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The entry could easily be mistaken for a doctor's office waiting room.
Ponderosa Releaf, a medical marijuana dispensary that opened July 3, has a small but nicely furnished waiting area just inside its front doors, with comfortable chairs and a flat screen TV on the far wall.
But before a patient can enter the room where the marijuana is sold — which is separated by a heavy locked door — he or she must show a medical marijuana card that goes through a computer database with the Arizona Department of Health Services.
The facility also has about 10 security cameras, bulletproof glass at the reception desk, an alarm system and a locked safe room in the back of the building. At the end of each night, all of the marijuana is placed in a 975-pound safe bolted to the floor in the safe room, where it's kept until the dispensary opens for business the next day.
Safety is a priority, and it was a big reason why the Pinal County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 to approve a permit for the facility, which is located about eight miles south of Maricopa in a business plaza at 49237 W. Papago Rd., Ste. 3.
Anthony Smith, vice chairman of the Board of Supervisors, who represents the district that includes Maricopa and surrounding areas, said at the board's April 24 meeting when the permit was approved, that he was impressed with the security, and it convinced him to approve operation of the dispensary.
"I visited the site, and I visited a similar site in a strip mall in Oro Valley," he said. "I observed the security arrangement, the operational procedures, and I tell you that the amount of security, I believe, is going to provide a secure environment for not only the workers in the facility but (also) the cardholders."
In addition to the safety measures, the owners of Ponderosa Releaf wanted to make the facility clean, comfortable and welcoming to cardholders. There's also an separate room adjacent to the waiting room where patients can consult with a doctor if they set up a visit.
Jerry Workman, the manager at Ponderosa Releaf, said the dispensary near Maricopa is better than most he's visited.
"This is one of the nicest dispensary models," he said.
Workman is partners with Clary Childers, the owner of the dispensary near Maricopa and a similar facility in Oro Valley.
Once a customer is buzzed into the main room where the marijuana is sold, he or she has the option of choosing between a dozen varieties, or "strains" as Workman calls them, of marijuana. The marijuana is kept in a well-lit glass display case.
Deciding what strain to purchase depends on what a doctor recommends and what the patient prefers. The "budtenders" at the dispensary can answer questions, but Workman said they don't really make recommendations because they're not doctors.
Workman said the dispensary will probably carry more strains in the near future and added it's important to give customers options when choosing what kind of marijuana they want to purchase.
"It really comes from personal experience and what people have tried, and then you end up trying one (strain) that you like and that fits what you're looking for," he said.
While people can use medical marijuana for a variety of ailments, including migraines and Crohn's disease, Workman said most people use it to treat chronic pain.
There's even edible forms of marijuana at the dispensary, including gummy bears.
During a public notice period, Pinal County received 44 letters of support for the dispensary from residents in the area and three letters in opposition. Workman said almost all the feedback he's received since Ponderosa Releaf opened has been positive.
However, some elected officials in Arizona, including attorney general Tom Horne, Maricopa County attorney Bill Montgomery and Pinal County attorney Lando Voyles, are opposed to medical marijuana because they say it still violates federal law, even if it's legal under state law.
"I would tell them to open their minds and listen to patients," Workman said of those high-ranking public officials who oppose the dispensaries.
Voyles urged the Board of Supervisors to vote against giving a permit to Pondersoa Releaf, but it approved the permit 4-1, with supervisor Cheryl Chase, R-San Tan Valley, casting the only vote in opposition.
Workman mentioned a recent investigation and report on medical marijuana done by Dr. Sanjay Gupta, a neurosurgeon and medical correspondent for CNN. He said he would use Gupta's report as an example to those who don't believe in medical marijuana.
"[Gupta] had a report and he said, 'Now that I've investigated it, I understand what a huge benefit it is,'" he said.
Workman also said there's a misperception about who uses the medical marijuana. Detractors, he said, think the majority of people smoking it are young and just trying to get high. He said most of the patients he's seen at the Maricopa location are in their 40s and 50s; he said the average age of patients at his Oro Valley dispensary is probably 10 years older than that.
"When they get the impression that it's just a way for people to get high, that is erroneous," Workman said. "And if people do investigations [on] this industry, they will find that out."
Stephanie Deno, patient care consultant at Ponderosa Releaf, said she's received almost all positive feedback on the dispensary from patients and others in the area.
"I love my job," she said. "We've had all different kinds of patients come in here ... they're glad we're here. When they realize we're here (and not in the Valley), they're really appreciative."
Deno, who lives in Hidden Valley, said many patients have been "pleasantly impressed" with the dispensary after driving several miles into a fairly rural area to get to the building. She said some people have mentioned going to other dispensaries that were "sketchy," and that they felt relieved upon seeing the professional environment at Ponderosa Releaf.
"I've only been here a couple of months, but it's been a really great experience so far," she said.
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: trivalleycentral.com
Author: Brian Wright
Contact: Contact Us - trivalleycentral.com: Site
Website: Dispensary seeks to rewrite script on medical marijuana - trivalleycentral.com: News
Ponderosa Releaf, a medical marijuana dispensary that opened July 3, has a small but nicely furnished waiting area just inside its front doors, with comfortable chairs and a flat screen TV on the far wall.
But before a patient can enter the room where the marijuana is sold — which is separated by a heavy locked door — he or she must show a medical marijuana card that goes through a computer database with the Arizona Department of Health Services.
The facility also has about 10 security cameras, bulletproof glass at the reception desk, an alarm system and a locked safe room in the back of the building. At the end of each night, all of the marijuana is placed in a 975-pound safe bolted to the floor in the safe room, where it's kept until the dispensary opens for business the next day.
Safety is a priority, and it was a big reason why the Pinal County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 to approve a permit for the facility, which is located about eight miles south of Maricopa in a business plaza at 49237 W. Papago Rd., Ste. 3.
Anthony Smith, vice chairman of the Board of Supervisors, who represents the district that includes Maricopa and surrounding areas, said at the board's April 24 meeting when the permit was approved, that he was impressed with the security, and it convinced him to approve operation of the dispensary.
"I visited the site, and I visited a similar site in a strip mall in Oro Valley," he said. "I observed the security arrangement, the operational procedures, and I tell you that the amount of security, I believe, is going to provide a secure environment for not only the workers in the facility but (also) the cardholders."
In addition to the safety measures, the owners of Ponderosa Releaf wanted to make the facility clean, comfortable and welcoming to cardholders. There's also an separate room adjacent to the waiting room where patients can consult with a doctor if they set up a visit.
Jerry Workman, the manager at Ponderosa Releaf, said the dispensary near Maricopa is better than most he's visited.
"This is one of the nicest dispensary models," he said.
Workman is partners with Clary Childers, the owner of the dispensary near Maricopa and a similar facility in Oro Valley.
Once a customer is buzzed into the main room where the marijuana is sold, he or she has the option of choosing between a dozen varieties, or "strains" as Workman calls them, of marijuana. The marijuana is kept in a well-lit glass display case.
Deciding what strain to purchase depends on what a doctor recommends and what the patient prefers. The "budtenders" at the dispensary can answer questions, but Workman said they don't really make recommendations because they're not doctors.
Workman said the dispensary will probably carry more strains in the near future and added it's important to give customers options when choosing what kind of marijuana they want to purchase.
"It really comes from personal experience and what people have tried, and then you end up trying one (strain) that you like and that fits what you're looking for," he said.
While people can use medical marijuana for a variety of ailments, including migraines and Crohn's disease, Workman said most people use it to treat chronic pain.
There's even edible forms of marijuana at the dispensary, including gummy bears.
During a public notice period, Pinal County received 44 letters of support for the dispensary from residents in the area and three letters in opposition. Workman said almost all the feedback he's received since Ponderosa Releaf opened has been positive.
However, some elected officials in Arizona, including attorney general Tom Horne, Maricopa County attorney Bill Montgomery and Pinal County attorney Lando Voyles, are opposed to medical marijuana because they say it still violates federal law, even if it's legal under state law.
"I would tell them to open their minds and listen to patients," Workman said of those high-ranking public officials who oppose the dispensaries.
Voyles urged the Board of Supervisors to vote against giving a permit to Pondersoa Releaf, but it approved the permit 4-1, with supervisor Cheryl Chase, R-San Tan Valley, casting the only vote in opposition.
Workman mentioned a recent investigation and report on medical marijuana done by Dr. Sanjay Gupta, a neurosurgeon and medical correspondent for CNN. He said he would use Gupta's report as an example to those who don't believe in medical marijuana.
"[Gupta] had a report and he said, 'Now that I've investigated it, I understand what a huge benefit it is,'" he said.
Workman also said there's a misperception about who uses the medical marijuana. Detractors, he said, think the majority of people smoking it are young and just trying to get high. He said most of the patients he's seen at the Maricopa location are in their 40s and 50s; he said the average age of patients at his Oro Valley dispensary is probably 10 years older than that.
"When they get the impression that it's just a way for people to get high, that is erroneous," Workman said. "And if people do investigations [on] this industry, they will find that out."
Stephanie Deno, patient care consultant at Ponderosa Releaf, said she's received almost all positive feedback on the dispensary from patients and others in the area.
"I love my job," she said. "We've had all different kinds of patients come in here ... they're glad we're here. When they realize we're here (and not in the Valley), they're really appreciative."
Deno, who lives in Hidden Valley, said many patients have been "pleasantly impressed" with the dispensary after driving several miles into a fairly rural area to get to the building. She said some people have mentioned going to other dispensaries that were "sketchy," and that they felt relieved upon seeing the professional environment at Ponderosa Releaf.
"I've only been here a couple of months, but it's been a really great experience so far," she said.
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: trivalleycentral.com
Author: Brian Wright
Contact: Contact Us - trivalleycentral.com: Site
Website: Dispensary seeks to rewrite script on medical marijuana - trivalleycentral.com: News
