MedicalNeed
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LONGMONT – The future of the Feiler family's business is in the hands of the city and the state.
Loree Feiler – an attorney, mediator and former Florida criminal court judge – owns the Longmont and Boulder Nature's Medicine shops. Her daughter, Allyson, who has a master's degree in business entrepreneurship, takes care of much of the day-to-day operations.
Medical marijuana has been legal since 2000, but the constitutional amendment did not account for dispensaries. A law passed this year mandated licensing and regulation of the hundreds of dispensaries already open statewide.
Nature's Medicine in Longmont met the Aug. 1 deadline to apply for state licensing and must meet a September deadline to ensure the business is producing 70 percent of the medical marijuana it dispenses.
That requirement meant the family had to find a location to cultivate the marijuana. They opted for a place in the county after looking at properties in and out of the city and working through zoning requirements.
Further, state regulators have to complete full investigations of each of the businesses – a reported 800 of them – that applied for licenses in the state, which Feiler said could take months.
For instance, the state is expected to complete criminal backgrounds on the owners and employees. Inspectors are also expected to audit the personal and business finances for each dispensary.
Even the state license application required extensive financial information.
But while the family has plenty of legal resources, Feiler said she doesn't believe the volume of paperwork would deter anyone intent on preserving their business.
"The (Colorado) Department of Revenue have made themselves very available," she said.
Given the family's legal background, Feiler said she supports the state regulation both to legitimize the business and to protect patients. For instance, she said some dispensaries were using personal kitchens to make edible medical marijuana goods. The requirement for a commercial kitchen is a plus, she said.
The state also now tracks marijuana sales. So Nature's Medicine is launching a point-of-sale and accounting system to help track the product and accurately report sales to the state.
Feiler also appreciates that the state law seems aimed at making sure the businesses aren't funded with money from any criminal enterprise. No one with a previous drug felony or a felony conviction in the past five years may own a dispensary.
The family bought the business last fall from Craig Clerkin, who ran it as Ancient Alternatives.
The Longmont shop, at 1260 S. Hover St., is near a dentist's office and used to house a chiropractor's office. It has the feel of a small health-care operation, with a waiting room and rooms to meet with patients.
Feiler thinks the new regulations will benefit Nature's Medicine, one of Longmont's seven medical marijuana centers. That is, if it clears all of the state's hurdles and the Longmont City Council doesn't ban the dispensaries, which state law allows.
"I think it would be a shame to have all the people we see here in Longmont have to go to Boulder or Denver to get their medi-cine," Loree Feiler said.
While Feiler talked about the business, her daughter worked constantly, helping patients or dealing with the office business.
Feiler said her daughter wanted to run her own business, and her husband, who also is an attorney, researched medical marijuana for years. She said the family works hard to keep the business open.
"It is not the cash cow people think it is," she said.
Pierrette J. Shields can be reached at 303-684-5273 or pshields@times-call.com.
NewsHawk: MedicalNeed: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: The Longmont Times-Call
Author: Pierrette J. Shields
Contact: The Longmont Times-Call
Copyright: 2010 Longmont Times-Call.
Website:The Longmont Times-Call
Loree Feiler – an attorney, mediator and former Florida criminal court judge – owns the Longmont and Boulder Nature's Medicine shops. Her daughter, Allyson, who has a master's degree in business entrepreneurship, takes care of much of the day-to-day operations.
Medical marijuana has been legal since 2000, but the constitutional amendment did not account for dispensaries. A law passed this year mandated licensing and regulation of the hundreds of dispensaries already open statewide.
Nature's Medicine in Longmont met the Aug. 1 deadline to apply for state licensing and must meet a September deadline to ensure the business is producing 70 percent of the medical marijuana it dispenses.
That requirement meant the family had to find a location to cultivate the marijuana. They opted for a place in the county after looking at properties in and out of the city and working through zoning requirements.
Further, state regulators have to complete full investigations of each of the businesses – a reported 800 of them – that applied for licenses in the state, which Feiler said could take months.
For instance, the state is expected to complete criminal backgrounds on the owners and employees. Inspectors are also expected to audit the personal and business finances for each dispensary.
Even the state license application required extensive financial information.
But while the family has plenty of legal resources, Feiler said she doesn't believe the volume of paperwork would deter anyone intent on preserving their business.
"The (Colorado) Department of Revenue have made themselves very available," she said.
Given the family's legal background, Feiler said she supports the state regulation both to legitimize the business and to protect patients. For instance, she said some dispensaries were using personal kitchens to make edible medical marijuana goods. The requirement for a commercial kitchen is a plus, she said.
The state also now tracks marijuana sales. So Nature's Medicine is launching a point-of-sale and accounting system to help track the product and accurately report sales to the state.
Feiler also appreciates that the state law seems aimed at making sure the businesses aren't funded with money from any criminal enterprise. No one with a previous drug felony or a felony conviction in the past five years may own a dispensary.
The family bought the business last fall from Craig Clerkin, who ran it as Ancient Alternatives.
The Longmont shop, at 1260 S. Hover St., is near a dentist's office and used to house a chiropractor's office. It has the feel of a small health-care operation, with a waiting room and rooms to meet with patients.
Feiler thinks the new regulations will benefit Nature's Medicine, one of Longmont's seven medical marijuana centers. That is, if it clears all of the state's hurdles and the Longmont City Council doesn't ban the dispensaries, which state law allows.
"I think it would be a shame to have all the people we see here in Longmont have to go to Boulder or Denver to get their medi-cine," Loree Feiler said.
While Feiler talked about the business, her daughter worked constantly, helping patients or dealing with the office business.
Feiler said her daughter wanted to run her own business, and her husband, who also is an attorney, researched medical marijuana for years. She said the family works hard to keep the business open.
"It is not the cash cow people think it is," she said.
Pierrette J. Shields can be reached at 303-684-5273 or pshields@times-call.com.
NewsHawk: MedicalNeed: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: The Longmont Times-Call
Author: Pierrette J. Shields
Contact: The Longmont Times-Call
Copyright: 2010 Longmont Times-Call.
Website:The Longmont Times-Call
