Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
The August 31 vote by Salem City Council to allow adults 21 and over to enter medical marijuana facilities beginning October 1 makes good civic sense to Cindy and Mark Cusick, owners of the Herbal Grasslands medical marijuana dispensary in South Salem.
The vote, which allows recreational cannabis users to purchase product legally from licensed medical dispensaries beginning next month, passed by 8 – 1, with the opposition of Mayor Anna Peterson.
The vote was a relief to the Cusicks, who had made plans to hire three new full-time staff to handle potential recreational users on October 1. They attended the council in response to a widely-circulated, sternly-worded City of Salem agenda announcement that suggested that limitations or prohibition of “early sales” was likely.
“A dispensary in Albany told us, ‘if they don’t allow you to sell recreational in Salem, they’ll just come down to us,’” Cindy says. “By allowing recreational in Salem, we keep that cash flow in town and jobs here in town.”
Mark Cusick says that if all 13 licensed Salem dispensaries hire on 2-3 more staff, the city may have 30 more full-time employees supporting the local economy.
He also says that allowing recreational sales in medical facilities provides residents with a safer product. “When growers bring the product to us, there’s that much less product being sold on the black market, and that much less makes its way to the schools. Everything that goes out our doors has been tested; nothing on the black market is tested.”
Cindy addressed the city council during the August 31 public comment section, sharing the account of a grower who brought cannabis to Herbal Grasslands that tested for high levels of mould. The grower, she told council, was unperturbed to learn the dispensary wouldn’t buy his product, saying he could sell it for more money illegally, anyway.
Because medical dispensaries enforce quality regulations, Cindy told council, a decision to create a licensed market option for recreational marijuana sales is in the best interest of public health.
The Cusicks told Salem Weekly that many recreational users will actually be low-income patients that have medicinal needs, but can’t afford the medicinal OMMP card. “For some of our people, they need this medicine, but have had to give up their card because they just can’t afford it,” Cindy says.
OMMP cards run about $400 each year; patients must first pay to see a doctor to receive a physician’s statement, and then pay the State of Oregon fee of $200.
“Some of our patients really appreciate the opportunity to buy medicine without paying those expenses,” Mark says, “because some of them are pretty poor.”
The momentum for legalized cannabis “has begun, and you’re not going to stop it,” Mark says. “So do you do it right, or do you not do it right?”
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Salem city council vote makes good sense to dispensary - News in Salem Oregon
Author: Web Staff
Contact: Contact Willamette Live Today | Salem, Oregon
Photo Credit: The Associated Press
Website: News in Salem Oregon - Willamette Live -
The vote, which allows recreational cannabis users to purchase product legally from licensed medical dispensaries beginning next month, passed by 8 – 1, with the opposition of Mayor Anna Peterson.
The vote was a relief to the Cusicks, who had made plans to hire three new full-time staff to handle potential recreational users on October 1. They attended the council in response to a widely-circulated, sternly-worded City of Salem agenda announcement that suggested that limitations or prohibition of “early sales” was likely.
“A dispensary in Albany told us, ‘if they don’t allow you to sell recreational in Salem, they’ll just come down to us,’” Cindy says. “By allowing recreational in Salem, we keep that cash flow in town and jobs here in town.”
Mark Cusick says that if all 13 licensed Salem dispensaries hire on 2-3 more staff, the city may have 30 more full-time employees supporting the local economy.
He also says that allowing recreational sales in medical facilities provides residents with a safer product. “When growers bring the product to us, there’s that much less product being sold on the black market, and that much less makes its way to the schools. Everything that goes out our doors has been tested; nothing on the black market is tested.”
Cindy addressed the city council during the August 31 public comment section, sharing the account of a grower who brought cannabis to Herbal Grasslands that tested for high levels of mould. The grower, she told council, was unperturbed to learn the dispensary wouldn’t buy his product, saying he could sell it for more money illegally, anyway.
Because medical dispensaries enforce quality regulations, Cindy told council, a decision to create a licensed market option for recreational marijuana sales is in the best interest of public health.
The Cusicks told Salem Weekly that many recreational users will actually be low-income patients that have medicinal needs, but can’t afford the medicinal OMMP card. “For some of our people, they need this medicine, but have had to give up their card because they just can’t afford it,” Cindy says.
OMMP cards run about $400 each year; patients must first pay to see a doctor to receive a physician’s statement, and then pay the State of Oregon fee of $200.
“Some of our patients really appreciate the opportunity to buy medicine without paying those expenses,” Mark says, “because some of them are pretty poor.”
The momentum for legalized cannabis “has begun, and you’re not going to stop it,” Mark says. “So do you do it right, or do you not do it right?”
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Salem city council vote makes good sense to dispensary - News in Salem Oregon
Author: Web Staff
Contact: Contact Willamette Live Today | Salem, Oregon
Photo Credit: The Associated Press
Website: News in Salem Oregon - Willamette Live -
