Pubdate: Tue, 8 Mar 2011
Page: A01, Front Page
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Copyright: 2011 The Washington Post Company
Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/mUgeOPdZ
Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491
Author: Paul Schwartzman, Washington Post Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.drugsense.org/cms/geoview/n-us-dc (District of Columbia)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?253 (Cannabis - Medicinal - U.S.)

D.C.'s POT PIONEERS

Seeking a Piece of the Medical Marijuana Action

Montgomery Blair Sibley might be best known as the lawyer who 
defended the "D.C. madam," the infamous escort service owner who 
claimed to attend to the needs of Washington's elite.

Sibley has a new focus these days, one that's luring a rabbi, a 
waitress, a State Department technician and a gaggle of other 
fledgling entrepreneurs: growing marijuana and selling it to sick 
people in the nation's capital.

He and his partners have divined a logo ("Rx" over a pot plant) and a 
company name (the Medicinal Marijuana Company of America) and have 
found a New York Avenue warehouse at which they hope to grow enough 
pot to make a profit in the first year.

But the District is only part of Sibley's grand plan, which is to 
turn his growing operation into a national chain as ubiquitous as, 
say, McDonald's. "I want to be the Ray Kroc of medical marijuana," 
Sibley said, referring to the man behind the golden arches.

Every new industry is driven by risk-taking pioneers, and it's no 
different with medical marijuana in the District, where those seeking 
a piece of the cannabis action include an electrician from Baltimore, 
an unemployed administrator who lives in Southeast Washington and the 
owners of a hemp clothing store in Adams Morgan.

As the Gray administration finalizes regulations, some of those 
entrepreneurs are crafting business plans, lining up financing, and 
anticipating fierce competition to obtain licenses to operate five 
dispensaries and 10 cultivation centers. Whether motivated by the 
prospect of profit or a belief in marijuana as a therapeutic salve - 
or a mixture of both - everyone is cagey about their plans, because 
no one is certain who is in the hunt.

"People are hiding in the shadows," said Alan Amsterdam, a co-owner 
of the hemp store who is part of a team hoping to open a dispensary 
and cultivation center. "Then they'll strike like a cobra."

Steph Sherer, executive director of Americans for Safe Access, a 
nonprofit group that advocates for medical marijuana, said her office 
had received "hundreds of calls" from people interested in opening 
businesses in the District. But she said the pool is sure to dwindle 
as they learn that banks are reluctant to lend money to such 
start-ups and that medical marijuana remains illegal under federal 
law, even though the Justice Department has said it's uninterested in 
prosecuting dispensaries.

"What ends up weeding a lot of people out is the realization that 
they're committing an act of federal civil disobedience by getting 
involved," she said. "They have to make a decision about whether 
they're willing to take the risk."

Cupcake Cannabis

The costs can be daunting, too. A license in the District will cost 
$10,000. Then there's the money needed for a lease, security, staff, 
lighting and irrigation systems, and, of course, the marijuana to grow or sell.

"There are a lot of people who think they're going to make a lot of 
money," Sherer said. "They borrow money from everyone they know. They 
borrow from their kids' education funds, and then they find out it's 
not that profitable."

Still, they can dream.

Todd Mizis, 34, an audio-visual specialist for the State Department, 
has visions of owning a bakery that makes cookies, brownies and 
cupcakes laced with cannabis, all of which he would sell to 
dispensaries. Mizis even came up with a name for his venture: Baked DC.

Amber McKay, 25, a mother of three who makes $150 a week as a 
waitress at Pane E Vino, an Italian restaurant at the Lorton Town 
Center, said she recognized a new frontier when the District 
legalized medical marijuana last year. "I saw an opportunity for 
making money," she said.

The people whom she consulted included her father, a contractor, who 
asked, "Are you serious?" Her stepmother blanched. Her pastor said, 
"Oh, really."

John Wilson, a District real estate broker also on her consultation 
list, said he had fielded calls from at least half a dozen groups 
searching for space to sell or grow pot. He recommended that McKay 
speak with someone else who had called him, Sibley, with whom she has 
formed a partnership.

Sibley, 54, is a descendant of a long line of American titans, 
including a great-great-grandfather who was the namesake for Blair 
House, across from the White House. Another great-great-grandfather 
founded Western Union. A lawyer for 30 years, Sibley was suspended by 
the Florida bar in 2008 for failing to pay $100,000 in child support, 
leaving him with time to pour into his new business.

His to-do list includes finding a qualified grower - he's running an 
ad on Craigslist under the heading "Become a Medical Marijuana Cultivator."

"This one is wide open," Sibley said of his new field. "There is no 
one controlling the market. The barriers for entry are very low."

At least one seasoned purveyor is no longer interested in doing 
business in the District: Stephen DeAngelo, a Washington native who 
operates a California dispensary that is one of the largest in the 
world, said he was turned off by a D.C. Council member's 
characterization of him as a profiteer.

"I'm the farthest thing from a profiteer," he said. "I have no desire 
to go where I'm not welcome."

Marijuana Gold Rush

As an industry, medical marijuana has exploded since the mid-1990s, 
with 15 states and the District approving legislation. In 2002, there 
were 11 dispensaries in the United States, according to Americans for 
Safe Access. Now there are about 2,000. Lawyers, lobbyists and others 
have found work pushing legislation and helping start-ups craft 
proposals and navigate the licensing process.

"I've fielded a dozen or so calls, serious calls, from people saying: 
'We're ready. We'd like to enter this. We have investors. What do you 
know?' " said Michael Rothman, a Rockville defense lawyer who 
recently added a wing to his practice that he calls the Medical 
Cannabis Law Group.

For now, Rothman said, he's happy to provide information for free, in 
part because he supports medical marijuana. But he later plans to 
charge for his services.

Although D.C. voters supported medical marijuana in a referendum in 
1998, Congress blocked the city from implementing the law until last 
year. After Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D) took office, officials began 
reviewing final regulations, and they will solicit proposals and 
award licenses. The unanswered questions include a key detail: Where 
will cultivators get their seeds to grow marijuana?

D.C. Council member David A. Catania (I-At Large), chairman of the 
health committee, expects the program to open next year and said the 
city should proceed methodically. "It's most important that it be 
done right than quickly," he said.

The District's regulations are more restrictive than other locales', 
narrowly defining who can obtain medical marijuana and capping at 95 
the number of plants a cultivator can have in one place.

"You're going to be limited in what you can produce and what you can 
sell," said Adam Eidinger of the D.C. Patients Cooperative, which 
plans to apply for licenses to cultivate and dispense. "The idea that 
there will be an owner in the background collecting million-dollar 
checks is mistaken."

A Rabbi's New Calling

Not a problem, said Jeffrey A. Kahn, a rabbi who, with his wife, 
hopes to open a dispensary in Tacoma Park. Kahn's emergence as a 
potential dispenser inspired the headline "From Bima to Pot Seller" 
in a weekly newspaper that caters to a Jewish audience.

Kahn, no longer the leader of a congregation, said he saw the relief 
marijuana gave his father-in-law, who suffered from multiple 
sclerosis. "We're not entrepreneurs," he said. "We've been in the 
same profession for 20 to 30 years, and this is our midlife crisis, 
and we're looking for something else. This would provide us with the 
chance to make a living and help people."

Clayton Williams, 45, an electrician from Baltimore, also sees 
purpose in growing marijuana for the sick, something he said he has 
done unofficially in his city. He was ready to apply for a District 
license - "Congressional Cannabis" was a name he came up with - until 
he learned at a recent meeting that the city won't accept 
applications from convicted drug felons. A couple of years ago, he 
said, Baltimore police arrested him after finding 104 pot plants in 
his basement.

Still, Williams said he has not lost hope. The District may be off 
limits, but his home state and others are considering proposals to 
legalize medical marijuana. If they're more inviting, he said, he's 
ready to grow.  
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake