Pubdate: Thu, 9 Jul 2009
Source: Chicago Tribune (IL)
Copyright: 2009 Chicago Tribune Company
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/IuiAC7IZ
Website: http://www.chicagotribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/82
Author: Dana Hull, McClatchy/Tribune news
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana - Medicinal)

WEED ON WHEELS IS SIGN OF ACCEPTANCE

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- David Goldman has a chronic headache, but help is 
on the way. A driver arrives at his apartment, checks Goldman's ID 
card, then hands over a small bag of marijuana.

"It's really nice to have the convenience of delivery," said Goldman, 
a retired teacher who orders medicinal marijuana about once a week 
from The Green Cross, a medical marijuana delivery service. "I trust 
their product, and their prices are competitive."

As Californians consider legalizing marijuana, The Green Cross in San 
Francisco is a signal of just how mainstream pot has become. In some 
ways, the medical marijuana dispensary is just like any other retail 
business: It takes credit cards, it's reviewed on Yelp and it 
promises delivery within an hour -- there's even a $10 discount if 
the pot is late.

Since 1996, when California voters passed Proposition 215, medical 
marijuana has moved steadily toward mainstream acceptance.

Thirteen states, including Maine, Michigan, Montana and New Mexico, 
have passed laws allowing seriously ill patients access to it.

The Green Cross operates out of founder Kevin Reed's apartment. Here, 
19 employees bake brownies and other "edibles" and assemble orders 
from a changing menu of more than 40 strains of marijuana (an ounce is $310).

"Delivery is key because some of our patients literally cannot get 
out of their beds," Reed said. "It's like hot pizza to me: Once an 
order is in, you've got to get it out the door in 20 minutes."
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake