Pubdate: Wed, 11 Jan 2012
Source: Kennebec Journal (Augusta, ME)
Copyright: 2012 MaineToday Media, Inc.
Contact: 
http://www.kjonline.com/readerservices/Send_a_Letter_to_the_Editor-KJ.html
Website: http://www.kjonline.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1405
Author: Susan Mcmillan

DISPENSARY REVEALED TO PUBLIC

State's Newest Marijuana Clinic Recently Began Operating in Hallowell

HALLOWELL -- The state's newest medical marijuana dispensary opened 
Tuesday to the public for the first and last time.

Wellness Connection of Maine hosted an open house at the dispensary, 
which recently began seeing patients by appointment. Now, following 
Tuesday's public unveiling, only patients and their caregivers will 
be able to access the office at 115 Water St.

Since its first full week of operation last week, the dispensary has 
served about 30 patients, said Faith Benedetti, who works in patient services.

Eventually, established patients will be able to stop in without an 
appointment, according to Wellness Connection Executive Director 
Becky DeKeuster. She hopes that will be possible this spring.

The dispensary's opening has been delayed several times. Wellness 
Connection, which changed its name from Northeast Patients Group last 
month, won licenses in 2010 to operate dispensaries in four of eight 
regions in Maine.

"It has been a really long road to get here, but we are celebrating 
the end of this part of the journey," DeKeuster told the crowd of 
Wellness Connection board members and employees, city officials and 
media at the open house.

In September, Wellness Connection began accepting patients at a 
dispensary in Thomaston, which is also the location of the nonprofit 
company's growing operation.

Wellness Connection's dispensary in Portland is under construction, 
and a planned dispensary in Brewer is undergoing site plan review, 
DeKeuster said.

Thomaston and Hallowell have served at least 50 patients total, 
DeKeuster said. She declined to estimate how many patients Wellness 
Connection could eventually serve.

"We are well prepared to serve as many patients as need us," she said.

Concerns raised recently about Wellness Connection's medical 
marijuana capacity -- including from a man once affiliated with its 
growing operations who says the Thomaston facility cannot support the 
anticipated patient base -- are based on old information, DeKeuster said.

"Our policy is not to discuss cultivation facilities for security 
reasons," she said. "The downside of that is it allows people to make 
assumptions."

The Hallowell dispensary is on the second floor, above The Liberal 
Cup pub. Stairs from the Water Street side lead to a delivery 
entrance, but patients enter from the rear, where there is parking 
and a wheelchair ramp.

Both entrances are kept locked. Before being let inside, a patient 
must show photo identification and either a medical marijuana card or 
the original recommendation from a physician.

Wellness Connection will enforce a code of conduct, which DeKeuster 
said includes prohibition on loitering around the dispensary and 
displaying the medication outside. Patients who violate the rules may 
be removed from Wellness Connection's rolls.

First-time patients will meet with one of two patient service 
providers at the dispensary to talk about their symptoms and which 
strains of marijuana may help them.

Some patients know very little about medical marijuana and may be 
nervous or intimidated the first time they come in, Benedetti said.

"We have patients who have been using this medicine for a very long 
time," she said. "And this morning, we had an example of someone who 
had never used this type of medicine before."

Benedetti said patients so far have been a mix of local and non-local 
people. Some had been to Thomaston, while others live closer to 
Portland and likely will start going to the dispensary there once it opens.

After the patient and provider decide on a strain and an ingestion 
method -- cigarettes or pipes, oral tinctures or food, or vaporizers 
- -- the patient can buy the product at a counter at one end of the main room.

The walls of the dispensary are bright green and orange. In addition 
to the main room, the dispensary includes a small kitchen, a room for 
massage or other affiliated services, an employee break room and a 
storage room.

Three people work there full-time and two others split time between 
Hallowell and other locations, DeKeuster said. Wellness Connection 
will hire more staff this spring, she said.

The medical marijuana was locked away on Tuesday during the open 
house at the request of state regulators, DeKeuster said.

But four cards on a shelf in the glass counter advertised the 
benefits of four different strains, which were identified by the 
numerals 2, 6, 7 and 9.

No. 2, for example, is "good for pain relief, deep sleep, 
relaxation," while No. 9 leaves patients "very clear-headed," 
according to the card descriptions.

Asked whether the dispensary offers more options than the four that 
were advertised, Benedetti said they do not discuss product strains.

DeKeuster said patients need to come to the dispensary for an 
in-person visit to discuss prices, which she would not specify. She 
said Wellness Connection is offering two price points, both lower 
than the $340-per-ounce cost originally projected in filings with the 
state of Maine.

"It's an ongoing business," DeKeuster said. "We're in the trenches, 
seeing what is required to keep it up and running."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom