broomfield - 0
Erie - 0
Lafayette - 2
Longmont - 8
Louisville - 2
Lyons - 6
Nederland - 6
Superior - 0
Cannabis growers
Licensed cannabis growers by municipalities:
Boulder - 17
Broomfield - 0
Erie - 0
Lafayette - 1
Longmont - 0
Louisville - 0
Lyons - 0
Nederland - 0
Superior - 0
Legal stances
Most municipalities in Boulder and Broomfield counties have a moratorium in place on allowing new medical marijuana dispensaries or growing operations.
Boulder - dispensaries allowed
Broomfield (city/county) - dispensaries not allowed (council anticipates adopting a moratorium at Jan. 26 meeting)
Erie - moratorium through April 11
Lafayette - moratorium through April 28
Longmont - moratorium through June 30
Louisville - moratorium through April 20
Lyons - moratorium through April 9
Nederland - dispensaries allowed
Superior - dispensaries not allowed (board anticipates adopting a moratorium at Jan. 25 meeting)
Medical marijuana by the numbers
17,356 - number of registered medical marijuana patients in Colorado
1,982 - number of patients in Boulder County
176 - number of patients in Broomfield County
90 - percent of patients reporting "severe pain" as primary condition
73 - percent of registered patients that are male
40 - average age of patients
30 - percent of patients reporting "muscle spasms" as condition
24 - number of medical marijuana ID card applicants denied
21 - number of medical marijuana ID cards revoked
2 - number of municipalities in Boulder and Broomfield
counties allowing new medical marijuana dispensaries
Source: Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment as of Sept. 30, 2009.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 Magazine - Cannabis Culture News & Reviews
Source: Boulder County Business Report
Author: Ryan Dionne
Contact: Boulder County Business Report
Copyright: 2010 Boulder County Business Report
Website: Cannabis Controversy
